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.
The coming Dawn
Kevin finally got his breath under control after coughing for a while. He then looked at the opening he had created and the remaining pieces of debris in the portion of the fortress that he had just destroyed. He still felt empty now, but he didn't have much time to think much about it. He had to check how the other team was doing and provide them with assistance if necessary.
He made it to the place where he parted ways with the soldiers under him only to find no one was present there now. It seems that Roberts did take all of them back to the Colonel. Thus, he didn't have to worry about trying to find any remaining survivors. He then started to make his way to the side where Emile and Kalpas had gone along with their men. On his way, he saw the open doors of cells where the subjects for the experiments of the second of the last remaining agent were kept. Kevin stepped into each holding block to check if any more survivors were accidentally left behind even though he knew that it was most likely impossible.
There was another reason as well. He had put this on the side until now, but as he had finished his part, he wanted to find the daughters of Dominique if possible. He knew that the chance of them being alive was very low but he wanted to find them nonetheless. He wanted to give them back what was rightfully theirs. Thus, he searched through every cell thoroughly, hoping to find them; however, all he got were the cold corpses of people who didn't make it through those experiments. There were even children of barely ten years of age, just like him and ***. This place reminded him a lot of that infernal hell. The children's lifeless eyes as they bored into you asking why did they have to die. Why did they have to abandon their dreams and hopes of a future to satisfy someone else's desires? Why were they punished? What did they do wrong? So many questions that will never be answered. They will never know that the reason they died was because of human greed for knowledge.
The world was a cruel place, Kevin knew this very well. It was neither fair nor just. Only those survived who had the resolve to cut down others trying to get in their way. The most basic rule for existing in this world was very simple:
Only the strong survive.
Therefore, he had to grow stronger. Much much stronger. Stronger than anyone else. Stronger than even Herrschers. Because only then could he change the world as they wished. Hence, he will not hesitate to use whatever powers he has, to grow to become the strongest and create a future where no one would be forced to become strong unlike how he was forced to. Thinking this Kevin clenched his hand, he will not fail, no matter what Honkai will perish.
'For the light that we all sought, even when I die, I will never yield.'
After reaffirming his oath, he stepped out of the final holding cell. Unfortunately, he was unable to find Dominique's daughters. He will have to look for them amongst the survivors that were taken back to the base, or if he was extremely lucky, they were not taken as hostages. In this case, he would have to find them out after all of this settles down. Thinking this he made his way to the end of the hallway where he was certain he will find the laboratory of that final agent. He pulled out Surtr from his back just in case he had to help Kalpas, Emile and Sakura deal with the man.
The moment he reached the vicinity of the laboratory, there was a loud noise. The surrounding soon was engulfed in flames that came out from the broken door to the laboratory. Following the flames, Kevin saw a nearly burnt person flying through the door and getting knocked into the opposite wall. After the flames died down and the dust and falling debris settled could he finally see who the person was. Kevin's eyes widened a minute fraction when he recognized that form. The person before him could not be called a human anymore. His entire body was morphed into something eerily similar to a Honkai beast; seeing him reminded Kevin of that agent he fought against in Bucharest. So it seems that this was the person who developed that method of human transformation to part Honkai beast. He then looked in the direction from where the agent came flying.
A man with grey hair stood in the middle of a blazing torrent of flames. He had an expression of insanity and madness on his face. And from the way he started to walk towards him and the embedded agent, it was clear that he was not finished yet. Kevin could perfectly see that he was not seeing him as an ally. This man was completely in a battle frenzy.
As the man approached closer, Kevin saw a wounded man with Honey-blonde hair running from behind and grabbing him. the man tried to break free but the second person didn't relent and said:
"Kalpas, it's over. The agent's been defeated."
"LET ME GO."
"Stop it already. See, even Major Kevin's here."
"I SAID LET ME GOOOOOO." the man now identified as Kalpas roared again. Seeing his condition, Kevin knew that there was only one way to bring him back to his senses.
"Emile." He turned towards the other man and said "Let him go."
"B-But sir…" Emile tried to voice out his concerns.
"It's fine. It's the fastest way to get him to his senses." Kevin said as he put his sword back on his back. He didn't need Surtr to knock some sense back into Kalpas. His fist was more than enough. Emile understood what Kevin wanted to say and let Kalpas go. If anyone can tame this guy, it was Major Kevin.
Kalpas seemingly finding himself freed pounced at the prone form of the agent. He was feeling extremely excited as this man had managed to push him this far. He had not felt like this since his battle with that gigantic snake months back during the third eruption. Oh, he was so going to burn this thing to ashes. However, as he sprinted forward intending to blow a hole in that thing's torso, he heard a voice say:
"Enough, Kalpas. The fight is over."
He then felt an impact on his cheek. At first, he felt nothing; suddenly however he found himself on the ground.
"Wha-" he tried to say and get up only to find his head paining like he was run over by a truck. The world was spiralling around very fast and he couldn't make any sense of where left or right was. His cheek was also unnaturally hurting like hell for some reason. However, he found his head getting clearer as if he had taken a cold bath just now. As his vision normalised a little, he saw the figure of that bastard hero-boy looking at him with his usual cold face.
"Are you calm now, Kalpas?" the hero-boy asked in his usual neutral tone. It grated his ears. Doesn't this guy have any emotions in him?
"Tch." he clicked his tongue and spat the little bit of blood in his mouth to the side. He was then helped up by the hero-boy to stand, as he was still feeling a little bit dizzy. He then saw what had happened when he was in the zone. Burning surroundings and that agent bastard stuck into the wall in front of him. Good, it seems like his last attack was successful after all. He then heard the hero-boy asking:
"Where is Sakura?"
"She found her sister, so I told her to scram."
"…" the hero-boy said nothing and remained silent. That was when Kalpas realized something.
"Hey, what about that other agent and their fucking leader?"
"They're dead."
"Oh." Kalpas said. Then he noticed something on the hero-boy's face. It was whiter than usual, and there was a look of shock on it as if he had seen a ghost.
"Hey you okay?" he asked. At his question, Kevin looked towards him and replied:
"What are you talking about?"
"Your face, it's paler than usual. What happened there?"
"Nothing." Kevin replied coldly. He couldn't tell him about meeting with that demon. His past, his nightmares and his demons were his own, and he had no intention to drag anyone into it.
"You aren't fooling anybody, you know." Kalpas said before walking ahead of him. This is the reason why he was so insufferable, trying to act all cool and strong, but just making others worried for him. What a dimwit.
He then walked towards the perhaps only remaining alive agent here now. once he reached him, he said:
"It's over dumbass."
"It seems so. You really are even a stranger creature than I initially thought." the inhuman voice spoke in between coughs, its voice breaking between a normal human's and the creature's.
"Whaddya talking about?"
"Heh…heh… you…will…see…it….soon…." the voice said growing fainter and fainter with each word. Finally, it stopped and the light in the creature's eyes went out signalling its death.
"Tch…" Kalpas clicked his tongue again. It seems that everyone was hiding things today.
"It's done." A voice from his side said. Turning his head, he saw the hero-boy looking at the corpse of the creature with the same objective look he gave to Honkai beasts. Kalpas then said:
"So what now?"
"We report back to the Colonel about the successful neutralization of the remaining targets."
"Hmph." Kalpas said as he started walking towards the direction of the upper floors. The assault had ended, and even though they have lost a lot of their comrades, they won in the end. However, Kalpas instead of feeling elated only felt a deep bitter taste in his mouth. Thus, he asked the hero-boy what he thought about this assault:
"Hey?"
"Hmm?" Kevin stopped and looked at Kalpas.
"What do you make of this assault?" Kalpas asked looking straight into the hero-boy's eyes. The answer he gives here will decide how Kalpas will treat him in future.
"It was a tragedy." Kevin said without missing a beat. Kalpas' eyes widened at hearing this guy's response. He had to confirm if he really meant what he said.
