"Ely, I'm heading to Dusk Street to take care of something~"
"Dusk Street? Elias, what are you going there for?"
"Nothing much. Just to pick up two… no, three talents. The Honkai will be escalating soon, and we need to gather every bit of usable strength on our side."
After resting several days in the hospital, Elias felt like he was starting to get lazy. Every day he was looked after with painstaking care by Miss Pink Elf and Miss Pink Fox.
Eden had become his personal record player, singing whatever songs he wanted. And at night, a certain green snake often slipped into his bed.
In short, his life had been nothing short of heavenly.
Though he wished it could last forever, Elias knew the world still needed him. He had to get back on his feet. Only after indulging for a few more days did he reluctantly leave the hospital.
"For someone to be called a talent by you, Elias, they must be remarkable indeed. But… would such people really be in Dusk Street? Hard to imagine."
"Curious? Want to come see for yourself?"
"Can I? Yay, I'm coming!"
Elysia cheered. Elias chuckled softly, then continued reviewing the intelligence Fire Moth had collected on Dusk Street.
A gray city of mixed fish and dragons, crawling with criminals. In the shadows lurked a mysterious figure known only as "the Boss"… Contact with the area not recommended.
Elias ignored the final line with amusement. Mysterious boss, shadowy mastermind—it was all just a lie made up offhand by a little cat. Yet somehow, everyone believed it.
What did surprise him, though, was that Fire Moth wasn't indifferent. So far, the higher-ups had sent many investigators there.
They had all died.
"Could it be Kalpas' doing? Eh, I'll know when I see him."
Elias shook his head, then put on a cool-looking mask Eden had designed. His name and face were now known worldwide—he had to disguise himself somewhat.
At the same time, Sakura arrived, carrying a case.
"Everything's ready. We can leave anytime."
"Excellent. Then let's go."
...
At a regular Fire Moth high council meeting—
Several council members looked at each other awkwardly, their faces filled with bitter smiles and helplessness.
Elias, Mei, Eden, and Mobius weren't attending. And without them, what use was their discussion? Everyone knew by now those four were the true masters of Fire Moth.
"Eh~ forget it. Since they're not here, let's just chat idly. Weren't you lot planning something against Elias? How's that going?"
"Who was planning that? Not me. Nothing to do with me."
"Come on, stop pretending. He and his women aren't here, and nothing we say will be recorded. Speak up."
"…Eh~ the plan's been scrapped. Even if we could touch Elias, who in the world would dare now?"
Someone sighed heavily.
Elias' reputation had grown to terrifying heights. On the streets, probably nine out of ten people were his worshippers.
Killing enemies could never earn as much renown as saving lives. By curing countless Honkai disease patients with the serum, Elias had gained countless devoted, fanatical followers.
Now, anyone daring to oppose Elias—no, anyone even standing against him—would be standing against all humanity.
And for the sake of petty power, who would risk making an enemy of the entire world?
"Who could have expected him to be this powerful? Honestly, I'm starting to believe he really was sent by heaven to help mankind defeat the Honkai. How do they put it in Shenzhou? Heaven's Chosen Child? Anyway, anyone who opposes him is doomed."
"Ahem. Well, I for one plan to accept reality. And to be honest, after playing the villain for so long, it actually feels kind of nice to act like a righteous ally for once."
"Mm, true enough. Besides, even if we wanted to disobey, we couldn't. Our lives are still in his and Mobius' hands."
Anyone who had risen to the rank of Fire Moth councilor was no fool—they all understood the situation clearly.
Under Elias' pressure, they had been forced to set aside their ambitions and devote themselves fully to fighting the Honkai.
At first, many were still dissatisfied. But now, quite a few had come to relish the feeling of being the good guys—as if they truly were turning over a new leaf.
"By the way, I heard Elias was discharged yesterday. What's he up to today?" someone asked curiously.
Every move Elias made now attracted scrutiny and wild speculation. Whatever he did, people assumed there had to be some deeper meaning behind it.
"Not sure. Only that he took Elysia and Forget-Me-Not with him to Dusk Street."
"!!!" ×N
At that, many of the councilors tensed instantly.
"Don't tell me he's discovered that we sent assassins to Dusk Street. We're doomed!"
