NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 171: Delta
China.
In this age of Honkai eruptions, large cities were humanity's only refuge. Rural towns and villages, abandoned, were now reclaimed by nature, overgrown with vegetation.
In a deserted coastal town, a place that should have been a Honkai zone, voices echoed.
"Again!" A greatsword cleaved through a stone pillar, but the attack was easily parried.
"Good progress, but not quite there yet." Himeko, effortlessly deflecting Rozaliya's attack with a single hand, sent the girl's sword flying with a flick of her wrist.
The crimson blade stopped inches from Rozaliya's neck.
"Give up yet?" Himeko smiled, a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.
Ten days ago, she'd received orders from Ren to train a young girl who also used a greatsword.
With Ren captured by Schicksal, Himeko could only communicate with him through his external Puppets.
After witnessing Ren's abilities in ARC City, she was determined to rescue him from Otto, just like she'd rescued Kiana.
She was prepared to storm Schicksal HQ, yet she'd been tasked with… babysitting. She wasn't thrilled.
But Rozaliya, driven by some unseen force, trained with an intensity Himeko hadn't expected.
As a teacher, she couldn't ignore such a dedicated student.
With Ren's approval, Himeko had set aside her rescue plans and focused on training Rozaliya, teaching her combat techniques.
She'd occasionally share stories from her past, but Rozaliya showed little interest.
After witnessing Liliya's death, Rozaliya would often sit alone, staring at the stars.
Where the twin stars had once shone, now there was only darkness.
Ten days later, Rozaliya had transformed from a clumsy girl who just swung her sword around into a capable warrior, nearing A-rank level.
And with the power of the Pseudo-Herrscher Assaka unlocked, her combat potential rivaled an S-rank.
"I haven't lost yet!" Determination burned in her eyes. A faint blue tinge appeared in her pink hair as Honkai energy surged within her.
A small blue horn emerged on the left side of her head, mirroring the larger pink horn on the right.
A sign she was tapping into Assaka's power.
"Again!" She shattered the ground beneath her feet, charging forward, a blue greatsword materializing in her hand.
Wielding the two massive blades with surprising ease, she attacked Himeko.
Horizontal slashes, vertical cuts, a flurry of blows.
Each move honed, each strike fueled by grief and longing for her sister.
Lost in the fight, Rozaliya pushed herself to her limits.
*Faster! I need to be faster!*
Himeko, initially relaxed, grew cautious. As a Puppet, she was just shy of S-rank, yet Rozaliya was now a match for her.
*BOOM!*
A nearby hill crumbled as their attacks collided, the shockwave shaking the training grounds, toppling trees in the distant forest.
Himeko looked at the blade stopped inches from her face, a smile appearing on her lips.
"Congratulations. You pass, Delta."
Rozaliya's strength faded as she lowered her arms, the blades sinking into the earth.
She didn't smile. A flicker of pain crossed her eyes.
With Liliya gone, only constant training could numb the pain. Now that the training was over, she had nothing left to hold onto.
"Is this Obsidian Concord's goal? To exhaust me, to watch me perform like a trained pet?"
Rozaliya had changed. She was quieter, a deep sadness hidden within her.
She knew Himeko meant no harm, cared for her in her own way. But that care felt like pity, like rescuing a stray animal, training it for the circus, saving its life but stealing its freedom.
"Hmm?" Himeko's smile widened. She spoke as if to herself, "I received a report about a little girl… blue hair, a horn on her head…"
"Liliya!" Rozaliya jumped up.
But exhaustion overwhelmed her. She swayed, collapsing into Himeko's arms.
She clutched Himeko's sleeve, her eyes pleading.
"Don't worry. She's alive."
Rozaliya's tense muscles relaxed. She fell into a deep sleep.
…
The deserted town was silent, its buildings crumbling. But a closer look revealed signs of human activity.
Himeko carried Rozaliya into a dilapidated building, its structure barely holding.
She pressed a button on the wall. The wall slid open, revealing a high-tech elevator.
The entire town was an Obsidian Concord base. With access to portals, Ren didn't need conventional logistics, allowing him to choose remote locations.
The elevator descended, revealing a bustling underground complex. Not just Puppets, but former Helios Pharmaceutical employees, recruited by Obsidian Concord.
Disguised by Ren's spatial manipulation, they believed they were simply working underground, unaware they'd crossed dimensions.
"Rozaliya!" Cocolia spotted Himeko the moment she arrived. She was now Ren's Puppet, but not restricted.
Upon learning her situation, she hadn't resisted, especially when she learned her task was to heal Rozaliya. She'd poured all her energy into it.
Cocolia was a capable scientist. With access to Jackal's research, she'd quickly grasped genetic engineering.
Amplified by her Puppet state, Obsidian Concord's previously lacking medical capabilities were now on par with other organizations. They couldn't develop new technologies yet, but adapting existing ones was no problem.
Rozaliya's training was also a study of the Assaka genes within her.
Their research had yielded results.
The most obvious was the horn on Rozaliya's head, a sign of the Assaka genes expressing themselves.
Ren, analyzing the other half of the genes from Liliya, had integrated them into Rozaliya.
Given time, Rozaliya would fully integrate with Assaka, wielding its power stably.
She would become the complete Delta.
And Delta's success meant Ren had mastered the creation of MANTIS soldiers.
"Cocolia…" As Bronya's teacher, Himeko knew what Cocolia had done, but now, as fellow Puppets, the past was irrelevant.
"Give her to me. You have a new mission." Cocolia's focus was solely on her daughter. She'd lost everything, but found a new purpose with Ren: to protect her children, regardless of the cost.
Himeko watched them leave, then looked at her mission briefing, surprise flickering in her orange eyes.
…
"Vitals stable. Assaka gene integration stable." Rozaliya, her consciousness drifting, heard voices, but couldn't wake up.
She heard Cocolia's voice. "Mama… Liliya…"
Someone held her hand, a comforting presence.
"Don't worry. Liliya is fine."
Rozaliya's anxiety faded. She fell into a deep sleep.
"Project Delta complete…"
…
Rozaliya woke up, not in the familiar forest, but in a ruined city.
"Waa…" A small girl whimpered. Rozaliya saw a child huddled nearby, trembling.
A small drone-like robot clung to Delta's arm. The girl had been trying to retrieve it, startled by Delta's sudden awakening.
Delta removed the robot, sitting up, her head still groggy. She remembered collapsing during her fight with Himeko.
"Where am I?"
The girl bit her lip, silent.
Delta realized she wasn't in her human form… Wait, where were her tail and horns?
She found a puddle, looking at her reflection.
Her tail was gone. She looked like a normal girl again, though her hair was now a mix of pink and blue.
"Hey, kid, where are we?" Though Delta was a child herself, the other girl was even younger. Delta decided to assert her authority as the "older" one.
The girl with light purple hair remained silent.
Delta sighed, holding up the robot. "Tell me, or the robot goes bye-bye."
"No! Give Mark II back!" The girl lunged forward, unable to bear the thought of losing her companion.
"This is… Nagazora City."