"Really? Why do you think so? As far as I know, you will be satisfied as long as we win in the end."
"Because I was not able to protect them."
"Haa." Kalpas said irritated "Do you think of yourself as some god or something?"
"No."
"Then why are you talking as if their deaths were your fault."
"Because it was my promise."
"Listen here, you shithead." Kalpas had enough. He approached Kevin and grabbed his collar. He then practically growled into his face:
"They all chose to be here for their own reasons, whether it be the thrill of battle or their stupid sense of duty. They didn't give up their lives for some hero wannabe like you. So get your head out of your ass and look at the real picture for fuck sake."
"But I was their commander, and I failed them."
"You are not a god!" Kalpas yelled again "You cannot protect everybody on your own, especially in a fucked-up situation like this."
At this Kalpas saw something stir beneath those frozen sky-blue eyes. they almost seem to burn with passion. Kevin then held Kalpas' hands as he forcefully removed them. Then he said in a cold voice that somehow conveyed the emotion of frustration:
"Then what do you suppose I do Kalpas? I got strong to protect our comrades. I fight to protect our comrades. Yet they still die in the end. No matter how much strong I become, it's not enough. No matter what I do, it's not enough. And if I stop even doing what I promised to myself then what do I have left?"
"That is-" Kalpas shrugged himself off from the grasp of Kevin and continued "-something you have to find on your own."
At this Kevin released a cold breath and said:
"There's nothing Kalpas. I have nothing left. All that remains is an empty promise that I know I can never keep. Yet it is all I have."
"Cut that bull-crap. You know that you have many things left. You have many people waiting for you. Many people who care for you. You know I'm actually jealous of you. Whenever you get deployed, there are people who worry like crazy and wait like possessed for you to come back. Even now there must have been people who told you to come back safely."
At this, Kevin's eyes widened as he recalled.
Flashback
"We all are waiting for you. So you have to come back to us, no matter what… sob… sob… it's a promise Kevin… if you go back on it then… then... sob…"
Current time
"Your mug tells me that I'm right on the money." Kalpas said.
"…" Kevin remained silent as he couldn't refute this man's words.
"You still have many things left, Kevin. So cherish them, lest you lose them all. Then it will be too late for regrets."
"…" Kevin remained silent and started walking. Seeing him walking away from him, Kalpas shouted again:
"Oi, where are you going? I'm not done talking yet."
"No, this conversation is finished." Kevin said as he walked ahead of them.
"Tch… irredeemable fool." Kalpas muttered under his breath. He then felt someone grabbing his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Emile looking at him while smiling.
"What?" Kalpas quipped.
"Nothing. It's just, It's the first time seen Major Kevin showing any kind of emotion."
"He's just good at hiding them. Nothing special at all."
"Maybe so, but you would agree that it would be a bit nice to see him loosen up a little right?"
"Whatever you say." Kalpas said as he followed Kevin to the stairs that led to the upper floors and outside to the courtyard. Emile seeing their backs thought to himself.
'Keep it on, Kalpas. You along with the new generation can help that lonely warrior.'
Ato had been waiting for quite a while now. Nearly half an hour before many of the soldiers deployed to the frontline forces returned back. They had expressions of horror and disgust written all over their faces. When asked why they have returned, they told him that they couldn't handle the conditions of the victims of the Cocoon on the lower floors. He even saw Hua, who looked extremely lost and sad. When he approached her, she burst out into tears. Apparently, the condition in which the victims' corpses were present was too much for her to bear. Ato understood that it would take some time for them to be accustomed to seeing the horrors of war. He was also like this the first time he was deployed. He still remembered how he puked up his entire dinner the day before on his squad mate when they came across a field of mutilated corpses in the jungles of Congo. They were sent there for a Wipeout of the local terrorist organization. And the horrors he saw on his first deployment still clung to him to this day. He realised that he like many others was suffering from the after-effects of mental trauma; how he managed to keep it away from Clara and Griseo, only god knows.
His time in the Moths had not helped it any better. Half-eaten corpses of people, their internal organs splattered about, bloodied streets and roads, and the smell of burning and rotting flesh had become his staple across the years of his service in the Moths. And even though, he had largely grown numb to it, he still felt disgusted by seeing what the Honkai was capable of. He was thankful that his family and friends were spared from this destruction, but still, he felt bad for the people from whom the world was not so kind.
He looked again at Hua. The girl had witnessed the horrors of Honkai first-hand; that too at an age when all she was supposed to worry about was which university she wanted to go to, how to impress her crush, other teenager worries, etc. Instead, she was thrust into a never-ending war that always ended with the most painful sacrifices for a chance of victory.
His mind then wandered to that silver-white-haired boy, the one who called him 'aniki'. The world had been only unfair to him since the beginning. The only memory he had left now was killing and seeing his comrades get killed. Truth be told, even he was apprehensive when the old geezer proposed that boy to join the Moths. For starters, that boy was only freaking ten years old. How do you prepare a ten-year-old to fight in a war? However, betraying all of their expectations, not only that boy became a proficient soldier, he in fact became the strongest. He had far surpassed everyone in terms of strength: physical and mental, skills and leadership. He also had a strong sense of duty and code of honour that unfortunately led to most of his misfortunes. However, this was offset by the number of people who were attracted to him, especially of the opposite sex.
'Damm brat. When did he grow up so much?' Ato thought to himself. It felt like yesterday when that boy was first deployed with him. He clearly remembers him making a fool of himself trying to figure out how a rifle works and getting launched back like a ragdoll by the recoil. His face softened a little at the memories that they have shared these past seven years. Before the second eruption, when the Moths was a smaller organization, he, Himeko and Kevin were often deployed together. At first, the boy was distant from them, choosing to focus only on the mission. It took four years to finally get past that wall and become closer to him. and when he did, he found out a very simple fact. Behind those guarded sky-blue eyes, there still lay that ten-year-old heartbroken boy. He and Himeko had tried their best to mend that broken heart over the years, and for the past three years, the number of people who genuinely cared for him had grown. Yet, there still lay a part of that broken heart that refused to be healed; a part that he refused to show to anyone.
Ato knew full well that it was something to do with his past, and thus has never pried it. He knew full well that everyone carried regrets, and some will never fade away. Still, for the boy who had become his 'otouto', he only wished the best for him.
'Speak of the devil.' Ato thought to himself as he saw the figures of three people approaching him. once they approached him, he greeted them:
"Good work everyone. Looking at all of your conditions, I can safely assume that the enemies are neutralized."
"Yes Colonel." Kevin said in his usual formal tone. At this Ato hummed and said:
"However, looking at the state you all are in, I must say that they did a good number on you three."
"Hmph, he only got lucky; and that too 'cuz I had to save this dumbass' ass." Kalpas harrumphed pointing towards Emile.
"Hey, it's not completely my fault. Don't you remember who had to bust you out when that agent had trapped you in his appendages? Plus, he was going to suck you dry with those pointed needle-like protrusions."
"I don't remember nothing of it."
"That is because you were high on the neurotoxin that he gave you. If I didn't have the antidote already, then you would have been deader than dead."
"What did you say, ginger head?" Kalpas growled at him.
"Only the truth." Emile said neutrally, but anyone could see the faint outline of a smirk on his lips.
"Haa." Kalpas bristled and started to approach him to give him a piece of his mind, but was stopped when Ato said:
"Okay, okay, that's enough you two. You can both sort this out in next week's training."
"Tch." "Hmph." Both Emile and Kalpas hmphed as they turned their heads away from each other. Ato just shook his head at the antics of these two. He then turned to the silver-haired boy and asked:
"How did things go at your end, Kevin?"
"I encountered the leader of the agents. He was using a sacred key that utilizes the power of the wind. I confronted him and defeated him with no major difficulties."
"Your shoulder and abdomen say otherwise." Ato pointed out his still-bleeding shoulder and the patch of red on the white undershirt.
