章 8: Dreams Of the Past

Somewhere around Europe, a certain bluish-purple hair girl is dreaming something she had not dreamt for a long time.

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Year xxx, Date xx, Previous Era,

The bluish-purple hair girl is walking alone through the corridor. Two days ago, the organization sent a group of soldiers led by the two MANTIS to confront the 9th Herrscher, also known as the Herrscher of Stars. But she was not included in the group for this mission as she was on another task.

Just now, the report came in that Herrscher was slain by KEVIN and LLOYD. Now, the group came back without losing a single member. The group leader KEVIN and vice-leader LLOYD are now inside the briefing room together with Dr. MEI and one of the higher-ups of the organization to give the report of the battle.

Hearing about LLOYD makes her heart swell with many feelings. But mostly with anger and regret. Anger because he killed the person she admired and regret because she shouldn't have said those hurtful words to him on that day, the day when the 7th Herrscher was slain. She wanted to apologize to him, but she was hesitant because the current LLOYD is entirely different from the one she knew before.

Just as she walked through the corridor, she noticed the higher up came out of the briefing room with a satisfied smile. She shrugged her shoulders. Whether they are satisfied or not is not her job. Dr. MEI will handle those kinds of stuff.

She walked past the door as if whatever happened inside the room was not related to her. But she stopped going further because she heard the sound of a slap within the room. The room is a soundproof one. But the man from before was too happy to close the door properly. Thus, she could hear what was happening inside the room.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she peeked through the slightly ajar door. What greeted her was the sight of Dr. MEI slapping LLOYD on his cheek.

"Why did you use the 0th power of Abyss Flower even when your body can't handle the risk?!" The girl could hear Dr. MEI yelling at LLOYD.

"I can use the 0th Judgment of Shamash without any backlash, you know? I think that will be able to kill Herrscher with a single strike. And MEI, please don't slap LLOYD. Let's talk this through without violence," KEVIN told LLOYD while cooling down Dr. MEI.

LLOYD sighed. His collar was still being grabbed by Dr. MEI. "KEVIN, do you know the damage your 0th power can cause?" he asked the other white head.

"Big…?" KEVIN answered with a question.

"That's why I want you to read the reports, KEVIN. Your 0th power can easily wipe out a city," Dr. MEI answered instead of LLOYD, but her hands were still grabbing his collar.

"That much?" KEVIN sheepishly rubbed his head.

"Do you know? If you were to use your 0th power, your slash will without doubt damage the sea behind the Herrscher," LLOYD said.

"But do you think the sea can replace you, LLOYD? You are one of the 3 available MANTIS soldiers. It will be a huge loss for us," Dr. MEI asked her friend.

"It can't, but the products produced from there can. It produces 46% of seafood. If the sea is damaged, we don't know what will happen to humanity. Although it was nothing much, humans cannot live without fish as they are a good source of healthy fat and protein, and that will lead to a shortage of food. Shortage of food is not something we want to deal with right now, correct?" LLOYD asked back at his two friends without any emotion in his voice.

"That…," Dr. MEI can't refute anything. The food shortage has become a massive problem after the 8th Herrscher as Honkai Beasts are becoming more daring and have invaded most human settlements. Humanity was able to defend most of them but lost the many cities nonetheless.

"So, you thought that it is better to sacrifice yourself? We can think of other ways to defeat the 9th Herrscher. Now, look at you. Honkai energy is starting to affect you," KEVIN still doesn't give up. He can't watch his friend keep on sacrificing himself like that.

"And let many more people die in the process? I can risk it if the casualty rate is under tens, but I am sure Herrscher will make it over thousands if we didn't finish her off when we had our chance," LLOYD replied.

The young man is willing to sacrifice if the casualty rate is low. Heck, he even sacrificed the love of his life because he can't risk letting her live unless he wants the blood of many more casualties on his hand. So, between his love and thousands of humans, he chose to sacrifice the woman he had fallen in love with since he was young.

