Second Key (6)

A few hours after Kouro defeated the 8th Herrscher.

In a room, Durandal along with Otto and Kouro were sitting in a chair.

There were also two girls who were MANTIS who joined the mission to the dream world along with Durandal.

Kouro sat slightly away from all of them compared to the two girls Durandal and Otto who sat side by side.

All the researchers under the command of Otto and Paul Long had all died leaving only the five of them.

Otto who was currently taking a few sips of alcohol then turned to look at Kouro who was currently wearing a pensive expression staring at his palm.

"... Kouro-kun, thank you." Otto said in a calm voice.

Kouro turned to glance at him with raised eyebrows and said in a calm voice, "What's this all of a sudden?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to thank you, thank you for saving me and thank you for defeating the 8th Herrscher."

Hearing their conversation, Durandal seemed to smile bitterly, "It seems I'm not as good as you Kouro, I really didn't help you guys much."

"You don't need to be so modest." said Kouro before his eyes turned forward.

In front of them, Rita was walking towards them with a chill emanating out of her body, each of her footsteps giving rise to ice.

She then stopped and glanced at Durandal, Otto, the two girls in succession before pausing for a moment as she looked at Kouro.

"Kyaa! It's Rita-sama!" said one of the MANTIS girls with sparkling eyes.

Rita didn't say anything to the girl's words, her eyes only focused on Kouro and for a moment the air around her became colder.

Kouro also looked at her with a cold expression and bright shining eyes creating a tense atmosphere.

"..."

The two of them stared at each other intently before Rita turned her head first and looked at Durandal.

"Thank you for your hard work in defeating the 8th Herrscher, you have made a great contribution to humanity." Rita said calmly.

"I would also like to apologize to the scientists and researchers who have been killed here."

She then turned to look at the two girls who idolized her.

"You two have done a good job, I will recommend you to other districts."

After saying that, Rita turned to look at Durandal and Otto.

"By the way, Bianca and Prof. Otto, you two have received Dr. MEI's invitation. She hopes that you will be able to move to the headquarters and take part in Project Stigmata."

"Project Stigmata?!" Durandal shouted with a surprised expression.

"Heh, looks like this old man should straighten out his stiff waist for being needed in such an important project." Otto said with a chuckle.

After saying that, Rita then turned to look at Kouro with an uncomfortable expression and said, "You're coming too Kouro."

Kouro's eyebrows rose at her words.

__

At the same time, within the Seed of Sumeru.

Looking at Durandal who had received his final test, Su looked at the interface that displayed what was happening at the moment before then muttering.

"Miss Bianca. You will find out about the truth of the Stigmata project in the final test. It all started from that day."

... 

The final battle against Honkai took place on the moon. To fight the Herrscher of the End, humanity from the Previous Era sent 9 of the strongest MANTIS Warriors along with one human-aligned Herrscher.

Dr. MEI's plan at that time was to use those 10 warriors to distract the Herrscher of the End and then use 'Selene' to drain her Honkai energy.

The fight was humanity's last step to survival. But it ended quickly.

If it wasn't for the help of Herrscher of Corruption who was at that time together fighting against Herrscher of the End.

2 of the MANTIS Warriors would have died in less than 5 minutes after the battle started.

Unfortunately 'Selene' also failed to meet humanity's expectations so as a desperate last resort, Dr. MEI charged 'Selene' to the limit and fired it.

It was unfortunate but such a powerful attack could only reduce 30% of Herrscher of the End's power.

The result of overcharging made the 'Selene' a wreck. Humanity lost its only weapon against Honkai.

Then Kevin at that time had no other choice but to use all his strength to deliver an attack that temporarily stopped the enemy after his two comrades died.  

....

50,000+ years ago.

Looking at the advanced screen interface that displayed the state of the battle on the moon, a female staff Flame-Chaser then muttered sadly.

"Selene has been destroyed... The Herrscher of the End will be back in motion within 10 hours."

Su beside her ignored her words and focused on the list of MANTIS soldiers who survived during the battle against Herrscher of the End.

[Reestablishing contact with the lunar expedition...]

[Initiate confirmation of the list of survivors....]

"Why?! Why are we letting it end like this? The human race will become extinct..." muttered the girl with a desperate expression.

