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Unknown Pov:
A few minutes before the Third Eruption -
FireMoth base, Kyoto
A lone red-haired woman made herself some coffee in hopes to rid herself of the frustration she felt after training the new recruits to her squad.
'Useless. All of them. Sigh. How did they even get past the physical exam? Most of them can't even do a lap around the grounds, let alone move through a battlefield.' Once she finished making her coffee she went and sat down.
'What's worse is all they want is to get the benefits of being a FireMoth soldier.' She took a sip of her coffee.
'The reason those benefits exist is because each mission has over a 30% death rate, higher on new recruits. They're just walking to their deaths not knowing that the benefits are useless if you're dead.'
"Hahh..." She let out a breath after she finished her coffee.
*Knock* *Knock*
From the knocking came a middle-aged man in an officer uniform. "Squad leader Himeko?"
"Yes?" she replied.
"The commander wants you to come to the command centre immediately." he said, then exited the room, leaving Himeko confused.
'Why so suddenly?' Himeko picked her cup up and put it by the sink before leaving.
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*Fwoosh*
Himeko entered the command centre, and the personnel rushed about in near panic.
She headed to the centre to see all the current squad leaders and the generals who are currently onsite and instantly she became serious, 'Something happened, something big' She took her seat and waited for the commander to start.
"Ah, Himeko, glad you could make it." With Himeko's arrival and everyone gathered, the Commander began to explain the situation.
"First, let me tell you why I ha-" Only for a sudden alarm to blare.
***ALERT, ALERT, HONKAI ENERGY CRITICAL***
***HERRSCHER IMMINENT***
***PROTOCOL A IS IN EFFECT***
"Shit! Fuck!!" The commander cursed, Slamming the table.
Himeko's eyes widened at the mention of Herrscher as she, along with everyone else, jumped up from their seats.
The commander got everyone's attention "Alright! You heard it. Assemble your squads and take the VTOLs to the location of the Herrscher immediately!"
With that everyone cleared out to assemble their teams and head to the location of the eruption.
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Himeko and her squad, along with the other squads had gathered and got onto VTOLs headed towards Nagazora.
"Pilot!" Himeko called out. "What's the location of the Herrscher and an ETA?!"
"Nagazora and 23 minutes Captain." He said and focused back on keeping the VTOL steady.
Himeko–shocked at the mention of Nagazora–remembered the words of her friend who moved there last month.
"Can you get us there any faster!?" She asked with concealed desperation.
"Sorry Captain, we're already past the safe limit.
I already fear that we may be too late. Remember what happened with the 2nd Herrscher? Minutes took to level a city and this is the third one." The pilot expressed his concerns.
Himeko gripped the seat harder at the thought.
"Eden..." She sat back down and stewed in negative thoughts.
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Eden Pov:
'There's so many of them' She thought, while she blasted a group of small winged Honkai beasts with another flame rune and dodged others before she grabbed it and tore its wings off and proceeded to crush it.
She looked toward the nearby Moth soldier's who arrived before her slowly being overwhelmed. 'This is bad, They're losing ground. They won't last long.'
*ROOOAAARRR*
Eden looked toward the source of the roar, only to see a 2 story Honkai beast that she remembered was chariot-class.
'If that makes it to them, their line will collapse and the Honkai will spread to nearby towns and cities.' She thought in dread.
She thought deeply of the consequences of it and mustered her determination to face it herself. 'Thor said I could handle it... No—trust in him.' She shook her head, firming her resolve–She charged through the field punching and throwing those in her way into groups, blasting them before they dispersed.
Eden advanced towards the Alloy chariot beast, it in turn noticed Eden and positioned itself to unleash a roar in her direction.
However, just before it could roar, Eden vanished using her flames for propulsion only to appear on the ground behind the beast leaving a heat trail in her wake.
Holding her hands up in front of her, she mutters. "Incinerate" A powerful blast of flames engulf the Alloy chariot in hopes that it burns to ashes.
(A/N: Did not realise this is literally just Genos's incinerate)
"Huff... I got it?" She looked up as the flames and smoke cleared to see the Honkai beast, almost knocked over due to the loss of its arm leaving it to balance on only one.
"Damn it!" Eden saw that the beast was still alive and quickly used flames to blast herself up into the air high above the Chariot beast. She then put her hands together and said "Judgement."
*CRACKLE*
*ZHOOOM*
A ball of plasma formed in between her hands charging before she pushed her hands forward forcing the plasma into a beam directed towards the beast.
*VROOOM*
It passes right through the top section of the beast contacting the ground behind it *BOOOM* causing an explosion on impact.
Before Eden could celebrate she heard the sound of air cutting as hundreds of small flying Honkai beasts charged at her.
