Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

"Hello? Major? Yes, I took down the last one. Can you bring a transport carrier over here?"

"Got it."

It was a brief talk. Aleph touched the earpiece behind his ear and ended the call. He was standing not far away from Vayu's large body.

"It'll take some time for them to arrive. Do you want to come out for fresh air?"

As he asked, the tattered black cloak swayed along the gusts of wind.

"Mn."

Hearing that, Aleph used his Sphere Boundary at its fullest. With the superimposition of the cape and its nearly-maxed mastery, it was able to distort visual senses and turn him invisible within a second.

This technique should've only been usable on himself, but for some reason, the girl with him could get affected by it. Aleph attributed it to their connection via the mirror.

Kurumi emerged from his shadows. Her pair of black and golden pupils wandered around the wreckage.

This silence lasted until she broke it.

"You are very strong, Ain."

"But not as strong as I need to be."

Even if Aleph wandered around the eastern region for seven days, the casualties caused by the fifth major eruption were still there.

One time, he even used his pseudo Active Honkai Reaction to release all his frustrations on the honkai beasts. The entire city was devoid of any honkai beasts after that. The undeads and corpses were the only thing left to remind him of a once prosperous city.

"Hee… You are not a god, and neither am I. There are some things we cannot do, Ain."

A sentimental look came from her. She once faced this dilemma.

Kurumi's family was well-off to begin with. It was why she wanted to help others if she could. She was content in her life, but the world was filled with unfortunate people.

It was her driving force to become a Spirit. She, who was blessed, wanted to help those who aren't as fortunate as her.

In the end, it was also the world that made her realize that her power was limited. That was why she, in other sense, gave up her proactive approach when it comes to saving people. 

Instead, her goal turned into killing the First Spirit by going back through time. She believed that it could prevent Eurasia's disaster from happening, hereby saving one hundred fifty million lives in one go. 

As such, she let go of her previous boundaries. The amount of blood in her hands reached ten thousand at the very least. She did it all to feed on her power, which required lifespan drained from other people.

Although these were bad people, it showed how she was forced to lower her boundaries again and again. Nearly thirty years of struggle against the First Spirit took a lot of toll on her.

That was how she could sympathize with Aleph's current situation.

"A god. If I can become one…"

Aleph's gaze turned into the moon. It was noticeable amongst the dark sky painted with orange.

"It is ready."

Her words woke him up from his thoughts.

"You recovered enough? That's good…"

Outside the times of going into the battlefield, Kurumi's treatment began—that is, feeding her cursed energy. 

The main reason behind her injuries were the First Spirit's attacks. Consequently, it was also the reason why Worlds' Light, the mirror that allowed them to cross worlds, got damaged.

Be it due to the mirror or something else, she was able to take in Aleph's energy for her own. It was similar to her conversion of lifespan to empower her Spirit.

"I can summon my city." She said. "I should be able to recover on my own. Of course, it needs the presence of distasteful people."

"Irredeemable people… I have a place."

Another city was placed in Aleph's itinerary.

*****

"Atten-hut!"

The moment Aleph left the tent, he was greeted by rows of soldiers saluting along his path to the transport ship. One of the specialized transport ships was made free after his seven-day battle in the eastern region.

"Major…"

"They came up with it. I only gave the green light."

Himeko was dressed in her usual sleeved cheongsam. Its difference was its bagginess compared to the tight-fitting cheongsam. 

Meanwhile, Aleph wore the formal uniform that consisted of a black blazer and pants. Ironically, the insignia placed at his right shoulder was the combination of a MOTH and a book on fire—the garb for researchers.

His shoulder-length blue hair was tied. His purple pupils kept gazing between Himeko and the soldiers before he let out a sigh.

'It wasn't that big of a deal for me… twenty emperor-class honkai beasts, but it is for them.'

Aleph responded to them with a salute of his own. Once he placed his arm down, the soldiers followed suit. They remained standing as he passed through with Himeko.

When they arrived in front of the transport ship, Himeko turned to face him.

"I will represent everyone in this base, Sir Aleph." She said. "Thank you."

"...I will keep it in mind."

Before Aleph left, he added,

"Once more things come out of the third institute, I will be waiting for the trainees. One of the things there could benefit aircraft pilots without strong enough honkai resistance."

"Got it."

In the afternoon of 15th of December, it heralded the end of the Eastern Crusade.

*****

Fifth Institute.

"Look who finally decided to come back."

"Well, things are hectic lately." 

Aleph shrugged Mobius' casual retort with a smile.

"How were the packages I sent you?" He asked.

"...They helped."

The emperor-class honkai beasts he killed were directly shipped to the fifth institute. Even the councilors didn't bother touching them at this time.

After all, the MANTIS surgery is ongoing.

"How did you manage to meet the people you recommended?"

"Ah? Which one?"

"All of them."

Mobius began talking about the people whom Aleph recommended.

"Dystopia, the girl who acts as Elysia's assistant. There was also Sakura and the others."

With the Project Soldier ongoing, the order of the MANTISes was changed. 

Aleph was the first one, granting him the codename CM-001. Next was Mobius, followed by Kevin, Sakura, Elysia, and Vill-V. Dystopia became CM-007.

"Right. I haven't found any traces of them in the eastern region." Aleph stated while crossing his arms. "If there isn't any news from Elysia's and Kevin's side, we can conclude something."

"You mean, the one you pointed out before?"

Herrschers have their accompanying Emperor-class honkai beast. Some of them may even be Judgement-classes depending on the situation. It suggested that Herrschers might be able to influence these honkai beasts. 

Unfortunately, it wasn't tested much as every Herrscher they met was dispatched within several hours after their appearance.

"These tricky honkai beasts might be able to talk to Herrschers from a large distance. If they couldn't, I see no other reasons why they would ignore the areas with increased honkai energy concentration."

Aleph's words placed Mobius in a deep thought.

'We have Benares as an example. The sixth Herrscher has to be dealt with swiftly…'