Several months later…
North Africa, Sahara Desert.
The headquarters of the newborn World Serpent.
Underground base.
Inside a certain training field…
"Whoosh."
Kevin Kaslana casually swung his sword, striking out a wave of heat that sent a passionate white-haired young man charging toward him, yelling at the top of his lungs, flying straight backward.
After the latter hit the ground, he rolled several times with a great deal of clattering and tumbling.
"Not fair!"
The hot-blooded white-haired young man…
Kevin, wearing a new model of combat armor that had improved his physical abilities to a certain extent, climbed back up as if nothing had happened.
Before he could even stand steady, he couldn't help yelling at "himself."
"This is just training. What kind of skill is it to pull out the Judgment of Shamash?"
"…"
Looking at the younger "himself" actually saying something like that, Kevin Kaslana was more or less speechless.
So…
"Whoosh."
"What the…!"
Watching the firelight come at him in an instant, the noisy Kevin dodged to the side in a fluster.
He had only just gotten back up. Because he moved too hastily, he sat down hard on the ground again.
At the same time, looking ahead…
"Clang!"
Where he had been standing a moment ago, an absurdly high-spec greatsword was now stabbed into the floor.
"What… what do you mean by that?"
Kevin's heart was pounding as he looked toward the other "himself" and asked in alarm.
Compared to him, Kevin Kaslana was much calmer.
But…
"Since you think it's unfair, then you can use the Judgment of Shamash."
Kevin Kaslana said coldly, "On a battlefield, you won't get the chance to complain about whether things are fair or not."
"But as you just said, this is training."
"So I will satisfy your request."
Hearing him say that…
"Tch."
Kevin clicked his tongue, stood up, and directly reached for the hilt of the Judgment of Shamash.
Then…
"Hiss."
"Wah!"
Unsurprisingly, he was burned.
His right hand shot back by pure reflex, as if he had touched a high-powered recoil spring.
He staggered back several steps.
By accident, he ended up sprawled on the ground again.
That made three times now.
At this moment, Kevin sat on the ground and simply gave up on getting up.
He held his burned right hand, trembling from the pain.
There was clearly a layer of armor over his hand too.
If he had grabbed it directly with his bare palm, he might already be smelling roasted meat by now.
Obviously, as the Seventh Divine Key, the Key of Destruction, the Judgment of Shamash was not something anyone could casually swing around in greatsword form as a basic attack.
And Kevin Kaslana…
His basic attack was already at that level.
Even in its Might of An-Utu form.
He had the ability to freeze those heavenly flames.
Therefore…
"No matter how good a weapon is, if you cannot master it, it will only injure you."
Kevin Kaslana opened his mouth to remind him.
"That's because you underwent MANTIS surgery."
Kevin was clearly unconvinced. "I heard from MEI. If you undergo MANTIS surgery and become a MANTIS, you can gain power equal to a Herrscher… or even surpass an ordinary Herrscher."
"…"
Kevin Kaslana fell silent.
He could tell now. The younger version of himself from this period had clearly not listened to all the information MEI had told him.
First of all, the success rate of MANTIS surgery was extremely low.
Even among participants who had been tested and found compatible with certain Honkai Beast genes, more than half died on the operating table or inside nutrient pods.
Secondly…
Not every MANTIS could gain Flame-Chaser-class combat power.
The vast majority were only somewhat stronger than the kings of special forces among ordinary humans, and the differences between them were not large.
Of course, the "kings of special forces" mentioned here did not refer to the soldiers outside in the open who used modern live-ammunition technology.
It referred to elite warriors who used advanced weapons such as mobile armor, even mechs, and who understood the "Honkai."
Their combat power was naturally higher than that of ordinary armies.
But no matter what, if this group fought head-on, they would absolutely not be a match for a Herrscher.
In Kevin Kaslana's memory, before the MANTIS project had officially begun, there had even been a period when it was rejected by the higher-ups in the council and brought to a complete halt.
During that time, Fire Moth had relied on all sorts of clever high-tech special operations, along with a certain "superpowered girl" whose individual combat power was anything but ordinary, to eliminate Herrschers.
The latter, naturally, was Elysia.
She was also a Herrscher, but had not exposed the true absurdity of her own strength too openly.
In short…
"If you crave that kind of power, then after MEI and the others further perfect the data related to MANTIS surgery, you can apply for it yourself."
Kevin Kaslana walked over beside the Judgment of Shamash and raised a hand to pull it out of the ground.
"But remember this. Becoming a MANTIS is not without cost."
Like King Arthur drawing the sword from the stone…
A crown was never light.
The moment he finished speaking, the Key of Destruction, whose temperature had been gradually dropping, began flowing again with scorching flame along its blade after Kevin took hold of it.
Young Kevin only felt the temperature around him rise abruptly. Sweat even began to appear on his face.
For once, he did not argue back.
But after Kevin Kaslana finished saying those words, he had already left carrying the sword.
Training was over.
Just then…
"Wait."
Young Kevin belatedly reacted.
At this moment, he looked at the crack in the ground barely a step from his feet, the one that had just been pierced open by the flying Judgment of Shamash.
Red marks like molten iron still clung around it, smoking.
Facing that kind of attack, even though he was wearing the new combat armor…
If he had dodged even a little too late just now…
"You bastard, were you trying to kill me?"
Kevin shouted angrily at the back of the other "himself."
To that…
"If you cannot even dodge an attack of that level, then that is your own problem."
"At the same time, it would only prove that you are not qualified to take part in what comes next."
Kevin Kaslana answered without turning his head.
Then he left the training room on his own.
In truth, there was still one sentence he did not say aloud.
"If you are only at that level… how can I trust you to protect MEI?"
As their strongest fighter, he would definitely have to charge at the front.
And in this familiar era, this era that had luckily gained a "second chance"…
There were actually not many people Kevin Kaslana could trust one hundred percent.
Especially people he could feel at ease leaving beside MEI, certain that they would not harm her.
His younger self was undoubtedly one of them.
"Work hard and become better, Kevin."
Kevin Kaslana thought to himself.
"If you want to protect everything we once lost with your life…"
"If you do not want to lose it again…"
His gaze lowered slightly.
"Then you… and I… have no other choice."