Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

"Is that… a Honkai beast?" Mikael asked uncertainly.

Elysia, however, wasn't one for careful consideration. A creature cuter than Mikael was a rare sight, Honkai beast or not, and she had to cuddle it.

"Aww! So cute!" She picked up the small white cow by the scruff of its neck, puckering her lips as she playfully bounced its rump three times.

"*Mmm-hmm!*" She glanced smugly at Mikael, but he remained frowning, showing no sign of amusement.

Seele also reached out to touch it. The white skin of typical Honkai beasts was a bone-like exoskeleton. Only a few蜉蝣 or crawling Honkai beasts had soft shells.

This one, however, felt more like human skin, a delicate membrane. Smooth and supple, coupled with its lifelike appearance, if not for the faint Honkai energy reaction, Mikael would have mistaken it for a newborn calf.

"Hey! It has three eyes!" Seele exclaimed.

"Oh, really?"

Mikael leaned in for a closer look. A vertical line, like a frown, creased the beast's forehead, looking strangely out of place on its childish face.

But tilting his head, he realized it was a pair of closed eyelids.

Seele tentatively touched the eyelids. The Honkai beast convulsed and struggled, its small body possessing surprising strength. Elysia, caught off guard, lost her grip, and it tumbled to the floor.

In a flash of purple lightning, the Honkai beast was split in two.

"Ah!"

Ignoring Seele's gasp, Mikael crouched down to examine the remains, bumping heads with Elysia, who was also leaning in.

"Oof…" Elysia stood up dizzily, then promptly collapsed onto the floor…

"Elysia-onee-chan, what's wrong?"

Seele quickly jumped off the bed to help her up.

Mikael twitched his lips. "The price of drinking—the aftereffects have kicked in."

A sour smell filled the air—the toxic fumes and carbon dioxide from burning silicone. Experienced with this, Mikael silently opened the window, a gust of azure wind clearing the air.

"Huh?" He finally focused on the Honkai beast's remains, and even he, who had seen countless Honkai beasts, couldn't help but gasp.

This… this wasn't what a living creature should look like.

What was this thing?

Honkai beasts, though silicon-based and completely different from Earth life, were still creatures with internal "organs," perhaps incomprehensible to humans, but existing nonetheless.

This one, however, was just a puddle of liquid, aside from the occasional Honkai energy fragment.

No organs whatsoever!

Even stranger, the liquid bubbled like boiling water. While the electrical discharge could generate heat, it wouldn't last.

Before Mikael could ponder further, the boiling liquid overflowed. He quickly pulled Seele back, who in turn dragged Elysia.

The bisected remains dissolved completely, leaving two puddles on the floor.

Then, the liquid coalesced, and within seconds, two identical miniature cow Honkai beasts stood up.

"Like… earthworms? No, earthworms need the segment with the clitellum to regenerate, and even then, they don't regain their original length… This is more like mitosis, but… newly divided cells need time to grow… At least it follows the law of conservation of energy, consuming Honkai energy… but this world has an endless supply of that…"

Invisible spatial chains bound the two newly formed beasts. Suddenly remembering something, Mikael lifted their eyelids.

Nothing underneath. He'd seen people without eyes. The shape of the eyelids had already hinted at this…

But if there were no eyes, why even have eyelids?

In silence, he sliced one beast in two, and the other into three pieces.

Seconds later, five identical Honkai beasts stood up…

After repeated experiments, Mikael concluded:

First, the number of new beasts equaled the number of pieces the original was divided into. Even mixing the puddles resulted in two separate beasts.

Second, the size of the pieces didn't matter. Even minced meat or a single leg would regenerate into a full-sized beast.

Finally…

Mikael released the restraints. The twenty-odd miniature beasts didn't attack, but instead, merged with each other…

"This is…!" Grabbing Seele and Elysia, Mikael vanished.

Moo!

A deafening roar shook the air as the bedroom walls exploded. A massive "white cow" rampaged through the villa, reducing the building to rubble, burying itself in the process.

But Mikael, standing on the street, didn't move. As expected, moments later, two identical "white cows" dug themselves out, charging towards him.

"Seele, look after Elysia."

"Ah, okay…" Seele shuddered, but when she looked up, both Mikael and the Honkai beasts were gone.

"Ugh… Hehehe… what happened?" Elysia stood up, stumbling before collapsing onto Seele's back. "Mmm… Seele smells so nice…"

"Elysia-onee-chan…" Seele instinctively shrugged, but Elysia's warm breath on her neck calmed her racing heart.

"What kind of Honkai beast is this?"

In the deserted streets, Mikael dodged continuously, not attacking. Until he found its weakness, any reckless attack would just cause it to multiply.

But… what was its weakness?

Unable to hit him, the two beasts merged again, now rivaling a three-meter-tall chariot-class Honkai beast, but far more destructive.

Buildings crumbled, but Mikael still didn't attack. "Not yet?"

Whoosh!

A massive crystal arrow pierced the air, exploding just before hitting the Honkai beast. A shower of crystal dust rained down, and the beast began to crystallize.

"The same trick again?"

Mikael understood. He unleashed all four authorities—spatial manipulation, electromagnetism, wind control—a high-frequency vibration of combined forces. The Honkai beast shattered into nothingness.

Mikael stood still, holding his breath. While atomized remains couldn't be called a corpse, and he knew this was pointless, it still felt… wrong.

"Well, well! Long time no see!" Elysia appeared beside him, but not his Elysia.

Mikael, however, didn't bother with pleasantries. "Reducing it to atoms with high-frequency vibrations. You guys really are fond of this tactic."

"Well, isn't it possible that our strategy against the 6th Herrscher was based on this?"

"Hmm…" Mikael mused. "Now that you mention it, it does share similarities with the 6th Herrscher."

"But…"

"Hmm?"

"But that's not the Mahadeva's main body, is it?"

"Mahadeva… wait, main body?"

It had been a long time.

A long time since he'd been so terrified his face drained of color.

A long time since fear had felt like ants crawling under his skin.