"And don't take the problem of food shortage lightly, KEVIN. Many people are willing to kill for a single loaf of bread. We don't want that unless we want to create more chaos in current civilization," LLOYD sighed and explained to his friend.

Now, his answer was evident between choosing himself and thousands of people. He decided to sacrifice himself. It is not that he has a hero complex, but he just doesn't want any casualties.

"Now, now, what's done is done. We should—" without listening any further, the girl at the door left quietly.

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The year 2013, Month June, Date 20, Current Era,

The dream ended right there, and the girl woke up from her sleep with cold sweat covering her body. The name she is using currently is Fu Hua, the survivor from the previous era.

"After thousands of years, why did I suddenly dream about him?" she muttered.

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Lloyd POV

"Cola, check! Energy drinks, check! Chips, check! Pizza, check! You are ready to go!" Kyuushou said while placing the snacks on the table near the sofa where I was sitting.

"Miss Kyuushou… I don't think these are healthy," Sakuya commented from beside, and I completely agree with her.

"What are you talking about, Sakuya? These are perfectly healthy for gamers like us," she replied, and the look she gave us was like she was looking at the two idiots.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed and quickly walked out of my room. After a while, she came back with a box of tissues. "You might need this. After all, you are a healthy young man," she gave me a wink and a thumbs up.

"Why you little," I gritted my teeth but accepted the box nonetheless.

Kyuushou then proceeded to give me the game disc. I looked at the cover, and it was named "Homu Star Online 2". Okay… from the name, I can say it contains sci-fi elements.

"You know how to make your own character, right?" she asked, to which I answered with a nod. Did she think that I am some kind of caveman who hasn't played any games? I had played "Lane Brawler V" together with KEVIN and SU in an arcade just fine in my previous life.

And there are some VN(s) for me to play too. I guess this is the reason why she gave me a tissue box.

"Great! This is my in-game ID and IGN. You can add me after making a character," she gave me a slip of paper. Hmm? IGN: Savior… Well, exactly what I had expected from Kyuushou.

After both Kyuushou and Sakuya walked out of my room, I ran the disc in Homu Station 4. Let's start by making my in-game character.

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A few hours later,

"Alloy_Bron! Shoot the tendrils at 5 o'clock! Savior! Keep hitting that guy with your daggers. Don't forget to slash those creepy eyes whenever you get a chance!" I gave out the orders. This is the first time I have met Alloy_Bron, so I don't know how she will act about this.

When I was a MANTIS, I was given a group to lead. So, I am kind of used to giving orders.

Surprisingly, it was Kyuushou who first responded and followed by Allon_Bron. "Roger!"

I kept on looking at the scene in front of me. Now, this is what I call good teamwork. After fighting for another 4 minutes, the monster finally fell.

"Good job, you two!" I said while approaching them.

"You were a real slave driver, you know that, Lloyd? Giving out orders one after another from the back," Kyuushou blamed me.

"Da. Subject Lloyd giving out orders looks like a veteran commander on the battlefield," Alloy_Bron stated.

I can't do anything but say "Ehe" at their comment. I look at the clock hanging on the wall. Wait… it is already 2 A.M.

"Sorry, I am logging out now. I have school tomorrow. And Savior, please don't stay up late," I said goodbye after that and went to bed. Gosh, I shouldn't have eaten pizza late at night.

Turning off the T.V, I dragged myself toward the bed and dived straight into it. Today was such a long day. I found out that this world also suffered from Honkai. I wonder… WAIT A MINUTE!

I think I have heard about Nagazora before! A figure of Mei with demon-like wings and a horn like an oni appeared in my eyes. Yes! That's it! I might have played a game in the same setting!

"Fuck," I muttered. I can't remember it as I might have played it long ago when I was a weeb. The game was revolutionary with zombies and anime girls, but… that was it. I can only remember that.

"But… according to that, I can assume that a Honkai outbreak will happen here in Nagazora," Panic filled my mind. It can't be… right? The Honkai outbreak had already happened in Nagazora in my previous life. There can't be such a coincidence… right?