"It's just minor scratches." Kevin said emotionlessly, as usual dismissing his wounds.
"Well, the doctors will be the judge of that. Anyway, I hope you are ready for another thrashing from Dr. Mobius and Clara once we get back. Ah, and don't forget Himeko and Griseo too. That girl really had gotten mean you know?" Ato joked.
"…" Kevin didn't say anything and his face was still like stone, not betraying any hint of emotion. However, Ato being knowing him since he was practically a brat picked up on the extremely subtle hints. The very minute twitch at the corner of his mouth told Ato what this boy was thinking exactly.
"Well…" Ato started as clapped his hands together and dusted his battle uniform. He then continued "Since we have all three of you back, we can call for our ride home."
He then stretched, humming pleasantly as his joints popped removing the stiffness in his body.
"It's really been another long night. What do you say?" he asked Kevin.
"Hmm." Kevin hummed in affirmation. That was when he heard another soft voice calling him from behind:
"Commander?"
Turning around, he saw the girl with bluish-purple hair looking at him with widened eyes. Once she saw him, her perfect composure started breaking down as tears pooled in her blue eyes.
"Hua?" Kevin asked not understanding why was she crying. He tried to reach out a hand to her. However, he suddenly saw her tackling him in a hug. He caught her just in time so that they don't fall onto the ground. Once, he stabilized himself, he asked puzzled:
"Hua, what happened?"
The only response he got was the quiet sniffing sounds of the girl. Kevin didn't know what to do, so he just did what he usually does when Seele is upset. He gently patted the girl's head and ran it down her bluish-purple hair gently. At first, he heard her breath hitch but after some time she relaxed and he could swear that she was trying to nuzzle into his hand.
Once the sniffles had quietened down, Hua suddenly smelt something very familiar. It immediately rang alarm bells in her head, because it smelled metallic. She quickly separated herself from him and that was when her eyes landed on Kevin's injured shoulder which was still bleeding slightly and the big red patch on his abdomen.
"C-commander, Y-your s-shoulder… and that red patch is…" Hua said shaking and looking at his wounds with widened eyes.
"It's nothing." Kevin said, once again dismissing his condition.
"…y…..ou…..sa…..at…." Hua muttered something.
"Hmm?" Kevin didn't understand what she was saying.
"I said why do you say that." Hua raised her voice for the first time. Hearing her raised voice for the first time made Kevin unable to speak. She then continued with fresh tears in her eyes.
"I told you to be more careful. Then why are you hurt this much again? You must have fought alone again. Why do you always do things like this? Why do you never think about how others feel when they see you hurt and bleeding, and being not able to protect you in the first place."
"…" Kevin tilted his head as he wasn't seriously getting why Hua was getting this much worked up over some minor injuries. They will heal soon and his regeneration was stronger than ever. Even as they spoke, he could feel his shoulder becoming easier to move. Seeing his expression Hua sighed a long sigh and said:
"What I'm trying to say is please care for yourself more. Many people including myself hate to see you get hurt like this again and again."
"Yeah…" Kevin said skeptically. Hua seeing that her commander's denseness has yet again made him unable to understand what she was trying to say just released another sigh. She then said:
"Sometimes I wonder if you really are that much of a blockhead or you are just pretending to be one."
"?"
"AHAHAHAHA." at the side, Emile burst out laughing. This was so interesting to see the most respected and feared soldier of the entire moths being lectured by a girl who was barely recruited four months ago. Ato on the side simply shook his head and said:
"Oh, to be young and stupid."
"What are you saying, geezer?" Kalpas said also not understanding why the hero-boy was lectured by that girl on how to do things. If it was him, he would have already told her to screw off.
"You and Kevin both will understand once you get older."
"Tch… whatever." Kalpas said clicking his tongue.
By this time, the sun had started rising on the horizon. The rain had long stopped and only a gentle breeze of wind was blowing across the ruined remains of the naval fortress. Kevin seeing the sun rising on the horizon stood still as he contemplated what had happened in the last six hours. He had brought to a conclusion what the Cocoon started in Bucharest. He had defeated the final agent and the one who was responsible for making those sacred keys was now under their custody. He had finally laid his past to rest (even if he wasn't completely satisfied with it) and had avenged everyone whose lives the demon had destroyed.
He looked up at the sky where the final stars were shining down on him. The sky was getting filled with the light from the sun that was breaking out from the horizon and the stars and the moon will hide behind it for another day. As he looked on at the twilight sky, he thought back on how this mission had started from looking for clues of targeted murders and had ended with a fight with an organization that somehow managed to rival the Moths.
It was a very eventful month. Kevin thought to himself as he continued to look at the star-riddled winter sky.
FIRE MOTH BASE (Three hours later)
The transport crafts finally touched down, carrying the last few soldiers who were deployed on the assault. Out of the initial five hundred, only one hundred made it back. This incident was going to be one of the darkest moments of the Moths' history; it was marked with spies, betrayals, unnecessary deaths and their hero being grievously wounded. However, they had come out on top at the end and hopefully have gained new allies (That was what he expected at least.). General Alexei stood on the receiving platform to greet the main heroes who had made this nearly suicidal assault successful and turned the situation from the disadvantageous situation they were in their favour.
Once the blades of the final transport craft stopped, its door opened and the soldiers finally started stepping out. First, a honey-blonde-haired man stepped out, he had a big cut on his forehead and his clothes were torn in various places, however except that, he was relatively unharmed. He saluted and stood rigidly when he saw the General standing at the platform. The General seeing this simply waved his hand and said:
"There is no need for formalities now, Lieutenant Emile. You can go ahead and get treated for your wounds."
"Sir." Emile saluted once again and walked inside the base towards the medical ward.
The next to come out was a boy with silver hair and grey eyes. He also had numerous cuts all over his body and the ends of his cuffs appeared to be burnt on the edges. He also had a bleeding forearm and a big cut on his left cheek. Seeing him, the General said:
"Good job, Kalpas. You can go to the medical ward to get treated for your wounds."
"That crazy woman better be not there." Kalpas scoffed.
"Haha… Don't worry. Your wounds will be taken care of by the other doctors."
"Fine then." Kalpas said and also walked inside the building. He didn't bother to give any salute to the General, not that the General minded it. The third person to get out of the craft was the silver-blue-haired Colonel. When the General saw him, he congratulated him and said:
"Thank you for your hard work, Colonel Ato."
"I'm sorry General, that we lost so many. It was an oversight on my part. I take full responsibility for this."
"The appearance of that golem was not something we could have anticipated. Furthermore, we knew that this assault was going to come with a lot of casualties. But still, if it bothers you that much, I will hear the report on it later. Now go, Clara had been quite worried for you these past few hours."
"Sir." Saying this he went inside the building to find his wife. Maybe he will give them some days off. They deserve it after all this Cocoon fiasco.
Finally, his eyes landed on the final duo that came out of the transport craft. The first was a boy with silver-white hair and sky-blue eyes, who was being supported by another girl slightly younger with bluish-purple hair and blue eyes. They were seemingly arguing a little.
"There's no need for you to do this, Hua. I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own."
"No." the girl said sharply "You are wounded badly compared to the rest of us. So, I will support you like this, whether you like it or not."
"…" the boy said nothing. Once they approached him, the boy looked at the General with his usual expressionless face. They stood there for some time without speaking a word. Finally, the boy spoke:
"It is done, General."
"That I can see, Kevin. You have protected your comrades and brought them back safe and sound, as you promised."
"Not all of them." Kevin said in a low voice.
"Yes, I know. But still, you managed to save all the ones who were remaining. In my eyes, that is more than enough. I believe I have already said this: this is a war, Kevin; and deaths are an inevitability in a war." as he was saying this, he put a shoulder on Kevin's uninjured shoulder and continued in a soft voice "So you can be a little prouder of yourself. You have kept your promise. I'm the witness to it."
