Chapter 24

When Ophelia left her apartment, the first thing she saw. Like in the corridor, 4-5 meters from her, her beloved Saeko, about whom she constantly worried. Holds hands with Xi Yu and looks at him with a kind and sometimes gentle smile!

"I... Am I overworked? Or has the Apocalypse of Nightmares arrived? This can't be true, right? Saeko, due to the horror happening outside, will not be able to get here for at least another week. So is this a hallucination? But how real!" - Ophelia thought, looking strangely at this picture.

Pinching herself to make sure that this was not a dream, because of the realism of the sensations and the vision of the mirage, Ophelia decided to come closer and touch. But what's strange is that the closer Ophelia came, the more Saeko's face changed.

There was a gentle smile visible there, which constantly twitched and changed to anger, then to shame, and sometimes to cruelty! Stuttering from such a reaction, Ophelia became convinced that this was an illusion. Her subconscious absolutely did not want to accept this picture as reality.

Oferia believed that Saeko could not have ignored her for so long. And Ophelia was sure that she had noticed her, because several times Saeko's eyes looked at her with a bit of alarm.

"Apparently I suffered from excessive overexertion yesterday, I was terribly exhausted and have not yet fully woken up!" - thinking to herself, Ophelia was looking for excuses for the realism of this picture.

Looking at this realistic illusion, Ophelia froze for several seconds in bewilderment.

"That Bastard planned everything! And why didn't I suspect such an obvious setup earlier? Did his mood swings throw me off? Or strange behavior? 5 minutes! How can I stand 5 minutes of such intimate and ambiguous action in front of Ophelia? I have to say something! But what? "Is Ophelia just a favor I did?" What will she think of me? That I often provide such services? Why did I even agree to this?" - While Saeko tried to fulfill her promise, her thoughts were in chaos, and her "gentle" smile was constantly distorted and twitching.

"Oh, I can't wait to watch the shocked expression on Ophelia's face from the cameras. Just the thought of what a shocked expression she will have on her face, I simply cannot refuse this idea," Xi Yu thought about Ophelia's facial expression, looking at Saeko with delight.

After 2-3 minutes, Ophelia couldn't stand it and came up poking her finger on Saeko's cheek, whose face finally changed.

- O-Ophelia, I can explain everything. I... I... he... in general... - Saeko, getting nervous and stuttering, began to frantically select the right words.

- You... YOU... How? Why? - finally realizing that this is reality, not a mirage. Ophelia arrived in shock and confusion at what was happening. Trying to find words that suited her thoughts, she could not stop stuttering.

- I will explain everything to you in 1 minute 58 seconds! - almost an executioner from injustice towards her, cursing Xi Yu to herself, Saeko said. She did not want to break her word, especially after experiencing 3 minutes of stress.

"This is love Ophelia, love at first sight, we have long wanted to tell you a story..." Xi Yu said cheerfully, when he was abruptly cut off. And the already strong grip on his hands from Saeko intensified even more. Thus bringing the place of contact of the hands to whiteness.

- Cut out your shit! With my ass it's love at first sight! Just wait, and in 1 minute 3 seconds you will regret this setup! - Saeko growled angrily, trying to restrain herself and shaking her whole body with anger at the blatant impudence shown by Xi Yu.

"Rias, are you filming everything?" - Xi Yu answered excitedly.

- Yes, Mister Xi Yu! Rias replied tenderly, and Ophelia began to realize what was happening here, causing her to sigh in relief and glare at Xi Yu.

As soon as the time was up, Saeko pulled her hands out of Xi Yu's hands and jumped away.

- I-I'll explain everything to you later, it's not what it seems! - Saeko stammered, finally looking into Ophelia's eyes.

- No need, I roughly understood what was happening here. Did you bet him? - Ophelia asked, looking thoughtfully at Saeko.

- You can say so, but what a spectacle! Agree, you were shocked, weren't you? - Xi Yu said excitedly like a child.

-... - Looking at Xi Yu in confusion, Ophelia was speechless, noticing that something was wrong with him.

- And now you, Bastard, will lose your hands! - Saeko said angrily and with a cruel expression on her face began to take the Katana out of its sheath.

