Disclaimer: 'Honkai impact 3rd' is the property of Hoyoverse, Singapore. I do not own any characters in this story except the minor OCs here and there.
Sundown Alley
Four months later
Kevin was making his way to the command room for a special briefing. He was not told the particulars of the said briefing, but the orders for his presence had come through the official channel. The paper had signatures and seals of General Alexei and Dr. Welt which meant that he couldn't refuse, not that he wanted to anyway. He knew if both of them wanted to discuss something with him, then it must be a matter of grave importance.
As he made his down the hallway of the administrative building, he thought about all the recent things that have happened in the last few days. After the induction ball was over, both Mei and Su went to the North American federation to pursue their goals. Mei wanted to become a prominent researcher in the field of Quantum physics like her father and Welt-san, while Su wanted to pursue advanced medicine so that he can find a cure for Honkai infection. Both of them were now sponsored by Moths, hence they could attend one of the most prestigious universities in the North American Federation for their higher studies. Seele was sent to a prestigious school in London, where the defence against the Honkai was more advanced much to Kevin's relief.
He could remember both Mei and Seele crying and making a fuss at the airport from where they had to catch the flight to their respective cities. Seele made him promise her to visit at least once in two months, while Mei warned him to not be a playboy. She then gave a kind of look he couldn't understand to Elysia to which the said girl only giggled. Kevin then looked at Su and Seele who only sighed in return.
Another thing happening was the recruit's stationing. As he had lost some of his comrades in the third eruption and some have to retire due to permanent injuries, he was given a batch of recruits to fill up his ranks. Among them was the girl he met that night at the ball, 'Fu Hua' if he remembers correctly. In the introduction session when asked why did she join the moths, she replied that:
"I want to grow strong, so I don't have to lose things again."
Kevin could see the hint of the same pain that he carries every day, thus he decided to take her under his wing and bring her to his morning sparring sessions. And he was not disappointed, she was a natural fighter and her learning rate was extremely fast. When asked, she said that she used to practice in her grandfather's dojo. Kevin was also benefiting from their morning sparring sessions as he observed her internal energy control 'Ki' as she called it and incorporated it into his Honkai energy manipulation. The result: his Honkai energy usage efficiency has gotten exponentially better meaning that he could use the manipulated Honkai energy to strengthen the blade of Surtr beyond its natural capacity. Further, the energy manipulation techniques have helped him to master the mark on his forehand better, and now he was on his way to mastering the power that it brought.
From the results of the experiments that he and Welt-san did they could conclude some things. Firstly, the mark converted Honkai energy to some form of higher dimensional energy which allowed Kevin to nullify, suppress and further manipulate more Honkai energy to his will. Secondly, the more he mastered the mark's power, the further his Honkai resistance increased; now it was almost on the verge of complete immunity against even extreme concentrations of Honkai energy. Welt-san had taken multiple samples of his blood in hopes that he can extract the antibodies that he possessed to develop a serum to cure Honkai infections: however, currently only one in a thousand-person could be saved. However, Welt-san and Mobius-san were working hard in that area to make the cure more efficient and feasible.
Seeing him use his mark's power brought shock to many like aniki and aneki as they thought that it was some random tattoo that he had gotten. It glowed a bright blue whenever he used its power. The nearest analogy Welt-san could give was the mark that he and the second Herrscher possessed due to their Herrscher awakening. However, it was different from them, as they were basically a brand to mark a Herrscher vessel but his mark was a source of superhuman abilities.
Speaking of superhuman abilities, his mark also granted Kevin some amount of self-regeneration; it could heal normal wounds completely and deep wounds could be healed to an extent where it was no longer dangerous. However, it didn't give him immortality, as a fatal wound to his body will still kill him. Also, his hands burned badly when he increased the temperature of Surtr's flames to high values. This led to others prohibiting him from ever-increasing the flame's temperature beyond 4000 °C which his gloves and battle coat were designed to handle. Welt-san even put many restraints and locks on Surtr to prevent him from raising the temperature even when he was not under their watch, much to Kevin's displeasure.
When he voiced his objections, he was met with scolding from aneki, Clara-san and Mobius-san. They severely scolded him for his constant reckless behaviour for two hours continuously, at the end of which he decided to comply with the prohibition even if just to spare himself from the headache of the scolding of the three ladies.
Thinking such things, he noticed that he had reached the command office. He informed the guards standing outside who knocked on the door and said:
"Major Kevin from the 7th regiment has arrived here sir."
