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Chapter 81: Turning Point
🕑 Added 2024-10-11 15:17:52 +0000 UTC“What… should I do?”
It was a very simple question, yet most humans did not exactly know what the answer was.
Most of the time, they chose to be swept by the flow. It was an aimless journey with a goal far too generalized—such as living a “good” life, repaying one’s parents, and so on.
Anna’s dilemma could be thought of that. She went through ups and downs since her enlistment in Fire MOTH.
It started with an accidental encounter with the honkai, as most recruits did. Like Hua,, she underwent a crash course before being sent to missions. Though, Anna held the advantage of being inside the military prior to the recruitment. She was transferred from the military branch directly into Fire MOTH’s military force.
A few years later—and countless deaths—she rose to her current position. She was part of the senior officers along with Major Himeko and the others.
However, like the others, she had seen far too many—
Deaths.
Deaths.
Deaths.
“Was this what I wanted..?”
It slowly culminated into a resentment of sorts. Anna saw her comrades dying out in the open, all the while the higher ups kept making stupid mistakes. It was a huge waste of resources. Fire MOTH was riddled with problems related to the councilors’ politics. The soldiers wore the yokes while the councilors reaped all the benefits.
In the end, it turned into a single thought:
‘If everything ends… there won’t be such a thing anymore.’
The higher ups would no longer be able to abuse their authority for potential benefits. There wouldn’t be any soldiers who would die an unjust death. Civilians would be able to have their peace.
Giving up was akin to having solace.
“Was this what I wanted?”
“Was this what I wanted?”
“Was this what I wanted?”
Buzz-!
Blitz-!
Sou-!
Anna didn’t have any time to react as the darkness receded. The feeling of being underwater disappeared. Her clarity returned to her mind.
“...Ah.”
Cough-!
A considerable amount of blood came from her mouth. From being lightheaded, she became fully awake.
Although…
Anna started losing consciousness.
The last thing she saw was—
“Sleep well, major.”
—the calm gaze on the pair of purple pupils.
*****
Ding-!
Ding-!
Ding-!
…
Several notifications rang in Aleph’s ears. He put these achievements aside and focused on the matter at hand.
‘A third… This consumption was high.’
He instinctively reviewed this battle. His main consumption didn’t come from his Black Flashes nor reversed curse technique, but his territory—Sphere Boundary.
Aleph’s “territory” allowed him to stop any form of phenomena alteration to himself. It was similar to a Simple Domain. The latter only worked on a Jujutsushi’s domain while the former worked on all situations. That was the reason why the fifth Herrscher couldn’t directly mess with his body. That became his biggest protection.
The one that came after that was the reversed curse technique. The recovery of new cursed energy could simply not keep up with that, more so he still had to use cursed energy enhancement and Black Flash.
‘Satoru Gojo… Okkotsu Yuta.’
For once, Aleph wondered how these figures in Kashimo’s words were able to virtually have unlimited amounts of cursed energy. He could feel the limits of what he has now. Though he could enter a state similar to Satoru's "Six Eyes" through Elemental Sight, the load will be bore by his brain... which limits the duration of that state.
‘Either they have that strong control... or they have that high of cursed energy reserves.'
If it were like that, they would be even more terrifying compared to Herrschers.
Sizzle-!
Aleph used the reversed curse technique. This time, it wasn’t on him, but on Anna. Her most serious injuries started to visibly heal.
Once again, he saw the wonders of this technique.
A thought immediately entered his mind.
'Wait a minute. If I use this... to heal my exhausted brain. Then, I should be able to last longer in that state..?'
Most of his minds were preoccupied by verifying that notion. The rest was left to heal Anna's wounds.
‘Alright. This should be enough.’
He didn’t choose to heal her completely, only her “severe” injuries.
Sou-!
A silver figure blitzed through the airspace and arrived before Aleph.
“How was it?”
“Everything went well. I made it look like the disruptions happened across all four areas.”
Vill-V’s proud voice came from the suit’s speaker.
“What about Mei?”
“News came on her side. Sakura handled them pretty well.”
“...Hm.”
Vill-V’s attention was then taken away by the unconscious Anna.
“Would you mind explaining?”
“It’s a long story. For now, there shouldn’t be any incidents that will affect Mei’s plans.”
*****
It was a straightforward plan.
After the MANTIS surgery took place, Mei asked for a three month buffer time. She was to use the advantages offered by becoming a MANTIS to deal with the most annoying problem within Fire MOTH—politics.
During these three months, she laid out countless baits attractive enough to elicit assassination attempts and the likes. In the end, Mei saved her life but lost numerous valuable assets such as fundings, leaked research results, and the likes.
Nevertheless, it was all but a preparation for the “main course”.
“Ugh… Bait…”
Psshk-!
A swift thrust of the blade ended the man’s life. It wasn’t just him. The surroundings were filled with corpses of men dressed in tactical gear. These numbered in the hundreds.
Amidst them all, the pink-haired girl walked forward. It didn’t take long before she arrived in front of a kneeling gray-haired man. He was in his thirties with several scars in his arms. His left hand was severed cleanly, drops of blood coming out from it.
“Heh. I see. What a play!” The man said with a huge smile. “I like it!”
The man in front of Sakura was the one responsible for her induction. He was the one who decided to utilize Sakura’s skills by subtly threatening her with her sister. At the same time, he was the one who ensured her sister’s safety.
Now, the tables were turned.
“You are planning to eat it in one big bite. Aren’t you afraid of choking yourself?”
“That’s none of my concern. What’s certain is…”
Sou-!
Psshk-!
An arc of crimson red blood splattered under the moonlight. The man’s head flew off from his body.
Thud-!
Footsteps came from inside the building, revealing the silhouette of a purple-haired woman. She didn’t seem bothered by the corpses on her feet.
“It’s done.” Sakura stated flatly.
“Mn. Convincing them is up to you.”
Sakura glanced at the headless body on her feet before looking at the man’s head. A complicated feeling arose from her. She didn’t expect her goals would be achieved just like that.
At the very least, she trusted Aleph enough to keep his words.
Soon, only Mei was left in the midst of this slaughterhouse.
It was a complete coincidence. The fifth major eruption(s) broke out when she was outside the first institute. It was a complete godsend to her enemies who sought to eliminate her.
What they didn’t know was that Kevin’s departure was a smokescreen. Sakura’s existence was Mei’s true safeguard.
“Everything is set in place.”
She muttered as she thought of Aleph’s battlefield. Their fights were different, yet their goals were the same. It was all to give humanity a better fighting chance.
“As long as she convinces half… that’s fine.”
Thinking of Vill-V’s “invention” as well as the ones in Sakura’s group, Mei saw a turning point.
“A strong front… and a united backline.”
The ideal situation started to take shape.
