"To be honest, the reason I have such unique powers is entirely thanks to Dr. Mobius' MANTIS Project. Whether it's the strength to crush Honkai Beasts with my bare hands, or the flames I used earlier, I owe it all to that."
Elias narrowed his eyes, his head tilted at a 45-degree angle toward the blue sky and white clouds as he spoke. Anyone who knew him well would immediately recognize—he was lying.
But the officials sent by the upper brass knew very little about Elias. They paused for a moment upon hearing his words—
—and then it all made perfect sense!
Everyone in Fire Moth knew just how insane a scientist Dr. Mobius was. It wasn't rare for some monstrous creation to wander out of her lab and nearly demolish half the base.
Still, no one expected that even this calm-looking boy was one of Mobius' victims.
He looked so normal!
"MANTIS Project? What's that? Captain Elias, please explain in detail!" someone asked excitedly.
Everyone had seen Elias and Elysia's performance in the battle. Their ability to fight a Herrscher head-on—if such power could be replicated…
"Ahem, I don't really know all the details. But in general terms… it's about integrating Honkai Beast genes into the human body, creating super soldiers who possess the power and physicality of Honkai Beasts, while retaining human consciousness."
"!!!"
The moment Elias said that, a wave of shock rippled through the group.
Many of them swallowed hard, cold sweat trickling down.
Injecting Honkai Beast genes into humans—that was reckless, insane even. But... it absolutely sounded like something Mobius would do!
They all nodded, connecting the dots. It just felt too plausible.
"Alright, any other questions?"
"About those mechs that showed up today..."
"Ah~ who knows? Nothing to do with me."
Elias yawned and waved them off as if to say: I'm tired, you're dismissed.
"Er, right then."
Seeing his disinterested expression, the group tactfully withdrew. After all, they had already uncovered the "secret" behind Elias' power.
Time to report back.
And thus, Mobius' nightmare began.
Upon hearing Elias' statement, the higher-ups immediately dispatched a team to investigate her first laboratory.
"Dr. Mobius! You are hereby under investigation for unauthorized human experimentation involving Honkai Beast gene fusion. Hand over all related experimental records."
"Huh? What? I didn't do anything! You're accusing me wrongly!"
Mobius had been standing before an operating table, conducting some sort of... research on a freshly delivered test subject. The moment she heard that, her mind blanked. Her hand slipped—
Slick! Her scalpel slashed an artery. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh—!!"
"Tch! What's with all the screaming? It's just a scratch. You there—I'm innocent, okay? I don't know anything about any MANTIS Project."
Covered in blood, Mobius' cries of injustice were far from convincing.
"Please don't hide anything, Doctor. Captain Elias already explained the situation. You are required to cooperate. If not, we will search the lab ourselves! Everyone, begin!"
"Yes, sir!" xN
"Damn it! You bastards, don't touch my lab! I swear I'll strap you all to the test bench myself!"
Mobius was livid watching them tear through her lab. She ignored the poor lab rat sobbing on the operating table and rushed to stop them.
"Fusion genes? What the hell did Elias tell you?! I don't know anything about this!"
No matter how much Mobius tried to plead her innocence, it was useless. The difference in public image between her and Elias was simply too vast—a great hero who had saved humanity in the Second and Third Honkai Eruptions versus a mad scientist known for shady experiments.
Anyone with a shred of sense would trust the former without hesitation.
And then—
"Found it! This is the proposal!"
"..."
Mobius' eye twitched as she slowly turned her head.
Sure, she hadn't actually conducted any fusion warrior surgeries yet, but... the idea had definitely crossed her mind!
At the very least, the proposal wasn't just a title—there were detailed steps outlined. All that was left was to recruit volunteers for human testing.
Even so, Mobius insisted she was innocent.
It was just a plan! Just some paperwork!
She hadn't done anything yet!
"Evidence secured. Take her away."
With no room for argument, Mobius' hands were cuffed and she was arrested... though she was released just a few hours later.
"ELIASSSSSSS!!"
Mobius came back absolutely fuming.
"You dared to frame me!!"
She grabbed Elias—who had just returned from the battlefield and was in the lab painting with Griseo—by the collar, gritting her teeth as she demanded an explanation.