"Hmm. Send him in." General Alexei's voice said from inside.
Given the permission, Kevin entered the command office and was met with Welt-san and General Alexei sitting with a serious look on their faces. Kevin saluted them as was required for military institutions.
"Major Kevin Kaslana of the 7th battalion of the 7th regiment present sir."
"At ease." General Alexei said before continuing "Congratulations on your last mission in Central Africa. Good work out there, Kevin." he praised him.
"I was just doing my duty sir." Kevin replied.
"Humble as usual. The new recruits could learn a thing or two from you." General Alexei commented.
"Sir, let us cut them some slack. They have been thrust into an unknown war in a blink of an eye. It will take some time before they get used to the hierarchy."
"Hmph. Giving them this much freedom is the reason that the new generation has become this much lax. Back in the old days, before even you were here every soldier here was a seasoned warrior. The best example is standing in front of you." General Alexei harrumphed.
Kevin just stood silently; however, he felt a bit of nostalgia when General mentioned the old days. Back in the day when they were a small organization with just three battalions, everybody was required to maintain a tight training regime. Sometimes even General will join in his morning training sessions with aniki. But now due to a large number of soldiers and the presence of simulator training arenas the hand-to-hand training regime was slowly diminishing, with Kevin being one of the last few to maintain it. It felt like decades have passed since then while in reality only three years had.
So few of the people from those days remained, Kevin realized. He had to say farewell to so many of them. For many of them, he didn't even get a chance to say that. So many of them did not even get a grave to their name. Sometimes it felt like he was the only one still carrying them with him as memories etched into his consciousness. But that was fine with him, he promised to carry all of them and that is what he will do.
The room went silent as the two people saw the faraway look on Kevin's face and understood what he was thinking because many of the fallen soldiers' blood was on their hands also. General Alexei then decided to discuss the main reason he called Kevin here for.
"Let's get down to the main discussion." as he said it, both Kevin and Welt focused their attention back on the debriefing. He then threw a file labelled: TOP SECRET across the table towards Kevin. Kevin picked up the file and started going through the contents his face becoming harder and harder as he went through the pages. After he finished reading it, opened the file to a page containing photos.
"Is it the work of a cult?" he asked.
"Highly unlikely. If a cult was involved there would be more bizarre disembowelment involved, not to mention a bloodier scene." General replied.
"Hmm." he nodded. In the photo shown, two bodies were cut up in multiple places. On one of the bodies, faint lines of Honkai corruption could be seen. So, it meant that whoever did it might have the same agenda against the Honkai but executes it differently than the Moths.
"Our intelligence has confirmed the same type of killing in many countries. Both the infected and their close relatives were killed in secluded places. But the most bizarre thing is that besides some of those victims this flower was found." General said as he picked out a photo containing a close-up of the said flower.
It was a forget-me-not. Not very uncommon in the wild, their blue petals made them look like any other flower in the bushes. However, Kevin was trying to make a connection between the flower to the murdered people.
"As you know, it is dangerous for these people to come out in public. If they do, then the Moths have to detain them due to the presence of Honkai corruption and the chances of them becoming zombies. Even though we have a cure of sorts now, the success rate of HSN-b46 is still very limited." Welt said.
"That's why these cases could not be investigated openly due to their convoluted nature. Thus, the UF security council has approached us to take care of the investigation and apprehension of the culprits." General said. He then continued:
"For this purpose, the different federations and empires are willing to help us with all the resources that they can provide: evidences, CCTV footages, eyewitness accounts etc. However, we are to perform the mission in absolute secrecy in fear of this information leaking to the general public and spreading chaos."
"I understand." Kevin nodded in understanding. He had a gist of the situation and the need for secrecy.
"Good. Your mission is to track down this organization and apprehend its members if possible. However, you are given the freedom to dispose of uncooperative organization members. The main thing is to dismantle this organization."
"Yes sir."
"Good. You will be given a new sword for this mission as well as a partner to help with your tasks."
"New weapon sir?"
"Well, you can't exactly swing Surtr in open public on a secret mission, can you? Come with me afterwards, and I will introduce you to your new partner for the mission."
"As you wish Welt-san."
"As for your partner, newly appointed Sergeant Elysia will be the one." General declared.
