"Uh..."
Drawing out her ring blade, the sharp spear tip at the end of her tail swaying anxiously behind her, Pardofelis avoided eye contact and spoke stiffly.
"You figured out that I hate heat this fast..."
She truly hadn't expected that the armored tin can with the little shoulder cape would pinpoint her weakness the moment he arrived.
And the officer's guess was indeed correct. Back in the Previous Era, Pardofelis had loved staying near Kevin because he was cool to the touch. She was utterly terrified of Kalpas, since her thick fur and weak resistance to fire made her especially vulnerable to his flames.
The next moment—
Boom!Boom boom!Boom!
At the command of the God-Empress Preachers officer, Honkai-powered inferno bolt shells howled through the air. The Astartes felt the scorching heat wave blasting from their muzzles, the searing flames licking against their faceplates.
Inferno bolts differed from standard bolt rounds in their payload. They annihilated targets with superheated chemical incendiary bursts—essentially an enhanced variant of white phosphorus rounds.
"Waaah—"
Scorching meteors of flame pierced the air, shooting toward the cat-eared girl crouched against the wall.
Boom—!
Blinding light intertwined with crimson fire.
The devastating explosion instantly swallowed the spot where she had been standing. The air itself ignited, and molten fragments of the building blasted outward.
A small crater was gouged into the wall. Fused reinforced concrete dripped downward. From within the rolling ring of fire, Pardofelis tumbled out in a panic, ring blade in hand, scrambling through the swirling smoke.
This time, her butt was really on fire.
The burning pain shot from the nerves in her tail straight into her brain like a hurricane of death tearing through her thoughts. The sensation—was absolutely awful!
The bombardment sent building fragments flying everywhere, man-sized holes chewing rapidly through the wall.
The barrage was so dense that the sound of projectiles tearing through the air and the explosions themselves merged into one continuous note.
At this level, the explosions were already lethal to ordinary humans. The high-speed shrapnel, like bullets of shattered stone, was enough to rip through flesh.
Even if one avoided direct contact with the secondary ignition of the inferno bolts' burning phosphorus, the shockwave from the third explosion triggered by oxygen mixing in the air could still rupture human organs.
Boom!Boom boom boom!
The setting sun draped a hazy veil over the earth, yet the battle raging in the streets composed a frenzied symphony for the silent city.
Buildings along the street were riddled with devastation, scarred and perforated beyond recognition.
Debris and shattered fragments cascaded downward in torrents.
And this—was far from over.
Having received authorization to deploy incendiary weapons within the urban district, several heavy weapons teams of the God-Empress Preachers advanced in unison, their footsteps thunderous.
The rims of their pauldrons were painted fiery red. Beneath the emblem of the Seventeenth Legion, an arrowhead resembling a heavy bolt shell was engraved—the universal insignia of heavy support members within the Astartes Legions.
Their power armor was thicker and heavier. Though their agility was slightly reduced, their firepower and energy reserves were significantly increased.
The power packs on their backs were larger as well. From the left side extended a broad, plate-like ammunition feed linking into the incendiary gun in their hands.
Compared to a standard bolt rifle, the incendiary gun was larger, streamlined in form, long and compact.
"Hear the burning truth of the Holy Word!" they shouted as they disengaged the safeties and pulled the triggers.
The next instant—
Hummmm—!
If the scene were slowed a thousandfold, one would clearly see faint red light flicker along the plate-like ammo feed. The conversion device beneath the barrel ignited Honkai energy. The resulting explosive combustion transformed thermal energy into kinetic force. Within the chamber it expanded violently—converted, compressed, and finally—launched.
Crimson thermal rays overwhelmed every other source of light.
In an instant, the entire street ignited.
There were no explosions—only the thick, bubbling glorp of objects melting into liquid and dripping away.
Incendiary weapons, as the name implied, were powerful thermal ray armaments. The heat beams they emitted could detonate organic matter, inflicting catastrophic destruction and reducing flesh to ash in an instant.
Within a city, they could ignite nearly everything and trigger massive conflagrations.
Flames spread like fiery vines along the projected heat rays.
The structural frames of nearby buildings groaned under temperatures exceeding their melting points. Yet instead of weakening, the blaze intensified.
Curtains, billboards, roadside trees... everything combustible caught fire.
