To be honest, Acheron was a little curious—after this world, with her help, had overcome the Finality, would it one day reach out to the stars?
But even if it did, she wasn't particularly worried.
With Earth's current strength, it might not match those top-tier powers out there in the cosmos, but it was more than capable of holding its own.
Even among the stars, Emanators were as rare as phoenix feathers. The most common active beings traversing the starry seas were Pathstriders.
And Earth now had no small number of MANTIS warriors.
Not to mention heavyweights like Kevin and Kalpas.
Sure, in Acheron's hands, Kevin might seem like a fresh recruit, but if he really went all out, he'd show the enemy what true brutality meant.
What's more, Kevin now had the Divine Key, Judgement of Shamash.
That thing was, without a doubt, made for Kevin.
Others might say, "I will burn my life to unleash an epic strike!"
Kevin? He'd just unleash an epic strike. If the enemy survived, he'd do it again.
Walking a Path naturally made you stronger—that went without saying. In the original story, Welt, though an experienced warrior during his time on Earth, had fallen behind the main crew in power.
But after arriving in the world of Honkai: Star Rail and adapting to its energies, he received a massive upgrade.
She believed the same would happen for Kevin and the others.
So, Acheron wasn't really worried about this world's fate after she left.
Still, it was a bit too early to be thinking about all that.
With Judgement of Shamash in hand, Kevin's power had grown tremendously.
Coupled with his increasingly mature approach, even Ato was considering whether to pass his captain's position to Kevin and retire to spend more time with his daughter.
But on second thought, he decided against it.
After all, it seemed like there wasn't really a place for him at home anymore.
Ever since Aponia joined Fire Moth, she'd often help look after Griseo in her free time.
Kosma and Dystopia had missions too—they couldn't watch the child every moment.
Before long, Ato noticed his own daughter seemed to prefer Aponia over her old man. Whenever she had a spare moment, Griseo would go find Aponia to play.
And Aponia never showed the slightest impatience, always accompanying Griseo with gentle care.
Their bond even made Blanca a little jealous.
Lately, with Honkai incidents becoming scarce, Acheron hadn't taken the field. All Honkai events were temporarily handled by Kevin's squad.
Instead, Acheron was researching something.
A method to prevent people from turning into Herrschers due to Honkai erosion.
But after a long time studying, she only had a rough idea.
In the end, she chose a rather clumsy approach. She would separate a portion of her own power and use it as a "talisman" for others.
"So, this is the anti-erosion device you came up with?"
Playing with a small crystal in her hand, Mobius spoke with clear interest.
"That's right. But the nature of the power inside is extremely dangerous, so before I give it to you, I have to make this clear: while it can help resist erosion and prevent you from becoming a Herrscher due to Honkai influence, there's one catch. If the power inside leaks, you'll become something even more troublesome than a zombie."
Acheron spoke while watching Mobius's reaction.
Sure enough, when the other heard about the side effect, a hint of disdain flashed in her eyes.
"Fighting violence with violence? Such a crude method…"
Truth was, Acheron didn't fully understand what kind of mindset humans developed after becoming Herrschers. But her reasoning was simple: Honkai erosion was powerful, but her Nihility seemed even stronger.
It wasn't exactly something to be proud of, but Acheron could indeed have people wear these pendants to fend off Honkai erosion.
The principle was just as Mobius said—fighting force with force.
The tyrannical nature of Nihility meant that if Honkai erosion approached, it would be devoured by the void first.
But even Acheron couldn't mass-produce these.
After all, these pendant-like trinkets were essentially made from her own power. Too many, and she'd struggle to control them.
For now, Acheron could only distribute them to the non-combatants close to her.
For instance, the researchers on Mobius's side—Klein, and the twins Fuxi and Nuwa.
Others, like Sakura's younger sister Rin, and Griseo, also received them.
The latter had already accepted Acheron's gifts. Mobius's group was her final stop.
"This thing… it just doesn't look stable, does it? Forget it, I don't need it."
Mobius curled her lip and shook her head in refusal.
Acheron had known Mobius wouldn't want something like this. But her target wasn't Mobius anyway.
It was her assistant, Klein.
In the original story, during the 10th Honkai Eruption, Klein was chosen by the core of the Herrscher of Legion/Domination, becoming one of the thousand.
She succeeded in ambushing and killing Mobius, but because individual Legion Herrschers were too weak, the Herrscherized Klein was unconsciously devoured by the resurrecting Dr. Mobius.
Afterward, Su, who arrived later, concealed the truth. Dr. Mobius never learned what really happened, believing her own resurrection had killed Klein.
Though she never spoke of it, Mobius cared deeply. That was why, later, she exchanged technology with Dr. Mei and obtained the technology for E.L.F.
If possible, Acheron naturally wanted to prevent such tragedies.
The same went for Sakura's sister, Rin.
Even if Herrschers would still manifest in others in different forms, the world was vast. Acheron couldn't manage everything—she could only prioritize protecting those around her.
"Klein, do you need one?"
Acheron looked toward Klein and the twins, Fuxi and Nuwa.
"They don't need it either!"
Before Klein could speak, Mobius waved a hand dismissively, her face full of distaste.
The subtext was clear: Something this dangerous? I'm not letting Klein or the others wear it.
But this time, the ever-obedient Klein reached out and grasped Mobius's hand, the one shielding her.
"No, Doctor. I want to wear it."
"Klein, you don't need to. This lab is safe. You won't be eroded by the Honkai."
Faced with Klein's rebuttal, Mobius turned, her vertical pupils fixed seriously on the other.
