Chapter 71: Society is in Disarray

Ein 1st of all checked on Griseo as she was heavily damaged. He saw that Mobius gave her ICHOR, because there was no other way to save her without him and Elysia to heal her up with abyss flower.

"Is she doing okay Mobius?" He asked anxiously as she nodded and gave him a report of her condition. "She miraculously survived. Though her father passed away on the operating table."

He sighed heavily and calmed down. Eden was doing rescue operations and gave tons of capital to Phyllis so they can give to the survivors and victims of the calamity of the 9th herrscher. As Mei said, everything is in chaos. With the sudden disappearance of the continent of Mu, the world suddenly became very hostile. And the lands were poisoned by honkai energy.

"Mei. Did you manage to get anything from Einstein?" She shook her head. "Nothing, when they were swallowed up by the sea. All contact was lost."

He gritted his teeth and frowned. "Let's try and find them. The 9th is a goddamned disaster." He then went out and tried to stabilize the damages and changes from the 9th eruption.

With the support of the 4th key. They were able to make the world relatively calm, but the casualties were too many. As a large amount of the populace died from the honkai poisoning, earthquakes, and out of control weathers.

Food and shelter also became a big problem. Ein and Phyllis' business supported the whole world. They cut their prices to basically zero, as with the help of abyss flower and his powers. They created grains and nutritionally rich food in astronomical amounts.

There were hiccups along the way, but they have helped with society's rebuilding heavily, Vill created shelters with her bots for the unfortunate citizens. They were so busy that they couldn't even have a breather as all the members who can help flew everywhere they could. As humans are the most precious resource they have. Mei then started to develop stigmatas with Mobius. As she believed that it is only a matter of time before the only ones left would be the MANTIS or members of Moth.

With Mobius' specialty in biology, and Mei with honkai energy. They tried to recreate the true stigmata of herrschers, by giving ones compatible with a set of genes that would help them be more adaptable, stronger, and better equipped to fight the honkai in the future. As Ein became a special unit that specialized in search and destroy, while trying to fix anomalies that would be detrimental to the remaining shelters and cities of humanity.

"Hah. Damned honkai beasts, they're appearing everywhere." He sat on a rock to take his mind off of the mindless and monotonous work of disposing honkai beasts. He clenched his hand as he felt that the honkai energy in the world was increasing. He sighed again and thought that things would get worse again after the other herrschers appear.

To be more efficient, he multiplied gravity to himself as he flew all around everywhere. As he got the power from the 9th core. He then received a report of the Kevin subjugating a new emperor class that could reform. It was named Garuda and Hua was compatible with it.

"They're doing good. I'll just thin out the mooks, they're much more dangerous than the strong honkai beasts as Moth doesn't focus on them much." He popped a condensed ball of honkai beasts in his mouth and crunched on it.

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In HQ, Mei was getting anxious that they are using Ein as a crutch. They would be in much worse shape if he didn't work 24/7 as the reports of honkai beasts appearing all over the world started to become a huge problem.

As she worked like a bee to try and make a weapon that would be a trump card against herrschers. She talked to Ein and he said his limitations on fighting against herrschers. He would inevitably destroy the earth as collateral, and their immense honkai energy makes him unable to transport them to space by using the power of the 2nd. They could resist and not go through it.

So she came up with Selene. A satellite that will use the technology that turns honkai energy into heat. She worked tirelessly, and things were starting to get for the worst. She had sudden bouts of headaches, and her limbs sometimes became numb.

"Curses! Is Su's medicine not working that well?" She was experiencing the early stages of honkai corruption. And she was hiding it from everyone, only relying on Su's developed medicines to try and delay the inevitable.

Su advised her to go to Ein for help as he can cure honkai corruption. But she was stubborn, saying that he has too much on his plate already. He will monitor her condition and that would be detrimental in his endeavors to try and protect the cities and lands from honkai energy and beasts.

"He already saw me once with symptoms. And he cured me, but it didn't really go away." Her body was repaired and she became good as new. But her honkai adaptability was so poor that she couldn't be a MANTIS, or receive the stigmata that was being developed. And the cycle starts anew. And she noticed that it was getting worse and worse, as she theorized that leftover honkai energy still lingers even if he siphons it. If he repeats healing her a few times, it would then suddenly cascade and she would die quicker. So they were just delaying it, and she saw no point. Accepting her mortality.

The price for salvation is high, as she sighed and sat on a chair. She smiled wryly at her plight. "Kevin, Ein. Forgive me, but I must continue." She reminisced their high school days for a bit as she looked at their scrap book that had their pictures inside.

Her mind made up, and her will unshakeable. She started her work once again, and quietly suffered, injecting another dose of medicine as the corruption was kept at bay a bit more.

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Hua was currently inside a pod about to undergo her assimilation of a honkai beast. With Mobius the one supervising everything.

I must become stronger... Captain. I will crush the honkai in your stead. Hua thought that it was the fault of the honkai for her plight. 1st was her peaceful life, it took it away from her along with her only friend and family. Then one of the people she admired the most and saw as her sister was manipulated and even died at the hands of the love of her life. She gritted her teeth as she thought of how Dr. Ein is working endlessly with a smile on his face. With the whole world on his shoulders, and his support. Limited.

"We'll begin little bird." Mobius spoke as they started to inject her with the genes of Garuda. Hua felt immense pain, but she pushed through. "This is nothing to even the 1st ones who underwent this procedure." She remembered that Kevin, Elysia, and the 1st ones felt like they were melting from the inside.

Then after that, nothing happened. As she looked all over her body and there were no changes, but a boost in her strength as she clenched her fist. "Dr. Mobius? What's the problem? Was it successful?" She started to get anxious and asked.

Mobius shook her head and sighed. "It's a failure, it seems you are unable to assimilate the honkai beast's genes." As Mobius opened the pod and Hua exited it.

Hua felt her world turn upside down. Am I... Going to be useless? Another failure? She kneeled on the ground as she thought of failing Himeko and Ein. As they took care of her and taught her everything to survive and be a better person.

"No! I must be stronger! Not until I destroy the honkai!" Mobius then saw waves of honkai energy get released from her as wings appeared on her back.

"Ohh? It seems you've succeeded after all little bird? Quite surprising." Mobius documented it and decided that this might need further research.

"I'll be strong... Captain... I will help Dr. Ein in your stead. I will live a life that you would be proud of." She clenched her fists.

As Hua's story was just beginning.

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I made Hua a mantis much earlier, as Ein would never send her out to the field against an emperor class like how it turned out in canon. And how he missed Mei's condition? He is out in the field almost 24/7, and with Su's medicine. The honkai corruption and energy is unnoticeable unless he zeroed in on her like a hawk. Short chappy, cuz I have to go to work now. Sigh, I am becoming like Ein. Work's a pain.