Some time before the victory banquet for the defeat of the Herrscher of Wind, in a pitch-dark room—
Several projectors cast the images of a few shadowy figures around a circular table. None could see the others' faces, and no record of this meeting would remain.
"Eh~ So he's taken down the Fourth Herrscher too. His reputation has soared again, far beyond our control," one voice said.
"Control? We never had control over him from the beginning. Just like we failed to take the Honkai seriously back then, we failed to take him seriously enough. If only we had—"
"Enough. No point talking about the past. What matters now is what we do next."
The greater the power one held, the more timid they became.
These virtual projections represented the upper echelon of Fire Moth, their true bodies safely tucked away inside fortified shelters, trading barbs over the network.
They might be corrupt, but they were undeniably among the most powerful in human society.
Yet now, they were troubled and unsure how to deal with a single young man.
Elias' image floated in the center of the round table.
Looking at the handsome white-haired youth, the higher-ups felt a wave of helplessness.
"Even though we haven't given him a high-ranking position, his fame has reached a level where rank is meaningless. He's close to becoming the very faith of the front-line soldiers."
"A hero who's defeated Herrschers, humanity's hope against the Honkai. If this continues, his reputation alone could make all of Fire Moth bow to him."
"..."
They fell silent.
Countless methods they had used to deal with political enemies flashed through their minds. But when they tried to apply them to Elias, they realized not a single one would work.
Political infighting at its ugliest boiled down to digging up dirt, exposing scandals, putting on shows, and forming factions to seize more seats.
But Elias had no dirt to dig.
His rise had been built solely on victory.
Of the four Herrschers that had appeared so far, Elias had personally defeated three—in the fastest, shortest, most overwhelming fashion.
Compared to his individual feats, their campaign against the First Herrscher—days of bombardment followed by a nuclear strike—looked pitiful.
The only way to surpass Elias in prestige would be to defeat future Herrschers faster and better… a thought they quickly abandoned.
Elias didn't need to form cliques. As a hero, he only had to keep fighting, and followers would gather naturally. And those who followed him out of pure admiration were far more loyal than any paid or coerced subordinates.
They had tried to win over Elysia, Kevin, Mobius, Hua, and others with promises of benefit, to lure them away from Elias.
The result was always the same.
Their envoys returned either gravely injured in the hospital or so altered by experiments that they were unrecognizable.
"Uh… you think his… complicated relationships with women count as dirt?" one ventured after a pause.
The suggestion was met with a storm of ridicule.
"…Haha, sure, very reasonable. Looks like we've got an idiot among us."
"Kicking him out—before we figure out how to deal with Elias, I say we deal with him first. Split up his power and resources, then talk."
"Agreed. With the enemy basically a god, we can't afford a brain-dead teammate."
"I can provide some dirt on him. When you're done taking him down, remember to give me an extra cut."
"You… you guys—!"
Everyone looked at the speaker with pure disdain. An 'improper romantic life'? How did this guy even get to his current position? Who the hell would care about something so trivial?
He's the great hero who's defeated three Herrschers and saved the world three times. Of course many women admire him—what's strange about that?
Great. The enemy is already perfect and invincible, and our own teammate is an idiot. Now there's no winning.
"Legitimate means won't work on Elias. Even if we throw mud at him, less than a tenth would believe it. Something that crude won't touch him."
"Then there's only one option left—send in Cocoon. Assassinate Elias."
"..."
The others turned to stare at him again, giving him the same 'are you an idiot' look.
"Cough! Let's set aside how we'd even kill someone who can beat a Herrscher. Even if we succeeded, how would we deal with the next Herrscher to appear?"
"You fools. You don't even realize you've unconsciously accepted him as humanity's only hope against the Honkai. Even if one Elias dies, there are still plenty of fusion warriors. I refuse to believe humanity would lose without him!"
The speaker sounded passionate.
But everyone could taste the thick jealousy in his voice.
Some shook their heads, but they understood.
The boy on the screen was hard not to envy—perfect looks, unmatched strength, brilliant achievements, supreme renown.
