The speed of the Titan was so fast that it could reach from one city to another in less than ten minutes. In the blink of an eye, Prometheus I, holding Lin's corpse, had returned to the airspace above the city where the Fifth Branch was located.
The streets, filled with desolate destruction, were teeming with monsters. The world seemed to be left with only these moving undead and demonic creatures with fangs and claws. All the Honkai creatures in the city were continuously rushing toward the Fifth Branch, where the soldiers were struggling to hold out against the Emperor-class Honkai Beast's assault.
Some flying Honkai Beasts spotted the steel enemy and immediately swarmed it. The autonomous Titan, without needing external control, automatically used its weapons to shoot down the approaching Honkai Beasts.
But Prometheus I no longer cared about any of this.
She seemed to have lost her functionality. Her arm, supported by a spherical joint, held Lin's body, which lacked body temperature. The complex, circuit-like patterns of her eyes, which were originally a precise monitor symbolizing the pinnacle of human technology, had vanished.
When Lin brought her into the Phase Transfer space with him, through the neural connection, she felt Lin's consciousness.
As a synthetic android without true consciousness, upon entering that space, she should have immediately fallen into a logical dead-end, rendering her inoperable due to the special nature of the space. But under the neural connection, Lin conveyed a faint call to her.
Thus, Prometheus I saw Lin's face.
A face she had seen many times, yet was still completely unfamiliar.
He was smiling at her.
"I want to see Lin's smile."
"If you can smile yourself, then I'll show you."
The past dialogue echoed in her mind through the neural connection. Prometheus I subconsciously reached out her hand, but it passed straight through Lin's body.
He vanished like a bubble, along with his smile.
Why, in the very end, was this person still fulfilling others' wishes?
Even if that person was just an artificial intelligence that didn't even count as human.
"I haven't smiled yet, Lin…"
Her empty pupils reflected Lin's pale face, unable to focus.
…
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Himeko leaned on her greatsword, her face covered in dust. She glared at the porcupine, which was leisurely and deliberately grinding the corpses of Fire Moth soldiers beneath its feet into bloody pulp. It even raised its front hoof in provocation, letting all the soldiers see the blood, hair, and skin adhering to its hooves.
The stubbornness of this Emperor-class Honkai Beast exceeded everyone's imagination. If the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Chariot was the strongest Honkai Beast in history, then this yet-to-be-named porcupine-type Emperor-class Honkai Beast was definitely the most intelligent specimen.
It never got caught in the soldiers' encirclement. It often used other Honkai creatures as cannon fodder, then found the right moments to systematically break the human defense line, maintaining its own good condition while diminishing the human forces.
Furthermore, it clearly knew that its eyes and abdomen were weaknesses, so it never exposed these areas to snipers or Titans capable of long-range attacks.
In the gaps where the defense fell short, the porcupine would use its quills to force the humans into troublesome dodging, and then seize the opportunity to attack the Titans. So far, nine Titans had been disabled by its attacks.
After attacking, it would curl up into a defensive ball. Its hard shell was almost impossible for their weapons to pierce.
Himeko felt she wasn't battling a Honkai Beast, but playing a cunning game of chess with a treacherous human. This Honkai Beast even flaunted its power to break down the mental defenses of the Fifth Branch personnel.
"What should we do, Captain Himeko? Can we really win? Are we going to die here?"
Himeko turned her head and saw a newcomer, who had recently joined the squad, trembling behind the defense line. He couldn't even grip his weapon steadily. His pupils were rapidly dilating and contracting, and his heart rate had likely exceeded the limit.
The moment Himeko saw his expression, she was at a loss.
She couldn't answer him.
Judging by the current situation, it was likely only a matter of time before this Emperor-class Honkai Beast broke through their defense line. At that point, they would not only be killed by the Honkai creatures but might also be used by the Honkai Beast as toys to break the morale of the Fifth Branch personnel.
But as the temporary captain, she couldn't say that. She had to boost morale and give them hope.
But did she truly have the qualifications and ability to do so?
Himeko noticed her hand trembling. This was a fear she had never felt since stepping onto the battlefield.
It wasn't fear of the enemy, but fear for her teammates, her comrades.
The former members of the Fifth Squad had died violent deaths in the Second Honkai. Their bodies were so disfigured she couldn't even discern which piece of flesh belonged to which person. Finally, only cold names remained engraved on a memorial.
Now, the current members of the Fifth Squad: Lin was incomplete, suffering from the Honkai Virus, and could die at any moment. Seele had betrayed Fire Moth, was defeated by her, but had transformed into the Sixth Herrscher, becoming a complete enemy of humanity. Diostia was severely wounded and comatose, still in the headquarters' emergency room.
She realized that she had never truly protected her teammates.
Only allowing them to be wounded and die again and again, losing them over and over, leaving only herself, the incompetent captain, surviving in this world.
Only herself, standing here, preparing to give the order that would send her teammates to their deaths.
Himeko stopped breathing. She couldn't bring herself to tell this person to keep fighting. She didn't want to encourage this recruit's courage anymore.
Even if, right here, they were all annihilated…
"Captain Himeko!"
A sharp shout jolted Himeko. She subconsciously looked forward, where a sharp gaze instantly brought her back to her senses.
Hua threw the zombie in front of her away. She wiped the blood from her eyelids and shouted: "Captain Himeko! When do we counterattack! Tell us!"
"Hua…"
"Tell me! You and the Captain have always guided me, told me the way forward! Isn't it the same now!" Hua panted, clenching her fists. "The Captain told me, and you told me, that if I can't see the direction, I should use you as my guiding star!"
Himeko looked at Hua, the young person she had watched grow into an excellent soldier step by step.
"You are the Captain's Captain! He told me you set an example for him! So don't disappoint the Captain, and don't disappoint me, Captain Himeko! If you want a drink, I'll certainly join you after we get back!"
"…You're lecturing me now, aren't you?"
The trembling in Himeko's hand stopped. Her eyes sharpened. She grabbed the greatsword and slammed it out, cleaving the zombie behind Hua in two.
"Don't worry. Humanity will definitely win. We have never lost. Believe in yourself, and believe in… No, just believe in yourself." She smiled and nodded at the recruit.
Then, she glared at the porcupine.
"Counterattack? You hold the line. I alone… am enough."