"Yes General." Kevin said. He still couldn't fully accept the General's words, but hearing someone validating that he has kept his promise brought him a sense of relief, if only a little.
"Still" the general continued "I also believe I have said for you to come back unharmed."
"There were… complications." said Kevin dodging the inquiry.
"And I think I know very well what those complications were. Sigh… let's leave it at that. This is a job better suited for them." General said sighing. Really when will this boy learn?
"Them?" Kevin asked not understanding the meaning of the General's last statement. He however, didn't have to wait for long as the answer presented itself in the form of a soft voice like wind chimes.
"Kevin?"
Kevin looked ahead to see a girl with pink hair looking at him with widened eyes. The moment their eyes met, her's glossed as tears formed in them. Then before he could say anything, the girl ran up to him and embraced him.
"Sob…Sob…" the girl started sobbing the moment she hugged him. Suddenly Kevin saw two more blurs tackling him; and when he looked down, he saw two additional mops of Velvet Red and light brown hair. Both the said owners of those hairs were hugging him along with the first girl.
"Waaaaaaa Kevin-boss, I really thought something bad had happened to you. Waaaaaaaaa." the girl with light brown hair cried, bawling her eyes out.
"Dummkopf, Dummkopf" the one with Velvet red hair kept saying in between sobs while hitting his chest gently with her fists. She then looked up and said with a quivering voice "Why do you only make us worry to death every time?"
"…" Kevin simply looked at her before patting her head as he did with Hua. The woman said no more while her tears kept falling, staining his undershirt. The three kept hugging him until the girl who was supporting Kevin spoke up:
"Elysia-san, Eden-san, Pardofelis, I know you all are relieved, but the commander has to get urgent medical attention. So please let go of him."
"Eh?" the girl with pink hair, now identified as Elysia asked not understanding what Hua has said; until her nose caught a very familiar scent. Her eyes widened as she realized what this scent was. She then separated herself to see the deeply wounded shoulder of Kevin; and even though first-aid had been applied, the wound was severe. As Hua had said, Kevin needed urgent medical attention.
"K-K-K-Ke-v-vin… y-y-your s-s-shoulder-r…" Elysia said shaking in her spot. Her face morphed into one of horror and anxiety. How much blood has he lost already?
"B-Boss?" Pardofelis was too stunned to speak. This was exactly when he fought that Coscoe guy.
"gasp…" Eden gasped as her eyes went wide with horror and worry at seeing the condition Kevin was after this mission.
"As I have said to Hua, it's nothing. Furthermore, the first-aid has been applied and the bleeding has stopped long before." Kevin said rotating his injured shoulder to show his point.
"NO!" "STOP!" "DON'T!" the girls shouted at once as they held his hand, preventing him from moving his shoulder further. Kevin sighed as he knew exactly what they were going to tell him.
"I-I t-told you to come back safe and s-sound…" Elysia said in a breaking voice as fresh tears rolled down her blue eyes.
"But I'm back?" Kevin said in a questioning voice not understanding what she was trying to say. Why every woman today was getting this cryptic? Couldn't they get more clearer on why they were acting like this?
General Alexei seeing these antics gave a hearty laugh for the first time since the beginning of the assault. He then looked at the women who were trying to scold Kevin and said:
"He is still too much of a blockhead to understand what you are trying to say. So he should let his wounds get treated faster than to stand here all confused."
Hearing this, all the women sighed at the same time. Elysia then simply glanced at Kevin who was making a face that showed that he was not able to understand anything of why they were worried this much. She inwardly groaned at the fact that a person could be this much dense. She had thought that those types of people only existed in romance stories, but here was a living example standing before her.
"Idiot." she pouted and turned her head away to show her displeasure. Kevin saw this and wracked his brain trying to find if he had any knowledge explaining Elysia's behaviour, but his mind which only had warfare knowledge couldn't give him an answer. So he did the only thing he could do, stand there silently like a mountain.
"Sigh… Kevin-boss." Pardofelis also sighed and shook her head at his seemingly emotional stupidity.
MEDICAL WING (FIRE MOTH BASE) – 2021(Previous era) (An hour later)
Kevin silently sat as he was being patched by two women. The first was a woman in her early twenties with wavy lime-green hair. She was wearing the standard issue labcoat of the Moths. Kevin noticed her I.D hanging off the pocket of her lab coat. She had changed her clothing from the last time he had seen her. She now wore a dark green sleeveless shirt which looked similar to a corset with a black tie. She also wore a black mini-skirt instead of a navy blue one. She had a green strap holding the skirt buttoned on her hip. She now wore longer black stockings which now reached up to her upper thigh.
He saw her working around his wounds, her eyes constantly landing on the ones on his chest and the abdomen. She also glanced from time to time at the now carefully wrapped wound on his shoulder. And he could feel her eyes boring into the back of his head when she went to the table to get more bandages.
"If you have something to say then say it, Mobius-san." Kevin finally said breaking the silence. At this, the only response he got was of someone snorting and he felt the intensity of the stare getting higher.
"You must understand why she is angry, Kevin." another voice said from his other side. He turned his head to see the second woman with light brown hair tied in a French braid. She was wearing clothes very reminiscing of a nun and was currently applying ointment on one of many small cuts that he had gotten when he was fighting Miguel. Hearing her, Kevin spoke in reply:
"No. I don't."
At this Mobius released a grunt and then said:
"You were already badly wounded in Bucharest and were unconscious for five complete days. And the first thing you did after waking up was to join the assault, open up your wounds that had not healed properly and get many more." she said irritably pointing out to his injured shoulder.
"It was inevitable when I was fighting the leader of the agents." Kevin tried to explain.
"Then why were you fighting that man all alone in the first place?" Mobius countered.
"…" Kevin became silent at the allegation.
"I tell you to be careful all the time, to not get hurt. And what do you do? Always get hurt and make me distressed. Do you enjoy seeing me sad, Kevin?" Mobius asked, her anger rising.
"…" Kevin still remained silent, his face a mix between anguish and loneliness. Honestly, he didn't have any answer to that. what could he say? That he was seeing getting hurt as a way to atonement for his failures.
Seeing Kevin's distressed face caused Mobius' anger to dissipate. She deflated as she sat beside him, placing her hand on his chest where he was pierced. She made a long face as her fingertips ran lightly over the bandages, feeling the rough texture of the medicinal fabric. Aponia joined soon, seemingly finishing her part of patching Kevin up. She sat on the other side, with her head leaning on Kevin's uninjured shoulder. She then said:
"Mobius-san is right, Kevin. You cannot continue like this. When you get hurt, it is not only you who feel the pain. The ones who care for you feel that pain tenfold."
Kevin could only remain silent at this genuine display of care from the two women. Aponia especially reminded him so much of Elisa onee-chan. She also tended to be a mother figure for all the children present in the labs; and she never hesitated to take the most painful experiments on herself if that meant that Kevin and the other children could be spared. In a corner part of his mind, he still remembers her scolding him for voluntarily going for those operations where those demons cut open your body.
And then she died. Leaving them all behind, and Kevin's life finally turned into an absolute never-ending nightmare.
"Kevin?" a soft voice brought him back to reality. Looking at the source of the voice he saw both Aponia and Mobius-san looking at him with worried looks:
"What is it?" Kevin asked.
"We should be the ones asking that." Mobius replied "You zoned out and didn't respond to our voices. And why is your face so pale?" she then cupped his cheeks to get a better look at his face.
"Nothing." Kevin said, brushing her hand off and getting up. He then started to walk towards the door, intending to leave the room. When Aponia tried to stop him, he said:
"This is a war, Aponia. In war, there are many inevitable things. Death and blood among them."
"But it doesn't mean that you have to be the one to shed the blood. This isn't-" she argued back.
