Chapter 105: Goodnight, Snake
Himeko's gaze shifted from Rovel, who stood beside her on the Hyperion's bridge, back to the tactical monitor. On the screen, a small army of Descenders milled about in the ruins of Nagazora City, their avatars flickering under the oppressive, Honkai-saturated sky.
"Exposing their bodies so defenselessly to such a high concentration of Honkai Energy..." Himeko's voice was low, laced with the weary certainty of a veteran. "In less than a day, every single one of those people will transform into Death Soldiers."
"I know," Rovel replied, a sigh escaping his lips as he shook his head. "But if they truly came here with that intention, there's nothing we can do to stop them."
He couldn't possibly stand guard over Nagazora City twenty-four hours a day. The thought was absurd. And the alternative? Applying his unique skill, 'Bone Break (Full),' to each and every one of them? The sheer spiritual and physical toll of using it on the thousands of players gathered below would exhaust him to the point of collapse, if not outright kill him.
Besides, Descenders could resurrect. Even if they turned into Death Soldiers, they still had ten lives to burn through. The only way to solve the problem for good would be to deal with them in his own world, the real world.
But Rovel wasn't in the mood to make a trip to the Far East just for this. Setting aside the monumental task of even finding these specific players, whether he could actually solve the problem once he found them was another matter entirely.
"The world you come from... it probably doesn't have the Honkai. I really envy you," Himeko said suddenly, her voice uncharacteristically soft as she stared at the screen.
Rovel pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache beginning to form. "It doesn't now," he corrected her grimly. "But with these idiots running around, it will soon."
Himeko's eyebrow arched. She seemed to grasp the terrifying implication hidden within his words, and a short, exasperated laugh escaped her. The sound was devoid of humor.
They were here, fighting with their very lives to drive the Honkai out of this world, to save it from annihilation. And yet, in another world, there were so-called 'geniuses' actively trying to invite it in. Allowing Descenders to become Death Soldiers was a disaster for both realities; once transformed, they wouldn't be able to control their murderous urges, becoming a plague on two worlds at once.
"Himeko," Rovel said, his tone shifting. "Can I have the Hyperion fire a shot at them?"
"One shot from the main cannon costs four to five hundred thousand," Himeko shot back, giving him a sidelong glance, though her fingers were already dancing across the command console. "Are you paying?"
"I'll pay." Without a moment's hesitation, Rovel opened his system inventory and materialized a data crystal worth a million credits, easily enough for two full-power blasts.
Himeko's eyes widened slightly at the sight. "Oh? I didn't expect you to be so rich. You've moved me with your sincerity." Her lips curved into a wry smile. Seeing his resolve, she didn't hesitate any longer, issuing the command to the ship's AI. "Ai-chan, fire at the coordinates."
A moment later, a brilliant beam of energy lanced down from the heavens, striking the heart of the player gathering. There were no surprises. Their health bars were instantly and unceremoniously emptied, their avatars dissolving as they were all sent back to their home base respawn points.
With the immediate problem dealt with, Himeko piloted the Hyperion back towards St. Freya Academy.
After disembarking, Rovel didn't hurry to log off. Instead, he found a quiet corner in his dorm room and took out a small, sleek device he had kept hidden in his inventory for a long time.
[Special Communicator: A unique device capable of establishing contact with Mobius.]
He pressed the activation button. After a few seconds of static, a familiar, professional voice came through.
"Rovel, is there something? Dr. Mobius is currently conducting an experiment and temporarily isn't—"
"Give it to me," a second voice, sharp and imperious, cut Klein off.
"Yes, Doctor." There was a brief rustle as the communicator was handed over.
"Is something the matter?" Mobius asked, her tone cool and clinical.
"Snake," Rovel began, a playful grin spreading across his face, "if I said I missed you, would I be beaten to death?"
There were two full seconds of dead silence on the other end, followed by the abrupt, jarring sound of a dial tone.
He'd been hung up on.
Rovel hurriedly redialed.
"You had better actually have something to say," Mobius's voice returned, each word laced with a dangerous chill that suggested she was speaking through gritted teeth.
"Cough," Rovel cleared his throat, deciding to get straight to the point. "It's like this. I collected some blood from a Pseudo-Herrscher. I was wondering if you needed it for your experiments."
"You fought a Herrscher?"
