Chapter 46

The violent storm that lasted for most of the night gradually calmed down when the eastern sky turned blue.

The thunder stopped, and the wind gradually blew away the heavy rain clouds.

After the collapse was successfully suppressed by humans the abnormal weather began to fade under the first ray of morning light

Two rescue helicopters appeared after the battle with the Honkai Beast and started to carry dead bodies.

The accumulated water on the ground was blown away by the airflow creating the loud rotor of the helicopter. Said rotor awakened the residents who opened their windows one after another. They cursed at the helicopter for waking them up and closed their windows to once again fall asleep.

Two helicopters flew to the south and west of the city as they hovered around the area where the Honkai broke and the massive hole created by the spiral sword. At the said location, a hanging ladder descended as some team members started to block the area while some team members a search and rescue operation that was ultimately futile

A transport ship belonging to Fire Moth appeared in the sunny sky a few minutes later. The transport ship carried the fifth squad led by Himeko who suddenly wrinkled her brows looking at the situation at hand.

The scale of the outbreak was not big as it was less than 500 Honkai Waves and only one Honkai Beast could be found in the radar. In the best-case scenario, the National Defense Force should be able to end the disaster in its infancy before it started to spread further.

The technology held by the National Defense Force is great as it could easily kill a low-level Honkai Beast, the only downside is that humanity hasn't fully mastered the technology to defend themselves from Honkai, meaning it is difficult for ordinary people to possess these weapons to protect themselves.

—But it was obvious that the weapons used to kill the Honkai Beast could also be used by humans to destroy the civilization created by humans themselves.

Himeko mentally braced herself for the site where the Honkai Beast was located to be carpet-bombed by the local army before arriving at the scene of the disaster. It sounded very inhumane but when facing a mindless monster it is useless to persuade the enemy with reason and sympathy.

Miraculously the Honkai had already been purged before the fifth team arrived at the scene. There were no signs of the streets and buildings being boomed and not even many traces of damage left.

If Himeko hadn't seen the glass shards scattered on the side of the street and the heavy atmosphere emanating from the search and rescue team, she would have suspected that the monitoring satellite of Fire Moth had misjudged the situation.

Members of the rescue team wore protective gear and repeatedly scanned the nearby environment to see if there were any signals of life nearby, but they found nothing.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the moment the Honkai broke out all the people living in the vicinity were reduced to ash without any trace being left behind.

The members of the rescue team felt frustrated after confirming there were no survivors in the affected area.

After finishing scanning the captain if the search and rescue team walked up to Himeko. Truth be told he didn't know what Honkai was and didn't even know who this woman with fiery hair is but even so he reported the conclusion to HImeko as even before going to the site of the disaster he received orders from his superiors to obey the instruction of the transport ship.

"Nearly 200 buildings were affected by the disaster and the specific number of victims has not been fully counted. So far the number of dead and missing people is estimated to be around 700 for now. In addition to this, in another disaster-stricken site, the entire highway was destroyed but no one was miraculously killed. Only some suffered from minor injuries"

Himeko nodded expressionlessly after listening to the report.

The number of casualties caused by this Honkai outbreak is extremely small compared to the casualties of other Honkai-related accidents that had tens of thousands dead or injured.

'...Moreover, there is that strange battle mark.'

Himeko saw the destroyed road even before the transport ship landed. Her vision was completely engraved in large potholes and tracks that were hundreds of meters long.

Even though modern weapons could produce a similar or even superior effect it would have resulted in a higher level of casualty than the thing that created the current environment.

According to testimonies the search and rescue team got a huge white monster that suddenly appeared in mid-air and attacked "something" in mid-air. After that, the monster started to chase after the thing it knocked down, however, the attack of the monster was suddenly deflected from its original trajectory by a flash of black and white.

—All the witnesses said that they didn't see what happened next as the people standing by windows were blown away by a terrible gust of wind.

When they stood up again all nearby light sources were gone as the power supply system was destroyed.

