Chapter 77: Malice and Corruption

Ein was making good progress on building a vessel to sail outside the deepest depths of the sea of quanta. Due to the wonky time, he sped it up around him to buy more. But this was very exhausting, and with his increasing understanding of the sea of quanta, his body was getting affected.

Now, even his torso started to get more transparent. And it was travelling all over the place like a particle that is quantum tunneling. "Weird, am I in a quantum state?" He then had an idea. He tried manipulating the surroundings that were in a state similar to his body, it was successful. But it needed tons of honkai energy.

"This... This could be a god send." He thought of turning individuals into this state and be like the precursors and meld with the sea of quanta to escape the honkai. The only problem is how.

He then felt one of his stem cells activate. And it was on Rin, as he looked up and started on his way out again. "Things are going to shit out there. Rin... Just a little bit more." He was running out of honkai energy due to speeding up time. And his progress was getting slower.

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The remnants of humanity still live and persevere. With the help of Moth, MANTISes, and the soldiers. There was a delicate balance that emerged, as the flame chasers do their own things and try to save humanity. Mobius and Su focused on biologically saving the race, with the former obsessed on turning humans like Ein. A race that could adapt to anything, embodying the word evolution. While the latter wanted a cure and immunity to honkai energy so humans won't suffer the horrifying effects of corruption.

Meanwhile Mei has made the very 1st stigmata with the help of Mobius, based on project Odin. A gene that could help normal humans combat honkai without the risks like ICHOR and the meta morph surgery. Kevin volunteered to receive it to gain more power. Looking at his lover's growing belly, he desired absolute power to protect her. As a glowing tattoo appeared on his back, he received assistance in controlling his honkai energy. The stigmata acted like a regulator that helped with efficiency and strength. (Pic here)

Mei also received one. But her body was already too damaged, and she needed Ein to repair her body. As even Elysia cannot utilize abyss flower to the same degree as him. She simply did not have enough processing power to recreate her molecule by molecule. Prometheus and Metatron cannot help with this endeavor because only people can wield divine keys, and Prometheus is bound to void archives.

"This is fine... Our child would be stronger as a result." She softly caressed her growing bump as she sighed in relief that she would likely be able to see her child at least, unlike her friend.

As she started to work on making the Ether Anchor. A device based on Selene that would disperse honkai energy at a bubble universe. Coating it whole, making the artificial realm stable enough inside the sea of quanta to escape this world.

Prometheus immediately informed her of high amounts of honkai energy in the vicinity. At the level of a herrscher. "Damn! Only 3 of the MANTISes are here! Quick, we have to find the herrscher!" She barked orders and they started to zero in on the herrscher. But she found it strange that nothing was happening for the meantime.

Hua and Kevin immediately found her, using Vill's invention to locate them. Though one of her personas appeared and gave Kevin a dirty look. Introducing herself to Hua as the Kevin Killer mark 1, saying to Hua that she should be careful of him. Because by now, he could go rogue if Mei dies. Knowing her condition by mere chance, seeing signs of honkai corruption on her neck. And she might die at any time, making Kevin an uncertain variable.

Hua and Kevin paid it no mind as Hua received the compass like device and they noticed that the herrscher is only a kilometer away. Uncomfortably close.

Arriving in a few minutes, they saw a girl and frowned. "Rin... What are you feeling? Is there something wrong?" Rin just looked at them and shook her head. "Nothing in particular? Oh, I do feel stronger though. Maybe it's because what Ein-nii gave us? Is there a problem?"

"Let's go Rin, Mei needs to see you." Kevin held her arm and dragged her to see Mei. As he knows that herrschers aren't what they seem. Remembering Himeko's situation back then.

Arriving at Mobius' lab, they scanned Rin. But there was no herrscher core to be seen and a true stigmata wasn't noticed either. "We need to contain her for now. She might be stable now, but we all know what happens if they're left uncheck." Mei decided to put her deep underground for now. As they don't know what to do with the situation.

Sakura immediately heard of this decision as she went to Mei. "Dr. Mei! This is preposterous! Rin didn't do anything wrong!" She protested but Kevin went up to her. "Sakura, do not forget that herrschers look harmless at 1st glance. Do you not remember the 11th? It killed every single MANTIS until we were the only ones left." Sakura gritted her teeth and clenched her fists so tight that her palms bled.

"This wouldn't happen if only he was here." She left as Mei sighed heavily. "Yes, it would. But he isn't. This is giving me a migraine." She massaged her temples as she sat down.

Sakura was then banned from going to the 33rd underground floor because she might release Rin, and without knowing about what her powers or motivations might be. They kept her there for monitoring.

Rin was alone inside her cell, she wanted to see her sister and Ein. But nobody listened to her, as the soldiers who guarded her gave her a dirty look. And hearing their whispers that said she's another witch that would kill them all if she had the chance. "What is happening out there? Why am I even here? Ein-nii, nee-chan..." She called out, but there was no one that answered.

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"Hey, isn't this our chance? That little witch would kill us all just like the others. We need to dispose of her right now!" One of the soldiers said to a group of others.

