Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

Lucien, arms crossed, stared at the computer screen. The fluorescent light flickered across his impassive face, dancing with his eyelashes.

[ - Fire Moth Archives - ]

[ - Record of Events: 7th Year of the Honkai, February 15th - ]

Incident Summary:

Following an anonymous tip, a Honkai beast and thirty-eight unidentified individuals were discovered at a villa on the outskirts of Brindisi.

Honkai Beast Details:

The Honkai beast resembled a moth, measuring 3118 mm in length, encased in a damaged cocoon. Based on its tissue, organs, and Honkai energy emissions, it has been classified by the Science Department as a high-level Honkai beast, designated Emperor-class Honkai Beast: Mitrá.

X. Cause of Death: A single wound to the chest, suggesting an instant kill.

X. Anomaly: A forget-me-not flower was found at the wound site. Its significance remains unknown. No fingerprints or residual tissue were detected.

Unidentified Individuals:

X. Number: Thirty-eight.

X. Status: No information found in any identification databases. All are suspected to be unregistered citizens and are currently in custody.

X. Accounts: Several individuals claim they were knocked unconscious. The assailant did not take any lives.

X. Anomaly: Blue forget-me-not flowers were found at the scene, similar to the one found on the Honkai beast.

Villa Ownership and Context:

X. The villa belonged to the late Zaychik couple, prominent local entrepreneurs.

X. Their adopted daughter, Seele, is missing.

X. The intern doctor responsible for the Zaychiks' treatment prior to their death, Su, is also missing.

X. Evidence points towards Dusk Street as a potential lead.

Scene Investigation:

X. The villa showed signs of a thorough search.

X. The individuals in black refused to comment but evidently failed to find what they were seeking.

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"Mei, what are your thoughts?" Lucien asked, his voice light and carefully devoid of emotion.

Mei shrugged, even though Lucien had his back to her and couldn't see the gesture.

"This isn't related to my project. I just need to ensure we get Mitrá's tissue samples. Incidentally, Kevin asked me to keep an eye out for Su; they're old acquaintances."

She narrowed her eyes, glancing to the side. In the darkness, green and red dots intertwined, forming the shape of a screen.

Why does no one like turning on the lights?

Mei rubbed her tired eyes. It was ironic—everyone from Mobius to Vashak, to Lucien, preferred working in the dark, while she, the one with hereditary vision problems, liked her office brightly lit.

Lucien scoffed at Mei's response. A flicker of annoyance crossed his mind.

Compared to Phamas and Vashak, this young girl was far more astute and slippery. She didn't seem to care about power, just working diligently in the background. Her reputation was nowhere near as flamboyant as Mobius's; she was almost invisible.

But after the Fourth Herrscher incident brought her some fame, people suddenly realized how much she had already accomplished.

Lucien had initially wanted to use Mei to undermine Vashak's authority, but now it seemed her future was far more... threatening? Not exactly threatening. Mei was almost too perfect, to the point where he couldn't find any weaknesses in her personality.

He'd thought a girl like her would have some moral hang-ups, but judging by the progress of the Fusion Soldier project she was currently heading… In a way, she was even more ruthless and cold-blooded than Mobius.

"Dr. Mei, do you think they were responsible?"

Mei blinked. "Mikael and his group? It's not impossible… Or rather, it's almost certain. Besides Mikael and Elysia, I can't think of anyone else capable of killing an Emperor-class Honkai beast in one hit."

Lucien hummed again, his gaze shifting to the blurred image of Dusk Street.

Mei followed his gaze. Dusk Street—the world-renowned lawless zone. If it were them, they would definitely choose that place as their hideout.

"You may leave, Dr. Mei."

Not long after Mei's departure, Lucien also left his office.

As usual, his first stop was SPACY's lab. If he calculated correctly, they were conducting Sesa's twenty-seventh death experiment.

Compared to their initial struggles, or even the disaster during the third experiment when Sesa broke free, resulting in the deaths of fifty-three researchers, Fire Moth had become much more proficient at these experiments.

And correspondingly, after the twenty-seventh, no, thirtieth death, Sesa's skin had become increasingly coarse and dull, its body showing signs of aging.