"Calm down, calm down. We never targeted him directly, and those people are already long dead. What could he possibly trace back now? And… even if that matter did get exposed, it was only a nursery rhyme. There's no way he'd connect the dots."
"Alright… let's hope so…"
Several of the councilors wore faces of dread and unease.
They had sent countless assassins into Dusk Street—but every last one had died. Since the mission had been to investigate highly confidential matters, they couldn't risk sending soldiers, either.
Then, after Elias stripped away much of their power and seized control of their very lives, forcing them to focus on the Honkai, they had neither the time nor the energy to pursue Dusk Street any further.
Which was why the matter had been left to rot…
As for why they had sent assassins there in the first place, it all traced back to a song.
"One day, they fell from the sky. People lifted their heads, and so they saw the stars…"
At some unknown point, this rhyme had spread through Dusk Street. But the seemingly innocent words had alarmed the Fire Moth councilors greatly—because hidden within was a secret they absolutely had to conceal.
A secret codenamed [Origin Event].
Before Fire Moth had even been established, years before the Herrscher of Reason's birth, their predecessor organization had conducted a lunar expedition—and discovered mysterious ruins on the moon.
Within those ruins, they found a fragment of the Final Herrscher! But during their investigation, due to improper handling, a portion of its energy separated and fell to Earth.
To this day, some suspected that the very reason Honkai had manifested on Earth was because of that fallen fragment of energy.
But whether true or not, the fact remained—it was a secret Fire Moth had to guard with their lives.
Whether the Dusk Street rhyme was intentional or accidental, they had resolved to trace it back and erase it completely.
Yet in the end, every assassin sent had perished. And with Elias' meteoric rise, none of them had the resources left to continue acting on it.
"Forget it. Leave it to fate. Anyone know what Elias is actually going to Dusk Street for?"
"Who knows. I heard it's to recruit talent. But really? Is there anyone left in this world worth Elias personally recruiting?"
"Exactly. Come to think of it, where did we first estimate that fragment of energy fell?"
"Some little town called Vostok 51. We searched it several times and found nothing. Wait a minute… wasn't that also Elias' and Elysia's birthplace…?"
As if struck by the thought, someone quickly pulled up their partial public records.
When the others saw the birthplace entry for both Elias and Elysia clearly marked as [Vostok 51], silence fell across the room.
After a long pause, someone finally spoke, their voice trembling.
"Coincidence. It has to be a coincidence, right?"
"Yes! Just a coincidence! It must be a coincidence!!"
In that moment, every person in the council chamber swallowed hard. Though their mouths insisted it was only a coincidence, their minds couldn't help but wander.
(If it isn't a coincidence… then what kind of beings are Elias and Elysia really?)
Linking it to the extraordinary traits the two had shown so far, the thought made them shiver. But soon enough, the councilors calmed themselves.
Because they realized something.
No matter how darkly they tried to imagine it, they simply couldn't picture Elias and Elysia standing against humanity. Not at all.
Even if someone told them straight out that those two were enemies from the side of the Honkai, their first reaction would be to call the speaker either a lunatic or a traitor to mankind—and then shoot him in the head to check what he was thinking.
Enemies from the Honkai? Anyone in the world might be—but those two? Impossible! Just look at what they'd done so far.
Other than the First Herrscher—defeated by Fire Moth itself—all the others had been beaten by Elias. If not for Elysia's bad luck and slower hands, she'd have claimed a few herself.
And now Elias had even developed a serum to cure Honkai disease. And you tell me he's the enemy? Whoever dared spread such nonsense should be executed with a Gatling gun for ten minutes straight!
"Let's not overthink. All we need to do now is follow Elias' lead, cling on until we defeat the Honkai, then beg him to remove our poison. That's all there is to it."
"Exactly, exactly. Another day of working hard against the Honkai!"
"Logging off here—spotted a Chariot-class mosquito. Someone bring out the railgun!"
"Tsk tsk, wasting electricity firing a railgun at a mosquito. Caught you slipping! I say just send in a fusion warrior."
Ever since Elias had forced these councilors to direct their fangs at the Honkai, they'd found themselves enjoying life.
It was at least better than scheming against each other.
Watching those detestable Honkai Beasts vanish in explosions at their orders was surprisingly therapeutic.