At this declaration, Kevin's face went blank. He was internally wondering what the General was smoking when he appointed that woman to this mission. Kevin could feel headaches incoming, even though he couldn't feel pain physically. She will do all the unnecessary things and will drag him everywhere unrelated to the mission. But before he could voice his complaints, General cut him off
"I know what you are thinking Kevin, and this is the exact reason I'm assigning her as your partner. With her around, you will not attempt reckless tactics in this mission. This mission requires a delicate and humane touch which she can provide. This investigation is not as simple as fighting Honkai beasts; the people involved may have a variety of factors leading them to do this and thus, your Honkai beast judgment skills are hardly the right methods to approach."
"I agree that your decision-making skills and situational awareness are far better than hers." He continued "however, your empathetic skills are far below hers which is crucial for this mission. Hence, she can help you make better decisions in this mission."
"Yes sir." Kevin nodded, albeit with less enthusiasm. He didn't want to bring her with him, but orders are orders.
"Good then. Take the file with you, it will provide all the primary necessary information regarding the first crime scene you need to investigate."
"Where is it, sir?"
"It's in a backward sector of the capital city Bucharest of the Romanian Empire. The sector is famous for being the crime district of the capital. However, the best leads that you can find will be there including your primary contact. Its name is… SUNDOWN ALLEY."
Later that evening
As Kevin was packing the last of his stuff in his shoulder bag, there was a knock on the door. Opening it he saw someone he never thought would be standing there.
"Do you need something, Kalpas?"
"Heard that you are going to Sundown Alley on some secret mumbo-jumbo hero-boy?"
"Yeah."
"And to think, you will be going there with our miss Elf out of everyone, you sure are lucky huh?" Kalpas said smirking a little.
"How?" Kevin asked.
"Tch. So, you really are a blockhead as they say. Anyway, good luck with whatever you are going there for and for the other thing also. Who knows, maybe you'll finally grow a pair and do it?" Kalpas laughed his crazy laugh.
"Do what?"
"I'm not telling. Ask that Elf if you want to know that much." Kalpas said as he started to leave.
"Wait, Kalpas." Kevin called out to him.
"what?"
"What kind of place is Sundown Alley?" Kevin asked to the point. At this Kalpas started to giggle, before his giggles turned to full-blown laughter:
"heheheheHAHAHAHAHAHA. What kind of place you ask? Haven't you already researched it enough?"
"No, I meant what kind of people am I expecting there?"
At this Kalpas went silent for some time before he put his hand on Kevin's shoulder. His grey eyes bored into Kevin's sky-blue ones.
"I know you already have an idea but still, I will tell you something regardless. DO NOT trust anyone in that place except the Elf, if you don't want to end up with a knife in your gut." he said in a low voice.
"Thought so."
"Well, I don't think you'll have any problems there. However, take care of that princess. That place is not meant for someone like her. She will get her throat spilt the moment you leave her alone."
"I know."
"No, you don't Kevin. Do not underestimate that place. You will find monsters worse than Honkai beasts and Herrschers there. So, when the time comes never hesitate to pull the trigger." he said while pointing towards APOLLO in the holsters.
"I understand." Kevin nodded. He understood that Sundown alley was exactly the place he was thinking it to be. Then why did the general send that woman with him to such a dangerous place? Now he will have to look out for her as well so she doesn't end up in a ditch the next morning, stabbed everywhere.
"And one final thing. No matter where you go, never set foot in the Twilight Nursing Home."
"Why?"
"You will regret it."
Kevin was a bit skeptical, but decided to keep that thought at the back of his mind. Saying all that he had to say, Kalpas disappeared into the dark hallways. This mission was going to be an experience, Kevin decided.
…
"Waaaah! Ellie" Dystopia said as she hugged Elysia with a bone-crushing hug.
"There, there Dystopia-chan. It's only for a month." Elysia said patting her head.
"But still." Dystopia sniffed "We were never apart since our childhood and now you are going with a man alone." she said giving Kevin the stink eye.
"Now don't say that Dystopia-chan. Kevin is a knight, so he will protect me right?" Elysia said while looking at him.
"…" Kevin remained silent.
"Even if he is a knight, men will become wolves when alone with such a beautiful woman such as yourself."
"But I won't be able to do anything against him, because he is so strong~. How~ev~er~ that wouldn't be so bad now~." Elysia said in her teasing tone while winking at him. At this Ato started laughing like crazy:
"Bwahahahaha. Maybe finally you will grow into a proper man, huh Kevin?"
"?" Kevin didn't understand.
"He will do no such thing." another unhappy party exclaimed. She then looked at Elysia and said:
"Don't you dare try to do anything funny?"
"Ara~, what are you suggesting I will try to do Dr. Mobius?" at this Mobius blushed deeply.
