The terrifying anomalies manifesting in Central Europe had already caused massive shockwaves across the entire globe.
This time, the situation was completely different from the consecutive outbreaks of the three previous Great Eruptions, as well as the numerous high-end combat clashes involving Kevin and the others.
Because this anomaly persisted.
It persisted to the point where the relevant intelligence simply could not be covered up.
Very quickly, the voices of dissent arose.
"Why would a Herrscher like this appear?"
"The efficiency of The Moth Who Chases the Flames is highly questionable."
"Our nation has decided to temporarily suspend all financial aid programs directed toward that organization."
It was common knowledge. Unlike Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent from the current civilization era, The Moth Who Chases the Flames was the sole, publicly acknowledged anti-Honkai organization on Earth in this era. It was established by the United Nations.
Naturally, it fell under the jurisdiction of the UN.
Over the years, from the outbreak of the First Eruption to the effortless victory over the Second Eruption, many people had actually grown complacent and arrogant.
However, the Third and Fourth Eruptions had now broken out consecutively in a very short span of time. Combine that with the apocalyptic, heaven-destroying supernatural powers recently displayed by Kevin, Raiden Mei, Fu Hua, Durandal, and the others.
Clearly, certain individuals in power could no longer sit still.
Humanity inherently fears the unknown. Simultaneously, they hold deep hostility toward the uncontrollable.
And right now, uncontrollable and unknown events were taking turns playing out across the globe, one after another.
Especially this matter.
"Have you still not located the whereabouts of the Herrscher of Origin, Elysia?"
Whenever a good number of those in power remembered that a Herrscher had been living right under their noses in plain sight all these years—and that she was the absolute strongest combatant within The Moths, an anti-Honkai organization—their anxiety naturally skyrocketed.
What? You say the Herrscher of Origin is very close to humanity? Then she should be able to sacrifice even more for us. Shouldn't she?
This was the self-righteous mindset of certain individuals.
And exactly under these circumstances.
"This is not a living natural disaster that ordinary human manpower can resist."
"Attempt to contact those superhumans. They have both the capability and the obligation to resolve a crisis of this magnitude that threatens all of humanity."
"We must force them to share intelligence regarding that kind of power."
"Instruct the Continent of Mu to accelerate testing on Project ELF."
"Deploy the mech squadrons."
Mobius had no idea what the situation was like over at the United Nations.
But here at The Moth Who Chases the Flames.
"Heh."
She laughed.
It was rare for her to personally attend such a mind-numbingly dull meeting. Listening to those high-ranking council members—people accustomed to sitting in comfortable offices and solely pointing fingers—now exposing their panicked, overwhelmed, and ugly true colors. She had to admit, she was in an incredibly good mood.
She was even more amused when she heard that several covert projects secretly pushed forward by their faction—the reborn World Serpent—had actually been accelerated because of this crisis.
Of course, the hidden dangers and threats posed by the Fourth Herrscher, as well as the suspected surviving and currently missing Third Herrscher, still needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible.
Regarding this aspect, unlike those ignorant, useless sacks of meat in the council, Mobius was actually quite confident. She knew the true origins of Returners like Kevin and Fu Hua.
In her eyes, even if the trials of this era had become exponentially more difficult due to certain unseen reasons, the Herrschers born during these early Great Eruptions would still be no match for that man. They would never be a match for the Sire of World Serpent.
Project Chimera. A body housing the genes of a hundred beasts, standing at the apex like Brahma.
A comforting thought, truly. Just imagining it is thrilling.
It had to be said, Mobius's train of thought was actually entirely correct.
But that was only under ordinary circumstances.
And those ordinary circumstances referred to a specific scenario: A Herrscher is born, and they immediately and frantically begin their crusade to destroy all of humanity. Consequently, they are forced to grow arduously in a highly stressful and highly lethal environment, running a significant risk of being killed before they can fully mature.
But right now, the situation was evidently very different.
Outsiders had absolutely no idea.
The Fourth Herrscher, Seele, was not operating with the goal of destroying all of humanity at all.
As for the highly likely surviving Third Herrscher, Kali.
SWOOSH—!
The location was the coastal waters surrounding the southwestern region of the Continent of Mu, near several coastal cities bordering the Australian continent.