But as soon as Saeko began to take the Katana out of its sheath, both in front and behind, the ceiling began to move apart, and down came a machine gun of the MK4/2 series aimed at her, thereby shocking her!

- A, A, A! Physical violence is unacceptable! - Xi Yu said cheerfully and somehow excitedly, putting his finger forward and waving it comically.

- Xi Yu, what's wrong with you? "You're kind of strange," Ophelia said, looking seriously at Xi Yu.

- I am weird? But I feel great! You should have seen your facial expression! Ah... I... This feeling is similar... Like in childhood when a dirty trick was successfully performed... Stop... What??? I do all this so that... - Xi Yu said, when suddenly his face turned pale.

He seemed to be drunk, having fun and suddenly sobered up from the fear of a threat to his life, and his heart was beating at a frantic pace!

"I...Rias!" Analyze the nature of my behavior over the past week! - Xi Yu took out the phone and thundered in a hard, worried voice.

"Over the past week, the pattern of your mood and behavior has changed slightly, but since yesterday's training, your behavior and mood have sharply fallen into chaos, moving along an involuntary trajectory," Rias said, showing a holographic model of different indicators of mood and irrational actions and words.

 From yesterday's training... If we assume that the "Vocation" System is built into the Soul... And my Soul lacks the components "Emotions" and "Ego"...

- If the "Ego" is only responsible for accepting and realizing oneself. "Emotions" are what the Soul relies on when interacting with Will, Intention and Desires...

- What if...

- What if "Emotions" are the weak side of the Soul, and "Soul Power", on the contrary, is stronger than usual...

- Relying on weak "Emotions", does the strong "Soul Power" break them? Or does it lead to chaos? How it works? What a pity that our science has not yet been able to analyze the Soul...

- Crap! What should I do now? And since this was from yesterday's training, does this mean that the Energy of the Universe entering my body through the Soul is somehow connected here? - Xi Yu muttered to himself, walking from side to side and constantly massaging his temples.

- R-rias, can you predict the timeline of my emotional state? - Trembling at the possibility of becoming crazy, Xi Yu helplessly asked Rias.

"Forgive me, Master, but the trajectory of your behavior does not have an emotional fulcrum," Rias said tenderly.

- What other point of support? - Xi Yu asked incomprehensibly, while both girls nearby and who had arrived for training, frozen in shock and bewilderment, listened, afraid to interrupt his reasoning.

Ingrid wanted to interrupt him, but Ophelia grabbed her hand and shook her head. Thus saying not to distract him, and she herself was wondering what was wrong with him.

- Judging by the data I collected, about the model of human behavior from the moment I began to develop. The closest I find are the thoughts of Gol Shrauts and Mike Bilton. Which describes theories about emotions and their effects on human Temperament.

- The fulcrum of emotions is created from the moment the "Ego" is born. This happens gradually, but steadily. Several strong emotions are concentrated on the temperament inherent in the genes and thus a fulcrum of the mental state is created.

- When this fulcrum collapses, a person goes crazy. His speed of mental processes slows down, the stability of the emotional sphere decreases, and the degree of volitional effort decreases or increases to an absurd amount, which leads to... - Rias continued to speak, but was interrupted by Xi Yu's furious tone.

- Rias! I've had enough of this scientific bullshit! Why do I need these unconfirmed theories? You better tell me how to deal with this! - filled with anger at the incident that happened to his soul, and feeling powerless for his inability to somehow help himself, Xi Yu shouted out of anger.

- I apologize, Sir, but the necessary information, as well as a solution to your condition, is not in my database! Now you don't have a supporting emotion and I don't even observe Temperament!

- Based on the knowledge I have, you must already be a crazy person! But based on your behavior and speech, you are not crazy...

- A few minutes ago, the main emotion you had was "Envy", and now "Anger". Such a quick betrayal..." Rias continued as Xi Yu was interrupted.

- Envy? What was I jealous of? - Xi Yu asked, staring blankly at the hologram image of Rias.

