"Detecting high-concentration Honkai energy spike—levels exceeding 80HW!"
Inside a Fire Moth armored command vehicle just outside Chiba Academy, red alarms flared across multiple consoles.
Unlike the dramatized chaos seen in popular media, Fire Moth responded with cold, surgical precision. Dozens of personnel moved in sync—operators tapped rapidly on glowing keyboards, tactical commanders made swift calls, and massive displays projected live feeds from hovering UAVs.
"Satellite confirms Honkai energy origin at the fifth-floor classroom block. Type verified—Emperor-class."
"Aerial sweep seventy percent complete. Second and third squads initiating flank infiltration."
"Fifth squad recovered two survivors in the storm drains. IDs confirmed—students of Chiba Academy."
Lieutenant Himiko's gaze flicked across the screens, pausing as familiar names lit up—Kevin. Mei.
They survived?
Her brows briefly raised, but she filed the thought away. There were more pressing matters.
Her eyes settled on another screen—a dynamic Honkai energy map. The core pulsed orange-white, expanding outward in slow ripples. At 80HW, it was nowhere near Herrscher-level catastrophe, but still high enough to turn this district into a massacre site.
Under normal conditions, a disaster like this would affect thousands.
"Classify this as a Level-Medium Honkai incident." Himiko's voice cut through the chatter. "Frontline squads, initiate mobile harassment tactics. Keep the Emperor-class contained—it must not reach Nagazora."
Keyboards clicked furiously. The orders spread instantly across their communication net.
Fire Moth had fought the Honkai on every continent. Their protocol was absolute.
At Himiko's side, a younger operative whispered, "Commander, aren't you deploying?"
"Is your hand itching again, Rose?" Himiko glanced sidelong.
"Kinda. HQ sent us the new combat suits, didn't they?" Excitement sparkled in her eyes.
Himiko smiled, brushing a hand through Rose's hair. "Control yourself. Stronger enemies will come. Our first priority is staying alive."
Then her tone shifted, sharp and deliberate. "Deploy decoys. Lure the target north to the abandoned residential zone. Alert the branch office—prepare long-range strike authorization. Remind that Honkai bastard we're not throwing pebbles."
Silence fell over the cabin.
Everyone understood: bringing down an Emperor-class Honkai Beast would cost dozens—possibly hundreds—of lives. But Himiko had made peace with that weight. It came with command.
"Cloud Swallow Command to Far East Branch—transmitting Lieutenant Himiko's operational order—"
The comms officer suddenly paused. His pupils contracted.
"Lieutenant, visual feed—look!"
Himiko turned instantly.
The UAV feed zoomed in on a flickering rooftop. A crimson beam lanced through the night sky—followed by a shockwave that collapsed half the fifth-floor building.
Her mind processed the angles. The direction. The impact force.
Someone was fighting the Emperor-Class.
"…No way." Her breath caught. "That bastard's fighting it alone!?"
Interesting. Ryan stood amid shattered stone, muscles tight, lungs seared. Dust coiled off his body in heated waves.
So this is a Honkai Emperor. Far beyond a Templar-Class—and it had survived a direct Heaven-Opening strike.
His eyes traced the embers still lingering in the air, lips curling slightly.
Long-range Honkai energy manipulation. I need to know how you're doing that.
Whoosh—
Light exploded beneath his feet.
A searing geyser of Honkai energy burst from the ground like a molten spear. Ten meters around him disintegrated—stone turned to vapor, dust erased.
Sneak attack?
He rolled instinctively, catching a glimpse of the rotating beam that nearly shaved his scalp. His boots struck ground, and he spun—
Earth Burst.
BOOM!
His own Honkai energy detonated downward, intercepting the rising column in a clash of force and feedback. The floor trembled violently as both energies cancelled.
Whizz—whizz—whizz!
Crimson beams snapped in from empty air, shooting through the dispersing smoke. Ryan ran, evading them by inches. His boots hit the floor of a half-collapsed classroom building, and he vanished into its debris-choked shadow.
Inside, the collapsed ceiling had pulverized the lectern. Cracked desks formed abstract geometry in the dim haze. Ryan crouched low, adjusting his breathing. Every movement precise.
It's coming.
RUMBLE—
The far wall caved in. The Emperor-Class emerged like a reaper, its metallic hide glinting with new spiderweb fractures across its chest.
Its gaze locked with his. No hesitation. It charged.
Sudden Advance.
The desks splintered. Ryan shifted to counter—but the rotating rhomboid blades around its frame flared to life.
Whizz—!
They cut through desks, concrete, steel, air—anything and everything. Like a moving blender of death.
Not a dump truck. A concrete mixer. One with agility that defied mass.
It passed Ryan and reversed instantly, hurtling back.
He grimaced, glancing at his arm. His right sleeve was scorched, flesh below burnt raw.
High-concentration beams. Against that? Human tissue was paper.
But his expression never changed. Calculations flew through his head.
"It can't teleport while attacking. But I can't win in a prolonged clash…"
He made his decision in an instant.
The beast charged again—spinning, slicing.
Ryan ran straight at it.
Spear reversed in his hand. His boots dug in. His muscles coiled—
Comet Thrust!
He hurled the spear with full-body force. The air ruptured around it as the weapon streaked forward like a comet, gouging a channel through the floor.
The Honkai Emperor slowed.
Its blades flared, crossing in defense—
CLANG—!!
The spear was deflected, soaring through multiple floors, tearing daylight into the darkness.
But the beast no longer saw Ryan.
He was already gone.
And then—he was there.
Inside the perimeter. Within striking range.
Too close for beams. Too late to teleport.
The whirring blades sliced down—but Ryan didn't flinch. He stepped into them.
Shoulder-first. Forward.
He drove a full-force hook into its side.
Inch Fist—Heaven-Opening!
The concentrated punch exploded with a red flare. Honkai energy, compressed to the limit, ignited like a starburst against the monster's cracked chest.
Time stopped.
Then the explosion shattered the world.
BOOOOOOM—
The classroom block hollowed out.
Concrete vaporized. Shockwaves peeled the structure apart like paper. Debris shot outward in every direction, blanketing the city in dust.
On the perimeter, fully armed Fire Moth squads stood paralyzed.
Himiko raised a hand slowly. A fragment of silvery "flesh" landed in her hair. She brushed it off, eyes locked on the crater ahead.
The entire fifth-floor structure had been bisected. Where once stood a Honkai Emperor, only a smoldering lower half remained.
At the heart of the wreckage stood a man.
Torn clothes. No visible armor. Blood smeared across his jaw. But his stance was immovable.
Like a statue of war itself.
No one spoke.
Not a breath was drawn.
Then, the half-corpse slid down the rubble, rolling to the earth like refuse.
The man exhaled softly and lowered his fist.
He straightened.
"This Honkai incident," Ryan said quietly, "is over."