there was an error in replacing the name so just take it as compensation this chapter was released earlier
_________________________
"What will the Sixth Herrscher's power be…" The Councilman's vision was filled with the crimson from his own eye sockets. The deep-seated weakness in his body was difficult to suppress. Since his left leg was severed, he hadn't stopped the bleeding, and the significant blood loss made it difficult for him to even stand.
Every Herrscher possesses unique Authority, which is no different from the power of a god to humans. This is the most crucial piece of intelligence during every Herrscher subjugation. Once the Herrscher's Authority is known, countermeasures can be devised, greatly increasing the success rate of the subjugation. This is also why Moth's Flame always names the Herrscher first.
He was definitely not going to survive. Close proximity to a high-Honkai-Energy entity accelerated the speed of his Honkai Energy erosion. Coupled with his current weakened state, he would be eroded to death by Honkai Energy before long.
But the Councilman was not concerned with death. He had never valued his own life. The survival of an individual human was outside the scope of consideration; what he considered was how to use this life to create the maximum value.
Just as they utilized the lives of those soldiers to create value.
Although his communicator was broken, there was a communication system on the transport plane. If he could find a way around the motionless Seele, he could send intelligence to the nearest Fifth Branch.
The problem, however, lay in… the black mist.
The Councilman squinted his eyes; only through the slits of his narrowed eyelids could he clearly see. He carefully observed the black, misty substance that was gradually filling the entire cabin and moving toward him. Even from a distance, it made him feel extremely uncomfortable. His instincts warned him not to touch any part of the black mist.
Is the Sixth Herrscher's power to spread plague?
No, if the plague virus produced by a Herrscher's Authority, it wouldn't be visible. Its lethality, contagiousness, and invisibility would absolutely be the greatest of all time, not a misty substance that looks like this.
"Cough, cough…" He spat the clotted blood from his mouth toward the black mist. The next second, something happened that caused his pupils to shrink to a point.
The moment the blood touched the black mist, the red and purple blood turned pure deep black and vanished before it even hit the ground.
It was not evaporation or sublimation due to high heat, but it disappeared without making a single sound, "decomposed" as if a drawing on paper had been erased by a rubber.
The Councilman retreated a little with effort, giving himself some space to think.
He keenly noticed that the black mist was not diffusing like ordinary gas molecules; they were spreading out in a regular, uniform ring centered on Seele, and they passed directly through the seats.
It wasn't mist.
In conventional understanding, even a Herrscher's Authority could be studied and scientifically explained. However, the black mist emanating from Seele clearly did not conform to conventional molecular diffusion laws, meaning the black mist was only the manifestation, and the true nature was the Authority of the Sixth Herrscher.
One detail made the Councilman extremely uneasy: his blood first turned black and then disappeared. The process, while extremely short, definitely existed, and it was precisely that detail that led him to a terrifying conjecture.
The Councilman's remaining right hand pulled out the dagger he carried, and he cut off a bloody piece of flesh from his burnt left arm. The piece of meat was about half a palm in size, which was necessary to clearly observe the upcoming experiment.
He took two breaths. After cutting the flesh, his breathing became increasingly labored. The pain of brutally slicing off a piece of flesh was nothing; maintaining consciousness was the biggest challenge.
Any moment of closing his eyes could mean death, and he absolutely would not allow himself to die before deciphering the true nature of the black mist.
"Good… Record: First experiment…" The Councilman muttered a sentence to himself as a mental prompt. With chattering teeth, he threw the fresh piece of meat in his hand toward the black mist.
He plunged the knife into his own shoulder, forcing himself to keep his eyes wide open, not missing a single detail of what followed.
"Sizz—"
His bloodshot eyes stared intently at the desolate black mist.
"…"
"…"
"So, that's how it is…"
The Councilman stretched his facial muscles into a smile.
Retribution?
If that concept truly existed, then now must be the time for it to be fulfilled.
At this moment, the fingers of the closed-eyed "Seele" twitched violently, a precursor to awakening.
