“Hello? Major? Yes, I took dow one. y a transport carrier over here?”

  “Got it.”

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

  “It’ll take some time for them to arrive. Do you want to e out for fresh air?”

  As he asked, the tattered bck 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 sed.

  This teique 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 e via the mirror.

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

  This sileed until she broke it.

  “You are very strong, Ain.”

  “But not as strong as I o be.”

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

  Oime, he even used his pseudo Active Honkai Rea to release all his frustrations on the honkai beasts. The ey was devoid of any honkai beasts after that. The undeads and corpses were the only thio remind him of a once prosperous city.

  “Hee… You are not a god, aher am I. There are some things we ot do, Ain.”

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

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

  It was her driving force to bee a Spirit. She, who was blessed, wao 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 es 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 bee one…”

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

  “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. sequently, 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 simir to her version of lifespan to empower her Spirit.

  “I summon my city.” She said. “I should be able to recover on my own. Of course, it he presence of distasteful people.”

  “Irredeemable people… I have a pce.”

  Another city ced 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 gsam. Its difference was its bagginess pared to the tight-fitting gsam.

  Meanwhile, Aleph wore the formal uniform that sisted of a bck bzer and pants. Ironically, the insignia pced at his right shoulder was the bination of a MOTH and a book on fire—the garb for researchers.

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

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

  Aleph respoo them with a salute of his own. Once he pced his arm down, the soldiers followed suit. They remaianding as he passed through with Himeko.

  When they arrived in front of the transport ship, Himeko turo 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 e out of the third institute, I will be waiting for the trainees. One of the things there could be aircraft pilots without strong enough honkai resistance.”

  “Got it.”

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

  *****

  Fifth Institute.

  “Look who finally decided to e back.”

  “Well, things are hectic tely.”

  Aleph shrugged Mobius’ casual retort with a smile.

  “How were the packages I sent you?” He asked.

  “...They helped.”

  The emperor-css honkai beasts he killed were directly shipped to the fifth institute. Even the cilors didn’t bother toug them at this time.

  After all, the MANTIS surgery is ongoing.

  “How did you mao meet the people you reended?”

  “Ah? Whie?”

  “All of them.”

  Mobius began talking about the people whom Aleph reended.

  “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 ged.

  Aleph was the first one, granting him the ame CM-001. 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 clude something.”

  “You mean, the one you pointed out before?”

  Herrschers have their apanying Emperor-css honkai beast. Some of them may even be Judgement-csses depending ouation. It suggested that Herrschers might be able to influehese 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 rge distance. If they couldn’t, I see no other reasons why they would ighe areas with increased honkai energy tration.”

  Aleph’s words pced Mobius in a deep thought.

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