Like a lightning strike, the nearly two-meter-tall Honkai Beast was skewered in a single, devastating blow.
All distractions vanished. Amidst the thick miasma of Honkai energy, Ryan felt something stir deep within him—a singular, unclouded purpose. His mind emptied. All that remained was instinct:
Draw. Turn. Thrust.
A "Knight"-class Honkai Beast had just burst through the floor—Ryan's next target. Without looking, he twisted and hurled it into the ceiling. Its limbs flailed, helpless.
He raised his spear overhead and spun it rapidly, the motion forming a makeshift shield of whirling steel.
Bang bang bang bang—
Several mosquito-like Honkai creatures shot out of the wall pipes, slamming against the spinning spear. They were deflected like insects hitting glass, sent crashing into nearby control panels in a shower of blue sparks.
Ryan crouched and advanced.
His grip tightened. A low, heavy rumble echoed from the far end of the corridor.
A massive shadow emerged.
Even hunched over, it filled the hallway—a steel-plated monstrosity creeping forward like a siege engine.
"Chariot-class Honkai Beast. Judging by the size, a smaller subtype."
Ryan's brow furrowed slightly. Without hesitation, he extended his spear and flicked it under a pile of scattered equipment. Hundreds of kilos of metal launched into the air, targeting the monster.
Whizz!
Precision and force turned expensive lab gear into deadly shrapnel. The beast raised its armored arms to shield its face.
Thud! Thud!
The impacts rang like car crashes. Though they only dented the beast's shell, they halted its march.
Its thick armor might've survived sniper fire—but not this.
Crimson energy swirled around Ryan as he surged forward. The vortex that trailed him shredded what debris remained.
With unflinching momentum, Ryan drove the spear straight through the beast's arms and into its skull. A shockwave of Honkai energy surged down the shaft and exploded through the beast's back, impaling another Knight-class monstrosity that had been lurking behind.
In this world, physical strength alone meant little. Control over Honkai energy was everything. Fire Moth had long proven that Honkai-focused weapons were exponentially more destructive than conventional arms.
'In scientific terms, it's just the compression and linear acceleration of Honkai particles—think of it like a drill.' Ryan chuckled internally. No esoteric martial arts, no mystical Qi techniques.
Just physics.
His training in Shenzhou had taught him form and movement, but his PhDs were his true weapons.
He pulled the spear free—only to see the control room window shatter.
Another Knight-class Honkai Beast crawled out from the wreckage.
His smirk faltered slightly.
Guess the opening chapter still needs work—some things defy science.
Huff. Huff. Huff.
Kevin stood gasping for breath, baseball bat clenched in his hands. He'd heard the commotion and bolted down.
That's when he saw it—some white-skinned monster lunging at Mei.
Without thinking, he grabbed a steel pipe from the floor and swung.
It connected with a meaty crack.
The creature flew, crashed, and didn't rise again.
Kevin stood frozen, panting.
What… what the hell was that?
Had he seen too many zombie flicks? Was this a dream?
His mind reeled as he looked up—and saw the carnage.
Corpses of grotesque creatures littered the corridor. Electrical fires crackled in the darkness. And down at the far end, a lone figure stood.
A figure Kevin recognized.
"Ryan? What the hell— Is he Superman?!"
Mei, now suited up in basic protective gear, didn't answer. Her gaze locked onto the fallen beast.
He's not bad either, she thought silently. But this wasn't the time to be impressed.
"Kevin, we have to move. Now."
"Right." Kevin nodded. But just as he turned, his instincts screamed.
He lunged, tackling Mei to the floor.
"Watch out!"
Crash!
The wall to their left exploded inward. A new, hulking Honkai Beast burst through, its arm raised high. Its fist came down like a meteor.
Kevin took the blow across his back.
A sickening crack echoed.
The control room shook.
And then—silence.
Kevin opened one eye.
Behind him, the monster twitched—then slumped, impaled by a black spear still humming with red energy.
Ryan stood before it, hand on the shaft, eyes cold.
So fast…
Kevin's mind couldn't process it. The corridor was over a hundred meters long. When—how—had Ryan gotten here?
Thwack.
Ryan yanked the spear free. The body slumped to the ground.
He turned to face them, his usual calm smile back in place.
"I know you've got questions. But this isn't the time. I'll get you both out."
"Wait."
Ryan paused mid-step. His brows furrowed as he looked back.
"Mei? That hesitation doesn't suit you."
"I just want to ask one thing," Mei said, standing now, her voice steady. "Why did you save us?"
Her eyes narrowed, watching his expression closely.
"Wouldn't it have been faster to escape alone?"
She knew Ryan well—he wasn't reckless, and he certainly wasn't a selfless hero. He approached everything with cold logic. The efficient choice would've been to leave them behind.
