Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers-Chapter 251: Now It’s Elysia Time~

"967,832,185..."

"967,832,160..."

"967,832,089..."

Sweat dripped onto Elvin's head, sliding down his bangs to the tip of his pen, finally falling with a tremble. The numbers on the screen before him flickered constantly, representing the ever-decreasing count of surviving humans on the Mu Continent.

Don't misunderstand. While a significant portion of the decrease was due to earthquakes and other disasters caused by continental drift, the vast majority was because...

"Captain Michael, could you maybe back up a bit? We really don't need to be this close..." Nuwa glanced at the two men whose bodies were practically overlapping, sticking out her tongue.

Crack— Crack—

Michael's ten fingers pressed hard onto the desk, unknowingly leaving ten indentations. Sweat fell like rain, drenching Elvin beneath him. But Michael had no time for bantering with Elvin now. After many years, his brain finally felt a slight, sharp pain again.

His eyes were fixed on the satellite images popping up below the numbers, each tagged with latitude and longitude. Michael narrowed his eyes, instantly locating all the humans in the images, then bundled them all up and stuffed them into a spatial rift.

By the time they were thrown out, they were already on the coast of East Asia, rebuilt over several years. He had been maintaining this work for half an hour.

Michael looked up at the number: "967,831,789..."

His eyelids twitched uncontrollably. At this rate, he would need approximately two hundred and eighty hours of continuous work to transfer the entire population of the Mu Continent to a safe zone.

"I really have to thank the United Government for this... If there were truly two billion people, I wouldn't be able to handle it..." Michael couldn't help but laugh internally—half bitter, half cold.

Prometheus's real-time satellite imagery captured less than one billion people, an astonishing number. Was skimming off basic living supplies really worth this much deception?!

But even with the target number halved, relying solely on Michael's power to transfer everyone before the Mu Continent was completely swallowed by the Sea of Quanta was nothing short of impossible.

"The underwater city of New Atra, beneath Te Moana Kino City, has drifted to less than ten nautical miles from the Eye of the Deep!"

Michael slammed his fist onto the table. He slowly stood up, finally ceasing this ultimately futile struggle on a macro level.

Elvin finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Nuwa, quick! Get me a towel! And an oxygen tank! I'm running out of air!"

Michael pursed his lips, about to apologize but feeling awkward. Instead, a gust of cyan wind appeared out of nowhere, instantly clearing Elvin's airways. Simultaneously, a wave of warmth radiated from Michael; the sweat on his body... crystallized into salt frost.

"What's wrong?" Mei's inquiry arrived promptly. She had been monitoring the situation outside from the command center's inner room.

"There's simply not enough time. Instead of saving one at a time, it's better to use this time to think of a better solution."

The atmosphere turned somewhat cold. Michael rubbed his stubbled face. He knew his words might sound overly ruthless—according to Prometheus's calculations, the Mu Continent would be completely swallowed in about a day. The "save one at a time" approach could potentially rescue nearly a hundred million people.

But that was the ideal scenario.

The pseudo-black hole would last two hours at most; the Ninth Herrscher wouldn't give them that time.

Michael had also tried to directly close the Eye of the Deep. But the closer he got to the pseudo-black hole, the more distorted space became. When he channeled his Space Authority, attempting to stitch the Sea of Quanta's gate shut with golden threads, the distorted threads actually pulled the gate wider open.

If he hadn't been mentally prepared and retracted his power immediately, perhaps half the Earth would be gone by now.

He hadn't expected Mei to be even more ruthless than him: "If we really can't manage it, then don't. As long as we can eliminate the Ninth Herrscher in time, sacrificing the entire Mu Continent is completely worth it."

Mei's subtext was clear—after all, the total population of the Mu Continent was "only" less than a billion, "still" less than a third of the current global population. The priority was undisputed.

The trolley problem that had plagued everyone in Fire Moth for years was readily solved at this moment.

Because when the trolley truly reached the fork in the road, everyone naturally made their choice.

Michael closed his eyes and took two steps back, sitting down on the steps. He continuously cracked his knuckles, producing a series of sharp popping sounds.

He was calculating relentlessly in his mind.

He possessed eight Authorities. Not all were mastered as proficiently as the first two, nor were all suitable for combat. But the possibilities they granted him were the most precious, the most enviable—Michael remembered Captain Himeko's words.

