There were new MANTISes to be made, mainly Eden, Sakura, and Griseo's father. Ato.
Eden surprisingly took the surgery well. Not having any mutations like Elysia and Mobius, Sakura was integrated with Kali, the honkai beast borne with the 2nd herrscher. She gained long fox ears that were pink as a result.
The new soldiers are on Kevin's special squad. They are the super assault team that will handle emperor class beasts and above, even herrschers when Ein doesn't want to or incapacitated.
Now though, the new MANTISes will undergo training. As they're lines up and Ein was walking in front of them. "You guys are the new squad for high risk missions. And you'll succeed, Why? Because failure is not an option. And I'm here to make sure of that." He squinted his eyes as he looked at them one by one.
Everybody gulped audibly as the typically chill Ein exuded tons of pressure on them. "Umm, Sir. How will we do this?" Eden asked as this is all new to her.
"Good question noob. I'll turn you into fine warriors, you are built to be killing machines that combats the honkai. Do I make myself clear!?" He shouted at them like a drill sergeant.
"Sir yes sir!" Everybody straightened up. "Now... Basic PT won't cut it, you guys are now part honkai beast. And you're tougher, stronger, quicker. But that ain't enough. You." He pointed at Sakura as she started to sweat.
"Yes sir!?" She saluted. "What makes a good weapon?" She was put on the spot as her mind got a brief block.
"Um, if it's reliable?" She answered vaguely. "Good answer. But in this case, you're the weapon. And it could lose control any second, you can do tons of damage to either yourself, or your comrades. That's why I'll be training all of you to the limits, know every part of your body. Know how it responds, how it feels. How to control your newfound powers." His eyes turned to slits as he stared at them and the air started to vibrate.
"Um. Elysia, is commander perhaps a really strong person?" Sakura whispered to her as she only knows that he is a scientist. Only hearing rumors about him.
"Shhh! He can hear you from miles away... And yes, yes he is. So buckle up, now that we're more durable, he'll run as ragged." Elysia replied, making Sakura nervous.
"Enough talk. Let's start, you see this?" He raised his hands and clenched it. "This fist is a true feminist. Everything is equal on impact. Think fast." He then disappeared in front of Elysia and Sakura, Elysia tried to block but she was decked on the face as she flew away. Sakura instinctively slowed down time, using her new powers. But his fist didn't slow down at all as she got hit square on the face and followed Elysia.
Everybody moved back, Eden was just standing there so he kicked her on the torso, following Elysia and Sakura. Kevin tried to enter CQC as he dished out some quick punches and kicks.
Ein didn't dodge as Kevin frowned, his fists were shaking from the hardness of Ein's skin. It was like hitting a solid block of immovable steel. He was then back handed to oblivion as his body skipped on the ground like a pebble.
Griseo's father being a scientist. Didn't do anything much like Eden but run away. Ein erected a dome of black crystals that looked like Onyx. As he floated them all back to where they once started.
"Hmm, Elysia had good reflexes, you made a crystal coating on your face." He nodded with satisfaction. "Sakura, you instinctively tried to tap into your powers, good. But not good enough. Kevin, you have good control of your powers. Use it more, you can't just run in and fight all the time. As for Eden and Ato, hah. You guys will need tons of work." He quickly concluded as Eden cringed from his words and the throbbing pain on her abdomen, his blows were not easy to receive at all.
"Let's start again. Now, make a plan and try to use your powers, you'll need it." They're already strong and might be combat ready with mooks. But they'll die against herrschers and judgement class honkai beasts and above. Let's wait for them to assimilate their genes.
He then felt his body, his honkai genes were starting to calm down. The combination of violent DNA and his body is starting to finish completely.
The training continued as they fumbled with their powers. "Ato knows this, but read up on how your power works. You'll be able to control it much easier." He left them for a while to make them used to their bodies 1st.
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Elysia and Eden was tired and they wanted to ask Ein about how they could train their powers better. But when they entered his room, there was an unknown woman inside. Sitting on his bed leisurely, her eyes closed as she looked to be praying.
"Uhhhh. Who are you?" Eden quickly asked and narrowed her eyes at Aponia. The brown haired woman opened her eyes and slowly looked towards them. "Hmmm. You two, your futures are certain. But it is starting go get blurred. Ein-sama's influence has started to change your fates." She spoke softly.
