Disclaimer: 'Honkai impact 3rd' is the property of Hoyoverse, Singapore. I do not own any characters in this story except the minor OCs here and there.
Third Eruption
"Elysia. You and your team will take the East quarter of the city. Kalpas yours will take the West quarter."
"Yes~."
"Who gave you the right to order around hero-boy?" Kalpas clicked his tongue.
"Finally, my men will be divided into two halves. Roberts, you take one half to the south quarter of the city."
"Sir." the soldier named Roberts saluted.
"And I will lead the remaining men to the North quarter."
"All right any questions?"
"Oi, who gave you the right to order around?" Kalpas asked irritatingly. At this Kevin just looked at him blankly.
"Well Kalpas, you can be in charge when you beat Kevin in your spars with him. Okay~." Elysia teased.
"That was only once." Kalpas retorted.
"Hmm~. If I remember correctly the score stands at 10 to 0 in Kevin's favour."
"Elysia." Kalpas said in a low voice.
"giggle… I'm just telling the truth~."
"Tch." It was kind of an open secret, but Kalpas has never won in his spars against Kevin. He may be a great instinctual fighter, but it all dwarfed in front of Kevin's natural talent and his immense experience of being in Moths since childhood. This was a sore point of Kalpas and if somebody even mentioned the words 'Kevin' and 'spar' in the same sentence, it was enough to send Kalpas off to seething rage. The only exception to this was Elysia and that was because:
"Well. That can happen after you beat me first, okay~."
Yes, in addition to not being able to beat Kevin, he was similarly not able to beat this woman in front of him as well. And the worst part was:
"Hmm. Maybe if you kill some Emperor-class beasts here I will be a little serious next time we spar." She winked at him.
"ELYSIAAAAAA." Kalpas roared. This was the limit. He could admit to being beat by her; but for her to not be even serious while beating him, and Kevin is supposed to be far stronger than her.
"Enough." Kevin's ice-cold voice stopped him in his tracks. He looked over him in displeasure.
"Kalpas. I'm the commanding officer here, thus my orders are absolute. If you don't want to follow them you can always go back to base." Kevin said to him in an absolute no-nonsense voice.
"So, what is your decision?" Kevin demanded.
Kalpas didn't want to admit that he was a little afraid of the man standing in front of him. For all his fiery temper and battle-crazy attitude, Kalpas was not stupid. He understood well when someone was in a higher position in the pecking order than him, and now it was the man in front of him. He knew instinctively, for all his shouting and roaring, these two people can wipe the floor with him if they so desired. Thus, he decided to play it smart.
"Tch." He backed down.
"Ara~." Elysia said.
"The same thing stands for you, Elysia. If you don't stop antagonizing Kalpas, then I will send you back." Kevin berated Elysia in the same voice.
"Mou~. I was just trying to defend you, you know?" Elysia pouted.
"This is not the time for such petty squabbles. Every second we waste will lead to more casualties. Don't forget your duty as Fire Moth soldiers." Kevin said.
"Haaaai."
"This better be worth my time."
"Now, let's move. Don't engage anything bigger than Templar-class without a double-man team, and any Emperor-class must be engaged with the full squad. The only exception to this is Corporals Elysia and Kalpas." Kevin gave his next set of orders.
"Sir." everyone present there acknowledged.
"And Kalpas, you are given free rein to fight however you want but try to minimize damage while fighting. It will make the post-eruption recovery of Nagazora more difficult."
"I make no promises." Kalpas scoffed.
Kevin then addressed the two corporals
"Keep in contact with each other and try to reinforce should the other need help."
"Yes~.", "Whatever."
"All right, move." Kevin commanded as the four troops entered Nagazora to subdue Honkai beasts without knowing the impending situation that they were going to face.
FIRE MOTH BASE – 2021(Previous era) (Around same time)
Dr. Mobius Grantz made her way to the command room after relegating her work to Klein and the junior researchers and attending the eruption mitigation briefing among the three institutes. To be honest, the moment she heard the sirens blare through her lab, she was reminded of the second eruption two years ago. It was so different compared to that time; they had a smaller number of people and buildings for example. Furthermore, they didn't even know what to even expect back then, how the eruptions happened, or about Herrschers. That's why Kevin had to fight a completely unknown enemy and nearly die in the process.