"Begin recording. This is Sesa's thirtieth death. Slight signs of resurrection remain, but according to calculations, the revival time has increased to fifty-four hours, four to five times longer than initially. Simultaneously, Sesa appears to be aging. It seems its regenerative ability is essentially a form of molting. Each revival is a cycle of growth and decay, until it reaches its end. In other words, it has a limit."

The scribe meticulously recorded SPACY's words. SPACY himself glanced at his "nephew."

Lucien wore a faint smile, but SPACY knew his nephew's heart was likely filled with a mixture of disappointment and relief.

Relief because Mobius had integrated Sesa's genes, and so had Mikael. If Sesha's regeneration was truly limitless, it would be terrifying.

SPACY responded with a sneer. Who said the abilities gained from integrating Honkai beast genes would be identical to the beast itself? Fire Moth still lacked a fully successful test subject. Those assumptions were just wishful thinking.

At least SPACY remembered Mobius hadn't experienced a growth-oriented "molting" but a rejuvenating regression.

As for the disappointment…

Heh… Hahaha…

Naturally, it was because of his nephew.

He knew Lucien, not intimately, but well enough. And the world's powerful shared a common trait—fear of death.

So SPACY had reason to believe that of Yaksha, Parvati, Sesa, and now Mitrá, his nephew most desired Sesa's genes.

Heh… Hahaha…

No, wait. SPACY considered another possibility – given the choice, would Lucien even want to become a Herrscher?

When his mocking gaze returned to where Lucien had been standing, the spot was empty.

Lucien, wearing a smile, had already appeared in the next laboratory.

Scribe Number Eight was waiting for him.

"Ha! Tell me, do Mei and SPACY think I've pinned my hopes on that so-called Fusion Soldier project? They probably think I'm most interested in Sesa's genes, right?"

Number Eight's face creased into a wide smile as he bowed obsequiously. "They're underestimating you! Their vision is too narrow! The Fusion Soldier project is just for producing soldiers to fight the Honkai. Someone of your stature wouldn't settle for that! Only something like a Herrscher is worthy of you!"

They were alone in the lab, so Number Eight could flatter him freely.

Lucien chuckled and took a couple of steps forward.

The sign on the door did indeed say "laboratory," but it was different from the others.

Dimly lit, the ceiling was covered in pipes, twisting and intertwining like the grooves of a human brain, converging at the end into a spine-like tube that led to a cultivation tank.

The tank was filled with an orange liquid, bubbles rising to reveal the youthful body within.

It was the remains of Mikael's body.

Lucien couldn't help but reach out, touching the cold glass.

"The wounds from the previous experiment have fully healed. Its wounds even self-regenerate. Respiration and reflexes are present. It's no exaggeration to say that its current state is… vegetative."

"Hmm…" Lucien hummed noncommittally. "The preparations are complete… Now we just need that other experiment to succeed, correct?"

"Uh…" Number Eight's face fell at the mention of the other experiment. "We lack a top-tier researcher like Mobius. The project is progressing too slowly!"

"Ha? Hahahahaha!" Lucien erupted in rare laughter. "So what? If one hundred ordinary researchers can't match one Mobius, then find me a thousand! Ten thousand! Don't hold back on the experiments. There's no shortage of humans in this world. Don't hesitate with the modified procedures. Once the experiment is successful, we can save ten, a hundred times more people than the experiment consumes!"

"But… what about Mr. Zaychik? Won't our connection be exposed?"

Lucien stroked the cold glass of the tank, his eyes gleaming. "Don't worry. At most, they'll think the volunteers are raw materials for serums like Ruruye's. In fact, most of them are. One percent even end up in Mei's lab…"

"Hahahaha… They probably think I haven't read Mobius's Core Investigation Report."

"If the experiment succeeds, I can control this perfect Herrscher body. He fights constantly; there will be a moment when he's vulnerable. We just need to wait for the opportunity—obtain his Core, and fuse it with this body… Then, I will be the most powerful human in the world!"

"And unlike him… I have connections, status, capital. I can lead humanity forward and finally defeat the Honkai!"

"However…"

"What is it now?"

"According to the latest report, there was one test subject, although not a success, whose consciousness, or rather, spirit, was exceptionally strong. After the experiment, she didn't experience the severe mental fluctuations that caused the others to lose self-awareness. She only had minor hallucinations. But… when they wanted to study her further, Mr. Zaychik took her away and concealed the test records."

"…Oh? How interesting. Was it her?"