- As Golya Shrautsa writes. I quote: {Envy is sadness because of the well-being of one's neighbor, which seeks good for oneself and evil for one's neighbor. The envious person would like to see "The Nice One - Dishonorable", "The Rich One - Poor", "The Happy One - Unhappy". This is the purpose of envy - to see how the envied person falls from happiness into disaster.}

- If I need to make an assumption based on your views, timbre of voice, movements of facial muscles, acceleration and decrease of heart rate in certain situations, as well as changes in heart rate...

- Mr. Xi Yu, if you put it into human language, then it turns out that you: "Unconsciously envy the fact that Ophelia not only has a relative in the form of the wonderful Ingrid. But also, even though she is a man-hater, she still has a loved one who is ready to cross the entire Japan in the Apocalypse, just to be close. And you have no one, no friends, no relatives, no family, no loved ones..."

"You are completely alone, both because of this deep loneliness and the instability of your emotional state..." Rias continued, but was again interrupted by the thoughtful and calmed Xi Yu.

- Okay, enough of all this, just tell me what is desirable for me now. I hope after training and activation of the System everything will work out...

"Otherwise, it's better for me to find a reliable deputy and get away from people..." Xi Yu said thoughtfully.

While Xi Yu was talking to Rias, he was so engrossed. That he didn't pay any attention to anything else at all.

But around him, 3-4 meters away, Ingrid, Ophelia, Sylvia, Fumiko, Eva, Saeko Maria and Vincent had already gathered. And the more they listened to Xi Yu's conversation with Rias, the more they began to understand the approximate situation in which Xi Yu found himself.

When Rias said the reason for having Xi Yu, Ophelia couldn't help but come up and hug Saeko. Looking at her with a grateful look, full of love and trust. When did the topic turn to loneliness without family, friends and loved ones. Everyone unknowingly developed close feelings for Xi Yu. There wasn't a single person here who didn't lose someone.

And if the van Hossen family has each other, and Ophelia has Ingrid, then Fumiko, Eva and Saeko have no one left from the family at all.

"Presumably, Master's emotional state will be easier to control for a while if you limit any contact with people, especially communication with them," Rias stated tenderly.

- It's not difficult, but if after activating the "Calling" System, my condition does not stabilize. But I won't be able to contact you, I give priority to Ophelia's command...

"And I'm adding a directive in the task category: "To ensure conditions for the survival of humanity with planning for unexpected future threats," Xi Yu said thoughtfully, wandering in the depths of his thoughts, completely detached from reality.

Focused only on Rias' voice, Xi Yu thought about how this situation could affect his plan to save humanity.

- Xi Yu, what's wrong with you? - After sitting there in silent agreement with himself, immersed in thoughts and plans, Xi Yu was called out by the alarmed Ingrid.

- A? - coming out of his thoughts due to the response and twitching of the shoulder from Ingrid, Xi Yu, having come to his senses from his concentration, began to look around and came to reality.

- How long have you been here, my faithful servants? - Xi Yu spoke in rhyme, and then closed his mouth.

Starting to think about how he could speak while holding back his emotions. Just like he does when talking to Rias, knowing that she is just a machine with no emotions.

Having heard what Xi Yu said, now no one was angry with him, and did not take hostility to what he said, approximately understanding his emotional state.

"We've been here for about 20 minutes, and we heard your entire dialogue with Rias, roughly understanding the situation you found yourself in..." Ingrid said sadly, and the others nodded in confirmation.

- It's for the best! Less explanation. And so let's go to training! And please limit your communication with me for the next 6 to 9 days! - Xi Yu said excitedly getting up and heading towards the elevator, addressing those following him.

- What kind of training? - Saeko asked in bewilderment.

- ABOUT! Surely you have already activated the System... What level are you and what is your profession? - Xi Yu asked interestedly.

- Level? Profession? What are you talking about? - Saeko asked incomprehensibly.

- A? Have you killed any zombies? - Xi Yu asked in surprise.

"I killed, but what do these game terms of yours have to do with it?" Saeko asked incomprehensibly until Xi Yu interrupted her.

- You killed zombies... But you don't know about levels and profession? This is impossible! - Xi Yu said in a stupor.

- How many and how did you kill them? - Suddenly thinking about something, Xi Yu asked.

