Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers-Chapter 223: You’ll Definitely Regret It!

"Tap—tap—tap—"

Hearing the distinctive sound of Fire Moth's standard iron-soled boots, the wounded soldier excitedly, with all his strength, lifted his eyelids. But upon seeing the face of the person who came, he fell into deep despair.

"I will never become a zombie!"

"Wait!"

Mikael reached out to stop him, but the wounded soldier had already raised his self-defense pistol, not pointing it at him, but inserting it into his own mouth.

At the last moment, he seemed to belatedly realize some truth, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes, but it was too late. The trigger had already been pulled.

"Bang!"

A small bullet hole appeared on the wall, along with an indelible bloodstain.

Mikael's fingertips trembled slightly. He probably understood, understood the identity of the Seventh Herrscher...

The interior space of the base was narrow and confined. Screams and explosions echoed continuously within the thick armor plating.

The further he went, the more intense the sounds of gunfire and explosions became, mixed with the dull echo of a horde of Honkai Beasts running—the Seventh Herrscher seemed to be more humane.

Having found such a good opponent in Fire Moth, he didn't simply destroy it with one blow, but released a horde of Honkai Beasts, almost not taking action himself, just advancing with the Honkai Beasts.

Mikael understood that he was getting closer to the battle zone, but his steps also became slower.

Without the core... without the First Herrscher Core, what use was it even if he reached the battlefield?

What could he use to stop the Seventh Herrscher?

Just rely on [Vishnu]?

No, [Vishnu] might be able to contend with the Seventh Herrscher alone, but the Seventh Herrscher, who had obtained the First Herrscher Core, was an unprecedented dual-core Herrscher in the Previous Era.

No, it wasn't that simple... Or rather, if it were only that, it would be fine—the current Seventh Herrscher was actually a "true dual-core Herrscher + pseudo six-core Herrscher."

After all, apart from the Sixth Herrscher's core, Mikael was already familiar with the structure of the other four Herrscher cores, and this related memory had also been retained in his core in the form of "muscle memory."

Corpses and blood were everywhere. Every step he took was either on a stiff limb or sticky blood.

Mikael suddenly stopped. A weak electric current conducted from the iron nails of his boots to his feet, making him feel a slight numbness.

This wasn't blood, but black mud mixed with blood. Mikael was all too familiar with it.

"Mei... Mobius?"

Mikael took about twenty more steps forward and saw Mobius.

There was a large hole above. She seemed to have fallen from a higher level, smashing through the armor plating. She seemed to have tried to get up and fight again. The armored wall she was leaning on had long bloodstains, and a few strands of green hair were also stuck to it.

Mikael's pupils shrank, then began to tremble uncontrollably.

He took two steps forward, extending his index finger, seemingly wanting to check Mobius's breath. But before he could bend down, he quickly retreated several steps, until his back hit the icy elevator door, producing a hollow echo.

Then, his body slowly slid down, and he slumped to the ground.

He held his hands flat, and tears suddenly dripped one by one into his palms. Someone who didn't know might think he had scooped up a handful of water.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

He didn't dare... didn't dare to check Mobius's breath...

Just like in his student days, knowing that he had failed the exam, he was still afraid of the moment when the results were finally announced.

Because as long as the outcome of something hasn't fully manifested, there is still a possibility of turning it to the good, even if you know how small that possibility is.

But Mikael would rather Mobius live in such a small possibility.

Of course, he also knew that death was not the end for Mobius, but it was still death. The pain and despair would not be reduced by half because of the [Śeṣa] factor...

This would only increase his guilt.

"If... if I hadn't given up the Herrscher core... if I..."

If that were the case, wouldn't all this have happened?

Mikael didn't know, but if he had made a different choice, he wouldn't be so regretful now.

Regret...

"Don't let yourself regret it!"

Himeko warned him.

But how could it be possible not to regret? It's simply impossible, right?

Humans... only feel regret after the choices they make cause them actual pain. But before making a decision, how can you predict the outcome?

If he could have foreseen such a result, he wouldn't be so regretful.

The sound of gunfire gradually faded and became silent, but the sound of sobbing gradually rose.

"Cough... How embarrassing!"

"Uh! Mobius!"

