"That cry... it's a Honkai Beast!"
Elias' gaze grew serious.
Even though it was just the appearance of a relatively low-threat Honkai Beast, he could feel that the peaceful life he had been enjoying in this small town was beginning to crack.
Honkai was always like this—no matter where you tried to hide, it would find you. Like a shadow, inescapable.
"Che che~!"
A massive white figure appeared.
It stood several stories tall, and its terrifying mass made the ground tremble with every step. This was undoubtedly a disaster no ordinary person could resist.
"A Chariot-class Honkai Beast, huh? Tch! But judging by its Honkai energy concentration, it's comparable to a Templar-class Honkai Beast of the current era."
"Che che~!"
Elias furrowed his brow. Though he knew Honkai in the Previous Era was far more intense than in the present—
He hadn't expected a Chariot-class Honkai Beast to have strength on par with a Templar-class.
At this moment, the beast had already spotted Elias and Elysia. Following its destructive instincts granted by Honkai, it charged toward them.
"Ely! I'll draw it away—run!"
Elias quickly estimated his current strength. Against upper-tier Emperor-class or Judgment-level Honkai Beasts, he wouldn't stand a chance. But against one at the Templar-class level? Piece of cake!
That said, he didn't want Elysia to see him fighting—he still wanted to maintain his image in front of her.
But he forgot one thing: the girl beside him wasn't the kind to flee in fear when danger struck.
"No way—if we leave, we leave together!"
Elysia grabbed his hand, ready to run. But then she realized—if they led the monster back to the town, wouldn't that endanger everyone there?
"Elias, leave it to me. I'm fast—I can lure it away."
"Idiot. Even if you're fast, can two legs outrun four? Be good and get out of here!"
"I won't! Elias, you came to the forest just to keep me company—I won't abandon you!"
"Che che—!"
As the two argued, the Chariot-class Honkai Beast had reached them. It raised its massive forelimb—large enough to crush everything—and aimed to stomp the white-haired and pink-haired pair into one squished pile.
Chariot-class Honkai Beast: (Flirting at your age? What'll happen when you grow up? I'm smashing you now!)
Elias: "Tch! Damn it!"
Realizing there was no time to get Elysia to safety, Elias clenched his fist and activated his Herrscher powers, preparing to strike the beast with all his might.
But then—
Elysia: "I won't let you hurt Elias!"
Seeing the boy in front of her about to be crushed by the white beast, the girl's heart surged with courage. She dashed forward and stood protectively before him.
Elysia raised her delicate hand high, as if to block the stomp strong enough to flatten a tank.
"Ely!!"
Elias' eyes widened in shock. He accelerated his punch, hoping to destroy the Honkai Beast before it touched Elysia.
And the result was—almost simultaneous.
Elias' fist and Elysia's small hand both struck the Chariot-class Honkai Beast's forelimb.
Then—
"Che! Che—!"
The beast let out a pained, almost screaming sound.
Its entire body suddenly ignited in flames. Even though Elias' Herrscher of Fire powers weren't fully restored, they were more than enough to incinerate a beast of this level. And that wasn't all...
Pink crystal flowers bloomed across the Honkai Beast's body, piercing through it from the inside out.
In the blink of an eye, a beast that normally required military-grade firepower to eliminate was completely done for. The flames and the crystal flowers dissipated in the next second.
Elias: "Hm?"
Elysia: "Eh?"
Chariot-class Honkai Beast: "Che che???"
The two had been so focused on each other that they hadn't even noticed how the beast was taken down. They only felt their hands make contact—and the next moment, the Honkai Beast was gone.
But the dying Chariot-class Honkai Beast clearly felt it: two different Herrscher authorities had suddenly erupted and utterly obliterated it.
Chariot-class Honkai Beast: (Is this fair? Are human kids this terrifying now?!)
Will of Honkai: (You're facing a five-core Herrscher and a Herrscher of Origin, you know.)
Chariot-class Honkai Beast: (Huh?!)
On the other side, with the danger now resolved—if it even qualified as a crisis to begin with—Elias and Elysia stared blankly at the Honkai Beast's corpse, unsure what to do next.