I'll investigate it tomorrow. Now, I'll sleep. As Eden said, "Rest is important for humans. We cannot advance with overworked minds." But… the thing is, I cannot sleep after getting dropped a bomb on me.

"One Elysia. Two Elysia. No, wait… one Elysia is enough. The world is doomed if there are two Elysia(s). One Su. Two Su. Three Su. Four Su. Five Su. Six…," And I drifted into sleep.

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Year xxx, Date xx, Previous Era,

A white-haired young man was training inside a room and didn't care about anything around him. He is immersed in his training. So much that he doesn't even realize that a velvet-haired lady is watching him with a disturbed look.

"One hundred and thirty-five, one hundred and thirty-six, one hundred and thirty…" without caring that someone was watching him, the young man continued his training.

"Alright, it's time to stop," The lady said, shooting the sword the whitehead was holding with her flintlocks. But, it does not make the whitehead drop the sword he had.

"What do you want, EDEN?" he asked.

"You have been training nonstop since the death of the 9th Herrscher, LLOYD," EDEN stated. "It's time to stop before your body breaks down and ends up on MOBIUS' surgical bed," she added.

"57," LLOYD said.

"What?"

"A total of 57 people died under my command," he replied. "ALBUS, ALISA, ARIA, ARYAN…,"

*3 minutes later*

"ZANE and ZYAN. Those 57 soldiers died under my command," LLOYD answered.

"You actually remembered their names," EDEN gasped. It was rare for her to impress, and this was one of them.

"My incompetence led them to their death. At least, all I can do is remember their names and work harder for them," LLOYD replied, gritting his teeth.

"But that does not mean you have to exhaust your body to extremes," EDEN replied. "You are not a robot, LLOYD. You shouldn't tire your body more than necessary," she reasoned.

"And I am not a human either. We stopped being one since we went under the experiment, EDEN. We are MANTIS, and it is our job to sacrifice for humanity," LLOYD replied.

"If you don't stop now, your friends will send ELLIE in my place," EDEN finally brings out her final weapon.

A trace of horror flashed on LLOYD's face. He didn't even show this kind of expression when facing against the Herrscher. That shows how much he feared ELYSIA. "No, they wouldn't," he muttered.

"You know your friends better than me," EDEN's face finally returned to her gentle smile.

"Oh shit… they might actually do that," LLOYD's shoulders slump down.

"Come here," sitting on the floor, EDEN lightly taps her lap.

"Seriously?" the whitehead deadpans.

"At least this is what I can do for my No. #1 fan," EDEN smiles.

"Wait a minute," LLOYD opened the training room door and threw out a coin. A while later, a figure flashed, trying to pick up the coin from the ground.

"Gotcha," muttered LLOYD.

"What? NYAAA!!!" the figure shouted. It turned out to be the figure of a girl.

"Let me pat you while I sleep," LLOYD requested the lady in his arms and placed his head on EDEN's lap.

The lady in LLOYD's arms looks at EDEN for help, but all she got was a gentle smile from the Diva.

"Touching FELIS' cat ears is soothing," LLOYD muttered.

"We are still humans, LLOYD," EDEN started. "Whether we become MANTIS or not, we still need to relax our minds. We cannot advance further with overworked minds," she gently advised LLOYD as she played with the whitehead's hairs.

"Un," LLOYD is starting to doze off.

Smiling, EDEN did what she is best at, singing. Listening to her song, both LLOYD and FELIS fell into sleep, hopefully into a beautiful dream.

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Author's Note;

Yay! Another chapter for this fic! I know, I know. Some of you might hate me for doing that kind of thing in the Evil Lord fic, but it has to be done. Hopefully, I can update it this weekend.

Anyway! Nearly half of this chapter is new content! I hope you like it, and I might have to rewrite the whole chapter in the next one.

Eden is such a good friend. And Felis still got dragged into Lloyd's arms even in this fic. Who can resist her cat ears? I don't, and neither does Lloyd.