In the past, whenever she looked at Klein like this, Klein would obediently comply.
"I'm sorry, Doctor. I want this."
Klein shook her head.
"...Why? I want to know the reason."
Mobius's slightly childish face stared at Klein.
Lately, Mobius had used resurrection multiple times, causing her to revert from her mature form to a younger, girl-like appearance, her cheeks still carrying a hint of baby fat that made her look rather cute.
Elysia had tried many times to pinch those cheeks, though she never succeeded.
"Because… I don't have power like yours, Doctor. I'm just an ordinary person, a regular researcher. If one day… I were chosen to become a Herrscher, I would definitely end up hurting you…"
"Foolish. With just that level, even if you became a Herrscher, you still couldn't harm me."
Dr. Mobius snorted coldly, her tone flat.
"I know. Even as a Herrscher, I couldn't hurt you. But I don't want it to happen, not even if the chance is one in a billion."
"Wow…"
Elysia, who'd been quiet until now, let out a playful gasp at Klein's words to Mobius.
Then, Mobius shot her a fierce glare.
I hate you even more now, Elysia!
Mobius grumbled inwardly.
"Fine. Your wings have hardened—I can't control you anymore. If you like it, wear it."
Mobius snorted and headed deeper into the lab. "And here I thought it was something important. Just this trivial matter, interrupting my experiments."
Acheron clearly saw the faint blush on Mobius's face as she turned away.
Clearly, Klein's words had flustered her a little.
As expected, no matter the situation, Mobius's mouth remained stubborn.
Maybe fifty thousand years from now, if anyone excavated ruins from the Previous Era, they'd find one perfectly preserved mouth.
"Hehe…"
"What are you laughing at!"
"Nothing, Doctor…"
"Then hurry up and come here. It's time to start the experiment."
"Yes, Doctor!"
After shooting a sharp glance at Nuwa, who'd accidentally giggled, Mobius spoke calmly.
Since the other two hadn't spoken up, it meant they didn't intend to wear the pendants.
Hearing this, Fuxi and Nuwa quickly followed.
"Is the Doctor… angry?"
Watching Mobius's retreating back, Klein said with some concern.
"Not at all. If Mobius were really angry, she wouldn't act like that. I've seen her truly furious, you know."
Elysia looked at Klein and giggled.
That time Mobius threw a fit in the office arguing for funding with Fire Moth's former director—Elysia had secretly watched.
Wait, no—could a lovely girl's actions be called "peeking"? It was more like she happened to pass by and see!
"That's good."
Klein visibly relaxed.
She knew Mobius wasn't really angry, but as the saying goes, worry makes you foolish.
"How sweet, the lovely friendship between girls…"
Watching Klein hurry after Mobius after thanking Acheron, Elysia sighed with feeling. With this layer of insurance in place, Acheron felt a little more at ease.
At the very least, some of the tragedies that occurred in the original story wouldn't happen now.
"Oh, perfect timing."
Noticing a message on her phone, Elysia's smile remained, but it grew subtly more serious.
"A mission?"
Acheron asked, watching her.
She knew Elysia well. While the other always met everything with a smile, when facing disasters like Honkai outbreaks, she would still show a solemn side.
"Mhm. Another Honkai eruption. Unfortunately, Kevin's already on a mission, so this one falls to us."
Elysia shrugged.
"Understood. Let's go."
Acheron nodded without another word.
Currently, if a mission arose within Fire Moth, Kevin and Elysia's squads were prioritized. With greater ability comes greater workload—the members of these two squads were relatively strong, and the risk of losses was lower.
Though it was tiring, neither squad complained. Lives were at stake—if they worked harder, others would be safer.
That's what they meant by "the capable bear more burdens."
This time, the Honkai outbreak wasn't far from Fire Moth's base.
An hour later, Acheron and Elysia touched down at the site.
The outbreak had occurred in a small county town.
By now, half the town had fallen, becoming a dead zone. The remaining survivors had already been safely evacuated.
Fire Moth acted swiftly. After the outbreak, survivors quickly reached safe zones, while the affected areas were cleared, awaiting Fire Moth's cleanup team.
Now, the area was sealed and empty. The rest was Acheron and Elysia's job.
They needed to clear out all the zombies and Honkai beasts in the zone.
Since the outbreak was small in scale and highly concentrated, the number of zombies and Honkai beasts spawned wasn't too high.
Only about ten thousand or so.
It looked like a lot, but clearing them was relatively straightforward.
After all, a single slash from Acheron mowed them down like wheat.
In just half a day, Elysia and Acheron, along with other Fire Moth units, had wiped out every last zombie and Honkai beast.
In fact, this Honkai eruption hadn't even produced a single Emperor-class Honkai beast.
But to Acheron, it made little difference—an Emperor-class fell to one slash, and so did an ordinary zombie.
Zombie: What, I'm equal to an Emperor-class Honkai beast? Seriously?
After the cleanup, Elysia received a call and asked Acheron to wait a moment.
Soon, she returned carrying a bag.
"Mei, Dr. Mei just told me—among the zombies we cleared, there actually was a Herrscher. But this Herrscher's existence was special. It split its core into a thousand fragments, and there were a thousand instances of this Herrscher."
"?"
Hearing Elysia's words, Acheron tilted her head in confusion.
"There was a Herrscher just now? I didn't notice. Should've told my blade about it…"
Somehow, in the ruins of the city, an abandoned shop's electrical circuit reconnected, causing a long-silent music player to start up again.
"Oh life~ could you just let me off this one time~"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.