Mikael raised his head in surprise. It seemed that his crying had awakened the unconscious Mobius. The first moment she opened her eyes, she saw Mikael hugging his knees, curled up at the elevator entrance, crying.

Although their faces were identical, she didn't need to distinguish. She knew this wasn't the Seventh Herrscher she had just encountered, but Mikael, her Mikael.

"What a crybaby!"

Hearing that she still had the strength to joke, Mikael also wiped away his tears and forced a smile.

Mobius struggled on the ground, but couldn't stand up. Mikael quickly got up to help her, but unexpectedly, she suddenly leaned forward, stood on tiptoe, and slammed Mikael against the cold elevator door.

Her right hand pressed the elevator button. The metal door slammed open, but there was another layer of wire mesh.

Mikael's body sank suddenly. In the midst of the bumps, his gaze couldn't help but fix on Mobius's hand tightly gripping the wire mesh.

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That hand was covered in blood, so much so that Mikael's body trembled again.

"Mobius... I'm sor..."

"Enough! How many times are you going to say sorry! If you really feel sorry for us, for yourself, then go after him... and kill the Seventh Herrscher!"

After a brief silence, Mikael spoke softly.

"I can't... I can't do it."

"...Hmph!"

Mobius gritted her teeth, and Mikael mumbled, "Ever since the First Honkai, I've been bringing disaster to those around me... I've lied to myself over and over again, deceiving myself that there will eventually be a tomorrow that symbolizes victory and hope, so I can trample on the corpses of those I've harmed and live comfortably until now...

"Vostok is gone, Nagazora City is gone... Mother Celia is dead, Phamas is dead, Anna is dead, Seele is dead, Kevin's fate is unknown... Which one of them isn't more worthy of living than me, has more reason to live than me? Why is it me who's still alive... why isn't it them who's still alive!"

"I can't do anything... I can't save anyone, I can't change anyone's fate... I clearly knew Seele would become a Herrscher, but I still couldn't save her... Yes, the fluctuations of the Sea of Quanta are unpredictable and coincidental, but... but I still can't deceive myself."

"I'm not a good brother. I left her in a bubble universe for a year and a half. I thought I was spending as much time with her as possible, I thought I cared about her, but I even forgot to bring her medicine...

"I'm not a good man either... I clearly made a promise with Elysia, but I...

"Seriously, what a Fire Moth Herrscher, what a Herrscher who fights for humanity, it's all lies... I'm just a selfish ordinary person. I can't do anything. Except for constantly bringing harm and death to those around me, I can't do anything!

"So, rather than constantly hurting others, I'd rather do nothing..."

After all, if he had never been a variable...

Mobius quietly waited for Mikael to finish speaking. Seeing his tears constantly falling down his cheeks, her eyes gradually became firm.

"Have you said enough?"

"..."

"Do you think I'll be like Aponia, pushing everything to so-called fate, to comfort you? Or, are you telling me all this, hoping I'll sympathize with you?"

"..."

"I won't sympathize with you. If you're so fragile, so afraid of getting hurt, then do nothing, just wait here for death!"

Mikael's sobbing suddenly stopped. He raised his head, stunned. This was the first time Mobius had truly gotten angry at him.

Their eyes met. Mikael's eyes gradually became confused and desperate, while Mobius's eyes softened in an instant.

"Mikael, you are fragile, I've always known that. But even if you don't believe my judgment of people, you should believe Elysia's judgment, believe everyone's judgment... At the very least, you should believe Aponia, right? Aponia and Elysia, those two annoying women, their judgment of people is definitely not wrong...

"So, Mikael, do you really understand what fragility means? Mikael, you are a kind person. You feel guilty for everyone you unintentionally hurt. You care deeply about everyone and everything around you, so you are so fragile, so unable to bear loss... so, prone to regret... It's not that you're too fragile, it's that your kindness has brought you too much pressure—

"You're always thinking about not being able to lose, not wanting to lose, you always hope that everything will be perfect. Heh, you previously mocked Kosma for his insistence on having it both ways, but aren't you the same? But how can everything in the world be perfect? So, you're in so much pain... And those who you don't think are fragile, even cruel, like me, I don't care about those things."

