Fragile, Tiny Humans

The crimson humanoid figure raised its head, saw the porcupine lying on the ground howling in pain, and sneered.

Part of the muscle in her right hand and right leg had disappeared. Not a drop of blood dripped from the wound. In the brief instant that the energy touched it, the muscle had turned into black ash, revealing a charred surface.

"At least your monster buddies didn't utter a single scream when I chopped them in half! You arrogant pig, do you really think you can compare to humans?!"

"Howl--"

After a brief period of agony, the porcupine opened its blood-red maw and let out a deafening roar. Purple blood dripped from its right eye and lower jaw, while its left eye stared at the Himiko with an almost human-like hatred.

"Heh... that's more like it... use your low IQ to fight me until I completely shred you into pieces of pork!"

Himiko swept her sword across the surroundings with one hand, sending the surrounding Honkai zombie flying, and her entire body transformed into a crimson bullet as she charged towards the Emperor-class Honkai Beast.

The Emperor-class Honkai Beast stomped its foot, slammed its tail heavily onto the ground, roared to the sky, and simultaneously launched all the needles on its body at Himiko!

Chapter 103 Fragile and Insignificant People

"These pollen..."

Hen solemnly observed the conditions of the things that the pollen had come into contact with and quickly arrived at the same conclusion as Einstein.

The more vibrant the tree's appearance, the more flowers it produces, and the wider its pollen spreads. At this rate, it could cover several nearby cities in just a few days.

Furthermore, we know nothing about the extent of this tree's spread, or whether multiple trees can exist. If the Sixth Herrscher has the ability to plant this tree in other places...

It's practically a world-destroying demon tree.

It must be eradicated before it spreads completely.

But how can it be destroyed? The damage caused by the scars can heal itself in such a short time, and its size is so large that it almost covers the entire city under the shade of the trees. It also has a sense of self-defense. Even the remaining Titan squadrons may not be able to cut off its root system in a short time.

Fire? Titans have flamethrowers, and everyone knows that wood is flammable, but this tree clearly does not follow common sense. It is debatable whether it is even a plant, let alone the fact that a house fire would probably be just a small flame that it could easily extinguish.

What exactly do we need to do...?

"Hey, can you hear me? Testing the sound, testing the sound. Can those metal lumps flying in the sky hear me?"

Hen's tense mood was suddenly calmed by the voice in the communicator. He paused for half a second, then realized that only internal personnel could access the Firemoth channel, but apart from the voice being somewhat familiar, it felt like... their emotions were not on the same wavelength as his.

He replied hesitantly, "This is Soldier MSA-013, Trace, from the Firemoth. Who are you?"

"Oh? It's Hen. I thought only Lin would be sitting in that metal lump." Hen hadn't heard that soft laugh in a long time, but it was so vivid in his mind that it immediately brought back memories. He blurted out—

"Elysia?"

"Yes, yes, don't be so surprised. Even though I'm very popular, I still get shy sometimes." Elysia's familiar, unpredictable tone came through the communication channel. "This is MSA-001 Elysia, officially returning to the Flame Chaser to participate in the battle against the Sixth Herrscher."

Baffling.

Hen's assessment of Elysia has always been that she's an odd woman who's both abnormal and normal. She often does things that are kept secret, but when the truth is revealed, those things are just... very subtle little things, such as spreading gossip, using alternate accounts on forums to praise herself, and writing strange books to sell at headquarters...

This disappearance from headquarters was actually the most audacious thing she had ever done.

But when Elysia appears, her unserious tone inexplicably makes people feel... at ease.

It's as if the world were to change drastically, or even if it were the end of the world, this person would remain unchanged, always there giving people a mysterious and mischievous smile.

Hen's hand, gripping the gun, relaxed slightly in relief before tightening again. "Elysia, the situation is urgent, so I won't question what you were doing. Where are you now? We need to..."

"Wait a minute, why is one of the Titans heading in a different direction? Did your Titan go out of control?"

"Out of control? No, I'm not piloting these Titans, it's Prometheus Unit 2. The number of Titans here is..." Hen was halfway through his sentence when he saw an Autonomous Titan signal on the radar at the edge. He frowned and asked Prometheus Unit 2, "Prometheus Unit 2, what's going on with that Titan?"

