Chapter 18: True Meaning

After their conversation, Aleph and Sakura returned to their team. The panicked escorts were seen calling using their phones. When they saw him, they all dropped what they were doing.

"We're glad you're doing well, assistant director."

"Alright, alright. I will take the full blame when we go back. I will make sure that none of you will get scolded."

Upon hearing that, they all heaved a sigh of relief.

"We're done here. Let's go back."

"I understand!"

The convoy that was delayed for nearly two hours had finally left Sapphire City.

*****

One day later.

"You did that all on your own?"

"Yes."

"Hm, I see."

Currently, Aleph is present in director Einstein's office. Her messy light blue hair made him think of the all-nighters she did, briefly distracting his thoughts.

"Is this it?" He asked. "What will be my punishment?"

"There's none." She replied flatly. "The latest X-23 units need combat data. It is our entire work. I won't find fault with it."

It was Aleph's turn to heave a sigh of relief. He was prepared for a serious scolding and the likes, but he got off with nothing.

"You created a problem, however."

Einstein meddled her computer for a while before she rotated its monitor to his direction. It was a camera feed that showed one of Aleph's battles against chariot-class beasts.

"Ahem. Yes, I anticipated this already."

"There will be many people who will make a fuss in the future. After all, you fought against a chariot-class without anything but your sword. You might receive the same treatment as her, or worse, become entangled with the internal struggles."

One has to know that the individual strength of humans only amounts to that. Individually, the strongest ones could beat a seraph-class honkai beast on their own. Generating a force enough to break its shell was proven to be difficult. It was one of the reasons why Kevin got through the recruitment phase so easily. There's no doubt his current strength is sitting near Elysia's spot.

Since Aleph demonstrated his power to slice through chariot-class beasts cleanly, he was even stronger than Kevin.

"I won't reprimand you."

Knowing Aleph's character within the time they worked together, Einstein knew that he was not the reckless type.

"I only want to know why you did it."

"I want to join the struggle." His brief reply stunned her. "I didn't see how incredibly inefficient Fire MOTH was until I visited Sapphire City."

First was the declaration of martial law. Instead of spreading awareness, they chose to restrict knowledge about honkai. It caused thousands of people to get caught off guard.

Second was the lack of countermeasures. It was connected with the first one. If the entire Far East knew about the honkai, while it would've inevitably produced chaos, there would be many chances to publicly implement countermeasures.

Finally, there was the complacency of the higher-ups. It was their thinking that publicizing honkai was unnecessary and that they could still deal with it that led to the series of events.

If there isn't a proper head that would give proper and efficient orders, their downfall would be imminent.

"I want to change some things. I don't want others to die due to some stupid mistakes. If we're screwed by the honkai, humanity is also doomed."

"..."

A minute later, Einstein only sighed.

"You have the same idea as her."

"Mei?"

She didn't answer him immediately.

"The Fourth Institute's director shares the same sentiment as you. He tried to do something around five years ago but failed. It should be related to your concern." Einstein explained. "It's just that he failed. His experiences was what secured him as the fourth institute's director. Since then, both the fourth and the fifth are the targets when it comes to cutting off funds."

The study of Quantum Physics has a great correlation with the honkai. The fourth institute worked closely with the first institute in nearly half of their findings.

"He failed, but it seems that your friend wants to do the same thing as him."

"...She does."

"Are you doing this for her?"

"Partly, yes."

At first, Aleph only wanted to use his status to unlock achievements. Once he becomes strong enough, he could help by fighting against honkai beasts and such.

However, he had a feeling—a strong one.

It told him that if he doesn't do anything, the world is doomed to perish. The world would be destroyed and humanity would lose at this rate.

He wanted to know the reason behind this feeling, but his personal memories are locked by the wall of trauma. Every time he wanted to remember, his chest would feel tight. He himself was frustrated about it.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything about it for now.

He tried to see several psychiatrists but to no avail. Aleph felt that only he could resolve this problem. For now, he planned to act according to his strange feelings.

"I don't want to think about the worst-case scenarios when it comes to honkai. Director Einstein must know what I am talking about."

"About the honkai's potential? Indeed, I am." Einstein replied. "It's not just me, but all the other four directors. They have long seen its terrifying potential. We have wanted to act since a while ago. We're only waiting for the right time."

Aleph vaguely grasped their line of thinking.

Before he had the chance to guess it completely, Einstein stated everything to him.

"We wanted to unify all five research institutes under one capable person. By then, we will be able to better control the interference from above."

"...and Mei is an excellent choice."

"Exactly."

He thought of the things that Mei did from the start. She dealt with the problems of the fourth research institute with ease. Although it was not as exaggerated as him, she has a brilliant mind that allowed her to push past anything.

It continued until her influence was no longer limited to the fourth institute. As of the moment, she had already "helped" the first, second, third, and fifth institutes. Only the fourth remain uncontacted, which was due to Aleph's existence.

Now, it seems like there's a deeper meaning behind all those visits.

"Are you sure about this?"

Einstein asked once more.

"Yes."

Reminiscent to that time with Hua, it was Aleph's turn to show his determination.

"So be it. I will help you with the attention you will receive."

"Thank you, director."