Mikael felt his heart being tightly gripped. Every word Mobius spoke struck heavily at his heart... She might not fully understand him, but she actually...

But precisely because of this, precisely because each of them... loved him so much, he felt even more ashamed, even more broken:

"But... but what's the use of kindness in this era! If I could be as cruel as you, as indifferent to those sacrifices as you, then maybe all the past tragedies wouldn't have happened!"

"There's no such thing! If you were that cruel, would you still be Mikael? Besides, the possibility of 'wouldn't have happened' that you're talking about is just your imagination! Mikael, those are all decisions you've made in the past, those are the footprints you've left in the world. Do you think your past is meaningless?"

"Shouldn't you be thinking about what you can do now, what you should do, to make up for your past mistakes, to atone for your past sins—if there really are mistakes and sins."

"Mobius..."

"I'm here."

"Don't... don't treat me like this! After all, aren't you one of the victims? Why are you treating me so gently, why... why! After all, you're not me, how could you really understand everything about me, how could you really feel my sadness and despair... The so-called understanding between people is just an absurd lie. The so-called idea that present actions can make up for past mistakes is just wishful thinking!"

Mikael's body struggled, constantly slamming his back against the wire mesh behind him, but in the end, his body still slumped.

They don't understand... they don't understand... Whether it's Mobius or Elysia, everything they've witnessed is looking at future possibilities and past mistakes from the perspective of the world...

So, how could they possibly understand Mikael's despair?

The world is hopelessly heading for destruction.

Everyone will die.

Those who are lucky enough to survive are better off dead.

And this ending, already full of oppression and despair.

This ending that Mikael tried to challenge again and again, yet in his struggles, it headed towards an even darker abyss...

The established destiny cannot be changed, and the power of the Herrschers exceeds the original history again and again.

If you don't understand this... if you don't see the ending of this world... what right do you have to deny or affirm him! What right do you have to say you truly understand him...

"The dead cannot be brought back to life, how can past mistakes and sins be atoned for! Mobius, aren't your words just wishful thinking? Aren't your words just pointing fingers at me from a third-party perspective... You're not me, what right do you have..."

"Slap!"

A crisp sound echoed in the closed passage. Mikael's half of his face was swollen, looking at Mobius in disbelief.

"So what if I'm not you? So what if I can't fully understand you! Are you living for me? Are you living for Elysia? Aren't you living for yourself? Why are you saying such childish things? You always think I'm cold-blooded, you always think I'm cruel, but don't you think I'm sad about Seele's death? Don't you think I regret it? Even if you still don't think 'Mobius would be sad and regretful', wouldn't Elysia?

"Okay, even if you can't listen to any of the above!"

Mobius grabbed Mikael's collar. The petite and seriously injured her, in her outburst, actually lifted Mikael slightly.

"Look around you, look at these corpses, these bloodstains, smell the gunpowder and blood in the air! Since you could get here, you must have seen the tragedy outside! Mikael, are you going to give up just like that! Give up everything you once protected!"

Her hand gradually loosened, but even she couldn't tell whether it was the result of her anger gradually dissipating, or whether her body could no longer muster any strength.

She cupped Mikael's face with her cold and trembling hands, shaking it gently:

"Mikael, wake up! If you do nothing now, then our story will end here. Everything will end, not only the past you care about, but also the future you're looking forward to... If that really happens, I won't forgive you, Elysia won't forgive you, Hua won't forgive you, Sakura won't forgive you, that little cat won't forgive you, Kalpas won't forgive you, Aponia, Vill-V, Mei, and her little follower won't forgive you."

Her speech became faster and faster, her emotions became more and more agitated, and her language began to become disorganized. The hands holding Mikael's face began to squeeze hard, began to tremble continuously, until her fingers dug into Mikael's flesh. She muttered incoherently:

"And regret... Since you always feel that the choices you made in the past led to regrettable results, do you think your current decision to do nothing is correct? Mikael, what you're thinking now is definitely not the right decision! You will definitely regret it in the future... you will regret it even more, you will hate yourself even more... Mikael, go, Mikael! Ask yourself—why are you fighting? Why did you come here, and why are you staying here?"