So why didn't he?
"That shows you still don't understand me," Ryan replied, his tone quiet but resolute. "I don't have many friends, and rationality is just a tool. If I become a purely rational machine… I'll lose the courage to explore."
He didn't elaborate. Instead, he turned, raised his spear, and strode forward. As they entered the emergency escape tunnel, he added silently:
Even from a purely logical standpoint… you two can't die.
He remembered vaguely—Kevin and Mei only became entangled in Honkai events after the third eruption. But that timeline was already unraveling. The butterfly effect had begun, and a Pathstrider didn't sit idle.
He wasn't lying.
Mei hesitated for only a moment before quickening her pace, following close behind.
The power was gone. Only dim, amber emergency lights lined the basement stairwell, casting ghostly shadows as they ascended. Ryan led the way, answering what questions he could.
The monsters, he explained, appeared unpredictably within the Honkai field. There were no "safe zones." The only way to survive was to move—out of the cataclysm's range.
Mei showed no fear. If anything, her gaze burned brighter, as if she'd stepped through a door into a new world—one she was eager to dissect and understand.
Kevin, in contrast, was silent.
His usual lighthearted grin was gone. He kept watching Ryan—watched him impale monsters without breaking stride, watched the same old familiar face move through this nightmare like it was routine. Then, quietly, Kevin pinched his thigh.
It hurt.
This wasn't a dream.
A chill slid down his back. That warm, lazy college life—it was slipping through his fingers. The world was cracking open, revealing something terrifying and strange beneath.
Bang!
The blast door above buckled, flew open, and slammed down the hallway—flattening several mosquito-like Honkai creatures. A blur dropped through the gap and landed hard, crushing the ones that remained.
Ryan rose from the smoke and surveyed the scene.
"The campus looks clear. Good thing it's the holiday; fewer people around."
Smoke curled around his legs. In the distance, burning debris lit up the night sky. The golden rays of Shamash streaked through the gloom. Buildings collapsed in the distance, but there were no screams.
That silence was more terrifying than any roar.
An invisible field had enveloped the entire campus. Inside it, people either died… or transformed. There was no in-between. Even survivors wouldn't last long—monsters would find them. They always did.
"I thought… this was the end of the world."Mei stepped forward. Her voice was calm, but her eyes reflected the surreal horror. Just hours ago, she'd been planning a walk with Kevin.
"Aren't you afraid?" Ryan asked without turning.
"Would fear help?" she countered. "Like any good experiment, unexpected results mean something's wrong. So we analyze, adjust, and solve. You should understand that logic better than anyone."
Ryan turned just slightly, eyes glinting with amusement.Pure rationality. No wonder she could one day be hailed as a savior.
She hadn't even asked what the Honkai was. She already knew her life had changed forever. The cause could wait. She had the mind for it.
He relaxed. There was no need to waste time.
"Ryan," Kevin whispered, eyes scanning the fog-choked campus. Vague shapes stirred beyond the smoke—hulking, twitching shadows. Monstrous. Inhuman.
Ryan didn't answer. He stood still, almost like he was listening.
Kevin cracked his knuckles."…What are you waiting for?"
RUMBLE. RUMBLE. RUMBLE.
Before an answer came, the silence shattered—fire erupted in the southern sky.
Explosions bloomed like fireflowers, lighting up the smog. Several towering Honkai Beasts were caught in the blast, their limbs blown apart in the shockwave.
Rotors beat overhead.
Fire Moth. Their elite armed units had arrived.
Ryan exhaled. The tension in his shoulders eased.
"There. Kevin, take Mei and head south. Don't be a hero. Avoid soldiers. If they think you're infected, they'll shoot first and never ask questions."
They understood. The military was here to clean up. Mei, sharp as ever, saw through it at once.
"Judging by the response time… this was anticipated," she muttered.
Kevin nodded. "Let's go."
He grabbed her hand, and together they sprinted toward the smoke-wreathed flames. But after a few steps, he turned, frowning.
"…What about you, Ryan?"
Ryan adjusted his grip on the spear, eyes focused north.
"Someone has to draw the Honkai away. If either of you are caught in their field, Fire Moth won't hesitate to burn you with the rest."
He jumped over a collapsed iron gate, his silhouette vanishing into smoke and red light, spear pointed like a lance toward the chaos.
He didn't look back.
Sparks flew from his spear tip as it scraped the ground. Kevin stared at the fading figure, a strange feeling blooming in his chest—something familiar, and yet… distant.
He saw Ryan again in memories—cutting class to nap in the library, poking holes in Kevin's logic with that damn smirk, always speaking just enough to tear through a person's mask.
Mysterious, reclusive, maddeningly sharp.
But above all—
That man never backed down.