From beginning to end, the Cocoon pilots were utterly bewildered. First, their missiles were jammed, then they witnessed a vehicle leap across a chasm.
Before they could recover from this magical display, a blinding flash of light ended their lives.
Whizz—Boom!!
The 'projectile' arrived at several times the speed of sound, leaving no room for evasion. The pilot didn't even react before he and his helicopter were consumed by fire.
Scientific Railgun? It didn't seem very scientific.
Sakura looked in the rearview mirror at the falling wreckage of the helicopter, speechless. She knew Ryan was powerful, but this level of power was beyond comprehension.
The minivan's 'rockets' had burned out. They'd reached their highest point and were descending towards the chasm, where several colossal Chariot-Class Honkai Beasts waited.
They didn't understand why humans fought among themselves, but they knew anyone crossing the chasm would die.
"What now?" Sakura, no longer surprised, gripped her blade, staring at the oncoming fist, her mind already formulating a plan.
Get out of the vehicle, climb the Honkai Beast's arm, and sever its head.
Before she could act, a crimson spear flew, striking the fist. Like a concrete mixer, it shredded the giant limb.
Arm, elbow, shoulder—everything in its path vanished. A man stood atop the Honkai Beast's head.
Huh!?
Sakura turned to the driver's seat, finding it empty. A large hole had been blown through the windshield; the speed had been too great for her to notice.
"Killing you all is more efficient."
Ryan's gaze dropped to another colossal fist rising from the Chariot-Class Honkai Beast. He crouched, lunging forward with a punch.
Inch-Fist. Earth-shattering.
Compared to the three-story-tall Chariot-Class, Ryan's fist was minuscule, yet cracks appeared on the Honkai Beast's head, instantly spreading across its body, before—
It shattered.
Not a clean kill, but a complete disintegration, like a porcelain vase smashed by a hammer. Pieces of the Honkai Beast splattered across the windshield.
Thump—Thump—
The minivan finally landed, the tires bursting. Sakura clenched her fists, bracing for the impact, but felt a sudden, jarring stop.
She quickly surveyed the surroundings, her pupils contracting slightly. The Honkai Beast had vanished, leaving her with a disoriented, blade-drawn feeling, until a hand rested on the car window.
"Sakura, it's time to get out." Ryan showed no sign of distress, his glasses undamaged.
"You took care of them too?" The girl pushed open the door, seeing several corpses. Looking back, she saw only the lingering smoke from the explosions in the sky.
"You're not strong enough yet; dealing with this is troublesome. Follow me; our guests are almost here." Ryan said, turning to leave.
Sakura paused, her eyes flickering. She looked at his retreating back, lightly biting her lip.
He was truly frightening, shrouded in a fog of mystery, his limits unknown. She even wondered if Elysia could defeat him.
Yet, standing alongside him, she felt an unusual sense of security.
Could he become Rin's protector?
That thought suddenly entered Sakura's mind. Her hands stained with blood, she'd believed power was everything, only to find that individual strength dwarfed all other power.
Her momentary hesitation didn't stop her; her next step was decisive.
Ryan didn't concern himself with Sakura's thoughts. He knew one person couldn't save the world. The Flame-Chasers from the original timeline would be the best allies.
Although they ultimately failed, they still shone brightly, leaving behind a rich legacy. Could fourteen Flame-Chasers accomplish what thirteen couldn't?
Like Sakura, Ryan had no answers, only the option to proceed step by step, searching for possibilities.
"At least a larger number of Flame-Chasers can provide direct assistance, especially combat-type ones like Sakura."
Ryan reached a vantage point, looking into the distance. The corner of his mouth twitched.
He saw a dozen small black dots in the sky, rapidly approaching. Then, at their starting point, he saw Vill-V sitting with her legs crossed, holding her dress, in a gesture resembling a bow, before quickly fleeing.
A spectacular performance, of course, requires an audience. Although this spectacle slightly raised Ryan's blood pressure.
"Is that woman really reliable?"
"We have to trust her now. If she ruins my plan, I'll…"
"You'll kill her?"
"I've asked Mobius to develop a new drug that will fill her mind with nothing but research."
Are you sure that's punishment, and not a reward?
Sakura licked her lips, suppressing her urge to scold him. The past few days had been entirely unlike what she'd expected.
How to put it… it's actually quite interesting.
"Six helicopters, roughly thirty pursuers. Is that all Cocoon can muster?"