And now, the fate of the Mu Continent was sealed. Even if not swallowed by the Sea of Quanta, it was destined to break apart under the influence of gravity. The people and things on the Mu Continent couldn't be saved...

But was there truly, truly no chance of salvation?

Michael refused to believe it.

Each Honkai Eruption was a step on a staircase. Twelve steps in total, leading finally to the Herrscher of Finality.

Michael had previously focused only on moving forward, rarely looking back to see how many humans could still stand beside him on each step.

Initially, he only cared about himself and Ely. Until recently, he had only focused on people he knew. Counting carefully, he had indeed changed the fate of several individuals.

From Carole to Himeko, then Dystopia, Blanka... As a result, he had inevitably become greedy—

This time, facing a predetermined fate, he wanted to make more changes.

"This battle is extraordinary. The enemy controls gravity, and there's the influence of the Sea of Quanta. We cannot fight it directly, but that doesn't mean we're helpless against it." Mei looked at the contemplative Michael, choosing not to disturb him. Instead, she turned to lay out her battle plan:

"The method is simple—since we cannot fight it in reality, let's change the battlefield! We have so many psychic-sensitive MANTISes; we'll fight it directly with consciousness!"

"However, most psychic MANTISes only possess minor psychic abilities. Even in a battle of consciousness, they might not be a match for a Herrscher... No, even surviving would be difficult." Su had the most authority to speak on this. Not every psychic MANTIS was Aponia. Possessing psychic abilities didn't mean being invincible in conscious combat.

If judged solely by psychic ability, who could be stronger than the Eighth Herrscher? Yet her primary combat method involved dragging people into dreams, waiting for their bodies to fail on their own.

The reason was that combat power in the consciousness space is still based on one's actual combat power. Psychic MANTISes only get some ability-based bonuses, but these bonuses, limited by their own combat strength, are minimal.

Not to mention, not all psychic MANTISes could master "consciousness" level powers. Many, like Dystopia, had abilities more focused on telekinetically manipulating surrounding objects.

Furthermore, MANTISes typically needed two to three years to initially develop their abilities, becoming stronger over time. But most, including Su, had only been MANTISes for less than a week.

Honestly, it felt a bit underwhelming, because...

Not everyone who awakens psychic abilities can rewrite reality with a flick of their wrist...

"Hmm, perhaps you misunderstood my meaning." Mei shook her head. Her understanding of psychic MANTISes was no less than theirs; she wouldn't make such a simple mistake.

"Mei means that the psychic MANTISes will use their abilities to bring combat-capable individuals into the Ninth Herrscher's consciousness, right?" Michael appeared at the entrance of the inner room at some point.

"Excluding Aponia, even for Su and Ato, achieving this wouldn't be easy. It might even overload their brains, leading to... However... isn't that what I'm here for!"

"You've already developed the Eighth Herrscher's Authority to this extent?" Authorities weren't fully mastered just by possessing them. Although Michael had seven Authorities previously, the most frequently used were Reason and Void.

Development of Thunder, Ice, and Flame hadn't lagged, just used less often. Wind Authority, he had no idea how to integrate into his combat style, so it fared worse than Space Authority, mostly used for ventilation and drying.

For Michael to develop the newly acquired Eighth Herrscher Authority to a level surpassing all other psychic MANTISes in just a few days, it was hard to say whether it was his talent or if the Authority simply suited him perfectly.

"Hmm? Did you just mean you could..." Mei struggled to find the right words.

"Not sure. Let me try first."

Before Mei could reply, she found her surroundings transformed into boundless white.

"This place is..." Ely's whisper came from behind. Mei turned to see Kevin, Kalpas, Sakura, and Su appear sequentially in this space.

"While reserving some power, this should be enough." Michael's voice echoed from all directions. But in the blink of an eye, everyone's consciousness returned to reality.

"What did you mean by reserving some power?"

"Simple. Regarding the Mu Continent, I don't think we've reached the point where giving up is the only option."

"But you tried just now; there isn't enough time. It's better to focus all power on fighting the Ninth Herrscher. With your strength, you could probably defeat the Ninth Herrscher with your consciousness alone, without going through so much trouble."

Michael smiled. A hint of amusement clearly flashed in Mei's eyes, yet she insisted on feigning indifference, pretending to be purely rational...

What was this, deliberately pushing him?

