Lieutenant Rose were somewhat familiar to Ryan; he'd met her at Chiba Academy, recalling a minor Honkai incident they'd resolved together.
According to the files, this special task force was transferred from the Shenzhou battlefield, specifically tasked with clearing Honkai Beasts from Pacific islands, as they threatened shipping lanes.
The mission itself wasn't problematic; it seemed like a disguised vacation. These elite soldiers only needed to locate the Honkai Beasts and call in long-range strikes.
Then they'd be eradicated.
Ryan sighed; Honkai couldn't be judged by conventional standards. A seemingly routine mission had gone awry.
"Your friend?" Sakura tilted her head, also seeing the woman's photograph. "Her survival rate is less than one percent. My condolences."
Ouch, a bit blunt.
"Not exactly a friend, just an acquaintance from my time in Nagazora City." Ryan showed no grief; he'd seen too many acquaintances die.
"Then why are you investigating her?" Sakura was confused; she'd thought Ryan was seeking revenge.
As soon as she asked, he looked up, giving her a strange smile that sent a chill down her spine.
"She's not a friend, but she could become an enemy. Honkai might offer a considerable surprise."
Could Lieutenant Rose have succumbed to Honkai? Wait, human, enemy, high Honkai adaptability…
"You wouldn't be suggesting…"
Impossible. If she'd become a Herrscher, it would have happened days ago. Fire Moth couldn't have missed it. Even if they were asleep, a Herrscher wouldn't be; she would have destroyed the surrounding cities.
Sakura didn't believe it; this was beyond her understanding. Before she could object, she felt the ship lurch violently.
Waves suddenly intensified; heavy clouds gathered, as if a storm were brewing.
Lightning was absent; only a furious wind howled, causing the ship's weather vane to spin wildly.
"A storm's coming?"
Sakura looked up. In moments, the wind and waves had intensified tenfold; the ship's rudder became unresponsive.
The ship was tossed about, its bow plunging into the sea. It felt like a rollercoaster; Sakura had no time to question, gritting her teeth to control the vessel.
In the command center, debris flew everywhere. Ryan was plastered to the floor, his expression shifting wildly with the waves.
"Tricked. A mistake of empiricism."
Crash!
A wave shattered the window, flooding the cabin. Sakura was drenched, raising her voice.
"What did you say!?"
"I said, it's fortunate I wasn't overconfident and remembered something important."
"What!?"
Another wave crashed over them—no, this was a maelstrom. Dozens of feet of water surged like a wall, threatening to swallow the small ship. Sakura had already loosened her grip on the wheel, preparing to abandon ship.
But then, a purple lightning bolt struck from the sky, cleanly bisecting the wave. She looked up, seeing Ryan hovering above the deck; dispersed electricity vaporized the seawater.
Within the range of the electric arc, the raging sea calmed, allowing Sakura to regain control.
BOOM—
Another streak of lightning illuminated Ryan's impassive face. He tilted his head, calmly stating, "Honkai cannot be judged by conventional means. If forced, it can overturn all experience."
Sakura was speechless, secretly agreeing with Ryan's assessment.
Śeṣa was a pawn; what awaited them was far more than simple Honkai Beasts. If they'd pursued earlier, Sakura didn't know what would have happened to Ryan, but she would have certainly died.
A hidden Herrscher, suppressing their destructive instincts to kill him? Was this man that important?
But it was true, even if Ryan hadn't fully processed it.
'How did it know I'd be here? How did it anticipate this opportunity?'
Ryan was confused, but he was a cautious man. Since dealing with the Third Herrscher, he'd been vigilant, reacting immediately when something felt wrong.
His worry became reality. Every gust of wind carried killing intent; the reason no longer mattered.
Fine, let it come. Luckily, I retreated in time, replenishing my energy. Otherwise, facing Śeṣa's self-destruction head-on would have left me no chance.
Ryan didn't know how his search for materials led to this mess, but as the saying goes:
Hunter and prey are always a hair's breadth apart.
"Sakura, full speed ahead! Get out of here; protect the case. I'll handle whatever Honkai throws at me."
"Right. Be careful." Sakura didn't hesitate, accelerating immediately, escaping through the lightning-created gap in the waves.
Battles of this scale, involving Herrschers and Judgment-Class Honkai Beasts, were beyond her capabilities. Distance was her greatest advantage.
Without any melodrama, Ryan could fully concentrate. Being considered a thorn in their side didn't bother him.
Even without the Path, Honkai could discern the greatest threat, like Mei in the original timeline, targeted by the Herrscher of Domination. He was just unexpectedly resilient and intelligent.
Seems I've caused quite a stir…
Ryan adjusted his glasses, gazing at the approaching waves, launching himself northward like an arrow.
Lightning sliced across the sea; massive waves crashed from all sides, the immense force threatening to crush him. Ryan was like a small boat navigating a tempest, his eyes scanning his surroundings.
Trying to slow my escape.
Ryan remained extremely calm, dodging the waves. A direct confrontation would consume too much energy, leading to exhaustion and a lower success rate.
'Fire Moth has initiated a full-scale response; the fleet is converging.' He glanced at the datapad; all of Fire Moth's forces in the western Pacific were mobilized, swarming like angry hornets.