"Fucking hell" She cursed before using flames yet again even though she was mostly exhausted after using 'Judgement' to manoeuvre out of the path of the beasts narrowly dodging the attack and turns back and unleashes another flames to take out the group.
*FWOOSH*
With the immediate threats dealt with and her stamina, energy and mental energy all tanked she flies behind the now less burdened Moth line still hidden behind a tree to catch a break.
She finally looked back at the battlefield with a smile of relief seeing Moth push forward with ease now 'I hope I made you proud Teacher'.
She won her first ever battle, and with relative ease at that, suffering zero injuries and just one close call at the end.
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Thor Pov:
Hovering hunched over with ragged breaths "Huff... Huff... HUMAN!! YOU DARE HUMILIATE ME LIKE THIS. I'LL DESTROY YOU!!" The Herrscher attacks.
Bit much, don't you think?
She abandoned all strategy and thought–then charged him in hopes of striking him down physically.
Thor flashes behind her and kicks her down through the tower below, collapsing it in turn.
*BOOM*
A boom occurs as she finally hits the ground floor.
He flashed on top of her, reached and gripped her head and raised her up and whispered calmly and coldly.
"How does it feel?" He paused for a minute to let it register in her head before putting his fist near her stomach before thrusting it forward while letting go of her.
*SHSHSHSHSH*
*VHWOOOM*
His fist met her gut—and she vanished in a shockwave, tearing through buildings, cars, concrete... until a skyscraper finally caught her with a thunderous crash
*CRASSHH*
"ARGHH!!!"
The building began to crumble as the shock wave from her impact shattered glass all around her.
Thor dusted himself off before once again appearing in a flash–The Herrscher shivered from his presence.
He leans his hand against the wall as he grabs her chin.
"Hey. Open your eyes" She shivered once again but compiled.
He saw the burning hatred in her eyes, but he also saw a hint of... fear. His smirk deepend.
"Not so high and mighty now are we… 'Herrscher'" He said with mock sarcasm in his voice.
Infuriated and frustrated at her helplessness, the Herrscher talked back. "Huff...Y-y-you... D-dis-disgusting... Insect... Ho- *Cough* How d-dare you..."
"You still have some fight in you, huh."
His smile twisted.
"Let's fix that."
Grabbing her arm he spoke coldly "Shock."
"AHHHHHH... ARGGGHH..." Her cries continued for a minute before he stopped.
The very same lightning she was meant to control, dominate, be supreme in, being used against her, and it working.
"Huff... Huff..." Breathing deeply the Herrscher tries to punch him using the last of her strength.
Thor's smile died and was instead replaced by annoyance. "Hahhh, I guess that didn't work."
'If torture doesn't work, I guess I can touch the soul though risky going by the energy coming off it.'
He stopped her arm mid punch and used it to pull and throw her at the wall next to them.
*Crash*
He sighed once again and walked up to her with his hand on his head. "It pains me to have to kill you, if maybe you regained your ego, just maybe we could have kept you alive."
The Herrscher, in pain and exhausted, froze at his words. 'HOW! How did-' Thor cut her off.
"Did he know? That was what you were thinking, right?" He squatted down next to her.
"It's simple really, you have two colours, 2 souls, and the other is dormant, damaged even, yet here you are, a Herrscher, a complete opposite to a normal human." He explained.
Seeing her not responding he stood up and stepped back before spreading out his hands and spoke calmly, "Atomic Split" and slowly brought his hands together and-
*CLAP*
Within the next second the air around the Herrscher vibrated slightly. and then more and more aggressively until the air heats up more and more until a flash of light followed by a fireball.
A blistering fireball, scorched the air with blistering heat and light.
Next came the shockwave, levelling buildings for a mile around it, leaving others in flames.
"I might have gotten a little too excited and went overboard. Hope I didn't accidentally kill her yet"
He searched around the crater to see the Herrscher. Armour chipped and shattered, parts of the body charred, yet still alive and breathing off to the side.
"Oh, so she didn't die. Good." He stepped up to her and held his hand out–a ball of swirling flames appeared ready to finish off the Herrscher.
"THHOORR!!" Elysia's voice came, causing him to stop and turn to her while keeping an eye on the Herrscher.
She was flying through the air using Honkai energy to keep herself up. She landed in front of him and started thoroughly checking him over for any injuries and when seeing none let out a sigh of relief.
She then looked around and saw the devastation before turning to face him once again.
"What happened here Thor" Her usual happy-go-lucky tone was replaced with concern.
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Elysia Pov:
Before Thor split atoms.
Elysia, Kevin, Su and Mei were in a VTOL heading out of the city to the outskirts where a temporary base was being set up to battle the Herrscher.
It was tense, silent and somber for all.
Kevin sat hunched over, tapping his foot nervously with his head in his hands. His thoughts were in shambles, concerned whether Thor will be fine and whether they will even be ok.