"That Titan is on another mission and is returning to Fifth Branch."

What missions are there besides eliminating the three key targets?

"What mission?"

"To transport Prometheus Unit 1, and the remains of MSA-079."

"..."

Hen abruptly released his gun, staring blankly at the screen, and asked Prometheus Unit 2, "What did you say?"

On the other end of the communication channel, Elysia's smile froze as she looked at the Titan emitting faint particles.

"MSA-079..." Her voice trembled with an unprecedented intensity, "Lin?"

"Bass!"

The dagger's blade was chipped by the sickle, and Kevin dodged the ensuing Black Mist, retreating to a safe distance. He glanced at the young parents holding their child, their path blocked by rubble inside the broken house, and exhaled a deep breath of bloody stale air.

Kevin now understood why Lin, despite the medical technology of the Fire Moth, had been infected with Honkai so early and was already Honkai Sickness ill.

His finger hovered over the start button of the Phase Transfer Device for a moment, then moved away uncomfortably, clenching his fist.

Every time this Phase Transfer Device is used, it's like drinking poison.

That space, which serves as a boundary for transfer, is a space that cannot be perceived by human senses. Each entry and exit will greatly deplete a person's consciousness and willpower. Those with weak willpower may get lost there on their first entry, their consciousness will dissipate, and even if they can still breathe after they come out, they will be nothing more than a moving corpse.

Weakening one's consciousness reduces one's resistance to the erosion of Honkai Energy, naturally leading to contracting Honkai Sickness.

This was the same situation for Lin, Hun, and the Speaker.

Kevin, on the other hand, was exceptionally talented. Even without any prompts or guidance, he mastered how to use the device. His extremely high willpower and Honkai Energy Adaptability energy made him able to use it with ease.

However, after using it twice, he felt his mental fatigue had increased significantly, and this would only affect his combat ability.

He once suggested to the Research and Development Department that he use the same type of device as Lin, but Lin objected. At that time, he did not understand why Lin would stop him, who was similar to Lin or even more outstanding, from using the Phase Transfer Device.

In retrospect, Lin was merely preventing others from following in his footsteps.

For the young couple below, the scene before them was nothing short of a horror science fiction movie come to life. The dome of the world had been shattered, and people shrouded in Black Mist were fighting against people covered in high-tech equipment. The aftershocks from their every move could destroy a street, and if they were not careful, they would probably be torn to pieces.

"Darling, my dear, protect the children..."

The husband's pupils constricted with fear. He shielded his wife and child behind him, swallowed hard, picked up a steel bar from the ground, and tried to hide his family in the shadow of the ruins.

Don't come and destroy our happiness.

Kevin kept glancing at the family out of the corner of his eye. He didn't attack again, but instead remained in a stalemate with the Sixth Herrscher, carefully waiting for them to hide in a safe place.

But he forgot one thing: in such a fierce battle, any moment of distraction could become a fatal weakness.

"Boom!"

The Black Mist suddenly rushed in from his blind spot, and by the time he reacted, the creature's natural enemy was already almost face to face with him!

Fortunately, he activated Phase Shift at the last moment, disappeared completely, and then reappeared in another place half a breath later, covered in cold sweat.

But after he realized where he was, his fingers and expression froze.

"No, don't come any closer!" the husband yelled, holding up the bent steel bar and shouting at Kevin, who was flying above them.

Kevin didn't have time to make any expression; he only had one thought in his mind.

Hurry up.

He pushed the aircraft with all his might; he couldn't stay here for even a second... no, not even a fraction of a second!

The Sixth Herrscher will target him!

A streak of azure light rushed past the family's heads, and Kevin flew back into the sky.

However, before he could even relax, a cloud of dark mist burst forth.

It hit the family squarely where they were.

When the fog dissipated, what remained... no, there was nothing left there at all.

Valentine's Day Special Chocolate

"Strange... strange..."

In the large conference room, a short-haired girl with highlights walked back and forth uncomfortably, carrying a beautifully packaged bag of chocolates. She muttered to herself, and every now and then a strange blush would appear on her face, accompanied by a low laugh that was a mixture of shyness and eagerness.

