[Previous Era · Fifth Honkai Eruption Site]
[Rosentina Archipelago]
Beyond the constantly freezing South Pacific lay the site of the Fifth Honkai eruption, the Rosentina Archipelago.
It was noon, around 14:00, yet the sky here was a vast, pallid white. Not a single ray of sunlight pierced through. A military aircraft descended onto a base on one of the surrounding islands.
Kevin stepped off the plane. In an instant, a blast of cold air mixed with wind and snow rushed over him, making him rub his hands instinctively.
"Tch… it's freezing."
He could not help but sigh.
Back during the Fifth Honkai.
Kevin had not yet fused with the Emperor class Honkai Beast Parvati's genes, nor did he wield the Seventh Divine Key, Judgment of Shamash.
In simulations, he could barely edge out Elysia. He could withstand the raging airflow of the Herrscher of Wind and endure the extreme cold of the Herrscher of Ice.
But even so, as an ordinary high school student, all one could say was that the Kaslana bloodline's base stats were absurdly high.
Still… just like how Kiyono Inori, the Descender: End, traded endurance for mana to achieve outrageous numbers, Kevin's own ridiculous stats were not without a price.
"In weather like this, I kind of want some ice cream. If you eat ice cream in this cold, it probably won't melt, right?"
Kevin brushed the snow off himself and looked cheerfully at the pilot traveling with him. His eyes were clear and innocent, very much that of a foolish high schooler.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
The MOTH pilot kept sneezing nonstop.
[Kevin, if you take care of the Fifth Herrscher, you can eat all the ice cream in the MOTH cafeteria afterward. For now, focus on your mission.]
The voice of the MOTH commander came through the communicator.
[The Fifth Herrscher's abilities have mostly been identified. Based on the information we have, we are calling her the Herrscher of Ice.]
[She can condense moisture in the air into ice, creating frozen blades sharper than knives. The cold waves she unleashes can disable mechanical detectors, drones, and other equipment.]
Kevin advanced in the direction indicated by the commander while listening to the latest intel. Yet his mood was a bit complicated.
What about the follow-up?
What about the ice cream follow-up?
There was no way the commander actually thought he seriously wanted to eat ice cream in a frozen wasteland. He was just trying to lighten the mood because things felt too heavy.
They did not really believe him, did they?
They did not think he was an idiot, right? But if he turned back now to clarify the ice cream thing, it might backfire and make the stereotype even worse.
Fine. He decided he would talk less in the future.
Pushing forward against the blizzard, Kevin's expression turned cold.
[Unlike the Herrscher of Thunder and the Herrscher of Wind, who caused massive destruction immediately after descending, the Herrscher of Ice has been extremely low-key. Her actions even lean toward defense.]
[But… that is only an illusion.]
[According to planetary surface observations:]
[Centered on the Rosentina Archipelago, within a fifty-kilometer radius, a visibly extreme cold domain has formed, blocking the vision of satellites and missile systems.]
[At the same time, Honkai energy is gathering toward this extreme cold domain. In an estimated seventeen hours, the domain will collapse under the strain of excessive Honkai energy.]
[The resulting spread of Honkai energy will alter the climate. Mu, Asia, and Oceania will all become extreme cold dead zones.]
[Kevin, the organization needs you to locate the Herrscher of Ice's exact position. At the very least, you must interrupt her accumulation of Honkai energy.]
"I understand."
Kevin replied concisely.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, he turned his gaze to the sky.
The extreme cold domain shrouding the Rosentina Archipelago, that vast white membrane, was beginning to crack like a spiderweb.
Faintly, he could see intensely aggressive, blazing flames erupting across the South Pacific.
The fire burst forth in an instant, tearing apart the Herrscher's solid ice like a volcanic eruption. The roaring inferno seemed eager to ignite the world itself.
"Is this the organization's secret weapon against the Herrscher of Ice?"
Kevin was genuinely confused.
If the organization really had something like that, then sending MOTH soldiers to fight Herrschers with their own flesh and blood felt pretty unreasonable. That was his immediate thought.
[What are you talking about?]
The commander was still at MOTH headquarters and clearly out of the loop.
"Use planetary surface observation to check the western Pacific, from Mu to the Rosentina Archipelago. If it's not the organization's secret weapon, then there's a good chance another Herrscher has been born."
[?]
This time, it was the commander's turn to be confused.
…
Elsewhere.
After Kiyono Inori equipped Elysia Cat with the Four-Star Blessing: Destructive Accretion,
She went on stage again and told the Three Kingdoms story "A Dead Zhuge Scares Away a Living Zhongda." From there, she expanded into ideas like feinting reality and masking truth, drawing from The Art of War.
As expected, they crushed ninety-nine percent of the vocational school band girls, and the group she led received the highest evaluation.
The white-haired history teacher, after lavishly praising Kiyono Inori, launched into his own passionate discussion of the Three Kingdoms, currently talking about Cao Cao's line about killing in dreams.
Yeah… it was obvious he really liked Cao Cao.
On the surface, Kiyono Inori looked like she was listening attentively. In reality, her attention had already returned to the Cat System, where a new message had arrived.
[Elysia Cat has slain the Fifth Herrscher's companion, a Judgment class Honkai Beast, and obtained 1200 Cat Biscuits.]
[You have successfully established a connection between your native world and the Honkai Impact 3rd world. Achievement obtained: Pioneer of the Stars.]
[Pioneer of the Stars]
[You have achieved effective communication between different universes, turning "impossible" into "possible."]
[Only the host may equip this achievement.]
[While equipped, Magic increases by 3 points, and you gain a Mystic Eye capable of discerning an opponent's weaknesses.]
"Wow… that's one insane achievement. And Honkai Beasts actually drop Cat Biscuits."
Pioneer of the Stars.
In the Fate series, special skills given to heroes who became turning points in human history were usually reserved for those who made enormous contributions to the world, or whose absence would have drastically changed history.
After reincarnating, Kiyono Inori thought she was pretty smart. With the Cat System helping her, she was bound to become someone incredible sooner or later.
But this title still felt way too heavyweight.
More importantly:
She did not create the Parallel Universe Intercom herself. She had just exchanged for it through the Cat System and used it once, and somehow lucked into such a high-tier achievement.
Still… the girl felt no embarrassment at all. Instead, it was that strange, wonderful joy of pulling a gold on a single roll from a gacha banner.
Right now, the most urgent thing was this:
The Herrscher of Ice. The companion beast alone was worth 1200 Cat Biscuits. How many would the Herrscher herself be worth? Kiyono Inori barely dared to imagine it.
Yes.
She wanted Elysia to claim the Herrscher of Ice's head.
But… if she remembered correctly, in Honkai Impact 3rd's Previous Era, neither Kevin nor Elysia had made it to the battlefield in time. The Herrscher of Ice had already been elbowed to death by Kalpas at the eruption site.
"Elysia! My dear Elysia! Hurry up already, the Herrscher of Ice is waiting for you to conquer her!"
Kiyono Inori tried to egg Elysia on.
She even promised great rewards.
"As long as you defeat the Herrscher of Ice, I'll do anything you want, meow. Onegai, watashi!"
But… Elysia remained completely silent. Was there something wrong with the Parallel Universe Intercom?
Time was running out.
Who knew when the Herrscher of Ice would crash and burn? She had to get in touch with Elysia as soon as possible.
[Intelligence 10] plus [Descender: End] plus [Pioneer of the Stars] activated together, causing Kiyono Inori's pupils to become as clear and lively as a still lake.
…
1 chapter per day. For more chapters/fics, goto ErbiumTL on Patreon.
Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.