"Elysia, humans are all afraid of death. Are you?"
Stepping out of the temporary confinement cell, Mobius's question still echoed incessantly in Elysia's ears.
"Humans are all afraid of death. Are you?"
This question, Elysia had never pondered, and naturally couldn't provide any answer. Or perhaps, in her previous understanding, fear of death, or "fear" itself, had always been a taboo, negative emotion. She had never truly felt it herself. Was she afraid or not?
But Mobius had enlightened her, at least on this point. If she considered herself human, then she must possess the negative emotion of "fear of death," because this emotion stemmed from a human's most instinctive desire—survival.
Because we are human, because we must survive, we fear death.
Of course, it wasn't just humans who feared death; almost all animals share this emotion.
Perhaps, viewed from some higher dimension overlooking Earth, humans are no different from their primitive ancestors, no different from the ubiquitous cats and dogs on Earth—mere shells driven by the desire for "survival."
Precisely because of this, if a person truly never feared death, then not only could she not be considered human, perhaps even the term "animal" couldn't define her.
From this perspective, whether she was a Herrscher or not was questionable. After all, even the early Herrschers like the Second, Third, and Fourth, classified as lacking human emotion, still showed distinct fear when facing death.
And if neither human nor Herrscher could describe a being, what was she?
Grass?
"No... that's not right. Thinking carefully, I should have times when I feared death!" In the empty corridor, Elysia gently held her head, recalling past moments.
"No! How could this be!" She had indeed never feared death.
Of course! She certainly had moments of fear, but none of those fears seemed directed towards herself. Her fear always stemmed from losing Michael, from being unable to protect this world...
But why had she never feared for herself?
In that case, could she truly still confidently call herself "human"? Probably not, right?
But if she ultimately never became human, then what had she been pursuing all these years? What was the meaning of everything she had experienced?
Was it for Michael? No, before she embarked on her journey, or rather, at the beginning of the journey, she already had him. And now... she had even lost a part of him.
Was it to protect humanity? Yes, she did deeply love humanity, loving both their fragility and their strength. But if she herself ultimately failed to become human, then from what perspective did she "love humanity"?
So, her love for humanity wasn't the equal "love of human," but the lofty "love of god"?
"Heh..." But unfortunately, she couldn't be considered a god either. If she truly possessed divine power, why let this world suffer such tribulations?
"Ely..." A hand gently rested on her shoulder, pulling her out of her inescapable entanglement.
"Mi..." A pink feather fluttered down before her eyes, but when she looked down, there was no trace of it. Turning back, Michael wasn't behind her either.
He was on the moon, alone, watching the farce on Earth.
Elysia understood. He was calling her. After all, it was about time.
If humanity still couldn't find any effective way to defeat the Twelfth Herrscher, then the only option left was...
"Ely!"
"Eh? Uncle Ato? You're back!"
"Mmm... ah. The preparations on the moon are mostly done, mainly the Stargate portal device. But, if we can't get past this hurdle on Earth, there's no point worrying about the moon."
"Is he alright on the moon?"
"He's fine... but he just keeps staring at Earth alone, not eating, not sleeping. I'm a bit worried."
"It's okay, he's on a diet recently."
"Ah?"
"I was just kidding!" However, Ato didn't laugh. He bit his lip, sighed softly, and said, "Ely, there's a new development."
---||---
"Regarding the corruption within Fire Moth, including the corruption of Third New Heaven City Official Michael von Liechtenstein and his family, I myself reported it multiple times to HQ several months ago, right when Fire Moth took over governmental affairs from the United Government. But HQ consistently dismissed these issues, citing 'the Honkai is not over yet, we have no time for such matters.'"
"Within Fire Moth, there's a well-known thesis written by Fire Moth's de facto leader, Dr. Mei. The paper details issues concerning Herrschers, boldly predicting a total of thirteen Herrschers."
"But we all know the appearance of Herrschers is neither natural nor regular. It's not like the seasons, where summer inevitably follows spring. Since it's not a phenomenon following a pattern, how did our Dr. Mei predict thirteen Herrschers?"
"There are only two possibilities—either thirteen is just a false number given by Mei, or there are infinite Herrschers! Or perhaps there aren't thirteen Herrschers at all; the previously designated L11 Herrscher was the last one! But to continue enslaving the people, they chose to hide the truth. As long as the Honkai never ends, she, they, can forever sit high above with peace of mind!"
