"Report, Commander. The Herrscher has been successfully lured into the simulation training room, as planned, and is now being handled by Himeko's team. Remaining personnel are clearing out the Honkai beasts spawned by the 3rd Herrscher. The situation is under control."
Hearing Ato's report, Phamas finally relaxed.
"Mobius, you've outdone yourself... wait, when did she become a tactical genius?"
The entire operation, from start to finish, had been devised by Mobius. Although he'd doubted her command abilities, Phamas had to admit, the plan was brilliant, and its execution flawless.
He removed his headset, the roar of the helicopter's rotors assaulting his ears. He winced—thirty years ago, he wouldn't have cared, but now, past fifty, he felt his age.
Old injuries ached in damp weather, so he'd even started putting goji berries in his thermos...
And now he was suffering in a helicopter—Phamas dry-heaved. He couldn't handle the turbulence anymore.
Why wasn't he on the Fire Moth One?
He wanted to be, but he couldn't.
Moth Town still needed to be cleared of Honkai beasts. The headquarters base was well-defended, and the Fire Moth One was more useful clearing out the town—especially since so many families lived there. They couldn't just abandon them.
And the Herrscher's electromagnetic interference was still disrupting long-range communications, so he had to be in a helicopter hovering above headquarters, coordinating the battle.
As for the strategists on the Fire Moth One, could they cause trouble in his and Himeko's absence?
Probably not. Their disagreements had centered around Mikael. As for fighting the Honkai... no one objected to that.
In that sense, Mikael's death wasn't entirely a bad thing. It had at least reduced the ideological conflict—as for the power struggle, he had already made private deals with Lucien and Vashak. The terms remained the same.
Phamas looked down at the hill-like base below, a pang of sadness hitting him despite his supposed indifference to loss.
"Goodbye, old friend..."
He had brought only two guards with him. The one sitting opposite him suddenly shouted, pointing at the ground.
Phamas followed his gaze. The ground near the headquarters base split open, revealing three large, round manhole covers, which slowly opened...
His pupils constricted, a chill running down his spine.
"Ato! What's going on?! Why are the silver bullet silos open?!"
"Zzzt... Commander... I... don't know... The silos... Honkai beasts... blocking them!"
Phamas cursed, banging on the cockpit door.
"Descend! Fly towards the silos! Now!"
Sozer glanced behind him. Mikael was watching him intently... no, was that really Mikael?
He had been leading the Herrscher when she'd suddenly stopped, changing her mind.
"Silver... silver bullets? Where?"
Sozer's heart leaped into his throat. He hesitated for a moment, and the Herrscher's fingers tightened around his neck.
"I... I know where they are!"
The Herrscher opened her hand, revealing a brilliant blue gem.
Sozer watched as her expression shifted, becoming more animated, her speech more fluent:
"Heh, the power of a god, the thunder of conquest. I've shown you the thunder, now, the conquest..."
The blue gem floated into the air, and a familiar figure materialized.
It wasn't Mikael, of course, but a simulacrum created by the 3rd Herrscher using the 1st Herrscher's core and the power of Sirin.
It wasn't sentient, just a copy of Mikael's appearance, its body a crude construct of Honkai energy—making it relatively fragile.
But it didn't matter. The 3rd Herrscher didn't believe anything within the base could pose a threat to it.
Having done this, the Herrscher's expression returned to its usual vacant state. She and the "Mikael" simulacrum stood side by side like emotionless puppets.
"Straight ahead, to the core?"
Sozer nodded quickly.
"Then take him there."
Seeing both Herrschers frown, Sozer's heart leaped into his throat. "Yes! Of course!"
The base personnel had been evacuated, and no one had anticipated the Herrscher targeting the silver bullets, leaving the silos practically unguarded.
The few soldiers and mechs stationed there were no match for the simulacrum. They didn't even have time to activate their self-destruct mechanisms.
The only human remaining was Sozer.
"I... I don't know how to operate this thing!"
The simulacrum stared at him silently.
Sozer, unnerved by its gaze, began to examine the hundreds of buttons and labels on the control panel.
He wasn't lying. He was a strategist, not a weapons specialist. Why would he know how to launch silver bullets?
But he was lying. There was a touch-screen control panel. The buttons were just a redundant system, a failsafe.
He didn't know why he was doing this, since it wouldn't change anything.
After a frantic search, he found the button labeled "Open Silo."
With a click, the silo doors slowly opened, sunlight streaming in and illuminating the control room.
He stood frozen, not daring to turn around, waiting for the simulacrum's command.
The simulacrum, after a moment, spoke, recalling the orders implanted by the 3rd Herrscher.
"Moscow, Ekat- uh, Arc City, Berlin."
It rattled off three city names.
Sozer understood—those were the targets.
And he immediately understood why—the previous eruptions had only affected China and the Japanese archipelago. Europe had been largely spared... now, it was their turn to suffer.
Sozer's face twisted, his muscles twitching, his mind a blank.
He walked towards the control panel, staring at the familiar world map.
An option caught his eye.
He began to tremble—fear, excitement, madness, all swirling within him.
He didn't dare turn around, barely daring to breathe, afraid the simulacrum would notice. He cursed himself inwardly:
"Why? Why am I doing this?"
But his trembling finger reached for the "Self-Destruct" button.
One centimeter... just one more centimeter...
The simulacrum sliced off his right arm.
It wasn't sentient, but it understood the meaning of words from the fragmented memories of the 3rd Herrscher.
Sozer screamed, but even with the pain and the sudden absence of his arm, he tried to press the button with his left hand.
The simulacrum pierced his heart.
As Sozer collapsed, the simulacrum looked at him, a flicker of... something in its eyes.
"Arc... Arc City... my... home..."