The Beginning of a Miracle / A Tender Sprout

The person on stage smiled and pointed to the audience.

Her red hair, pulled back, danced like flames.

Then, she gently blew a breath.

"Puff--"

"Boom----"

The orange-red color engulfed Lin's vision, and it also engulfed the woman standing on the stage.

Himiko smiled as she gazed at the sea of fire before her.

Chapter 87 The Beginning of a Miracle

"Little Seven? Little Seven?"

The girl's unfocused pupils gradually focused amidst the soft gasps and shoving, and her thoughts returned to normal.

"What's wrong, Eri?" she asked, turning her head.

"Have you been too tired lately? You often seem to be spacing out." Elysia was a little worried about this girl, who was like a younger sister to her. She had only been with the Fire Moth for a short time and had already experienced such intense combat. "If you collapse from exhaustion, Lin will definitely scold me."

"Um... no, I was just thinking about something."

It's not hard to deduce where those recent Emperor-class Honkai Beast came from. Just from their similar structures, their appearance in pairs, and their locations all over the world, we can tell that they are actually Starry Night.

There are already over a hundred Starbursts in the Shenzhou region alone, which means that more Starbursts, or rather, Emperor-class Honkai Beast, have not appeared.

While they may not be able to rival true Emperor-class Honkai Beast in terms of ability, what's troublesome is that these Stars possess sufficient intelligence and the ability to act in unison. However, the human side's efforts in defeating the Emperor-class Honkai Beast have been unexpectedly effective. All the progress and technological advancements accumulated over the years have been put to use in this campaign, with the Titan unit and Armed Puppet shining brightly.

But that's not enough.

The girl knew that these Honkai Beasts were just appetizers used by Xingcai to test humanity. It didn't matter how many died, as long as the true collective consciousness was not destroyed, it could not be considered a victory over Xingcai.

It is unknown whether any of the branches around the world have been invaded by Starlight and obtained human data.

With no more Emperor-class Honkai Beast appearing, she knew the test was over, and Xingcai's real plan was about to begin.

They must either infiltrate or force humanity to submit in one fell swoop.

While following Elysia and the others to fight against the Emperor-class Honkai Beast, the girl has also been investigating the location of the Starry Sky's collective consciousness, that is, their main body. Now, she can confirm the location of the main body of these alien invaders and the vehicles they use for warp.

The answer is beyond Earth.

They are in Earth's Star Rail.

This also means that humanity alone has no way to defeat Xingcai, not to mention that Xingcai may also attract Planetary Honkai Beast.

She had never even seen Planetary Honkai Beast before, nor had any been born on Earth. However, this did not preclude the possibility that there were Honkai Beast outside of Earth that could occupy the surface of a planet and be comparable to or even stronger than the Herrscher.

Because the Honkai of the Earth is "special".

Therefore, the girl came up with two solutions.

"..."

However, there is only one price to pay.

"But it's really strange, Little Seven. From the first time we met until now, you've become like a completely different person." Elysia couldn't help but reach into the girl's helmet and pinch her soft cheek. "You're much cuter now."

"Eri, what would you do if I ever 'betrayed' humanity?"

The girl reached out and, instead of pushing Elysia away, gently placed her hand on Elysia's face, stroking her cheek.

"Betrayal... humanity? What are you talking about, Little Seven? You'll get a lesson from Lin if you keep spouting nonsense."

Elysia's eyes darted away for a moment, but the girl didn't see it. She didn't press the matter further and instead let go of Alicia's hand.

A person will inevitably encounter many problems during the process of growing up, and the best way to solve them is to seek answers from those who have already experienced them.

But the girl is now a fully grown adult; she has her own answers and her own plans.

"Eri, I'm sorry."

"What--"

Before Elysia could react, the girl had a syringe in her hand. In Elysia's blind spot, the girl inserted the syringe into her neck and pressed the injection button.

"Little Seven..."

"Smack."

Elysia's eyelids twitched. The girl pulled out the syringe, and within two seconds Elysia lost consciousness and collapsed into her arms.

Miracles and magic do exist, Eri, that's what you taught me.

"..."

The girl stood outside the transport plane's tarmac, the wind blowing her clothes, her deep blue eyes glowing inside her helmet as she watched the two figures displayed in the viewing window.

Kevin and Kosma.

Kevin stood silently in front of the transport plane, his face expressionless as he gripped his weapon, as if no one dared to approach him simply by standing there.

Kosma, on the other hand, was both incredulous and reluctant to accept it.

