The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

The birth of a Herrscher is always accompanied by Honkai Eruption.

Unlike Herrschers, who can be killed and subdued, humanity—and Fire Moth—are powerless against the Honkai disaster itself.

The instantaneously spreading Honkai energy contamination infects countless people. The less severe cases contract Honkai sickness and await death, while the more severe cases either die on the spot or are twisted into zombie-like Honkai Beasts.

Tangible enemies can be killed, but this intangible disaster is uncontrollable. It erupts the very moment a Herrscher is born, leaving no time for humanity to prepare.

"This is why I say Herrschers deserve to die…"

Slicing through Honkai Beasts and zombies along the way, Lee showed no signs of slowing down, sprinting towards the epicenter of the Honkai eruption at a speed that would leave most people unable to even catch a glimpse of her.

Her original plan had been to assign tasks to her squad members and then head to Chiba Academy to protect Su and Kevin. But things rarely went according to plan. After calculating that the 3rd Honkai Eruption would occur sometime this month, Lee had requested Fire Moth to have Nagazora City cancel all large gatherings for the next month. However…

Whether Fire Moth hadn't taken her request seriously, or Nagazora City's government hadn't heeded Fire Moth's warning, a massive celebratory parade with nearly 100,000 attendees was scheduled for today.

Chiba cademy had a mere 2,000 students, while this event had 100,000, including important figures… It went without saying where Lee would be required to be stationed.

The good news: The celebration was far from the city center and less affected by the eruption.

After the eruption began, Lee easily cleared out all the zombies and Honkai Beasts. The mortality rate was less than 50%, with a large portion of the deaths due to the chaos and resulting stampede.

While calling a 50% mortality rate "good news" was a bit darkly humorous, past experience showed that when Honkai erupted in crowded areas, the number of survivors could often be counted on one hand.

The bad news: The location was far from both the city center and Chiba Academy.

To protect Su and Kevin, Lee would have to cross the entire city. It would be more efficient to just kill the Herrscher of Thunder along the way. While killing the Herrscher wouldn't eliminate the existing Honkai energy, it would prevent it from rapidly worsening.

And so, as she was doing now, Lee rushed towards the largest source of Honkai energy in Nagazora City at top speed.

The only fortunate thing was that the Herrschers chosen by the Honkai were all chuunibyous, each one arrogant and condescending towards humanity. Even the slippery Herrscher of the Void had only learned to use guerilla tactics after nearly being punched to death by Lee.

And this newly born Herrscher of Thunder clearly wouldn't bother hiding their presence from insignificant ants like humans, which made Lee's target clear.

When Lee arrived at the city center, the area was already in ruins. High above, a figure wreathed in purple lightning hovered in the air.

"Hmph, human…" The Herrscher of Thunder opened their eyes, looking down at Lee with disdain. "Are you the resistance humanity has sent? How laughable. A mere ant dares to challenge the authority of a god."

"Very well, then let me show you true despair—be reduced to atoms!"

With a casual wave of their hand, the Herrscher unleashed a bolt of destructive lightning, aiming to incinerate Lee.

Despite having been born only a few minutes ago, the Herrscher of Thunder was confident in their ability to destroy the entire Earth.

The Herrschers of Reason and the Void had failed for one reason only: they were too weak!

But they were different. As a messenger of the gods, they wielded the destructive power of thunder—what in this world could possibly stop them?!

A single human's resistance? They'd turn them to ash with ease!

The lightning struck, causing a massive explosion that engulfed everything in a cloud of dust and smoke. When the smoke cleared, the enemy was gone, leaving only a deep crater in the ground.

Ha, insignificant human. Probably reduced to nothing but molecules!

The Herrscher of Thunder narrowed their eyes arrogantly. As expected, they were the strongest—

"I think you might have gotten something very important wrong."

Behind them?!

The sudden voice made the Herrscher's hair stand on end. Without hesitation, they unleashed another bolt of lightning behind them, barely managing to deflect the blade that had silently approached, slicing off only a few strands of their hair instead of decapitating them.

The attack having failed, Lee didn't seem disappointed. She simply smiled and pointed the tip of her katana at the Herrscher's head. "Herrscher, you're the one doing the challenging."

"—Don't be so arrogant!"

Lee's words seemed to have struck a nerve. The Herrscher, who had shown a hint of caution just a moment ago, was now consumed by rage. Their eyes flashed, and countless lightning bolts filled the air, threatening to turn Lee into charcoal.

"You're just a human! Die!"

Facing the overwhelming barrage of lightning, Lee merely smiled. "I can't do that. I promised someone I'd bring your core back for them."

"Besides, you're not nearly strong enough to kill me~"

...

The explosions coming from the city center had stopped for a while now, bringing some relief to the affected population.

Kevin and Su finally found temporary safety, not because they reached the police station as planned, but because they encountered a Fire Moth rescue team.

"Today's students are quite impressive. Not only did you escape, but you even managed to save so many of your classmates."

In the temporary camp, Ato observed the anxious students with a calm expression. "Have you considered joining Fire Moth? We need talented individuals like you."

"I do want to join…" Kevin, standing behind Ato, hesitated. "But… I wanted to ask, is there a girl named Lee in your organization…?"

"Lee?" Hearing the name, Ato, chuckled and looked back at Kevin teasingly. "Why do you think we dispatched a team to search for survivors near your academy?"

"Could it be—" Kevin's eyes lit up. "Is she alright?!"

"What could possibly happen to her?" Ato shook his head, a bit exasperated. "Even if everyone else here died, she'd be fine. You can assume she's gone to deal with the culprit behind this incident. She's the one who specifically asked me to look after you two since she couldn't be there herself."

"Kevin and… Su of Chiba Academy, right?"

"Yes… And, can I ask how Su is doing?" Mentioning Su, Kevin's slightly relaxed expression turned tense again. "It's my fault I wasn't paying attention, and he…"

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Ato interrupted Kevin. "But the injured have to be evacuated separately, so he can't go with you… You should be able to see him at the shelter later."