Just thinking about that time still brought shivers to Mobius. What if he didn't make it? she didn't even want to imagine such a scenario. Thankfully now they had so many new technologies, manpower and preparation to handle such things. And there was no way that Kevin would face a Herrscher again, she meant what are the chances?
As she stepped into the command room, she was greeted by the now-familiar mechanized female voice:
"Welcome to the command room, Dr. Mobius."
"How are things looking Prometheus?"
"The dispatch of soldiers to different parts of the world is in optimum calculations according to me and Dr. Welt. Furthermore, by looking at the efficiency of the different regiments, the Prometheus estimates 10 per cent fewer casualties as compared to the last eruption."
"It is still less, Prometheus."
"The Prometheus apologizes. It was the best the Prometheus could calculate after considering the current technology we possess. Dr. Welt shares the same conclusion as well." The A.I spoke while projecting itself into the room in the form of a young girl with twin-ringed ponytails.
"Fine whatever. What about the probability of the Herrscher's appearance?"
"According to the data from previous eruptions, the probability for the appearance of a Herrscher is 96.87 per cent." The voice replied.
"Hmm, and what about the chances of it appearing where Major Kevin is?" Mobius asked.
"The probability stands at 85.34 per cent."
At this Mobius started to chew her nails again. A probability of more than 80 per cent did not sound good at all. It sounded more like a full 100 per cent to Mobius considering Kevin's luck in getting dragged into dangerous situations. Even though that bit- ahem that woman and that crazy man were there, she couldn't help but get extremely anxious about the fact that if the Herrscher is truly born where he is present, he will try to fight it alone again.
'That reckless idiot.' she thought, continuously making her worry endlessly about him. She really hoped that the course of events would turn in favour of that remaining 20 per cent. She was one of the world's leading biologists and a researcher in genetic engineering, the head of the prestigious First institute and one of the top members of the Moths; and yet here she was praying like a little girl for a boy. But that mattered none to her; to her, he was the reason why she had made it so far now. He was the one who saved he from herself and gave her a second chance. He was the only one who cared for her like a normal girl, and not some famous scientist.
She never considered any man to be her equal or worthy of being anything other than her experimental material, but he was different. He was the only one she acknowledged, the only one who is dear to her. She will happily throw away everything if it meant that she could be with him. He was that special to her.
Thinking such things, she turned to Prometheus and asked:
"Say Prometheus, has any Judgment-class Honkai beast appeared till now?"
"We have yet to confirm the presence of one. But why do you ask doctor?"
"Oh no. nothing at all." Mobius said while her snake-like eyes narrowed like a predator's "Absolutely no reason at all." She didn't want to say anything to the A.I; it was for her personal experiments after all. She just needed a special material to research the feasibility of PROJECT: MANTIS, but there was no reason to tell the ignorant of these things. Every woman had their secrets after all.
She had resolved to do anything to help Kevin, be it through her legal research or her… let's say personal projects. Thinking of how to proceed, she made her way back to her lab. She had to do a lot of planning after all if she wanted to keep the secrets as secrets.
ONE OF THE BACK ALLEYS (SAPPHIRE CITY- CHINA) – 2021(Previous era) (Around the same time)
The beasts roamed in the city killing anyone and destroying everything in their path. The girl sat huddled against the wall, her clothes torn, her shoes missing. She had run so much without her shoes that her feet had started bleeding. After running for a while, she found a deserted alley and just sat there, huddling closer to herself while putting her knees in between her legs and crying to herself in a fetal position.
She had been attending her classes just this afternoon when there was this huge explosion and the ground started shaking. After that, she fell unconscious for some reason, and when she and her friend woke up, they saw the state of the city it was in. Buildings and roads were destroyed, people dead all across, some kind of beasts with purplish marks all over the body roaming the now destroyed city killing any remaining survivors. She and her friend then started to make it to a safe place, only for her friend to trip and fall because of a piece of rubble. One of the beasts noticed this and started making its way to them. That was when her friend realized that she was done for, but at least if the other could be safe then-
"Hua, run away from here as fast as you can. I can't go any further as my leg is broken, and that beast will come and kill us both."
"What are you saying, Carole? I will carry you on my back."
"We both won't make it at this rate. Even if you are a martial arts student in your father's dojo, running while carrying me is too much for you."
"No. I will not leave you."
The girl saw at her friend and smiled:
"You remember our promise, right? You have to go and find the Santa Claus for both of us and ask him for the powers of phoenix so we can fly endlessly."
