Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

Zoom-!

A loud sonic boom rang across the entire city. The soldiers and MANTISes fighting on the ground momentarily paused.

When they looked towards the clear blue sky, they did not see anything.

"Huh..?"

There weren't any high-level MANTISes stationed here. It was such a desperate fight they wondered why there were no reinforcements and the likes.

Looking at the thirty-meter tall emperor-class honkai beast being split in half, the Fire MOTH soldiers understood why they received no such backup—they already sent the strongest to do so.

Scaling the entire city did not take Aleph more than two minutes. He took care of thousands of honkai beasts with his sole ranged attack—Yamato. Each one of them was struck with the seventh dividing line in consideration. It was a feat beyond the scope of humanity.

Bam-!

Aleph's figure was far ahead of the shockwaves he created. The speed of sound could only chase him from a huge distance.

This also meant that the conventional loadout for a high-level MANTIS no longer suited him. Just his communicator alone could not withstand the speed at which he flies.

Hum.

Hum.

Hu.

Aleph felt the vibration on the back of his ears. He slowed down his speed to take the call. By the time he did so, he was only flying at the speed of Mach Five or so.

"So, when will you finish cleaning them up?"

A teasing voice came from the other side.

"The cold storage is already in full capacity. Is this why you renovated that hospital?"

"A part of it, yes."

"Hm…"

Despite not seeing Mobius, he could already tell she was squinting her eyes. It was one of her habits when thinking about something.

"Is it not because of that nun?"

"...No."

"Alright, then." She replied casually. "Your friend is on the way here."

"Su? That's good."

As early as a year ago, he was tracking Su's whereabouts. The only reason why he didn't pick him up yet was for Su to experience things outside.

Kevin's development mainly relied on him leading the battlefield. It didn't matter whether Aleph interfered or not.

Su's, however, relied more on his experience with the world. So long as he arranged enough secret escorts to ensure his safety, it was enough.

"How about the cure?"

"A solution with 0.01% of your blood worked."

"It met the standard we set."

A normal human had five liters of blood. Even if Aleph is an exception, it is better to search for more efficient means. 

Of course, their final goal was to find a cure without the need for his blood. Aleph already saw the outcome of relying on non-reproducible cures like blood.

When Cecilia Schariac died, Schickshal's reserves of her holy blood bottomed out. They couldn't even supply much of it on their crucial experiments, much less produce a cure that inhibits or outright kills honkai sickness.

"Um." She replied affirmatively. "I need to suck you dry."

"..."

Even in the call, Mobius' teasing words affected him.

"It's my blood, right?"

"Who knows~?"

She ended the call before Aleph could make a comeback.

'How was I able to hold out until now..?'

At this moment, a strong urge appeared in the depths of his mind. All they did within the last three months were borderline at best, more so when they are strapped for time.

'I'll drop by the hospital later.'

His enemies are destined to be finished faster due to a call.

*****

"Hm~"

A petite and tall girl hummed a tune as she pushed a huge transport cart in front of her. A dozen heavy boxes are stacked on top of it, yet she did not have any trouble pushing it.

A pair of feline ears was present on her head. A long furry tail could be seen on her back.

Soon, she arrived at the hospital's courtyard.

Much like the previous sanatorium, the thirty-storey tall hospital has several places modeled after it. 

At this time, only Aponia was present.

"Miss Aponia."

"How was your travels?"

"It went pretty well."

After some talking, Pardofelis went on her way. Her figure slowly left the nun's vision before it turned into the clear blue sky.

"The strings…"

Her heart sank at the revelation she saw.

"Things are… slowly fulfilling their predetermined fates."

Aponia's eyes had always been special. She could see which strings belonged to whom.

At this moment, some of the strings that escaped their prior fate—deaths—were fulfilled over the course of one day. It was as if there was a big hand forcing everything back to their prior place.

Still, it was only a small part. There are still numerous people whose fates have changed.

"Sir Aleph."

His image flashed on Aponia's mind. His most prominent feature was that he did not have any strings. What was even more surprising was that he wasn't alone. There was another person who did not have any strings—Elysia.

But then, things changed after these three months.

Aponia saw new things in him—things she could not dare to comprehend.

She knows it exists, but she could not explain what they are.

During the past three months, her eyes saw more about Aleph. His invisible influence became more evident as the changes he brought to the world increased.

It was then did she have a premonition—

One day, he will have to fight a foe capable of bringing humanity down to its knees.

"Did you already know it..?"

"I did not know you like being in a daze, Miss Nun."

Aponia did not seem too surprised by the surprise visitor. She turned her back to face Mobius.

It wasn't her first time meeting with Mobius. When she did see her, she was surprised by what she saw—her string was bright red, compared to others. It did not extend endlessly to the sky, but to the land.

Later on, Aponia saw the end of her red string in Aleph himself.

"What do you want with me, Miss Mobius?"