Each in Their Own Way / Everything

"I warned them not to underestimate you, but I ended up getting caught in the trap myself..."

Lin ignored him, reached out and grasped the long sword embedded in his shoulder, and pulled it out forcefully—

"Whoosh—"

Blood gushed out like a jet of water, splattering onto Lin's helmet, turning the once graphite-like helmet a glaring crimson.

"Hiss..." The captain gasped, almost fainting from the pain. Lin didn't even glance at him again, casually flicked the blood off the knife, put it back in the weapon case, and turned to leave.

"You are exactly the same as you were back then."

"..."

Lin stopped and stepped into the pool, looking down at his indistinct reflection.

At that time...

"Haha, have you forgotten? It's alright." The captain lowered his head slightly to catch his breath and ease the pain in his body. "You have saved many people during so many Honkai, and I am just one of them, an insignificant person who was attracted by your back view."

"I often think, 'I wish I could be a hero like you,' but in the end... cough cough..."

He gave a helpless chuckle.

"But I have a different choice from you, which is really... annoying."

After listening, Lin pondered for a few seconds, then took another step, and a cold remark drifted over in the heavy rain.

You've mistaken me for someone else.

"Sakura, Chrono, I hereby inform you that Poisoned Cocoon has officially left the High Council of the Fire Moth and become part of my personal team. If you do not agree with this decision, I can approve your withdrawal from the Poisoned Cocoon team immediately. However, your stance will be the direct evidence for your actions after this incident."

Mei's tone was as calm as ever, offering no discussion, only notification, revealing a faint indifference.

Sakura held the communicator; she had just received instructions from High Council to immediately cooperate with other peacekeeping forces to suppress the resisting members.

If necessary, they can be executed on the spot.

Such bloody and cruel orders to her own people were unparalleled, even among the missions she had undertaken.

This was neither "necessary" nor to eliminate a "tumor." She understood this when she saw Lin raise the knife and look at him with hurtful eyes.

"Hahaha... Isn't that great?" At this moment, Chrono suddenly burst into laughter. He clutched his stomach and laughed with great joy. "I was thinking about when I could cause trouble for those idiots who give orders, but I didn't expect the opportunity to come to me directly. It's perfect. Sure enough, good things happen if you live a little longer."

The destruction of the sanatorium was inextricably linked to the orders issued by the High Council of the Fire Moth. Even though Chrono witnessed Lin and Ying's actions, he knew perfectly well whose orders were behind it.

"... So, Sakura, what about you?"

"I agree."

This time, Sakura didn't know why she, who had always been hesitant, was so decisive.

Perhaps they learned that the Moth of Flames' High Council's KY Plan included all of humanity, including Rin?

Or perhaps it was Lin's cold and indifferent glance as he left?

Or perhaps, she herself had already...

"Wow, there are a lot of them."

Vill-V took a launcher from her briefcase, aimed it at the approaching mech, and pulled the trigger. The bullet instantly pierced through the mech's mechanical body and exploded inside.

"Bang!"

A wave of heat swept across her face, while Prometheus slashed down a mech that had suddenly attacked from the sky, his spear blade piercing the mech's core and firing.

At this moment, a figure wielding two giant blades blocked the oncoming mechs from behind. He wielded the giant swords with both hands, and his tail acted like a third hand, skillfully manipulating the blades to cut all the attacking mechs into pieces.

"She's pretty strong. She should be considered above average among Flame-Chaser." Vill-V glanced at Delta's fighting figure, and in her spare time, she took out the parts to assemble. "The only problem right now is where is Lin? Did he act ahead of time? Or..."

Lin disappeared a few days ago. Although Vill-V was somewhat anxious, she prioritized manufacturing what she had on hand. However, now that the High Council had begun to take action, Lin still hadn't returned. It would be a lie to say she wasn't worried.

Prometheus stopped in her tracks. Data began flashing wildly in her pupils, and then she mechanically uttered, "High-risk individual approaching."

"Thump!"