"But Dr. Mei said that we should only monitor her for now? Won't we get in trouble for this?" They were divided in two, as the 1st soldier protested. "No! That woman doesn't know how much we've suffered! She's only sitting on her chair and giving us orders. We should kill the herrscher now until it's too late!" The others started to remember the damages herrschers caused. The friends and families they lost, the suffering and hardships. All because of herrschers, as they silently go to the underground cell.

Rin was sitting atop on her bed. Still waiting what would happen. As a couple of days have passed by now she thought. She then heard people coming her way and it got her attention.

"Hey Mr. Am I finally able to go outside now? My sister must be waiting for me." She said as the man snickered. "The only place you're going to, is hell!" He then shot her multiple times as she landed on the cold hard ground.

"Did we do it? Did we just kill a herrscher?" Another one asked in disbelief. "Take that you monster! We can kill herrschers too! Not just the MANTIS!" They celebrated as Rin lie on the cold concrete. Her blood flowed as she look at the people celebrating her death.

'What did I do? I just want to be with my family... It's these guys fault. They want me to suffer! Then I will show them what true suffering means...'

She doesn't have a herrscher core. It was another thing entirely, as a black mist seeped out of her body and entered the soldiers one by one. They started losing control of their bodies, then the soldiers went on a rampage. Killing everyone on sight. As honkai beasts start appearing inside the base.

Sakura immediately went to Rin's cell after the alarms blared. She killed everything that stood in her way and what greeted her, is her sister's body on the floor with bullet holes on her torso. The air smelt of spilled blood, Her blood ran cold as the scene was burned inside her mind as she lost strength in her legs and fell down on the floor. She stood up with wobbly legs and gripped her sword tightly.

Chaos started to spread inside the base. As soldiers and honkai beasts rampaged inside the facilities. Kevin cut them up but they just keep appearing. Hua though noticed that they weren't honkai zombies, as she fought one of the soldiers.

"They aren't mindless beasts like zombies. But they're controlled by something, it seems I must use the 8th key." She activated Fenghuang down as the whole base was put in a dream. "Dr. Mei! I've incapacitated the zombies."

Mei immediately quarantined the areas that are affected by the mysterious power. She thought that Rin has awakened, and this is her doing. "Kevin, I've quarantined the areas that have been infected by something. Take care of the others."

Meanwhile, Sakura fought fiercely with the zombie like soldiers and honkai beasts, but a black mist blindsided her and entered inside of her. As honkai corruption started to appear at parts of her body. "Rin! I'm here, nee-chan is here!" She took care of the remaining hostiles but her body started to get in bad shape. "Rin... Forgive me, I wasn't there to protect you. Please, stop this. I know you're a good girl." The remaining zombies started to act aberrantly, but one scientist still managed to get in a control room that contained their honkai warheads and managed to target all the sanctuaries in the world.

Mei used the void archives to reconstruct the 4th key and siphoned the black mist that she discovered while watching footages for clues. She then put it inside a black box made of Soulium that were used to transport herrscher cores. While she was doing this, she didn't notice that nuclear warheads were now en route to the sanctuaries of the remaining population. As they impacted the cities and exploded, killing hundreds of millions of people. Leaving only thousands left.

Kevin then saw Sakura leaning on some rubble. Her ears flopped down as she started to breathe heavily, overloaded with honkai energy. And her body ravaged by the black mist. "Kevin... This is all Mei's fault. I will never forgive the both of you..." She glared at Kevin and looked above. "Ein... We will be leaving. Forgive my incompetence. Commander." The light in her eyes started to dim down, as her limbs went limp.

Kevin gritted his teeth as he smashed the wall next to him. "Is this all that we could do? Survive until he returns? And I can't even save them..." He cursed himself as he felt tremors and heard sounds of distant explosions.

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After a few minutes of Sakura leaving Rin, her brain functions finally shut down. Inside her body, unfamiliar cells started to activate and divide. Coating her whole body with honkai energy. Her skin started to harden, muscles started to be encased in a thin layer of chitinous material. Every part of her cell started to be coated in microscopic parts of Ein's cell, sustaining her with honkai energy. But her heart and brain still had no activity, effectively just putting her in suspended animation.

Hua then found Kevin sitting on the ground. Leaning on a wall. "Kevin-san, the herrscher is finally neutralized." He looked at her and nodded. "Good job Hua, you have been a great help today as well, besides the 11th herrscher."

Hua sat as well. "Where's Sakura-san? This must have affected her greatly." Kevin's face then turned grave. "She's dead. And with a grudge as well."

Hua went wide eyed at the revelation as Sakura was a strong soldier. She got confused as to why she died. "Kevin, Hua. We've been had." Mei looked distressed. "The herrscher launched all of our missiles. And it was all targeting our remaining human settlements." She sat on her chair and sighed heavily. Mobius ran tests on the herrscher inside the box and they discovered that it was a virus that could infect people and technology as well.

"I see, humanity have lost." He looked down on the ground without emotion. "But we will win... Not until Ein isn't here yet, the honkai shall lose. Even if we have to go to the next era of humanity. We will win." He said with conviction as Hua nodded, reminiscing about her captain and Ein training her.

After things calmed down, they buried Sakura and Rin at Ein's Cherry blossom tree. And as they leave, under the soil. Their body was then encased fully by what seems to be a black carapace so strong, it would be indestructible by normal means.

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Thanks for reading guys. Ciao.