"High-concentration Honkai energy reaction detected in the high altitude above Atra! It has reached 3500 HW!"
Lin took down the last Honkai Beast, thrusting the Abyss Flower into the gap in its carapace. He then channeled his remaining energy, causing plants to grow from within the beast, impaling it. After a few struggling twitches, it ceased to move.
His current state was also poor. Although the Abyss Flower could resonate with his Pseudo-Herrscher Core, it wasn't a true Herrscher Core, and he didn't have the power of a true Divine Key. Furthermore, while his consciousness was becoming clearer, those whispers in his ears were drawing closer. For a split second, he even had the hallucination that "he" was no longer "himself," but another "thing" with the same appearance and memories.
Sane madness—that was his current state.
"The Herrscher is undergoing Emergence."
Lin looked up. Even from their position, they could see a black dot suspended prominently in the sky, like the divine halls built upon the firmament in myths, coldly looking down upon the world to deliver divine punishment when the prophecy arrived.
He clutched his chest. His heartbeat was incredibly violent, but perhaps it wasn't a heartbeat, but the rhythmic pulse of another thing, resonating with that distant sphere.
"Lin..." Ato stared at Lin. He was about to step forward, but was stopped by Lin gaze.
Even through the helmet, Ato could feel an ice-cold stare passing over his face.
"Vil-V."
Lin turned and called the girl's name.
His body had lost all sensation. His vessel, which had partially regained its senses, had now returned to a state of coldness. With numb lips, he looked at Vil-V as she walked out from the ruins.
Vil-V bit her lip and said nothing. She knew what Lin was about to do, but she wouldn't stop him... she couldn't stop him.
A sensible, good girl can understand the ideals of the person she likes, right?
But...
"Give this to Spaciel." Lin removed the phase-shift device from his wrist and placed it in Vil-V hand. This device, originally designed by the former Delta and remanufactured by her, was the "necessary condition" Lin had promised Spaciel.
"And these... help me return them to Aponia."
The ring and the crucifix passed from Lin hand to Vil-V. With every item he placed in her hand, her body trembled.
"Finally, give the helmet and the pistol to Kevin."
Lin carried the Abyss Flower and the weapon case on his back. His hair, which was now half-white, drifted quietly in the swirling wind.
He looked at Vil-V calmly. She looked as if she were about to cry. He had never seen Vil-V like this, not even the main personality... Perhaps they were all the same; after all, they were all Vil-V.
"I'm sorry, I can't return the Abyss Flower and the weapon case to you right now..."
"I don't need you to return them to me."
Lin took a deep breath and closed his eyes, soothing the noisy voices in his ears. He whispered gently, "Thank you."
Vil-V clutched the items Lin had "entrusted" to her, lowering her head as a chaotic melody rang in her mind.
Why was she always just watching others leave?
"I still have a lot I want to say."
"...Tell me when I get back."
"Okay."
Ato watched this scene. He didn't know what Lin white hair represented, so he didn't understand the intent conveyed in this brief conversation between Lin and Vil-V.
But he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the photos of his wife and daughter on his chest.
Thirty minutes had passed since the Ninth Honkai Eruption. The radiation range of the Honkai energy began to spread from Atra to the surrounding cities.
This was an "ordinary" large-scale Honkai eruption.
There was no special Herrscher capable of communicating or possessing superior intelligence and strategy. She was born as "ordinarily" as the most common Herrschers; zombies and Honkai Beasts appeared "ordinarily," with none of the "special" circumstances of the Sixth to Eighth eruptions.
This should have been the best large-scale Honkai event Fire Moth had handled, aside from the Eighth. They possessed ample strength, advanced technology, complete response measures, and unprecedented soldier confidence.
But this "ordinary" large-scale Honkai had erupted at a "special" time for Fire Moth.
Now, aside from the 13th Squad already in the Tenth Branch, no other teams could provide support. Only they could carry out the crusade against the Herrscher and the Honkai Beasts.
And once a Honkai event isn't resolved in its early stages... Australia is a living example.
Bang!
A mangled humanoid figure smashed into the rubble for the countless time. Sharp stone splinters stabbed into her body. Her blood-drenched, shocking palm pressed against the ground as she dragged her broken body, turning her head toward the equally dying monster.
A combination of machinery and flesh, it might not have been a companion Honkai Beast of the Ninth Herrscher, but it was indeed a monster created by her to protect her Emergence. It possessed everything a high-ranking Honkai Beast had.
A strong, hard body that should not have been damaged by a mere human—especially since the main body was made of huHuman-Made Soulium—it was difficult to damage even with human weapons.
But now, it was like a skinned dog, missing its two hind limbs and lying on the ground unable to move. Its tail was missing a section, and one of its two heads—the fleshy one—had been completely torn from its neck.
Only a more grotesque cripple remained.
Delta indeed failed to pose a threat to its main body, but she had used her mouth and hands to violently tear off every part of it that could be removed.
"Heh... heh..." Delta saw its pathetic state, and a smile appeared on her mangled face.
She won.
As a MANTIS, as a human, she won.
Dragging her half-crippled body, she picked up her sword from the ground and walked forward: "Next, it's—"
Bang!
The sword snapped in two.
Delta felt her body fly into the air.
The rainy, dark sky seemed to always look the same.
She let out a relaxed breath, looking at this sky that had been changing since she could remember.
When she was little, by the sea, she would look at the sky and see a blue mural, as if she could touch it if she just reached out.
Delta gently reached out toward the untouchable sky, toward the arm extending from the sphere, and the heartless brown eyes.
Then, her remaining upper body landed in a pool of water.