"Or, the so-called Herrschers, the so-called Honkai, were troubles caused by Fire Moth itself from the very beginning! As early as six years ago, someone exposed Fire Moth's conspiracy online, but those records were quickly deleted. At the time, people didn't know what Honkai was, so no attention was paid."
"But personally, I believe this is highly possible! Let's look: the first Herrscher, Michael, was born in the year of the Collapse. For a full six years after, no Honkai disasters occurred worldwide."
"But since his next appearance in records, i.e., officially joining Fire Moth, less than two months passed before the Second Honkai Eruption occurred. A few months later, the Third Honkai Eruption. After that, Honkai occurred roughly every one to two years, until this year, when four Eruptions happened within half a year."
"Rather than believing Dr. Mei can actually calculate random probability events, it's more believable that Fire Moth's predecessor took the First Herrscher away in the year of the Collapse. The First Eruption was indeed accidental, but they spent several years replicating the Herrscher. The ten subsequent Herrschers are merely replicas of the First Herrscher! And the so-called MANTIS warriors are low-spec versions of Herrschers!"
"Perhaps some will say Mei only joined Fire Moth after the Third Eruption, but let's not forget Mobius! She is a veteran of Fire Moth, always dedicated to biological research! Mei joined Fire Moth under her recommendation! And yesterday, she turned ordinary people into Zombie and killed them right in front of two billion people!"
"They research Honkai, they produce Herrschers! What exactly do they want? I think that's no longer important! If this is indeed the truth, then why should all of humanity bear the consequences of the troubles they caused!"
"Regardless of which possibility is true, such actions are something I, and my colleagues, simply cannot endorse. This kind of organization, my colleagues and I are unwilling to associate with!"
"In conclusion, I, Reugel, along with all City Officials of the American Branch, hereby resign from the position of City Official of First New Heaven City, effective immediately, and permanently withdraw from Fire Moth."
"But this is far from enough! Currently, constrained by Fire Moth's power, we cannot make any promises. But please, those willing to help us, and help yourselves, bravely come to Village Three, forty kilometers east of Third New Heaven City. We have received help from friends within Fire Moth and gathered large amounts of food and weapons here. Let us use our own hands to reclaim a bright future for ourselves!
"Remember! Today, we gather here! We do not fight for enslavement! We fight for freedom! We are not machines, not livestock, we are people! Humans who have never yielded to anything!!!"
"Bang!"
"What kind of garbage is this!" Kalpas panted heavily, smashing the table before him to pieces with one slap. Thankfully, Aponia promptly used her telekinesis to contain the fragments, preventing them from injuring others.
"Kalpas, getting angry here won't change anything."
"I want to be angry, what about it!"
"Sigh..."
"Also, why not let Sakura just go kill these guys! Huh? Kill them all! Won't that solve the problem!"
"Killing won't solve the problem, it will only escalate it..."
"Speak human! Aponia!!"
"...Then I can only, make you quiet for a while..."
When Elysia arrived at the War Room with Ato, this was the scene she witnessed. Personnel from Intelligence, Strategy, etc., sat awkwardly in their seats, daring not to look back.
At the command position originally belonging to Mei, Kalpas, apparently not satisfied with just smashing the table, had grabbed Mei's chair. But this time, before he could cause any more destruction, he fainted and collapsed to the floor.
"Apologies, please excuse the disturbance." Aponia murmured softly, bending down to grab one of Kalpas's ankles. "I'll take him back to cool down first."
...
Aponia dragged Kalpas away. Elysia watched her retreating figure for a moment, then silently walked over to Eden and asked softly, "My dear Eden, where are Mei and Kevin? Why aren't they here?"
Eden shook her head. "In the side room."
Elysia and Eden waited where they stood for a while. Himeko opened the door to the last side room of the War Room, beckoned to Elysia, but didn't enter herself. Instead, she brushed past Elysia and hurried away.
"Sakura and the other MANTISes, stand by on location. Maintain surveillance for now, but absolutely do not engage with the crowd. Wait for the rapid response team to arrive."
Upon entering the side room, Elysia's consciousness was pulled into the psychic communication network constructed by Su. She also heard Mei's order to Sakura.
"What exactly happened, Mei?" Although personally preferring to voice everything, Elysia understood the need to avoid potential leaks during this special period. Besides, the psychic network was convenient enough.
"Just a group of City Officials from the American Branch declaring rebellion against Fire Moth and forming a resistance."
How could such shameless people exist in this world?!
"Why are they so fearless? I remember Sakura collected a lot of records of their illegal activities, right?" It was impossible for Mei to have predicted the current situation years ago.
