The Wanderer and Śeṣa

Squad 5 quickly retreated two kilometers. Many support team soldiers and military police hadn't even reached safety when the railguns on the Fire Moth One blazed to life. Shells rained down, but upon hitting the ground, they only kicked up dust, not immediately exploding.

It was as if the railguns had fired iron lumps instead of explosive shells.

But Mikael knew better. They were specialized ground-penetrating shells, designed to burrow several meters below the surface before detonating. This depth wouldn't harm Śeṣa directly, but much like depth charges weren't meant to directly hit submarines, the purpose of these shells was simply to force Śeṣa out of the ground.

Suddenly, Mikael felt the ground tremble. Then, the area in front of them, a nearly ten-kilometer radius encompassing Shanghai's central district, was peeled back like a sheet of paper.

Countless ruined buildings were flung into the air, then rained down in a chaotic shower of debris.

Mikael quickly erected a large barrier. The next second, the debris crashed down on Squad 5's position.

"[Expletive]!"

He heard Himeko curse. Fortunately, he'd reacted in time, protecting Squad 5 and the support team soldiers from the falling debris, preventing casualties.

Mobius frantically typed on her phone, presumably cursing someone out.

"Look out!" Mikael shouted.

The tremors continued. As soon as Mikael placed his palms on the ground, his expression changed drastically.

"It's coming!"

Ignoring the near-friendly fire incident, the Fire Moth One's attack had achieved its objective. The surrounding ruined buildings swayed precariously. A scraping sound, like metal against concrete, echoed from the distant streets, and smoke from the explosions billowed towards Squad 5 through the narrow streets.

Himeko immediately activated her high-beam flashlight, but a massive dark shape had already charged towards them, cloaked by the smoke and darkness.

"Hiss!"

A black forked tongue, as thick as a human torso, emerged from the smoke first, followed by a pair of emerald eyes.

Mobius looked up, meeting the creature's gaze. A flash of insight crossed her mind, but before she could grasp it, a chill ran from her feet to her head, her skin prickling with static.

"Ha!" Flames ignited on Surtr, but two massive arms had already shot out from the ground.

One mechanical hand grabbed the enormous snake's head, while the other slammed into its side, halting Śeṣa's charge.

Through the dust, Mikael heard a continuous rumbling. More dust billowed up, completely obscuring the night sky. He could only vaguely see the glowing muzzles of the Fire Moth One's railguns—Śeṣa's tail must have swept across the area, easily leveling several blocks. Of course, those blocks were probably already ruins from the previous bombardment.

"Tch!" He grunted, his body suddenly shooting upwards, reaching a height of eighty meters. Simultaneously, more and more blue lines sketched the outline of a colossal figure.

It was a gigantic mecha, nearly a hundred meters tall. Unlike the clunky mechs used by the military and police, this one had slender limbs and torso. Although its body was semi-transparent and intangible, it still exuded a metallic sheen.

The turbine engine in its chest spun, faster and faster, its roar completely drowning out the Fire Moth One above.

It gripped the massive snake's head with both hands, lifting half of its body into the air. It looked as if the mecha and Śeṣa weren't too large, but rather the city and the humans were too small—like a man and a snake locked in mortal combat, the surrounding urban ruins mere props on a miniature set.

"This… what is this…?" The pale blue light illuminated the night. Himeko stared at the mecha shielding her and Squad 5, a mixture of emotions swirling within her.

A similar scene had unfolded in Irkutsk, but this time, she couldn't hide it.

Mikael surveyed his creation with satisfaction. It would take another half minute for the turbine engine's energy to reach the mecha's limbs, allowing it to operate at full capacity.

"Finally, you've emerged—Striker Eureka." He was quite pleased with the mecha, based on a design from his memories and realized with current technology—its appearance, weaponry, control system, all identical to the one he remembered. And thanks to his enhanced mental capacity, he could pilot it alone.

Its only drawback was the original operating system. While it facilitated control, any damage the mecha sustained was transmitted to Mikael as nerve pain.

Coincidentally, Striker Eureka's opponent was also a silicon-based lifeform.