Eden and Elysia got confused as they looked at each other. "Who is she? Did Ein got a fortune teller or something?" Elysia started to think of who the woman is.
Griseo and Ein then entered the room. "Ein! Who is this? And why is she talking about fate or something." Eden pointed at Aponia as she interrogated him.
"Hah. That's Aponia, she's... Special, don't mind her too much. Her words can get confusing." He shrugged.
"Brother Ein, is she a new friend?" Griseo looked over at Aponia as she analyzed her. "Hmm. You are happy, did something good happen?" She stated upon observing Aponia.
"Ahhh. Such a pure soul, you and that girl over there." Aponia pointed at Elysia and Griseo. "And yes, I am. I've been blessed by god to meet the savior." She prayed again.
"Aponia. You have good honkai adaptability, we've decided to make you a MANTIS if a honkai beast that's suitable for you appears." I can't let her be this weak, she'll bring me valuable information. And why not turn her into a MANTIS as well.
"Thank you for your generosity Ein-sama." She looked at him quietly as an awkward silence enveloped the room.
"Griseo. Play with her for a moment okay? I need to talk with Elysia and Eden." He then pulled the 2 outside to talk with them.
"She's not really harmful or anything. There's certain circumstances that won't help you guys in any way even if you learned about it." He thought that if they knew about him being an outlander that defies fate, reliance on him would skyrocket.
"So? Does she know some dirt about you or something? She's... Eccentric, to put it lightly." Elysia thought about her weird words and unsettling aura.
"Okay then. We won't pry into it, but are you sure you're not just picking up a stray woman because she's beautiful and she has a dynamite body? Hmmm?" Eden asked with suspicion.
He sighed. "No. And what are you talking about Eden, you guys have a dynamite body as well. Anyways, I need to ask Elysia something. Go and train, you have to catch up to Ellie." He patted her head.
Eden propped right up and waved goodbye. "Ellie. Ask him about how we could train better alright? I'll go put in some extra work."
"So? What did you want to ask me?" Elysia noticed that this is quite important and cut to the chase.
"You were with Hime after I fought the 6th. Mei and Mobius told me, was there anything weird or different about her when you were together?" He asked as Elysia tried to remember with a somber expression.
"Wait, she wasn't really different per se. She was in all accounts normal, her routine didn't change or anything like that."
"Okay, did she perhaps had bouts of anger and negative emotions or something? Or talking about humanity in general?" He remembered that she wanted to cleanse the world, maybe it has something to do with humans.
Elysia thought hard, and she remembered a time that happened. "Yeah. There was once where we watched the news about the destruction the 6th caused. She seethed in rage about the public and news outlets badmouthing Moth. She said that they don't know how hard we work to protect them..." She then went silent.
"I see. I've got to report this to Mei. Herrschers are born because of strong feelings. There might be other issues like honkai adaptability, but this is a discovery worth noting. They could regain control you see, it happened with the 6th as well. So they must have some agenda on why they turned to a herrscher." He concluded.
Elysia nodded as she thought that she could've prevented Himeko on going to the deep end. "Ein. We'll push through right? It's what Himeko would've wanted." She looked up at him.
"Yeah... And I have something to give you guys, call Mobius and Kevin. You guys need it more than I do."
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Kevin, Elysia, and Mobius were now together as they looked at Ein. "Okay. I've made a choice to help you guys better in your work." He took out they key of conquest as he gave it to Mobius.
"Mobius, you can control lightning and shadow constructs. Maybe it's a mutation, but this is suitable for you." She then received it quietly.
"Elysia, you need more firepower. And this thing needs finesse and control. Your aim is the best as well." He took out abyss flower and gave it to her.
"Kevin. As for you... You're the only one that could use this." He brought out judgement of Shamash in pistol forms as he gave it to him. "You won't reach its peak form. But with your ice, you can use the 0th power at least. I'll pass these on to you guys. I don't need it anymore." As they looked at it, with Kevin having complicated feelings about the weapon.
"I'll just safekeep this then. I'm not a combatant anyway." Mobius spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"Yeah, just keep it for emergency use. It could help just in case." He then left with Elysia and Mobius in tow.
"Yeah. I'll take care of this. Thank you." Kevin grasped the pistols as he thought about their friend.
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Thanks for reading. Going kinda slow, so I'll let the 8th appear, the 8th isn't really the most destructive. But she would bring some annoying problems.