A Brief Reprieve
Three months later:
Einar is seen prostrating before a furious looking woman with bright red hair and eyes.
"So, what have you learned?" Asked the woman in a deathly cold voice.
Einar almost whimpered when as he responded, "Not start a food fight with a bunch of trained soldiers?"
The woman sighed, "Yes, but why?"
"Because the food can cause the oven to explode if it stays in there for too long?" Supplied Einar hopping to be let off without any debilitating injuries.
"YES!" The woman screamed as though he has said, winter was cold. Her face was both incredulous and furious as she keep talking, "This is what happens when you dump a bowl of ramen on a highly trained officer!"
Einar gave a nervous look as he said, "Come on Himeko, lighten up a bit. Where's your sense of humor, I was only trying to lighten the heavy mood you guys have." The boy looked as though he was giving an excuse to his mother for not cleaning his room. It wasn't going well for him.
Himeko lost her cool at his remark, "You can lighten the mood without destroying the kitchen! At the very least your poor sense of humor would only serve to annoy the troops and not prevent us from eating canned soup for the next week!" The angry woman seemed to grow more and more intimidating as she spoke, making Einar feel rather small in comparison.
I'd take a Herrscher over an angry Himeko any day of the week, thought the boy as he tried to think of a way to escape his impending doom.
Luckily his savior came in his hour of need.
Einar saw Kevin walking into the room with a look of resignation and sadness as he saw the state of the mess hall. Noodles were hanging from the lights on the roof and various liquids pooled in the floor. The walls seemed to be painted red from pizza sauce and several sausages were seen in a few drinks.
"Perfect timing Kevin! I need you to save me from this demon!" Einar shouted as he rushed behind Kevin, pointing towards Himeko.
Himeko glowered at Einar, "Not even God can save you now."
The target of her wrath let out a small noise of terror and tried to put Kevin between himself and the demon.
Himeko kept trying to grab at him by moving to intercept the boy but was narrowly evaded.
Finally exasperated with the situation Kevin sighed, "Can you stop playing ring around the rosy with me and let me eat something?" This statement halted the two soldiers.
"Don't abandon me Kevin!" Proclaimed Einar in a despair filled voice.
Meanwhile Himeko's face broke into a maniacal grin, "Sure, take as much time as you want." To Einar she seemed entirely too pleased with the situation and he feared for his life now more than ever before.
Kevin merely watched as Himeko grabbed the boy by the foot and dragged him through the door of the mess hall to places unknown.
Not for the first time, Kevin wondered why Fire Moth sought the aid of someone with such an eccentric personality.
It's never boring around here though, that's for certain, the teen mussed to himself.
To tell the truth Kevin would be far more judgmental of the boy had he not demonstrated a superb skill in swordsmanship. He also held a resourcefulness in combat training that could only come from experience, according to one of the older instructors.
I can't explain it but something about him seems off, fake even, thought Kevin. He had always been a fairly good judge of character, mainly as a result of having a few extreme fans back in Europe. It was the reason he fell for Mei after all despite everyone else mistaking her dedication for coldness.
Einar was someone that most would call outgoing. He would invade everyone's personal space and was quite the influential person in a room. Despite that, Kevin noticed that no one could claim to really no him. He seemed to keep everyone at arm's length, not telling anyone about his interests or history.
It's not as though he had some sort of villainous intent but more as though he has experienced an event he wants to keep secret, thought Kevin. It was that fact that kept the young adult from dismissing the boy as a simple fool.
Kevin's reflections were halted by the growling of his stomach.
"Guess I need some food then." Kevin decided, trying to find something to eat in the now dilapidated mess hall.
Meanwhile, Einar had just escaped the clutches of the red-haired demon.
He groaned, "I'm getting caught ever again." Showing that he didn't learn a single lesson from this experience.
Continuing to walk down the grey corridors, Einar ran into another familiar face.
"Hey Hua, what poppin'?" Question Einar in a strange tone.
The woman in question sighed in exasperation, "What did you do this time Einar?" Her dark grey eyes filled with pity.
"Why do you assume I was at fault!?" Einar asked, his face held an expression of disbelief.
Hua answered, "Because you only use that voice when you're trying to bring attention away from something." Her dark blue-grey hair framing her face that seemed to say, "Well what else would it mean?"