Kevin finally got tired of it and stood going to one of the two men who brought them.
He grabbed him by the suit, yanking him up against the harness. "What the hell was that?! you just left him there like that! We could've gone with him to get whoever this Eden person is that's so important to him! We cou-"
"Kevin! Stop!" Elysia speaks up.
She stands and grabs Kevin by the shoulders and tries to assure him "He'll be fine, okay? He knows what he's doing. He's not going to die.(Even if she wasn't sure herself.)" She was also trying to reassure herself as even she knows the horrors of the Herrschers and the powers they bring. She also doubted she would be able to even do anything even if she was there.
Kevin saw the worry and concern in her eyes. Realizing he wasn't alone, he sat back down beside Mei, interlocking their fingers tightly.
Su on the other hand not only thought about Thor's situation and that Eden girl, most of his thoughts were of his parents. He knew they wouldn't be in the city as their hospital is in another city an hour away but, 'What IF...' He couldn't stop thinking about it.
Weirdly, Su was the only one thinking about his parents. Mei cared more about her friends than her distant parents. Kevin's were long gone. Elysia... never had any to begin with.
Suddenly the pilot calls out from the cockpit "We've got incoming—brace for impact!"
This causes minor panic as Elysia hurriedly sits back down and holds on, as do Su, Kevin and Mei.
*KABOOM*
The VTOL shakes violently for a few seconds until it stabilises.
Su was the first to speak. "What the hell was that?!
The pilot answers "A shockwave sir, it came from the city, We don't know what caused it yet.
Elysia moved quickly to the back window only to see a growing mushroom cloud over the city
"Gasp!" She gasped in shock, then turned and went to the cockpit.
"Lower the ramp. NOW!"
"Yes Madam Elysia" He pressed the button to lower the bridge, while Elysia walked back through the doorway towards the ramp."
"Ellie!? What are you doing?! Why are you going out there?! You don't even have a parachute!! And what's with 'Madam Elysia'?! Do you know these people?!" Kevin and Su bombarded her with questions while the bridge opened.
She smiled like always. "Sorry, Kevin~ I'll explain later. Just sleep for now."
She vanished in a blur—knocking each of them out with a chop to the neck.
"Make sure they stay safe otherwise I'll kill you!" she says to the two men and they nod quickly.
"Good. Now if you'll excuse me—I've got a friend to save and a Herrscher to defeat~" She dives out of the VTOL and heads towards Nagazora hoping Thor is ok.
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Meanwhile with Himeko:
The bright flash in the distance caught Himeko's eye. She shot up from her seat, moving toward the front of the VTOL.
"Pilot, what w—WHAT THE HELL?!"
Her eyes locked onto the mushroom cloud rising over the city. The disbelief froze her for a second.
Snapping back to reality, she pulled out her phone and dialed the commander.
The moment the line connected, she shouted, "Who the hell authorised the nukes?! There are still people in that city!"
"What?!" came the stunned response on the other end.
"No one did. Why are you saying that, Squad Leader?" The commander tried to keep his voice level, but the tension was obvious.
"Oh, I don't know—maybe the fucking mushroom cloud I'm looking at might convince you!" She flipped the camera around, giving him a clear view.
The silence on his end said everything. Then:
"...That's not us. We didn't launch anything. We wouldn't use nukes, especially when we've got Honkai missiles for precision strikes." He paused. "Something's not right here."
"Listen, Squad Leader," he continued. "We've got zero record of a launch. Be extremely careful on approach. I'm alerting other squads and nearby bases. I'll make some calls and get to the bottom of this."
"...Good luck, Himeko."
The call ended, leaving her staring at the screen, stunned.
"...What the fuck is going on?"
She turned to the pilot. "Get us there. Now."
"B-But... Yes, Captain!" He pushed the throttle past recommended limits. The sudden surge of G-force hit hard—some of the soldiers in the back blacked out.
"ETA: Nine minutes, Captain!"
Himeko gave a tight nod, gripping her rifle in both hands, bracing herself for whatever hell they were flying into.
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Back to the present:
"What happened here, Thor?" Elysia's usual happy-go-lucky tone was gone—replaced by concern.
"I," he pointed to himself, "beat the Herrscher," then gestured toward the collapsed figure. "You're welcome." He bowed dramatically.
Elysia deadpanned, unimpressed. Thor straightened and barely held back a laugh at her expression.
"Hahaha! You should've seen your face. Our Elysia, giving Shonen Protagonist deadpan vibes—absolutely adorable." Elysia's face stayed blank, but a soft blush crept in. She relaxed a little—if he was joking, he was fine.
"Haaah..." she sighed. "But seriously, is that what happened?"