"Then sob we can both go sob and find him together sob don't leave me here."
"Don't worry Hua, I will forever be in your memories. All the good times we shared like that one sunny afternoon when we bunked our classes and took a nap under the big tree, will help you to move on."
"No, please. sob…"
"Live Hua. For my share as well."
"sob… sob…" the girl nodded while holding her friend's arm and crying. By this time the beast was coming near them.
"Go. Run away." The girl's friend shouted. However, the girl didn't want to move from this place.
"RUN AWWWWAYYYYYYY!" the friend shouted with all her strength pushing the girl forward.
The girl started running not even looking back when the monster came on top of her friend. She didn't listen to the sounds of struggling, then a sickening crunch and then silence.
And so, the girl ran and ran until she found the place where she was currently at. She was in despair; she just had left her friend to die all alone to those beasts while she ran away alone. Why? Why did she not remain behind and try to fight it? the one who should have survived would have been her friend, not her. She was always the loner on the campus. She couldn't fit in due to her reserved personality and her martial arts upbringing. Nobody tried to approach her even, tried to understand her. As she was closing her heart, she came into her life, showing her that she can also be a normal girl despite her past, that she can also enjoy things that others did and she also desired friends like others. And now her friend was gone because she was not strong enough, not good enough, not brave enough.
It was always like this she thought; whether it be the closing of their dojo or her friend's death. She was sick of losing things over and over again, but what she could do? The only thing she was good at was martial arts and now even that was not enough. She was in this city where nobody knew her, her only friend was gone and the city was destroyed by some beings that she couldn't even fight against. She closed in further as she felt despair wash over her. Is this how it was going to end for her? She thought depressingly as raindrops started to fall on her, the small drops soon became a downpour that consumed all, the light, the hope and the happiness.
The girl then heard some kind of voice from outside the alley, which was followed by several inhuman screams. Then everything fell silent again. The girl saw a shadow of some kind approach her.
"Good, we have a survivor here. Hmm, looking at that build are you a practitioner of martial arts perhaps?"
The girl looked up to see golden-yellow eyes looking at her warmly. Long crimson hair flowed behind the figure.
"Who-" the girl asked through her dry throat.
"It seems that you can still speak. That's good news. Can you stand up?" the woman asked offering her hand. The girl nodded in reply reaching out for her hand as she wobbled a little due to her injured feet. Looking at it the woman said.
"First, we have to get you treated. Marcos, we found a survivor here." She shouted to a person nearby.
"Colonel." the man saluted.
"Take this girl to the evacuation craft and get her treated on the way."
"Yes mam." the man saluted again.
"I will lead the remaining men to the eleventh sector, there are reports of multiple Emperor-class there. Once you get back to the baseline, send the word that the Colonel had requested some more troops."
"Yes mam."
The woman then looked at the girl and smiled gently:
"Come with me, and after all this is over, I will teach you how to fight them."
Thus, Fu Hua followed the woman to the outside marking the meeting which would change her life forever. It was the start of a legacy spanning thousands of years that will have its echoes even in the next era.
A few hours later (NAGAZORA- JAPAN)- 2021(Previous era)
"Take this gift from me~." winked Elysia as she shot an arrow charged with Honkai energy in the air. The arrow landed on the ground in the middle of Chariots exceeding 20 meters in height. The charged arrow went off deploying a crystal dome around the chariots trapping them within. After the dome had completely trapped the beasts, she fired another Honkai-powered arrow toward the dome. Due to the reflective nature of the inside surface, the arrow reflected multiple times injuring the beasts several times and poking holes the size of a football in them until they all were completely eradicated. Elysia then snapped her fingers causing the dome to break and scatter to the winds as the chariots fell down dead and filled with holes to the ground.
"W-wow!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.
"That's Corporal Elysia for you." another one commented.
"I know right? She looks like a goddess." a third said
"Well, she is our goddess after all." the second one replied.
"Hey, between corporal and Major Kevin who would win?"
"I sat its fifty-fifty."
"Oh my~. I'm so flattered that you hold me that high in regard, but you are wrong in one thing." a sweet voice chimed from behind them.
"C-Corporal Elysia." all of them saluted her.
"What's the status of the Honkai beast extermination in sector 25?" Elysia asked in her cutesy voice.
"Yes, mam. The extermination of beasts is nearly done with only two Emperors remaining. We are tackling them with two squads simultaneously to make quick work of them." one of the soldiers replied.