"Well it could mean that I'm trying to highlight your beauty by acting like an idiot." Said the boy with a dramatic voice and an exaggerated bow.
"You don't have to pretend to be an idiot." Said Hua with a practiced experience in crushing the boy's pride.
"Geh! You wound me madame!" Einar proclaimed, bringing his hand to his forehead as he fell to the floor.
"If you don't have anything important to say, then I'll be leaving." The girl mentioned while turning to walk away.
Dropping his act to ask his question, he asked, "Wait, wait, wait! I wanted to ask if you wanted to spar!"
Hua's face held confusion as she wondered, "Can't you ask Kevin? He usual humors you."
Einar nervously chuckled as he answered, "Well considering what happened in the mess hall, he might just ignore me and Himeko would try and kill me."
A sigh escaped Hua's lips as she said, "Fine. But I'm not helping you if the captain comes for your head."
Einar was far more joyful as he gave his response, "Nah, I'm helping her favorite subordinate, she would try and kill me until after we finished." His confidence came from experience after all.
"Very well, but that's only if I don't get to you first" Hua claimed with a small smile.
"Ho, I accept your challenge!" Einar proclaimed as he dropped his eccentric expression.
In an empty room with a nothing but a few windows and the door to the hallway. The clashing of metal could be heard as two figures fought.
A girl armed with a simple dull metal blade brought it against the blade of a boy across from her. Occasionally she would string a few strikes with her hands and feet alongside her sword swings.
The boy fought with a flurry of parries and strikes that looked as though he was connected every motion to another attack or parry. His face held a grin as he fought the girl, making him look more like a villain in a fairy tale than a defender of humanity.
Eventually the girl brought her sword to strike the boy but lost her footing on the slick floor, allowing the boy to bring his weapon to the girl's neck.
"Guess I win." Einar claimed with a grin.
Hua groaned, "Don't let it go to your head, I've only been using something like this for a few months." She said trying to defend her pride.
"True, you are a very quick learner that for certain, but the Honkai won't give you the time to learn at your leisure." The boy said in a high pitched voice.
The girl scowled, "Don't mock Captain Himeko." She was very important to the girl after all, being the reason Hua was alive and apart of Fire Moth.
Einar seemed to catch on to this, "Yeah, sorry about that, but you know me and Himeko don't exactly have the calmest of relationships." He chuckled at a memory of one such chaotic conversation.
Hua sighed in resignation, "It's alright, I shouldn't expect too much from you after all."
"Oi!" Einar shouted in protest.
As the boy was opening his mouth to retort, a level voice called to him from the doorway.
"Einar, I require your assistance on a project." Ordered a woman with long black hair in a white lab coat.
Hua gave a slight bow in respect, "Professor Mei."
Einar on the other hand, waved at her like an old friend, "Hey Doc, what do ya need from little old me?"
Mei simply glanced at him as she said, "I require your assistance on a report that came up."
The boy stiffened, "Herrscher?"
The scientist shook her head, "No, a powerful Honkai beast for sure, but not nearly powerful enough to be considered a Herrscher."
The boy held a conflicted expression on his face, a mixture of relief and disappointment, "Then why on earth do you need my help?"
"Because those in command believe it to be the perfect opportunity to document your abilities." Mei stated.
Einar gave her an understanding look, "Yeah, that makes sense. And I'm assuming you're going to be watching on the security feed."
"That I am." Confirmed Mei with a nod.
"Well then what are we waiting for, onwards!" Shouted Einar with gusto.
"You sure you'll be okay, kid!" Yelled a pilot of a helicopter to a young man.
Einar looked back at him and gave a thumbs up, "I'll be fine, I've always wanted to do something like this!" He said shouting over his communications unit.
The pilot seemed skeptical but nodded in acceptance, "Don't try an imitate a pancake though! That wouldn't be very fun to explain to the top brass!"
Einar laughed before proceeding to open the door in the side of the vehicle.
"Here goes nothing, I suppose." And he jumped out.
All he could hear was the sound of rushing wind as he fell from the sky.
"WOOOOOHHHOOOOOOOO!" Shouted Einar at the top of his lungs. "I could get used to this!"
All of a sudden though a voice echoed in his ear and a target reticle appeared on his visor. "Your target is the Emperor-class Honkai beast, Parvati. Your goal is to kill it to allow the research team the time to collect samples of its flesh." Ordered Mei in a professional tone.