Sensing Michael saw through her thoughts, she cleared her throat awkwardly. Just as she was about to voice her question, Kevin, seemingly reading her mind, beat her to it:

"Stop keeping us in suspense, Michael. At least tell us if you need us to cooperate in any other way."

"Not necessary." Michael shook his head. "This whole thing only requires me and the Second Divine Key in Vill-V's hands. By the time the pseudo-black hole dissipates, about two hours should have passed, right?"

Pairs of eyes brimming with curiosity stared at him, making him flustered. He tried to deflect with other words, not intentionally hiding anything, but reluctant to shatter everyone's hopes.

But thinking it over, they had to face it sooner or later. Compared to the pain of shattered hope, a preemptive dose of reality was better—a lesson Michael learned himself.

So he said with feigned ease: "Well! Use your imagination. Our goal is to protect the lives of nearly one billion people on the Mu Continent. If that's the case, why must we be confined to this world?"

Elysia reacted first, letting out an "Oh."

Kevin, having drifted through World Bubbles, followed suit. As for the others, perhaps they understood, or perhaps they refused to believe.

Mei's lips twitched into a smile that was hard to classify as pained or relieved: "Michael, isn't this plan of yours a bit too crazy..."

"Coiling the entire Mu Continent into a World Bubble, allowing it to survive independently after being swallowed by the Sea of Quanta. With my power plus the Second Divine Key, it should be possible. Later, we can initiate other plans to find this World Bubble and reconnect it to the main world. A pretty good plan, right?"

Silence fell upon the group.

Life and death, existence and non-existence, have always been among the most difficult philosophical questions. In this way, the billion people of the Mu Continent would indeed survive biologically, but sociologically... they would be severed from everyone else in this world, thus ceasing to exist in that context...

As for "later, we can initiate other plans, find this World Bubble, and reconnect it to the main world," everyone took it as Michael's attempt at consolation.

Only Mei's eyes shimmered with an indescribable light.

"Of course, there's one more problem—during the process of defeating the Ninth Herrscher, the clash between the gravity it emits and the energy from the Sea of Quanta will periodically become unbalanced. The Imaginary Barrier I set up is no longer sufficient to mitigate the tectonic movement..."

"So you need me to absorb all this excess energy, right?" Kosma leaned against the corner wall, discreetly swatting away the hands of Dystopia and Elysia, who were stroking his horns from either side before speaking.

As he spoke, his arm held horizontally before him twisted into claws amidst blue light—proof of undergoing the second MANTIS surgery and gaining control over artificial Honkai Eruption.

Michael pursed his lips—That Mobius, she works fast. Hmm, just as expected.

He spread his hands and praised exaggeratedly, syllable by syllable: "Cor-rect-a-mun-do—"

---||---

"Woohoo—"

Two giant mechanical arms crossed to block the Herrscher's attack. The mechanical claw's wrist suddenly twisted backward, clamping onto the Herrscher's left wrist.

The mechanical claw exerted continuous force, causing the armor plating on the Herrscher's left wrist to dent inwards repeatedly. Vill-V seemed intent on severing the Herrscher's left wrist this way.

But clearly, she was taking too long.

Although the Herrscher's right hand had been turned into ice crystals by Sakura's strike, the main arm remained. Enduring the pain, it twisted its body, swinging its right arm horizontally in a wide arc.

Before the attack even landed, the stirred-up water waves nearly made Vill-V lose her footing. But she was prepared, relaxing her body and letting the pseudo-black hole's gravity pull her backward—

"Sorry, Anti-Michael Armor No. 3!"

A creation consisting only of an upper torso and two mechanical claws—hard to describe what it resembled—disintegrated into a pile of strangely shaped gears and parts upon impact. One of the mechanical arms was caught by the Herrscher and thrown towards Vill-V.

"Now, please welcome Anti-Kevin Armor No. 38!"

Using the Second Divine Key beneath her, another bizarre conglomerate of gears was summoned. It seemed to be the counterpart to the previous Anti-Michael Armor No. 3... the former had only an upper body and two arms, the latter only a lower body and two legs...

Vill-V's upper body was pulled backward by the pseudo-black hole's gravity, while her lower body was secured in the pilot seat of Anti-Kevin Armor No. 38. She even quickly fastened the seatbelt.

"Good thing I installed anti-gravity mode on all armors specifically to counter Michael's spatial collapses..."

Her hand reached forward, finally touching the control panel. Without hesitation, she pressed the button—

"Prismatic Fireworks Show!"