Satellite scans detected a massive Honkai surge, various projects underway, and at its epicenter was Ryan.
He moved rapidly northward, his energy blending with the storm, undeniably reaching Herrscher-level power. His trajectory was easily calculable.
Shenzhou, Takarajima.
"Let them converge. The Herrscher, having been alerted, won't let me escape."
Ryan's brain worked at maximum speed, incorporating the Herrscher and Fire Moth into his plan.
Possessing similar power, unless he faced a severe counter, the difference in Honkai energy meant he couldn't defeat the Herrscher. He couldn't reveal his identity to Fire Moth either; many things would become inexplicably complicated. He was at a disadvantage—how could he break these chains?
Difficult. He could only test his ingenuity to the limit.
He abruptly halted; a massive vortex, approximately one hundred meters across, rose from the sea before him, reaching towards the heavens.
Ryan's pupils constricted as his path was blocked.
It wasn't just one vortex; nine colossal pillars rose from the hazy ocean surface, roaring, threatening to destroy everything. They converged from all directions.
Like concrete mixers, capable of tearing through steel, Ryan's eyes darted around.
A large-scale AOE attack; evasion was impossible; he could only choose the most brutal method.
Forward!
Transforming into lightning, Ryan charged directly into the vortex, immediately feeling the high-speed airflow and the intense friction of the electromagnetic field, producing a crackling sound.
He couldn't break through the defenses but suffered significant energy drain. Lightning pierced the vortex in an instant; Ryan's eyes twitched.
The sea was covered in dense vortices; dozens were visible at a glance, forming mobile walls. He couldn't see the enemy.
'The Honkai energy concentration is too high; I can't locate her. This is a mage-type Herrscher.'
The storm roared in his ears; he made a calm assessment. Based on fighting styles, Herrschers could be categorized by profession.
The Herrscher of the Void was like an assassin, utilizing ghostly movements to strike swiftly. The Herrscher of Thunder was more like a warrior, her purple lightning unstoppable. The Herrscher of Reason, and this one, were similar to mages.
Hidden at a distance, unleashing large-scale attacks to overwhelm their opponent.
"What to do?" Ryan constantly changed direction, lightning arcing across the sea. But the vortices were endless, covering dozens of square kilometers.
The vortices seemed slow, but pursuing Ryan wasn't necessary; they continuously compressed the evasion space, layering upon each other, pushing towards the center.
Like blunt knives cutting flesh, if his Honkai energy depleted, Ryan would become mincemeat.
No, this won't work. Before Fire Moth arrives, my Honkai energy will be exhausted.
Teleporting several thousand meters in an instant, Ryan reacted, seeing the sea roiling a hundred times more violently than before. In the distance, a torrential storm raged.
I must force her out!
Ryan paused briefly above the sea, drawing Crimson Blaze. Violent purple electricity crackled on the blade as he focused all his Honkai energy forward.
Dawn Thunder.
BOOM—
A deafening roar; a bolt of lightning shot across the sea, piercing the vortices, heading northeast.
Crackle, crackle, crackle…
Electric arcs flashed; the vortexes were pierced, seawater vaporizing into white smoke, revealing a misty gloom on the dark sea.
Ryan pressed forward relentlessly, sacrificing some agility for maximum speed. Like an arrow through cloth, he passed through the vortices before they could engulf him.
Breaking through.
The wind howled behind him; ahead lay nothing but open sea. But Ryan felt no relief.
If the Herrscher dared to appear, this couldn't be her only defense.
Screech—Thud!
Suddenly, the lightning's momentum slowed; Ryan felt as if he'd struck an invisible wall, incredibly tough and resilient.
"What the…?"
Ryan blinked, as if encountering an invisible barrier. The air seemed to solidify, tightening its grip. Without hesitation, he chose to climb.
His levitation ability launched him skyward like a projectile; the dark sky rapidly expanded in his vision. At that moment—
Halt. Retreat.
WHOOSH!!!
The sea surface was sliced by an invisible blade, creating a hundred-meter-long gash that wouldn't heal quickly. Ryan looked at his arm; his electromagnetic field was breached, his shoulder torn; a few drops of blood fell into the sea, dispersing like ink.
He ignored the wound, noticing a gash in the sky, letting sunlight stream through. High above, within that fissure, he saw a silhouette.
A young woman, clad in a pure white dress with a garter belt, her long blonde hair now shimmering with a faint blue tint, a diamond-shaped light wing unfurling behind her.
Her face was familiar—still delicately pretty, but her youthful innocence replaced by cold, lethal intent. She was a whirlwind of destruction, observing him like a god.
Even knowing the intricacies of Herrschers, Ryan was momentarily stunned.
The Herrscher of Thunder was a stranger; he had no personal connection. But while he wasn't particularly close to this lieutenant, he did know her.
He remembered her innocent naivety when he'd first seen her outside the academy, her urgent request to meet Elysia, and their conversations at the Far East Branch.
"For yourself, survive." Ryan repeated the words from their previous encounter, a self-mocking smile playing on his lips. "Long time no see, Lieutenant Rose. Or perhaps I should call you—"
"Herrscher of the Wind?"