"There, there good work~." Elysia patted the soldier's head.
"C-Corporal." the soldier blushed. The others who were watching were visibly jealous of his treatment by their goddess.
"Tch."
"Why does he get the special treatment?"
"Damm lucky bastard."
At this Elysia smiled at all of them and said:
"Now, now don't get jealous. I know that being complimented by a beautiful girl like me is an award, so if you complete the extermination on your end fast enough, then I will pat your head also. Okay~." she winked.
"YES, MAM!" the soldiers saluted with extra enthusiasm and went on their way to beast exterminations. As she looked around to see one of the soldiers remaining.
"Ara. Do you need something from me, Rosa?"
At this, the soldier was visibly flustered. She never would have thought that corporal Elysia would remember the name of some normal foot-soldier like her.
"I-it's an h-honour for me that you remember my name corporal." she stuttered.
"Now don't be like that. We are all fighting for the same cause, right?" Elysia hopped and leaned forward while holding her hands behind her back. This action made the female soldier even more flustered; she even contemplated about her preferences before realizing what she was thinking. This caused her to blush deeper.
"Ara, why are you blushing? Were you thinking of something inappropriate~?" Elysia teased.
"C-Corporal, please don't tease me like that." the female soldier whimpered.
"Hai, hai." Elysia said backing up "So what did you want to ask me?" she asked while smiling.
"Th-that's-"
"Hmm~"
"What I mean to ask is-"
"Go on."
"You said we were wrong about the result of the duel between you and Major Kevin." She said in a low voice.
"Oh, that." Elysia giggled "I meant what I said."
"b-but that's impossible. Everyone in our squad has seen your battle prowess, and we can say with certainty that it is in no way inferior to Major Kevin's."
At this Elysia was quiet for some time before saying:
"Ne Rosa, you don't believe what he shows is his true strength right?"
"Wha-"
"When I was newly inducted in the Moths nearly two years ago; for my first mission, I tagged along with him to a remote town to eradicate beasts and aid in the civilian evacuation. There, his team faced a mutated beast that was a mixture of several others. It was ten times as larger as a normal Emperor-class."
"T-Ten times!?"
"Yes, ten times. All the members of his team were wounded badly and he got his shoulder slashed hard to save another one of them. His shoulder had a deep wound which would have immobilized even me."
"Then-" the female soldier was intrigued. She had never seen corporal Elysia talk in such a serious manner.
"He could have retreated. We had completed civilian evacuations in the town and there was no reason to stay behind. But he still did, to fight the beast… all alone."
"T-Then?"
"He beat the beast, turned it into ashes with the same sword that he wields now." Elysia finished, remembering that fateful day. The inferno and Kevin standing in the centre of it with his shoulder bleeding.
"W-wow." the female soldier was impressed, she had seen the devastation and power of an Emperor-class first hand, and to defeat something ten times bigger-
"But why did Major Kevin stay behind?" she asked. If what the corporal said was true, then Major had no reason to stay behind.
"That is what I asked him. And do you know what he replied?"
"What, corporal?"
"He said 'it is my Oath.'."
"Eh?" oath, what oath? She had never heard of any oath when she joined the Moths.
"Say, Rosa. Why did you join Moths? For what do you fight for?"
"For the benefits and privileges they provide to my family and friends. And I fight to protect what I see important."
"I see. Well, that is not a bad reason to fight for. Even I fight to ensure that my brothers and sisters back at the orphanage in Vladivostok can be happy and well." Elysia giggled.
"Then for what reason does Major Kevin fight for?" the female soldier asked.
"That is the thing. When I asked colonel Ato, he said that Major Kevin fights for the promise that he made."
"Promise?"
"Yes, promise. Promise that he made to each and every one of his comrades that he fought with, every comrade he lost in the battle against the Honkai, every comrade he was unable to save. Hundreds of them that he carries with him." Elysia grew solemn. The female soldier was stunned, to remember so many people while being so young. If she had heard correctly, Major Kevin had been in the Moths since he was ten years old, then how many comrades did he say goodbye to?
"He promised them to carry their wishes, dreams and hopes for a better future with him till the end. To defeat the Honkai for everyone to have the dreamed future; for the sake of those who couldn't had one as well."
The soldier remained quiet, finding newfound respect for Major Kevin.