Thor pointed over his shoulder again. "I beat the Herrscher. You're welcome."
Elysia glanced at the fallen enemy. The sheer volume of Honkai energy still radiating from her was ridiculous. Then she turned back to Thor, eyes wide.
"How did—what—when— deep breath —how did you even do this?!" Her voice cracked, caught between awe and disbelief.
"I'm built different. Literally." He puffed out his chest, chin held high like a smug superhero.
Frustrated, Elysia snapped, "This isn't a joke, Thor! That Herrscher could've wiped out all of Kyushu!"
He waved her down. "Relax. It's fine. I'll explain later. Right now, we need to decide what to do with her." He gestured to the fallen Herrscher again. "Personally, I say we end it. Only reason I haven't is because… there's two souls in there. Original ego's still there."
Elysia understood instantly.
'If we can get the original ego to take back control and keep the Herrscher powers… maybe we could have one fighting for humanity?'
She nodded and knelt beside the girl.
"You hear that?" she said softly. "You can live. All you need to do… is give control back. Okay~?"
"Pffft, haha. She can't hear you, Ellie. Gotta heal her first." She pouted. Thor chuckled, then knelt down next to the girl as well.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Repair." The Herrscher's wounds began healing rapidly. Thor pulled back just as her breathing steadied and her eyelids fluttered.
"That should do it. Now you can say it." He gestured.
Elysia smiled. "Okay~." She gently tapped the girl's shoulder.
"Now, Herrscher-chan," she cooed.
The girl stirred with a pained groan. Her eyes opened faintly, glowing—then dimming.
"...H-Huh… wh-what happened?" she rasped, voice hoarse and filled with fear.
Thor crouched beside her, letting her feel his presence.
"Take a guess," he said softly, almost kindly.
The girl froze. Her body stiffened. Then she began to tremble. Not from pain—from fear. She remembered.
'His voice. His presence…'
Thor stood. "Listen to Ellie here, and you live. Simple." He stepped away— giving Elysia her space to work.
Then he reached out mentally. 'Eden... how's the situation on your end?'
Elysia stayed beside the girl, calm and warm, her hands resting lightly on her knees.
"Thanks, Thor~," she said without turning. Then, softly
"What he said, dear. If you listen to me, you can live. All you have to do… is give control back. That's it~."
She leaned forward just a little, brushing a lock of hair from the girl's face.
"There's still time. I can feel it in you… you don't want to be this, do you?" Elysia's eye's started to emit a subtle hue–That she herself wasn't aware of.
The girl's lips trembled, and a tear slid from the corner of her eye—not from pain this time.
"I… I didn't want this," she whispered. "It… it just happened… the voices… the rage... I couldn't stop it…"
Elysia nodded slowly, offering a faint smile.
"You still can. Just reach in. Find her, and let her speak again. Let you speak again."
She hesitated, just for a second before she nodded imperceptibly and then closed her eyes.
Elysia waited, calm but guarded.
Even Thor, who checked in on Eden made sure to keep an eye on the Herrschers movements.
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After a tense minute, she opened her eyes. The sky-blue came back—tinged with purple and slit-red pupils.
Then pain exploded through her body. She screamed, crying out loud.
"AHHH—W-what the fuck?! Why does it hurt so much?!"
Thor studied her—body and soul—then nodded.
He crouched and healed her fully, faster this time. Elysia gently stroked her head, soothing her.
When Thor finished, he laid her down and whispered, "Sleep now."
Her breathing evened out as she fell asleep.
"She'll be fine now. I just knocked her out," Thor said and Elysia sighed.
vmmmm
A low hum filled the air.
Thor and Elysia looked up. A VTOL was coming, followed by more further behind.
The lead VTOL hovered above. The ramp came down. Two ropes dropped.
Himeko and soldiers rappelled down, landing with steady steps.
"Secure the perimeter! Three civilians—one injured!" Himeko ordered.
She approached them, gun lowered but alert.
Once close enough she held up her badge, "Captain Himeko Murata, FireMoth. We're here to help. You're safe now."
"It's fine, Captain~" Elysia smiled. Thor nodded, scooping up the sleeping girl in a princess carry.
"We'll leave you to your mission, Captain. Don't worry about us." They then started heading in the direction Elysia came from.
Himeko frowned. "Where do you think you're going? The city's wrecked!"
She stepped closer. "Come with us. We have a base nearby." She peeked at the unconscious girl. "She might also need medical attention."
The VTOL landed again.
Thor paused, then nodded.
He boarded, along with Elysia, securing the girl in a seat.
Himeko pulled out her phone and called Eden.
"Himeko?"
She exhaled. "Eden? Are you okay? The city's destroyed. Tell me you're safe."
"I'm okay, Himeko. I was already outside the city before it started. I—Give me a second."