Seeing how desperate she was, Su patted her shoulder and said in a calm voice, "It's okay, Alice. Don't give up, this is not the end for us."

"This mission isn't over yet! The Herrscher of the End will start moving to earth in 10 hours! That's the time we have to start Project Sanctuary! Start moving our shelters underground to hide from the Herrscher!" Su ordered with a serious expression.

"Remember, this is just an obstacle, we won't lose today! One day, we will return to the surface and that will be the day we defeat Honkai!"

Su made an impassioned speech to fire them all up. That they would return, humanity would always return no matter what obstacles it would face.

"Director..." Alice murmured with sparkling eyes.

*Beep!*

The interface screen then displayed a notification.

"Good news, Director! The lunar expedition has just transmitted the list of survivors! Captain Kevin is included! He will return to earth within 8 hours. "

"I'm so glad that the Director's best friend survived- Hm? Where is the Director?" Alice looked around in confusion.

Su was nowhere to be seen after Kevin was declared safe.

....

Su was currently seen running down the hallway of the room with a happy expression.

"I have to tell her this good news!"

He then entered a room and immediately spontaneously said, "MEI! Kevin is alive! You can see him again after he returns to earth."

MEI was strangely downcast so her expression was not visible but she smiled when she heard his words that Kevin had survived.

"That's good... He managed to survive... But I won't be here to see him again..." MEI said in a weak voice, the purple stripes were scattered all the way up to her neck.

Su's expression instantly changed upon seeing this, "MEI... That infection pattern... The disease..."

MEI only smiled calmly, her eyes seemed to have lost their light.

"I'm dying... My eyes have lost their function... I can no longer see your face..."

Su's expression looked sad and guilty as she heard each word.

"... Don't blame yourself, Su. Your medicine has kept me alive until now."

MEI then continued weakly, "There are two letters on the table. One for Kevin, one for you."

She felt her body functions getting weaker, even breathing was hard.

MEI knew her time was very close.

"Sorry, Kevin, I said I was getting better, but I lied... We'll meet again when you get back from the moon. But... He will be alone for tens of thousands of years... Alone in a forsaken world."

Her eyes, which had lost their color, seemed to shed tears and dripped onto her palms, which had lost their sense of touch.

"That won't happen."

Someone's voice suddenly sounded from beside them, making Su instantly turn his head with a wary expression only for his expression to change back into shock.

"KOURO?! How is that possible? Didn't you already..."

In the shadows was a messy-haired man with a shabby robe smelling of blood, his clothes also looked full of blood as if he had just returned from the dead.

The man's dark purple eyes shone and walked towards MEI slowly, Su who saw this immediately stood in front trying to protect MEI, he knew how much KOURO hated MEI.

But then MEI interrupted weakly, "Su... It's okay..."

"But..." Su turned to her wanting to give an explanation only to see MEI shaking her head.

Su finally stepped aside and looked at KOURO who didn't even turn his head to look at him.

He stared at KOURO's back and thought deeply, 'He has changed...'

MEI listened to the sound of footsteps getting closer to her before raising her head, even though she was blind, she somehow... could sense KOURO's aura.

Something about KOURO's aura felt strange and not right.

If this was while she was still healthy, she would definitely examine KOURO's body thoroughly to satisfy her curiosity.

"... Did you come here to kill me?" MEI said weakly.

"No, I'm here to return the favor." Kouro said in a deep and calm voice before reaching out his hand trying to touch MEI.

"??? " Question marks appeared above Su and MEI's heads, while they were both thinking about the meaning of KOURO's words, he had already touched MEI's hand before a miracle happened.

The purple lines that ran up to MEI's neck seemed to shrink and disappear before moving to KOURO's body.

The lines were traveling up KOURO's neck before suddenly shrinking and disappearing without a trace.

"No way... KOURO... You..." Su's eyes immediately bulged when he saw this, the incurable Honkai disease had been cured by KOURO!

Not only that, the damage caused by the disease had also been healed by KOURO so MEI had regained her senses including the health that she had been deprived of for a long time.

"This is... How is this possible? This is completely unscientific!" muttered MEI while touching her face and blinking at KOURO.