Elias wasn't surprised. He had destroyed countless Honkai Beasts before. Even if he was now in a juvenile state and only had a fraction of his former power, a Chariot-class Beast was still no match.
But Elysia was stunned. The girl looked at her small hand in disbelief.
(Was that really me? How could I have that kind of power? What... am I?)
In that split second, the only thought in Elysia's mind had been that she must protect Elias. And in the next moment, something seemed to respond to that wish.
In fact, three years ago, during their very first birthday celebration together—
The crystal flower Elysia had given Elias was something she had created out of thin air.
Back then, she had searched all afternoon for a gift that felt right—be it beautiful flowers, delicious food, or even heartfelt wishes.
None of them felt good enough.
But when she thought, "I must give the most beautiful, most perfect gift to the boy who always spoils me,"
A never-wilting pink crystal flower appeared in her hand.
(I must have some kind of special power. Could I really be like those protagonists in novels? Wow, that's so cool~)
She wasn't afraid of her uniqueness. Elysia always had a bright, optimistic mindset.
"Ely! Snap out of it! What are you thinking about? Oh no, did you get scared silly?"
Elias looked at the dazed girl in worry, waving his hand in front of her face, debating whether to use a bit of Herrscher of Rebirth's authority to check her brain.
"Eh? Elias, did you say something?"
"Finally back to your senses. I was saying, it'd be best if we kept this quiet. That monster had nothing to do with us, you got it?"
"Oh~ Got it, got it! A true hero does good deeds without asking for recognition!"
Elysia nodded like a pecking chick.
Elias scratched his head with a conflicted expression.
The truth was, he just thought it was too early to make contact with anti-Honkai organizations from the Previous Era. He needed to wait until his authority was fully restored.
After adjusting their mood, the two left the forest and spent the afternoon goofing around, as if trying to completely forget the whole Honkai Beast incident.
But the next day—
That seemingly isolated countryside town was suddenly visited by a group of people in military uniforms, armed to the teeth. They even brought tanks and helicopters.
"Whoa, they actually showed up."
"Elias, are these people here because of that..."
"Shh..."
Elias gently motioned to Elysia.
Then he continued observing the armed force, but after a while, he didn't see any insignia of the burning moth.
Still, judging by the time period, Elias suspected this could be a predecessor organization to the Fire Moth.
The armed squad didn't cause any harm to the town. After asking a few questions, they simply surrounded the forest Elias and Elysia had visited the day before.
(This might be a good chance to find out how far the Honkai has spread...)
With that thought, Elias decided to sneak into their camp and see if there was any valuable intel.
After all, although Vostok 51 Town was peaceful and lovely, it was mostly isolated from the outside world—a bit like a secluded paradise.
Now, the question was how to infiltrate this heavily guarded camp...
"Emmmm..."
Elias scanned his surroundings.
His eyes landed on something, and he suddenly paused.
A dull, metallic gray body. Unassuming in appearance. A hollow, lonely interior. The kind of thing that made people curious to lift its lid and see if it hid any treasure. And best of all—wherever it appeared, it aroused zero suspicion.
Elias: "I've got it!"
Elysia: "Yay~ Elias, are you about to do something fun? Take me with you, take me with you! I wanna play too!"
A few minutes later—
Elysia looked down awkwardly at the boy beneath her. She was already regretting her decision. Surrounded by metal on all sides, she tried to breathe as little as possible.
"Uuuu~ I'm gonna need an extra-long bath tonight!"
"Shh~ Ely, don't talk. We can't be discovered."
A trash can with two legs sticking out from the bottom wandered through the armed camp, unnoticed by anyone, slowly inching its way toward the central area.
Elias had removed the bottom of the trash can and crawled inside. Elysia was sitting on his shoulders, the two of them stacked just tall enough to fit snugly inside.
Elysia gently lifted the trash can lid just enough to peek out with her sapphire-blue eyes and guided Elias, who had no visibility.
"Careful, careful, someone ahead."
"Okay."
"Elias, the right side is clear now."
"Got it. Keep going."
"That person up ahead looks suspicious. Charge!"
"...Ely, are you enjoying this a little too much?"
Though she had initially been put off by the smell of the trash can, the thrill of the stealth mission had sparked Elysia's playful side. Her curiosity was fully ignited.
