Wings of Origin

"Signal lost!"

The silver-haired female warrior had suddenly vanished. It was unclear whether she had died beneath Ganesha's feet, and naturally, this raised many questions. But what they wanted to know more was whether the experiment would continue. Just as the research assistant was about to ask Dr. Mei, Dr. Mei nodded at her.

Dr. Mei said firmly, "The experiment will continue. This is part of the plan."

The assistant could only nod.

Holding the experimental report, she said to Dr. Mei, "The assault team has engaged the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Ganesha. Five people are currently missing."

After saying that, the assistant sighed. "No one has awakened the Hyper-Evolution Factor so far."

She closed the report and said disdainfully, "Hmph. In the hands of trash who haven't awakened, the Tenth Divine Key is no different from an ordinary weapon."

With a single sentence, she had arbitrarily sentenced everyone on the assault team to death. "We should arrange the next experiment as soon as possible, Dr. Mei."

However, Dr. Mei did not think so. "No, wait..."

Ganesha prowled the ruined streets without restraint. From the rooftop of a nearby building, Fu Hua watched its every arrogant, complacent movement.

"The intelligence from headquarters never mentioned an Emperor-class Honkai Beast..." She pressed her lips together tightly.

"So we really were treated as... expendable pawns." Fu Hua clenched her fists. Once again, she felt such intense despair. She already understood the purpose of this mission. The higher-ups had deliberately sent them to their deaths to test something.

She remembered how powerless and desperate she had been when her hometown, Canghai City, was destroyed.

That day, her hometown had been annihilated. White monsters filled every corner of the city. Blazing fire reduced everything to ashes, while Honkai Beasts slaughtered people throughout the streets. Blood stained every corner red, and broken undead rose and fell as they let out eerie, piercing shrieks. The only thing she could do was run and hide without end.

"Hey, you still alive?" She opened her eyes and found a red-haired Valkyrie standing before her. It was like a beam of light sent by heaven to guide her toward a way out. This red-haired Valkyrie had to be an angel who would lead her out of confusion and weakness.

"Come with me. I'll teach you how to fight." That pleasant voice seemed to still linger by her ears.

From that moment onward, the angel in Fu Hua's mind was no longer blond like those in myth and legend, but had Himiko's flame-red hair.

"So I can't keep running away again and again." She gripped the sword in her hand as her thoughts raced. Her superiors could not have sent them here merely to die. That defied all military and scientific logic. There had to be meaning behind this, and that meaning was the key to her survival!

The Divine Key in her hand felt cold. This mission differed from the previous ones: they had been injected with a mysterious serum and issued Divine Keys. The breakthrough had to be related to those two things.

Fu Hua thought deeply for a while. The mysterious serum seemed to have had no effect on her. She knew her own physical condition best, and she had displayed no extraordinary improvement. Then the key had to lie with the Divine Key. Yet her fallen companion had said at the end that the Divine Key had shown no special effect against Ganesha.

Perhaps the serum needed a long time to take effect, but could they wait until today or tomorrow and simply wait for Ganesha to die? Would they still have any value to headquarters after failing the mission? Even if she returned, she would face even more condemnation. "The witch's companion"—that title would carry the meaning of deserter. Even if she did not care about her own reputation, she would never allow anyone to insult her captain, Himiko.

"I can't run." She spoke softly, as if saying it to herself and to her long-dead captain. Slowly, she began searching for Ganesha's weakness. Honkai Beasts were ultimately modeled after things in reality.

I heard from companions who studied Honkai Beasts that Ganesha's real-world counterpart is the Indian white elephant. What weaknesses did elephants have? Their heads? Or their soft bellies? She had once heard of an elephant surviving a rifle shot to the head. It must have been because the bullet had not penetrated its skull. Ganesha's head had to be extremely hard.

What about its soft belly? If she chose to slide beneath Ganesha and attack it, she would undoubtedly be crushed into a puddle of flesh. It seemed more feasible to make Ganesha turn over first, then attack its abdomen.

"I've got it." A plan formed in her mind.

She kicked off the ground with all her strength. Dust scattered, leaving behind spiderweb-like cracks. She charged straight at Ganesha's head. She was not trying to kill Ganesha in one strike, but to wedge the Divine Key into its head so she could gain a foothold atop it, forcing Ganesha to shake its head and turn over.

Why not attack its back? Because Fu Hua feared Ganesha would simply curl into a ball and roll away. Attacking its hard head to lure it into shaking itself was a much better method.

The longsword collided with the giant beast at close range, scattering sparks. The blade carved a tiny crack into Ganesha's head. Ganesha let out a miserable howl, utterly disregarding the dignity of an Emperor-class Honkai Beast as it began violently shaking its head. Fu Hua continued exerting force, trying to drive the Divine Key in deeper.

At that crucial moment, with a crack, the blade of the Divine Key shattered into pieces. Fu Hua was flung before Ganesha, her eyes filled with disbelief and despair. The conviction she had struggled so hard to strengthen collapsed along with the shattered Divine Key.

"Boom—" Ganesha furiously fired a concentrated beam at Fu Hua. She instinctively raised both arms before herself, but she was still blasted away. "Bang!" Fu Hua hurtled toward the buildings behind her, smashing through one high-rise after another and leaving only a huge hole behind.

She dropped to her knees.

Usually cold and detached, Fu Hua could not stop her tears at this moment. Even with her eyes shut, the tears still burst forth like a broken dam. She screamed desperately at the sky, "Still not enough... Captain, I really can't do anything..."

Amid boundless despair, a holy white light suddenly shone over her entire body. She opened her eyes and saw her captain before her. The red-haired angel smiled and extended a hand to her.

"Have you come to take me away...?" Fu Hua reached out as well, and her captain gently took her hand. It felt as though she held hope in her grasp. Fu Hua pleaded softly, "Just like before, tell me what to do, Captain..."

Suddenly, the scene changed. Cold air spread through the surroundings, and the captain before her died within blue ice.

Her captain, Himiko, had been both her savior and her mentor. But one year ago, Himiko had suddenly become a Herrscher without any warning. Her squad had been destroyed as a result, leaving Fu Hua as the sole survivor. That was why she had been called "the witch's companion."

"No. Before I find out why she became a Herrscher, I still..." Fu Hua's gaze hardened once more. Her outstretched hand clenched the white light in her palm, which overflowed with golden radiance. Her repeatedly shattered resolve gathered once again, but this time, it would never break.

"I can't die."

[Hyper-Evolution Factor response detected. Initiating transformation in coordination with the Hyper-Evolution Factor.]

The Divine Key that had fallen nearby broke apart and transformed. In the end, it gathered in Fu Hua's hands and became a pair of gauntlets. A pair of azure wings extended from behind her, while her blue eyes turned crimson.

At the sight, the researchers in the base excitedly jumped to their feet.

"Great! Research into the Hyper-Evolution Factor has succeeded!"

"Another Fusion Warrior has been born!"

"Dr. Mei, humanity... humanity is about to be saved!"

But Dr. Mei pressed her lips together tightly. "No. Everything is only just beginning..."

PS:

1 "No. Before I find out why she became a Herrscher, I still..." Fu Hua's gaze hardened once more. Her outstretched hand clenched the white light in her palm, which overflowed with golden radiance. Her repeatedly shattered resolve gathered once again, but this time, it would never break.

"I can't die."

Suddenly, Ganesha spoke in human language and said to Fu Hua, "No. This time, the world will not change according to your wishes."

"Fu Hua, it's time to wake up from this dream."

2 The author will disappear for a while in November because I need to prepare for exams.