"Y-you-" she was shaking with anger in her place. Seeing this play out, Ato laughed harder
"HAHAHAHAHA. This is pure gold. Such is the suffering of the Harem king."
Kevin couldn't make head or tails of the conversation, so he just stood there silently. He then saw Hua approaching him.
"Hua?"
"This is a local charm from my ancestral town. The twin phoenixes ward off any evil energy surrounding you. So, I wanted to give it to you as a good luck charm." Hua said giving the charm to her commanding officer while her head was low. Kevin took the charm and attached it with the ones he got from Mobius and Seele. After fastening the augmented charm to his belt on the waist, he turned and patted Hua on her head while saying:
"Thank you, Hua. It will surely keep me safe." At this Hua smiled a little, her face slightly tinging with red. Seeing this Ato looked at him dab smacked and started laughing again:
"Damm, another one? You sure work fast huh Kevin-kun? HAHAHAHA."
"KEVINNNNNNNNNNN." Mobius said in a very low voice. This was it; she was so done with his clueless nature and womanizing tendencies.
"Ara~." Elysia giggled. It seemed another one was slowly falling for his charms. All the while Kevin could wonder what they were all talking about.
MARKET NEAR SUNDOWN ALLEY (BUCHAREST- ROMANIAN EMPIRE) – 2021(Previous era) (Two days later)
Kevin sighed inwardly as he was dragged into yet another accessory shop by Elysia. This was the fourth time in a row that she has dragged him into a shop to look for local souvenirs. She wanted to buy one for everyone and would not listen to him no matter what he said. They were here on a mission and she was wasting time on these useless endeavours.
"Kevin, Kevin come here quickly." Elysia said as she prompted him to come inside the shop. As he entered the shop, she picked up two earrings, one a teardrop-shaped teal and one a gem-shaped golden amber coloured.
"Say, which one will look good on Hua?" she asked.
"…" he remained silent. Truth be told he couldn't tell any difference between the two except their colours. Looking at his disinterest, Elysia pouted a little.
"Mou, help me a little on choosing the gifts."
"…"
"Hmph. fine meanie." she pouted again. She then took the teal-coloured earrings and went to the counter.
"How much for these?"
"Well, these are usually made from fresh pearls from the Baltic sea. So, these are quite expensive. However, for a lovely lady such as yourself how about 100 lei sounds?"
"Aww, can't you make it a little less, pretty please? ~" Elysia asked in a hurt voice. At this, the shopkeeper gulped audibly. Kevin looked on as the shopkeeper danced on her palm.
…
"Fufu~, I really made a good bargain didn't I Kevin?" Elysia said as she held up the earrings. Finally, the shopkeeper was forced willingly to sell the earrings for 80 lei. However, he didn't look that much bothered at all as he got to make a beautiful woman happy; even though the said woman will probably never visit that shop again. Kevin wondered why the majority of men lose their reasoning and common sense in front of women? It brought nothing but headaches, as aneki's monthly shopping bills have shown. Even Mobius-san was guilty of spending a lot of money on dresses and cosmetic products; and aniki usually cried regularly that his wife was bleeding him dry with her trinkets and accessories shopping and because of that, he couldn't buy that biker's jacket that he always wanted.
Kevin was really thankful for Seele to be prudent enough to never worry him financially, even though he had more money that he didn't know what to do with.
"Ne ne, let's go there. The crepes there look delicious." Elysia yet again dragged him to another shop. This time it was a shop selling crepes. As they sat down, Elysia ordered two strawberry crepes while he just ordered a cup of black coffee. Seeing him order it, Elysia said:
"You don't like sweets, Kevin?"
"They are too sweet and inefficient. Not to mention they are not nutritious."
"Is that so? Then what type of food do you like?" she asked in a soft voice. Kevin was not aware that this souvenir shopping is essentially a date between them.
Elysia was really happy that she was able to spend time alone with him like this. She knew that his heart was sought by so many women in the Moths; and a date like this will only serve to fuel their burning jealousy. However, it was not to show off to them and make them jealous. She genuinely wanted to know about him: what he likes to eat, what is his favourite beverage, his favourite authors, his hobbies, the music he liked to listen to, all of those little things. She wanted to know him as a fellow human being. He never talked about himself, hiding all the pain and loneliness that gripped him like chains behind those cold sky-blue eyes.
Thus, she had decided to grow closer to him little by little, just as he had for her. She hoped that finally one day he could tell her about his hidden scars and wounds so she could heal them with the others who cherished him as much as she did.
