Lin was dragging a trail of blood, stumbling to a wall. Just standing was taking all his strength.
The attack signal was meant for him alone, because he was the only person near the Herrscher.
"Cough, cough..." He coughed blood onto the wall. His hazy eyes looked at the foul bloodstain. He pulled off his helmet and threw it onto the ground, splashing water.
"Thud."
His foot slipped, and his head hit the wall.
Lin couldn't quite remember when he met Mei. He only remembered that they became friends spontaneously while discussing outlandish technology. He was in charge of the outlandish ideas, and Mei was in charge of independently exploring their feasibility.
One time, Lin casually mentioned the Titan, a concept from science fiction. Mei actually presented a design blueprint for it a few months later. Although the blueprint was merely conceptual, and most materials and drive methods were beyond the technology of the current era, that design eventually became the first draft for the actual Titan.
They were friends long before Kevin transferred to Nagazora High. Lin could even say he knew Mei better than Kevin.
Therefore, Lin knew exactly what the attack signal meant.
Mei trusted Lin. He was the one who could guide the cannon strike to the correct target, using his... mortal body.
So, how should he send a signal to perfectly time the cannon strike? And after shattering the Herrscher's barrier, how was he supposed to end her life?
Lin didn't know. He might already be reduced to ash under the Honkai Energy Conversion Particle Cannon by then. But Lin deeply believed that Mei must have her considerations and plan—a meticulousness revealing boldness. This was Lin's perception of the genius girl.
What he needed to consider was how to approach the Third Herrscher.
The Phase Transfer Device could be used two more times at most. Each time would last no more than one second, and the distance was limited. Furthermore, Lin wasn't even sure if he could manage the very last use.
Assuming the worst—that the Phase Transfer Device could only be used once—Lin's ultimate problem was... where to use it this time.
If he used phase transfer to avoid the attack aimed at him, he could achieve his goal and survive.
But aside from phase transfer, he had no means of approaching the Third Herrscher.
This was not a difficult choice.
"How many squads can we contact right now?"
"So far... none."
The Commander wanted to say something, but he seemed unable to interrupt Mei's command. After reporting to headquarters, they had authorized Mei to take command of the field operations. Although her temporary rank wasn't as high as his, her authority was equal to his.
Most importantly, he was considered an elite in human command capability, yet he couldn't grasp how the information spilling from the mouth of this girl, a full generation younger than him, was calculated.
For example, when Mei instructed someone to do something, she would meticulously detail every step, down to the microsecond for sending the signal, explaining mathematically and physically where to launch the flare so that the maximum number of squads could see it. The fact that these numbers were delivered without hesitation made him wonder when she had calculated them.
The amazing thing was that Mei's command did not interfere with the normal functioning of the operations department. After the preparations were complete, aside from constantly checking on the squads' status, the entire department functioned in an orderly manner.
"Three minutes left."
Mei's finger slid down her smooth nose bridge. The jumping numbers on the screen reflected in her glasses. She murmured softly.
The Third Herrscher's Honkai energy reaction was rising in layers, indicating she was continuously using her Authority and growing increasingly impatient, escalating her energy output. It was expected to reach the threshold for the Third Honkai Eruption in three minutes.
There was only one chance. Miss this opportunity, and they would return to the situation where all the other squads were operating completely blind.
Kevin stood in the corner, his gun leaning against the wall. He looked at the anxious faces around him, his heart filled with a blank sense of loss.
Lin was fighting, and Mei was fighting.
Only he could do nothing.
If Mei joined this organization called the Moth of the Flame-Chasers, would he and she eventually drift apart, with her and Lin fighting for humanity in unknown places, while he remained the "human" they protected?
"I envy you, but I can't be like you."
Lin's phantom stood before him, looking at him with those indifferent eyes.
Kevin's fingers clenched until they were white. A light gradually appeared in his eyes.
