"…"
Mobius narrowed her serpentine, slit-like pupils. "Elysia, have you lost your mind?"
She looked at Elysia with utter disdain. Even jokes had their limits. This little girl in front of her was clearly just an ordinary…
"No, no, big sister isn't wrong. Sister Mobius, it's true. Vya really is… a Honka… Honkai beast."
Vya stumbled over her words toward the end… her light purple eyes blinking restlessly.
She looked to Elysia for help… because those were the words Elysia had taught her, but clearly, she had forgotten them.
"Uh…"
Even Mobius was left speechless. What kind of sister was Elysia being? She might as well take over herself.
Right now, she really wanted to kick Elysia out.
"Enough, stop playing around. Get to the point."
But seeing the smile still lingering on Elysia's face, Mobius felt something was off. The pink-haired girl before her seemed… serious?
"It's true~"
Honestly, Mobius couldn't fathom how she could say such a thing in such a light, airy tone.
"Prove it."
Mobius became slightly more serious, crossing her arms.
"Right… how should we prove it?"
"Vya, do you have any special abilities? Show Sister Mobius?"
"Ah, Vya doesn't know…"
Vya shook her little head.
It seemed Elysia hadn't thought this through.
"Well… what is Vya good at?"
Elysia pressed on.
"Vya… can run really fast! But lately, I'm always so hungry, can't run fast…"
As she spoke, Vya's eyes unconsciously drifted to a certain spot.
Her throat gave a slight gulp, her eyes gleaming with longing.
It was then that Mobius noticed Vya was staring intently at the Honkai beast corpse on her operating table.
"Little Vya, what are you staring at that for? Have you seen something like this before?"
Mobius asked, her voice softening for some inexplicable reason.
"…Yummy…"
Vya accidentally let it slip. She hurriedly covered her mouth, no… it seemed more like she was wiping drool.
"…?"
"That part, it's very tasty. Can Vya eat it?"
Vya pointed at the forelimb of the Chariot-class Honkai beast on the table, but the craving rising from within compelled her to speak up.
"You want to eat a Honkai beast?"
"Mhm, can I? Sister Mobius?"
Vya looked up, her expression utterly sincere.
"…Go ahead."
But the genuine craving in the little girl's eyes wasn't feigned. Mobius completely calmed down, speaking slowly.
The way she looked at Vya began to change as well.
"Wow, thank you, Sister Mobius!"
Vya dashed to the operating table at a speed unattainable by ordinary people, then nimbly hopped onto it.
Her movements were so fast they left afterimages. It seemed she wasn't lying; she really could run incredibly fast.
Her small hands effortlessly tore the Honkai beast apart, as if ripping into a soft loaf of bread…
Then… she hugged the Honkai beast… and began to gnaw on it.
This scene… was unimaginable for a normal person—a little girl gnawing on something several times her own size…
Honkai beasts were silicon-based lifeforms, yet Vya chewed through it with shocking ease.
The Honkai beast was crushed effortlessly between her teeth, emitting a sickening, grating crunch.
All the while, she was careful not to dirty her clothes—these were bought for her by Sister Elysia, after all.
Watching this spectacle, Mobius finally believed Elysia's words. Though she had mentally prepared herself moments ago, seeing it now was something else…
A Herrscher? Impossible. According to Elysia, she had known about Vya for a long time. Could it be some memory-altering ability?
No, that shouldn't be it either. Judging by the circumstances surrounding the births of the first two Herrschers, a major disaster should have occurred…
Could it really be, as Elysia said, that Vya was a human-shaped Honkai beast?
"Heh…"
Mobius let out a cold chuckle, her green hair seeming to sway without any wind. The only thought in her mind now was to thoroughly study this child.
"Elysia."
"What is it~ Mobius?"
Elysia was also watching Vya gnaw on the Honkai beast, her eyes filled with tenderness.
"Nothing. Just thinking you finally did something right for once."
"Aiya♪~ Is Mobius praising me~ I'm so happy~"
"But there's one thing I must correct: a lovely maiden like me never makes mistakes~"
Elysia walked over to the operating table, smiling as she patted Vya's head.
"Sister, do you want some too?"
Vya smiled, offering a piece. Elysia waved her hand. "No need, Vya. You enjoy it slowly."
"Mhm…"
Followed by the somewhat muffled sounds of chewing.
"Aren't you afraid I might do something to her?"
Mobius walked over as well, watching Vya devour the Honkai beast with keen interest.
Though she couldn't yet determine if Vya was harmless, who was she? She was Mobius. How could she possibly lack the nerve for this?
Vya remained silent, simply focused on her "meal."
She didn't understand what the two were discussing, her entire attention consumed by the "delicacy" before her.
"Aiya, Mobius, as my best friend~ you were the first one I thought of, so I brought her straight to you~"
Elysia stepped closer, about to rest her hand on Mobius's shoulder, but Mobius sidestepped it.
"…And little Vya is so adorable. She even called you 'sister' earlier~ Mobius… could you really bring yourself to do something to your own little sister?"
"…"
Mobius fell silent. The scene of little Vya currently raw-feasting on a Honkai beast wasn't exactly what she'd call adorable. But for her, this little girl was indeed a bit better than Elysia—at least she wasn't as noisy and troublesome.
"Hm… So I said you did the right thing. Don't worry, I won't do anything to her."
For now, Mobius added silently in her mind.
Of course, Mobius certainly had other thoughts.
Her gaze swept over Vya, already conceiving several experiments…
Then Mobius also stepped closer and patted little Vya's head.
Mobius was a proud person. Once she gave her word, she wouldn't easily go back on it. Elysia knew this well.
"Aiya, thank you, Mobius~ Shall I give you a thankful hug~"
Elysia said, already moving to embrace her.
"No. Stay away from me."
Mobius refused immediately, and her two-step retreat was definitely sincere.
Honestly, if Vya were discovered by others, she'd likely end up here anyway. So, it was better to tell Mobius from the start, ensuring fewer people knew.
Next, Mobius conducted a physical examination on Vya.
Vya stared curiously at the intricate instruments.
The results were utterly surprising. Vya's body was almost entirely identical to an ordinary human's. Inside her, there was nothing resembling the Herrscher cores found in the first two Herrschers.
A human-shaped Honkai beast? How interesting.
Mobius thought to herself.
But… internalized Honkai energy, not manifesting outwardly… what exactly was going on?
It wasn't until Mobius gave Vya another piece of Honkai beast remnant to eat that faint Honkai energy fluctuations finally appeared around her, though they vanished quickly afterward.
They then proceeded to another section of the laboratory, a dedicated storage area for Honkai beast corpses.
…
I have completed the author to TL pipeline, 2 chapters per day. Advanced chapters available on patreon.
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