Ember of Hope

Only a third of Surtr's blade remained, yet even in its broken state, it felt weighty in his hand. Lingering warmth remained on the hilt, but the moment its new owner grasped it, a thin layer of frost instantly coated the grip, the last vestiges of heat vanishing without a trace.

Kevin had envied this Soulium greatsword in Himeko's hands countless times. It was indeed exceptionally special—after the MANTIS Warrior project was proposed, due to funding shortages and the scarcity of suitable candidates, Fire Moth had never forged another Soulium weapon.

But what Kevin truly cared about was this: it was a greatsword that both Mikael and Himeko had once wielded.

Young men always yearn for heroes, and in Kevin's eyes, both Mikael and Himeko deserved the title of hero without question.

So, he had often fantasized about taking up this greatsword once wielded by his predecessors, hoping to become a hero himself.

But he never expected this day to arrive so suddenly.

He understood the weight on his shoulders—he dared not fail, could not fail, and should not fail.

Therefore, he betrayed his past dream, attempting to return Surtr to Mikael.

"It's not suitable for me. I fused with the Parvati factor, a Emperor-class Honkai beast. The low temperature on my body and the ice and snow I control don't mesh well with Surtr's flames."

Mikael looked at the crimson broken sword beneath the pale cyan frost, a slightly strange smile creeping onto his face.

Yes, that's right…

"Of course, it's not suitable for you. No, it's more like it's not worthy of you. One day, you will get a weapon better than this, but without a doubt, for now, Surtr is the right choice."

Kevin's gaze gradually became confused. Mei had no intention of explaining to her boyfriend either. In the end, Mikael had to clarify:

"The Fifth Herrscher's power is ice and snow—we still don't know the scientific explanation behind her authority, but its manifestation is ice and snow. This aligns with the Parvati factor you've fused with."

"I understand Mei's thinking. On one hand, there's no time to find other Honkai beasts and compatible individuals. On the other hand, the same abilities won't give you a 'counter' advantage, but it also means you won't be 'countered' by the opponent. This means you can entangle with the Fifth Herrscher for a long time. Neither of you might be able to defeat the other in the short term. Aggressive yet steady, truly Mei-like."

"But a Herrscher's authority is ultimately superior to Parvati's. It's even unknown if your attacks can effectively damage a Herrscher. If that situation really arises, Surtr's flames will be the only way for you to overcome the ice and snow."

"But…" Kevin brushed away the frost from the sword. As Honkai energy flowed into it, the broken blade's temperature gradually rose, and finally, faint flames flickered to life, "But flames, wouldn't they be countered by ice and snow?"

"Is that so? Solid ice can indeed freeze flames, but similarly, flames can also melt solid ice—Kevin, how did humanity's ancestors overcome ice and snow?"

"By lighting a fire?"

Mikael remained silent. And after Kevin tentatively offered the answer, his eyes suddenly became firm.

"I understand."

Kevin gripped the broken sword tightly, even leaving five deep finger marks on the hilt because he couldn't yet control his strength.

He turned his head, gazing at Mikael's impassive profile, and silently said thank you in his heart.

"Whoosh—"

Fire Moth Five roared overhead for the third time. Humanity couldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Moreover, most people weren't optimistic about Kevin's chances of defeating the Fifth Herrscher.

Although some held misguided ideas like "It's okay, the First Herrscher will step in," they also needed some proactive measures—Fire Moth Five was still on standby above ARC City, ready to switch to traditional offensive methods if Kevin fared poorly in combat.

Mikael watched the shadow of the warship fall on the ground. He suddenly felt that the shadow wasn't weightless. In dimensions he couldn't perceive, a sense of heaviness was pressing down with this shadow, onto Kevin's shoulders, and onto Mei's shoulders.

Fire Moth Five had already flown far away, but the shadow under their feet lingered for a long time, and the stray hairs on their foreheads began to flutter.

Kevin looked up, the heavy dark clouds once again obscuring the sky. Snow also began to fall. At first glance, it was still like willow catkins swaying in the wind, but in an instant, the snowflakes became like scattered grains of salt. Whipped by the wind, they descended in a frantic dance between heaven and earth.