Her gaze caught a fleeing beast. Without hesitation, she used a flame rune and aimed her flame javelin and threw it.
A small explosion erupted as the javelin ignited the beast, leaving only ash in its place.
Resuming her seat, Eden tried to recall what she was about to say.
"Sorry, Himeko. Where was I? Right. I'm with some FireMoth agents just outside the city limits."
Himeko studied a tablet passed to her, displaying data on the Herrscher and surveillance footage from cloud backups.
Isn't that the guy I just saw with that girl? Without armor though.
She pushed the thought away.
"I was worried when I heard about Nagazora."
"I'm safe now. Thanks for worrying," Eden said softly. She continued,
"They're taking us to a temp base. Hope to see you there."
"I will." Himeko ended the call and stared at the tablet again.
Looks like we finally have a lead.
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Once the other squads arrived, Himeko quickly briefed them on the situation. She was ordered by command to escort the three civilians back to base and to try and get any information out of them—specifically what had happened here, and why there was no Herrscher in sight.
She boarded the VTOL, gave the pilot the all-clear, then strapped in across from Thor and Elysia.
The VTOL took off, carrying its three conscious passengers in silence.
Elysia leaned toward Thor, nudging his shoulder. Then poked his cheek. Again. And again.
He ignored her.
Until he didn't..
He huffed, grabbed her hand, and shot her a look. Seeing the playful smile on her face, his eye twitched before he let go and returned to his thoughts.
Elysia pouted at being brushed off—then her eyes lit up at that moment. A grin spread across her face as she unbuckled her harness, stood in front of Thor (who still didn't react), then sat on his lap, leaned into him, and closed her eyes.
That finally got a response. Thor blinked, startled briefly, and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, and she looked completely relaxed. After a brief pause, he sighed, and began gently rubbing her back—resigned to whatever she was doing.
Elysia smiled.
Himeko, sitting across from them, could only watch. She felt like she'd just eaten a lemon.
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Time passed in relative silence, until the pilot's voice cut through the hum of the VTOL.
"We'll be arriving soon."
Thor glanced down at Elysia. Her breathing was steady—she was asleep. He decided not to wake her until they touched down.
As if waiting for this moment, Himeko finally spoke for the first time since boarding.
"What happened?"
"Huh?" Thor blinked. "What?"
"When the Herrscher spawned—what happened? How did the city fall apart so fast? And where is the Herrscher now?" Her voice was blunt, but Thor could tell she'd been holding these questions back since they lifted off.
Thor paused to think. 'They'll find out anyway. No way a high-tech world like this doesn't have satellite feeds or cameras recording anything they legally can. No point hiding it. Besides, they're FireMoth—and I've been meaning to talk to them sooner or later.'
"The Herrscher appeared and turned most nearby civilians into zombies or Honkai beasts," he said plainly. "Two unlucky souls transformed into the biggest, most powerful Honkai beasts I've seen so far."
He tilted his head slightly. "That's what I think happened—before I arrived and saw it myself."
Himeko narrowed her eyes. "...And then what? Also—what do you mean "before you arrived"? Why the hell were you heading toward the city instead of running away like any sane person?!"
Thor chuckled. "To fight the Herrscher. Why else?"
Himeko stared at him like he'd grown another head.
'He didn't just say that. Right? Right??'
"...Ahem—can you repeat that?" she asked, voice slightly strained. "You didn't just say you went there to fight the Herrscher, did you?"
"Nope. You heard right. I went there to fight the Herrscher." He casually nodded toward the unconscious girl next to him.
Himeko's stomach turned.
Her gaze snapped to the girl, unconscious. 'That's the Herrscher? The Herrscher is right there?? And he beat her?! Why is she even still alive?! He should've killed her the moment he could'
A Herrscher—a being that exists to end humanity—was right there. Right in front of her.
She gulped.
No way. Who the hell is this guy? There's only one person I know who could maybe, possibly, survive a fight like that—and she's a woman stationed in HQ back in Shenzhou, not all the way out here.
She stared at Thor again. He was gently stroking Elysia's back, calm and relaxed. Himeko sighed.
'Fuck it. I don't get paid enough to deal with this kind of bullshit. It's probably best I don't ask more... for the sake of my sanity.'
Unknowingly, Himeko made the wisest choice she could've. Because if Thor had recounted the full truth of what happened, she might have genuinely started questioning reality—and her place in it.
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Once they touched down and the ramp lowered, two paramedics rushed in with a stretcher—heading straight toward the unconscious girl beside Thor.
Clearly, Himeko had called ahead.
Thor raised a hand to stop them. "Leave her. She's fine—just exhausted. I'll bring her in myself if needed."
The paramedics hesitated, glancing at Himeko for confirmation.
She looked between Thor and the Herrscher for a moment before nodding at them to stand down.