"Really what a fool, to carry such a burden all alone."
"Yes, Corporal." the soldier said, her face growing softer.
"Really… what an idiot." Elysia said while giving a genuine sincere smile while looking in the direction of the city where the Major was.
"The reason I'm weaker than Kevin is not only because of physical strength but also because of the resolve that he carries while carrying that heavy burden. To be still kind even when he had gone through so much."
"Major Kevin is kind?" the female soldier was shocked. She had only ever seen him with an ice-cold expression.
"Hehe, I agree with the fact that he needs to work on his expression a bit." she giggled and continued:
"But he really is kind, very much so. More than anyone I've ever met. He may not show it outwardly but if you see in the small things he does, you will see it." Elysia said while having a small blush and smiling softly and sincerely.
"Yes, that's why I towards him-" she let the words disperse in the winds as she knew that she was not worthy enough to mutter them.
The female soldier could only see the expression on the face of her corporal. It was something that she had never shown to anyone else, so she was feeling extremely lucky.
She realized that the feelings that corporal Elysia had towards Major Kevin were extremely pure and sincere. This made her a little bit jealous of Major even though she was a woman herself. He had someone who thinks about him and cherishes him this much, it was like a dream; as not everyone could have such a person for them. She hoped that Major Kevin would realize corporal Elysia's feelings someday.
"Let's continue on shall we~." Elysia said after a moment of silence, returning to her cheerful bubbly self. She made her way to the next sector to take care of more Honkai beasts.
"Yes, mam." the female soldier acknowledged, following her while lightly smiling.
"C-Corporal Kalpas."
"Huh? What is it? I'm busy." Kalpas said as he punched and burned another Templar to death with his Honkai-powered gloves. He usually fought using his self-taught fighting style. But after joining Moths he had picked up some moves from commander Ato and that hero-boy. For all his loathing, Kalpas knew that Kevin was the superior fighter among them, and thus he begrudgingly incorporated some of the hand-to-hand combat moves that Kevin used into his own fighting style. It increased his fighting efficiency if nothing else, he decided.
"We have completed the beast extermination in the 34th sector. We are awaiting further orders from you." the soldier gulped and said.
"Tch." Kalpas clicked his tongue and made his way to the soldier. Even if he didn't like it he still had to obey whatever that hero-boy said as that guy was in charge here.
"What about sectors 37 and 39?" he asked in an annoyed tone.
"Sir there are two Emperor-class beasts there, so we are engaging them with two squads as per Major Kevin's orders."
"Fine keep on it, and after killing them off move to sectors 40 through 45 and start cleaning there."
"What about you, sir?"
"I will go to sector 45 by myself to take care of the beasts there."
"B-but sir going alone is-"
"I'm the one in charge here, and besides that hero-boy had said I can go all out here. If you follow me you will die unnecessarily, do you want to be burned to death?" Kalpas asked while coming near to the soldier.
"N-no sir." the soldier shook his head frantically.
"Then do what I said. Now screw off, I have more beasts to kill."
"S-Sir." the soldier saluted quickly and made his way out of there so as not to become a friendly casualty.
"Hmm, he got a good head on his shoulder." Kalpas commented as he saw the soldier disappear into the corner.
"Now, let's continue." he said popping his knuckles as more Templars surrounded him.
"This is going to be fun." he laughed maniacally as he activated his gloves at full power. He sucked at holding back after all. The entire scene was filled with flames.
"Do your best not to die quickly and make this boring HONKAI." he roared as he charged into one of them.
…
Kalpas made his way toward the middle intersection of the 47th sector. It was meant to be the business district, and such had a lot of offices. He looked at buildings that were covered with glasses now all destroyed and bent out of shape.
"Tch. What a mess." he said while kicking a piece of debris. The city had gone to shit, and the only living things here now were the Moth soldiers and those Honkai beasts. All these people died for no reason other than Honkai deciding that being a human was a crime. His wrath and rage against the Honkai grew. If that crazy nun saw him now, she would say him to be calm and compassionate while using that weird power of hers; he scoffed.
He briefly wondered what that nun was doing now. It had been nearly two years since he visited the nursing home at Dusk Street, he was just a porter there before coming here. He also remembered that cat girl, always scraping through trash bins singing 'treasure this, treasure that'. Really, that place had some people who had something wrong with their heads. But the children in the nursing home welcomed him whenever he came to deliver goods there. He saw the destroyed surroundings and thought about what would happen if Dusk Street was destroyed like this too by the Honkai.
