Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"Please, come in."

The door to the ward opened, and Immer blinked helplessly at the three people inside. His hands and head were piled high with all kinds of gifts. Behind him, a girl with a Shenzhou face peeked her head out and looked at Mobius with some fear. She said,

"Sub-Captain Michael, Dr. Mobius, the commander has asked you to go over…"

"Coming!"

The three of them felt a jolt in their hearts.

Mobius, without any change in her expression, stood in front of the door of the ward, used her finger to lift Nuwa's chin, and asked irrelevantly, "Oh my, I've been wanting you two sisters for a long time. How about it? Do you want to come to my lab as assistants?"

"Dr… Dr… Dr. Mobius, please don't tease me…"

"Who's teasing you? I'm speaking from the heart! Oh, right, I sent a transfer report to Phamas last night. It's a shame that you sisters, with such good qualifications, are wasting your time with Elvin…"

Nuwa: "..."

Behind her, Michael and Ellie exchanged glances. Taking advantage of Nuwa's blind spot, they slipped a piece of paper into her hand.

Then, he jumped off the bed as if nothing had happened, looked at Immer, who was carrying hundreds of gifts, and said,

"You've become quite popular recently, kid?"

"No, Sub-Captain, you've misunderstood. These are all for you. There are over a hundred love letters alone…"

Elysia smiled and made a "yay!" gesture, meaning "You did a good job, Immer!"

…

Phamas leaned back in his chair, his head tilted up at a forty-five-degree angle, his eyes staring at the fluorescent light until he felt dizzy and his eyes were filled with red light, as if he was about to go blind.

On the table were the "Vostok-51 Investigation Report," the "Vostok Honkai Incident Investigation Report," and a file on Michael. His birthplace was clearly written as – the orphanage in Vostok-51.

In fact, it wasn't even necessary to look at these files. Because whether it was the investigation of the 51st town or the later Vostok Honkai – which was the first Honkai incident – Ato was the first person to experience it, and he was also the only person still on active duty who had experienced it…

Phamas closed his eyes, and tears slid from the corners of his eyes.

Don't get the wrong idea. It didn't mean he had any feelings. It was purely because he had been staring at the light for too long, and his eyes couldn't take it anymore.

He thought of Mobius's data analysis. Although their ideologies often clashed, Phamas absolutely recognized her abilities.

When naming the Herrscher that was born in the Honkai outbreak in Irkune City, Mobius insisted on using a method that combined "order of appearance + authority," but she named the first Herrscher that humans faced as the Second Herrscher and named the Honkai outbreak in Irkune City as the Second Honkai…

Her explanation was: according to the established mathematical model, when the concentration of Honkai energy within a certain range is too high, due to its large mass, it must collapse inward, concentrating a large amount of Honkai energy on one or a few individuals. The energy reaction levels of the Vostok Honkai and the Second Honkai were similar, but the only thing that caused the chaos was the large-scale lower-level Honkai beasts. This was not in line with common sense.

Phamas closed his eyes to rest. His index finger kept tapping on the armrest of the chair, unintentionally reflecting the storm in his heart.

"If that's really the case, then this child absolutely cannot be kept."

"Wait, why can't he be kept?"

He suddenly opened his eyes, his expression a little lost and a little conflicted.

Mobius's catchphrase from the past echoed in his ears again and again: "What exactly is the definition of humanity?"

This question burrowed into Phamas's mind and instantly became unmanageable.

It was as if his right brain was originally water and his left brain was originally flour. As soon as a stirring stick came in, it instantly became a paste.

"Who am I? I… no, I shouldn't think about these things…"

"Michael's performance after joining the Fire Moth has been flawless. If we don't consider other factors, he's completely a qualified warrior! Becoming a Herrscher isn't something he can control. We… if a Herrscher can really retain their human consciousness, then this should be a good thing. It means that we can use the apostles of God to fight against God…"

But at this moment, Vasak's words echoed in his mind again:

"On the path of fighting against the Honkai, the only thing we can trust is humans, pure humans."

"But what if this is a scam? What if all the humanity that Michael is showing is a disguise? What if he's a spy that the Honkai sent to the Fire Moth to cause even greater destruction? To take a step back, even if Michael is on the side of humanity now, will he be corrupted by the Honkai again?"

Phamas rarely showed violent emotions. He hit his head hard three times with all his strength.

After thinking about it, he still wasn't relieved and slapped himself twice.

The first slap hit his left cheek, but after thinking about it, it seemed unbalanced to only hit one side.

He also slapped his right cheek…

That felt better…

"Knock knock knock… Commander, the people have arrived!"