- There were two of them. When I got to the goal of my mission on a motorcycle, all this devilry began. Having noticed the explosions and the chaos going on on the highway, I no longer paid attention to the mission and everything else, rushing to the nearest TER point to call Ophelia. When I got to the village TER point, my way was blocked by 2 bloody zombies. Without thinking twice, I cut them in two with one swing of my katana and moved on. So I contacted Ophelia and rushed to Tokyo... - Saeko explained in detail what happened to her in Miyazaki.

- Where did you cut them in two? - Coming out of the elevator to the gym, Xi Yu asked a question that interested him.

"At the waist," Saeko said incomprehensibly.

- Either you have too much luck, or I have too much luck! Ahahha! You're just awfully lucky. You didn't kill them! They are alive! They can only be killed by damaging the brain. Train with the others, your system is not activated yet. They will answer all questions for me. And please don't talk to me anymore! - Noticing another glitch in his behavior, Xi Yu said, increasing his pace.

- Wait, Xi Yu! Please answer the last question! Why did you give command priority to me? Why not Ingrid or Eva? Why me? - Ophelia asked all the time, being confused.

Hearing the question asked, Ingrid and Eva pricked up their ears, they were also very interested in why Xi Yu did this. Does he really feel something for Ophelia?

- Stupid question! Can you imagine Ingrid being a commander in an Apocalyptic time? Watching you, I noticed that you are either more aware of the situation, or simply more cruel. Other people would certainly benefit from the kindness of Ingrid and Eva. And showing kindness in the Apocalypse is tantamount to showing weakness... Then guess for yourself, keep training and don't bother me for 6-9 days! If you need anything, please contact Rias." After hastily saying goodbye and almost running away, Xi Yu left at an accelerated pace.

- By my kindness? Isn't this absurd? I managed one of the largest companies in the country for 5 and a half years! - Ingrid complained.

- No, he's right. It's one thing to be kind in peacetime with laws for every action. It's a completely different thing to be kind in the jungle among animals. Enough about that, how about we introduce ourselves to each other? And will someone tell me why I need training at such a time? - Saeko said, nodding approvingly at Xi Yu's judgment.

She was very interested in those around her, although she completely ignored Vincent, just like Ophelia. Why he couldn't help but smile with a crooked smile and go train without interfering with their communication.

7 days later...

**Clarification of a few points.**

[Xi Yu is one of those people called "Seabiscuit". From childhood, he grew up in the army under the yoke of subordination and order. He restrains his feelings and desires on an instinctive level. I wrote in previous chapters that when he received the Soul component of "Memory" and "Soul Power," his Will (intention, control over emotions) increased even more.

But each component of the Soul is interconnected and relies on each other! Thus, "Memory" during nightmares, relying on a very weak component of the Soul "Emotions". And "Soul Power" through intention, desire, etc., etc. - relying on the same very weakened "Emotions". They created excessive pressure on the "Emotions" component of the Soul. As a result, the weak component of Xi Yu's "Emotion" Soul, formed over 24 years, could not stand it! And it began to burst at the seams, maintaining its integrity only thanks to the very strong Willpower from the "Power of the Soul".

And so, when Xi Yu began to train and receive the Energy of the Universe through the Soul from the System, Willpower could no longer cope with the opposition to the "Emotions" component of the Soul, and slowly but rapidly Xi Yu's emotions finally went to pieces.

"The Soul component is like a chamber from a wheel. While the chamber was bending under the pressure of the weight resting on it, it was simply distorted in shape. But when the pressure became too much, it began to quickly wear out and leak air in several places... (I'm trying to convey the idea as best I can, I apologize for insufficiently clear explanation.)"

(As for Xi Yu's dislike for Samuel Davis. Because of his calm and taciturn character, having flown so much on the plane, he was already tired of it, which was noticeable when his facial expression was not very good going down the ramp at the airport. And seeing the way Samuel lustfully looks at Ingrid, he unconsciously began to show hostility towards him. Which became mutual after a couple of slaps and insults. Do not consider Xi Yu a Hero, he is far from an angel. And the life of some dude useless for the survival of humanity means nothing to him If you feel sorry for Samuel Davis, I advise you to stop reading earlier! Because in the future, Xi Yu will kill for less!)]