The rotor blades thundered overhead. A young man with purple hair crouched outside the cabin, one hand gripping the rail as he scanned the landscape below.
A long, narrow scar stretched across his left eye, while burn scars masked his right cheek, distorting what were once refined, handsome features. He wore a full MK.V heavy exoskeleton and cradled a high-powered electromagnetic rifle—his very posture radiating lethal intent.
He was undoubtedly an elite soldier, but his crimson eyes were unnaturally vivid, the pupils subtly fractured—an unsettling trait that made him appear something other than human.
His gaze swept past 'Peak' Elysia, pausing instead on the ground below. He pressed his earpiece.
"Sir Chalice, I have visual on Dr. Ryan. Yes, he ignored the crowd's cheers—just walked away, quietly."
"Is that so? How strong do you believe he is?"
"I'm sorry, I can't assess without direct engagement. However, based on intel from the Third Herrscher Era, his combat strength likely doesn't surpass my own." He paused, then added cautiously, "But the data from that suppression operation is incomplete. It's unclear whether he used his full power. And Dr. Ryan is currently undergoing Fusion Warrior augmentation."
"Indeed. And perhaps with a Judgment-Class Honkai Beast factor—Vinal, as the top combatant of the Southern European branch, are you… jealous?"
The chief assistant's voice over the comm was gentle—almost like casual conversation after a meal. Vinal's crimson eyes narrowed briefly, then steadied.
"My fusion compatibility is limited to a mutated Honkai Emperor. That's just what my genes allow. I feel no jealousy. In fact, I look forward to fighting alongside Dr. Ryan."
"Good. That's the mindset I like. Pull back."
"Understood."
Vinal turned. Inside the cabin sat over a dozen figures—men and women alike—each with distinct expressions, yet sharing two common traits.
First, they were all relatively young; few veterans ever survived the Fusion procedure. Second, their equipment was exceedingly advanced—some weapons so massive that ordinary soldiers couldn't even lift them, let alone fire without fracturing their shoulders.
"Prepare to pull out."
"Tch. All that grand entrance, just to take a stroll?" A silver-haired girl with curly locks grumbled, popping her bubblegum with a dramatic smack.
"Freya, we came to eliminate a Herrscher. She ran. Want to stick around and clean up instead?" A dark-skinned woman with a powerlifter's build raised her eyebrows, palms up.
"Hmph. Lucky her. I even wrote my will in advance."
"I helped you draft half of it. Told you to read more, didn't I? But you never listen." A sharp-eyed blonde girl smiled. Seeing her sulky teammate frown, she shoved a lollipop into her mouth, cutting off the protest.
"Here, sugar fixes everything. Relax—our time will come. Sooner or later, one of us is going to bring down a Herrscher."
The group quieted. Clearly, they liked her.
Alice wasn't just cute and cheerful—she was also of noble birth. It was rare for someone like her to fight on the front lines.
After soothing the team, she tilted her head, asking lightly, "By the way, Captain—if we had fought a Herrscher today… could we have won?"
Vinal paused, then gave a small nod. "I don't know. But trapping her with the full squad wouldn't be a problem. We've run the simulations many times."
In their VR training, they'd learned the hard truth: solo encounters were suicide. But with full gear and coordinated effort, they'd managed to push win rates to 30%—a remarkable figure, considering the odds.
"Let's head back. No downtime. We're moving into the next training phase. New equipment adjustments. The Research Committee's moving fast."
He turned—only to feel a slight tug on his sleeve. Instinctively, he looked down.
Seated just beside him was a young man with tightly braided, blue-grey hair that shimmered faintly like brushed steel. His face was youthful but blank, almost too calm—but his pale blue eyes burned.
Sharp. Cold. Saturated with hatred.
"Captain," he said quietly, "I want in on the southern rainforest sweep."
"Can you give me a reason, Eder?"
The young man lifted a hand to his face, as if trying to smother the rage boiling behind his eyes.
"Because I have to fight. Because I need to fight. Even if the Herrscher escaped, I'll hunt her hounds to the ends of the earth. I won't leave a single one alive."
