Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers-Chapter 285: Weariness

"Hm? Finished?"

Sensing Michael emerge from the hospital room, Su let out a long sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it went much smoother than expected."

Michael replied while raising his hands to vigorously massage his temples.

"No breakdown, no loss of control, just a bit lost. A little guidance was all it took."

Hearing Michael's words, Su shook his head.

"It's not that simple. If anyone else had gone in besides you... After all, Hua is considered a monitored subject by Fire Moth now."

"Hm?"

Michael raised an eyebrow.

Being a monitored subject didn't mean being classified as an enemy, but rather possessing the potential to lose control, requiring vigilance.

For instance, Michael himself was Fire Moth's highest-priority monitored subject.

Regardless, such vigilance implied a degree of mistrust. Michael could accept it for himself; he was a Herrscher, and the lesson from the Seventh Honkai Eruption was still fresh. Even if the organization's core personnel trusted him completely, they couldn't demand the same from the hundreds of thousands within the organization. Mei had to be responsible for the larger group.

But what was Hua's situation?

"Su, perhaps you could be clearer. I just told her: 'You just saved the world.' Is the world really going to turn around and question her now?"

"No, no, Michael, you might misunderstand."

Su mimicked Michael, rubbing the bridge of his nose before explaining:

"From my personal perspective, of course, I have no desire to doubt Hua in the slightest. But she does possess the potential to cause immense destruction."

"Which MANTIS doesn't have the potential for immense destruction?"

Su shook his head again, signaling for the man before him to calm down, though his tone hadn't quite reached anger yet, merely chilling the air considerably.

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"Therefore, Kevin, Vill-V, Mobius, Kosma, myself, and others are all special-grade monitored subjects of Fire Moth, with a precaution level just below yours."

"Meaning, that strike on P-21 Island allowed Hua to successfully advance, reaching this power threshold, correct?"

After all, prior to this, despite being among the earliest MANTISes, Hua had never achieved any notable battle record nor displayed her true strength.

The blow she delivered using the Divine Key could currently only be withstood by two people within Fire Moth—Michael being one, with Elysia and Kevin each counting as half.

It was truly a meteoric rise, making some apprehension understandable.

Unexpectedly, Su shook his head again in denial:

"It's more than that, Hua... Michael, you probably haven't seen the report on Hua's breakdown and loss of control yet, have you?"

Michael frowned but didn't answer.

After Hua used the first rated output of the Eighth Divine Key to kill the Tenth Herrscher collective, she had indeed fallen into a brief state of loss of control. Before any consequences occurred, however, the consciousness Michael had left within the Divine Key forcibly interrupted it.

It wasn't surprising that the Eighth Divine Key had recorded this incident.

"But... isn't losing sanity and control normal when entering the state of 'Artificial Cascade'?"

"Michael, don't deceive yourself. The purpose of the secondary surgery for MANTISes is precisely to maintain sanity during an 'Artificial Cascade'. The fact that Hua lost control so easily is what's abnormal."

"...SWARA?"

"Yes, because of the SWARA."

Su had become somewhat desensitized to Michael's perceptiveness. However, since he could guess, Su felt no need to expend effort explaining. He merely added what could be considered a conclusion:

"From now on, she might never be able to enter the 'Artificial Cascade' state again."

"Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise," Michael mused.

Touching on this topic, Su closed his eyes again and murmured:

"It's more like 'who knows if it's fortune or misfortune'..."

For someone who had experienced the extreme pain, both mental and physical, of an 'Artificial Cascade', being unable to enter it again might seem enviable.

But under certain circumstances, being unable to enter that state meant lacking the power to change everything when it was needed most, ultimately returning to the starting point of "I can't do anything."

So, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Which is which? Who can truly say?

Michael shook his head, proactively changing the subject:

"What about the Captain? How is her condition now?"

He had vaguely heard Himeko's situation was somewhat dire, but Su hadn't specified the extent or nature of the problem.

However, it certainly hadn't reached the point of giving up treatment, which was why Michael had visited Hua first.

"How should I put this..."

Su spread his hands, a rare gesture for him:

"In five days, we've already used six vials of serum on Captain Himeko."

"Six vials!"

Michael himself was taken aback.

"Why administer so many?"

Due to cost, no one had ever received such treatment before. After all, six vials represented six thousand deceased Honkai Sickness patients.

Furthermore, experience indicated one vial was usually enough to clear all Honkai Energy from a person's body. Administering six vials in just five days implied falling into the late stages of Honkai Sickness six consecutive times in that short period...

"What exactly is going on?"

"..."

Su pondered for a long time, either carefully choosing his words with great effort or simply unsure how to express it.

Michael considered himself relatively patient, but patience wasn't a fixed value set in stone. It fluctuated with mood, time, and the person involved. Right now, for example, after only half a minute of silence, Michael already felt an irrepressible urge.