And with perfect coordination from Elias, the little duo actually made it into the heavily guarded camp without being discovered.
Even Elias was a little surprised.
"Heave-ho! No surprise there—it's Elias and me, after all!"
Once they reached an empty tent, they climbed out of the trash can. Elysia proudly placed her hands on her hips, puffing out her still-flat chest.
Elias gave her a big thumbs-up—and then gave another to the trash can.
Their teamwork? 10 out of 10.
Trash can disguise? 9 out of 10!
"Elias, look! Isn't that the monster from yesterday?" Elysia suddenly exclaimed, her eyes wide.
She was staring at something inside the tent—it was the very same Chariot-class Honkai Beast they had defeated the day before. Now, the Che Che was sealed inside a reinforced containment tank filled with green liquid.
Elias looked over as well. Seems like this organization didn't mess around. Even a single Chariot-class Honkai Beast was treated with serious caution.
Unfortunately, things changed when the group became the Fire Moth. Great name, but their upper leadership became dysfunctional and self-serving. Otherwise, the Previous Era wouldn't have fallen so tragically to the Honkai.
"So? Any signs of the target?"
"No, still nothing. We've already searched the entire area."
Just then, footsteps approached outside the tent, prompting Elias and Elysia to quickly duck back into the trash can.
True to its reputation, the trash can raised no suspicion whatsoever.
The two exhaled in relief inside their cramped metal hideout. Sitting shoulder to shoulder, they looked at each other and couldn't help but let out quiet giggles.
And at that moment, some unexpected intel reached their ears.
"Yesterday, this region recorded an abnormal Honkai energy spike. The fluctuation was brief, but the peak was the highest we've ever observed."
One man spoke with grave seriousness.
"!!!" x2
Both Elias and Elysia froze.
"But Commander Hen, we only found the corpse of a Chariot-class Honkai Beast in that area."
"That alone is already abnormal. A Chariot-class couldn't emit Honkai energy of that level. And the fact that it's a corpse means something—or someone—took it down. That someone is likely our target."
"Too bad this area is underdeveloped. Not a single surveillance camera around. Otherwise, we wouldn't be searching blindly."
Inside the trash can, Elias and Elysia's hearts pounded wildly.
They were both thinking the same thing: These people are here for us!
Thinking back to the fully armed soldiers, the tanks, and even the combat helicopters, Elias realized why the firepower seemed so excessive. For a single Chariot-class Honkai Beast, this was serious overkill.
Turns out, the real target was him (and Elysia).
But stepping out and admitting it? No way.
He knew the Previous Era considered Honkai its mortal enemy. And their methods were far more ruthless than those of the current era. If they found out a kid had taken out a Honkai Beast...
Well, the next time he woke up, he might find himself strapped to some mad scientist's operating table. Hmm... unless it was Dr. Mobius—then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"The order from above is to capture alive if possible. If not, then eliminate the target."
"Understood!"
CLANG!
Elysia flinched.
Having grown up surrounded by the kindness of the townsfolk and Elias, words like "eliminate" felt unbearably cold and harsh.
Now she finally understood why Elias had insisted they keep the monster incident a secret. But even so, she had acted on instinct yesterday.
Her small head hit the trash can wall with a loud clang.
"Ouch!"
"Who's there?!"
"Run!"
Elias immediately scooped Elysia into his arms and bolted.
"What the hell?! That trash can just grew legs?!"
The two officers in the tent were stunned by the fleeing can.
One of them, a blue-haired man, sprang into action. He quickly caught up and forcefully stopped the trash can.
He lifted the lid and pulled his gun, ready to fire at whatever monster might be inside.
But—
"Uh... kids?"
The moment he saw inside, all his tension vanished.
Inside the can was a handsome white-haired, golden-eyed boy, and a cute pink-haired, blue-eyed girl.
No monsters. Just two little angels.
Elias was frantically comforting Elysia, who had bonked her head hard enough to tear up. The man promptly lowered his weapon.
At the same time, Elias was stunned.
(Wait… isn't that my father-in-law?!)
Elias stared in disbelief at the man before him. Wasn't this Griseo's dad—Ato?!
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