"Uh, I wouldn't call it framing, per se. You were planning on doing the experiment anyway, weren't you? It was bound to happen eventually. Just think of it as doing me a small favor—otherwise, I wouldn't have had a good way to explain myself."
Unlike a certain Herrscher of Origin whose disguise was flawless and undetectable if she didn't want to be found, Elias' powers could easily be linked to Herrscher-like abilities from the Honkai side.
In the Previous Era, revealing you were a Herrscher...
...was basically a death sentence.
Regardless of Elias' past achievements, if word got out that he was a Herrscher, he'd instantly become a public enemy—this was an era that harbored extreme hatred toward Herrschers.
"Hmph! You think I'll forgive you just because of that? Looks like I've been too soft with you lately. Don't forget—I'm Mobius!"
(Mobius: "I'm super scary, okay!")
"Alright, alright~ Our dear Dr. Mobius is the scariest. But let's not dwell on such petty matters. This time, I've brought you a gift you're definitely going to love."
Elias spoke lazily as he opened a rift to the Imaginary Space—now his personal storage closet—and began rummaging through it.
Mobius sneered, arms crossed.
"A gift? Hah! Elias, do you think I'm Elysia? That I'd be so easily swayed? If you want my forgiveness, you'd better climb onto the operating table yourself—"
Tada! "The heart of the Judgment-level Honkai Beast Shesha! I personally dug it out from inside the beast while it was still alive. It's still warm~"
"..."
Mobius stared, stunned, as Elias wheeled out a storage container half his height. Inside was a massive, still-beating heart.
"Doctor, do you like it? A serpent that can infinitely regenerate, treating death as meaningless... I figured it'd be a perfect match for you."
Elias smiled gently at her. The anger Mobius had shown just moments earlier froze on her face. She stared at the heart of Shesha, her breathing growing rapid—like a starving animal eyeing a feast.
"Alright, it's amazing~ Gimme! Hurry up and give it to me!"
"So, Doctor, do you forgive me now?"
"No problem. I forgive you, I forgive everything! Just hand over that heart already!"
Mobius spoke eagerly.
In that moment, she completely stopped caring about how Elias had "framed" her earlier.
Please, with how good her relationship with Elias was, what was a little sacrifice to help him out?
So what if she got locked up for a few hours and had to eat a pork chop for dinner?
Mobius didn't mind. Not one bit!
"An immortal serpent that transcends death... yes, yes, this is exactly the kind of Honkai Beast I've dreamed of!"
Mobius was practically drooling. Shesha was, without a doubt, her ideal aesthetic for a Honkai Beast.
As Elias had said—she was destined to carry out the fusion warrior experiment someday. And a creature like Shesha, capable of resurrection and impervious to death, was the only Honkai Beast she would ever choose to fuse with.
Even if Elias hadn't brought her Shesha's heart today, Mobius would've gone to collect its genes herself eventually.
What she didn't know... was that the heart Elias gave her was likely the last surviving piece of Shesha.
The rest of its body had been transformed into a mundane snake under the Herrscher of Rebirth's power and nearly incinerated to ash in Herrscher of Fire's flames.
Seeing Mobius' obsessed expression, Elias couldn't help but ponder: what kind of Honkai Beast would be the most compatible with him?
He got the answer in under a second.
Benares. Bella.
There couldn't possibly be a better match than his own companion Honkai Beast. Even here, 50,000 years in the past, Elias had ways of acquiring Benares' genetic material.
Not that it really mattered.
Because Elias' goal was never to become a basic fusion warrior.
His future, like Kevin's, lay in becoming a chimera—
He wanted the genes of every Honkai Beast from the Previous Era… and the Current Era!
"Hold up, Doctor. I know you're excited, but don't get ahead of yourself. Even though this is a gift, there's one condition for giving it to you: when the fusion warrior surgeries begin, I must be present."
Elias spoke seriously.
Mobius blinked, surprised by his solemn tone.
"...That's odd. Didn't you used to hate human experimentation? Now you're not only helping push the plan forward—you want in on it? What, planning to hand me the scalpel? Should I congratulate you on becoming what you once despised?"
She teased with a smirk.
"Of course not. It's precisely because I hate human experimentation that I have to be there."
Elias' expression turned grave.