…
This wasn't an escape. It was a calculated, strategic retreat.
Ryan stroked his chin thoughtfully, showing no trace of scorn. The Fourth Herrscher's decision was sharp—an immediate shift from overt confrontation to covert maneuvering. Unlike her stubborn, headstrong predecessors, she had slipped into the shadows, making her infinitely more difficult to deal with.
That was why he and Elysia had been summoned straight to Fire Moth's headquarters in New York. The top brass were uneasy. The Fourth Herrscher posed a legitimate threat to core leadership—an assassin who could strike at the heart of command with surgical precision.
"This is starting to get annoying," Ryan muttered. "I'm not their guard dog."
"But your surgery's been approved." Mei replied, barely glancing up as she scrolled through combat footage from San Diego on her tablet.
"So this is one of the perks," he said dryly. "At least it moved the Fusion Warrior project forward. Otherwise, even with our relatively high success rates, they would've dragged their feet forever."
Mei gave a subtle nod. The Herrscher's shift in tactics didn't affect Ryan personally—unless she evolved into a sleeper-killer type and managed to take him out in his sleep.
All that had changed was the form of warfare.
Surprise and stealth were now the norm. And with that, conventional military forces were reduced to background actors. Just like the ill-fated Third Fleet—crushed before they could even activate their war machines. Against this kind of threat, massed firepower meant nothing.
"So," Ryan continued, "high-mobility combatants are the new trend. At least Fusion Warriors can respond faster than warships or aircraft. I'll be adjusting my research priorities. We can drop the oversized railguns and mega-cannons for now."
She deleted several projects without hesitation. Truthfully, she'd been wanting to for a while. But the military-industrial lobby always pushed back, insisting that their massive weapons could obliterate entire districts, even Herrschers.
But now? If you couldn't find the enemy, it didn't matter how powerful your weapons were.
Ryan chuckled softly. "Technology isn't useless. It's just… rigid. Too specialized. We can't throw it away, but we do need to adapt."
"The Starlink warning grid needs a serious upgrade," he added. "And the Honkai energy detectors—we'll need spectral analysis across multiple bands. Otherwise, we won't be able to identify anything meaningful."
"You're trying to track the Fourth Herrscher?" Mei's fingers froze. Her tone shifted. She immediately prioritized the task.
"We can't afford to leave her unchecked," Ryan nodded. "And more Herrschers will come."
He paused, then added casually, "You know, most of the world is still made up of ordinary people. Tell me, Mei—do you play chess?"
"You mean the part about exchanging pieces?"
"Exactly. Pawn for pawn. Rook for rook. King for king. Every piece has its role. We won't beat the Honkai alone. Just like the fight against the Third Herrscher—if she hadn't been reckless and arrogant, we might've lost."
The Herrscher of Thunder had been worn down through sheer attrition. Fire Moth threw bodies at her until she slipped. Ryan had simply dealt the final blow—but without those sacrifices, the opportunity never would've appeared.
Mei leaned back, resting her chin on one hand, thinking. Eventually, she restored several of the items she'd just deleted.
"You think the Herrschers will continue to grow stronger?"
"Yes. There's a pattern. At least, I think there is." Ryan licked his lips, his expression distant, calculating. "Here's my hypothesis—"
"The fiercer our resistance, the higher our level of civilization, the stronger the Herrschers become."
He had always questioned why the Herrscher of Binding wasn't deployed immediately to end everything.
But now he understood.
It wasn't because they chose not to.
It was because they couldn't.
Mei nodded, turning toward her computer. "Interesting theory. Here—this is the Honkai energy signature I just modeled. After the Fourth Herrscher's emergence, the global average Honkai levels jumped by 1.3."
"These are the Honkai sickness outbreak statistics. They've gone up by another 3% since the last report."
"So you've already noticed." Ryan moved the mouse, reviewing the data line by line—until his eyes landed on the final, top-secret entry. "And this… can't be disclosed?"