From the commotion and the noise leaking in from outside, Elysia stirred. Her eyelids twitched before she slowly opened them, a soft yawn slipping out.
"You're finally awake," she heard Thor say, noticing the position they were still in.
She glanced at him, saw the playful smirk on his face, and just smiled back—then snuggled in again.
"Sigh, Ellie, you can't stay curled up on me. We've arrived at the base," he said, trying to gently pry her off.
In response, she clung to him tighter. Only when he stopped trying did she loosen her grip.
"Kevin, Su, and Mei are here. Don't you want to check on them and make sure they're okay?" he reminded her.
"Mou~ Why don't you carry me~, I'm sure they're fine," she teased, clearly not ready to move.
She also seemed to forget she knocked them out and now they've awoken in an unknown place with their friend, nowhere to be seen.
"As much as I'd love to," he said with a smirk, "I've got to carry our little Herrscher friend over there." He nodded toward the still-unconscious girl.
Elysia glanced at the Herrscher, pouted, then seemed to remember something. She looked at Himeko.
"Well, Himeko over there can carry her. And you can carry me. Simple, right~?" she said, clearly pleased with her logic.
"Huh?" Himeko blinked, caught off guard. "What?"
"You know that won't work," Thor said. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be the one carrying a girl that could kill her—or turn her into a zombie—just by existing. Right?"
Himeko nodded quickly, clearly not interested in that job.
Elysia's smile faltered, replaced by a pout. "Mou~ Fine, I'll let you off this time," she grumbled, sliding off his lap and stretching her arms. Then she looked back over her shoulder. "But next time, no saying no~."
With that, she hopped off the VTOL, on her way looking for her friends.
Thor chuckled, unbuckled himself, then gently undid the harness on the Herrscher. Lifting her carefully, he followed Himeko out of the VTOL.
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Himeko had left Thor in a room with the Herrscher, two guards posted outside.
Their orders were clear: "Don't upset him or the girl. And make sure no one bothers them."
Currently, they are operating out of an old Fire Moth facility just outside Fukuoka. It was just a warehouse for storage until now.
Inside the dimly lit conference room, Himeko sat at a long table alongside two generals and the commander overseeing the Japan branch of FireMoth.
The commander sat in contemplative silence.
One of the generals, clearly the impatient sort, slammed a hand on the table.
"Captain Murata! What's the situation in Nagazora? Where is the Herrscher? And why the hell did you bring three civilians here? They should be processed and quarantined with the rest!"
Himeko didn't answer. She kept her eyes on the commander, waiting.
With a raised hand, the commander motioned the general to silence.
"But—Yes, Commander," the general muttered, falling quiet.
The commander turned his gaze to Himeko.
"Murata. As the general said—what's the status in Nagazora? What of the Herrscher? We've received drone footage, but it's not… great news."
"Commander," Himeko began, "the answer is both simple and complicated. It's probably easier to show you."
She pulled out the tablet she'd received earlier, tapped a few commands, and projected the footage onto the large screen.
The video played—starting with the birth of the Herrscher, then Thor's arrival, his effortless dispatching of two Emperor-class Honkai beasts, and finally, his battle with the Herrscher herself–where he clearly dominated the battle, almost as if he was… playing with her.
The room fell silent. The generals stared at the screen, eyes wide, as if waiting for someone to tell them it was a prank.
The commander leaned forward, voice low.
"Murata… Is what I'm seeing real?"
"Yes, Commander," she replied without hesitation, crushing any lingering doubt.
One of the generals, piecing it together, narrowed his eyes.
"Wait… those two civilians with you. Are they—?"
"Correct," Himeko confirmed. "They're the ones you just saw in the footage."
The other general, silent until now, suddenly stood.
"What kind of insanity is this, Murata?! If what you've shown us is real—WHY would you bring them here?!"
Himeko remained calm under the outburst, but the commander had already stood up. Without a word, he stepped out of the room and pulled out his comms, preparing to make a call.
Who he was contacting—none of them could guess. But the expression on his face said enough.
Even Fire Moth's top brass wasn't ready for this sort of bomb.
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Shenzhou – Fire Moth HQ
Unknown POV:
Klein was exhausted.
Dr. Mobius had been dragged into a high-priority conference call about the Third Herrscher's emergence, leaving Klein buried under a mountain of paperwork.
The only thing keeping her awake was the half-finished bubble tea Blanca had thoughtfully brought earlier.
Slumped over her desk, head resting on scattered papers, Klein was seconds from passing out when—
—BEEP—
—Incoming Call—
—BEEP—
—INCO—
Klein's eyes twitched. With a groan, she swatted through the mess and tapped the terminal with the enthusiasm of a corpse.
"What." Her voice was flat, drained.