Himeko extracted some key information given by these weird testimonials and quickly simulated a situation of what happened last night in her mind.

Although there were no buildings damaged in the disaster-stricken area where the Honkai broke out, the search and rescue team found two holes in the ground with a dense area spread around them.

If Himeko's guess is correct, these two holes should be the traces left behind by the "something"...or "someone" who hunted down the Honkai Beast.

The Honkai Beast would most likely be a humanoid mutant of the "Templar Level" judging by the dire directions and angles of the two holes submerged on the ground.

According to the testimonials provided this Templar Level Honkai Beast could teleport almost instantaneously and should be marked as a "Blazing Lightning" in the Fire Moth database

The thing that launched an attack on the foot of the Honkai Beast probably wanted to nail it to the ground to kill but was not very informed about the various mutations of the "Templar Level". So the thing was caught off guard by the Honkai Beast and was knocked down.

Even though the combatant didn't have a deep understanding of Honkai Beasts, they were fortunate to be a powerful fighter with extremely high qualities in all physical aspects and a considerable amount of combat experience.

Not only has the crusade against the "Blazing Lightning" been completed but even the process of subjugating the Honkai Beast was considered to keep the casualty and destruction kept at a minimum.

Even a fully armored Himeko couldn't do better than the unknown warrior when facing a Honkai Beast that can teleport.

'Is it the 'chosen one' who lives in this city?' Himeko's eyes flickered as her thoughts turned rapid

The degree of prosperity this city faced is nothing to be scoffed at. Even compared to the Mu mainland this city could be ranked among the top ten in the world. Only falling behind in global economics and technological advancement.

With a total population exceeding 10 million the probability of a powerful "chosen one" appearing among ordinary people and not being discovered by Fire Moth is low to the point of impossible. But no matter how small the probability is it was not impossible.

Himeko called the technicians of the fifth team and asked in a somewhat anxious tone

"Retrieve the monitoring records of last night right away and contact the local government, I need the surveillance images of these two disaster-stricken locations quickly."

Even though she was dissatisfied with the upper-level leaders of Fire Moth, Himiko never did anything detrimental to the organization.

So after meeting the boy named "Emiya", she marked the boy's file with the special mark of Fire Moth. Even if she didn't recruit him into Fire Moth on the spot.

But this time the current situation is different from the boy named Emiya. Even though he was also a "chosen one" the "chosen one" this time is a "sharp sword" that could be immediately recruited by Himeko

Honkai Beasts are creations of Honkai with their strength determined by the Honkai energy surrounding the environment.

Usually, the energy level of Honkai Waves is a fixed number, after appearing in this world the Honkai energy will spread around and erode the creatures within a certain range.

If a creature is killed by the Honkai energy it will dissipate into the environment but if the creature is not killed immediately the Honkai energy will remain in the body and fully strengthen the host's body performance. Sometimes it would endow the host with a special ability.

—Due to the fact that not a single person could become a zombie in this outbreak, the Honkai Beast created by the outbreak could absorb all the Honkai energy in the environment.

If the Honkai energy of 421 were to be converted into an explosive equivalent, it can even rival a W54.

(T/N: 10-1000 tons of TNT)

The initial damage area of this Honkai outbreak is 600 meters in diameter, which is indeed in line with Himeko's estimated figure.

In addition... "Blazing Lightning" is known for how difficult to deal with it is.

In Himeko's opinion, if a warrior who can easily defeat a Honkai beast of this level is let go, it would be a huge loss to Fire Moth and the entire human race.

After giving clear instructions to her team members, Himeko suddenly cast her sights on the tallest building in the area and the most luxurious hotel in the entire city.

She hesitated for a moment but still pulled the technician who was about to leave: "Wait, help me find out if anyone has recently moved into this city's 'base area', and if so, send the resident's personal information to me."

Half an hour ago in the luxury room that Shirou and Elysia stayed in all the windows were covered with thick velvet curtains so that the light was not transparent. The ceiling lights in the suite are all on.

