"Hum hum hum hum~ hum hum hum hum hum~ hum hum~ hum hum~ hum hum~ hum hum~" Lucien hummed a nameless tune, a smile playing on his lips. The melody abruptly cut off as the elevator slowed to a stop.
He rubbed his cheeks as the doors opened, then plastered on his usual smile.
With his trademark faint smile, he nodded to every passing staff member, whether they returned a fawning grin or a distant coolness. None of it mattered to him.
He entered his spacious office, already brightly lit. Five secretaries were efficiently organizing the documents on his desk. Seeing him enter, they immediately stopped what they were doing and filed out, turning off all the lights except the computer screen as they left.
He exhaled, leaning back in his chair, propping his head up with his right hand, lost in thought.
A pop-up window appeared on his computer screen.
"Oh?" Lucien's eyes narrowed, a chuckle escaping his lips. "Finally... You've kept me waiting."
The message was, unsurprisingly, unpleasant: [Doesn't your conscience bother you?]
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" Lucien burst into laughter, clutching his forehead. "Seriously? In this day and age, people still believe in things like conscience?"
A cold, metallic sensation pressed against his throat. He swallowed involuntarily, then felt a burning sting as a blade pierced his skin.
He gritted his teeth, less from fear and more from shock and indignation—at least, that's how it appeared to Mikael.
But he is a nobleman, after all. Just as Mikael was considering moving the blade slightly away from Lucien's skin, Lucien spoke, his voice exaggerated and mocking, completely unfazed:
"Well, well, Mikael. The name precedes you. First time we meet face-to-face, I believe."
"Ah," Mikael replied casually. "If I had a choice, I'd prefer we kept our acquaintance purely virtual."
Lucien drew out his words, mimicking Mikael's earlier tone, even though it caused the muscles in his neck to twitch, widening the cut and staining his collar with blood. "Tell me, how am I inferior to Vashak? You'd rather consort with him than me? He's a rigid, cowardly, pro-human traditionalist. I'm different! I've always advocated for equal dialogue with Herrschers like you who retain human consciousness. Just imagine, with Fire Moth's intellect combined with your power, there's nothing we couldn't achieve. The Honkai... it would be nothing but..."
"Perhaps you should stop talking," Mikael said, retracting the dagger and taking a seat at a nearby table. "If you keep this up, I'll start to question whether you're insulting my intelligence. I suspect you just came up with that last half."
"Nonsense, my friend! Every word is from the heart!"
Mikael couldn't help but laugh.
Lucien finally stopped his rambling, wiping the blood from his neck... then started again. "Oh, you think I'm just putting on an act? Aren't you the same? If you weren't planning to kill me from the start, why bother with the scary facade? This shirt was expensive, you know."
Mikael rubbed his temples, slightly regretting his approach.
"Why the silent treatment?"
"I'm considering whether I should just kill you. Elysia would be better suited to deal with you, but she didn't want to come..."
"And so, I'm thinking about ending this quickly."
"Hahaha, come now!" Lucien stood up, unconcerned, and fumbled for the light switch in the darkness. "Killing me wouldn't be a wise decision."
He glanced at the security camera mounted on the door frame. It appeared to be functioning normally, but he suspected that Vill-V had already employed some trickery to freeze the feed at the moment before Mikael's appearance.
"Think carefully. Even without direct evidence, if you kill me here, everyone will suspect you, won't they? Some sins, once committed, can never be washed away! Oh dear, oh dear, a Herrscher claiming to fight for humanity wantonly murders a high-ranking member of human civilization. Tsk tsk."
"You don't need to test my resolve. You have to acknowledge one thing." Mikael employed his signature move, first surveying Lucien's office. Good, much bigger than Vashak's. Over thirty meters long. Should be enough space.
He snapped his fingers.
Lucien felt his head collide with steel and stumbled back against the wall. Looking up, he saw what he'd hit—a massive railgun barrel, thirty meters long, filling the entire office. A 430mm railgun.
"I know... I know..." Mikael covered his eyes, his body trembling with pain. He suddenly dropped his hands, eyes wide and pupils constricted, a manic grin spreading across his face. "Hahahaha! It's the worst possible choice, indeed! But so what?! I think I'm losing it. Can't stand the provocation. Hehehe... Hahaha! See? Mobius even prescribed me medication... I can't hold back anymore, hahaha—I want to kill you! I want to destroy everything here!"
A bead of cold sweat trickled into Lucien's eye as he groaned. Damn it! A moment ago, he was fine, and now it feels like a mountain is crushing me...
Damn, my limbs are pinned. I can't move... Spatial manipulation? No, I can still tremble.