"Dr. Klein, this is Commander Satou from the Japanese branch. We have a developing situation requiring the Doctor's immediate input. It's… sensitive. Concerning the Third Herrscher's disappearance."
Klein barely registered the words before muttering, "She's not here. I'll have her call you back when—"
*SLAM!*
The office door slammed open with a force that rattled the frame.
In strode a tall woman with long, flowing lime-green hair and piercing emerald eyes behind sleek glasses. Her lab coat billowed like a dark cape, and her expression balanced irritation with a flicker of cruel amusement.
"Klein! They're sending me a few new 'Volunteers'. Think they can order me around. I founded this whole damn organization. Complete idiots." Mobius snarled, clearly fresh from a terrible meeting.
Klein stared for a moment, then sighed.
"…Never mind. She's here." She grabbed the nearest hot cup noodles and pushed them toward Mobius.
"Mmm, Klein?" She grabbed it ready to eat until Mobius's sharp eyes caught the ongoing call.
"Dr. Mobius, this is Commander Satou, head of the Japan branch. We have a situation regarding the Herrscher's location. Your expertise is required on how to proceed," the commander said, his tone grave.
Mobius's irritation evaporated like smoke. Her emerald eyes gleamed with hungry interest.
"The Herrscher? Where?" The words came sharp, laced with dangerous excitement.
The commander hesitated, then said, "Cough I've just sent you footage from the eruption site. It's… unusual."
Klein flicked the footage onto a nearby monitor.
Mobius's gaze locked on the screen. The longer the images played, the wider her smile grew—twisted, predatory.
"The road to perfection…" she whispered, voice dark and reverent. She dropped the cup noodles staining the floor–she didn't care.
When the footage ended, she leaned forward, voice demanding.
"Where are they? You said you have intel. Speak."
"They arrived disguised as civilians, escorted by Captain Murata. The girl is unconscious. The man—the one from the video—is in a guarded room with strict orders to…" The commander's voice faltered as Mobius's excitement rose, growing louder, more intense—a rare break from her usual cold control.
"Heh. A human defeated a Herrscher. And they still live." She chuckled, low and unsettling. "Bring them here. Now."
"Yes, Dr. Mobius." The commander ended the call.
"Klein! Clear some space for the Herrscher—and that human. The secrets hidden within the Honkai…" Mobius murmured, half to herself.
Klein nodded and began removing some 'experiments' to make room.
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Temporary Fire Moth Forward Base
Elysia's POV:
The air was thick with tension as Elysia walked through the quarantine section. The hall was filled with evacuees—the sick, the Honkai-afflicted, families clinging to one another, children orphaned by chaos. It hurt her to see them like this.
But there was little she could do.
Her eyes drifted to a closed room off to the side. Through the window, she spotted Su, normally a pillar of calm, in the middle of an argument with one of the soldiers.
Just as she drew closer, Su's voice reached her ears.
"Where is Ellie!? What have you done with her?! Why won't you let us leave?!"
'Seems they don't remember me knocking them out. Guess it's for the best right now.' She concluded.
The soldier responded evenly, "I'm sorry, sir. Orders from the top. We can't allow anyone to leave and risk exposure."
But Su wasn't having it. He raised his fist, fury overtaking his reason—only for Kevin to suddenly grab his arm, pulling him back.
"Calm down, Su. This won't help," Kevin said quietly but firmly.
Before things could escalate further, Elysia opened the door and stepped inside.
Mei was the first to notice her.
"Ellie!" she shouted, losing her usually composed demeanour, rushing forward and pulling her into a tight hug. The tension in the room shifted instantly. Kevin's grip on Su loosened as they all turned to her.
"They took you away after knocking us out on the VTOL," Mei said, voice trembling. "We didn't know what happened. We couldn't even remember—"
Elysia gave her signature soft smile, gently placing a hand on Mei's shoulder.
"I'm fine, really~" she said reassuringly. "Even Thor's here."
The entire group stiffened.
"And before you ask—yes, he's fine too," she added, preempting the flood of questions. "He's with a friend right now. He'll be here soon, okay~?"
There were still questions, of course. Too many. But they could wait.
For now, Elysia sat down with them. They began to talk— about what had happened, what they'd seen, what they'd felt. Confusion, fear, pain. All of it, and she listened.
Meanwhile, across the base, a silent figure moved through the shadows.
Eden had just arrived, hidden from sight. She made her way towards the room Thor and the supposed Herrscher was in.
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Thor Pov:
He watched as Eden phased through the door causing him to smile. He waved his hand casting a barrier around the room before addressing her.
"You've improved your control," he said, eyes glinting with approval. "And you've grown stronger. A lot stronger."
