Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

When Hua followed Mikael into the square in the darkness, she could hardly connect what she saw with what she had witnessed at dusk—

The stone walls, along with all the snow on the square, had been completely cleared away. Torches were placed every few steps along the low walls, and the villagers, young and old, male and female, were now standing in a circle, holding hands, silently performing a strange dance.

No, rather than strange, it was more like eerie.

The village elder's wife, who had led them here, quickly joined the dance. Mikael noticed that all the villagers had two streaks of blood smeared on their foreheads.

Their movements were odd, as if they were convulsing violently. They didn't utter a word as they danced, as if they weren't even breathing.

The wind whistled eerily through the gaps between the houses, the torches crackled, and as the flames flickered, both the intricate, strange totems on the low walls and the shadows of the dancing villagers seemed to transform into cold, sticky tentacles.

They twisted, convulsed, flared, and waved, as if some unnameable entity behind them would break through the barrier of normal perception and descend upon the world in the next moment.

Hua raised her head, afraid to make any larger movements, only gently glancing at Mikael's profile. He was as calm as ever.

Suddenly, her wrist tightened, scaring her. When she slowly came back to her senses, she realized that Mikael had gently grasped her wrist.

She suddenly began to gasp for breath, the cold, biting air flooding her lungs, bringing intense discomfort that made her want to retch.

Mikael gently patted her back. He himself raised his head and met the gaze of the man bound to the totem pole.

His fiercely burning eyes reflected the fiercely burning flames.

Mikael narrowed his eyes. For some reason, a burning sensation, like he had rubbed his eyes after cutting chili peppers, washed over his eyes.

"Tch!"

He gritted his teeth. When he looked at that man again, he saw the corner of his mouth twist into a hideous arc. The icicles hanging on his cheek, which were melting and dripping water, were pulled with it.

Mikael pursed his lips. "Kalpas…"

He silently mouthed his name.

The man whose name had just been spoken began to laugh, increasingly wildly. His entire body shook, causing the snow on his head and shoulders to fall off in a flurry.

But no sound came out.

He laughed so unrestrainedly, yet he did not utter a single sound.

Just like those villagers, their dance didn't make a sound either.

The only thing left between heaven and earth was a heavy silence.

The silence brought a terribly ominous premonition, shrouding their hearts and refusing to dissipate.

They said they were going to have a bonfire party, said they wanted to welcome the newcomers…

They said they found a barbecue grill, said they would bake more pies…

But none of that was there.

The only things were the flames burning in the dim night, and the villagers dancing a strange dance in silence, without uttering a single word.

And a beast, obediently bound to a pole.

Mikael silently stepped to the side, shielding half of Hua's body behind him, but did not let go of her wrist.

He wasn't worried about himself. Before the next Herrscher was born, he was confident that he was the most powerful being in this world.

But Hua wasn't.

"AAAAAHHHH!!!!"

The elderly village elder suddenly threw his head back and howled at the crescent moon in the night sky.

As the sound soared into the clouds, everyone's movements stopped.

The village elder's wife, seemingly out of nowhere, produced a burlap sack, which made the sound of wood clattering as she walked.

"What are they doing?"

Hua finally couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know. Get ready to fight."

Mikael responded habitually, then realized that the person beside him was Hua, not Elysia. Hua was just an ordinary girl. He probably shouldn't have said 'get ready to fight.'

So he added, superfluously, "Don't worry, whatever happens, I'll protect you."

Hua didn't respond, but Mikael could feel her muscles tensing, her fingers clenching into fists.

"Relax, relax, don't be too nervous."

Mikael gently advised her. New recruits tend to waste a lot of energy before battle due to nervousness. It wasn't a good sign.

He didn't take his eyes off the scene as he spoke. The village elder had somehow pushed out a large jar, which several skinny men helped push under the totem pole.

The others lit a bonfire on the other side of the totem pole, and then… except for the village elder's wife, everyone else, without uttering a word, took out a dagger.

"Ah!"

Hua let out a soft cry of surprise.

The soft sound was so jarring in the silent night. All the villagers turned their heads at the same time, their eyes reflecting the light of the bonfire, staring at Hua without a trace of emotion.

But they didn't seem interested in the two outsiders and quickly turned back, looking at the man tied to the pole.

The villagers finally spoke, but Mikael couldn't understand what they were saying—men, women, young and old alike, each holding a knife by the handle, placed in front of their chest, facing the totem pole, closing their eyes, and reciting words.

They were praying—no prompting was needed. It was one of humanity's most primitive actions.

They were praying to a man they had bound.

After a brief prayer, the village elder's wife threw the first wooden carving into the bonfire.

With a dull "thump," sparks flew, and the firelight flickered. The village elder straightened his aged back and took the first position under the totem pole, raising his bloodied, rusted dagger.

"What are they going to do?" Hua had a general idea, but that idea was too absurd, too challenging to her moral baseline as a "human," causing her mind to remain in a completely bewildered state. She just watched as the dagger got closer and closer to the man on the pole.

"*Thwack!*"

Mikael covered Hua's eyes, but the sound of the blade piercing flesh reached her ears clearly.

The body in his arms trembled.

Even Mikael himself felt a chill run down his spine.

A huge gash was cut open on the man's lower leg. Even though his body was frozen, steaming blood gushed out, flowing into the black jar.

The village elder didn't leave immediately. Instead, he dropped the dagger, directly cupped the scalding blood with both hands, and brought it to his mouth, drinking it.

Mikael's whole body trembled, undoubtedly from fear—no matter how strong he was, this scene far exceeded what a normal person could psychologically accept.

Mikael even suspected that if a proper Herrscher were to look at this scene, they would undoubtedly feel a sense of bone-chilling terror.

"Stop!" Mikael shouted loudly—he should have just come alone, taken Kalpas away, and if he didn't listen, he'd beat him up and then take him away! But he wanted to respect Kalpas's wishes and also wanted to give Hua, who had been in a bad mood lately, a break. Who would have thought they would stumble upon such a terrifying moment?

But no one cared about him. The villagers had already lined up, and as one wooden carving after another was thrown into the bonfire, they quickly and orderly cut gaping wounds on the man's body.

"Stop!"

Mikael couldn't care less about his supposed principle of not attacking ordinary people. The Second Herrscher's powers activated, and he would soon freeze the motion of the entire space. He never thought he would stumble upon this scene—

This wasn't a bonfire party! It wasn't a welcome party at all!

This was a sacrifice!

But... who was the sacrifice?

Who was the sacrifice?

Was it the man bound to the pole?

Were the wooden carvings thrown into the bonfire?

Or were they the villagers themselves?

Perhaps it was all of them.

But why were they called here?

Mikael gritted his teeth—the answer was actually very simple. He and Hua were also part of the sacrifices.

But who was going to collect the sacrifices?

Before he could figure out that question, the Second Herrscher's core had formed. Before he could stop the villagers, he used his spatial abilities to sense more movement outside the village.

The wooden walls and houses were pushed down and the light from the torches on the stone walls revealed countless Honkai beasts.