"Cocoon isn't an army; its members are scattered worldwide. Gathering thirty is already impressive." Sakura glanced at the corpses behind them, adding, "Of course, those men were insignificant in your presence."
Naturally, Ryan was unlike a typical human. Before the successful implementation of the warrior fusion plan, hunting down an equivalent squad would be a daydream. But he wasn't arrogant.
Honkai energy was still limited; advanced human weaponry, like the 'God's Rod', could still pose a threat.
"You're surprised I didn't eliminate them all?"
"Yes. You possess that power. I assume you wanted to maintain maximum secrecy." Sakura was astute; she possessed an assassin's instinct.
"Correct. I prefer killing within the rules, rather than creating widespread animosity. Besides, Fire Moth is useful; I simply wanted to… refine them." Ryan openly revealed his strategic goals, preventing Sakura from misinterpreting his actions.
"So, who are your true enemies?"
Ryan turned, kicking away half an arm of the Chariot-Class Honkai Beast, walking deeper into the wasteland.
"The Honkai Beasts… but not only the Honkai Beasts."
...
Helicopters circled above the town. Soldiers in powered exosuits occupied the streets, systematically searching the buildings.
Regardless of whether they found their target, any living person was interrogated with drugs, then shot, leaving behind only lifeless bodies.
The local police had already been contacted, and the Fire Moth branch responsible for the area remained silent. This town, already on the verge of disappearing, would soon face a kind of 'Honkai', leaving no survivors.
A kind of liberation, perhaps.
Various tools searched the entire town, yielding nothing. Cocoon couldn't dig deeper; the 'tacit agreements' bought with substantial favors had time limits.
"It seems the report was correct; they crossed the chasm into the deepest part of the wasteland."
On the rooftop where Ryan had been observing, a man in tight combat gear, his white hair tucked under a helmet, also gazed toward the chasm. He wore a mask, revealing only crimson eyes.
Between the town and the chasm lay a pair of burning corpses. Someone had investigated; only the downed helicopters were consistent with being hit by some kind of projectile.
This matched the Montpelier incident. The accompanying investigators suspected the effects of a small-scale railgun, but it was being tested as a tank main gun—highly unusual.
Who would use a tank for a rescue? That's extremely ostentatious.
"Captain, one more thing. Based on the evidence, we believe there were three enemies," a Cocoon operative reported swiftly, standing at attention. "We cannot rule out the presence of an inside man."
"There's definitely an inside man. Even though the evidence has been erased, the battle took place deep in the mine. Without an inside man, how could they pinpoint the location so precisely?" The white-haired man chuckled, casually asking, "Any updates on those two incidents?"
"Elysia is assisting in Shenzhou. Dr. Ryan is working at the Fifth Research Institute."
"Confirmed?"
"We've conducted visual confirmations. Furthermore, the similarities between the remaining evidence and the Third Herrscher's extermination are minimal."
The man finally exhaled, pondering who it could be. But the world was vast; even Cocoon's intelligence network couldn't monitor every 'superhuman'.
The world was consumed by Honkai; in the efforts to resolve the crisis, there was no shortage of 'superhero' assistance. But these heroes weren't like those in movies; they were only slightly stronger than ordinary people. Often, Fire Moth had to rescue them, then happily collect their prison meals.
"Let's pursue them. Prepare 'God's Rod'. If possible, pinpoint and eliminate the target immediately after detection."
"But that desolate wasteland is very strange. Three investigation teams went in last month and vanished without a trace. Fire Moth hasn't even figured out who did it."
Intense Honkai interference, and some unknown enemy.
"Strange? Deploying 'God's Rod' once comes at a great cost. It's a good excuse to cover up something." The man turned, looking at the assassins standing rigidly in the building below.
Each pair of hands was stained crimson; each was an elite carefully selected, many possessing unique abilities.
"Leave one squad here. The rest prepare for deployment. Maximum extermination equipment. Operation plan: cleanse mode, sweep this scorching wasteland."
Not only to ensure the target's death, but also to eliminate those tribespeople—their fate inconsequential.
Rotors began to descend. The Cocoon operatives, originally trained for infiltration and assassination, were now heavily equipped with electromagnetic rifles, single-soldier cloud burst ammunition, and super-alloy armor. The true essence of high-level assassination:
Poisoning and backstabbing are too troublesome; it's better to simply blow up an entire building.
"Follow me. I'll lead this operation personally. Let's hope everything goes smoothly."
The Cocoon operatives, gazing at the cold-faced man, bowed respectfully.
"Yes, Owl."