The abdominal armor plate of Anti-Kevin Armor No. 38 opened. The 680mm railgun, salvaged from Fire Moth Unit 1, which had been gathering dust in storage until recently modified by Vill-V, unfolded and extended its barrel to fifty meters.

BOOM!

An armor-piercing round shot out along the illuminated rail, piercing through the mechanical arm of Anti-Michael Armor No. 3, the remaining impact knocking it aside. Pulled by the pseudo-black hole, it grazed past Anti-Kevin Armor No. 38.

"Wait! Hey! What are you doing? Don't grab that!"

The Ninth Herrscher rushed forward. During the railgun's charging interval, it tucked the weapon under its left armpit, simultaneously delivering a fierce kick with its right foot, directly yanking the railgun out.

"ROAR!"

Holding the railgun barrel reversed, it slammed downwards. Vill-V's lips twitched as she softly uttered a number:

"121!"

If the perspective zoomed out, one would see the swirling broken parts and gears in the surrounding seawater suddenly slow down, eventually sinking gently towards the seabed.

Unfortunately, two minutes had exhausted all her reserves. But fortunately, she had held on until now—the pseudo-black hole's gravity vanished in the previous second.

She raised her head, facing the cannon barrel drawing ever closer.

She had no strength left to fight back. Of course, she didn't need to anymore.

On this point, she had absolute confidence in her comrades.

Sure enough, the cannon barrel slammed down but met no solid impact. The Ninth Herrscher looked puzzledly at the empty space before it, blinking reflexively.

When its eyes opened again, it saw boundless white.

Kevin, Elysia, Kalpas, and Sakura stood before, behind, left, and right of it, forming an encirclement. Su was further away; his task wasn't direct combat but using psychic power to limit the Ninth Herrscher's gravitational influence within the consciousness space.

Kevin bounced lightly twice, his toes barely leaving the ground. He flicked out two pistols from his belt with his index fingers, holding them reversed grip and bringing them together before his chest.

Massive amounts of Honkai Energy surged from the halved core. Blazing streams of fire flowed downwards, the red light solidifying into the blade of a greatsword.

Kevin shouldered the Cleaver of Shamash and stated coldly: "Double gravity, that's enough. Watch closely, I'm about to unleash an incredible attack!"

BOOM!

The Ninth Herrscher dropped to one knee. The Judgment of Shamash strike, powerful enough to destroy half a city, merely cut through the armor plate, leaving a wound three inches deep on the Herrscher's knee. The spewing flames surged backward, melting the armor on the Herrscher's lower leg to an orange-red glow.

"Sakura!"

Kevin angled the greatsword, the edge cutting a circle. As Kevin charged forward relentlessly, sparks flew erratically between the blade and the armor plate.

Charging tens of meters in the blink of an eye, Kevin swung Shamash, the blade sweeping horizontally. From a third-person perspective, it looked like he was slashing towards the oncoming Sakura.

But how could that be?

Sakura pushed off with her calf, tapped her left toes on the ground, leaped slightly, then tapped her right toes onto the sweeping blade of Shamash.

Kevin forcefully altered his movement, changing the horizontal sweep to an upward slash. Sakura used this force to fly directly upwards.

As if having eyes in the back of its head, the Herrscher quickly twisted its body, fell onto its backside, and sat down. Under the influence of psychic power, its severed right wrist regenerated a palm. Taking advantage of Sakura's slowed movement under gravity's influence, the Herrscher spread its five fingers and swiped.

Sakura, unable to gain leverage mid-air, remained calm. Back on the Mu Continent, she could sever the Herrscher's hand with one strike. Although she had the advantage of the Herrscher being newly born and confused then, it at least meant the Herrscher's hand defense was weak. Replicating that strike wasn't impossible.

She pushed out her ice blade with her thumb, the habaki scraping against the scabbard mouth, sending ice shards flying—

"Momentary..."

The chilling blade light swung out but struck empty air. She watched the Herrscher get knocked aside by Kalpas's shoulder check, her lips twitching awkwardly. Then, without hesitation, she twisted her body mid-air and charged towards the Herrscher again.

This pure white world momentarily became a duet of ice and fire.

It turned out Kiel's description wasn't entirely baseless, though certainly exaggerated. The giant mecha made with a flesh-and-blood base was far more agile than ordinary mecha. The storms kicked up by its limbs were enough to destroy skyscrapers. But its excessive size remained an insurmountable disadvantage—it was too easy to hit.