For the first time, Rovel thought he heard a trace of genuine urgency in Mobius's voice. It seemed that while she desperately wanted Herrscher blood for her research, she hadn't expected him to actually acquire any. At his current level, even with the enhancement potions she'd given him, he was nowhere near strong enough to go head-to-head with a true Herrscher and survive.
"Not a true Herrscher," Rovel quickly clarified. "Just a Pseudo-Herrscher."
"Oh? Tell me about it." Mobius's tone relaxed, though only slightly, her scientific curiosity piqued. She had never heard the term 'Pseudo-Herrscher' before. If it was something like the pathetic Herrscher of a Thousand Faces, it was hardly worth her time—at best, they were high-level Death Soldiers with a few special tricks. Still, any Herrscher-like entity that hadn't appeared in the Previous Era held at least some research value.
"Not long ago, the Third Honkai Eruption occurred in Nagazora City," Rovel began, recounting the events. "But since I managed to get the Third Herrscher away from the city, the residual Honkai Energy there coalesced and formed a new Herrscher-like specimen. However, her body doesn't contain a complete Herrscher Core, and her energy output shouldn't reach the standard of a true Herrscher."
"You took the Third Herrscher away?" Mobius's sharp mind instantly caught the most important keyword.
"Yes," Rovel confirmed with a nod, even though she couldn't see it. "Because the Third Herrscher still retains her human emotions, she was taken to Schicksal's Far East Branch for Valkyrie training."
"Retains human emotions... hehe... how interesting." A low, thoughtful chuckle echoed from the communicator. Rovel could almost picture the dangerous glint in Mobius's beautiful eyes as her mind began to churn with possibilities.
"Alright, I understand," she said after a moment. "I'll arrange for someone to find you and retrieve the samples. Is there anything else?"
"Um... there is one more thing," Rovel said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper, gentle and intimate.
"Goodnight, Snake."
Then, before she could respond, Rovel decisively cut the connection.
Mobius stared at the silent communicator in her hand.
"..."
"Doctor, is something wrong?" Klein asked, looking at Mobius, whose expression had become rather strange.
"Nothing." Mobius forced her features into a mask of calm neutrality. "Have someone go to Rovel and collect some things. It should be a decent research material."
With that, she turned and silently returned to the sterile confines of her laboratory, trying her best to ignore the faint warmth creeping up her neck.
---
"Raven, you should be near Nagazora City right now, right?"
The holographic image of Gray Serpent shimmered in the air. Raven, lounging comfortably, glanced at the projection with an annoyed expression. "Something the matter?"
"I need you to go to St. Freya Academy, find someone named Rovel, and collect something from him," Gray Serpent stated, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.
"It's my vacation time," Raven said, stretching languidly. "This counts as overtime, right? Triple pay." She wasn't asking; she was stating her terms.
There was a brief pause on the other end. "...Go and return quickly." Gray Serpent was silent for a moment before leaving only those words and hanging up.
"Tsk." Raven clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. Still, a job was a job. She returned to her base of operations, The Roost, and called over a young girl.
"Sora, please look after these children for a while. I need to leave for a bit," Raven instructed the little girl with distinctive purple hair.
"Okay, Teacher. I'll take good care of everyone," Sora promised, nodding seriously.
Soon after, a dark figure moved through the night, disappearing without a trace.
After a full day of travel, Raven finally arrived at the sprawling campus of St. Freya Academy. After contacting Rovel through Gray Serpent, the two agreed to meet on the rooftop of the main teaching building.
"Why meet in a place like this?" Rovel asked, looking at the figure before him. She was shrouded in a black robe, and on the hood, a large, stylized red eye was emblazoned, making her look like a true raven perched in the dead of night.
"It has a nice atmosphere, doesn't it?" Raven's voice was muffled by her hood. She turned to face him fully. "Where's the stuff?"
"Here." Rovel held out a case containing twelve special test tubes, each filled with a viscous, faintly glowing green liquid. The label on each read 'Pseudo-Herrscher Blood (Wood)'.
"Fine." Raven didn't waste any words. She took the case from Rovel's hand and turned to leave, her mission complete.
"Thank you for taking care of Yuki for me," Rovel suddenly called out to her retreating back.
Raven's steps faltered. She stopped dead, her body going rigid. Slowly, she turned her head, her visible eye narrowing in confusion and dawning shock.
"You... are you the brother she's always talking about?"
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