The Wings of Origin

"Signal lost!"

The silver-haired female warrior suddenly vanished. It wasn't confirmed if she died at Ganesha's feet, a situation that naturally raised many questions. However, what people 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 stated firmly, "The experiment will continue. It's part of the plan."

The assistant could only nod.

Holding the experiment report, she said to Dr. Mei, "The assault team has made contact with the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Ganesha. A total of 5 people are missing."

After speaking, the assistant sighed, "Currently, no one has awakened the Hyper-Evolution Factor."

She closed the experiment report and said with disdain, "Hmph, in the hands of awakened trash, the Tenth Divine Key is no different from a regular weapon."

With a single sentence, she sentenced everyone in the assault team to death: "Let's quickly arrange the next experiment, Dr. Mei."

However, Dr. Mei didn't think so: "No, wait a moment..."

Ganesha roamed the ruined streets with impunity. On the rooftop of a nearby building, Fu Hua watched its arrogant and leisurely every move.

"The intelligence from headquarters clearly didn't mention an Emperor-class Honkai Beast..." she pursed her lips.

"As expected, we were treated as... pawns." Fu Hua clenched her fist, feeling such intense despair once again. She understood the purpose of this mission now. The higher-ups were deliberately sending them to their deaths to test something.

She remembered the helplessness and despair she felt when her hometown, Canghai City, was destroyed.

That day, her hometown was annihilated. The city was filled with white monsters. Flames reduced everything to ashes, and Honkai Beasts rampaged through the city, slaughtering indiscriminately. Blood stained every corner, and broken Mortals let out eerie hisses and screams one after another. All she could do was run and constantly hide.

"Yo, still alive?" She opened her eyes and found a red-haired Valkyrie standing before her, like a beam of guiding light from heaven. This red-haired Valkyrie must have been an angel leading her away from confusion and weakness.

"Follow me, I'll teach you how to fight." The pleasant voice seemed to linger in her ears.

From that moment on, the angel in Fu Hua's mind was no longer blonde as in myths and legends, but Himiko's fiery red hair.

"So, I can't keep running away over and over again." She tightly gripped the sword in her hand, her thoughts racing. The superiors couldn't have just sent them to die; it went against any military or scientific common sense. There had to be a reason, and that reason was the key to her survival in this mission!

The Divine Key in her hand felt cold. This mission was different from previous ones: they were injected with a mysterious serum and issued Divine Keys. Therefore, the key must be related to these two things.

Fu Hua pondered for a while. The mysterious serum seemed to have no effect on her. She knew her own physical condition best; she hadn't displayed any extraordinary performance. The breakthrough must lie with the Divine Key. However, her fallen comrades had said at the last moment that the Divine Key had no special effect on Ganesha.

Perhaps the serum needed a long time to take effect, but could waiting for today and tomorrow kill Ganesha? Would they, who had failed the mission, still have value to headquarters? Even if she returned, she would face criticism. The title "Companion of the Witch" would carry the meaning of a deserter. Even if she didn't care about her own reputation, she absolutely would not allow her captain, Himiko, to be insulted.

"I can't run," she said softly, as if speaking to herself, and also to her long-dead captain. She slowly searched for Ganesha's weakness. Honkai Beasts, after all, were based on reality.

She thought to herself, "My companions who study Honkai Beasts told me that Ganesha's real-world prototype is the Indian white elephant." What were an elephant's weaknesses? Its head? Or its soft belly? She had once heard that an elephant shot in the head with a hunting rifle wouldn't die. She figured it must be that the skull wasn't penetrated, so Ganesha's head must be very hard.

What about the soft belly? If she chose to slide under Ganesha to attack it, she would definitely be crushed into a pulp. It seemed more feasible to make Ganesha flip over and then attack its belly.

"I've got it," she had an idea.

Her feet pushed off the ground forcefully, scattering dust and leaving spiderweb-like cracks. She charged directly towards Ganesha's head. She didn't intend to kill Ganesha with a single blow, but to lodge the Divine Key into Ganesha's head, allowing her to stand on Ganesha's head, thereby making Ganesha shake its head and then flip over.

Why not attack its back? Because Fu Hua feared Ganesha would curl into a ball and roll. Attacking its hard head to provoke Ganesha into shaking its head was a good method.

The long sword clashed with the giant beast at close range, sparks flying. The sword tip opened a small crack on Ganesha's head. Ganesha let out a miserable howl and, disregarding its Emperor-class Honkai Beast dignity, began to shake its head wildly. Fu Hua continued to exert force, trying to embed the Divine Key deeper.

At this critical moment, "crack," the sword tip of the Divine Key shattered into pieces. Fu Hua was thrown in front of Ganesha, her eyes filled with disbelief and despair. Her hard-won conviction crumbled along with the shattered Divine Key.

"Boom—" Ganesha furiously unleashed a concentrated beam of light at Fu Hua. She instinctively shielded herself with her hands but was still sent flying. "Bang!" Fu Hua flew towards the buildings behind her, piercing through one skyscraper after another, leaving only a large hole.

She knelt on the ground.

Fu Hua, usually cold and indifferent, couldn't stop her tears from flowing. Even with her eyes closed, the tears continued to pour. She roared at the sky in despair, "Still not enough... Captain, I really can't do anything..."

In boundless despair, a holy white light suddenly illuminated her entire body. She opened her eyes and saw her captain before her, the red-haired angel reaching out to her with a smile.

"Are you here to pick me up..." Fu Hua also reached out her hand, and the captain gently took it. It felt as if she were holding hope. Fu Hua softly pleaded, "Like before, tell me what to do, Captain..."

Suddenly, the scene changed. A chilling cold permeated the air. The captain before her died in blue ice.

Her captain, Himiko, was her savior and her mentor. But a year ago, Himiko had suddenly become a Law-Ruler without any warning. Her squad was also annihilated, leaving only Fu Hua. This was why she was called the "Companion of the Witch."

"No, before I figure out why she became a Law-Ruler, I still..." Fu Hua's eyes became firm again. The outstretched hand grasped the white light, and golden light overflowed from her palm. Her shattered resolve re-coalesced, but this time, it would not break.

"I can't die."

[Hyper-Evolution Factor reaction detected, morphing in conjunction with Hyper-Evolution Factor]

The Divine Key that had fallen beside her cracked and morphed. Finally, it gathered in Fu Hua's hand, taking the form of a pair of gauntlets. A pair of cyan wings also extended from Fu Hua's back, and her blue eyes turned crimson.

Upon witnessing this, the researchers in [The Base] jumped up excitedly.

"Great! The research on the Hyper-Evolution Factor is a success!"

"Another Fusion Warrior is born!"

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

But Dr. Mei pursed her lips, "No, everything has just begun..."

PS:

[1] "No, before I figure out why she became a Law-Ruler, I still..." Fu Hua's eyes became firm again. The outstretched hand grasped the white light, and golden light overflowed from her palm. Her shattered resolve re-coalesced, but this time, it would not break.

"I can't die."

Suddenly, Ganesha spoke human words 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 your dream."

[2] The author will be absent for a period in November as I need to prepare for exams.