Somehow just thinking about it made his blood boil. He then realized it was good that he came here to Moths to fight against those beasts so the Street could be safe.
"If those brats are happy and safe, then fighting these bastards is fine, I guess." He said to himself. He believed the nun didn't know that a large portion of his salary was being given to the nursing home's account for its running. It was fine he decided, not like he had any use of that much money anyway; plus, he got to fight and vent his rage constantly and freely so it was a win-win situation for him.
As he was thinking these things, he heard a sound. It was like something was dragging itself on the ground. If he had to compare it, it would be like a snake's. 'Just like that crazy doctor', he thought to himself. As the sound grew nearer and louder, Kalpas prepared himself for the fight. Then it came into view.
The thing was as tall as the building in this area and wide as the road he was standing on. It looked like a snake, with its fan-shaped neck and all. It was dark green in colour with thick scales that ran through its entire body. As it saw Kalpas, it hissed loudly opening its mouth to reveal its two big fangs and a split tongue. Yep, this was a snake, Kalpas decided.
"Well, what do we have here?" Kalpas smiled maniacally. This was totally different from the beasts he had fought until now; it was much stronger, in a different league. As it hissed again, the ground shook due to the vibrations of its body.
He will die if he's not careful, Kalpas realized.
"hehe…hehehahahaha….HAHAHAHAHA." Kalpas laughed like a maniac.
"A strong enemy. So much stronger than those Emperors. What a treat." He was ecstatic; he now could go full throttle without holding anything back. This was a godsend to him.
The snake-like beast hissed loudly again, and Kalpas smelled something funny in the air. He dodged instinctively, and where he stood came crashing down a lightning bolt worth several million volts.
"It has lightning powers as well. HAHAHAHA." Kalpas laughed louder.
"Well then." He said clenching his fists and releasing the full power of his gloves. The entire surroundings went up in flames causing the beast to hiss in anger.
"Let's Begin, HONNNKAIIIIIII." He roared as he charged into the beast fully intent on burning it to death.
A Templar and two Chariots charged into him only for the Templar to be killed by the flaming bullets from APOLLO and the two Chariots were cut down by the Surtr. As they died down, Kevin looked around to find that all the beasts were taken care of here. There were at least a few dozen beasts, some Emperor amongst them as well. Seeing that the area was fully clear, he released a long breath and turned to a soldier near to him
"Report."
"Sir. We have cleared until sector 14. Sectors 15 and 17 have Emperor-class beasts, so we are engaging it with two squads. The remaining squads are at standby."
"Hmm. Understood. How about our damages."
"Men from squads 4,5,6 and 8 are heavily wounded due to an unexpected ambush in sector 11. They need medical attention immediately, that's why we have moved them back to the baseline."
"Understood. Request backup from the reserve troops in the baseline and I will deploy the rest of my squad members to help you guys out."
"But sir wouldn't it mean that you will be alone?"
"Don't worry about me. Just focus on your mission."
"Sir." The soldier saluted and left. He knows that it was useless to be concerned about Major Kevin. If anyone had a chance of making it out of here unscathed, it would be the Major. He was just that strong.
"Okay, the ten of you go and provide support for the troops in sectors 15 and 17." he ordered his squad mates.
"Sir." the soldiers acknowledged the orders and made their way to their new designated sectors.
After leaving, Kevin was left alone but that bothered him little. This was how he usually operated. To be honest, fighting alone while not having to protect anyone unnecessarily suited him more. If only they could all stand behind and let him do everything. He sighed a little knowing that was just wishful thinking. He took the Surtr stabbed in the ground and made his way to the next district.
…
This looked like the district for the poor and homeless, Kevin noted. Just then five Emperors towering well over 40 meters appeared. Kevin ignited Surtr by pumping Honkai energy through it and charged into the beasts. The first beast tried to flatten him with its hind legs which were cut effortlessly by Kevin. He then jumped up in the air with the help of a piece of debris and stabbed the beast with Surtr immolating it.
The second beast shot out tendrils looking like things trying to impale him only to be cut down by the swing of his blade. Kevin then dodged another attack from the third beast by rolling away. He then pumped Honkai energy into the sword and slashed downwards
"Caladbolg."
