Generally speaking.
Honkai beasts aren't supposed to be able to take human form.
Planet-Class Honkai beast Jyahnar? That was an exception.
Whether it's possible for a Finality-Class? Who knows.
But for a Judgment-class? Definitely not.
Yet in the Current Era, we've seen Benares transform into Bella.
So Kiana naturally knew what to do.
She went ahead and handcrafted a Pseudo-Herrscher gem for Sesha, then shoved it right into the creature's massive body.
Right before their eyes, Sesha shrank rapidly down to size, until finally, she took the form of a young girl.
Watching this, Elysia's eyes lit up with excitement.
The Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment, though, was utterly dumbstruck.
She stared blankly at her own symbiotic Honkai beast as if she were seeing a stranger.
Maybe it was because Kiana had personally crafted that pseudo-core for her.
But Sesha seemed rather fond of Kiana now.
Even though she remained loyal to the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment, there was this nagging feeling that she might switch sides at any moment.
Which, honestly, was exhausting for the Herrscher.
At this point.
The only thing still hard about her was her stubborn mouth.
As for how long that'd last? Hard to say. Kiana didn't have time to bother with her anyway.
Meanwhile, Mobius had stubbornly insisted that Kiana bring her along so she could draw a large tube of blood from both Sesha and the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment—and even gave them both a haircut while she was at it.
Miss Sesha just grinned like a clueless fool through the whole thing.
The Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment, though, felt even more humiliated and, frankly, even more drained.
Worth mentioning!
Although the Third Eruption didn't cause any casualties, the near-constant live coverage of the event sent shockwaves throughout the entire world.
This time.
No one stubbornly insisted that the celestial broadcast was fake, the videos were fabricated, everything was a lie, and 'I refuse to believe it!'
Instead.
Most people shifted their focus to understanding and researching the phenomenon.
Some even started stockpiling supplies whenever possible—just in case.
It was like hearing that salt was about to be regulated.
So you buy a little extra salt.
If there might be a food shortage, you stock up on more groceries.
Medications that could suppress Honkai radiation sickness were in especially high demand, quickly becoming sold out.
Some people genuinely needed them.
But others, even if they weren't infected, bought them anyway. 'What if?' Having them on hand felt safer than not.
At the very least, it gave some peace of mind.
And honestly, that's just human nature.
Heck, when someone online suggested that certain practices could increase Honkai resistance, people actually went and tried them.
Good grief.
Since when did Honkai resistance come from stubbornly refusing to turn on the AC?
Some folks were just beyond help.
At the national and organizational levels, though, the pressure was pushed downward onto research institutes.
There was a genuine, urgent hope that they could develop better anti-Honkai medications. Or better yet, if they could actually discover something that truly boosted Honkai resistance—the rewards would be substantial.
When it comes to fearing death, who could top them?
Sure, methods to achieve this probably existed.
But it wasn't as if they could be obtained just because people wanted them.
Mobius was getting pestered to the point of insanity.
She finally snapped and said, 'Listen, I'm the future wife of the young lady! Keep this up, and I'll go tattle on you. See how you like that.'
Well then.
She was a force to be reckoned with, too.
In the past, those in power had tried to manipulate our dear Miss Serpent.
They controlled resources and funding, making her beg for every bit.
Now?
They couldn't hand things over fast enough.
And if she acted all tsundere about it, what could they even do?
But then again.
Once they were put to the test and experienced this major eruption firsthand, it became clear that there were still many areas where they fell short.
Issues included slow mobilization, inefficient logistics, bloated support systems that couldn't keep up with frontline demands, and so on…
All of this needed to change.
Previously, Fire Moth, as the dedicated anti-Honkai organization, had to coordinate with local governments and organizations for everything they did.
But now.
That was no longer necessary!
They seized the opportunity to propose that all matters related to the Honkai be handed over to them.
Fire Moth wouldn't interfere with regional sovereignty.
However!
Whenever the Honkai was involved.
They would have unconditional authority to mobilize and coordinate.
Statistics even showed that this approach cut through a lot of red tape, increasing operational efficiency by several percentage points.
So even if some people were unwilling and felt their rights were being infringed upon.
The majority agreed to it anyway.
They genuinely felt the urgency now!
Just the initial emergence had wiped an entire city off the map.
What if, one day, it happened right over their heads? Were they just supposed to lie down and accept it?
Besides!
If they were still alive but ended up dying later because Fire Moth's forces were too slow to respond, wouldn't that be the worst kind of loss?
So!
Even if it wasn't for the sake of the people, or truly for fighting the Honkai.
If only for themselves…
They began pushing for this new arrangement.
With Fire Moth taking charge globally.
Some of the original council members were kicked out, while more countries and organizations shoved their own people in to ensure their voices were heard.
The only ones who remained unshaken were Kiana's aunts, uncles, and those who had aligned themselves under their wing.
The original council of just over a dozen members.
Now ballooned to two or three hundred.
It was definitely noisier.
But what could they do?
"Mobius has applied to disband the Second, Third, and Fifth Research Institutes and merge them all into her First Research Institute."
"What is she trying to do?"
Today's meeting was as rowdy as ever.
"She wants to start experimenting with the MANTIS Project."
"Approve it! Straight approval! Give her whatever she asks for!"
Unlike in the original timeline.
In this world, the MANTIS Project was highly regarded.
After all, it was a project recorded in history.
And according to those celestial previews, it was the precursor to some so-called 'Artificial Herrscher Project.'
Even if they didn't fully understand what the Artificial Herrscher entailed, the name alone was enough to captivate those in power.
Creating Herrschers…
Now that's creating gods!
Could it really mean that kind of god-making?
It's possible, absolutely possible.
I mean, who wouldn't want to become a Herrscher?
Even if they knew deep down it probably wouldn't work for them, it was still a tantalizing thought.
As for the core principle of the MANTIS Project—fusing human genes with Honkai beast traits—while some people did have their reservations.
The backlash was much smaller than expected.
After the Third Eruption, Dr. Mei joined Mobius's lab.
Kevin and Su also enlisted in Fire Moth.
Vill-V was given her own workshop right within Fire Moth.
No helping it!
These were all legendary figures destined to leave their mark on history.
Even Miss Hua was recruited.
Though she seemed pretty hesitant about it.
For the time being, she hadn't agreed to join.
Fire Moth respected her decision and let her know that she was welcome to reach out anytime if she changed her mind.
"Kiana, are you saying… that pure MANTIS surgery is too unpredictable? And that if we consider a gentler approach—first implanting the MANTIS factor into the body, then stimulating its awakening through external triggers…"
"It might work better."
"Right?"
That evening, Mobius came back and chatted with Kiana about recent developments.
Kiana casually dropped some spoilers about how things unfolded in the future.
In the later stages, Dr. Mei had struggled because the MANTIS surgery was too risky—each successful MANTIS soldier came at the cost of hundreds, even thousands, of lost lives.
It was a price they couldn't afford.
So they shifted to a vaccine-like method.
Implant the factor first, let it lie dormant and allow the body to adapt gradually. Then, stimulate its awakening.
Achieving the same result.
Even though the success rate was still low.
The safety factor improved dramatically.
--+--
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