But as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Sakura had collected records of illegal activities for almost all bureaucrats inherited from the United Government.
Even if useless before, they could be used for post-Honkai reckoning in the future.
"Those things exist, yes, but how to release them?" The Twelfth Herrscher's Authority was simply too devastating to human civilization.
Although possessing almost no direct combat capability, controlling the data world meant controlling the global narrative. Saying what one wanted, silencing what others said—manipulating public opinion was effortless.
"So, these people are directed by the Twelfth Herrscher?"
"Undoubtedly. The riots in Third New Heaven City already showed signs of manipulation."
"What did the Twelfth Herrscher give them? Enough to make them side with the Honkai? Don't they value their lives?" Elysia wasn't uncomprehending, but... who could accept it?
In past Honkai disasters, even in the most difficult, most desperate times, no one had ever betrayed humanity to join the Honkai side. Even Lezrun, attempting to become a Herrscher through consciousness transfer experiments, couldn't be said to be driven by the Honkai.
"Why would they do this? How dare they do this? As City Officials, they should know very well what Honkai is... World destruction, what good does that do them?"
The psychic channel fell silent. No one spoke for a long time. Clearly, everyone actually knew the answer.
Finally, Su spoke: "Pursuing this is meaningless now, Elysia. But if you must ask, it's actually quite simple.
"Firstly, they know what Honkai is. Whether they believe it is another matter. Don't doubt, this world never lacks foolish people, regardless of their status.
"Secondly, given the crimes they've committed, once the Honkai is defeated, with Mei's methods, she definitely won't be lenient. So for them, it's a dead end either way... Rather than wait for death, better to risk everything. Besides, it's possible the Herrscher promised them something unrealistic. Gave them false hope."
"Lord Herrscher, everything has been done as you commanded. As you predicted, Fire Moth is powerless against our successive attacks." In the dim basement, Reugel knelt on one knee before a small display screen.
"Beep beep beep... Beep beep beep beep..." A series of strange sounds emitted from the screen. Then, a blurry voice, gender indistinguishable, spoke in the unique monotonous tone of a robot:
"Well done, human. You have fulfilled our contract."
"Then... Lord Herrscher, what you promised me..."
"Rest assured. I keep my word."
"Click!" The basement lights all switched on. Although he had seen faint outlines by the screen's glow earlier, upon truly seeing the electric chair-like iron seat, and the somewhat messy data cables and operating table nearby, his excitement became undeniable.
He certainly knew what it meant. This was what he had risked dealing with the devil to obtain—consciousness transfer surgery.
He was already too old. Even if his body was still robust, his actual age was undeniable. He likely wouldn't last many more years before collapsing like a failing river dike.
Besides, he no longer believed this world had any chance of defeating the Honkai. Rather than perish with all of humanity, better to survive as a new form of life. This was the price offered by the Twelfth Herrscher.
Using consciousness transfer surgery, combined with the Twelfth Herrscher's Authority, transforming him into an existence like the Twelfth Herrscher itself, allowing him to live forever in the data world.
But equally, according to the task given by the Twelfth Herrscher, he must help it destroy all humanity, because—
"If I am defeated, the final Herrscher, the Herrscher of Finality, will descend. At that time, everything in the world will head towards destruction, even if you have become a digital life like me. Only by destroying humanity while I still exist do you have a chance to survive forever."
"What are you still hesitating for? Sit down quickly."
"Oh! Oh!" His white beard trembled with excitement. Without a second thought, he sat down on the electric chair.
"Lord Reugel, you're finally out!"
"Hmm?"
"You scared us to death! You actually revealed our hiding place! If that woman named Sakura had reached us first..." Niu He's short, plump body lunged forward, hugging Reugel's leg.
Reugel frowned. "What's there to fear? My friend has set up complete surveillance here. If Mei dared send someone to assassinate us, everything happening here would immediately become known to all humanity. Mei wouldn't fail to consider that." —Only you foolish humans wouldn't think of it.
"That may be so, but what if she took the risk? It was truly terrifying!"
"Hmph!" Niu He stopped his exaggerated performance, lifting his head almost imperceptibly. Was it an illusion, or had Lord Reugel seemed... like a different person?
"There are so many people outside." Listening to the roaring crowds outside, Reugel commented.
"Yes! All people who flocked here after hearing your words. Right now, it's just the few who managed to grab vehicles. Many more are coming on foot. The military police can't stop them. Some even joined them seeing the situation!"
"Hmph! I understand."