He's Coming

At Attica International Airport, the outer perimeter was already cordoned off with triple-layered barbed wire. Dozens of heavy unmanned mechs stood behind the breastwork. As their bodies subtly rotated, their automatic IFF systems instantly locked onto the man walking in from afar.

"Target locked. Honkai energy reaction confirmed. Requesting permission to fire…"

"Hold on!"

"What is it now?!"

The drone mech squadron leader glanced impatiently at the masked youth who had been silent all along.

"The United Government's forces don't need the Poison Cocoon to tell us what to do!"

"Heh, then go ahead and open fire if you want!"

Through the narrow visor of his mask, Immer stared excitedly at the familiar figure on the screen.

"But don't blame me later for not warning you – that man's name is Mikael."

"...!" Ugh uh uh…" The squadron leader hurriedly covered his mouth. The word "fire" had already sprung to the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back down. In his excitement, he even bit his tongue – even though this was already the second time today…

Mikael smoothly passed through the outer defenses and entered the deserted airport terminal.

"Squad Leader!"

The sudden shout exploded in his ears. He slowly turned his head. Aldemir didn't seem to have changed much in two years. He still liked to wear a red t-shirt under his uniform and had goggles perched on his head – though they weren't the same ones from Lulu Island back then.

Behind him was also a young woman, boldly sizing Mikael up, practically wearing her curiosity on her sleeve.

"Hehe! Squad Leader, now that you're back, the Herrscher must be taken care of, right?!"

Aldemir scratched his head with a silly grin.

Mikael sighed softly, rubbing his throbbing temples, and chuckled, "It's not that simple. I just let her and that Honkai beast tear each other apart."

He was confident that the Fifth Herrscher could kill Maheśvara, after all, her abilities were very effective against it. Under extreme cold, the movement of all molecules would slow down, and Mikael believed that with her intelligence, she could definitely figure out a way to kill Maheśvara within two hours – freeze it, shatter it, done.

To that end, Mikael had already taken the first step to preserve Maheśvara's body tissue.

What? You could get body tissue, so why not just kill Maheśvara directly?

That was just one part of a certain plan, or rather, a deal, an agreement.

"Ah… ah… is that so…"

Aldemir's expression was a little unnatural, not because of any strange emotions, but simply because he was a bit embarrassed.

"You made another bet with someone?"

Mikael saw the young woman named Evangeline glance triumphantly at Aldemir and pretty much guessed what was going on.

"Ah… well, you see… I was just giving Squad Leader you some moral support! It's her who had to argue with me!"

"Blame me, huh… Hey, wait, how come… no, why are there only two of you? Where's the rest of Fifth Squad?"

"Ah-ha, uh, Elysia's here, gotta run!"

Watching Aldemir and Evangeline awkwardly pull away from each other, Mikael couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Turning his head again, Elysia was indeed right behind him.

"Where's Captain?"

Mikael didn't see Himeko in the airport terminal, so that was his first question.

Even though she understood the reason, Elysia still couldn't help but get a little sulky.

She wrinkled her nose slightly and said unhappily, "The United Government people took her to the medical department."

Mikael touched his nose, wondering what he had done to upset her again.

He could only scan his gaze around again, suddenly letting out a soft "Huh?":

"Elysia, where's Ana?"

Mikael had only asked casually to change the subject, but unexpectedly, Elysia's eyes flickered.

"The Herrscher… it's her."

"Ah—ah—so… so the Herrscher is Ana, no wonder she looked so familiar…"

No wonder.

Mikael glanced at Kosma, who was curled up in a corner, hugging his knees.

Seele sat beside him, her hand raised in mid-air, seemingly wanting to say something to comfort him.

But no matter what she said, Kosma responded only with silence.

"Yeah… after all, her hair and eye color changed, it's normal not to recognize her right away, I guess."

Elysia said softly, her tone changing to something almost too gentle, so gentle it didn't sound like something Elysia would say… it was like she was comforting him.

"Elysia, I'm not that fragile."

Elysia pursed her lips. "Speaking of which, it's really a miracle that Kosma and Seele survived the Herrscher… Mikael, could it be…"

"No, don't overthink it, Elysia. They survived not because the Herrscher showed mercy… they survived because Captain Himeko and Immer arrived in time. Besides, ordinary humans are just ants in the eyes of a Herrscher, there's no need to pay special attention to them, that's all."

"Ah… is that so, is that so…"

That gentle tone quickly turned low and somber, like a flower that was emitting a faint fragrance just a moment ago, and then quickly withered and decayed in the next.

Mikael knew the reason, but he could only futilely open and close his lips.

He couldn't think of how to explain the reason to Elysia for the time being—why was he the only one who could retain his original consciousness?

Right, this question that had long been in Elysia's heart had undergone a slight change. At first, the question was [Why can't other Herrschers retain human consciousness like Mikael?].

But after the Fifth Herrscher displayed relatively complex human emotions, the question escalated.

Why? The Fifth Herrscher clearly has emotions… why did she still choose to stand against humanity?

