Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"Tap-tap-tap-tap..."

The girl walked through the cold, dark tunnel. The iron-clad soles of her boots clicked crisply against the special steel floor.

For a moment, whether it was a sudden surge of childlike innocence or something else, she intentionally controlled her steps, making the sound of her footsteps sound like a strange melody.

After passing through the tunnel, she finally saw figures.

These figures were all hidden under heavy cloaks, with Honkai beast masks on their faces – the girl had long forgotten why they wore masks.

There were many theories about this.

One theory was that most of the Poison Cocoons were made up of hardened criminals, and they wore masks to conceal their once-lost pasts.

Another theory was that each Poison Cocoon had countless bloodstains of their compatriots on their hands. Therefore, no one wanted to be recognized by others. This was true even within the Poison Cocoon members themselves.

And for Poison Cocoon Number 007, she had only one reason for joining the Poison Cocoons…

A familiar smile flashed in her mind. It was like a hand pulling at the corners of her mouth, trying to make the cold face beneath her mask smile as well.

But this attempt was undoubtedly futile. No, perhaps if she had a little more time, she could indeed recall the instinct to smile. But a burly figure was already standing in front of her.

"Leader…"

"Follow me."

The man was the only human in the Poison Cocoons who didn't wear a mask. No… rather than not wearing a mask, it was more like there was no need for him to wear one.

Sakura's gaze moved from the large leather boots up to the man's face. Even though it wasn't the first time she had seen it, her pupils still couldn't help but contract and tremble.

The light from the fluorescent lamp caressed the man's scarred face, like water flowing over the mountains and rivers, ultimately reflecting the features that were gradually blurred by the scars that bloomed like chrysanthemum petals, spreading out to both sides.

Sakura silently followed him to the depths of the base.

"Now that you're back, does that mean that your surveillance target has completed their mission?"

The man's voice was hoarse and deep. Every breath he took brought a wheezing sound like a bellows, and when this sound passed Sakura's ears and entered her mind, it could only remind her of the wriggling flesh that had been burned by the furnace fire.

"Yes, that madwoman named Vill-V has been sent to Dr. Mobius's lab."

In contrast, even though Sakura kept her voice low, it was still easy to hear the childishness in it.

"Mobius?" Vasak muttered the name softly. "Did you find anything? For example, did those two people you were monitoring show any abilities that humans shouldn't have?"

"No."

"Really, nothing?"

Vasak stopped and turned to look down at the girl.

And the girl, without fear, faced Vasak through the hollows of her mask.

Vasak seemed very dissatisfied with this result. He sat down, supporting himself on the table with both hands. Only then did Sakura realize that she had unknowingly followed Vasak to the deepest part of the Poison Cocoons.

He took out a folder from a drawer and looked through the records inside for the nth time.

"Poison Cocoon Number 007, do you know? My suspicion of these two is not unfounded, and it's not just routine surveillance like Phamas."

Sakura was sure that this wasn't the first time she had heard Vasak say this, but as with many times before, he didn't tell her what the so-called "not unfounded" suspicion was.

She stared at the handwritten "Vostok-51" on the folder, lost in thought.

"Leader, so far, we haven't found anything abnormal about them. So, should the surveillance in the future be…"

In fact, she hadn't completely failed to notice the so-called abnormalities. For example, in Twilight Street, the boy named Michael had rushed to the wall of the garden at a speed that was almost impossible for a normal human to achieve. He was also carrying a burden. How did he do it?

But at that time, the dust stirred up by the explosion obscured her vision, making it difficult for her to see clearly.

Also, during the escape, Michael had repeatedly used his body to break through buildings, but when she recalled the conversation she had heard in Phamas's office last time, it seemed that humans might not be unable to do these things.

Of course, according to the rules of the Poison Cocoons, although these observations couldn't effectively point out the other party's abnormalities, she should still report them truthfully.

But she hadn't.

The reason was also absurd…

It was a very vague feeling – this older brother and older sister, it seemed like I had seen them somewhere?

But she had searched her memories and was very sure – she had never seen these two faces before.

Of course, as a Poison Cocoon, she had her own professional ethics. So, these reasons alone weren't enough to make her protect her surveillance targets.

And the decisive reason was the word that had been repeatedly mentioned by Phamas, the surveillance targets, and other members of the Fire Moth over the past two months – Honkai.

"Oh, right, your last report mentioned that surveillance target number one had repeatedly disguised himself and sneaked into Mobius's lab at night… Never mind, if Mobius's lab was that easy to tamper with, then it wouldn't be Mobius… But, what exactly are they doing that they don't want anyone to see…"

Taking advantage of Vasak's muttering, Sakura suddenly mustered her courage and asked a seemingly unrelated question:

"Leader, what is this Honkai that everyone outside keeps talking about… what exactly is it?"

Vasak narrowed his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him again.

"Have you forgotten the oath you took when you joined the Poison Cocoons?"

Sakura pursed her lips. "We don't care what humans are facing. We only draw our blades against the traitors among humans."

She spoke the cruel oath in a childish voice, but Vasak knew that the girl in front of him had a maturity and stubbornness that didn't match her age.

Of course, she also had the powerful strength that a human child of this age shouldn't have.

Fortunately, the chain that controlled her was still in his hands – Vasak thought to himself.

"Honkai… you can think of it as a disaster, no different from floods or plagues. And since you work for the Poison Cocoons, then your sister is naturally under our protection. Don't worry, she'll be fine."

"Poor child…" Vasak couldn't help but sneer in his heart. "Perhaps you don't know the source of your superhuman strength…"

Sakura was silent for a while, then said, "It's been half a year since I last saw Rin."

"Oh, really?" Vasak feigned surprise. "Then, after you complete your new mission, I'll let you see her… well, but you can only take a look from afar. You don't want Rin to smell the blood on you, do you?"

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. "New mission?"

"That's right!" Vasak tapped the cold table with his knuckle.

"Since your surveillance targets haven't taken the initiative to reveal their abnormalities, then we'll force him to show them…"

Sakura instinctively reached for her waist, but suddenly remembered that she had handed in her weapons when she entered the base. Her right hand immediately grasped at air.

But Vasak was very satisfied with her reaction. "That's right, it seems that your professional skills are becoming more and more proficient. I just said that, and you understand what you should do…"

"It's too difficult to act inside the base." Sakura replied coldly.

"No, no, no, this mission has no time limit. You can choose the time and place at your discretion – as long as you think it's appropriate."

Sakura silently closed her eyes.

"Honkai… what exactly is it…"

The question kept echoing in her heart.

In a blur of darkness, the sound of crying grew clearer. She couldn't help but recall many years ago, before she had entered the Poison Cocoons, when she encountered that monster…

The monster was larger than their former home. Just the shadow cast by its feet was enough to engulf them.

At that time, Rin was tugging at her skirt, crying helplessly like that.

And she, as her older sister, could only futilely stand in front of Rin, not even having the courage to open her eyes.

Until the monster's massive body collapsed with a crash, she opened her eyes and only saw two figures, not much taller than her, in the darkness. They were holding blue, translucent swords, as if those swords weren't real weapons. The next moment, they disappeared in front of her.

She didn't want Rin to experience such helplessness a second time.

But her own helplessness was no different from what it was back then.

A strange groan interrupted her reverie. Vasak was still leaning all his weight on the back of the chair. He murmured softly, "On that day, He fell from the sky. The people on the ground looked up, and then they saw the stars."

Vasak's voice was as unpleasant as ever, making it difficult to tell if it was a prayer or a song.

But he soon chuckled.

And then Sakura knew that it was neither a prayer nor a song.