Flames hot in excess of 800 °C scorched the beasts turning them into dust. The power output of Surtr had been increased over these past two years due to the constant tuning and up-gradation by Welt to handle higher temperatures. The result was a sword that could produce flames in excess of 1500 °C, more than enough to melt and burn even the toughest of Honkai beast armour.
But this also meant that only Kevin could use the sword now, as the excess of Honkai energy in the blade meant that it would corrupt normal people. Even Ato and Himeko could handle the blade for mere ten minutes before the corruption kicks in. Only Kevin and Welt himself were able to touch Surtr now without going corrupted by the excessive Honkai energy.
In any case, the fourth and fifth beast also attacked in tandem, which prompted Kevin to get into the stance for the attack he was working on until recently.
"Gram Laevatein."
A vortex of flames shot out of the Surtr and sucked the two Emperors within it, locking them in place. The two beasts kept howling in agony and tried to escape the vortex multiple times only to get sucked further in. Kevin finished the job by firing APOLLO to the weakened beast's heads.
The corpses of the last two Emperors fell with a thud signalling their demise. Kevin scanned his surroundings carefully, looking out for any other ambushes or beasts. Once he had deduced that there were none, he switched off the flames of Surtr.
Now that he looked around the destroyed surroundings, he could see the temporary structures for the homeless. So even in the city called human's technological cradle, things like this exist. This mattered little to Kevin as he had seen tons of poor and homeless in his missions. They are the ones usually getting the brunt of everything, they keep losing more and more to the richer. The Honkai was fair in this regard, that it exterminated humans regardless of societal and economical partitions.
Kevin reached to the radio strapped to his shoulder and pressed the talk button:
"All Troop leaders, report."
"We have cleared nearly all the districts on our end. But of course, it is natural to be successful while having a beautiful girl like me with them~." A sweet voice responded.
"Roger." Kevin answered in monotone. It seemed that nothing could ever dull the attitude of that girl.
"This is lieutenant Roberts reporting. We have cleared nearly all of our allocated districts." a soldier's voice rang out next.
"Roger." Kevin acknowledged.
Then there was silence. Kevin was concerned about why had Kalpas not contacted him to give the mission report till now. Thus, he decided to check up on him.
"Kalpas, come in. come in Kalpas."
"The fuck you want hero-boy?" a voice annoyed answered through static.
"How is the beast eradication going for your troops?"
"Don't know. I'm kind of busy now." Kalpas hung up, but not before Kevin heard a loud sound that seemed like lightning. At this Kevin decided to head over to Kalpas to check up on the situation, thus he ordered his next directives.
"This is Major Kevin speaking. Both corporal Elysia and lieutenant Roberts are to withdraw immediately to the baseline after finishing off your respective city parts. I believe Kalpas is in some trouble, thus I'm heading over to him."
"I will come and join you, Kevin." Elysia's voice replied.
"No. I need you to lead the troops out of the city during the retreat. I can handle the situation on my own."
"Mou~. You stingy."
"It's an order, Elysia."
"Hai, hai. But be careful okay." She said in a little concerned voice.
Kevin then switched off his radio and started to make his way to Kalpas but he stopped. He felt an extremely familiar sensation. A surge in Honkai energy. The last time he felt like this was…
Brussels.
He looked up instinctively and saw clouds forming a vortex over the roof of a parking lot not far off and then it happened.
A huge surge of Honkai blast, which was then followed by an E.M.P blast that fried all electronics. Fortunately, he did not fall unconscious this time and was able to see the entire phenomenon.
Thunders roared over that parking lot, firing wildly in every direction. The Honkai energy was so thick, that it became visible as pink-purplish clouds around the lot. Then the entire city was bathed in a pink light and time seemed to stand still.
Kevin understood what had happened at once. This was the true third eruption.
The third Herrscher had descended.
He understood at once what he had to do. It was time to burn down the false god and to keep his promise to Mei to not even leave its ashes behind.
It was time to keep his OATH.
To be continued….
Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.
We are now at the finale of the Nagazora and third eruption arc. The next chapter will have the full Herrscher fight, concluding this arc. Many of you have noticed Kalpas' induction in the Moths being different than in cannon. It is because the rumoured COCOON incident and the appearance of P.E Sakura are going to happen differently in this AU. After the conclusion of the third eruption, we may see a certain inventor cum magician with multiple personalities make her appearance, as well as further developments in MANTIS and Divine Key Projects.
As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.
Thank you for reading, until next time.