Chapter 9: Round Two

Was it foolishness or prudence?

Sakura wanted to have an answer. As such, she handed over the long case at the back to Aleph's lap.

Click-!

After a simple passcode, the silver case was opened. It was a broadsword that occupied the entire driver and passenger seat—big enough for Sakura to also place that case on her lap.

The broadsword flashed with purple lights. Its entire body was made of a compound black steel used for military-grade robots.

'Honkai Weapon..?'

She could easily feel that it weighed considerably. 

Click-!

The door to Aleph's side was opened.

"I left it on autopilot, but you can take over once you press this button." He explained. "See you later."

Psshk-!

The black broadsword made a sound that cut through air as Aleph carried it outside. Since they were already slowing down, he only tumbled down several times when he jumped out of the car. In the process, he dropped his broadsword, remaining stuck on the ground.

"...Oops."

Aleph quickly chose to forget this awkward moment as he picked it up.

At first, he found it difficult to do so, but once he went into APS, the purple lines all over his body gave him a newfound strength.

Aleph placed the broadsword's blunt edge on his shoulder.

"This feels oddly familiar… No, was it from a game I played?"

Despite having direct eye contact with the Chariot-class honkai beast, he still found time to think about irrelevant matters.

Swoosh-!

It initiated its usual move. The honkai beast charged straight to his direction.

If it was before, Aleph would've been disoriented, but his prior experience as well as several other studies gave him enough composure. That, and the odd confidence he was feeling every time he went into a fight.

Knowing it could only move at a straight line, Aleph easily avoided its first charge by moving sideways.

Just then…

"...There it is."

The same ratio line appeared on its entire body. Several lines appeared on its arms, lower torso, waist, and the entire body. They simply appeared as he willed it.

Psshk-!

The charge of the Chariot-class usually contained several seconds of delay after it was finished. That was the thing that Aleph previously leveraged to end the battle in one go.

Aleph dashed straight underneath the honkai beast's legs.

With his sharper blade, he found it easier to slice through its lower torso.

If it was with the baseball bat, he could've performed such an attack five times. Now, Aleph feels he could perform it more than a dozen times.

Psshk-!

The entire lower torso was severed in one strike.

Seeing the honkai beast losing its footing, it 'fell' down.

At that split second where its body was staying midair…

Psshk-!

The final strike severed its torso into two pieces, cementing its end. It was not thoroughly severed, but a huge tear was present throughout its body.

"Fu… It was easier now."

Although Aleph felt his hands trembling, he was aware that this battle was far easier than before. The broadsword he brought was the main contributing factor that made everything easier.

His hypothesis of the 'Ratio Technique' being dependent on the body's strength as well as the weapon's toughness was proven true.

Thus, it could be said that what it essentially does is to forcibly "create" a weakness and make it visible to the naked eye.

"Huh..?"

It was at this moment did Aleph see a brand new achievement unfold.

[Achievement Unlocked: A Little Bit Easier]

[Reward: Major Energy Box]

[A Little Bit Easier: Defeat a chariot-class honkai beast in under ten minutes.]

[Major Energy Box: Grants an increase of 10~100 energy units when used.]

'Under ten minutes… Just the time for our first meeting.'

Aleph discovered several rules for this 'achievement hunter'. Aside from the 'firsts' giving away good rewards, there was also this rule regarding enemy engagement.

He defeated the honkai beast in less than a minute, but only the achievement related to the '...ten minutes' was unlocked. It only meant that a battle starts when he and his enemies 'meet'.

Aleph did not hesitate to use the [Major Energy Box]. A cubic blue crystal appeared in his palm. It was small enough for him to crush it with his fist.

[Cursed Energy: 147 → 182]

A line of text interfered with his vision. It seems to tell him that his capabilities had 'leveled-up'. 

Aleph tried to test it and vaguely 'felt' that his energy reserves had increased.

Just then, he heard the sound of a car drifting. The door opened on its own, revealing the pink-haired girl who took over the driver's seat.

"Are you staying here..?"

"...No, thank you."

At this moment, Aleph chose to go with his original intention. He realized that he might have shown a bit too much to this pink-haired spy.

When he returned into the passenger's seat, Sakura chose to remain silent until a while later.

"So this is the reason why you wanted to go? To fight?"

"...Yeah. I wanted to see how far our weapons would go."

"Isn't that the Second Institute's job?"

If their Third Institute focuses on the development of long-ranged weapons as well as mechanical robots, the Second Institute focuses more on creating weapons that are enhanced with honkai energy. While it was harmful, it could also serve as an alternative to conventional energy—even defying some of the established laws in physics. 

A simple example would be the 'Divine Judgement', a huge railgun powered by honkai energy. It was used to deal with the accompanying Emperor-class Honkai Beasts whenever a Herscherr descended. Though, it could only be used on such beasts due to the 'unknown factor' that every Herscherr has.

The Third Herscherr, the Herscherr of Lightning, was able to create an electromagnetic shield that negated attacks that came from it.

Nevertheless, the weapons imbued by honkai energy were far stronger than the traditional ones.

"I admit. I want to test my strength." Aleph said frankly.

Recalling that moment where he cut down a Chariot-class Honkai Beast within seconds, Sakura fell silent.

Even within Fire MOTH, the number of inhuman combatants does not exceed five. These were the people who had undergone modifications to reach the highest limits a human could muster.

Of course, there was an exception. The strongest combatant as of the moment was said to have been born with that kind of ridiculous strength that enabled her to defeat Herscherrs with her attacks.

'Everything was for his desire to see his strength..?'

When Sakura grasped his full intention, she could only fall silent. All his prior acts were meant for him to reach such a simple goal.

Even so, Aleph had shown one surprise after another. Just his strength similar to 'her' was enough for Sakura to seriously consider his proposition before.

'To be his exclusive agent…'

*****

A/N: All draws regarding the [Energy Boxes] are decided through random number generators. It's completely up to luck whether he would receive high or low numbers.