Only when he heard the last sentence did Mikael suddenly raise his head. His eyes were wide open, but his pupils were as small as possible.

Was it a coincidence?

Or did she guess something?

Before he could figure it out, Mobius staggered back half a step, no longer restraining Mikael.

And Mikael didn't run away.

"Go, Mikael, find the answers to those questions, end the Seventh Honkai, and then, remember to come back. I, and Elysia, and the large group of people you brought, are all waiting for you."

Mikael opened his jaw, only emitting intermittent, meaningless trembling sounds.

But Mobius thought it was enough. Mobius knew it was enough.

Because she understood Mikael. She might not understand Mikael's past, she might not understand Mikael's future, but she understood Mikael's present.

"We made a promise. Come back."

Mikael bit his lip tightly, making a sound similar to "um."

That didn't mean yes, because that sound came from his lips being suddenly struck.

Mobius's face slammed into his. Her bloody teeth bit his lower lip, until it bled, and then she let go.

She lowered her head and leaned against Mikael's chest, whispering:

"You must come back."

"Um—"

This time, it was indeed Mikael's affirmative answer, but it stopped abruptly, because Mobius pressed the elevator start button at that moment. The wire mesh instantly retracted, and Mikael couldn't dodge.

He stumbled directly into the elevator. When he tried to go forward again, he could only see Mobius gradually collapsing to the ground through the closing door gap.

Riding in the constantly descending elevator, he gently touched the wound on his lower lip with his index and ring fingers of his right hand, then moved them away slightly.

His fingertips were covered in blood, but he couldn't tell which part was his own and which part was Mobius's.

"Big Brother Mikael, everyone is waiting for you!"

He seemed to hear Pardo's words from last night in his ears.

Then there was Hua's soliloquy when she went to the battlefield:

"I have what I can do... I have what I can do..."

As the altitude continued to decrease, the temperature in the elevator gradually became hotter, so Mikael naturally thought of Himeko, and her previous words:

"No, what's important is not whether you can do it or not, but—you have the possibility to do it all."

"Mikael, I've always felt guilty that I have nothing to teach you. I can only tell you this—don't let yourself regret it!"

The wound on his lip still hurt with every breath. It even still had Mobius's taste, Mobius's blood. She said—

"Ask yourself—why are you fighting? Why did you come here, and why are you staying here?"

She said—"We made a promise. Come back."

She said—"You must come back."

Mikael closed his eyes. Countless familiar faces flashed through his mind. If it were them—what would Mother Celia want him to do now? What would Phamas want him to do now? What about Aldemir? Immer? Kosma? Pardo? Sakura? Mei and Kevin? Hua?

Seele? If she were still alive, would she want him to do nothing?

And... her?

The picture in his mind finally stopped at the moment he first met Elysia.

Not in the orphanage in Vostok.

But across the computer screen, on the sofa in the Golden Courtyard, she sat comfortably and casually on the sofa, crossing her legs, looking at him with a smile.

He still felt confused, he still felt regret, he still hated his past self... He still didn't believe that he could defeat the Seventh Herrscher with just [Vishnu], but he finally found something certain among a bunch of uncertainties—

If he continued to sit and wait for death, Elysia wouldn't even have the chance to leave behind that memory for later generations.

She would leave no trace in this world.

No one would remember her.

Including... Mikael himself, who was separated from this world by a distance even farther than time itself.

"How... how can I tolerate this happening!"

That's why he had to fight, he had to fight with all his might... No matter what, at least give her, give them an ending that wasn't worse than the original history!

At least he thought so now!

At least he could be sure that if he didn't fight, he would definitely regret it!

Although, he had no possibility of winning, at least before he died, he would have done what he should have done, what he could do!

"Whirr—"

The elevator door opened.

A bloody smell rushed towards him.

But it wasn't the smell of human blood.

Mikael looked at the three corpses in front of him, his eyes gradually changing from shock to determination.

It was inappropriate to call them corpses. They were clearly three dissected pieces of meat displayed in the laboratory. One of them was not even a piece of meat, but a bizarre tissue formed by the re-cultivation of cells left by a small amount of corpse tissue.

"Mobius... good calculation."

...

"The Herrscher, the Honkai Beast horde, and a large number of zombies have entered D7 channel, which means they are almost only one wall away from the combat command room."