It wasn't so much that he didn't know how to explain it, but rather that Mikael himself only knew the conclusion.

He only knew what it was, but not why it was so.

He even carried a subtle expectation, hoping that, under the influence of his butterfly effect, a Herrscher like him could appear.

That would not only mean an increase in their own combat power, but also a possibility of hope—it would mean that even if the civilization of this era failed, it wouldn't necessarily mean sacrificing Elysia to exchange for that illusory hope for future generations.

"Is Mobius awake?"

The only thing Mikael could do was to abruptly change the subject.

"Ah, of course she's awake, she's just still a bit groggy… Do you want to go see her? I'll come with you?"

Meeting Elysia's teasing gaze, Mikael rarely remained calm. He gently ruffled Elysia's fluffy hair, silently refusing—he didn't know why, but he always made a special effort to avoid situations where Elysia, him, and Mobius were all present at the same time.

Perhaps it was because their relationship wasn't good?

Elysia continued to stare at his hastily retreating back with a teasing look, thoughtfully biting her finger.

After a short while, she finally couldn't help but sigh and moved her gaze that had been following Mikael all along.

"Mikael… you seem to have a lot of secrets you haven't told me…"

......

"How does it feel to experience artificial Honkai eruption for the first time?"

Seeing Mikael walk towards her, Mobius subconsciously tightened the white coat wrapped around her, making the former feel quite awkward.

"Artificial Honkai eruption… are you talking about that state?"

Mobius muttered to herself, then looked up at him in confusion, not understanding how he knew—could it be that he had also entered that state back in Nagazora City?

"What exactly happened back then?"

As the person involved, Mobius's consciousness was extremely hazy during that phase, even less clear than the first time she was revived in Canghai City.

That time, at least she had a vague sense of self-awareness, but just now, from the last glance she caught of a non-human reflection on Surtr's broken blade, all the way to waking up in the airport terminal, she had no memory of what happened in between.

It was like opening her eyes and then closing them, and everything was over.

And incidentally, even her clothes had disappeared.

Thinking of this, Mobius looked at Mikael with a displeased expression, though the latter hadn't noticed.

He sat down beside Mobius, stroking his chin and said, "This is the drawback of the MANTIS Project—artificial Honkai eruption."

"Drawback…"

Mobius bit her lip gently, carefully chewing over this word that shouldn't have any ambiguity.

The iron chair was a bit cold. Mikael casually conjured a thick cotton blanket, showing off his traditional skill, and quickly wrapped the snake into a caterpillar-like bundle.

"Mikael, I'm not a kid… Hmph!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized how childish her voice was, so she could only swallow back the words of dissatisfaction.

"Honestly, Mobius, I am ultimately different from you. I don't like this project, because it has blurred the line between humans and beasts, humans and Honkai. The reason why MANTIS Warriors can maintain a 'human' form is, in the end, because the rational side of human consciousness constructs a bottom line…

"But the reason why a bottom line exists is because it can be easily crossed. Mobius, you crossed the line."

"So what are you going to do, end this project from now on? Oh right, yeah yeah yeah, anyway, as long as our great Mikael-sama is here, any problem can be solved, any enemy can be defeated, who needs MANTIS Warriors!"

Mikael ignored her crazy talk.

Artificial Honkai eruption, for MANTIS Warriors, is both an absolute taboo and an instinctive temptation.

Once they realize the existence of this possibility, wanting to maintain a "human" form becomes even more difficult.

However, before actually seeing Mobius almost fall into the abyss of artificial Honkai eruption, he had been selectively ignoring this danger—because in his memory, apart from those few times, MANTIS Warriors rarely erupted, and only three had achieved a complete eruption.

How did they do it?

Mikael added another name in his mind, which meant that he would have to put someone else on the operating table again, accepting her original destiny.

But she herself should have expected this long ago, right?

Mikael glanced at the clock on the wall of the terminal, 6:37 PM. It would take nearly another hour for the Second Divine Key to complete its recharge, and then Kalpas could also come as reinforcement.

But it didn't matter. The reason for leaving the Herrscher alive, on the one hand, was to let her and Maheśvara fight each other for Honkai energy in a confined space, and on the other hand, because Mikael indeed didn't have the strength to fight anymore at the time.

[However, according to the agreement with that woman, the Fifth Herrscher's life still needs to be left for him to take.]

"Hi! Captain, Doctor, long time no see."

The suddenly appearing Immer interrupted Mikael's thoughts.

In front of Mikael, he no longer wore the ugly Poison Cocoon mask.

And so, that familiar smile was imprinted in Mikael's eyes. "Speaking of which, were you guys talking about the MANTIS Warrior issue earlier?"

A cold light flashed in Mobius's eyes. If Mikael hadn't held her down in time, perhaps that green lightning would have already engulfed Immer.

"I-I-I… Doctor, please don't get excited!"

Immer patted his chest, he was really startled—although someone had left Fire Moth two years ago, his formidable reputation didn't seem to have faded.

"Big bro Mikael, interested in going to pick him up with me?"

He winked at Mikael, everything was implied.