"Fusion procedure complete. Parvati gene successfully injected. Beginning genetic fusion and recombination."
"Mm. So far, everything is going as expected."
Seeing the operation progress exactly as predicted, Elias finally breathed a small sigh of relief.
Kevin was currently undergoing fusion with the Honkai Beast genome of Parvati. The latter's ice manipulation ability was being rewritten into Kevin's.
At the same time, Kevin's body was beginning to shift toward that of a Honkai Beast. Outwardly, he still appeared human, but his physical stats had already surpassed human limits.
Skin, bones, organs, Honkai energy adaptability—all were rapidly improving. Now, he finally had the qualifications to take on a Herrscher one-on-one like Elias or Elysia.
However, just then—something went wrong!
Shhhrrrp!
A wave of extreme cold suddenly burst from Kevin's body, instantly dropping the surrounding temperature below -100°C.
Standing right next to him, Mobius was nearly frozen into an ice sculpture on the spot.
Elias quickly stepped in front of her. The Herrscher of Fire's flame ignited, neutralizing the deadly chill in an instant.
"Not good! Parvati's genome is going out of control! Even if he completes the fusion, the side effects could be massive! We're running out of time!"
Mobius grit her teeth in frustration. No matter how perfect the simulation, it could never fully replicate reality. This unexpected runaway reaction was beyond her prediction—and there was no way to stop it now!
Even though Elias' flames were holding the cold at bay, Kevin's body was still emitting freezing energy nonstop. Mobius was just a normal human now—she couldn't even approach to assist.
And the fusion had reached its final stage. The recombinant gene cells were about to solidify. Even if they wanted to intervene, it was already too late.
"It's fine. Leave it to me."
Elias' voice remained completely calm.
"What?"
Mobius looked at him in confusion.
"So this was fate after all."
Elias stepped up to the operating table. The authority of the Herrscher of Rebirth surged forth—and countless white flowers bloomed across Kevin's body. In the blink of an eye, the rampaging gene flow stabilized completely.
Elias had long expected this outcome.
After all, the original plot had been just like this.
Though Kevin successfully fused with Parvati's genome, the procedure left his body perpetually at -30°C. For the rest of his life, he couldn't get close to normal people.
But now, Elias had changed Kevin's fate. The fusion surgery succeeded perfectly. That bright, sunny husky could continue being a carefree goofball—instead of a frozen popsicle that didn't even know how to smile.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Mobius was utterly shocked.
What Elias had just done seemed like magic in her eyes!
She stared at the white-haired boy, completely dumbfounded. Just how many secrets was this man hiding?
At the same time, Kevin opened his eyes—completely unaware that he had just escaped a near-death disaster. He blinked at the two of them in confusion.
"It's done. Kevin, congratulations. You're now officially MANTIS—the first fusion warrior. How do you feel?"
"Uh... it's done? I feel like I just had a nice dream. Wait a sec—why do I feel..."
Kevin paused, a stunned expression crossing his face as he looked at his hands. He leapt off the operating table and began moving around. With a casual punch, the air roared like a storm.
"My world... feels completely different now."
"Of course it does. You've now surpassed the realm of humanity. As Mobius would say—you've completed an evolution. Heh, looks like Elysia's #2 spot is in danger."
Elias grinned with satisfaction. Now Kevin was finally someone who could fight by his side.
Kevin stared at his fists, eyes sparkling with excitement.
Kevin wasn't just physically stronger—Parvati's power over ice felt like an instinct now. With just a little Honkai energy, the air around him crystallized into snow and frost.
"I'm invincible now! Elias, let's go a round!"
"Oh? Getting cocky already?"
"Cocky?! I've just been epically buffed! It's time to settle old scores!"
Kevin cracked his knuckles with confidence. Today was the day he'd wipe away the shame of the past... Back when he first joined Fire Moth, he nearly got beaten to death by this jerk in the training grounds!
And that guy had the nerve to say, "To learn how to fight, you first need to learn how to take a hit!" But when it came to teaching Hua, he was gentle as a spring breeze! Didn't even lecture her!
Elias had a perfectly natural expression—as if to say, "Come on. Would you treat a good girl the same way you treat a chaotic husky?"
As someone from modern civilization, there was no way he'd miss any chance to beat up Kevin!
"Alright then. Let's head to the training room. I'll help that inflated ego of yours deflate a little."
"Fine by me! Loser treats the winner to noodles!"
"Ugh! Is noodles all you ever think about?"
Elias rolled his eyes. How could this husky still be so obsessed with slurping noodles? Fifty thousand years of devotion and still not tired of it.
Meanwhile, Mobius followed with her instruments in hand. How could she pass up this golden opportunity to collect such precious data?