Three tall mechanical figures landed in front of her. Without looking back, Vill-V ran back behind cover. She had learned her lesson last time and tried her best not to restrict the others' movements during the fight.

Compared to ordinary mechs, they are taller and more humanoid, and their charged giant swords are as tall as a building. Just by standing there, you can feel the heat and oppression that seem to scorch you.

Prometheus was no different from them, just as an adult is no different from a child.

"Begin clearing the target."

"Begin clearing the target."

The three special mechs and Prometheus simultaneously issued a command to execute. Prometheus then transformed into a streak of light, and the Particle Beam from his gunblade struck the monitor of one of the mechs.

"Bang!"

The sparks from the exploding monitor were like fireworks, but for the special mechs, one monitor was not enough to stop them from operating. They immediately activated the secondary monitors, which, like three mountains, charged toward Prometheus.

Two thin, wire-like blue lines appeared in Prometheus's hand. She flung them out, wrapping them around the waist of one of the mechs. Then, a faint shock emanated from the heel of her boots, allowing her to nimbly dodge the incoming giant sword like a bird skimming the surface of the sea.

She grabbed the long line, using the mechs for support, and swung her body like a ballerina, leaping over the charged blades beneath her feet. She jumped onto the chest of one of the mechs, clung to it, and used the gun blade made of soul steel to pierce it, cutting a gap and relentlessly firing at the core inside.

"Bang!"

Headquarters, the Branch 10, and all branches of the Fire Moth were now engulfed in chaotic battle.

Chapter 227 Each

Disorder, chaos, and bloodshed—humanity's most primal side has been brutally exposed to everyone in today's society. Supporters and opponents of the KY Plan split into two factions, staging a partisan purge.

"Bass!"

Kevin twisted his neck, slightly dodging the sharp ice spikes. With a backhand swing, absolute cold froze the Flame-Chaser, who was also susceptible to cold energy, into a block of ice, his life force vanishing instantly.

He swung his greatsword, which shone with a light brighter than the sun, and slashed it forward!

"Boom!"

The passageway was filled with charred corpses and cold sculptures. His figure, holding the Phoenix, was like a God who spewed holy flames to judge life in the eyes of his adversaries. No one could cross the threshold of him, and no one could defeat him.

Although Kevin was showing signs of fatigue, his opponents were increasingly terrified by his terrifying destructive power. The cold sweat that flowed from their bodies evaporated in the high temperature, and they no longer dared to blindly move forward in front of the corpses of their companions.

"..."

Kevin, wearing a long-sleeved trench coat, stood before the passageway, staring silently at the people.

Today, they realized that even among Flame-Chaser, there are differences.

"Kevin, I..." Su spoke through the earpiece, but was stopped by Kevin's stern voice.

"Don't come any closer, Sue."

"..."

Kevin knew Sue couldn't bring herself to do it; she was too kind. Unlike Lin's principles, Sue's personality and her compassion as a doctor made it impossible for her to harm a human being.

So Kevin had to do it... it was something only he could do.

He has already suppressed the Flame-Chaser force. Even though their numbers are still in the hundreds, he can hold on for now. He just needs to wait for Mei to complete her plan.

He wouldn't let any mechs or Flame-Chaser pass before that.

And these people... would not be his match.

"Bang!"

Just then, he heard a "shattering" sound.

"Click".

He stared intently at the fracture created by the energy blast. High in the hurricane, a crack that seemed to exist on a completely different level had appeared out of nowhere.

Immediately afterwards, enormous wings pierced the cracks, blotting out the sky and the sun.

"Howl--------"

"This is really endless. Where are our reinforcements?"

Vill-V entrusted her entire weight to Prometheus, allowing Prometheus to carry her quickly so she could concentrate on completing the Divine Key at hand.

The outer shell of the Divine Key is merely a Soul Steel generator that guides the energy of the Herrscher Core. Without the Herrscher Core, it is almost identical to an ordinary Soul Steel weapon, but the level of technology required is incomparable to that of a hundred ordinary Soul Steel weapons... No, describing it in terms of quantity is too vulgar. It should be said that the two are not on the same level. The Divine Key is more like building a miniature structure to house the Herrscher Core than creating a weapon. It is equivalent to building a skyscraper in the palm of your hand, and the internal structure must be completely replicated.