"Michael, the principle of the serum... is extracting the minuscule amount of antibodies remaining in the corpses of Honkai Sickness patients to break down the residual Honkai Energy radiation in the body. You understand this well."

"Similar to a vaccine."

"Yes, similar to a vaccine."

Since the principle was identical, the ultimate result was also the same. Although Honkai Energy radiation wouldn't evolve resistance to antibodies like a virus, the human body would adapt. Thus, the serum's effectiveness decreased exponentially with use.

"Has the Captain's body deteriorated to that extent?"

"Mhm. The connection to the Seventh Herrscher Core, even just half of it, caused irreversible damage to her body. Her internal organs are already scorched and charred. Of course, the most troublesome part is the Honkai Energy radiation that we can't seem to eliminate. Now, her ward is off-limits to ordinary medical staff."

"And the therapeutic effect of the serum has reached its limit. After all, she used it twice before, once during combat, and now six more times... that's nine vials. The serum's effect must be negligible by now, right?"

Su opened his mouth, but quickly caught himself, swallowing the words about to escape—

The serum stockpile is about to run out.

He almost let the problem slip out, momentarily losing control.

It was understandable. Counting from Vostok, humanity had been fighting the Honkai for at least twelve years. The fewer than two billion people still alive possessed some inherent resistance to Honkai Energy radiation and weren't as easily infected as before.

Correspondingly, the number of Honkai Sickness patient corpses had drastically decreased. And Fire Moth couldn't even fully acquire this pitifully small number—the serum's principle wasn't overly complex, leading to rampant black market production. These local "serpents" were far quicker at collecting corpses than Fire Moth.

Su didn't even need to investigate to guess that many officially controlled patient corpses were likely sold at high prices by local bureaucrats to local private serum manufacturers.

If the serum supply were sufficient, Himeko's problem wouldn't be a problem. If one vial a day wasn't enough, then ten. If ten wasn't enough, then a hundred. Turning the remaining two billion people on Earth into serum would yield two million vials, definitely enough to keep Himeko alive until the arrival of Finality.

But in the end, he didn't tell Michael about this problem. It was a consensus reached between him, Mei, and Mobius. After all, even if he said it, what could Michael solve?

The Authority of the Sixth Herrscher could resolve Himeko's other issues besides the Honkai Sickness, but that was something humanity could achieve anyway.

Michael, however, absolutely couldn't cure Honkai Sickness. His mere presence in Himeko's room would essentially be adding fuel to the fire for her condition, which was why Su had previously described Himeko's condition in an overly optimistic light.

He was afraid Michael, unaware of the situation, might phase-shift into Himeko's room, and under the inherent Honkai Energy radiation of a Herrscher...

As for the serum problem, dealing with the local corruption was something Michael needed to "avoid suspicion" for. Besides, there wasn't enough time—his direct intervention would likely expose the underlying distrust of Herrschers and MANTISes within humanity, which hadn't fully surfaced yet.

And as for creating serum with his Authority... that was just wishful thinking. The Herrscher of Reason could only permanently replicate things fully understood. Simple mechanical objects weren't difficult, nor were things like water and coffee. His own body, being his own, was barely manageable. But serum, involving extensive biochemical knowledge, was naturally not in that category.

Michael gleaned something from Su's expression, but he didn't press further.

Though he didn't know exactly what Su wanted to say, the fact that Su ultimately held back meant he believed Michael shouldn't know, or that knowing wouldn't help.

But it didn't matter. Michael wasn't entirely without guesses about Himeko's situation. In fact, he had conducted some minor experiments days ago regarding potential scenarios. He was confident he could save Himeko in the worst-case scenario, though it would require some cooperation from Mobius.

And Mobius never refused him anything.

So, facing Su's concealment, he simply shook his head, asked nothing further, and vanished on the spot.

......

"Captain?"

Hearing the title, Michael couldn't help but pause. In his heart, that title belonged solely to Himeko, and he had just been discussing her with Su, so his mind hadn't quite switched gears regarding the address.

It seemed to take him a long moment to register the shift in identity. Turning his head, he saw it was Immer, recently returned to their native world.

Michael glanced at the "Poisonous Cocoon" emblem on the side doorframe and couldn't resist teasing:

"You're supposed to have a day off, right? Not going to find Kalpas? Straight back to work?"

"Don't mention it. I was going to find Kalpas, but Elvin stopped me. Dr. Mobius apparently ran some experiment on Kalpas. His emotions have been unstable these past few days. I heard he already wrecked three simulation training grounds. Later, Kevin took him topside to 'spar'."

Michael nodded. He had heard about this but hadn't intervened, nor had he gone to Mobius for an explanation.

