Schwing—
Two shadows, moving so fast they were a blur, collided in a whirlwind of blood and metallic air, producing a sharp clashing sound.
"We hit him!"
One of them retreated with consecutive leaps, sticking to the wall like a spider, the blue visor trailing light.
Half of his palm was missing; blood flowed from the stump where bone and muscle tissue were exposed.
But in the next second, the blood abruptly stopped flowing. As if the footage had been accelerated, the bones immediately finished regrowing, and muscle and skin covered them.
"What kind of monster is that..." Several people watched this terrifying scene, swallowing hard in unison.
The figure reached behind his back and slowly drew two weapons.
The sharp noises piercing his brain no longer caused discomfort. His thoughts were becoming clearer, and his movements more agile and direct. A wave of warmth flowed through his body; he bared his teeth and exhaled a puff of heat.
"Gurgle..." A half-human sound came from his throat. The two blades, like the scythe-arms of a praying mantis, instantly sliced a lunging mech in half.
"Stop him!"
BOOM!
The weapons collided head-on. The overwhelming physical advantage of the Fusion Warrior snapped the man's arm, but the blade in his other hand pierced through the warrior's abdomen, lifting him up and throwing him aside.
Crack.
The man looked coldly at the other two who dared not step forward. He grabbed his broken arm, gave it an upward yank, and it was restored to its original state.
Delayed too long. Must leave.
He pressed the button on the device on his hand, and his entire form vanished from the spot.
...
"CM-079, we have a few questions for you."
Delta broke into a cold sweat. Standing at the door, she faced the questioning with relative composure. "Please, ask."
"First, did the wanted person, Lin, ever make contact with you?" the person with the cold expression asked.
"...Before or after he was wanted?"
"After."
"No."
After these words, the questioner quickly exchanged looks with the person beside them. A second later, they continued, "Second, has Dr. Vil-V contacted you since her disappearance?"
"No."
"...Fine. I've finished my questions. Sorry for disturbing you."
"No, it's fine."
The two men walked away. Only after Delta closed the door did the sweat pour from her pores, dampening her back.
"It really isn't easy, fooling a lie detector."
Vil-V sat with her feet on the table, working on a portable computer. A cup of hot milk sat beside her; she looked perfectly at ease, as if on vacation.
"If you would just hide, it wouldn't be so hard." Delta truly felt that Vil-V was a perfect match for Lin—a total freak. She had sat in the living room as if nothing were wrong while those two were searching the place.
Vil-V waved it off dismissively. "Don't worry, I have a backup plan."
"Sigh." Delta didn't know what else to say. She walked behind Vil-V, saw the dense, headache-inducing design blueprints on her screen, and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
"Since I've left Fire Moth, I don't need to be regulated in what I want to manufacture anymore. So, I'm going to build the 'thing' I gave to Mei to refine earlier."
Vil-V hit the enter key.
"The only problem is Soul Steel. But fortunately, I foresaw this day would come..."
Knock, knock, knock.
"Again?" Delta looked at the door with a grim expression.
But Vil-V snapped her fingers and smiled at the startled Delta. "Looks like my delivery is here. Go open the door."
Delta walked to the door with suspicion, opened it a crack, and looked outside.
"You are..."
...
"I was wondering who it was. If it isn't the famous Mobius. What brings you here? Finding time to visit us 'stepping stones for humanity'?"
Mobius stood before the one-way glass. Even though the "person" imprisoned inside shouldn't have been able to see who was standing outside, the "person" still lifted their head from the restraint rack and looked toward Mobius.
Mobius was seated on a strange transport device. With a cold face, she pressed the broadcast button. "Eighth Herrscher, it's been a long time. I thought you would have lost consciousness from all the experimental torture, but you seem quite spirited."
"The Herrscher of Sentience losing consciousness from torture? You're quite the comedian." But the Eighth Herrscher's voice didn't sound great. "Though the research humans are doing using me is quite interesting, hehe..."
"Cut the small talk. I need your help."
"...Help?"
The Eighth Herrscher seemed to... No, she had heard a massive joke. After a brief pause, she burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha... You, a human, need help from me, a Herrscher?" Even though she was pinned down by restraints, she still shook with laughter. "And didn't you say I was a stepping stone for humanity? Then what do you need a stepping stone for?"
"You noticed the problem with Lin a long time ago, didn't you?"
Mobius still remembered what the Eighth Herrscher had said on the island. Looking back now, she was likely referring to Lin Pseudo-Herrscher Core.
"...Hehe." The Eighth Herrscher laughed playfully. "And if I did? What of it?"
"Answer me."
"I don't know why his transformation is so slow, but he is indeed transforming into a Herrscher—both in mind and body."
After receiving a positive answer from a true Herrscher, Mobius expression became even darker.
"What must be done to maintain Lin own consciousness?"
"You're asking me? I'm a Herrscher. How should I know how to maintain a human consciousness?"
"But you are the Herrscher of Sentience." Mobius stared at the Eighth Herrscher through the thick isolation. She spoke coldly, "If you tell me, I can help you reclaim your Herrscher Core."
"..."
The Eighth Herrscher hadn't expected Mobius to offer such a "generous" condition.
Her current consciousness was in a normal human body. Because she was limited by Honkai energy, she couldn't return to the core inside Yama body, meaning the Herrscher consciousness and the Herrscher Core were currently separated.
Of course, as the Herrscher of Sentience, it was the consciousness that defined the Herrscher identity. As long as there was enough Honkai energy connected to the Imaginary Tree, she could condense another Herrscher of Sentience Core.
In other words, Mobius could allow her to absorb a massive amount of Honkai energy and restore her Herrscher abilities.
"But I refuse."
"..."
"One: even if you let me recover my strength, you would never let me go. I know your human word-traps all too well. Two... I really don't know how to let a human maintain their consciousness after becoming a Herrscher. Is that something I should be thinking about? Hmm... obviously not."
Mobius took a deep breath, then she showed a smile.
A cold-blooded smile.
"Then things just got a whole lot simpler."