That's right. If Lin's answer was the same as it was that day, then his own response would also be the same.
"If it's to fight for those around me, to fight for Mei..."
Lin slammed into the doorway, lightning exploding behind him. Debris flew over his head.
He moved his legs, sprinting up the stairs toward the top floor, but the entire building's tremor quickly halted his path.
Lin didn't think twice. He abandoned that route, pivoting and leaping out the window.
"Boom!"
The complete destruction of the building took only one second. The power of an attack condensed from high-purity Honkai energy far exceeded the capacity of contemporary human society. A casual strike could equal the maximum output of the Moth of the Flame-Chasers' largest Honkai energy converter.
Lin quickly grabbed the swaying streetlight outside the window. Using his body weight, he easily snapped the already damaged pole and smoothly swung to the ground.
The purplish-black eyes judging sin stared coldly at Lin. Her long sleeves fluttered as purple wings of light grew from her back. Her eyes suddenly illuminated the night sky. The metal objects around Lin shuddered, and with a single clench of her hand, they shot toward Lin in a dense barrage like bullets.
There was no way to dodge. His body couldn't keep up.
Facing a dead end, Lin's dim black eyes calmly stared at the "bullets" that seemed not so fast to him. The lightning brewing overhead was about to strike. He rapidly memorized the layout of all the projectiles, then, prioritizing evading the lightning strike, he charged forward without hesitation.
"Slice—"
A steel bar pierced his shoulder, and iron sand ripped away a piece of flesh from his left leg, but the remaining lightning and projectiles caused him no further harm.
By choosing to only avoid fatal injuries, he maximized his possible evasive movements.
He rolled a few times on the ground, then half-crouched, standing up. His pupils were scattered, and the pounding of his heart almost completely drowned out all other sounds in his ears.
Lin's symptoms of severe burns and blood loss were worsening. Some of his wounds were already dry. He had lost nearly 50% of his body's blood. Logically, no matter how determined Lin's will was, he should have been in shock.
But Mobius's toxin sustained his mind. He was now literally moving his body purely by conscious will. Only the final straw was needed to break his back, and he would die.
"Rumble!"
But thankfully, or perhaps... unfortunately, what Lin wanted arrived.
The purplish-black pupils were utterly consumed by pure purple. The surging thunderclouds expanded to a range Lin could not escape. And before the Third Herrscher, a ten-meter-diameter, spherical purple energy Party mixed with lightning was ready to strike.
The aura of death drifted from within it.
Lightning would carpet the nearby areas, and the beam of destruction would vaporize all intervening cover, utterly killing Lin.
If the Honkai energy in this one strike were released against Changkong City rather than compressed, half of Changkong City would disappear from the map instantly. At the same time, the Third Herrscher would enter a period of weakness.
Such an attack was meant only to kill one human.
Lin didn't hesitate this time. Before the carpet bombing arrived, he pressed the Phase Transfer Device button.
"Boom—"
The skyscraper collapsed. In the white light, everything was swept away with the thunder.
The Third Herrscher looked without grief or joy at the leveled ground beneath her feet. It was impossible for that human to survive such an attack, even if he had used that strange device; he couldn't escape the attack range.
She turned, preparing to leave.
"————"
Suddenly, an ineffable sensation, one that should be impossible for a Herrscher—a virtually higher life form—surged into her mind.
A pair of black pupils calmly met the purplish-black eyes.
She could not see any fear of herself in those eyes, but there was a different kind of emotion—not for her, but for the original owner of this body.
It was a kind of compassion.
She suddenly wanted to reach out and grasp him.
Like a residual nerve reaction after an organism's death, she inexplicably reached out to the man falling from the sky.
But her hand stopped midway, for she saw a light igniting in the man's black pupils, like a clear mirror.
"Boom!"
A bright white particle cannon strike ruthlessly hit the Third Herrscher's back, and then, covered Lin, who had just used the phase transfer, as well.