As for Kevin and Kalpas's fight, he wouldn't interfere either. For both of them at this moment, fighting it out for days and nights until both were exhausted was perhaps the most suitable way to vent their emotions.

He just said, seemingly out of nowhere:

"Perhaps you really should go find him."

Immer responded with a shrug, a helpless look on his face.

"Of course, I understand that, but given the intensity of their battle, I can't even get close... Never mind that. Captain, are you here looking for Sakura?"

"Mhm."

"Poisonous Cocoon is back in business recently. According to others, Sakura is on an external mission; she left the base last night. But with an emergency contact, she can be back by tomorrow. If it's really important, with approval from both Dr. Mei and you, Captain, Herrscher Authority could probably bring her back right now, right?"

"...An order to recall Sakura to HQ will go through Dr. Mei shortly. It's not exceptionally urgent; having her return tomorrow is fine."

Michael blinked. His brain was still hesitating, but the words had already tumbled out.

In a sense, this was a very dangerous decision—judging by the intervals between recent Honkai Eruptions, there was no "safe period" to speak of now.

Perhaps this very decision of his would lead to the Twelfth Herrscher being born tonight, during the gap before Sakura returned. Then, helpless, humanity's best-case scenario would be merely repeating the outcome of the original Twelfth Honkai Eruption.

But... wasn't this also something Michael secretly hoped for?

Anyway, the Twelfth Divine Key could still serve as the foundation for the "Elysian Realm." Making Rin become a "Herrscher of Humanity" at the cost of her original consciousness wasn't just for advancing the Elysian Realm project; it was also intended to reduce casualties from the Twelfth Honkai Eruption.

Two billion versus one. Michael watched the scales of his heart sway violently. Even with the weights at two billion to one, his emotions couldn't provide a clear judgment of which weighed more.

Or perhaps, the moment he started thinking this way, his inner inclination was already obvious.

It was like someone flipping a coin to help make a decision. Heads is the result they secretly want, tails the one they don't. If it lands heads, naturally, everyone is happy. But what if it's tails?

They would surely think: "This one doesn't count, flip again!"

And only after flipping heads would they contentedly accept the coin's decision.

Michael felt his current psychology was no different from such a person, the only difference being he didn't have the chance to flip the coin a second time.

His chance came only once, and the one flipping the coin wasn't him, wasn't even human.

So, all he could do was postpone the decision by these insignificant twelve-plus hours.

If the Twelfth Herrscher was born within this timeframe, then it was "too bad."

If the Twelfth Herrscher didn't appear during this period, then he would talk to Sakura about Rin later.

But this wasn't easy for him, even though it sounded like shirking responsibility.

No matter which decision was ultimately made, half-forced, the weight of the sin he had to bear wouldn't lessen one bit.

But none of it mattered anymore. Before anything else, he would go back and sleep for a dozen hours or so.

......

His original dormitory had long been destroyed in the Seventh Honkai Eruption. When Michael rebuilt it later, he added a touch of creative spirit.

The current "dorm" still bore the name, but calling it an apartment might be more appropriate—space wasn't lacking, it was only made into dorms to save costs initially. But since the reconstruction was Michael's "out-of-pocket" expense, cost was irrelevant.

This apartment of Michael's was identical in structure and decoration to Kevin and Mei's, being a mass-produced model he himself created.

But the moment he stepped through the door, Michael noticed something unusual.

It wasn't a change requiring strenuous perception through multiple Authorities. The aroma filling the air, the whirring sounds of the range hood and gas stove, the clang of pots and spatulas, the tug-of-war between steam and pot lids—any normal person with functioning eyes, nose, and ears could detect the abnormality, right?

"Ah! You're back so early today?"

Elysia, wearing an apron and holding a spatula, poked half her body out from the kitchen.

Michael was speechless for a moment, just staring blankly at her.

"Eh? Why are you frozen?"

Elysia wiped her hands on her clean white apron, then tiptoed over to Michael, waving two fingers in front of his eyes:

"Look look! How many is this? Three, two, one, answer quickly!"

"Three..."

Michael deliberately gave the wrong number. A light flick landed on his forehead, the movement so fast he couldn't even dodge—not that he would have, of course. But the speed was such, it seemed the person acting already knew he would intentionally guess wrong.

"What? Am I really that surprising, just borrowing your kitchen occasionally?"

"It's not that surprising..."

"Then what are you thinking? Could it be... you're thinking about wanting to eat something else?"

Elysia winked at him, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

The Michael of the past would likely have blushed furiously, flustered and unable to speak for ages—Elysia loved seeing him like that.

But she was bound to be disappointed, just like many times before. Michael merely offered a barely perceptible smile, this faint hint of detachment replacing the weariness on his face. He crossed his arms and leaned lightly against the doorframe, saying:

"Elysia, it's burning."

"Huh? What? Speak louder, I can't hear you!"

"...The food's burning."