"Roger that Doc!" Yelled Einar in affirmation.
As he descended, the boy remembered something that was uttered by a girl, who had long since disappeared.
"Whatever you do, don't change. I like the you of right now."
Einar chuckled to himself, "Of course, Kaguya." And with that he vanished.
Appearing on a rooftop underneath where he jumped from the helicopter, Einar found the Honkai beast. The creature was the size of a battleship and made just as much noise, so it wasn't difficult to find its location. The problem would be killing it.
The beast was unique compared to other Honkai as it was predominately black with blue energy flowing across its body. Most Honkai were pure white with purple energy so it was unique to see such a drastic comparison at least.
The creature looked like a smushed boar to be blunt. It stood on all fours and had white horns and tusks that looked larger than its own head. The very air around it seemed to freeze as it marched through the city streets.
Summoning the sword, he used to fight the 3rd Herrscher, Einar leapt towards the beast. His blade was wrapped a blanket of royal blue lightning, as he swung it at the beast.
Parvati roared, not in pain, but in fury.
"Guess it won't be that easy huh?" The boy mussed to himself. "Then let's crank the dial to eleven shall we?"
As soon as he said that the ground beneath his feat took on an almost digital like coloring. It was mostly black with every crease having a blue border to it. It didn't cover a large area, only a few meters, but it looked as though his power was encroaching upon reality itself.
Einar gave a smile to the beast as it charged towards him and jumped. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the ground he was standing on pushed him towards the heavens.
Once he was in the air a small blue platform formed underneath his feat. Turning around, the boy created a small railgun by his side, suspended in midair, and fired it. A white hot bolt of molten metal and electricity raced towards the beast faster than one could blink.
The projectile connected with the beast as its roar of pain shook the streets of the city.
Not relenting with his attack Einar rushed towards his target, his blade wreathed in a crest of flames, and he struck Parvati.
The force managed to shatter the surrounding windows and cracked the concrete underneath the two. It also sliced the Honkai beast's stomach open, much like a piñata.
Einar however did not escape unscathed, his arms had suffered multiple fractures and were bleeding profusely. He had the fortune of not being affected by his own flames but could not withstand the physical force created by the contained explosion.
The boy's face was pale, and he was bleeding from locations that shattered rubble had injured, but he was smiling like he had won the lottery.
It was the first time he had fought something of such power alone.
A voice in his ear brought him back to reality, "Well done, the researchers are coming to collect the samples as well as a team of escorts. Come back to base and rest, then we'll talk about today's events in full."
"A nap sounds really nice about now, so I think I'll take you up on that offer Doc" Einar muttered appreciatively.
Maybe after a bento though.
In a white void with nothing but a stone throne, a Girl sat. She was a beautiful girl who only looked to be in her late teens. She had a fair complexion, snow white hair, and deep golden eyes.
"Why do humans seek to prolong their existence with such fervor, I wonder?" The Girl stated to herself. "Why does their nature force them into conflict with each other over the most trivial of differences."
The Girl gazed into the endless void, "He said that humans' suffering allows them to take refuge in the joy they obtain, but why then do they cause such grief unto each other."
The Girl shifted her gaze to something else, "Perhaps he will tell me what he meant back then."
The Girl placed her hand beneath her chin, "I suppose I will pay him a visit if the humans survive their coming trials."
"Wait just a bit longer, I won't let them hurt you anymore."
Author's notes: Well this didn't take long huh. This chapter wasn't very productive in terms of plot as since I'm trying to establish the characters a bit before the meatier chapters. So, the next chapter begins the fight between the Moth Who Chases the Flames and the Honkai. Some of you might be confused by the fact that many of the characters that have appeared are from the game and given the fact that this story is currently set 55,000 years before the events of Honkai Impact 3rd. This is intentional and the people who have read the manga already known how this is going to end to a degree. I chose this period of time for my story since I can insert Einar relatively easily while also making an interesting world. This story is about Einar and "Kaguya", and so I'm trying to make that the main focal point. This story will follow cannon rather closely until the time of the game with the relationships being the only different feature. I do plan to go up to the events of the game and even past it in its current state.
Anyway, enough ranting from me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time!
Sayonara,
the Slow White Guy