"Yes I do." Kevin said cutting her off. At this Aponia frowned in sadness and the room was again engulfed in uncomfortable silence. Kevin would've walked away as usual, but something in his mind told him to calm down these two women. He ran a hand through his silver-white hair as he said:
"I…" he paused a little and then continued "…will try to be more careful next time"
"Ah." Aponia gasped a little. The last time he had started to walk out and Ellie-san tried to stop him, he had rebuked her very harshly. But this time…
"Kevin, you…" Mobius started to say, but this time Kevin completely walked away without saying anything anymore. Both the women stood there, not able to say anything.
'Oh, Kevin…' they both thought at the same time as their face softened. What a gentle idiot.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING!?" roared a voice from another part of the medical wing. Kevin was making his way out of the medical wing when he heard this shout coming from one of the nearby rooms. Deciding to check out the source of this sound, he decided to step inside the room. The first thing he was greeted with was that of a pink-haired girl holding a sword to Welt's neck. The said man simply stood there with a neutral expression on his face.
Something shimmered on the girl's cheek as Kevin realized those to be tears. That was when his eyes went to another figure lying on the medical bed behind those two. She was a girl of around twelve years of age. She had hair the same shade of pink as the girl who held the sword to Welt's neck. Purplish lines nearly covered her entire body, up to her neck. Some of those lines were even creeping up to her face; they were extremely faint, so one had to squint their eyes to see them.
Kevin understood at once what was happening to the little girl.
She was nearly corrupted fully, and by looking at the state of corruption she didn't have much time left.
Welt finally saw Kevin standing there observing them and the girl. He then greeted him:
"Oh, Kevin. Did you get your wounds treated?"
"Yes." Kevin replied and looked at Welt with a neutral expression.
"That girl…" he said.
"Yes." Welt said as he took off his glasses and wiped them. He continued "She's the sister of this girl here. Judging by her condition, she was brought here; she was heavily experimented on by that agent called 'The Doctor'. I have detected high levels of Honkai poisoning in her blood. It is enough to kill any average soldier of the Moths easily. The only reason she's still alive is due to her high innate resistance. Unfortunately, she has been exposed to too much Honkai serum to the point that it is now impossible to remove it from her system."
"How much time does she has left?" Kevin asked in a neutral voice. He knew that even if Welt-san is unable to cure the girl, then there is nothing that can be done.
"Two weeks." Welt said without missing a beat. Hearing this the girl started to sob:
"N-No, this can't be." she then turned towards Welt and spoke again "You guys are the most advanced organization on this earth regarding Honkai right? Then why are you not doing anything? You have treated all of the others who were brought here. Then why don't you-"
"Because they were in the initial stages of Honkai corruption. Your sister has enough Honkai poisoning in her blood to kill off an entire squad." Welt cut her off. He then said in a tone of finality:
"I'm sorry Miss Sakura. But we can't save your sister anymore. It's too late."
"No." Sakura broke down while crying in front of both of them. She had saved Rin from that horrible place only to lose her again, and this time for good. She couldn't accept it. She wouldn't accept it. She will do anything to ensure that her sister grows up safe and happy. Thinking this she turned towards Kevin and then bowed her head the lowest she could possibly bow. She stretched out her hands in her front and touched her forehead to the ground. Then with a breaking voice full of agony and pain, she begged:
"Please save her. Please save my baby sister. She doesn't deserve any of this. P-please…" she choked up, unable to continue. She let her tears fall freely to the ground. This was the first time she has begged like this. But what could she do? The place where she belonged had betrayed her, and now only the ones present in this room could help her.
"Please…" she whispered as fresh tears dropped on the ground.
Kevin was silent for a while. He had an idea but had to verify it with Welt-san first. Furthermore, Sakura had been their enemy at the start. She had betrayed the Cocoon for her sister, she could do the same to the Moths. And even though a part of his mind told him to help her, he had to look at the bigger picture and protect this place. This was also his duty as well. He was a soldier, not a philanthropist. Deciding this, he spoke:
"Then what do you offer in exchange, Matsui Sakura?"
Sakura's eyes widened as she heard those words coming out of Kevin-dono's mouth. She would have never thought of him to be someone like this. She heard him continue:
"As you know that you were our enemy in the past. Further, you defected from your organization for your sister. What is to say you will not do this in the future? I'm a soldier of the Moths and my duty is to protect it from all threats, external or internal."
"I-I…" Sakura was not able to speak. What he had said was exactly true. There was no way to ensure her loyalty now. But she had to get their help to save her sister. So there was only one way.
"What does Kevin-dono desire?" Sakura said gritting her teeth.
"You." Kevin said simply causing Sakura's eyes to widen.
"Wha-" Sakura was not able to understand. He wanted her? why? In what way?
She looked up and saw him looking at her with a hard expression on his face. Sensing her confusion Kevin elaborated:
"A blood oath." her eyes widened again. How did he know? "You will take a blood oath to be a member of the Moths. To never betray and go against either Welt-san or the General."
"Th-that's-" Sakura stammered. A blood oath was the highest form of promise in their custom. Once taken, a person was bound to the oath. In this case, the Moths. Kevin continued:
"Nothing in this world comes for free, Sakura. You want us to save her. Then you will have to give something of equal value to us back. A life for a life."
"Friend or Foe, choose." Kevin finished speaking.
Sakura was silent for a long time. She understood that the only way to ensure Rin's happiness was to sacrifice her own. This man in front of her forced her into this situation without even doing anything. Yet, even then she couldn't come to hate him, after all, she has also killed innocents. Perhaps this was her punishment. However, she was relieved that Kevin-dono was the one who had delivered this punishment; as it will be fair and just. She was sure of that.
Thinking this, she wiped her eyes with her sleeves and looked up at Kevin while showing resolve in her eyes.
"Anything for her happiness."
At this, Kevin nodded and brought out a small throwing knife. He then sliced the palm of his left hand and let his blood flow to the floor. He then threw the knife towards Sakura who caught it in mid-air. She then mimicked him and sliced open the palm of her own right hand, and let her blood flow to the floor, mixing with Kevin's. She then started speaking:
"I, Matsui Sakura, the forty-fifth heir of the Matsui house, do hereby swear the blood oath to forever bind myself to the Fire Moths and their cause. I will neither think nor do any action that causes harm to the Moths and vow to protect it until my last breath. Shall I attempt to do any of it, my life shall be cut short by the one to whom I swear this oath to. Let the heavens under which we stand be the witness of my blood oath."
Sakura finished her part. Then she looked at Kevin to say his part. Seeing it as his cue to speak, Kevin spoke:
"I, Kevin Kaslana thus hereby announce myself as the oath keeper of the oath sworn by Matsui Sakura on this day. Shall she try to break it, I will deliver the judgement that is fair and sound."
Saying this, he stretched out his hand towards Sakura. She held it as she got up and said:
"My life now belongs to the Moths, Kevin-dono."
"Very well, welcome to the Moths, Sakura. This will be your new battleground and your final resting place."
Finishing the oath ceremony, Kevin turned to Welt and said:
"Do you have any objections, Welt-san?"
"Will you listen to me if I say no?" Welt said exasperatedly.
"…" Kevin chose to remain silent.
"Sigh…" Welt scratched his head as he said "Leaving apart this show of ancient vows, how do you propose we treat Rin?"
At this Kevin simply replied:
"Using me."
Later That Night
Kevin finally plopped on his small bed in his quarters after retiring for the night. The method of saving Rin that he proposed to Welt-san made the man slack-jawed for a moment. He didn't how effective this plan was going to be, but this was the only way he could see saving Rin, who otherwise will surely perish.
Flashback
"Use… you?" Welt asked not understanding what Kevin meant by that.
"Yes, Welt-san." Kevin said affirming what he said.
"And how exactly?" Welt asked.
"The serum HSN-b46 that you developed was originally created by extracting the Honkai antibodies in my blood, correct?"
"Hmm." Welt nodded.
"Then it is simple. We need the portion of the source that produces those antibodies in my body. Then by implanting it, we can temporarily have Rin generate enough antibodies to suppress the excess Honkai corruption in her body."