Before, they had competed for power and wealth. Now, they competed for battle records. If not for their lack of strength, some councilors would've been eager to challenge a Herrscher themselves.
...
Dusk Street.
While the councilors were holding meetings and boasting about their combat results, Elias, Elysia, and Sakura had arrived at the infamous district.
Miss Pink Elf stood with hands on hips, cheeks puffed in a pout, glaring unhappily at the two beside her. She felt excluded.
"Fine if Elias wears one, but Sakura, why do you have to wear a mask too?! If I'd known, I would've brought one myself."
"Ahem. As a subordinate, of course I should match my superior. Nothing more than that, Elysia, don't get the wrong idea."
Sakura had donned her Forget-Me-Not mask. She meant nothing by it—seeing Elias wear one, she simply followed suit.
It made them look like a pair, and at the same time, it left out a certain pink elf. Perfect.
"Eli, I want a mask too!"
"Alright, alright. What kind do you want?"
"A cute one!"
"Got it."
Elias shrugged, casually conjuring a magical-girl-style mask and tossing it to her. Naturally, it was rejected. To his surprise, he realized his sense of aesthetics for masks might be a little… questionable.
In the end, after half an hour of fuss, Elysia reluctantly put on a pink gas mask.
"Uhh, don't we look really suspicious now?" Elias muttered in disbelief.
"..." ×2
Even in Dusk Street, a place full of shady types, three people walking around in masks looked extra conspicuous.
Normally, outsiders dressed as finely as they were would be warmly welcomed by the rough-and-tumble locals—but in reality, no one dared cause trouble.
"Ahhh! S-sorry, sorry! I didn't mean it! I'll leave right now, please don't kill me~!"
A girl suddenly came around a corner and bumped into Sakura. The moment she saw the masked pink fox-eared woman, she shrieked and scrambled away on all fours, fleeing in terror.
Sakura's ears drooped in dismay. Was she really that frightening?
Elias shook his head, then nodded. It depended on who you asked. But in Dusk Street—where most were criminals—Sakura was indeed a terrifying figure.
"Damn! Look at that long-eared freak!"
"That must be one of Fire Moth's monster super-soldiers."
"Shit! Don't get near her! That thing could wipe us out with ease. If she catches me, the crimes I've committed would get me killed a dozen times over!"
"Crap, is Fire Moth planning to clean out Dusk Street? No way, I'm outta here!"
For these lawless villains, violence wasn't the only principle, but it was the one most revered. And fusion warriors were violence incarnate.
If Sakura so desired, she could slaughter everyone in Dusk Street—save for two particular individuals in a certain sanatorium, and perhaps one ridiculously lucky cat.
"Elias, did I mess things up?"
"Of course not. Their guilty consciences are their own fault. How could my Sakura ever mess up~"
He comforted her, stroking her fox ears.
"Thanks. But what do we do now? If someone dared to provoke us, we could at least squeeze some intel out of them. But now…"
Sakura looked around at the empty street, cleared by her presence. Maybe she should just grab someone at random to interrogate? After all, in Dusk Street, any stranger could easily be a wanted criminal. There was no need to worry about guilt.
Elias shook his head, smiling wryly.
"Actually, it's not that no one dared provoke us."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Check carefully. Aren't you missing something?"
Sakura blinked, quickly checked herself—and her fox ears shot straight up in shock.
"The serum! The serum I brought is gone!!"
"Sakura, you actually got robbed…"
Elysia looked shocked—and amused. An Emperor-level fusion warrior, robbed? It was hilarious.
"Hah~ my dear Ely, you too."
"Huh? Ah! My phone, my badge—they're gone too?!"
"Elysia, you actually got robbed…"
Sakura immediately fired back, mocking her. Sure, it was embarrassing for an Emperor-level fusion warrior to be robbed—but wasn't it even worse for a Vipralopa-level like her?
"Alright, alright. You're both equally disgraceful."
"..." ×2
Elias chuckled, mocking them both equally. As for the culprit, he already knew.
For an ordinary person to steal from two high-level fusion warriors… there was only one in all of Dusk Street capable of that.
That outrageously lucky cat.
Elias: "Guess it's time to prepare a cat bed. The house feels too empty. Might as well raise a cat as a pet."