Phamas rubbed his slightly red cheeks. After rubbing off a handful of oil, he shouted, "Let Sub-Captain Michael come in first."

Across a table, Phamas and Michael sized each other up.

To be precise, this wasn't the first time the two had met. Being in the same Fire Moth headquarters, it was inevitable that they would have some interactions. For example, they had met in the tunnel, they had stared at each other for a long time for the last steak in the cafeteria, and they had played rock-paper-scissors to determine who would get the last stall in the restroom.

As a result, Phamas had gone into the stall and found that there was no toilet paper…

But none of that was important. Both of them tacitly considered this meeting as the first time.

For Phamas, Michael was the perfect subordinate. His Honkai energy adaptability was extremely high, he was obedient, and he worked hard. If he didn't consider other factors, he could completely replace Ato or Himeko in the future and become a trump card for the Fire Moth in the fight against the Honkai.

And the problem was also here – this trump card had been handed to them by the enemy.

"Will a god really allow the apostles of God to use the power they received from God to rebel against God?"

For Michael, Phamas was a very competent commander in some aspects. He was calm, firm in his beliefs, and while he verbally opposed Dr. Mobius, who had different ideas, he would objectively consider what the doctor said before deciding whether to adopt it or not.

The only problem was that he was a bit cold-blooded at times, such as when he had sent the entire Fifth Squad to their deaths when facing the Second Herrscher.

So, for a moment, neither of them spoke.

"Commander," Michael suddenly broke the silence.

"What is it?"

He looked at the young man in front of him, but he read a sense of vicissitude and helplessness that didn't match his age in the other's eyes.

"Commander, I'm not going to pretend anymore. I'm going to lay my cards on the table. I'm a Herrscher."

"?" Phamas's hand trembled. No matter how long he had prepared, he hadn't expected the young man to reveal the truth so frankly.

"Commander, I don't know what reason you have to believe me – but if you're willing to believe me once, at least for now, I am still, and I can still fight for humanity."

Phamas opened his mouth. This sincere attitude was a bit shocking for him, who was used to intrigue.

"Perhaps… I can also try to be a little more sincere?" He felt it was a bit absurd.

He quickly lowered his head to hide his gaffe, and at the same time, he began to weigh the pros and cons in his mind…

In fact, there was nothing to weigh. He didn't consider himself a psychopath. At least not now.

Based on Michael's current performance and attitude, the most vicious method that Phamas had considered before was to give him a special serum and then imprison him.

And now, he was more inclined to keep this card.

But… he probably wouldn't be able to protect Michael for long…

He suddenly chuckled twice. "You passed… at least you passed with me… but if someone catches you with solid evidence, I won't be able to protect you."

Michael looked at Phamas in surprise. During those ten minutes, he had already come up with eleven ways to escape in his mind, and Ellie should have also made other preparations according to the note he had given her…

He hadn't expected it to end like this?

That was it?

No…

Michael suddenly realized that Phamas was using himself as bait, offering himself up to a suspected Herrscher.

If he really belonged to the Honkai, then he could attack here, kill the leader of the Fire Moth without any effort, and then wreak havoc within the unprepared Fire Moth…

Thinking of this, his gaze was drawn to the files on Phamas's desk – which was his file since he had joined the Fire Moth.

It detailed his every move since he had joined. All of these had become his plus points.

All of these accumulated together had led to Phamas's hesitant attitude towards him.

Michael nodded silently.

But Phamas smiled again. "Do you know what would have awaited you if you had shown even a little bit of malice and tried to attack me just now?"

Michael shook his head, somewhat at a loss.

Phamas pulled a vial of serum from his pocket and showed it off, saying, "This is the latest achievement of the medical department. It can be used to treat Honkai sickness patients. Of course, this also means that it can instantly clear the Honkai energy from a person's body. For certain special beings, it can at least suppress them for a long time…"

Michael felt a chill. He had thought that this kind of serum only existed in the new era of Schicksal… but that wasn't right. If this kind of serum had already been created, then how could the previous civilization have faced a serious Honkai sickness crisis?

Forcibly suppressing the doubts in his heart, Michael seemed to have thought of something and asked softly, "Then… Captain Himeko…"

"Mm, she should be almost back at the base by this time…"

"Remember to call Dr. Mobius in for me when you leave. No, let her come in ten minutes later."

After saying this, Michael closed the door to the office.

And Phamas collapsed into his chair, as if he had been drained of all his energy. He quickly pulled off his tie, and when his hand touched his forehead, it was covered in cold sweat.

But what he didn't know was that the simulated Second Herrscher core that Michael had been holding in his hand quietly disappeared the moment he stood up.

"I can only say that it doesn't feel good to have your fate in someone else's hands…"