"Kevin, you…" Welt said apprehensively, catching on to what Kevin was proposing.
"Yes, Welt-san. We will use my stem cells that can be extracted from my spinal cord."
"…" Sakura was agape on hearing this. She didn't know much about what Kevin-dono was saying, but hearing the word 'Spinal cord' made her nervous. Being an ex-assassin, she knew how dangerous a wound to one's spine can be. Yet she chose to remain silent. He had promised her to save Rin for her oath, and now he had to keep his part of the deal.
"Kevin, do you understand what are you saying? Those stem cells have to be scraped off your spinal cord which has to be cut open while you are awake and fully conscious. If anything goes wrong, you may be crippled for life, or even worse…" Welt left the last part unsaid, but it was clear to all those present there what he wanted to say.
"I understand. However, my innate regeneration will ensure that nothing of the sort will happen. And as for the pain, you already know that I don't feel anything anymore." Kevin said, countering Welt's concerns.
"I know. But still, do you think Mobius will agree to this?"
"That is why it has to be you who has to do it, Welt-san."
"W-what are you saying? Have you gone nuts? I'm a researcher, not a surgeon."
"Yet, only you can do it now."
"But why? Why go so far, Kevin?"
At this, Kevin looked at Sakura who was standing a bit further away with her head bowed and said:
"She has agreed to keep her part of her oath. So, I need to do the same."
At this Welt was silent for a long while before he drew out a long sigh and said:
"Fine, but be prepared for another bashing from Mobius later on." he then looked at Sakura and said:
"You better keep your word, Miss. Sakura."
At this Sakura nodded her head meekly.
Current time
They have decided to do the said procedure next week when the majority of his wounds have healed. They also decided to perform this stem cell extraction in utter secrecy. Only Welt-san and Sakura will be present to perform the procedure, as including anyone else will risk the chance of them getting found out by Mobius-san and the others. He knew it was unfair to her and the others, but this had to be done if he wanted to save Rin.
In reality, he didn't expect for Sakura to keep her oath, nor did he care. He only did it to make sure that Sakura is accepted into the Moths with the least amount of negativity. He was aware of how the ex-cocoon agent was being treated here. So by making her look like she is bounded by some kind of shackle will make the Moth members less bit hostile to her. in future he hoped she could make true friends here, friends that she could entrust her back to. And when that day came, she will no longer need this oath. One person who lives their life bound to an oath was more than enough, they didn't need another.
He would have helped save Rin regardless if his small plan worked or not. She reminded him of many children in that facility. No child deserved to die because someone's curiosity goes beyond the moral line, and he will give his best to ensure that.
Thinking such thoughts, Kevin closed his eyes. He was feeling sleepier than usual. Him waking up after a five-day-long coma and getting into the middle of a battle soon after, not even giving his body to heal properly has caused his body to finally reach its limits. Thus, he decided to listen to his body and closed his eyes, hoping that today will be a dreamless sleep; because usually, only nightmares accompanied him in sleep. He sighed a little as he felt his eyelids fluttering close and his mind going hazy.
'It was a long day.' he thought as he finally drifted off to sleep.
RUSTLE.
There was a rustling sound near him, as if his bedsheets were being moved. He then heard a sound as if somebody was trying to move in a constrained place. Soon a very familiar scent of lilies drifted into his nose, and he could swear he saw a few strands of pink at the edges of his vision.
If this was a normal situation, then he would have instantly reacted. However, his exhausted body refused to cooperate with him as his consciousness was drifting further away. The last thing he heard before he finally drifted off to sleep was a soft feminine voice saying:
"Good night, Kevin."
He was back again in the frozen wasteland. The thick chains tore up from the ground and shot up to the sky. It was impossible to see until where they stretched into the sky, as they seemed to extend upon infinite. The entire landscape was filled with endless snow, yet the air felt hot and suffocating. It was as if this place was made for tormenting sinners.
Kevin however didn't flinch at the sight of the gruelling and broken landscape. Surprisingly he felt attuned to this place as if it mirrored exactly how he was: despairing and broken.
In the middle of this landscape that he was standing on currently was that thing. It looked exactly like him except for the golden eyes and inhuman features. Once he approached it, the entity greeted him:
"Welcome back, Kaiser."
Kevin nodded in response and then asked something that was on his mind for the entire time:
"What is this place exactly?"
"Hmm." the entity hummed as it seemed to think to itself. Then it spoke:
"The closest analogy I can give it to you is that this place is your soul."
"My soul?"
"Yes. Although this is something that is not achievable by everyone in the various branches of the Yggdrasil, the concept of this place still exists in the higher dimensions."
"What is this place called?"
"It has many names: Soulscape, Inner world, Reality marble. However, you can call it your Diagmata space as I have stated before." It then stopped and said "It has another name, its true name; but you cannot learn of it, not yet."
"Why?"
"Because you are still not worthy."
"Then how do I become worthy?"
"Simple." the entity said as it unfolded its hands and black wings sprouted from its back. It then created an orb similar to when Kevin came first into this space. The orb then changed its shape; it elongated as it took a very familiar form.
"Surtr." Kevin muttered to himself. The orb has changed its shape to his sword. However, instead of being crimson red, this version was fully black with red veins running all over it, like the ones which ran through the entity's body.
The entity pointed the sword towards Kevin and said:
"Grow stronger, Kevin Kaslana. Only when you are able to beat me will you learn the true name of this place, and along with it its true power. The power that goes beyond the Honkai and the Yggdrasil itself."
At this Kevin got into his hand-to-hand combat stance as he said:
"Fine."
He will grow stronger. Stronger than anybody else. Stronger than Herrschers. Stronger than Honkai itself. And then he will use that strength to purge the Honkai from this world once and for all.
He will not fail, no matter what.
He will keep his oath.
The Next Morning
"Hmm." Kevin groaned a little as his eyes fluttered open. He was expecting his body to ache all over, but as expected he couldn't feel anything. The pain and exhaustion of training could only be felt in his Diagmata space. Speaking of training, that entity was even more ruthless than any of the enemies he had ever met, Herrschers included. He had lost count of how many times he had figurately died in this one training session.
The entity reasoned that only by him dying over and over again could he learn the various ways an enemy could slip past his defences. Thus, as a result, he had died more than anyone could imagine one dying. Decapitation, impaling, ripping apart, immolation, asphyxiation, getting crushed, he had experienced it all within the span of six hours. At the end of this so-called training session, he had finally managed to land a solid hit on the entity, scratching its cheek a little. That was when the entity decided to call it for today, prompting him that it was already morning.
Kevin found this type of unrestrained training to be useful to test and train his newfound powers. In his Diagmata space, there was no concept of death, so he could push himself as much as he wanted, willingly breaking himself. When he was resurrected after his body was destroyed, he felt himself getting stronger, faster and more in control of his power. He also felt as if the mental link between him and that entity was getting stronger. When he asked about it, the entity said that it was because he was getting in tune with his Diagmata powers.
The entity also warned him that the more he masters his powers, the heavier will be the cost when he uses them. However, that didn't concern Kevin at all; he had already resolved to use it, no matter the cost. Hearing this the entity remained quiet. That was when he saw the surroundings being enveloped in a white fog. He understood instinctively that it was time for him to wake up. He gave a final nod to the entity as the world was completely engulfed by the fog.
That brings us here. Kevin groaned a little as he tried to get up but found his limbs not moving for some reason. He opened his eyes fully to be greeted by pink. He tilted his head down to see a girl with pink hair sleeping soundly on his side, her head on his chest and her arms embracing him like a girl's teddy bear. Her breaths were steady and calm, indicating that she was still fast asleep. Kevin then heard her muttering something:
"Mmm… Celia-mama… Olga onee-chan… Dystopia-chan…"
Kevin wondered if she missed her old home. Did she have those dreams of a time long gone by and wish that they would continue forever? Did she ever regret joining Moths and fighting in this bloody war, seeing many of her comrades not making it back every time they are deployed? He wanted to ask her these things but thought better of it. He was her comrade, not her family; he didn't have any right to pry into her personal life.
