Mobius's appearance disrupted Lumine's original plans, but in his view, it was ultimately a good thing.
On the plane back to Fire Moth headquarters, Lumine began revising his strategy. He might be able to persuade Mobius to advance the Fusion Warrior Project and undergo the procedure before the Seventh Herrscher incident, potentially preventing Australia from being completely incinerated.
However, there was another concern he could not ignore: advancing the technological tree too far, too quickly, might further strengthen the Herrschers themselves. The Herrscher of Binding was clearly designed as a counter to Fusion Warriors. If Iliya and the others had not risked their lives to carve a path forward, he would never have reached the Herrscher of Binding at all.
He had expected to perish alongside it. Yet in the end, when the Black Abyss White Flower pierced its core, the Herrscher of Binding did not retaliate. Instead, it chose to embrace him.
"Michael…" Lumine thought of that devout girl.
She had once been a medical worker. He often saw her on the battlefield, tending to the wounded and praying quietly over the dying. And yet, she ultimately became humanity's enemy, turning her blade against those she once saved.
Or perhaps not.
Perhaps, in her own way, she believed that dying peacefully in one's sleep was humanity's best possible ending.
No more fear of the future.
No more struggle under the weight of survival.
Everything would end within a dream.
The Eleventh Herrscher—the Herrscher of Binding—possessed the power to suppress Honkai energy itself. Ordinary humans would die instantly upon entering its domain. Fusion Warriors would last no more than one minute.
Lumine had personally entered the Divine Grace Barrier, yet his experience differed from all recorded accounts. Vil-V once described the sensation as unbearable agony, but to him, it felt as though an invisible hand was easing the burden from his body—as if urging him to let go of his obsession and return home.
There had originally been two plans to defeat the Herrscher of Binding.
The first was a direct assault: the Seraph squad would join forces with other Fusion Warriors, creating an opening for Lumine and Kevin to breach the Divine Grace Barrier and strike down the Herrscher.
The second plan, proposed by "Extreme Evil" Vil-V, was far more ruthless—flooding the battlefield with as many ordinary civilians as possible to overwhelm the Herrscher's sealing limit, temporarily nullifying the Divine Grace Barrier.
As the leader of the strongest Fusion Warrior unit at the time, Lumine openly supported Vil-V's proposal. According to Vil-V's calculations, the number of civilians required remained within the threshold humanity could still recover from. From a purely statistical standpoint, civilization could be rebuilt.
That proposal, however, met fierce opposition from Elysia, Mei, and others.
Because in that plan, every civilian sent into the Divine Grace Barrier had only one fate: death.
Even if some volunteered, their numbers would never be sufficient.
After prolonged debate, the higher command ultimately approved the first plan.
With no alternatives left, Lumine initially intended to bypass command authority altogether—deploying the Seraph squad to forcibly enact Vil-V's plan. In his eyes, Fusion Warriors were humanity's greatest weapon against the Honkai. They were infinitely more valuable than civilians.
Before he could act, Elysia realized that Lumine would push the second plan through regardless of the cost.
She chose to act first.
Elysia led Kevin and the other Fusion Warriors into battle, determined to kill the Herrscher of Binding before Lumine could send civilians into the Divine Grace Barrier.
As the Herrscher of Origin—and humanity's first and final hope—Elysia's survival was non-negotiable.
Lumine abandoned the second plan and immediately led the Seraph squad into the battlefield.
The result was absolute annihilation.
The entire Seraph squad was wiped out—everyone except Lumine himself.
Before the battle, he had warned them that entering the Divine Grace Barrier meant certain death.
Not a single person withdrew.
If history repeated itself, the Herrscher of Binding would always stand before him. The tragedy of the Herrscher of Binding could not be altered without sacrificing ordinary lives.
"This time…" Lumine thought, "I must control Elysia first."
"I'm sorry, Elysia. Just this once. Only this once… I have to do this."
---
Meanwhile, Alicia and Mebius continued discussing their future course.
"Elysia," Mobius said slowly, fixing her with an unblinking stare. "If you truly care for Lumine, are you prepared to face the side of him you never knew?"
Elysia straightened. She had sensed something was wrong in her previous life, yet no matter how hard she searched, she never uncovered the truth.
"Mobius," she said quietly, "are you talking about the Rebel Crackdown?"
Mobius paused, then nodded.
"Of course you noticed something. Let me be blunt—Lumine personally ordered the execution of all surrendered rebels. Including their families."
Elysia's pupils constricted.
The purge occurred during and after the Tenth Herrscher incident. At the time, Fire Moth faced not only the Honkai, but internal resistance. Due to inadequate early preparations, certain factions believed Fire Moth colluded with the Herrschers, stripping humanity of its freedom.
The resistance became especially dangerous during the Tenth Herrscher incident, when they were manipulated into becoming targets.
After the Ninth Herrscher incident, Fire Moth formally authorized a full suppression. Lumine eventually led the Seraph squad to the resistance stronghold in Africa.
The official report stated that multiple terminal Honkai Beasts emerged across the continent, followed by a Honkai fission bomb triggered by remnants of the Tenth Herrscher—erasing the African resistance entirely.
That was a lie.
"From start to finish, the suppression lasted several months," Mobius said, taking a sip of coffee. "That alone is absurd. Who are the Seraph squad? A group of madmen who destabilized the artificial cascade itself. They never needed that much time."
Elysia said nothing.
"The operation ended almost immediately," Mobius continued calmly. "Lumine activated the zero-rated power of the Black Abyss White Flower. He burned away his own life force and erased the entire Sahara, annihilating eighty percent of the resistance in an instant."
"Those who survived surrendered."
"After their supplies were confiscated, they were executed by Abezet and Esmeralda—acting under Lumine's direct orders."
She met Elysia's gaze.
"Out of hundreds of millions of people in Africa," Mobius said quietly,
"not a single one survived."
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