As she kept asking questions, suddenly he got up and started to go somewhere. Elysia tugged on his coat with a questioning expression:
"Where are you going, Kevin?"
"I have some work."
"Let me come with you." she said as she started to wipe her hands on the napkin to get up as well.
"No need. Enjoy your crepe, I will pay for it while going out. Meet me in the Central Park an hour later."
"But-"
"Central Park. An hour later."
"Mou, fine." Elysia reluctantly agreed. Then she added:
"But don't keep a beautiful girl like me waiting~"
At this Kevin said nothing and walked away but not before paying the bills.
"Hmph, Meanie." Elysia pouted.
An hour later (CENTRAL PARK)
Elysia was sitting on a bench in the central park overlooking the main fountain. She just got here ten minutes ago and waiting for Kevin after he disappeared who knows where. She was a little miffed that even after being together for more than two years, he still didn't tell her many things. However, it seemed to be the case for everyone in the Moths she understood. Elysia knew that everybody had things that they couldn't talk about to anyone, she was no exception, but it was more for him.
She had tried to find out about his past before he joined the Moths but simply came up empty-handed every time. Even colonel Ato and commander Himeko didn't know from where he came from, they met him for the first time in Siberian winter lands when he killed an Emperor with a tree trunk when he was only ten years old. When she first heard it, she couldn't believe her ears but it seemed to fit him somehow. To think he killed an Emperor at an age when she was playing house with Sister Olga and Dystopia-chan.
The same was true for the older members of the Moths. Before the Second eruption she knew nothing about the Honkai and the destruction that it causes. The mission in that town was her first true taste of fighting against the Honkai. The destroyed city, the ever-present burning smell, the feeling of despair that washed over any living thing present there; they were all burned into her memory. And even though she had gotten used to it a little over her times at the Moths, it still hurt her to see innocents die and all the beautiful things destroyed because of them.
She could understand a little Kevin's and Kalpas' thoughts on the matter but she couldn't approve of them personally. Responding to the pain with rage and hatred was not the way to go, it just eats away at you from within until nothing was left. She was a firm believer of that by sharing each other's pains and burdens, people could achieve greater things; as she had seen in her orphanage. Elysia dreamed that one day the entire Moths could fight together as one against the Honkai, Kalpas and him included. Dystopia-chan had said it to be impossible, but that just meant she had to try harder. She was not going to give up on her wishes, wishes that now included his happiness too.
As she was contemplating these things, she suddenly felt somebody touching her hair. She was immediately alarmed and her body tensed.
'How was I not able to sense them?'
But before she could put up her guard, a voice said:
"Relax. It's me."
At this Elysia immediately relaxed. Hearing her love's voice was enough to calm her down instantly. Did he even know the effect he had on her? She wondered. It seemed that this cruel man enjoyed seeing girls be on their tiptoes around him and felt satisfied that even the stronger ones danced on the palms of his hands, having fallen deep for his charms and kindness.
Thinking this Elysia pouted again, an action she was finding herself doing more often nowadays around him.
"Are you angry?" the voice asked.
"Hmph." Elysia replied through lightly puffed cheeks. He was tying something in her hair, but she couldn't see what due to her facing forward. She then heard a click, and the voice said:
"Done. Now you can turn around and see it for yourself."
As she turned around, the first thing she saw were the sky-blue eyes that she loved so much. The person then prompted her to bring her hair forward and see what he had attached. She then brought her low ponytail forward and what she saw made her breath stopped.
A large butterfly-shaped hairclip embedded in a similar shaped black bow was pinned in her hair. The material was incredibly smooth to touch and the glittering part of the hairclip looked like freshly fallen snow in the evening sun. The entire hairclip looked to be extremely expensive with small blue gems with a tiny pink gem in the middle, studded into the black bow behind the main hairclip.
"Wha-" Elysia could only speak that. She was not able to understand why he would buy such an expensive gift for her, when in return she had only pestered him for the entire day.
"I noticed that your old hairclip was damaged in Nagazora, so you've kept your hair open. It may not exactly be like your last one but it comes close I think." Kevin explained. He then continued:
"Furthermore, I think that a butterfly suits your personality very well. And the last factor was those gems, they reminded me of your eyes. Beautiful just like them."
As she kept hearing, Elysia's face grew redder and redder. She felt embarrassed but more than that she felt happy. Happy that he noticed such little things, that he cared and that he called her beautiful without any hidden motives behind those words.