"It's done. There are no more people I need to return the favor to." Kouro said with an unchanged expression, he then walked past Su and into the shadow of the room.

"Wait, KOURO!" Su walked up to KOURO who had entered the shadow of the room only to find that KOURO had disappeared.

"KOURO..."

... 

8 hours later, the lunar expeditioners had returned to base.

Kevin looked back with a relieved smile after seeing MEI, but his expression then changed slightly when he saw the baby that MEI was holding.

"This baby..."

"This is our son, Kevin." MEI said with a happy smile.

The baby was an IVF baby created using Kevin and MEI's genetic material.

Why IVF? It was because as an ordinary human MEI could not carry Kevin's child who was a MANTIS whose genes were completely different from those of an ordinary human.

Even if it were possible to actually get pregnant, MEI would likely die from Honkai radiation or not enough nutrients that she could provide to the baby inside her womb.

MEI then allowed Kevin to hold their baby, the baby would not be affected by the cold that Kevin brought up because it had the same genes.

Kevin looked stiff as he held their baby, more stiff than when he fought the Herrscher of the End.

"H-hey MEI is this okay, what if this baby will get hypothermia if it touches me?"

Seeing how nervous and scared Kevin was made MEI smile funny.

The baby seemed to know that Kevin was his father and with his eyes still closed he immediately touched Kevin's hand.

"You'll be a great father, Kevin. He seems to like you."

Kevin's eyes seemed to widen for a moment and became clear, as if the fog had cleared from his vision and for the first time he clearly found the thing he had to protect.

"I'll name him Adam." Kevin said softly

"First human name, huh? Not bad." MEI said.

Kevin then raised his head and said seriously, "Let's go to the shelter immediately... The Herrscher of the End will be here soon."

MEI nodded her head and understood that this was not the time to relax and be merry.

Staring at the baby in his arms Kevin's expression became determined, 'To protect those I love and cherish. I must defeat Honkai, no matter what it takes!'

Before the Herrscher of the End reached the earth, the remaining human beings fled to underground shelters and entered their cryogenic tubes.

Then the long sleep that lasted for 50,000+ years began...

....

On the moon.

The Herrscher of the End, who measured more than 50 meters, saw the earth that has lost its color becoming a kind of dead planet.

'Humanity has failed again... I'll have to 'reset' it again soon'

Her expression not changing even after thinking this, she then opened the portal and wanted to go to earth before stopping.

Her cold golden eyes turned to stare at someone who walked up to her.

"Human…"

A man in shabby black robes with messy black hair and dark purple eyes was walking towards her with a calm expression unlike those human soldiers before.

"It's ironic if you think about it that the Honkai that destroyed the earth and killed many humans were actually used to 'Embrace' humanity..."

KOURO's voice echoed on the moon even though there was no air to propagate the vibrations of his voice.

"How many times have you 'reset'' this, oh Herrscher of the End?"

Herrscher of the End's eyes widened slightly for the first time.

"I don't know how you know these things human, but it's no use, I will 'reset' time back and you will die."

KOURO's purple eyes immediately clashed with the golden eyes of the Herrscher of the End.

KOURO suddenly raised his index finger and pointed upwards.

"By the way... I have no business with you, I'm here because I want to make a deal with your boss."

"Cocoon of Finality."

As KOURO said that, the expression of the Herrscher of the End changed for the first time, she looked at the human before her with a serious expression and exploded with her Herrscher's aura that made the Moon rumble and dust spread all over the moon.

"A mortal like you... Want to meet my lord?" said the Herrscher of the End in a voice dark and mixed with anger.

With his shabby robes fluttering violently KOURO's expression did not seem to change at all, he just put his hands in his pockets before saying calmly.

"I knew it would turn out like this in the end... Well, then let me go to the Cocoon of Finality directly."

As he said that, his shabby black robe suddenly expanded at high speed, covering the moon, covering the earth, covering the sun, covering the galaxy, until finally...

Covered the universe.

Within the boundless darkness, a pair of violet eyes that shone brightly beyond the stars of the universe could be seen staring at the Herrscher of the End.

"Human… No, what are you?" said Herrscher of the End carefully.

"Me? "

"I am the Herrscher of Shadows."