If humans were crafted by gods, then someone like Elias must have been created as a living legend.
They knew all of Elias' feats were earned through his own hands, without luck or handouts. Even so, they couldn't help but be jealous.
"Fine, assassination. Great idea… Not! Forget those around him—Elias himself is stronger than most Herrschers. How would you kill him?"
"Hmph. Leave professional work to professionals. Let me introduce Cocoon's newest talent—you can call her… Forget-Me-Not."
A young girl silently appeared in the room—not as a virtual projection, but in person.
She wore a black-and-white mask, her long cherry-pink hair flowing down her back. At her waist hung a sheathed katana, as if ready to draw it and take someone's head in an instant, even through a network cable.
Even these political schemers could sense her strength. But…
"This is it? This is it?!"
They didn't bother hiding their disdain.
Forget-Me-Not: "..."
Some had heard of Cocoon's professional killer, known for eliminating many who opposed Fire Moth. But so what?
She was just a blade that killed humans.
That boy was a sword that slew gods.
The gulf between them was vast.
"I truly can't defeat Elias. I could manage against lower-tier fusion warriors, but someone like him… if I went against him, it would only mean death."
The girl called Forget-Me-Not shook her head and admitted the truth.
While defeating a low-tier fusion warrior as an ordinary human was already impressive, she was realistic enough to know the gap between herself and Elias was far too great—there was no chance.
"No matter. His base is about to recruit new members. I'll arrange an identity for you to slip in. As long as you follow my instructions, you'll have a slim chance to kill Elias."
"Just… a slim chance?"
"That's right. And don't think of refusing. Remember, your little sister is still under our protection, Forget-Me-Not. You have no choice—complete the mission or die."
The jealous higher-up's tone was absolute.
"…"
Forget-Me-Not's hand tightened instinctively around her sword.
"Don't worry. I promise if you complete the mission, your sister will receive the best care and treatment. Even if you fail and die, she'll continue to be protected."
"…I understand. I accept the mission."
Her voice was resigned, as though she'd given up. Behind her mask, the girl sighed inwardly—life often left no room for choice. This time, she might not make it back. Best to go home and write her will.
Her gaze shifted to Elias' projected image on the round table, eyes filled with complicated emotion.
(Even a sun that can illuminate all things has places its light can't reach. Even a hero who saves countless lives wouldn't bother to save the rats in the sewers.)
...
Inside Fire Moth's base.
A few days after the victory and welcome banquet, a new sign appeared on the door of Mobius' lab. It read: [No Dogs or Elysia Allowed!]
Naturally, Miss Pink Elf wouldn't obey. At this rate, Mobius didn't even need to study how to trigger artificial Herrscherization—she was about to be driven to it by sheer irritation.
"You two… sure get along well," Elias said with a faintly amused look, glancing at a photo of Mobius in a frilly pink dress. Cute. Definitely worth keeping.
"Hah?! How exactly do I 'get along well' with her?!"
"Hehe~ Elias is right~"
Mobius tried to kick away the approaching Elysia, but with their vast difference in strength, her struggles were gradually becoming futile.
These days, the snake was finding it harder and harder to resist the elf's harassment. She'd run if she could; if not, she'd fight a valiant but doomed battle—ending in being dressed in a pink frilly outfit.
Elias couldn't bear to watch the cruelty any longer. So… he simply picked Mobius up and set her on his lap, shielding her with his own body.
"My, Elias, how sneaky. I want to hold cute little Mobius too~ Let me hold her~"
"Ahem, Ely—first come, first served. Mobius is mine right now. You can have your turn later."
Elias raised his hand to guard the snake, and only then did the Pink Elf graciously drop the target—switching instead to harass Klein, who had been working overtime for three days straight and had no strength left to resist.
The feared Mobius Laboratory…
…was being utterly ruined by this couple.
"Don't let me see her again!"
"Ah~ That's out of my hands~"
"Hmph! Look at what you've turned that pink fatty into, spoiling her rotten! Damn you, Elysia!"