"No. Because the conclusion is deeply demoralizing." Mei's tone remained eerily calm as she adjusted her glasses. "Killing Herrschers or suppressing Honkai Beasts changes nothing. Once the engine of destruction starts moving… humanity no longer has the option to surrender."
There was no anger in her voice—just a cold, unshakable certainty. Ryan found himself quietly admiring her composure.
Resistance only invited harsher retribution. Surrender was suicide. The whole equation was a one-way spiral into annihilation.
Ryan paused, then said slowly, "There will be an end to this. Honkai must have a ceiling. If we can push past it—surpass that ceiling—we can still win."
"You really believe that?" Mei's eyes sharpened with interest.
"Many things have changed. But that belief shouldn't."
Mei's stern expression softened slightly. She studied Ryan for a moment, then gave a silent nod. "Alright. I'll trust you."
He had never been one to lay out his thoughts plainly. But for someone like Mei—a genius who saw through most things—he didn't need to. She'd likely already considered his origins, possibilities, and intentions across countless mental simulations.
"Feeling motivated all of a sudden?" she teased.
"No. Even if you said nothing, I would've arrived at the same conclusion eventually. But trusting you saves me the effort." She rolled her eyes at him, then stood up and motioned for him to follow.
They were deep beneath Fire Moth's New York headquarters—inside the organization's most secretive underground laboratory. The entire space had been hollowed out, vast and reinforced beyond anything Ryan had seen. After the Fourth Herrscher's appearance, Fire Moth had expanded it even further.
One hundred meters of rock above them. Fifteen layers of alloy armor plating. It was said to be able to withstand a Herrscher onslaught for 24 hours.
Ryan looked around, intrigued. In a world where even the strongest feared death, it made sense they'd build a bunker this formidable. It served not only as HQ, but also housed dozens of specialized departments.
The Research Committee was here. So was Deep End. All around, the hum of machines reverberated through reinforced walls.
"They're building an underground city?"
"Yes," Mei replied without missing a beat. "The top layer will be cleared into a massive chamber capable of sheltering civilians. What you've seen so far are just surface entrances." Her heels clicked sharply against the alloy floor as she walked. She stomped a few times for emphasis.
"They'll keep digging until they reach 800 meters deep. Each department will relocate downward as construction continues. If you want the details, here—just look at the blueprints yourself."
Mei tossed him the tablet. Explaining was too tedious.
This was part of the Humanity's Refuge Plan, and after San Diego's fall, it had received another massive wave of funding.
Ryan browsed through the plans. The design resembled an inverted pyramid, with enormous internal caverns capable of sustaining nearly a million civilians. Fiber optic systems would channel sunlight from the surface, simulating daylight below—enough for long-term human habitation.
The lower levels were reinforced with heavy firepower and integrated with the main fleet—forming a literal underground fortress.
Wait a second... Is this Third Neo-Tokyo City?
The déjà vu hit him hard. Ryan narrowed his eyes and checked the project leads.
Sure enough—Vill-V's name appeared on nearly every subsystem.
No wonder she'd been in such a rush to get out of HQ.
The deeper he scrolled, the more absurd it became. Fire Moth wasn't just building a bunker. They were building a civilization-in-waiting. Hundreds of sub-projects: food cultivation sectors, population control, ID authentication systems—too many to count.
"You never objected to this?" Ryan finally asked. "Isn't it pointless? Herrschers don't rely solely on physical force. The further we go, the more their abilities defy science altogether."
"And what would you propose we use instead?" Mei asked sincerely.
"Metaphysics. Theology. Whatever's left." Ryan shrugged. "Some Herrschers go beyond logic. Just look at Elysia."
Mei was silent for a moment. Then she nodded, took off her glasses, and faced the wall.
A retinal scanner swept her iris, and with a loud hiss, a hydraulic lock disengaged. A massive, armored door began to grind open.
"Where are we going, exactly?" Ryan asked, frowning.
Mei turned back with a raised brow.
"Didn't you want to see Fire Moth's most prized war trophies?"
War trophies?
Ryan stiffened. His pupils contracted slightly.
He already knew what was waiting inside.
Herrscher corpses. And their Cores.