The upper body was ready. Mikael clenched his left fist, and Striker Eureka mirrored the movement. The thrusters on its wrist ignited with blue-white flames, slamming into Śeṣa's body, sending black scales flying.

Śeṣa, struck by the blow, thrashed violently, its thick tail whipping around, further devastating the already ruined city.

Striker Eureka couldn't control Śeṣa with a single hand. Mikael had to abandon his attack, shifting from a fist to a claw, trying to grip Śeṣa's body.

He quickly realized that the snake's immense girth made it impossible to hold securely. He adapted, using Striker Eureka's arm and underarm to pin Śeṣa, then dragged it towards the river.

Śeṣa continued to struggle, black mud oozing from the gaps between its scales. Mikael felt the snake become incredibly slippery.

But the real danger came next. The black mud seeped into the joints of Striker Eureka, electric arcs snaking across its body. While it didn't paralyze the mecha, Mikael felt its movements become sluggish and stiff.

"[Expletive]" Mikael cursed inwardly, feeling the world's malice—the Herrscher of the Void, the Herrscher of Thunder… why was he, the 1st Herrscher, always countered so perfectly?!

Śeṣa, feeling the pressure lessen, quickly coiled its lower body around Striker Eureka, constricting tightly.

Creak, crackle. The metal groaned under the pressure, slightly deforming. The pain translated directly to Mikael, causing him to cry out.

Mikael released Striker Eureka's right hand, clenching it into a fist and hammering down on Śeṣa's head. The snake shrieked but seized the opportunity to bite Striker Eureka's right arm.

Black mud flooded into the mecha's arm through Śeṣa's fangs. Red warning lights flashed in the virtual cockpit. Within seconds, the section of the screen representing the right arm turned red, then black. Mikael felt his right arm go cold and numb, as if it no longer existed.

"I hereby unilaterally declare the Pacific Rim project a failure…"

Mikael mentally declared Striker Eureka's demise.

But the battle wasn't over. Simply replicating Striker Eureka wouldn't do justice to his months of effort.

Striker Eureka's right arm detached at the shoulder, a new mechanical arm extending. The turbine engine roared at its limit. Dozens of mechanical arms sprouted from Striker Eureka's back, forming a semicircular fan, helping it break free from Śeṣa's coils.

"Sorry, but modifications are king!"

Striker Eureka lunged forward, the ground collapsing where it fell. It pinned Śeṣa beneath its weight, the mechanical arms raining blows on the snake's body.

Scales flew everywhere. Black mud oozed out, covering half of Striker Eureka's body, slowing its movements.

Almost simultaneously, Śeṣa's cries ceased, and Striker Eureka's fists froze mid-air.

The blue glow faded, leaving only the silver-haired youth standing atop the snake's head.

Mikael, panting, walked towards the emerald snake eyes, now the size of a single-story building. The pupils dilated, reflecting the ebbing of life.

Surtr materialized in Mikael's hand, its blade igniting with flames. He held the greatsword at his waist, then plunged it into Śeṣa's mud-covered eye.

The flames reacted with the electricity-infused mud, blasting a massive hole in Śeṣa's head. The force sent Mikael flying, landing on the scenic beach by the river.

"Not bad… at least not as messy as Ruruye." Mikael mentally graded his performance, looking across the river towards the eastern city, using the ambient Honkai energy to recover.

Forcing the 2nd Herrscher core truly wasn't efficient. He remembered at Ruruye, each short-range spatial jump nearly depleted all his Honkai energy. The same amount of energy had been enough to construct and pilot the modified Striker Eureka through an entire battle, with some to spare.

Of course, in certain situations, the 2nd Herrscher core was irreplaceable, but it couldn't compensate for his lack of direct offensive power.

"If only I could touch the 3rd Herrscher core… just a touch. No, wait, I can't just use a fake 3rd Herrscher core against the real one."

As he pondered, a streak of pink appeared in the dim sky.

It was a crystal arrow. It soared high, then exploded, transforming into a massive dome, enveloping half of the eastern city.

"Elysia!"