"The alarm..."
Ato froze for a few seconds before fully reacting. His expression changed drastically as he looked at the Helmeted Man, who had also stopped.
A large-scale Honkai eruption that birthed a Herrscher? At a time like this?
"..."
Without a word, Lin opened his detector, but there was no large-scale Honkai energy reaction nearby.
Could it be...
"We're still some distance from Atra." Ato blocked Lin path. His expression was grim, but he remained relatively calm. "I came by car to pick you up anyway. Get in."
"Can you contact the high-ranking official you're working with? Have him contact the others to call a temporary ceasefire."
"I'll try."
Einstein was at her computer, issuing commands to all the specialized MANTIS-units under her jurisdiction to stop all large-scale lethal weapons being used in this incident.
Especially the Stargate. She never imagined a teleportation device could be modified into a transport device for attacking monsters. Furthermore, such a device leaves behind a massive amount of Honkai energy after activation. She hadn't fully processed the Sviotok-51 eruption before, but now it seemed that Honkai energy might have been suppressed in one place.
Adding the Honkai energy from this time... when a change in quantity leads to a change in quality, the severity of the resulting event cannot be compared.
"Wooo————"
"An alarm?"
Einstein startled, looking at the red warning lights flashing overhead.
Of all times... no, is it the Honkai energy from the Stargate's activation?
She pondered solemnly for a few seconds, then immediately dropped everything to head out. But just then—
BOOM——————
"Zombies?"
Vil-V retreated under Prometheus's protection. The surrounding roars made her expression change completely. Besides the Mechs, zombies had begun to appear—this was undoubtedly the hallmark of a Honkai eruption.
"Dr. Vil-V, three minutes ago, the Ninth Honkai Eruption occurred in Atra. Honkai energy concentration is rising." Prometheus picked Vil-V up to dodge a strike from the Hephaestus. She jumped quickly to a higher platform and set Vil-V down. "Please leave immediately to regroup with Lin. He has already sent coordinates to me via Ato's communicator."
"He's back!" Vil-V finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Bang!
As soon as she spoke, a beam of light shot out from the chest of the distant Hephaestus. Prometheus generated a field through the device on her wrist to block the beam. Amidst the swirling dust and rubble, she said to Vil-V without emotion: "I will deactivate the Hephaestus Type-X3. If you encounter zombies or Honkai Beasts, please evade immediately and do not engage. I have already planned a route for you; you are expected to intercept Lin in ten minutes."
"I understand." Vil-V didn't hesitate; she moved decisively along the route Prometheus had planned. "I didn't expect you to be able to make such precise logical judgments without orders from Lin or me, Prototype."
"At this time, I believe I should say, 'Thank you for the mentorship, Director.'"
Prometheus's pupils were deep red, reflecting the Hephaestus crashing toward her like a collapsing cliff.
Delta slashed her blade into the flapping giant arm. The force of the impact nearly dislodged her weapon. She gritted her teeth, gripping the greatsword with both hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other giant arm swinging down. She grabbed a nearby wall with her tail, then retracted her strength, using her tail to fling her entire body away.
Bang!
Shards grazed her face, and her pink hair blew wildly in the fierce wind.
She could feel it.
As mentioned before, Delta had been exceptionally sensitive to others' emotions since childhood. She didn't know if it was a talent or a psychological factor, but after interacting with someone for a while, she could usually tell their mood.
The Project Soldier surgery had enhanced her emotional perception.
To be precise, Delta MANTIS ability was linked to emotions.
The Honkai Beast Delta merged with was essentially the same as the one her sister had become—designated as Assaka. However, the ability she developed after merging had nothing to do with Assaka itself. This situation also occurred with Aponia; both had their original talents enhanced after the surgery.
Aponia was a consciousness-based ability, while Delta could perceive changes in biological emotions and "materialize" them.
The description might be abstract, but this "materialization" was actually a form of "coloring." Different emotions caused different effects. For example, positive emotions would have a positive impact on Delta herself, while she could deepen negative emotions and use them to cause corrosion and disorder in an enemy's body.
Because she possessed this ability, Delta could feel the feelings of others, and she had never felt... sadness in battle before.
The Honkai Beast before her, which shared Assaka's appearance, was radiating sorrow.
"Are you... crying too?" Delta gripped her greatsword with both hands, looking at the frantic monster. When the surgery was first completed, her sister hadn't fully turned into this form; some human feelings remained. But now, she was a true Honkai Beast, which meant Fire Moth had modified and controlled her.
And the others who had turned into Honkai Beasts through Project Soldier surgery after signing voluntary consent forms were likely being controlled just like her sister, launched into bloody attacks against their former human kin.
"I've come... to save you."
Delta turned to dodge a swing, her tail gripping the hilt of the blue greatsword. She slashed into the right side of the giant arm. Flowing from the wound, besides pink-purple blood, were some purplish-black fluids.
Those were the manifestations of Delta ability.
After the fluid flowed from the wound, the Honkai Beast's movements slowed significantly. Delta closed in, charging along the giant arm toward the beast's head!
"ROAR!"
However, the wind pressure from the Honkai Beast's roar forced her to stop. Immediately after, the giant arm beneath her feet shook, and she was thrown away by brute force. In mid-air, she saw a massive fist, as large as an entire building, booming toward her.
Delta was forced to hold her two swords in front of her to tank the attack.
BOOM!
An earth-shattering roar erupted within the Tenth Branch. The destructive power of a high-ranking Honkai Beast caused half the branch to collapse instantly. Delta was sent flying straight out of the branch; she gritted her teeth and stabbed her sword into the ground to stop herself from flying further.
It's okay. I can still fight.
As Delta raised her sword again, preparing to attack the Honkai Beast, she heard a strange... soft sound from behind.
She looked back in surprise. What she saw was a "person" floating in the air. With pupils radiating a brown light, they looked down at her without any expression or emotion.
This person... had no emotions.
Bang!