Geez. Why was he like this? It was not fair. Now she had fallen for him all over again, yet he didn't reciprocate those feelings because he wasn't aware. Small tears of happiness and frustration appeared in her eyes. Seeing this Kevin asked:
"Did you not like it?"
At this Elysia just ran into him, embracing him tightly. Nuzzling her face into his chest she said in a whisper:
"I love it. Thank you so so much мой принц." The last part was said in a whisper that he couldn't hear, so he asked:
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." she said as she nuzzled deeper, trying to memorize this feeling of his chest, his scent, his warmth, all of it.
Yes, she loves him deeply, she decided. ELYSIA LEVEDEVA has fallen head over heels in love with KEVIN KASLANA. She couldn't believe that he had stolen her heart away with only his sincerity and kindness, but here they were. It felt like he became a part of who she was just like Dystopia-chan and Sister Olga. She then decided something as she was hugging the man she loved.
'I promise myself to you: my body, heart and soul, My Prince.'
A few hours later
"We are going to meet our local contact at the nine-ways inn in the 8th sector of the Sundown alley. His name is Arian. He will then guide us to the crime scene from where we can begin our investigation. Understood?"
"Hai~."
"Sigh… this is not the time to be playing around. We are on a mission and this is a dangerous area."
"I know. You don't think I can't handle a few rough people, right?"
"…"
"See. Everything is a-ok~."
At this, the two people covered in heavy clothing made it to the inn in question. As they were about to swing the door open, they saw two men being thrown outside probably because they made too much ruckus. Once they made it inside, they were assaulted with the smell of alcohol, sweat and other things which made for a common inn. One of the two wrinkled their nose a little at the penetrative smell.
"uuu… it stinks."
"…"
Then the two made it to the pre-determined table and sat down. A burly-looking waiter came to take their orders, to which the other person ordered one herb-roasted chicken with a strawberry tart as dessert for the other, and a mug of ale for themselves. Seeing this the other party asked surprised:
"Wait, why are you ordering alcohol?"
"Because I want it."
"No, you shouldn't drink it. It's bad for your health. Furthermore, you are underage." the first person chided concerned and angry.
"…"
"I'm telling commander Himeko and Dr. Mobius once we are getting back." the person said in a slightly angry tone.
"Whatever."
"Mmmmmm." the person pouted.
As the two persons were waiting for their order, a man with a burly build came toward them. The first person was on his guard instantly and his hands inched closer to what was hiding in his long long coat when the man spoke up:
"I didn't expect brats to show up in this place. So what do you say, is the roasted pork here any good?"
"You tell me, I heard that the blood-drained chicken is the best."
"Haha." the man laughed "You're definitely the guy." and he sat down across them at the table.
"So you're our contact then?" the two pulled their hoods down to show a boy in his late teens with silver-white hair and sky-blue eyes; and a drop-dead gorgeous girl slightly younger with pink hair and blue eyes with pink pupils.
"Depends on the price, boy. But I must say, you've got quite a beauty on your side. Best to keep her close, the men here can be quite aggressive if I must say." the man said while looking over Elysia, however she made no movements just smiling her usual smile.
Kevin dropped a small pencil case on the table for the man to pick up. After the man had verified the contents, he was relaxed a little.
"Well, the payments are in order." he then tipped his head down a little in mock courtesy "Adrian Newsly or more commonly known around these parts as fixer Arian at your service. What can I help you people with tonight?"
"The scene of the crime of two people murdered ten days ago." Kevin said without missing a beat.
"Oh that. Nasty business I would say. Even the police would stay away from that part of the city. You both sure you want to go there?"
"Do your job." Kevin said in a glacial voice.
"Well, it isn't my place to question what people want. Okay, I will lead you there once the miss finishes her dinner."
"Oh why, thank you~." Elysia said cheerfully and started to eat her then arrived chicken.
"She's your main squeeze or something?" the man named Arian said and continued "Seriously, even I can understand. Those damm sexy curves and those big jugs-" suddenly a knife was stabbed into the table just inches away from his hand. When he looked up to see the boy he saw two sky-blue circles boring down into his soul with a glacial expression. He was taken aback a little, this boy was bad news he decided.
"Shut up." Kevin just said those two words. The man closed his mouth as said but a knowing smirk was present on his lips.
'Found your weak point.'