Deciding that he has spent enough time in bed, Kevin started to slowly pry himself away from her only for her grip to get tighter as she started mumbling again.
"No… don't go… please don't go…"
'What a strange girl.' Kevin thought to himself. He wasn't able to discern what went on in her mind till now. He then tried again, but this time more slowly and gently. Finally, after fifteen minutes, he was able to free himself from her grasp. The moment he separated himself from her, he put a pillow in his place. Elysia frowned in her sleep as her body detected the loss of warmth from the person beside her. She snuggled deeper into the pillow in an attempt to regain some of the warmth.
He looked at her sleeping face and wondered if this is the same person who is said to be the strongest after him in the Moths. He then shook his head; every Moth member is vital for the war against Honkai. There is no need to be concerned about who is strongest. As long as Honkai is defeated in the end, it will be worth it.
Thinking this, he decided to do his morning routine and take a shower. Following it he will perhaps go to the training arena to check out the results of his training with the entity. Thinking this, he pushed open the door to the bathroom and made his way inside. Once he had stripped down his clothes, he started to undo his bandages, not surprised to find the majority of his wounds had healed completely. He then looked at his chest where now a huge scar rested just millimetres above where his heart is. It had been a long month, Kevin thought as he pushed the tap open to start brushing his teeth.
Kevin made his way out of the training arena after his morning session. As usual, he was the top scorer in the simulated battle rankings. Currently, he doesn't even have any problems fighting against hordes of Emperors and Templars. To think he struggled to fight against them when he first joined the Moths.
As he was making his way towards the cafeteria to get breakfast, he was greeted by familiar faces.
"Dr. Mobius, Eden what brings you both here?"
The moment he greeted them, both of their faces lighted up as they smiled a happy smile. Eden then greeted him back and said:
"Good morning, Kevin. We both actually were looking for you."
"Me?"
"Yes. We wanted to ask if you'd like to have breakfast together."
At this, Kevin looked at Mobius and said:
"Are you sure that you have time for eating with me, Dr. Mobius?"
"It's Mobius-san to you. Technically I'm not on duty yet, so you can call me informally now. And to answer your question: yes, I have sufficient time."
"Okay, then let's go." Kevin replied and started walking in the direction of the cafeteria. Suddenly he noticed both of the women walking alongside him on each side. They each held his arm and snuggled closer to him, letting his arm get buried in their bountiful chests. This however went above Kevin's head due to his density and his inability to feel any physical stimuli.
…
"What are you even eating, Kevin?" Mobius asked appalled as she saw him opening the lid of cup noodles and adding boiling water to it. He then pushed the lid close again as he sipped on the mug containing black coffee that he brought alongside the cup noodles.
"Instant noodles." Kevin replied without taking his eyes off the cup.
"I can see that, I'm asking why are you eating it?" Mobius said as she pinched her nose in exasperation. Sometimes this guy acted like a five-year-old.
"Because it takes less amount to prepare, and can be taken anywhere, even on long deployments. Plus, they taste adequate according to me."
Both Mobius and Eden looked at him in mild anger and chided him with a stern voice:
"No. it's not good for your health to eat only instant noodles. Moreover, you are recuperating now, so you need healthy food more than ever."
"No need." Kevin said as he pulled off the lid of the cup noodles again and started stirring it, mixing the spices and making it cooler to eat.
Seeing her being ignored, Eden got up from her seat and took the cup noodles from his hand. Seeing her taking his breakfast, Kevin asked:
"What happened Eden?"
"You are not eating this unhealthy thing, Kevin. As long as I'm here." she huffed and took the cup noodles with her to the trash bin. She then dumped the contents into the bin and went to the counter. Once she returned, she was holding a tray full of fully cooked meals: bread, bacon, milk, butter, green salad, and a glass of milk. Looking at it Kevin said:
"I don't have time to eat that much."
"You will eat it Mr. Kaslana, no ifs and buts." she then took a spoonful of salad and brought it near to his mouth "say Aaahhhh."
Kevin looked at her skeptically. What was this woman trying to do? Seeing his expression, Eden said:
"You have never had someone feed you, right? That is why you have developed these unhealthy eating habits."
"…"
"So please eat healthy, at the least until I'm here. Please" Eden looked at him with pleading eyes. Kevin looked around, all of the ones present in the cafeteria had stooped what they were doing and looked at the trio. Feeling uncomfortable, Kevin decided to comply with Eden's wishes, only to end this breakfast quickly.
He opened his mouth and took the spoonful of salad. The moment he did it, the entire cafeteria burst into noise.
"Wawawawawa…" a female soldier blushed.
"Just like newlyweds." Another commented.
"Damm you, Kevin Kaslana."
"Why is it always him?"
"I'm so jealous…"
"I hope you fall in a ditch somewhere…"
Kevin decided to tune out those voices and concentrated on eating as fast as he could. From the corner of his eyes, he could Mobius-san holding her mug tightly looking extremely irritated. Once they met eyes, she huffed and turned her head pouting.
"Amadan thu." she said puffing her cheeks.
What was with these women, Kevin thought.
Kevin was making his way to his office after narrowly escaping two women in the cafeteria. As he was eating, a familiar pink-haired girl burst into the cafeteria looking for him. Once her eyes landed on him, she quickly made her way to him and draped herself over him, hugging him from the back. She then started speaking some nonsense like how it was satisfying last night and she was feeling more relaxed today. Then she went on saying how she was sad that he left her this morning all alone and how she wanted to be more with him.
After she finished speaking, she gave a small peck on his cheek and said she wanted to sleep with him today as well. The moment she said this, the whole cafeteria went silent. He then felt his battle instincts get alerted as he saw Mobius-san crushing the mug in her hand. Since when she was this strong? She then with a sickeningly sweet smile asked:
"Ara, what could be Elysia talking about, Kevin Kaslana?"
"That's right. Care it to explain it to us, Kevin?" Eden said with the same kind of bone-chilling smile on her face. Kevin was at a loss on how to respond, and when he saw the perpetrator, she just smiled a smug-looking smile. As he was wracking his brains on how to respond, his saviour came in the form of Emile from aniki's regiment who came in and informed him that Welt-san was looking for him.
Finding an excuse, Kevin quickly excused himself from the cafeteria and made his way out of that place before anything more could happen. As he shut the door behind him, he could hear Mobius-san's voice shouting and cursing at someone in her native tongue. He found it easier to breathe once he was outside that room as if a big load had been taken off his chest. He mentally decided to avoid the women for a few days, as his instincts told him that things would get ugly if he met them again so soon. He also reminded himself to lock his room from the inside before sleeping from here on out and to change the password on the lock just in case.
He made his way to the interrogation room where he was met with another two familiar faces.
"Dr. Welt, General. You both called me?" he saluted and then asked.
"Yes, Kevon. Today we both will be interrogating the engineer that you guys have apprehended and brought back. As such, I thought it would be better that someone who had seen what she could do first-hand be present as well." General Alexei replied.
"Yes sir." Kevin acknowledged.
"Well then, shall we?" Welt said. Then he looked towards Kevin and said "Don't give any extreme ideas this time Kevin?"
"?"
"What extreme ideas, Dr. Welt?"
"Nothing general." Welt dismissed General. He then prompted both of them to go inside the room to start the interrogation. As Kevin was entering the door, welt whispered into his ear:
"I know what you did, Kevin. and I hope you never do something like that again."
"?" Kevin was not able to understand what Welt-san meant by that, so he tried to ask, only to find that he had gone on ahead. Deciding to put it for a later date, he pushed it to the back of his mind and entered the room.