When the two arrived at the training ground, they instantly became the center of attention.
After all, Elias was the hero who had defeated two Herrschers, while Kevin was the rising rookie star. Not to mention, both were ridiculously handsome with excellent reputations.
"Everyone, if you value your life, back up."
Mobius warned the others. These normal soldiers still didn't realize what was about to go down wasn't some friendly spar. This was a showdown between two humanoid monsters!
"Elias, strike a good pose, would you? I'm a bit tight on cash lately. Once I freeze you into an ice sculpture, I could sell you to Elysia or Mobius—that should fetch a nice price!"
Kevin grinned mischievously.
"Kevin! If you pull it off, sell him to me! I'll give you a million!" Mobius chimed in immediately.
"Cocky, so cocky~ Kevin, I hope you can keep that smug face later. And Mobius, hey! I'm still right here!"
Elias waved Kevin over, and the latter wasted no time. He charged straight in, opening with his ultimate.
"Freeze!"
A blizzard swept through the training room, as azure ice spears flew toward Elias like a torrential storm.
Elias, clearly fired up, ignited his flames—completely opposite in nature. The training room burst into fire as scorching heat engulfed the air. The ice spears didn't even get close before evaporating into mist.
Fire and ice clashed.
Everyone's jaws dropped.
Extreme heat versus extreme cold. Crimson flames against icy blue snow.
This was no ordinary fight—this was a spectacle nature itself couldn't recreate!
"That's it? Kinda mid, honestly. Not useless though—at least we won't need AC in the base during summer."
"Tch! I don't believe this! Raaah!!"
Kevin gritted his teeth. Despite just gaining Parvati's powers, his innate talent allowed him to control it with ease.
But no matter how much he unleashed this freezing might...
The snow and ice simply couldn't breach Elias' domain of flames.
Far off in the distance, Mobius was recording data, eyes wide in disbelief. The temperature in the room had dropped to nearly -200°C. The entire space had become a death zone for living beings.
Yet even under this unimaginable cold...
Elias still smiled, calm and composed.
His flames showed no signs of weakening, dancing playfully like they were toying with the ice, perfectly maintaining equilibrium.
"People always assume my power is just fire... but that's not quite right. At its core, my ability is controlling molecular motion. Fire... is merely a side effect of that."
Elias walked step by step toward Kevin.
He stepped right into Kevin's domain of ice.
Like a sovereign marching into another king's territory, he advanced with elegance and overwhelming force—invading and claiming it for himself.
"Your ice is just an ability. But my flames... are the power of physical law. They operate on another level."
"No way! Elias, you're cheating!"
"So what if I am? Besides, when it comes to ice or flame, what really matters is who has more Honkai energy."
Elias could barely hold back his laughter.
Kevin had only fused with a single Parvati.
Even going full throttle, Kevin's Honkai energy barely surpassed 1,000 HW. Elias, as a six-core Herrscher, had a base level of nearly 20,000 HW under normal conditions!
That meant Kevin's maximum output wasn't even 1/20 of Elias' normal state. Just by sheer quantity alone, Elias could suppress him completely.
"Let this be a lesson. Stay humble~"
"I have only one request. Don't hit the face."
"What's that? Didn't hear you."
"Elias, you b—aaahhhhhh!!"
That day, Kevin's screams echoed throughout the training hall. Passersby could've sworn someone was trying to murder a husky in there.
By the time Elias strolled out, refreshed and glowing with satisfaction, Kevin followed behind him, his face swollen like a pig's head.
"Aren't we both fusion warriors? Dr. Mobius... why is there such a huge gap between me and Elias?"
"Heh~ That whole 'equal warriors' thing was just something I told the higher-ups to get approval. Anyway, go practice with your powers somewhere else. Elias and I have business to handle. Oh, and don't forget—you owe me a bowl of noodles."
"Seriously?! Elias, aren't you sick of noodles yet?!"
"If someone's paying, how could I say no?"
Elias said this with complete confidence, waving Kevin off in disdain before dragging Mobius back to the lab.
Mobius was equally thrilled. The birth of the first fusion warrior meant humanity now had another force—besides Elias and Elysia—capable of overpowering a Herrscher in a direct fight!
More importantly, while it still fell short of her ultimate vision, this was undeniably... evolution!
"Since Kevin has proven the procedure viable, it's my turn now, right? Elias, in case something goes wrong—"
"No, Mobius. It's not your turn yet."
Just as Mobius was preparing to extract Shesha's genome and run her own fusion procedure, Elias grabbed her hand and stopped her. Then, from Imaginary Space, he pulled out something that left her speechless.