…
Both Kevin and Elysia were making their way through one of the most dilapidated parts of Sundown Alley, small tents set up here and there by some of the more fortunate residents were scattered in the surroundings. For the majority however, they had to sleep in the cold and wet ground for the night and maybe forever if hypothermia kicks in. Elysia's heart broke for those unfortunate people but she was here on a mission she understood. It was not the place or time for sentimentality, she was chosen as Kevin's partner and she refused to fail him.
As they made their way around a corner of a partially destroyed building, their guide suddenly started speaking:
"So from where you guys are from?"
"None of your business." Kevin cut him off. At this, the man laughed and said:
"True enough. But you know boy, what is the common thing everywhere?"
"…" Kevin remained silent. He wordlessly made a signal to Elysia out of the man's perception. She understood at once what it meant.
"The most common thing is the power of money. It can buy you everything: food, houses, whores. Whatever you desire it can provide you." the man then stopped suddenly.
"So when an offer came to lead two people with more money than brains to somewhere secluded, how could I resist it, Hmm?"
He then started laughing "And to think those two people were brats. Hahahaha." Then from the shadows, figures began to come out. They were all wearing some kind of clothes similar to Kevin's battle coat and masks to conceal their faces. She then noticed a figure step outside from the shadow in front of them, it was a girl nearly her height with long pink hair like her but a lighter shade. She was wearing a mask like everyone else and carried some sort of sword on her waist. Was it one of those eastern swords that she saw some people practicing back in the Moths? The girl was also wearing a pink and white themed dress, there was a pink and black wristwatch on her right wrist and had a pink and black bunny ear-shaped headphones on her neck.
When the man saw the girl, he approached her and said:
"I brought them as promised. Now about my reward." the girl nodded towards one of the men and he threw a small suitcase to the ground. Arian leaped on the suitcase like a greedy animal and opened it with an expression like a kid had found his favourite candy.
"Ohhhhhhh. This is real. So so real. With this much money, I can buy as many whores as I want." he laughed a deranged laughter. Then he looked at Elysia and gave her a dirty smile.
"Say beauty, how about you ditch that man and come with me. I can show you the highest of heavens every night, hehehe."
At this Elysia only smiled sweetly and said:
"I'm sorry. But I'm already promised to someone else. And what made you think I will go with such a…. person like you."
At this statement, Arian was visibly fuming and said:
"What did you say, you little bitch?" and reached out his hand to her, only for it to drop down being cut off clean by something.
"Wha-" Arian could only say that before he felt the pain catching up. He then dropped on the ground howling in pain of his cut-off arm.
"ARRRRRGHHHHHH." he squealed like a pig to Elysia "My arm. MY AAARRRMMMMM."
Elysia saw from the corner of her eyes, the girl earlier sheathing the blade on her waist. Arian also followed her gaze and saw the pink-haired woman with headphones sheathing the blade.
"WWWHHHHYYYYYYY?" he was still crying like a pig.
"Your only job was to lead them here." A deep and mature voice came out from behind the girl's mask. She then started to move towards the writhing Arian and said:
"And you dare to lay your hands on a maiden girl. That is punishable-"
"W-w-w-wait. We c-can talk this o-out-" Arian was cut off as his head was sent flying by another slash of the girl's blade. The head flew in the air for some time before landing on the ground and rolling away to the side.
"-by death." the girl finished before sheathing the blade again. Everybody was silent at this execution. Elysia was shocked at the girl's ruthlessness and her skills with that blade, she saw Kevin's eyes getting narrower and understood that he agreed with her analysis.
This girl was a dangerous foe.
The girl then turned her head towards the duo and said:
"My apologies for that dreg's behaviour. I should have looked for a better person." At this Kevin straight cut to the matter:
"Are you the one behind those killings?"
At this, the girl looked over at them. It was difficult to discern what kind of expression she was making behind that mask. After being silent for a while she said:
"You do know that they were infected. Those who do cannot be returned back."
"But still it doesn't give you the right to kill them. Nobody has." Elysia argued.
"So do you think your Moth leaders have that right? While you guys sit on your comfortable chairs and watch others bear all of this shit." a man amongst the surrounding crowd shouted.
"That's right. And you" another one said while pointing towards Kevin "are the worst of them all. The biggest scum of the Moths. GODSLAYER" the man spat out the name like it burned his mouth.
"Yeah, that's right." a third said "They say that you defeated two Herrschers alone but what about the ones who died because you couldn't kill them earlier. Can you return their lives? You…you… you-…" then he said it "you Monster."