Mobius glanced with pity at her poor assistant, whose face was being aggressively squished by the Pink Elf. Then she curled further into Elias' lap, her small serpentine hips shifting restlessly against him…
Elias' eye twitched. He immediately wrapped an arm around Mobius' slim waist, stilling her.
"My dear Dr. Mobius… why do you always like to play around like this in front of Ely?"
"She started it!"
"Huh?"
Elias blinked in surprise, puzzled. Ely had ever played like that? He couldn't recall.
Mobius gritted her teeth. Thinking back to all those times she'd been "passing by" Elias' bedroom only to be knocked out by that pink menace and stuffed under the bed as some kind of 'princess hostage' prop…
Humiliation! Utter humiliation!
She renewed her vow in her heart—no matter the cost, she, Mobius, would defeat Elysia! And when that day came, she wouldn't shove that pink piglet under the bed—she'd tie her to the side of it and make her watch!
"Mobius, your image. Mind your image."
Slurp! "Ahem! Anyway—here's the personnel list for the next Meta-Morph surgeries. Take a look."
"Alright, alright~ wow, that was a clumsy subject change."
Elias casually picked up the list. Fusion surgery success rates weren't high, and in truth, the candidate standards were strict. Well—strict because Elias said so.
He'd never let Mobius submit the tech to the higher-ups. Unless someone else discovered a new path, the Meta-Morph procedure was entirely monopolized by him and Mobius.
Who could become a fusion warrior was uncertain.
But who had the chance to try was decided entirely by Elias and Mobius.
After all, great power needed restraint—unchecked, it could easily be abused.
First, the moral test. And those sent from the higher-ups could only undergo Meta-Morph procedures with lower-tier Honkai Beast genes. Even though top-tier procedures were rare to begin with, the enhancements from low-tier genes were limited.
While safer and more likely to succeed, most people only gained power that a talented human soldier could still reach through training.
Given the higher-ups' habit of endless internal squabbling, neither Elias nor Mobius would ever hand them truly dangerous power.
Naturally, the monopoly and restrictions angered the higher-ups. But…
Elias: "Who's dissatisfied? Step up and say it."
Kevin raised his sword, Elysia drew her bow, Mobius readied her blade, Vill-V deployed her mech legions, and countless warriors who idolized Elias aimed their guns.
The higher-ups: "…"
Even without trying, Elias had gathered more and more people around him with each victory over the Herrschers.
They were now a force no one could coerce.
A will no one could shake.
The will to save humanity.
They couldn't force him to yield openly. But assassination? That had no rules. And the only ones who could assassinate a high-tier fusion warrior… were other high-tier fusion warriors.
Much less Elias—a six-core Herrscher.
Kevin couldn't last more than a few moves against him. In humanity's camp, he was untouchable.
"Oh~ now this is interesting."
Elias' eyes lit up as he scanned the list.
"Hmm? Something about it?"
Mobius raised a brow, glancing at the list to see what had caught his attention—only to find him reading the file of a certain female soldier intently.
Long pink hair. Tall, poised. No constant smile like Elysia, but undeniably beautiful.
Her name was Sakura.
"Tch! Another pink-head."
In Mobius' mind, her favorability toward Sakura plummeted—thanks entirely to a certain elf, she now had a pink allergy.
Elias patted Mobius' head soothingly.
"Don't be like that~ She's nothing like Ely. A very serious type."
"Oh? You know her?"
"Sort of. She doesn't know me… Heh. The higher-ups really are crafty, sending someone in this way. Looks like I'll need to be more thorough in my checks."
"What? She's one of their plants?"
Mobius frowned at Sakura's photo, already calculating how many pieces she could cut her into.
Elias shook his head. "No need for that. Give her an Emperor-class Honkai Beast—the Yaksha—for her fusion surgery. It's perfect for her."
"You're helping someone they sent? Wait… you're planning to recruit her, aren't you?"
"No wonder you know me so well, Mobius~"
He pulled up the Yaksha's entry: an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, bright pink, with a pair of fox ears like a rabbit's.
He could barely wait to see those ears on Sakura's head.