A sudden explosion rang out to the southeast. Kevin's reaction speed was incredible. He turned and blocked one of his team members who didn't know what had happened, frost spreading from beneath his feet to form ice walls around them.
Bang! Bang!
Bullets fell onto the ice walls like rain. Kevin kept an eye on his team's safety and contacted the other squads sealing the area.
"CT-1, CT-2, please respond. Report the situation."
"..."
There was only a busy signal in the comms, but there were sounds of gunfire in the distance. It could only be that communication had been cut.
Manipulating electromagnetic fields?
The squad members immediately launched a counterattack after a brief moment of shock. It was impossible to tell if the people firing around them were human or Herrschers, but the cold-bloodedness in their eyes was the same.
Kevin took a step back, preparing to charge through the hail of bullets. As long as he defeated the Tenth Herrscher, the rest would be—
Boom!
Then, an explosion occurred right beneath his feet.
...
"Operation complete. The First Squad has eliminated all Herrschers. Some special Herrschers are being transported."
No one cheered in the command room. Mei walked up to the comms, turned them on, and spoke to Kevin: "First Squad, return to base. Leave the rest to The Moths."
"...Yes."
Vill-V, without her top hat, stood beside her with a flat expression. After Mei nodded, they left the command room.
"The First Squad suffered over 43% damage. Given Kevin's abilities, the loss is too heavy." Vill-V seemed like a different person today, her expression indifferent and her tone rational.
No, she was a different person. Right now, she wasn't the usual conductor or magician, but "The Specialist."
"The Tenth Herrscher only possesses incomplete Herrscher abilities, but their individual combat power and control over their abilities far exceed that of an ordinary MANTIS." Mei pushed up her glasses, her tone equally cold. "We need a suitable combat plan."
"It has been confirmed that a 'quantum entanglement' communication method exists among the Tenth Herrschers. Before this mission, the communications of everyone at Fire-Moth HQ were strictly monitored; it's certain the leak wasn't through physical means." Vill-V sighed. "There are also unconfirmed Tenth Herrschers within HQ."
It was the same situation again—moles, betrayal, leaks... only the roles had changed from humans to Herrschers. It was also impossible to find the whereabouts of other Herrschers through those already captured. The first captured Tenth Herrscher woke up after being dissected and took their own life. Since then, every Herrscher about to be captured chose suicide. They were spies more professional than humans.
"Do we need to find the Tenth Herrschers in HQ first?"
"...No."
Mei handed a storage device to Vill-V. They had no further dialogue and didn't even give each other a second look. After performing this nearly unnoticeable action, they walked in different directions at the end of the corridor.
...
"Kos... Ma..."
Accompanied by intense ringing and pain, the scene before him was covered in a blurred grid. Anxious, sharp calls came intermittently to his ears, but his dazed mind couldn't identify where they came from.
Someone he couldn't see clearly was shaking him, her mouth moving urgently as she spoke words he couldn't understand. Then, a sharp sound exploded in his mind!
"Kosma!"
"Hah!"
Kosma took a massive breath and sat up, propping himself up as he gasped heavily.
He sat on a stretcher, looking in bewilderment at the paramedics surrounding him and a tearful Dystopia. Not far away, a burning building in the ruins made his aching brain remember something. They were on a mission, and then... they were attacked. Someone flickering with electricity had rushed out...
"Were we... attacked by the Tenth Herrscher?" Kosma wiped a fluid leaking from his ear. The bright red blood made him realize what had happened to him.
Dystopia wiped the tears from her eyes, her lips trembling as she said: "Kosma, you pushed me away and then knocked one of the Herrschers down."
They were ambushed on their way to the mission site. They never expected an ambush or an attack by Herrschers. Dystopia had almost died on the spot; fortunately, Kosma reacted in time and tenaciously killed one of the Herrschers before losing consciousness.
After an examination, Kosma's body was fine. Thanks to a MANTIS's tough physique, he only had a ruptured eardrum and some external injuries. He just needed to rest and recover at HQ.
Lying in the transport plane, Kosma stared blankly at the ceiling. Dystopia leaned tiredly beside him; she had held off three Herrschers on her own after Kosma fainted.
"...The Tenth Herrscher. I hate them."
Kosma rarely spoke so bluntly, but this time he used "hate" directly.
"Yeah," Dystopia smiled bitterly. "I hate them... It's like another betrayal..."
Having experienced two internal conflicts within Fire-Moth, they were tired of humans killing each other. Every time was a loss, and every time, nothing could be changed. For Dystopia, the first Great Purge took the original Fifth Squad, and the second KY project took Ato, Lin, Einstein, and many others they knew...
The topic was too heavy. Dystopia noticed Kosma's silence and sighed inwardly. Ato meant as much to Kosma as Kevin did. Kevin was Kosma's goal, but Ato was the one who guided Kosma in the right direction. Kosma was a man of few words; if he remained silent, he'd likely sink into grief. Dystopia had to change the subject.
"I heard the Tenth Herrscher can be born from anyone nearby. Maybe one of us is already a Tenth Herrscher," she joked.
"Ah... no, that won't happen." Kosma was stunned for a second, then understood she was joking and gave a forced smile. "If Dystopia became a Tenth Herrscher, I'd definitely recognize you in an instant."
"You too. I'd definitely be able to tell if Kosma's wooden head had changed." Dystopia teased.
The light laughter of the two dispelled the heavy atmosphere. This was enough. Despite constant loss, life and living had to continue. Cherishing those who hadn't been lost was enough.
"Speaking of which, Dr. Mei said a new Divine Key project is underway. I wonder who the new Divine Key will be given to."
"A new Divine Key?" Dystopia tilted her head. "Kosma, aren't you going to try for it?"
"Divine Keys need to be compatible. Even if used by force, if it's not compatible, it's no different from an ordinary weapon..."