As for whether the one who wakes up will be Seele or something else… the Councilman no longer cared.
He quietly observed a certain device on Seele's hand, raised his head, and looked toward the cockpit, which felt as distant as a chasm.
…
"Beep—"
Lin put the checked handgun back into its holster. His clear, ink-black eyes glanced at the communicator, which showed an incoming call from Spaciel.
Was there anything else left unsaid?
The first image he saw after pressing the connect button was Spaciel's grim expression: "Lin, this is an emergency communication forwarded to you. There's no time for an explanation. The Fifth Branch is already preparing the plan to subjugate the Sixth Herrscher."
"…"
The Sixth Herrscher…
From dealing with a rebellion to preparing to subjugate the Sixth Herrscher, all within less than an hour…
Lin said nothing. He simply nodded calmly and composedly, allowing Spaciel to transfer the communication.
Spaciel's face disappeared from the screen, replaced by… an unfamiliar smiling face.
Lin had only seen this face once. It had given him the impression of a politician with a dagger concealed behind a smile, and they hadn't met since.
However, a familiarity so intense that it accelerated his heart rate now occupied his entire mind.
"Heh heh heh… If Dr. Spaciel hadn't told me, I truly wouldn't have believed you left Twilight Street." The man's face was pale. Nasty lines spread from his neck all the way to the corner of his eye. The muscles of the lower half of his face were loose and sagging, like deformed fat.
But he was still smiling, maintaining his usual composure, and smiling with the unique poise of a politician.
"It seems you know everything already, so I'll dispense with the pleasantries and get straight to the point."
"The Sixth Herrscher is on this transport plane. The true identity is the former member of the Fifth Squad, Seele."
The Councilman met Lin's gaze. Two pairs of black, bottomless eyes focused on the changes in the other's expression.
The Councilman could not read Lin's emotions. Sadness, anger, shock, pain… everything was concealed beneath that stagnant water, elusive, with no sign of leakage.
So, the Councilman smiled, satisfied.
"MSA-079, this is the final order I issue to you. Subjugate the Sixth Herrscher at any cost, including your own life." He articulated the sentence clearly, syllable by syllable. "The Sixth Herrscher's Authority is the ability to accelerate the apoptosis of biological cells. There is also the possibility of it eroding non-biological matter. It manifests as a black, gaseous substance. In an unconscious state, it will automatically diffuse. It can penetrate objects to a certain extent, and its movement pattern is unknown."
After catching his breath, the Councilman sneered at Lin: "Regardless of our past identities, you are now only a soldier of Moth's Flame. Compared to stopping the Honkai, your life is worthless."
"Do you understand?"
…
"You could crash the transport plane to delay the Sixth Herrscher's actions! Why did you still let the transport plane automatically pilot toward the Fifth Branch!"
After the Councilman ended the communication with Lin, Spaciel furiously questioned him.
"Why… Dr. Spaciel, I recall that the research on the Honkai Virus serum at the Fifth Branch is at its final stage, correct? How much is missing?"
"…I don't know. Perhaps only one extracted serum sample is needed, or perhaps a hundred, a thousand more. The dosage required to reach the phase of qualitative change is unpredictable."
"Very good."
The Councilman's ominous smile startled Spaciel. He continued: "With Fire MOTH current medical technology, even my level of severe injury could be pulled back from the brink of death, except for this troublesome Honkai Virus."
"You—" In an instant, Spaciel grasped the Councilman's plan.
"So, do you know why I still let the transport plane fly toward the Fifth Branch?" The Councilman's smile became increasingly exaggerated.
"Do you know?"
"Do you know!"
Tearing away all pretense of gentility and mildness, he shrieked hysterically with a terrifying voice, like a true monster.
"I cannot die here! I cannot perish with the Sixth Herrscher! I must live! Live long enough to reach the Fifth Branch!"
The selfish desire of a human being had finally stripped this demon of all his reason.