He was greeted by a familiar sight. The entire room was white, with a tinted window on one side. On the other side of the window, there were many technicians present, recording every single biometric possible of the person sitting across the table.
Speaking of the said person, she seemed to be quite at ease considering the fact that she was technically a prisoner here and was being interrogated by three people who could kill her with ease. General Alexei took the role of the one who asked the questions as he sat down on the chair in front of him, opposite that woman with the conductor hat.
"I guess you don't need an introduction as to who we are, considering that you managed to wipe out nearly four hundred of our men." General Alexei started the interrogation.
"Hmm." the woman hummed and then burst out laughing. Seeing her laugh off killing his comrades, Kevin felt anger towards her. He tried to move, only to be stopped by Welt holding his hand. When he looked at him, the man simply shook his head. That was when Kevin understood that they had to be in more control of their emotions. They cannot show any type of weakness that allows her to gain an upper hand in the investigation. Kevin thus repressed all that he was feeling until he could see the situation objectively. As he did, his eyes hardened and his gaze grew cold to the point that one couldn't say whether he considered the other person as a human or not.
Seeing him becoming guarded, cold and professional, Vill-V clicked her tongue and said:
"How boring? Do you know that you look like one of my creations, Godslayer-san? Cold, hard, lifeless, dead…"
"…"
"No wonder you don't feel anything when you killed those men? See we aren't that much different after all."
"Please don't try to antagonize my soldier that much considering your situation, Miss. Vill-V." General said in a cold voice, reprimanding her.
"Fine whatever you say, General-san. So, what do you want to know? How I replicated that so-called Solium even without critical manufacturing details? How have I developed mechs that can utilize Honkai-energy? How did to manage to kill so many of your guys... or why did I join that organization in the first place."
"All of them if you would." General replied.
"And if I say no?"
"Then we will have to take hard measures."
"Hard measures…" Vill-V repeated with a cutesy voice. "Kyaa… don't do it. I'm afraid. You will not hurt a pretty girl like me right." She then started giggling. As time passed, her giggles turned to full-blown laughter that was seeping with malice and insanity.
"You must have gone senile, old man." she said, her demeanour now completely changed. Her eyes dripped with unbound malice and contempt "I can kill you in thirty-five different ways while not moving a finger."
"Then give your best, Miss. Vill-V." General replied in a neutral and confident voice.
"Is that so." Vill-V said as she moved her finger to tap a button present on her wrist. However, before she could even move a finger, she felt something hard and cool pressing against her temple. Her eyes moved sideways to see Kevin pointing APOLLO directly at her head.
"Move a muscle, and I will pull the trigger." he said in an extremely cold voice.
At this Vill-V sighed and said:
"You should really try to keep your soldiers disciplined, General-san. Otherwise, they will bite back at you when you least expect it."
"I trust him, Miss. Vill-V, something that I'm afraid you will not be able to understand."
"I'm afraid not." Vill-V confirmed the General's words.
"Enough, Vivian." another voice called her out. Vill-V's eyes widened at hearing the name that she had made sure no one knew in this world. She then saw the one who had called her with this name, and when she saw his face, for the first time since she was brought here, she snarled.
"You…" she growled.
"This isn't what Isabella would've wanted. She didn't teach her craft for you to use it for destruction like this. She wanted you to-"
"SHUUUUUUUT UPPPPPPPP!" for the first time since he had met her, Kevin had seen her shouting like that. her eyes were full of rage and murder. She looked at Welt like she wanted nothing more than to grab him and rip him apart.
"Vivian…" Welt called out her name again.
"DON'T!" she shouted loudly and then went silent. Kevin could see her shoulders trembling as if she was trying to suppress her emotions and failing badly at it. After some time, she spoke again :
"Don't you dare say those names. I will rip your throat if you utter them again. You are not worthy, you fucking cunt." Vill-V said with disgust clear in her voice.
Seeing her reaction to that name, Kevin deduced that this is her true name. And from the way she was showing open hostility to Welt-san, Kevin understood that their relationship went deeper than initially assumed.
"-to be happy, Vivian. She made me promise to look after you once she was gone." Welt pressed on.
"Look after me… hehehehe… HAHAHAHAHA… do you even hear yourself?" Vill-V said hysterical "You left me with that demon. You let my mother die every day while you sucked all the money she made for your so-called research. Don't you dare play the promise card with me Joachim Nokianvirtanen."
"Vivian…" Welt tried again.
"I told you to never call me that name again, didn't I. You sick fuck." she shouted again, bristling. She was now struggling against her restraints, trying to get up. She then in a low voice said:
"I will kill you, Joachim. I will kill you in the most painful way possible. I will make you regret the fact that you betrayed my mother."
"…" Welt just shook his head despondently. She then looked at Kevin and said with the same expression:
"And you too. I will kill you no matter what, Kevin Kaslana."
"…" Kevin remained silent. Suddenly an idea came to his mind. He was sure with this he can ensure her loyalty to the Moths, at least temporarily.
"Fine." he said putting his plan in motion.
"Wha-" Vill-V was too stunned to speak after hearing what Kevin said.
"Kevin... you…" Welt said realizing what he was trying to do. This was the same thing he did to make Sakura join Moths. Why did he always do things like this?
"You did not hear me wrong, Vivian."
"Don't call me that." Vill-V hissed.
"Fine Vill-V. I will give you regular chances to kill me."
"Have you gone crazy? Did you drink too much yesterday night?" Vill-V asked not comprehending what was making him say this.
"No. I'm serious. I will let you try to kill me at regular intervals."
At this, Vill-V was silent for a while. She was sure that this man had gone crazy. Did he not fear death? Well whatever, she will bite the proposal, not like she can do anything better strapped against a chair.
"All right, I accept your proposal. Now, what are your terms?"
At this, Kevin raised his hand to show three fingers.
"First. You will join the Moths and help out Dr. Welt in his research for anti-Honkai warfare."
"What? No."
"Second. You will only try to kill me, nobody else."
"Listen to me dammit."
"Third. You will only get a chance when you do a contribution that I deem worthy enough for our cause."
"Listen here."
"These are the three conditions. If you don't want to accept it, then you can spend the rest of your days in prison here at the Moths."
"…" Vill-V was silent for a while before saying:
"What you said, do you mean it?"
"I don't make baseless promises. You want to kill me; I will give you a chance. But if and only if you are beneficial to the Moths."
At this, Vill-V was silent again for some time to contemplate her choices. If she went along with his proposal, then she will have to work alongside that fucking uncle of hers. However, other options also didn't look better either. Thus finally, she made up her mind.
"You better keep your word, Kevin Kaslana." Vill-V said taking a deep breath.
At this, Kevin nodded as he then pulled APOLLO away and holstered it. He then extended his hand towards Vill-V and said:
"Welcome to the FIRE MOTHS, Vill-V."
At this, she took his hand and said:
"I hope you die sooner."
"I hope as well."
To be continued…
Hello everyone, welcome back to 'A Warriors Destiny'.
This marks the complete end of the cocoon arc. To be honest here, I didn't even know what direction I wanted to take this arc in the first place when I started writing it. In the game, we only get small mentions of it here and there. However, I wanted this arc to be bigger and more impactful than a mere incident. This way, when we get to later parts of the story, we can relate to the gravity of what happened in the previous era more.
Anyway, you might have also noticed here how Kevin makes the various Flame chasers join the Moths. In a sense he is the polar opposite of Elysia; while she binds the thirteen with sincerity, love and kindness, he binds them with a common hatred for him. In this story, he is the one who bands them together, and she is the one who holds them together. This is one of the ways of his damnation.
Now with the epilogue complete, we will move to two short chapters, which will serve as rest for the team, and then we will move to the sixth eruption when things truly go downhill for Kevin and send him on the path of self-destruction. So look forward to the island adventure of a certain summer, as well as meeting a certain brooding young boy.
As always if you like the story please leave a follow, favourite, and/or review.
Thank you for reading, until next time.