Chapter 15: Piles

From the moment Aleph reached the point where he could kill chariot-class beasts with ease, everything became simpler. 

The hierarchy of honkai was clear. 

The lowest ones were the reanimated corpses (i.e., undead), followed by the seraph-class honkai beasts that appeared in groups. The ones above them were the chariot-class beasts two storeys tall. Since he could defeat these chariot-class beasts, the ones below it posed no significant threat to him.

These beasts shouldn't have been defeated by a human without exoskeletons and specialized honkai weapons, yet things are different for him. 

When Aleph received the cursed technique, he had already left the realm of humanity.

In a sense, he could be considered as one of the strongest humans in the entire world.

That was how low the individual combat power of humans are.

It has been half an hour since Aleph's departure from the shelter. He had to resolve several enemies along the way. The basic operation remained the same, with Sakura being on standby inside the vehicle.

They managed to pick up several people now and then, but their numbers didn't exceed twelve. The farther they went, the smaller the chances of survival.

Unfortunately, Aleph did not earn any new achievements. Sapphire City suffered from a honkai eruption of 700 Honkai Watts, hence the level of honkai beasts that appeared wasn't as exaggerated as the ones in Nagazora City.

'How did we even navigate our way there..?'

Aleph remained incredulous at their insane luck. It only takes three hours for Templar-class and Knight-class honkai beasts to appear everywhere within such a major honkai eruption. They were lucky that they didn't waste much time and managed to escape in the span of two hours.

There weren't much high-level honkai beasts except for the so-called [Herscherr] as well as some high-level honkai beasts that accompanied their birth.

With a sigh, Aleph looked at the built-in GPS in the front seat.

"We're here."

"I will pick the—"

A strong pricking sense appeared on the back of his neck. This jolted Aleph up from his seat.

'Danger.'

He opened the window and looked farther to his right. A faint rumbling could be seen from the ground.

Boom-!

The sound of artillery bombardments came next. A large cloud of smoke rose up not far away from them.

From what he could see, it was three to five blocks away at best.

"I'll look for the girl. If a stronger one comes here, drive away first." Aleph pointed to the twelve exhausted people sitting behind them. "Try to keep them safe."

"Your safety is a higher priority."

Aleph was not surprised by Sakura's words.

"Alright, alright. Circle around this place if something ever comes up."

Without waiting for her reply, Aleph took out the greatsword on her lap once more and left. Although the rescued civilians were surprised, they didn't question him obnoxiously like the survivors from movies.

After all, who wouldn't be scared of someone who could kill those huge beasts?

It is also another matter whether Sakura would let them get away unscathed.

Aleph didn't waste any time. He looked at the five-storey apartment building before looking at the main entrance. The glass door was stained with blood. Several brooms were placed to lock the door, but it was a failure, as could be seen from the broken glass door.

Several undeads looked at him, the newcomer, before they started rushing out.

Multiple ratio lines appeared on their bodies. The moment they were marked by him, there was only one outcome.

Psshk-!

Psshk-!

One by one, bloody heads flew up. The strong fishy smell would make others puke, but Aleph got used to it. If he encountered it right from the beginning, he would've been in discomfort. The dozens of undeads that he killed along the way made him adapt to it.

'Honkai, honkai, honkai…'

His anger towards the unknown force that sought to destroy humanity deepened. It's akin to someone who suddenly punched you without any prior reason.

It didn't take long before he swept the entire first floor clean.

Aleph looked at the still-operational elevator as well as the wide stairs. Electricity wasn't cut off yet since it has only been an hour or so since the beginning of the honkai eruption.

"Nevermind. I will retreat later on. If that huge danger comes to me…"

[Cursed Energy: 272 → 301]

Looking at the panel from earlier, Aleph vaguely sensed the changes within his body.

Unfortunately, the [Major Energy Box] only gave him a 29-point increase.

"I was cut by the seraph-class' wing blades back then. Could I resist it now?" He muttered. "I'll try this out with one of the corpses later."

Aleph killed one chariot-class beast after another, thus creating an illusion of his invincibility. 

The truth was that he was akin to a stone cannon, an upgraded glass cannon. The damage he could dish out was strong enough to kill them, but resisting their attacks was another matter altogether.

That was the main reason why he never let himself get hit.

Along the way to the third floor, Aleph swept through all undead within the second and third floor. All of the ones who were present outside got beheaded by his greatsword. Bits of red and purple flesh fell out from his blade every now and then. 

Some of the blood becomes viscous on some parts of the greatsword. He has to clean it or else it will deteriorate the quality of this honkai weapon.

"317… 318… 319."

Looking at the door in front of him, Aleph shouted out.

"Is Miss Carole here? I was sent by Miss Hua to pick you up."

A few seconds later, there was no reply.

"Miss Hua told me that you hate peppers, likes to eat her signature sweet and spicy fish, and that you have a crush that turned out to be figments of im—"

"Yes, yes! I'm coming!"

What greeted Aleph was the embarrassed face of a sixteen-year-old girl. Her tanned skin and pure white hair was a rare sight within the Far East.

"Come in, quick! And where's Hua?"

"There's no time for this. Let's go leave this place."

"Leave? How—"

Hua's friend, Carole, was stunned as she saw the sight around Aleph. Dozens of bodies lay lifelessly on the ground. Some of them had their heads severed, while there are others that got split in an uneven seven-to-three ratio. Their most common trait was that their heads were broken.

A strong fishy smell assaulted her nose, making her instinctively puke.

Aleph originally wanted to pat her back until he noticed his state. His entire body was stained with blood.

"Roar!"

A low rumble came not far away from them. Two more undeads came from upstairs.

Carole was forced to 'stop' her vomiting. She tried to grab his shoulders in an attempt to pull him inside, only to find out she couldn't.

"I appreciate the concern, miss. I could deal with them."

Under her surprised looks, two heads went flying the moment he brandished his greatsword. Blood spurted into the already bloodstained ceiling, making it a more creepy sight.

[Achievement Unlocked: Angel of Death]

[Reward: Blank Sephira Crystal Fragment]

[Angel of Death: Kill One Hundred Human Beings for the first time.]

The sound of his achievement came once again.