He knew just how frighteningly low the success rate for fusion warrior surgeries really was. And while human experimentation went against his instincts, he also understood that fusion warriors were an irreplaceable part of humanity's defense against the Honkai.
Trying to stop it was impossible.
It was a certainty—a vital stepping stone in mankind's struggle.
But to be clear, Elias had no intention of becoming Mobius' assistant. He wouldn't be the one handing her surgical tools.
Instead, he would serve as a safety net.
(With my Herrscher of Rebirth powers, I can drastically improve the success rate. Even if a procedure fails, I should be able to keep the test subject alive.)
That was Elias' thought.
With his authority over biological cells, he could at the very least ensure no one died on the table. As long as a subject still had breath, he could restore them completely. That power was the shield every brave warrior deserved.
"...Fine. I agree."
Mobius hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
She then took Shesha's heart and immediately dove into her research. This was a crucial step toward achieving immortality!
Mobius was so ecstatic she almost wanted to perform the surgery on herself right then and there—just to feel what unkillable truly meant.
"By the way, someone new's joining the lab tomorrow. Blanca plans to resign, and she's recommended one of her junior classmates to take over. Supposedly quite capable. Just giving you a heads-up."
"Oh? That so."
Elias blinked. He already had a good idea of who was coming. So, Klein was finally about to make her debut?
He silently offered her a few seconds of pity.
Welcome to the devil's lair—
The unending hell of overtime!
Mobius had invited Elias to join her lab many times in the past, but he'd rejected her every time.
He wasn't about to spend 24 hours a day, 365 days a year working nonstop. Not even a Vipralopa-grade vessel could survive that.
...
Following the Third Honkai Eruption—
Fire Moth finally grasped the true terror of the Honkai. Unlike the first two eruptions that were more like city-scale catastrophes, the third had devastated an entire continent.
Fire Moth began ramping up its development rapidly. The UN granted them broader authority. New Honkai-based weapons entered mass production, and talented individuals were recruited from around the world.
All in preparation for future Honkai disasters.
Mobius' MANTIS Project, though controversial and deemed unethical by many, was ultimately approved—because Elias, a "successful example," had brought back incredible results.
Though not publicly disclosed yet, Mobius was officially authorized to begin human testing… meaning fusion warriors would now emerge far earlier than in the original timeline.
Elias and Elysia also received promotions—
Sort of.
They were still captain and vice-captain of the same squad (even if the squad only had two people), but their authority was greatly elevated. While nominally the same rank as Himiko, Elias now had the power to give her orders.
On top of that, Elias had also taken up a new role: instructor to incoming recruits.
Such as—Kevin and Hua.
"I'm not surprised that this husky decided to join, but you? I didn't expect you to volunteer for Fire Moth."
Elias gave a glance toward Kevin, who had yet to become the cold, stoic ice cube he would be later. Right now, he was still a cheerful and bright young man.
Then Elias turned his gaze to someone else.
A plain girl with gray hair and clear green eyes. Her looks weren't as dazzling or distinctive as Elysia or Mobius, but there was something quietly appealing about her. An air of honesty surrounded her.
This was Hua—who would one day become Fu Hua, 50,000 years later.
"Yes. I want to find out what I'm capable of."
Hua replied with utmost seriousness.
She had survived the Third Honkai Eruption, lost her past to it, and found hope thanks to Elias' intervention.
Hua had witnessed Elias and Elysia take down the Third Herrscher with her own eyes. That moment—of humans defeating a god—left a deep impression. Inspired, she wanted to do her part.
Faced with the choice between joining Fire Moth to fight or being sent somewhere safe to live a "stable" life, Hua had chosen the former without hesitation.
"You're capable of more than you know, Hua. But understand—what I gave you was just a spark of hope. What you do with it, how brightly it burns... that's up to you."
Elias looked at the modest girl with genuine trust in his eyes.
He knew that spark would someday ignite into a blaze no one could extinguish—a flame that would burn for 50,000 years.
"Thank you. But… may I ask you one question?" Hua asked, curious.
"Of course."
"How did you know my name? The first time we met, you called it out."
"Oh, that..."
The next second, Elias curved his lips into a smile—and under Hua's shocked gaze, performed a set of martial arts movements from Ki.