At this, the entire surroundings went silent again. Kevin just stood there accepting it all. Because what they said was the absolute truth; he failed to save many because he was weak. So many who had families and loved ones taken away from them just because he wasn't able to deal with the Herrscher quick enough. He really was the worst, he realized. That's why his only atonement was to keep fighting and die a dog's death. And even then, he wouldn't be able to make up.
"..." he remained silent, his face hard as stone. If him being a monster can bring these people peace of mind, then so be it.
"ENOUGH." a shrill voice cut through the night air. Everybody looked at the source of the voice to find Elysia breathing heavily. Her shoulders were trembling slightly and she looked very angry, an expression Kevin had never seen on her face. She then took deep breaths to calm herself down a little and continued.
"You say that Kevin didn't kill the Herrscher quickly. Do you even know what are you all talking about? Herrschers are not normal people that you assassinate regularly. They are beings that can destroy every single one of you present in a snap of a finger. All of you are here standing now berating him is because he defeated it while being heavily injured. Not a single one of you seen a Herrscher with your own eyes, that's why you can say such things. And if you wanted to save your loved ones that much then why did you not protect them yourselves?" She said looking angrily at the man who commented earlier.
"Kh." the man was unable to reply, because no matter how much he hated it that was the truth.
"Elysia, stop." Kevin tried to stop her.
"No." she lashed out at Kevin with an intensity that made him shut up "I'm no longer going to stay still while these people who don't know the horrors of a Herrscher belittle you." She had decided that if he wasn't going to stand up for these baseless insults then she will. No woman in this world can bear her beloved being insulted like this.
"I'm sure none of you can even kill an Emperor by yourself, and yet you talk like that you all can defeat a Herrscher on your own. How dare you tell him those mean words. You all are not even half the man he is." she finished with a tone of finality. The reactions were expected:
"Wha-", "You little-"
"Enough." The command from the girl with pink hair shut them up. She then looked at the man who had insulted Kevin:
"Reich, your sister died because she got turned, not because this man didn't kill the Herrscher fast enough." She said in a neutral voice.
"But-" the man named Reich tried to protest.
"Apologize." the girl said.
"Wha-"
"I. SAID. APOLOGIZE."
"Tch." the man clicked his tongue. He knew that she could kill him here and the organization would not even bat an eyelash.
"I'm…. sorry." he said in a minute voice.
Kevin just acknowledged with a node. Elysia however was not satisfied.
"Kevin, why are you forgiving them so easily?"
"It's fine Elysia."
"It's not fine. He insulted you and even called you something so horrible."
"I know. So, leave it at that." he said ending this line of conversation. At this Elysia just pouted while small tears of frustration were at the corner of her eyes. Why did he never stand up for himself? Did he not realise how much it hurt her to see him accepting these insults like he deserved them? Even though he gave his absolute best to protect everybody.
The girl with pink hair then spoke up:
"I'm sorry for my comrade's words. There are many of us that have lost irreplaceable things in the third eruption."
Kevin nodded again.
"However" she continued "that still doesn't mean that we will be able to let you two go. For the justice that we seek, you two will fall here." she then slowly started to unsheathe her sword. Seeing that the conversations were over, Kevin said to Elysia:
"You take care of the ones on your side, try to not kill them. I will take care of this side and the girl."
"I understand. But please be careful." Elysia said as both of them got into s stance with their backs to each other.
Seeing this, the other men took out their weapons as well. They were mostly handguns with a few shotguns as well. This was going to be tricky Kevin decided.
The two parties were at a stand still for a moment, when the girl with the pink hair initiated the combat with rushing along with drawing her sword. Her aim was Kevin's neck as she angled herself for a clean and precise decapitation. Kevin just put his right hand in his coat and grabbed his new sword. At this moment, the girl had come extremely close.
CLANGGG.
Two metals clashed in the full moon night.
To be continued….
Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.
I'm extremely sorry for the late update. My PC died after getting excessively heated by the surrounding temperature. TTwTT.
That's why in the meantime I'm typing my stories on one of my cousin's laptop which is extremely slow and hangs a lot. So, until my PC can get repaired and come back the updates will be slower. But don't worry, I'm not abandoning this story, I am going to see it through to the end. That is my promise to all of you who enjoy it. So please bear with me for the next few weeks.
With that out of the way, I hope you would like this chapter which marks the beginning of the COCOON arc. I really really wanted to include the appearance of Vill-V here, but the word limit I've set up for myself hit first. But I promise she is going to appear in the next chapter along with our favourite mommy nun of Hi3. So I hope you look forward to it.
As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.
Thank you for reading, until next time.