A grey-haired girl in a skin-tight suit crouched in a blind spot. She waited patiently for her target to appear, her emerald eyes devoid of any flickering emotion as she stared fixedly in a certain direction, her finger resting on the clasp of her gauntlet.
When a man who looked like an ordinary office worker appeared in her sight, she silently blended into the crowd and followed him.
The man was still worrying about his daily commute, currently on the phone with someone who seemed to be his boss, explaining why he was late for work today.
No one would pay attention to this man, who was utterly ordinary in both appearance and behavior—except for the grey-haired girl following him, inching closer.
She scrutinized his movements for any abnormalities. Her excellent hearing allowed her to distinguish his voice even in the noisy environment, but nothing could change her frozen gaze. It wasn't until the man turned into a small alley that she hesitated for a moment before following.
Step, step, step...
No, he's trying to run!
The grey-haired girl knew she was exposed. She immediately charged into the alley. The man's coat disappeared around the next corner. She didn't have time to think about how she was compromised; she instantly erupted with startling speed and gave chase.
Swoosh!
As she neared the corner, a sharp, whistling sound reached her ears. She instinctively leaned back, arching her waist. Immediately after, a long blade made of ice flew past her face!
The one who had condensed the ice blade was the man from before. He wore a cold expression that was the polar opposite of his previous demeanor. Having missed his strike, he decisively retreated, attempting to flee, but the girl would not give him the chance.
The girl used her momentum to brace herself against the ground and delivered a side kick that landed squarely on the man's chin. This solid strike nearly knocked him unconscious; he stumbled back two steps before stabilizing himself.
Bang!
A sweep of her leg broke the man's balance, and the girl followed up with a straight punch that broke the air, slamming into the man's abdomen!
The man nearly vomited bile, knocked to the ground by the girl in a flash of lightning.
But even a heavy blow that would have caused an ordinary person to faint was not enough to make the man completely lose his mobility. He raised his hand, attempting to pull out another ice blade. The girl was quick, stepping down hard on his wrist joint; the crisp sound of bone snapping ended his intentions for good.
With capture imminent, the man did not hesitate to bite down on a poison pill in his mouth. The girl was too late to stop him. She crushed his jaw with the utmost speed, but she could only watch with a frown as his pupils gradually dilated and his breathing stopped.
"...Target confirmed dead. Body will be brought back shortly." After reporting the situation to headquarters via her terminal, the girl began to examine the man's condition.
The grey-haired girl was Hua, and this suicidal man was one of the members of the Tenth Herrscher she was tracking.
Since the Tenth Herrschers did not need conventional means to communicate with one another, it was difficult to find others through one individual. However, Fire Moth had managed to find some clues. For example, all Tenth Herrscher hosts committed suicide before being captured, and the means of suicide were these potent toxins.
A Herrscher's constitution is unique; conventional poisons aren't lethal to them. Therefore, identifying specific toxins could narrow down the search range. Tracking the transportation of these poisons was Fire Moth's method of locating the Tenth Herrscher.
Hua was cautious during her inspection; there had already been cases where a Tenth Herrscher hid explosives inside their body, which detonated after death, causing casualties.
An ordinary face twisted under the influence of the poison. Hua watched him in silence. This should have been an ordinary person, yet he had become a Herrscher who lost his humanity.
A Herrscher...
Hua began her return journey with the corpse. This was Shenzhou; social order had not completely collapsed here as it had in other regions, yet the atmosphere of panic and the feeling of an impending apocalypse was much the same as elsewhere.
"Just leave it to us."
Hua placed the corpse on a gurney. The newcomers confirmed Hua identity and the body before completing the hand-off. Hua turned to leave silently. As she reached the end of the hall, she heard the faint sound of a conversation.
"Hua... so it was her."
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"
"Don't you know? She was originally a member of the Seventh Squad and was very close with the members of the Fifth Squad."
"That's truly miserable then..."
"..."
Perhaps noticing that Hua had not walked far yet, the voices faded away. Hua closed her eyes silently. After a while, she followed her original path back to her room.
"That's truly miserable then..."
That sentence echoed in her mind.
Hua leaned her back against the door, her head lowered. The lights were not on in the room; it was pitch black. She could only hear her own breathing, so faint it seemed as if it might snap.
After a long while, she finally raised her head to look into the dim room. On a table not far away sat a group photo.
Of the people in it, only two remained now.
The meaning behind that "truly miserable" was perhaps genuine sympathy for her. Of the original Fifth Squad, only Dessert (Dystopia) remained, now serving in the same squad as Kosma as a MANTIS. As for the original Seventh Squad, Immer had also fallen into a whirlpool of hatred she couldn't understand and had joined the "Pupa."
The first Captain died in the Ninth Herrscher. The second Captain became the Seventh Herrscher. Anyone who knew Hua slightly knew that Lin had saved her during the Third Honkai, and Himeko had given her a direction in life. But both of them... were dead.
She hadn't even been able to say a single word to them before they died.
Her terminal rang. Hua looked up absentmindedly, only then realizing she had been dazing at the door for several hours.
"A mission? I understand."
"We need to make adjustments to our operations against the Tenth Herrscher."
MEI went straight to the point, addressing the headquarters and special operations members on the theme of this meeting. She pressed a button on the conference table, and a 3D miniature map appeared before everyone.
Her eyes flickered as the map automatically marked numerous red dots.
"From the discovery of L10-1 up to L10-193, all Tenth Herrscher individuals exhibit significant variance. Therefore, we cannot confirm Herrscher characteristics through common traits. Likewise, until they exhibit Herrscher behavior, they are indistinguishable from ordinary humans except for the Honkai energy activity within their bodies."
"They are scattered across the globe, causing destruction to major cities and Fire Moth facilities. The current level of damage is already no less than that of a large-scale Honkai eruption. However, through our investigative statistics, it's not hard to see that the facilities they are focusing their destruction on..."
The red dots enlarged, showing one after another.
MEI leaned her hands on the table, her gaze behind her glasses obscured by the reflection.
"Are all research facilities related to the Divine Keys."
"Or to put it another way, they are related to the 'Herrscher Cores' of other Herrschers."
She continued calmly: "It is currently unknown what kind of changes the Tenth Herrscher will undergo upon obtaining other Herrscher Cores. However, moving forward, all research regarding Divine Keys will be transferred to Facility P-21. This includes all Herrscher Cores. Dr. Vill-V and I will personally conduct the Divine Key development project specifically targeting the Tenth Herrscher. The First Squad will lead the garrison there."
"That is all. This concludes the notification."