Fortunately, she had already completed the preliminary work before leaving the Firemoth, and now she was just filling the framework with materials.

"Dr. Vill-V, we have no support."

Prometheus fired her spear at the mechs rushing in from all directions, the light of the particles vibrating the air and illuminating her profile.

She gripped the blade and thrust it backward, slicing it past Vill-V's neck, then pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The mechs that were preparing to launch a surprise attack from the ceiling fell down and turned into a pile of scrap metal.

"Currently, the resistance team led by Doctor Mei is vying for control of headquarters, and the Squad Thirteen is engaged in direct combat with the enemy Flame-Chaser force. We have no additional support."

"That's really... terrible."

Before she could finish speaking, a loud crash came from the wall of the passageway next to her. Before Vill-V could react, Prometheus grabbed her arm and threw her away.

Prometheus, on the other hand, was struck head-on by the blunt-tipped greatsword and sent flying like a bullet, crashing through walls one after another.

Vill-V lay on the rubble, gritted her teeth, and propped herself up to look at the enormous creature.

The radar didn't detect it?

The humanoid, resembling the previous elite mech, retracted its blunt-bladed greatsword. Its outer shell was covered in orange-red lines, and the heat sinks on its shoulders and elbows vibrated. Its name was imprinted on its fully armored head.

Hephaestus X3.

"Bang!"

Prometheus kicked away the rubble from the crater she had just created and emerged from it. She was covered in machine oil and dust, but she was unharmed. The toughness of Soul Steel was not something that could be broken by an attack of this magnitude.

"What's wrong!"

Delta, who had been covering the rear, also arrived. Holding a greatsword in each hand, she jumped to Vill-V's side, used her tail to help Vill-V up, and warily stared at the unusual mech.

"Dr. Vill-V, after analysis, the main component of Hephaestus X3 is Soul Steel."

"Oh..."

Soul Steel... Vill-V wasn't too surprised. Rather, she was surprised that so many mechs were made of materials other than Soul Steel. It seemed that these mechs were manufactured and designed at different times, and the KY Plan was probably launched long before the widespread use of Soul Steel.

In that case, Prometheus's advantage in physical strength is no longer valid, and the contest between him and Hephaestus will now be in terms of weapon design and combat intelligence.

Delta's eyes sharpened. "I'll join too..."

"Boom!"

This was the umpteenth time today that Delta had been pinned to the ground by the wind pressure, and the umpteenth time that her conversation had been interrupted. Delta plunged her twin swords into the ground, her tail gripping Vill-V's hand tightly to prevent her from being blown away by the wind pressure.

"High Honkai Energy reaction detected."

Prometheus's pupils switched to a deep red, so intense it seemed as if they could drip with red wine. She was more vigilant than ever before at the other colossal object that had parachuted next to Hephaestus. Judging from both the Honkai Energy reaction and its appearance, this "enemy" was more familiar.

Delta froze as the dust settled and the heavy rain poured down from the pit, striking her frail body.

A white biological shell, beneath which convulsed pinkish-purple muscles and flowing Honkai Energy, two deformed arms covered with spikes, and a body with distinct blue and red colors.

"Younger sister..."

She stared blankly at the frenzied, out-of-control, bloody... and sorrowful Honkai Beast and uttered her identity.

"Splash."

"Splash."

Lin seemed to have swum in the river, dragging his waterlogged shoes as he stepped through the puddles.

"..."

"You look like you've been put in a pressure cooker and simmered with scallions, ginger, and garlic for over ten hours." Someone was already waiting for him at the end of the road, "And now you're forced to take up arms and fight your way through countless obstacles."

Hen smoothed his soaked hair and stared into the eyes of the helmeted man in the relentless downpour.

Chapter 228 Everything