‘She’s tall.’

  A random thought went to Aleph’s head.

  ‘If I didn’t have any surgeries, or even Achievement Hunter…’

  His inal height was 165 timeters. With his improvement of strength as well as the MANTIS surgery, it ushed to 185 timeters. The miraculous improvement of 20 timeters was something that many would die for ba his previous world.

  Aponia’s height—lying at 175 timeters—was enough to reach his eyes. Meanwhile, Mei and Mobius were shorter than her, 172 timeters. Vill-V and Elysia were short enough to only reach his neck at 166 and 163 timeters, respectively.

  ‘...I o focus.’

  Aleph’s miuro his dilemma.

  Currently, he was walking with Aponia along the halls of the sanatorium. In ea, he saw people—mostly children and young adults—y down on their beds. The tration of honkai energy iheir body is a telltale sign of honkai corruption—the official term being honkai siess.

  It was caused by the body’s inability to ‘adapt’ to exposure to high-levels of honkai energy. It happens mainly due to ck of honkai resistance.

  ‘The four cities emitted 2,200 honkai watts worth of honkai energy. If it’s dispersed at the rate of four days…’

  Aleph ran the calcutions in his mind.

  ‘The factors from the outside… the average honkai readings iire Far West rose by twenty pert.’

  He came to a horrifying clusion. The st time he ran this calcution was three days ago. Aleph wao focus on the Project ELF right away to deal with the huge rise of honkai beasts. He is aware that he alone couldn’t save everyone. What he could do is to create rge impacts by pleting crucial projects.

  Even so…

  ‘I o re-evaluate my pns.’

  Sirin’s reawakening in the current era peaked above 4,000 honkai watts. Simirly, four cities iire world suffered from a major eruption with an average of 1,900 honkai watts. The quantity of the tter was enough to match the former’s impacts.

  Just in Sundown Alley alone, most of the people who are funing normally are either outsiders or have a high enough honkai resistance. As to why they sent people like that in the current Sundown Alley, money and resources make the wo around.

  After a while, the two fihe swift tour of the pce.

  “Miss Aponia. These people are holding out due to your power, but I am afraid it isn’t enough. I will call for more help from the headquarters. Is this alright?”

  “If it works for you, Savior.”

  Aleph hastily corrected her, “Please drop with the savior title. Call me Aleph or Ainsworth instead. It’s a bit… you know, too formal.”

  If there was someone who called him "Savior" at every turn, they are bound to feel embarrassed; it’s only a matter of when. That, or you are strong or narcissistiough to actually bear with it.

  “I see. Sir Aleph.”

  Hearing Aponia calling his name in a soft tohe embarrassment disappeared, repced by a quaint amount of fluster.

  ‘I am done for.’

  While more than half of his parallel minds struggled inwardly, he mao retain a calm outward appearance.

  “If the people who e here subtly or overtly ask how the people here survived, tell them it’s a part of my special project.”

  “Uood.”

  Aponia’s so-called power, “Discipline”, has the ability to trol a person’s mind. It seems akin to mind trol at first, but her ability wasn’t as potent as a forceful mind trol. Rather, her Discipline often occurs as forms of subscious suggestions.

  That was why she could will humans' bodies to ‘fight’ against the honkai ihem.

  The person themself may not know of it, but their body’s subscious rea and struggle was empowered by ‘Discipline’. It puts them in a stant state of ‘fight or flight’ mode. The only downside was the nutrition ed, which could be resolved by a pack of IV-solution.

  Even so, it wasn’t a long-term solution. Those who are destio fall will fall. Her ‘Discipline’ only allowed them to live slightly longer.

  It was but one of the perfect representations of her desperation towards the unging future…up until now, that is.

  “As for the final thing…When it’s more ve, I want to move your patients to a better pce.”

  The person who doesn’t have any threads brought forth more unknowns to the future.

  *****

  “Is this how you greet people? To fight them at first gnce?”

  “What? You have a problem with that?”

  “Why, no.”

  After Aponia’s matters, Aleph hadn’t fotten the aggressive man who fended off the sanatorium against mobsters.

  To not scare any of the children of people ihe sanatorium, the two had their talks outside the sanatorium—oreet.

  Sihe outsiders came to Sundown Alley to retrieve and guard their assets, it has long been ed of undeads and the likes. It temporarily turhe once chaotic alley into a safe zone.

  Of course, this safety is retive. The honkai beasts remained in some pces.

  “You are the first.” Kalpas said. “You are more dangerous than that ice girl.”

  “You mean, the fifth Herrscher?”

  Kalpas seemed offe his question.

  “Who wouldn’t be disturbed by such a loud noise?!”

  “Well…”

  Aleph went silent for a while. His battle with the fifth Herrscher brought more than a dozen high-rise buildings down. It was enough to cause ahquake with the city as the epiter.

  “Before you say anything about fighting, I’d like to postpo for noh said. “I still have a lot on my pte.”

  He couldn’t even finish his words when he was impatiently cut off by Kalpas.

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “This is why you let me finish.” Aleph retorted. “We let out one punch eaow. Testing the waters and the likes.”

  The moment Kalpas heard about it, his entire body turned into a blur. Subsequently, time slowed down in Aleph’s eyes. His perception was boosted to the maximum. He could clearly see the trajectory of his punch.

  ‘This is how he did it.’

  Aleph thought of hoas was able to fight against a post-MANTIS surgery Sakura.

  ‘He’s just like me back then. A gss on.’

  Kalpas mirrored his past self. He nearly died out of frostbite due to the fifth Herrscher’s attacks. Simirly, Aleph could dish out high damage but fell short when it es to tanking attacks.

  Fag this, he decided to—

  Bam-!

  —catch this punch himself.

  *****

  A/N: We’re finally at the huh chapter. Another milesto is. It’s quite funny to think that I’ve been writing for three years already. Yet, there are still errors that tend to e up every on a while in my stories (lmao). Either way, writing’s fun, and I think I will tinue doing this iure.

  Here’s to the third fic that I will finish~!