Tch, I can't even laugh at this hilariously over-the-top display. How uncivilized...
He managed a shallow breath, using all his strength to twitch the corners of his mouth.
"Wait, this isn't good..." Mikael's return to normalcy was abrupt. He waved his hand, and the railgun vanished along with the oppressive pressure.
Just as Lucien was about to breathe a sigh of relief, an even more intense force slammed into him, constricting his throat. He could only choke out a strangled gasp.
Then, a vintage gunpowder-powered cannon materialized.
Mikael walked slowly towards Lucien, a chilling laugh echoing with each step. "Hehehe... Hahaha... Hahahahaha!" His arm and hand bulged with veins, but his voice was calm. "Honestly, I've wanted to do this for a long time!"
"I've wanted to do this for a long time!"
"Why are you smiling? Why are you smiling? WHY ARE YOU SMILING?!"
He grabbed Lucien by his bloody collar and shoved him headfirst into the massive cannon barrel, leaving only his head sticking out.
Then, he slapped Lucien's handsome face eighty-one times, until it was a bloody mess, until Mikael himself was splattered with gore. With a snap of his fingers, Lucien's wounds healed, and the blood vanished.
"Still feeling smug?!"
Lucien forced a smile, but his attempt at elegance was nothing but mockery in Mikael's eyes.
"You just love to smile, don't you..."
He jammed his fingers into Lucien's mouth and ripped it open to his ears. Lucien's scream died in his throat.
His eyes were gouged out, crushed in Mikael's hand, the viscous white fragments splattering back onto his face. The thread-like optic nerves dangled from his empty sockets.
Minutes later, the injuries healed, as if nothing had happened.
This time, Lucien couldn't smile. The relentless pain nearly sent him into shock, but his mind was clear. Even seemingly crazed, Mikael retained a basic level of sanity. He would inflict pain but not kill.
Mikael took a few deep breaths.
Honestly, he didn't have much of a grudge against Lucien, but he couldn't help himself. He just couldn't.
"Mobius was right. A little violence does improve the mood." He gestured, and invisible hands grabbed Lucien by his golden hair, pulling his head up.
"Much better... Wait a second..."
A spatial rift opened, and a crate of letters tumbled out, landing at Mikael's feet.
"You realize this is rather inconvenient for you, having these in my possession."
Lucien glanced at the clock on the wall and grinned slyly. This time, Mikael, in his post-rage clarity, didn't react violently.
"If my calculations are correct, a cruise missile will accidentally land on Dusk Street within the next two minutes, due to a training exercise mishap. Haha, aren't you going back?"
"Oh, you planned ahead, did you? Doesn't matter." Mikael casually pulled out his phone, dialed Vill-V, and put the call on speakerphone. "Vill-V, there's a little something flying your way."
"Ha! Already on it. One sec. Hehe, Second Divine Key, second rated output, release!"
Nothing happened, except Vill-V's excited shout.
Lucien and Mikael's eyes met. Mikael smirked.
Lucien wasn't that crazy. He couldn't afford the consequences of a completely unhinged Mikael.
Mikael understood. It was just a training missile, incapable of causing real harm. A mere show of force.
"See? Without you, Anti-Entropy is just an ant compared to Fire Moth. If I even suspect where you are, I can destroy you instantly. Your 'mutual non-aggression pact' with Mei is just empty words."
But that threat played right into Mikael's hands. The current situation was proof enough.
"Second Divine Key? What's that?" For the first time, disbelief crossed Lucien's face. He didn't understand what a Divine Key was or how they'd stopped the missile, but it was clear that this upstart organization, Anti-Entropy, had surpassed Fire Moth in some aspects!
No, not just surpassed, but forged a path Fire Moth hadn't.
And the Fusion Soldiers... who knows how many of Anti-Entropy's members Mikael had already transformed?
Now, even without Mikael present, even without Mikael, Elysia, or that strange man, they had the means to counter Fire Moth's attacks!
So, the "mutual non-aggression" agreement Mei had made with them after the Fourth Honkai Eruption might actually hold...
No, more than hold. Anti-Entropy was now the dominant party in a way...
"Let's be clear—I'm here to extort you. Of course, I'm a reasonable person. This information won't cripple your family, just cause some minor inconveniences. So, my demands are modest. I know you've been hoarding large quantities of the Honkai sickness serum, profiting handsomely from its sale..."
"My request is simple. One hundred doses of the serum. You name the location; I'll pick it up myself."
"Extort? This is outright robbery! Oh my god!"
Seeing Lucien's unchanging smile, Mikael pursed his lips and raised his hand to strike.
But Lucien had already ducked his head back into the cannon barrel.