Simply put, it means appearing to be immersed in a fantasy of wanting to reject someone.

A few heads peeked out from the conference room door.

The red-haired woman glanced at the girl's expression with a hint of disgust. "This is very abnormal..."

The white-haired youth nodded in agreement. "Indeed..."

The disheveled man in the white coat scratched his greasy hair. "Huh? What's wrong with that? Even I know it's Valentine's Day."

"... Didn't you notice?" Kevin pushed up his glasses and asked seriously.

"What do you see? Isn't this just a normal girl planning to give her crush chocolates?" Delta looked at the two clowns helplessly. "And where did those glasses of yours come from?"

"This was given to me by Mei..."

"Ugh, that's enough. Why aren't you here with your girlfriend today?" Delta, the oldest of the group, stroked his beard and gave Himiko, who was still intently spying on the soul, a knowing look. "And you, why did you drag me and him along? I still have a lot of things to do. Let the young people date if they want, it's not like the Fire Moths have any rules..."

Himiko turned her head and interrupted, "Do you know who Soul likes?"

"Huh? Who knows..."

"Forest."

Delta paused for a second. "... She has no chance."

"No, you're denying it way too quickly..."

"Is Lin difficult to deal with?" Delta spoke faster than her this time, speaking fluently as if she didn't know anything about him. "In my opinion, Lin is not difficult to deal with at all. He is indifferent to everyone on the surface, but he rarely completely refuses people. Even if he verbally refuses a request, he will still fulfill the request despite his reluctance."

"Simply put, if you keep pestering him, he won't be able to resist. It would be best to force him. You should know about the Far East comic series called 'Reluctantly Showing You His Underwear,' right? Lin might actually do that. And then, no matter how unwilling he is, Lin is a very responsible person. Once things progress in your relationship, he won't refuse anymore."

"In short, Lin is probably the easiest man to deal with among the Fire Moths, after all, he is only harsh on himself."

Kevin and Himiko in disbelief at Delta's long-winded speech. He actually... knew Lin better than they did. No, perhaps Delta knew Lin better than Lin himself.

"That's not right. According to you, the success rate of using the Soul technique should be quite high."

"So..." Delta sighed, pointing to the soul who hadn't noticed the doorway at all, "This little girl is the type who idolizes Lin and is completely obedient to him, which is exactly the opposite of the conditions above. If she approached Lin, and Lin talked about his ideas and then refused, she would definitely accept him."

"Anyway, this little girl has no chance. It would be better to find someone who can pester Lin or force him."

Delta shrugged.

"By the way... where's Lin?"

"Who is that person? Is there such a person at headquarters?"

"He's so handsome... no, he's so beautiful... uh, no, that's not right either..."

"Don't you think his demeanor is somewhat familiar...?"

"... The helmeted man?"

"..."

"..."

"Hahaha, how is that possible? That helmeted person is a magical creature with a blank space above the neck, cursed to never be able to remove the helmet. How could there be a novel plot where someone who never shows their face actually has a flawless, perfect appearance?"

"Yeah, yeah, even I, a guy, was mesmerized. That helmeted man couldn't possibly look like that..."

Lin, who wasn't wearing a helmet, awkwardly adjusted his scarf and glanced at the two soldiers who suddenly burst into laughter as they passed by.

His helmet was undergoing a system upgrade in the Research and Development Department, and his hat and hooded clothes had just been taken to be washed. Helpless, he grabbed a light red scarf and wrapped it tightly around his nose and below.

Anyway, it's only today.

Upon entering the Squad Seven's meeting room, the complete silence made him pause. He then noticed a note on the table, picked it up, and glanced at it—

"Captain, Captain Himiko took Hua and me to the Squad Five's meeting room for drinks. She asked you to come back and pick us up. I wanted to refuse, but I couldn't resist, so I left this note. Respectfully yours, Immer."

"..."

"Will your trick work?"

Delta, holding a cup of sake and covering her forehead, looked at the drunken Soul and asked Himiko, who was drinking beer heavily beside her.

"Don't worry, I know Himiko's drinking habits better than anyone. When she's drunk, she often doesn't even know what she's doing. Giving her a chocolate and asking for a kiss should be more than enough." Himiko's expression was extremely smug.

"Are you sure?"