It didn't take long before the two arrived in the Sapphire City branch. It was a coincidence that they came across a group of combatants who are about to set out.
The two groups met when the huge Humvee was given access from the front gate.
"This is..?"
"I believe you are Major Himeko?"
"You are..?"
It was the red-haired woman's turn to be surprised. She was the assigned commander over a company of two hundred personnel.
"We talked over the phone… about a periodic inspection and improvement of on-site weapons."
"Doctor Ainsworth?"
Aleph stepped out of the passenger seat as he walked towards her. He offered a handshake, to which Himeko reciprocated.
"Pardon me for this reaction. I thought your team had already evacuated the city."
"Oh, well… that one… let's say this was an exception." Aleph replied. "As to why I am here…"
He pointed to the Humvee's trunk.
"We didn't have the chance to meet yet, so I brought them myself."
"The experimental battle suits?"
"Yeah. I explained before that they are safe to use. What we're looking for is their effectiveness, though I doubt it'll be any less than the current ones."
Aleph proceeded to explain the functionality of the 'things' from the Third Institute. He was extremely good at diverting attention that nobody questioned why he was present in such a dangerous place.
As to whether they had doubts about him, they would be forced to keep it to themselves.
After settling that matter, Sakura asked one final thing to Aleph.
"You want to walk around?"
"Just a bit. Fighting that huge guy wasn't enough."
To confirm all the other hypotheses that he thought, Aleph needed to battle. Though he himself is a pacifist, things are different when it comes to fighting honkai.
"If you face corporal punishment or the likes… I will speak up for you."
Seeing her hesitate, Aleph dealt the decisive blow.
"The position of the assistant director isn't for show. There's also Doctor Einstein to back me up in the worst case scenario."
Although Aleph mentioned it with confidence, picturing the possible repercussions still made him feel a tinge of fear.
Still, he was determined to keep this opportunity to fight.
"...Alright. You must keep your word."
"Of course. That's a promise." He replied as he jokingly handed his pinky finger. "Alright, alright. I respect everyone's boundaries."
Aleph put it away as his expression turned solemn. Seeing the ruined city outside the window made him reevaluate honkai's danger as well as humanity's capabilities.
As promised, Sakura drove him around Sapphire City.
Boom-!
Several explosions occurred every now and then. It was the response of Fire MOTH to the chariot-class and even templar-class honkai beasts.
Humanity's sole option was continuous long-ranged bombardment as well as mechs. Even now, casualties are continuously rising.
It truly showed Fire MOTH's human wave approach.
'...Tsk. The higher ups can't do any better than this..?'
If there is a chance, Aleph decided to help Mei reconstruct the entire organization… or at least replace the current 'councilors' with more competent ones.
Just then, he saw a group of people in the next street.
"Stop there. I will deal with it myself."
"..."
Sakura nodded silently. With his strength to defeat honkai beasts, his safety was basically guaranteed.
The moment Aleph went out of the vehicle, he was already wielding his broadsword.
Swoosh-!
Psshk-!
With his help, the undeads that surrounded the group of people were dispatched. However, another enemy showed up out of the blue.
Click-!
Clang-!
Aleph was able to react swiftly and block the incoming arrow. As soon as it struck the wide side of his blade, he was forced several steps back before it turned into purple particles.
"What the…" He muttered before examining the 'undead'. "A special variant..?"
Among the database, there are cases of people with considerable 'honkai resistance' becoming undeads. In that case, they turn into an 'elite' that manifests their own 'honkai weapon'. Their drops were the main reason why humanity could develop honkai energy weapons swiftly.
Without hesitation, he went straight towards the special undead.
Swoosh-!
Swoosh-!
Several arrows went past him. Aleph's dynamic vision allowed him to 'see' which way the arrows could go. This coupled with his 'spatial sense' enabled him to fight effectively from day one.
It made him wonder as to which war he had fought before.
Psshk-!
With one clean strike, Aleph was able to behead her. Black blood spewed out from her neck. Her grayish skin that has several purple streaks became visibly paler as her beheaded body fell down. Her face seemed quite hideous before it was chopped down.
"...It's different."
Honkai beasts are generally separated into two: spawned and natural. The former doesn't bleed as much as the former due to their existence as a silicon-based lifeform. Meanwhile, the latter is composed of beings from Earth—be it humans or animals—who became monsters due to the indictment of honkai energy.
The fishy smell assaulted his nose.
[Achievement Unlocked: Elite-Grade Hunter]
[Reward: Knight Killer]
[Elite-Grade Hunter: Kill one special undead for the first time.]
[Achievement Unlocked: One Hit, One Kill]
[Reward: Juezhao]
[One Hit, One Kill: Defeat an elite-grade enemy with one strike.]
[Achievement Unlocked: One Minute Wonder]
[Reward: Bag of Senzu Beans]
[One Minute Wonder: Defeat an enemy under one minute for the first time.]
Aleph had to dismiss the alerts due to the approaching people.
"Ah..?! We're saved..!"
The voices of the group of people made Aleph snap back to reality.
"Ahem. We're from the military. Hop inside our ride and we'll take you to the nearest shelter."
After Aleph gave his not-so-formal speech, the civilians entered the vehicle without any questions. They could see the reliability behind his words despite his use of cold weapons. Moreover, his vehicle was indeed marked as an official government vehicle.
Just then, he sensed the presence of a person not far away from them.
"An alley…"
He immediately understood what happened.
When he strolled into the alley, a huge dumpster bin caught his eyes. It was the place where this block stored their garbage every Wednesday, or so the sign above it says.
Behind it, he could hear the faint breathing of someone.
"Is anyone there? The monsters are dealt with by the military."
The moment he spoke, a head peaked out beside the bin. Seeing Aleph, she heaved a brief sigh before standing up.
The gray-haired girl scanned the surroundings with her blue pupils.
"Are they gone?"
"They are for now." He replied. "Come with me. I'll be driving you to the nearest base. If you don't believe me…"
The girl did not react until Aleph brought out his ID. The past month and a half took a huge toll on her mental health.
Seeing this, Aleph flashed a wry smile as he placed the ID back on his pocket. It was only then did the girl show signs of relaxation.
"I'll escort you to the shelter. It'll be safer there."
"I understand." She replied in a formal tone.
When the two came back into the vehicle, they saw that everyone was already riding on it.
"Thank you, mister…"
"You can call me Aleph."
"...Mister Aleph."
Just as they were about to ride, a group of 'special undeads' appeared not far away from them.
"...Looks like I'll have to clean up some things."
Before the girl could even react, Aleph already dashed towards the area with bow-wielding undead.