Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

Fire Moth's headquarters was located deep within the mountains of the Eurasian continent. Like the one in Irkutsk, this base was also a repurposed Russian military installation, but unlike Irkutsk, it wasn't suitable for civilian settlement.

However, the base personnel's families needed housing, and the base required external supplies. So, in the only small plain area amidst the mountains, a small village gradually grew into a settlement, eventually becoming a sizable town.

Its name? "Moth," after Fire Moth!

Moth Town.

Population… seventy or eighty thousand?

It didn't matter. There weren't that many people left now.

With the 3rd Herrscher's arrival, even without her deliberate influence, the potent Honkai energy radiating from her plunged the town into chaos.

Pardo hid inside a large blue plastic trash can, lifting the metal lid just a crack to listen to the sounds outside. She was experienced in this, able to discern the number of people by their footsteps.

"Hmm, four in total? Their footsteps are slow and dragging… That must be those… uh, what did Big Brother Mikael's manual call them… zombies? Corpses? Whatever! They're definitely not human!"

"One, two, three, four… Okay! They're all gone! Time to get out…"

She lifted the lid halfway, but a sudden sense of unease made her retreat back into the trash can.

The next moment, a buzzing sound filled the air, followed by the high-pitched whine of mosquito-like wings. Pardo cautiously lifted the lid again, peeking through the crack. Several mosquito-like creatures, the size of hens, floated past the alley entrance.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod… Holy FUCK! Aren't those Honkai beasts?!"

Pardo quickly retreated back into the smelly trash can, abandoning any thoughts of escaping.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but even after the sounds outside had subsided, she remained hidden.

Even though she clutched her stomach, feeling like it was about to burst.

Fear trumped all other urges…

Until…

Clang, clang, clang! A wrench struck the metal lid, echoing loudly.

"Come on out! Don't hide! It's just us!"

Pardo cautiously lifted the lid. Well… it was someone she knew…

"Vill-V… Big Sis?"

Unsure of the situation, she instinctively added the honorific.

Well… like they say, politeness costs nothing… and a smile can disarm anyone… calling her "Big Sis" can't hurt! – The Pardo Survival Guide, Chapter 1.

Vill-V pulled the grimy Pardo out of the trash can, holding her like a kitten.

"I wonder what that guy is up to. He called me out of the blue two nights ago, gave me a bunch of instructions, and didn't even offer to pay me! But… how did he know all this would happen?"

Vill-V muttered to herself as she dragged Pardo along.

Pardo understood each individual word, but not the sentence as a whole…

Following the principle of hiding in plain sight, Vill-V had remained in Moth Town since the Dusk Street incident. Mikael, naturally, had taken advantage of this, using his authority to give her "salvage" jobs, essentially unpaid labor. One of those jobs, unbeknownst to Pardo, was to protect her.

She could have refused. Mikael couldn't have forced her to comply. But he'd offered her something she couldn't refuse.

"Miss… are you interested in studying… a Herrscher core?"

Vill-V's days had been uneventful until two nights ago… or was it early morning? Anyway, while working late (unpaid, of course), she'd received an encrypted message from Mikael.

"Vill-V, in the next two days, at most two days, if Fire Moth's spokesperson addresses the Honkai incidents in eastern China and the Japanese archipelago, then everything is fine. But if there's no explanation after two days, be prepared to evacuate Moth Town with Pardo.

But don't go too far. Once the incident at Fire Moth headquarters is over, contact Elysia, and she'll contact Mobius. I might need your help then."

He'd hung up without waiting for a reply.

But it didn't matter, as long as he kept his promise… Could he be dead?

Probably not. He had said, "I might need your help."

Tch…

"Are the interference-suppression devices in place?"

In Fire Moth's headquarters war room, Ato stood before the large holographic display, monitoring the base's defense systems. He hadn't been sitting in the commander's chair, having been tasked two days ago with overseeing the defense of headquarters.

He hadn't expected the "potential" threat to materialize so quickly.

"Report, Captain. Interference-suppression devices have been deployed in all key areas. Based on our assessment of the 3rd Herrscher's abilities, her electromagnetic disruption shouldn't be enough to disable all critical systems, especially with the countermeasures in place. She might not even be able to breach the main gate."

"Hmm…"

Ato's noncommittal response left the reporting soldier unsure whether it was agreement or disapproval.

"Have external communications been cut off?"

"Yes."

Ato nodded. After the incidents in Shanghai and Nagazora, he wasn't surprised. Fortunately, the base relied primarily on wired communications, which were unaffected.

"Captain Ato, are we really abandoning Moth Town?"

Ato turned towards the voice—a grizzled, middle-aged man, the only veteran from the Vostok era remaining in Squad 1, and his personal guard.

What could Ato say?

"Many of our families live there."

The veteran pressed.

Ato closed his eyes, avoiding his gaze. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "We can't help them."

"…"

Ato looked at the personnel in the war room, everyone busy, yet their faces etched with worry.

Most of their families were in Moth Town…

Ato wanted to offer words of encouragement, but he couldn't.

He might be a better tactician than Himeko, but when it came to boosting morale, she was unmatched. He hadn't allocated any skill points in that area…

And he was secretly relieved—fortunately, Blanka was at the headquarters hospital for a checkup today.

Receiving no response, the veteran slapped himself twice, then fell silent.

"Captain, Herrscher sighted east of the base! Displaying surveillance footage now."

The holographic display showed the Herrscher standing openly about three kilometers from the main gate.

"Damn it! She's not even hiding!"

"Don't worry. According to the data, she excels at large-scale lightning attacks, not focused attacks. Our main gate can withstand at least three direct hits from a 680mm railgun. Activate the external defense systems. We'll attack first!"

As Ato gave the order, he unknowingly raised a death flag.