Even objects not directly struck by the heat beams began igniting as surrounding temperatures rapidly reached flashpoint. The entire street blazed with light, bright as day.
Sparks converged into roaring fire rings, chain reactions spreading until the entire block was successfully set ablaze, boiling in flame.
The air warped with heat. Moisture evaporated. As the God-Empress Preachers advanced over the dried, cracking pavement, sharp crack crack sounds echoed beneath their boots.
The suffocating heat and carbon dioxide filled every corner. Breathing was nearly impossible.
Yet for both sides of the battle, such an environment remained within tolerable limits.
Even though Pardofelis ranked alongside Griseo as one of the weakest among the Flame-Chasers—tsk... comparing herself to a little girl really was rough on this cat—she was still a MANTIS. Her baseline physical resilience remained formidable.
Though her weakness to fire made her extremely uncomfortable, and her mobility space was severely constrained.
As for the Astartes, their iconic power armor was fully sealed, designed for void warfare. The life-support systems within their power packs maintained body temperature and supplied oxygen and energy.
Thus, even in such a harsh environment, the God-Empress Preachers felt no discomfort whatsoever.
Boom—!
The deployment of heavy firepower brought not only devastating destruction, but awe from countless onlookers.
People, soldiers, and Astartes across the city turned toward this location almost simultaneously.
Under the slanted evening sky, towering flames surged along the street.
"Waaah! My tail—my tail's on fire! Aaaah—! My ears are on fire too!"
Her path blocked by the thermal rays from the incendiary guns and flecks of burning phosphorus clinging to her, Pardofelis shrieked in panic.
Running while clutching her tail, she abandoned all concern for dignity, painfully tearing off the burning tufts of fur like pulling burrs from a dog's tail.
Her cat ears were the same...
From a sleek meow to a hairless meow—Pardofelis was on the verge of tears.
"Waaah—! What are you doing?! Are people of the Current Era this violent? I haven't stolen anything, I haven't done anything bad, I just woke up from a nap—why are you treating me like this?!"
Sparks clinging to her body, skin flushed red from the heat, Pardofelis cut a disheveled yet heroic arc through the air. Her violet ring blade spun continuously, knocking aside incoming shells. Using the recoil to widen the distance, her now bald tail at her lower back adjusted her trajectory with its sharp spear tip.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pardofelis sprinted at high speed across rooftops and along sheer walls. Scorching wind lashed her face, whipping up her short, singed brown curls and exposing her trembling, furless cat ears.
Every corner she passed shattered almost instantly, fragments exploding outward in her wake.
"Even if I was once on a wanted list, that was back in Dusk Street! That was during the Previous Era! You people of the Current Era barging in like this—isn't that just meddling where you don't belong?"
"Aah—my tail, my ears... compared to you guys..." Pardofelis threw her head back and shouted, her voice thick with grief and indignation.
"Whether you are good or not, the Empire will decide. Now—cease resistance!"
Boom!Boom!
Buildings collapsed in great swathes around her, smoke and dust billowing skyward.
Vrrrmm! Vrrrmm! Vrrrmm!
Several God-Empress Preachers wielding chainswords descended from the sky with jump packs roaring.
Pardofelis raised her ring blade.
Clang!
A rippling shockwave traced in sparks burst from the point where their blades met, expanding outward in a circular ring.
And just then—
Crackle crackle!
"Danger!" Her keen animal instincts screamed at her to dodge.
It was the sound of a power weapon's disruption field activating. Arcs of electricity flashed across the hammerhead, converting into a blazing crimson glare like a newborn sun.
Charging in from the side, the God-Empress Preachers officer silently raised the lightning claw on his right hand.
No words were needed—the coordination was flawless. The other Astartes covered, sealed escape routes, and suppressed with fire, while the officer became a streak of red lightning, bursting through the smoke and striking toward Pardofelis' rear flank.
In that instant, violet-red Honkai particles shimmered around his entire body—almost faster than lightning itself.
He lunged, stilled his breath, spread all five claws—and struck.
The bloodstained lightning claw flashed with thunder.
Clang!
A single Astartes might be far from a match for the weakest of the ancient MANTISes.
But what about an entire tactical squad?