He studied her carefully—the sheer magnitude of Honkai energy rolling off her in quiet waves was interesting to say the least. 'What is she, a saiyan? What's next she starts screaming for 2 hrs before her hair goes golden?
She smiled, then glanced at the sleeping girl. "So she…"
"The Herrscher," Thor confirmed. "Formerly, anyway. Whether she still holds the power, I'm not sure. Her soul's repairing itself right now. That's why she hasn't woken."
His amber eye glowed faintly, flickers of gold intruding as he examined the girl's soul directly.
Thor chuckled, leaning back and resting his boots on the table. "That Himeko woman knows what she's dealing with. She knows this girl was a Herrscher—and that I beat her."
Eden glanced toward the door. "And the guards outside? Do they actually think they can stop you?"
He gave a dismissive wave. "The guards aren't for me. They're there to keep everyone else out."
Eden took a seat across from him, pulling out her communicator and shooting a quick message to Himeko:
[I'm here.]
Minutes passed in comfortable silence.
He noticed three people approaching the room.
With a flick of his wrist, the barrier around the room silently dissolved.
He glanced at Eden and told her before asking, "You want to step out?"
"It's better I do. After all, I still want to do my singing work for a while until things calm down." With that she made herself invisible and phased through the back wall leaving the area, looking for Himeko in the meantime.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock* Three light knocks sounded before Thor gave them the ok to enter.
As the door opened three men entered, the commander and his 2 generals.
They saw Thor, but all quickly looked towards the couch where the Herrscher (To them) lay. The sweatdropped at that.
Thor noticed their response to her and chuckled at it. The commander coughed before speaking. "Sorry to bother you sir, but if I may inquire." He shows him the footage of his battle. "This is you correct? And that woman is her right?" He asked, his voice a little strained.
"Yes, your assumption is correct…" He read the commander's badge through his pocket "...Commander Satou."
Satou's breath hitched. "D-do you mind c-coming with us?" He stuttered nervously to make sure not to set him off.
'Come on, I'm not that scary.'
"I'd rather not. Gotta keep an eye on her, you see." Thor nodded toward the unconscious girl. "Whatever you want to ask, ask it here."
Satou paused, then nodded and sat opposite him. The two generals stepped out to keep the hallway clear.
"So," Thor smirked, "what do you want to ask?"
Satou took a breath. "We have reason to believe the girl is a Herrscher, and that you defeated her in combat. Can you confirm that?"
Thor gave him a long look.
Didn't I just answer that? You literally showed me the footage and I confirmed it was me and her.
He looked at the commander like he'd grown gills.
Satou's face reddened as he realized his mistake. He already answered that, you idiot…
"Ahem—sorry, that wasn't what I meant to ask," he corrected himself. "Would you be comfortable coming to our HQ in Shenzhou to meet with one of our founders?"
He winced, almost expecting a rejection.
"Okay."
"…C-can you repeat that? I could've sworn you just said 'okay.'"
"You heard me," Thor said with a chuckle. He picked up his phone and sent a quick message to Elysia:
[I'll be there soon.]
Satou brightened. "When would you be ready to leave?"
"Tomorrow should be fine. Though… I have a few conditions first." Thor placed his phone on the table.
"Whatever it is, I'll make it happen," Satou promised.
"First: I've got a group—five or six people—who'll need to come with me. Second: I want you to find the parents of one of them. They might not be in the city, but he's worried about them. If you can guarantee you'll do that, I'll go tomorrow."
He leaned back, hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling.
"The first is easy. The second… might take some time."
They continued talking for a few more minutes before Commander Satou stood and bowed slightly. "Thank you again." Then he left.
Now alone, Thor looked at the unconscious girl and spoke aloud.
"Looks like I'm going to Shenzhou, eh, Herrscher?"
She flinched.
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A/N:
Well, that's Volume 1 done and dusted. It ended up shorter than I expected to be around 7,000 words instead of the 10,000+ I originally planned. I could feel it starting to drag after about 4.5K words, so I skimmed and summarized some parts to keep things moving somewhat better.
Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. Sure, some bits could be better, but hey, I'm new to this.
Volume 2 will be coming soon, maybe in about a week. For now, I'm working on an omake that might even become canon depending on how it's received.
Vol 2 will focus on FireMoth, Elysia and Thor, Mobius and Thor—and maybe Eden too. I'm thinking of saving Eden and Thors relationship until the 5th or 6th Herrscher shows up, since she'll still be busy with her singing career and public relief work for now. The Divine Keys will also come into play, including the third one. I don't have all the details sorted yet, but I've got some solid ideas brewing.
Oh, and just so you know, Thor and Elysia's relationship is totally normal. No teenage drama here. It's just how things are when you're not teenagers anymore.
There won't be another one of these long A/Ns at the end of future vols, purely so I can do whatever in them.
That's all for now, ciao.