"Mei told me that when the Herrscher of Reason Core from the Previous Civilization was discovered three months ago, the Herrscher consciousness still existed inside."

"After being transported back to the headquarters of the Firemoth, the consciousness inside disappeared, and at the same time, the Soul Steel was about the mass of a human being less. At that time, you appeared in front of Lin as a new recruit."

"MSA-970, this designation does exist in the Firemoth, but it was just a researcher who had just joined the Firemoth, not a soldier."

"Even so, May did not order me to act immediately, but instead observed you until you rendered Elysia unconscious."

There was no tense atmosphere between them. In fact, Kevin was holding a weapon, but he did not point it at the girl, and the girl's hands were hanging down, showing no intention of resisting.

"I don't believe you, Herrscher, but Mei... no, humanity wants to know why you're hiding among humans, and whether there's some kind of connection or even cooperation between you and Xingcai?"

"And now, are you preparing to return to headquarters to retrieve your Herrscher Core?"

Kevin's questions came in a barrage, and the girl tilted her head and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Because I am human, and I want to help humanity, I need Herrscher Core."

"..."

Absurd.

The words that appeared simultaneously in the minds of Kevin and Kosma.

"I know that humans won't believe me and will never return the Herrscher Core to me." The girl reached out and unlocked the helmet. She hugged the sides of the helmet and took it off. "In fact, that's exactly what should be done. After I get the Herrscher Core back, my consciousness will be corrupted by the core again."

A simple smile appeared on her pretty face after she took off her helmet.

"But I beg you, return the Herrscher Core to me. The current Starry Sky is no enemy that humans can defeat."

"As expected, the disappearance of that star is also related to you."

"They gave up their feelings, while I gained them..."

"No further forward."

Kevin raised his gun and aimed it at the girl who had taken a step forward.

The girl threw off her helmet, took a deep breath in her most vibrant state, and then looked at Kosma with a complicated expression.

"Kosma, although we've only known each other for a short time, it's been very interesting. I think this might be what Lin meant by 'making friends'."

At this moment, Kosma's mind was in turmoil. He had only known this girl for a few days, and they had only eaten noodles together, joked around, and chatted... But had she done anything wrong?

She smiled and reached out her hand, as if to hug someone. "Can I help you?"

"No," Kevin said coldly, "You are Herrscher."

"So, it was inevitable... that it had come to this?"

The next second, a weapon appeared in the girl's hand.

Chapter Eighty-Eight: Tender Sprouts

Where am I?

In countless dark and hopeless waits, a blank consciousness quietly resides within the broken and ruined body.

"What's that over there?"

"Why is there a bump here? It wasn't here yesterday."

She couldn't see the outside world; only some faint sounds entered her consciousness—two childish voices.

Strange? Why is she here?

She searched for that vast memory that existed somewhere, but was shut out.

I can't remember anything.

No body, no eyes, no memory... only a voice from who-knows-where, reminiscing.

"This slope is so slippery, look at me, hahaha..."

"Be careful, don't fall..."

"Ouch!"

The two voices didn't leave; they seemed to be doing something, but none of it mattered to her. She simply remained there, motionless, unable to go anywhere.

But at the same time, she has no reason to exist.

Perhaps in the long course of time, she will break free from the shackles of memory, or perhaps, long ago, she lost consciousness due to an almost eternal imprisonment.

That means she might lose consciousness again very soon.

"Hmm... Don't you think this place is too empty? How about we plant something?"

"What should we plant?"

"I don't know... Let's dig up the soil here first."

A soft, rustling sound.

There was a scratching sound "near my ear".

She remained motionless, showing no reaction.

Wow! What's this! Look at this!

"What is this...? It's so strange... Is that a hand?"

"Could it be a monster? Run!"

"Tap tap tap..."

"Wait for me..."

The sound faded away, and the surroundings returned to calm. She continued to enjoy her "tranquility."

Eternal peace may be her destiny.

"..."

Something is approaching.

"Phew... It's still here..."

It was one of the childish voices; he had returned to this place, and then she heard the sound of digging again.

"... Is this a seed?"

Another voice rang out at the same time.

They were pointing at something, discussing it, and eventually came to a strange conclusion.

"This is a seed, and if you look closely, that hand looks like a root. The trees my father showed me had roots that looked like this growing underneath them."

"Then haven't we destroyed the root of this seed?"

"..."

"..."

After a long silence, one of the children suddenly dug at the soil again. "Then... let's plant it back now. I brought a seed with me. Let's plant it back together, and then water it. Maybe we can fix its damaged roots."