Chapter 35: Foundation

Bam-!

Aleph's landing brought some dust. He looked up and saw the main entrance to this high-rise building.

The first thing that greeted his sight were the armed personnel stationed here.

"Kill them all."

The GUI flashed with red lights before everyone was frantically circled. The same mini-launchers appeared on his shoulders. 

Sou-!

Sou-!

Sou-!

Everyone was taken down in one big swoop. They didn't know who killed them even until their deaths.

"{Hey. It's done.}"

A [SOUND ONLY] symbol popped up in Aleph's sight. It was Vill-V on the other side.

"That's good. I want to know what's present in the basement floors."

"{One second.}"

Knowing the location of a Fire MOTH councilor was extremely difficult, more so infiltrating it. Everything is isolated within their own networks. It was the same within all research institutes.

Unfortunately, they were facing against Vill-V. Her talents are on the next level, far above the likes of normal geniuses.

The only remote access point within all Fire MOTH councilors' bases was a hotline—one that would allow them to send a distress signal. It is usually turned off on most occasions to prevent any type of infiltration.

Yet, it was this same thing that she used to gain access to the detection and security systems within this base.

"{I got it. You might be interested on the fifth floor.}"

"...Give me the details."

Not a hint of his usual casualness could be heard from Aleph. It was as if his hidden self was just like this.

Click-!

The main entrance was opened within seconds. Aleph stepped into the building without a care to the security personnel. They were all dispatched by the mini-launchers on his shoulder.

"{That man was conducting two experiments privately. One was the use of templar-class honkai beasts as mechanized frameworks. The other one is the same as Mobius' research.}"

"..."

Aleph knew this could happen one way or another. Beneath the bright ideals Fire MOTH proposed was the trash hidden in plain sight.

One has to know that Mobius did not accept any live human experimental subjects in her MANTIS Project. Most of the results came from animals and experimenting on her own body.

Needless to say, her efficiency was low. If it was placed on worse places such as these councilors' private bases, it could only mean one thing.

"...Got it."

Beep-!

Aleph proceeded to the main floor with ease. Everyone that encountered him only had the fate of dying within seconds.

Only the sound of metal rotors could be heard within the first floor. He went into one of the online computers and inserted a USB that enabled Vill-V to fully control everything inside this entire base remotely.

It didn't take long before Aleph arrived in front of an elevator.

"Who's there?!"

Sou-!

Sou-!

The two personnel assigned to this location were shot within seconds. The kill count in Aleph's hands quickly went up to dozens.

Strangely enough, he could not feel anything. His heart was numbed. That was the case with the ambush; it is the same now.

Only his silent anger remained in his mind.

Beep-!

Upon entering the elevator, it automatically closed. Vill-V was watching over his moves. Aleph could focus on his objective with her help.

"..."

Aleph quietly watched the elevator display go down.

[B1]

[B2]

…

[B5]

Swish-!

The metal door opened. A swathe of cold air flooded the elevator.

Unlike Mobius' laboratory, it was well-lit. The walls, floors, and ceilings are all made of silver metal. 

Tap.

A result came up after the suit's detection.

{Military-grade carbon steel.}

One look and Aleph could tell that the entire place was fortified with these carbon steel.

"A nuclear shelter."

His footsteps resounded in the hall. Unlike the first floor filled with security personnel, it felt like an abandoned area.

"Yawn… how long are we staying here?"

"Bossman won't be satisfied until we complete it."

"Huh. We all know it's a pipe dream. If that person from the fifth couldn't do it, no one else can!"

The voices of men in lab coats came closer to Aleph.

"I said—huh?"

"What is—"

The two stopped talking once they saw the figure of a black metal suit. They were completely confused as to where he came from.

"...Die."

Sou-!

Sou-!

Two bodies fell to the ground with a thud.

"A life for a life. No, it's too insufficient."

When Aleph knew they were conducting live experiments on this floor, he knew that they were using live human samples. This thing has been ongoing for three years. One could imagine the number of human lives that died in this place.

Just then—

Rumble-!

Beep-!

Vill-V swiftly reconnected to his line right after a slight tremble of the ground.

"{Be prepared for a fight. There was actually a death mechanism connected to that man's heart.}"

"What fight?"

"{...there are two. A Templar-class beast is held captive inside this floor. Its restraints have been removed. As for the other one… there are several lucky human samples that survived. Their mannerisms… are like that of normal undead's.}"

She kept reading the reports attached to her screen at an extremely fast speed.

"{They were injected with the genes of chariot-class beasts. One of them was injected with a templar-class gene.}"

At this moment, the means built by the councilors' foundation was revealed in their eyes one by one.

"Can't you stop it?" He asked.

"{I can't. It was triggered the moment he died. It was too late when I received full access.}"

"Alright."

Two cameras appeared in Aleph's GUI. It showcased both the templar-class beast and the army of semi-undeads wrecking havoc inside this floor. Coupled with his elemental sight, Aleph had a grasp of their locations. The intensity of the purple light in his eyes could not be faked, after all.

After a moment of deliberation, Aleph headed to the undeads first.

Rumble-!

Rumble-!

The shaking of the ground became stronger as he approached them. It was also at this moment that he escaped the long hallways and entered a large room. 

A huge gate should've separated it from the long hallways. Inside the room was a lounge filled with sofas and other daily necessities. It looked like an office instead of a laboratory.

Unfortunately—

"Agh!!"

The shrill screams of the laboratory workers resounded. Blood was spilled all over the place. Aleph saw several undeads chewing on the dead corpses.

The moment he made another step, their eyes were all set on him.

Unlike normal undead, their skin is fair white. A vein of purple lights crawled up from their neck up to their face. Some of them had white silicon shells all over their bodies.

Amidst them all, a relatively normal-looking person was seen by him. This person wearing a lab gown was the one with the highest danger according to his [Deathly Intuition].

Click-!

The back of Aleph's suit opened slightly. He pulled out a sleek curved blade akin to a katana from it. All it lacked from the traditional katana was its handguard.

With a sigh, he responded to their malicious stares with a swift charge.