The pure white light not only provided a light source for the entire room but also illuminated the two small figures who were hurriedly packing their bags.

"Okay, so there should be nothing left behind."

Shirou zipped up the backpack that was halfway above his head on his shoulders and turned his back

Looking at the boy effortlessly carrying a huge backpack, the corners of Elysia's mouth twitched slightly.

"If you dare to laugh out loud, you can carry this thing on your back for the rest of the journey." Shirou rolled his eyes and interrupted Elysia before she could speak.

He sighed helplessly "I was planning to let you suffer some pain in the outside world, the ups and downs of society but how did it end in me doing all the labor?"

"It's..." Elysia forced back the laughter that she could hardly hold back and covered her small mouth when she heard those words and forced back the laughter that she could hardly hold back.

Elysia moved her hands that covered her mouth said while trembling, holding back the urge to laugh

"But, but... this is clearly Emiya's own suggestion. Pfft... It was Emiya who said it himself 'Use the fastest method to get out of this city before Fire Moth comes to your door'. Also asking me 'Do you want to experience this world in the most unique way?' You aroused my interest so of course I can only agree without hesitation"

Shirou was momentarily at a loss for words as he rolled his eyes. Powerless he sighed softly

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault anyway, okay."

"Don't say that." Elysia coquettishly held Shirou's hands, shaking them gently.

"You clearly know that's not what I meant." She pouted looking a little dissatisfied but couldn't help but let out a chuckle

"...Heh."

Shirou couldn't help laughing too "Okay, whatever you want, are you ready?"

He glanced at the still faintly dim sky and the street below.

Due to the heavy rain that fell last night, there was no one in the rain-soaked street. It may also be because it was 3 am so most of the residents were still sleeping.

The two helicopters left the airspace of the city after dropping two rescue troops.

Shirou smiled knowingly as he looked at the quiet and small city. He turned around with a playful look in his amber eyes, and soon he beckoned

"Come here, Ellie, stand beside me, come"

"?" Elysia tilted her head in confusion and walked towards Shirou's side without doubting him. She looked outside the window and said "What's the matter? What's there outside—wow"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

When Elysia was completely defenseless Shirou grabbed her waist without hesitation.

In the next millisecond, the two immature figures jumped out from the window as if flying

"Waaaaaaaaaa way—so high! so high! Wuhu! I'm flying!"

Elysia realized this is what Shirou called "experience this world in the most unique way" after jumping at high speed on the roof.

As she realized there was no danger, her screams echoing in the sky turned into excitement and laughter.

"Okay, stop talking!"

"What?! What are you talking about—?! Can you say it louder—?!"

"I told you to stop talking! It will wake up the others—!"

After facing the reality of this world, to find a road ahead the flawless girl and Guardian Angel took an extremely firm first step in the direction of the unknown path.

They can't see their own future, and they can't see where this crazy world is going.

However, even a step without a goal will inevitably come to the end of the journey.

In a sense, this is probably the so-called "destiny".

In front of an electronic screen, Himeko was checking the monitor in the luxury room. She looked at the boy and girl who suddenly jumped out the window while the corner of her eyes twitched.

The VIP room is a combat base occupied by Fire Moth all year round so of course it was closely monitored by Fire Moth

Who was the unknown warrior who solved the Honkai incident? Himeko of course got the answer to this question after seeing the monitoring records of last night.

It's just that it seems a bit late to get an answer.

Behind her, a member of the fifth team said softly "Captain, do we report the information of these two children to Fire Moth?"

"...Forget it." Himeko sighed faintly

"I'm jealous of that kid's strength and fighting skills. To be honest, I really want to recruit them both. However, since he didn't contact me after that battle but choose to escape our sight we can't force him to join Fire Moth."

"Remember, our enemy is Honkai. It's not humans who are fighting against Honkai like us. I don't want to be like those monsters who never fought on the battlefield in person and become an insect that only attacks their compatriots"

What a difficult little devil

Himeko turned off the screen that was playing the surveillance recording and sighed melancholy.