Ein learnt of Elysia's acceptance to project soldier and he went to her. "Elysia, are you really sure about this? If it's up to me, I won't let you... But you guys would be safer too if you're stronger." He clenched his fists.
Elysia went up to him and caressed his face. "Ein... I want this. And as you've concluded, we need it too. Eden actually told me that she has something important to say to you. Maybe it's about Project Soldier." She had a serious face, her conviction as clear as pure water.
He frowned as he hugged her tight. "I'll make it as safe as possible. I will talk with Eden as well. She's not really a combat kind of person." He imagined Eden in the field.
She kissed him on the cheek. "Go, I know you're busy. Mobius will inform us when it's time for the surgery." She smiled sadly. Having so little time to mourn for their friend, and they're already risking their lives for more power.
He left quietly and sent a message to everyone. Deciding to talk to them all at once, as they might have ideas in undergoing the procedure.
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After a few minutes, Hua came and looked at him with a forlorn expression. "Dr... How are you?" She sat and broke the ice.
"I'm fine Hua. How about you?" He asked with a straight face.
"Umm, I'm good..." She went silent as tension slowly built up inside the room. Making her deeply uncomfortable.
"Hua. Be strong, your captain would want you to continue. Always remember why she even trained you. She saw potential in you, and I did too. It'll be hard, but continue your journey still." He stood up and patted her head.
Hua started to tear up as she looked up at him, her vision blurry. "Why? Why did she turn to a herrscher? She's one of the finest soldiers here." The question plagued her mind for weeks.
"We don't know. But she had a burning desire, she wanted to make a safe place for our family." He then reflected. Herrschers can regain control, maybe there's something deeper to this.
Hua hugged his waist as she cried. "It's unfair. She was kind, caring, attentive. She was like an elder sister that took care of me. She taught me everything I need to know in Moth." She sobbed as he stroked her back.
"Yeah. She is, wasn't she? So don't put her teachings to waste Hua. She'll be much happier knowing that her protege is successful." He encouraged her and gave her a reason to continue pushing forward.
"Un. That's something that she would like. Do you think she was proud of me Dr. Ein?" She looked at him for confirmation.
"She would. She didn't tell me anything about your training, but whenever she passed reports on your squad, she'd tell us your achievements with more enthusiasm." He smiled a bit.
She calmed down and wiped her tears. "I'll be the best. And I will make her even more proud of what I'll become." She said with conviction.
A few minutes later, everyone started to go inside the room. As they went quiet and waited for him to talk.
When everyone was finally there, he stood up and spoke. "You guys might have different goals and motivations, but joining Moth. We all have one similar reason, and that is to fight the honkai."
He pointed to Mobius as she operated a computer and a hologram appeared. "These are the people who are compatible for project soldier." There, different people appeared. But they mainly focused on Elysia and Eden, Ein saw Sakura on it as well.
"Currently, there's 2 honkai beasts that are available for the ones here. Mahesvara, Sesha, and Varuna. The ones born from the 6th, 3rd, and 4th eruption." Mei explained.
Elysia and Eden saw their respective honkai genes and listened attentively. "Now then, Elysia's very compatible with Mahesvara. So we've decided to make her the 2nd MANTIS. Any objections?" Mobius asked as she looked around, and no one in particular protested.
"Okay, I'll try and make it succeed as much as possible. And by the way, Phyllis. Why are you here in the 1st place?" Ein broke the flow of the meeting as he asked Phyllis.
"Hehe~ You see. Miss Mobius over here wanted to get a sample from canned food. And I made her get some from me instead. She then called me here because I was supposedly surprisingly compatible with the project." She scratched her head. Not really the type to be in there.
Ein sighed at her nonchalance. "I'll inform you about this more later Phyllis. And Mobius, we'll talk later." He narrowed his eyes at her as she gulped audibly.
"Okay, this meeting is now adjourned. Vill-v, I'll meet you later at the spiral workshop. We need to make some clothing for him." Mei said to Vill and pointed at Kevin. He can't wear everyday clothes now, as they freeze from his temperature.
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Ein was now alone with Eden. "Are you going to go with it? How about your career." He worriedly asked her.
She shook her head. "I still love music Ein. But now... I know that my career is over, our music isn't what the public needs or wants anymore. They'd want safety above all else." She said in a somber tone. As she now abandoned one of the things she loved the most.
"I saw everything went up to flames that day. And with it, my stardom followed. I might still be famous, but it won't matter anymore anyways. The world is in chaos, and I'll shine bright again in the battlefield with you and Elysia." Her voice, serious. Her mind was made up.
He sighed heavily and hugged her tight. "Sure. I won't stop you Eden, it would be good for you guys too. But, things won't ever be the same." He reminded her of what she wants to get into.
"Yeah, and don't worry. I'm prepared to give it my all to help you guys." She snuggled in his embrace as she sighed in satisfaction.
"I'll talk to Phyllis as well, she's an outsider in Moth after all. She doesn't know a lot about what this is about." He left to find Phyllis. As Eden thought on asking Elysia to train her.
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He found Phyllis playing with Canned Food. "Phyllis, you got into this mess because you keep on bringing can with you." He sighed at the sight of the brown cat.
"What's so bad about it anyway? She asked innocently. "Well, for starters. It could get you killed. Though you have excellent honkai adaptability, so surviving the procedure is very high."
Her face paled from the news. "What!? Miss Mobius tried to get me into something that could kill me?" She was in disbelief.
He face palmed and massaged his temples. "Yeah, and I'll deal with her later... So? Think about it clearly 1st okay? I'll just put you in it to make you stronger. But that's still your choice, so don't decide on it on a whim." He warned her about the procedure.
"Ohh. Okay, I'll think about it hard. But life is a gacha Ein, and this would probably be better for me. If I win on this gamble, I can live with a bit more peace of mind." She thought about making herself stronger to protect her and everyone. The looming threat of honkai gave her a wake up call.
"Good, at least you'll think about it. Now go and play with Griseo. She'll need a playmate, I'll go later." He left as he had tons of work still to make Elysia the 2nd MANTIS.
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As he was running simulations Mei then called him with an urgent voice. "Ein. The agent that was looking after Su came back with him. The agent told us that he had honkai corruption." Mei told the events quickly.
"Give him a serum of the cure. Let's go check him out immediately." He went to the medical sector to find Su.
On a bed, Su was suffering from honkai corruption. But he wasn't in that bad of a condition. "Su! You alright? What happened?" He found him and immediately asked what transpired as he stuck a syringe on his leg and injected the cure.
"We were attacked by honkai beasts. And they emitted a lot of honkai energy, I tried to run and keep myself alive with my prototype cure, but I lost consciousness and I woke up here." His voice was hoarse as he told him about what happened.
"Okay, rest up. We gave you a serum of anti bodies that can flush out your honkai corruption. I'll heal the damages later when you're more stable." He scanned Su's body, and it was in relatively good shape, as he let him rest first.
Su closed his eyes as he fell asleep immediately as well. "Well. You finally made it here Su, good work." He instructed the doctors to look after him as he informed their friends on what happened.
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Thanks for reading. Su is now in Moth, a few more left, and the flame chasers will be complete.