Combine three factors—proper weapon synergy to create a favorable battlefield, superb real-time coordination to generate openings, and finally the strongest warrior present delivering the decisive blow.
Then victory became achievable.
Of course, such tactics were only viable against Pardofelis, the weakest MANTIS. If it had been Kevin... well. Even among Flame-Chasers, the gap was absurd. When the disparity in power was too great, no amount of numbers mattered.
Still, there was no helping it. The reason Pardofelis became a MANTIS—and the last-ranked of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers—was simple and direct.
She had simply been lucky.
When she underwent the Meta-Morph surgery, she hadn't even known what a MANTIS was. Everything had happened by accident.
Pardofelis had grown up in Dusk Street, ragged and homeless, once listed on a wanted poster as a righteous thief. After the Tenth Herrscher incident, while "acquiring goods" in the outskirts, she accidentally rummaged up a MOTH document from a disaster site.
That led her to believe infiltrating MOTH would land her a huge score.
The moment she entered a MOTH base, staff members stopped her, assuming she was a volunteer for the superhuman surgery to become a MANTIS.
Seeing the cat looking foolish and clueless, the staff—kind-hearted—felt pity. They repeatedly confirmed whether she truly wished to proceed. (The surgery's success rate was extremely low.)
But Pardofelis misunderstood completely. She thought the staff were fellow professionals—partners—helping her steal something big.
So her answer was: "Let's pull off something huge together!"
After that, she was anesthetized.
When she opened her eyes again, she had grown cat ears and a tail.
She had miraculously survived the surgery and become a MANTIS.
Yes. That was how Pardofelis joined MOTH and became a MANTIS.
But she had received no formal combat training. She passed entirely on luck. Compared to the other MANTISes, she truly was too weak—barely comparable to the still-child Griseo.
Thus MOTH's higher-ups stopped sending her to the frontlines. Instead, she handled logistics work. Because of that, she was fortunate enough to avoid both the Tragedy of Binding and the Herrscher of Corruption incident.
As one of the few surviving MANTISes, she secured her position as the last of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
Now, with incendiary weapons deployed, flames compressed Pardofelis' movement space. The natural agility and flexibility of a feline could no longer be fully utilized.
An unarmored rogue besieged by multiple heavily armored warriors.
The outcome was already decided.
Clink!
Kicked off balance by the officer, Pardofelis was sent sprawling. The lightning claw moved with extreme speed, instantly knocking aside her defending ring blade before a heavy punch slammed into her back with a dull thud.
"Ugh—puh!"
Supporting herself with one hand on the ground, she kicked both legs upward, attempting to create distance—only to be met with left and right strikes from several God-Empress Preachers. Three consecutive punches hammered into her chest.
She went limp, unable to stand for the moment.
"World Serpent cadre—capture complete."
Deactivating the lightning claw's disruption field, the officer held the razor-sharp talons against Pardofelis' slender neck and spoke coldly.
...
Meanwhile, on the Eurasian continent—South Asian subcontinent—southwestern region, Kerala.
Compared to the prosperous and modern North America under Liver's jurisdiction, the cities here—put politely—retained their traditional character.
Low buildings. Narrow public roads. Expressionless faces. In stark contrast stood the small cluster of modern high-rises in the northern part of the city—two distinct worlds.
At the city's major traffic arteries, grotesque barricades shaped like antlers were lowered in rows, completely blocking the roads.
Beside tanks and assault vehicles, armed Servitor Army soldiers maintained local order.
Watching the sharply stratified social hierarchy, they chatted in small groups.
"Tch, this damn place is bizarre. Heard about it? From Maha... damn that's hard to say—Maharashtra. The report from over there. That incident..."
"Uh... you mean the giant lizard that was gang-raped by four people?"
"What?! That's real? The locals are into something that heavy?"
They stared, dumbfounded.
Forget giant lizards—even when it came to humans, they wouldn't dare touch that sort of thing. In the military, anyone who committed such crimes—regardless of rank—was executed on the spot.
In worse cases, it could even implicate their families—or their comrades.
"All I can say is... they really know how to play wild."
...
Unnoticed by them all, deep beneath the city—under the Padmanabhaswamy Temple—a pair of bottomless serpent eyes watched everything in silence.
Nothing has changed. Humanity is still the same as before... isn't it, Elysia? Kevin...