Prometheus was perhaps the only calm person present.

Mei's fingers silently touched a red button on the table, but her gaze turned to the display screen beside her:

"Is it ready yet? Vill-V!"

"Okay! Isn't this to avoid missing any Honkai Beasts as much as possible? 2nd Divine Key, first rated power, release!"

As her voice fell, on another screen, the image of the D7 channel suddenly changed—reinforced armor came down on all four sides, a locomotive rushed out of the crack at the end of the channel, and then the image from the camera disappeared in a golden light.

Was it successful?

Everyone stared at the suddenly extinguished screen, although they also knew that they couldn't see any information from that screen.

Suddenly, four neat lights flashed around the largest screen in front, and then the entire wall suddenly collapsed, revealing the figure of the Herrscher floating in the air.

His body was surrounded by a light golden Imaginary Number barrier. Behind him were the corpses of Honkai Beasts and zombies.

Vill-V was successful. She successfully eliminated the Honkai Beast horde that entered the D7 channel.

But she also failed. The Herrscher with spatial power naturally wouldn't fear the 2nd Divine Key.

But Mei didn't give up—"Now!"

"Bang!"

Before she spoke, Hua, who was higher up, had already pulled the trigger. Then, the railing holding the huge electromagnetic gun instantly shattered, and Hua herself was carried by the huge recoil and slammed into the armored wall behind her.

But the bullet had already been fired, and at the moment it was about to touch the Imaginary Number barrier, the Imaginary Number barrier in front of it was slightly torn open—the 2nd Divine Key neutralized the Imaginary Number barrier with its residual power!

The Herrscher's pupils shrank. He could still use the electromagnetic field to deflect the bullet, he could still use the wind to blow the bullet away, he could still use the ice wall to block the bullet... but his brain suddenly felt a needle prick, so he couldn't make any reaction—Aponia!

"Pop!"

His brain exploded into a bloody mess, but under the power of the Herrscher of Reason, it was repaired in less than a second.

He sneered twice and spoke according to the memory in the First Herrscher Core.

"Mei, are you out of tricks too?"

He didn't even look at the other people in the combat command room, and floated directly towards Mei.

Hua quickly turned the bolt of the gun and fired another bullet, but in a hurry, this bullet only pierced the armor plate above under the effect of the huge recoil.

Cold sweat flowed down Mei's cheeks. Looking at the approaching Herrscher, she pressed the button slightly—"Human strength has its limits." She suddenly remembered this sentence.

All her active methods had been exhausted. The only variable had not yet appeared, and it seemed...

There was only one last method left. If the situation hadn't come to this, she wouldn't want to press that button: the self-destruct button.

As long as it was pressed, all the nuclear and Honkai energy facilities of the entire base would instantly self-destruct, producing an equivalent of 500 million tons of TNT, ten times that of the largest nuclear weapon ever made by humans!

With this button pressed, perhaps the entire Eurasian plate would crack, but only in this way could they perish together with the Herrscher.

"I'm sorry, Kevin..."

But at this moment, she glimpsed the smile on the Herrscher's lips.

An incredible thought flashed—the Herrscher was doing it on purpose, just to force her to press this self-destruct button, to self-destruct.

And with his mastery of spatial power, would he really be injured?

Why was he going to such lengths?

Was it because he liked this kind of dramatic program?

Mei felt humiliated, but—

"No, the Herrscher wouldn't be so boring and humane. Considering that he didn't kill Kevin, Ely, or Mobius, is it Mikael's body's subconsciousness that prevents him from killing us?"

Thinking of this, Mei's finger force suddenly stopped.

But unexpectedly, the Herrscher laughed. The face that was exactly the same as Mikael's, no, the face that belonged to Mikael, laughed.

"Oh, I was hoping to see a self-destruction drama—Mei, you are smarter than I thought, but you didn't expect it, did you? I'm actually just satisfying my own bad taste. I've occupied this body for so long, I've already digested this body's subconsciousness. He can't resist me!"

With that, he raised his hand.

"What!"

It was too late for Mei to press the self-destruct button. She could only watch the scorching stream of flames occupy her entire vision.

"Boom!"