However, under double gravity, Kevin and the others' movements were inevitably affected. A single evasion error would result in at least serious injury.

Su was also under immense pressure, constantly suppressing the Ninth Herrscher's ability; otherwise, the gravitational influence would be at least tenfold.

He secretly opened his eyes, glancing at the only one not participating, Elysia, who stood still, eyes closed, silently experiencing everything.

Her hands clenched and unclenched. Michael's earlier words drifted through her mind: "No need to suppress yourself. Finish this quickly. Even if you fall into severe metamorphosis, I can reverse it within the consciousness space."

And turning around, he had secretly pulled her aside—

"Elysia, have you truly... experienced that power of yours?"

"Hahahahaha! Hahahahahahk—"

The battle raged on. Kalpas roared with laughter as he drove a pillar forged from lava into the Herrscher's calf, pinning it to the ground, only to be swatted away the next moment.

Silently, snowflakes fell. The momentary blade reappeared. Light and shadow seemed to dim for an instant, then the Herrscher's other calf also turned into flying ice crystals.

"Judgment—of Shamash!"

Kevin gritted his teeth, a purple horn sprouting from his head. Flames and frost surged from his body simultaneously. With a loud BANG, bright flames engulfed the entire space at that moment, incinerating the Herrscher's lower body.

Kevin's legs weakened, but he forced himself to twist his body. Honkai Energy surged, ice growing along Shamash's blade, the overflowing cold air freezing even the residual flames beneath his feet.

But suddenly, weight pressed down on his shoulder. His previously smooth movement almost ground to a halt.

Instinctively glancing at Su, he saw him collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. The intense battle had allowed the Herrscher to break through his suppression.

"Not good!"

As the Herrscher's upper body fell, it spun around, swatting both Sakura and Kevin away with its hands.

"Elysia!"

Fists clenched tightly.

"Actually, you don't need to be afraid, nor suppress your power. I always wanted to hide this for you. But after experiencing so much, I think... people will gladly accept a Herrscher who fights for humanity, right? Besides, unlike me, you've never harmed anyone as a Herrscher. So, if even I can fully accept my Herrscher identity, you definitely can too—"

"Elysia!"

The girl's eyes snapped open. Bright pink pupils concealed the blue beneath, outlining diamond-shaped patterns.

She blinked softly, and the girlish pink gradually deepened, her eyes beginning to flow with colors like a river of stars.

"Su, help me out one more time!"

Su pushed himself up, his cheek muscles twitching. His neck elongated, the phantom image of a peacock displaying its feathers appearing behind him—

"Karma Wheel!"

The gravity affecting Elysia suddenly vanished. Conversely, the Herrscher, normally unaffected by these things, was now pinned firmly to the ground by its own immense mass due to this force.

"Now!"

"Elysia!"

"Now it's Elysia Time~"

The girl's voice echoed through heaven and earth. But when everyone turned their gaze towards her, they couldn't see her original figure.

First, a flash of light appeared where she stood, then a pink cross rose from the ground, towering towards the sky, roughly estimated to be over a thousand meters tall.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Then, the girl's form solidified from a phantom image, appearing on the cross. Her entire body was pink, her features indistinct, but the pointed ears and fluffy long hair were unmistakably Elysia's.

Before the holy and towering maiden, the hundred-meter-tall Ninth Herrscher seemed like an ant, both dirty and insignificant. In terms of size alone, perhaps only Michael at a certain past moment could compare.

Her skirt hem, like the cross, seemed to have flames flickering upon it. Though dyed pinkish-white, their heat could still be felt from afar.

Observing closely, their flickering followed a pattern, seemingly matching someone's heartbeat—or perhaps, their flickering, their temperature, all came from someone's true heart.

The maiden undid her own shackles, stepped down from the cross, and walked towards the mortal world.

Then, she grasped the void, making the gesture of drawing a bow—

"Ehehe~ I practiced this whole sequence alone for so long, but it's still not quite perfect~ Well... next time I appear in this form, I'll have to ask Eden to redesign it~"

Following the playful voice upwards, everyone realized Ely hadn't disappeared but was floating before the giant maiden's figure, dressed in pure white clothes.

"Allow me to announce in advance: the Ninth Honkai Eruption... is over~"