"Doctor, the next person... is me."
"Wait, is that—?!"
"Just as you guessed. This is the Honkai Beast genome I prepared for myself. Took me quite some effort, too."
Elias looked at the gene vial in his hand with satisfaction and anticipation. Mobius snatched it from him and placed it in a dedicated analyzer. Upon scanning it, she staggered backward in shock.
"Where... where did you even get this?!"
Mobius was stunned. The genome Elias had prepared vastly surpassed even Shesha's—it didn't just exceed the Judgment-level, it transcended the entire classification!
"Don't worry about where, Doctor. Just understand this—it's the one best suited for me."
"...Are you sure you can withstand it?"
"The question isn't whether I can endure it. It's that only something on this level... is barely worthy of me."
Elias' words were arrogant—but true.
The Honkai Beast genome in question was a synthesized version of Benares and Chiyou.
Constructed using the powers of the Herrscher of Rebirth and Herrscher of Reason, it was a Honkai genome from 50,000 years in the future!
(There's no helping it. For someone like me now, Judgment-level Honkai Beasts are simply too weak. Even if I fuse with them, the power boost would be negligible... Even most Vipralopa-level ones aren't enough.)
The ideal gene match for Elias would've been Benares. As his companion Honkai Beast, he could be 100% certain that there'd be no rejection reaction from a fusion.
But... Bella was too weak.
She was born when Elias first awakened as the Herrscher of the Void, but now, he was a six-core Herrscher.
Even though Bella had grown tremendously over the years, nearly stepping into the Vipralopa-level herself, she still couldn't meet Elias' evolving standards.
So, Elias had a wild idea. He synthesized another Judgment-level Honkai Beast's genome—Chiyou—and combined it with Bella's. The resulting gene sample barely scraped the threshold of what he considered acceptable.
One half-step Vipralopa-level.
One Judgment-level.
And even if Chiyou's genome wasn't fully compatible with Elias, once combined with Bella's, it had to be.
"Come on, Mobius. Isn't this what you've always been waiting for? I'm laying down on your operating table."
With that, Elias lay down calmly, hands folded over his stomach like he was resting in peace… like a man ready to meet his end.
"...Wait one moment."
"Hm?"
Mobius didn't respond. She turned around and stormed into the decontamination chamber. Water splashed loudly. Minutes later, she emerged soaking wet.
"Alright. Let's begin."
The freezing water had sobered her up completely. Mobius clenched her fists to stop them from trembling.
And yet...
As she stood before the pristine white-haired boy lying quietly on her table, she found herself unable to lower the scalpel.
This was supposed to be her dream come true.
She was confident she wouldn't make any mistakes.
Her hands had dissected countless humans and Honkai Beasts. No forensic expert on Earth could compare with her skill. But now—she hesitated.
Why?
Mobius demanded an answer from herself, and it came immediately.
(I can't bear it...)
Looking at the gleaming scalpel in her hand, Mobius realized—she didn't want to let it touch Elias.
What a cruel joke.
The boy who despised human experimentation now lay on the table of his own free will. And the woman who had mastered biology and anatomy... couldn't bring herself to hurt him.
"Mobius... thank you."
Elias looked at her with gentle eyes. For the first time ever on a surgical table, he showed a genuine smile.
"Damn it. You think I can't go through with it now?"
And for once, Mobius—the woman who always wore a smirk—looked pale and conflicted. Not even when operating on herself had she looked like this.
"I can always ask Mei instead."
"Don't you dare! Elias, the only one allowed to operate on you is me!"
"Haha. Then I'm in your hands."
Elias chuckled. Unlike Kevin, he didn't opt for anesthesia—he remained fully conscious.
Mobius finally steeled herself. Carefully, she picked up the scalpel and began the fusion surgery.
If she could, Mobius would've preferred Elias be asleep. She didn't want to hear his cries of pain—it would make her hands tremble.
But instead...
"Mobius, go ahead—you can cut a little deeper."
"Who knows when the next Herrscher might show up."
"Also, quit eating instant noodles. They're not nutritious."
"Oh yeah—have you ever considered fusing all known Honkai Beast genes into one human? That'd be insane. I've even got a name for it: Project Chimera. Thoughts?"
Not only was Elias not crying out—he wasn't even frowning. He just kept talking to distract Mobius, easing her tension.
Until finally...
"Tell me. Which bastards..."
The snake finally spoke. Her voice was low, cold, and so full of rage it even startled Elias.
"Mobius?"
"Elias... who were the monsters that performed human experiments on you in the past? Tell me. I want to carve open every bone, every strip of skin, and every single nerve they had!!"
Mobius growled through clenched teeth—never once stopping the surgery.