"The Imaginary Barrier is broken."

Mikael said calmly.

"Mm."

Kevin replied coldly.

But when he turned his head again, Mikael's figure was already gone from his side.

"Runs fast…"

Even though he was determined to put on a cool, aloof facade, Kevin still felt the muscles in his cheeks twitching uncontrollably.

This twitching initially started as a smirk at Mikael, but unknowingly, it also became tinged with excitement—

"Come on, Fifth Herrscher!"

"Crack, crack, crack…"

Without a deafening explosion, the Fifth Herrscher simply appeared on the outskirts of the airport, taking two gentle steps forward.

Then, the barbed wire, originally meant to block Honkai beasts, gradually contracted and twisted under the extreme cold, until it snapped inch by inch.

Drone mechs immediately captured and locked onto the target. With the squadron leader's command to fire, the operators pressed the corresponding buttons.

One second…

Two seconds…

Three seconds…

The Fifth Herrscher stood still, knowing humans could see her, and turned to give a faint smile—the attacks that should have been targeting her, did not happen at all.

"How could this be!"

All the internal components of the mechs had malfunctioned in the extreme cold. Even the gun barrels were frozen solid. How could they fire?

"Thinking about it carefully, this isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Mei's voice sounded. Mikael turned on the speaker, so Ellie, Mobius, and even Seele and Kosma could hear.

"A machine gun bullet costs twenty yuan, a rifle grenade costs three thousand, a micro rocket costs two hundred and fifty thousand, firing a mech's electromagnetic cannon consumes fifty thousand yuan worth of electricity..."

"And a micro-missile costs as much as three million—a mech at full firepower can waste over a hundred million in tax money in an instant, and they can't even inflict any damage on a Herrscher… But well, some people can only use this method to show their presence—look, we did resist."

Mikael laughed immediately.

Mei didn't know if it was intentional or unintentional, but in any case, she didn't use a private channel when she said this. She let everyone in the United Government's drone mech squadron hear her words.

Many people's faces instantly turned extremely ugly.

"Activate overload mode!"

The squadron leader gritted his teeth and said.

If it were in the past, he might have already given up. Just as Mei said—it wouldn't cause any damage at all. Why bother doing that, isn't it just wasting money?

But I can think that way, you can't say it out loud!

"Captain, in overload mode, the mech might not even have time to restart before the chip overheats and burns out!"

"Who cares about that much!"

"Boom!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Herrscher very considerately used a barrage of hailstones to smash the mechs into scrap metal, inadvertently solving the mech unit's dilemma.

Correspondingly, Fire Moth Five was also hit by hail and had to quickly ascend to evade.

[Main armor plate damage 3%]

[Current airflow turbulence, please hold onto handrails]

The moment Fire Moth Five broke through the thick clouds, the morning sun in the eastern sea of clouds also leaped out at the same time. Sunlight instantly filled the entire cockpit.

Mei suddenly laughed.

[Dr., emotion fluctuation detected. For safety, medication is recommended.]

"Zero, I don't think I need medication."

Mei gently spoke the so-called nonsense.

[Dr., I do not understand your meaning. I am merely providing recommendations according to the usual treatment plan.]

"Of course, you wouldn't understand, because a better treatment plan, a better 'medicine,' has already appeared."

[Is… it him?]

"Kevin, are you ready?"

So, when the Fifth Herrscher stepped into the airport, what appeared before her wasn't the First Herrscher she might have expected to find there.

Standing before her was a tall, young warrior.

He exuded a chilling coldness, even his eyebrows and hair were covered with pale cyan frost—just like the Herrscher.

He had snow-white hair—just like the Herrscher.

He had a pair of beautiful blue eyes—just like the Herrscher.

The densest Honkai energy imaginable swirled around him in inky black ribbons—just like the Herrscher.

The only difference was that he held a broken sword in his hand.

The sword blade radiated scorching heat. The tiny flames, though weak and flickering, would die down in one place only to leap up again in another, endlessly renewing.

He gripped that sword tightly, just as his ancestors had grasped that ember of hope amidst the snow and ice tens of thousands of years ago.