The formerly breathtaking scenery of clear blue waters and azure skies had, at some unknown point in time, undergone a bizarre and profoundly unnatural transformation.
A red tide? No.
It was something far more dangerous. In the truest sense of the word, the seawater had turned entirely blood-red.
Rising from the depths of the ocean were grotesque, red-and-black alien monsters. Each and every one of them was driven by pure killing intent and primal predatory instincts.
In their initial state, they possessed only a vague humanoid silhouette. They looked like unpainted, life-sized clay sculptures.
On a certain beach.
!!!
The tourists who were previously enjoying their day—playing beach volleyball, sunbathing, and swimming—stared in sheer horror as those eerie, red-and-black figures made landfall one by one. And then.
Crack. Crack.
Under the unblinking gaze of the terrified crowd, those bizarre figures actually "looked" back at them. The moment they locked eyes with the humans, their bodies began to violently writhe and contort.
Ultimately, they turned into them. They transformed into the humans themselves!
At this moment, an overwhelming wave of the uncanny valley effect continuously screamed alarms into the minds of everyone present.
However, before even a single person could react and run for their lives.
SQUELCH—!
One of the bizarre figures that had just finished its shapeshifting instantaneously flashed right in front of its original prototype at a completely inhuman speed.
Then, it punched its fist straight through the original's chest.
The very next second, something even more horrifying occurred.
"Ah!!!"
Using the arm that had impaled the human body as a medium, the original prototype—who was merely an ordinary human with a frail physique compared to the monster—screamed in agony. The human began to rapidly dissolve and was completely absorbed by the creature.
The entire process was the exact inverse of the steps those red-and-black figures used to mimic, disguise, and shapeshift.
Therefore, in the following instant.
"Mon—"
SQUELCH!
"Run—"
SQUELCH!
!!!
An unimaginably bloody, completely one-sided massacre commenced right then and there.
This beach was merely the starting point.
Those red-and-black figures continued to emerge from the ocean endlessly. Acting like a highly contagious virus, they began to radiate outward in all directions.
And they had more than just one landing point.
In less than half an hour.
An entire coastal city completely fell.
Every single person inside was replaced by those blood-red pretenders.
At the exact same time.
"As expected. The Continent of Mu, serving as the technological hub of human civilization, truly possesses the knowledge I desire."
Deep at the bottom of the ocean, the Herrscher of Blood, Kali—who had absolutely no intention of leaving her safe zone—narrowed her eyes slightly.
Right now, she sat alone on a throne-like oceanic reef, her legs crossed. She was actively sharing the memories of her children.
"A new compatriot, the Fourth Herrscher, has appeared. She seems to have her own unique ideas."
"Excellent!"
Kali seemed to smile. "I, too, have my own plan."
At this very moment, utilizing the memories plundered by her children, she simulated a map of the world within her mind.
Then, completely virtually, she began to place a dense cluster of points across various locations on the world map.
Once all these preparatory actions were complete.
"Phase One of the plan: Dormancy, Growth, and Learning. Concluded."
"Now entering Phase Two of the plan: Operation Pretender."
"Surface Objective: Sabotage the overall social structure of humanity and force a chain of suspicion to form from within."
"Secondary Objective: Further acquire highly advanced knowledge and those powerful, specialized genes. I can still become much stronger."
"Core Objective: Divert the complete attention of all human combat forces—high-end, mid-tier, and grassroots—to provide cover for the critical Third Phase."
Kali reviewed the grand strategy she had laid out long ago. "And Phase Three of the plan is. Operation Cold Wave."
At this moment, she mobilized a specific segment of DNA within her body. It was a gene plundered from an ancient Honkai Beast. It was a sequence nearly identical to that of the Ice Boar, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast: Parvati.
Blood-red frost began to condense and spread through the water surrounding her.
As for how exactly she planned to use this power.
"The temperature regulators of the Earth. The ocean currents."
A look of eager, deeply destructive excitement surfaced on Kali's face. "If I forcibly apply extreme cooling measures to all the critical nodes of the ocean currents, gradually filling the warm currents with an aura of absolute frost."
"I should be able to perfectly recreate the grand spectacle of the Great Ice Age Extinction from the ancient past!"