Chapter 17 EX: Project MANTIS Log, S-0010

Sakuya silently stared at the city in front of her from Kyuushou's broken apartment. Flames were erupting everywhere, and people were panicking left and right. Buildings are torn and streets are littered with ashes.

It is scary how much influence the WS has. While they don't have a powerful military and economy like Schicksal and AE. Their biggest strength lies in their influence and secrecy. Practically anyone can be a member of the WS. But whether they had a choice when they joined is a different story.

Sakuya wonders if this is the World Serpent's vengeance against her. Could it be a sign that they would always be watching her every move? Who knows. No matter where she ran, no matter how many bonds she forged. There will always be something or someone that will come in and ruin it.

"The place where I live is beautiful you know, The people there are nice. I wished I could return back to my hometown someday."

"..." Sakuya looked down at her hands. "...Safa. You liar. How is this world beautiful when I keep seeing withered roses everywhere." Sakuya curled her hands into a fist. Why even when things were very bleak Safa is always positive about everything?

Kiana is the same. While Leon had a more realistic view he still had that optimistic view of life. Why? Was it because of their naivety or they simply chose to be optimistic? How could they still have faith in this god-forsaken world that always takes and never gives anything back?

But even so, maybe it's a blessing that those 3 didn't end up like her and still have a hopeful look in their eyes. Kyuushou hasn't truly experienced what it is like to crawl on shattered glass as life drags on and Sakuya wanted to make sure she never has to experience what she has experienced.

Perhaps it is out of pity or maybe it is because she felt a certain connection to that Houraiji. A connection that's more than bloodline ties. Is it fate perhaps? Who knows.

As Sakuya watches the city in front of her burn. She began to reminisce about a similar event that happened in the past. The past that she remembered at least.

Years ago in a small town in Russia.

She was still a kid that day. The day where she lost her town to the Honkai and the day where she lost her childhood to the humans who were supposed to protect them.

Sakuya saw her town being lit ablaze as fire and Honkai beasts rampaged through the small town in Russia. "Sister Maria! Sirin onee chan!" The little girl shouted. Unfortunately, during the initial attack, she was lost in the chaos. Maybe that was for the best since if she was with Sirin or Sister Maria, then Schicksal would've taken her to the Tower of Babylon and did their experiments there.

Not long after that Sakuya was found by WS and they brought her into one of their secret base where she spent the rest of her childhood locked up in that cold and unwelcoming place.

Groggily Sakuya wakes up in the holding cell. WS knocked her out beforehand so she wouldn't be a nuisance to them and so that she wouldn't know where she was. "Ah, you're awake." A soft voice called out to her.

Sakuya turned around only to see an older girl sitting beside her. She looks to be in her younger teens. However, she noticed that everyone in her cell varied in terms of ethnicity and age. She isn't even the only child in the facility though she would find out about that later.

"Where are we Onee san?"

"I don't know. When I woke up I was already here. I saw you getting dragged in her as well."

"I-I see. Umm did Onee san see a friend of mine? She has purple hair and yellow eyes! A bit older than me."

"Unfortunately no." The older girl's answer made Sakuya frown. "A-Ah don't be sad. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"But another group of mean bad guys took her!"

"I-i see. Sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. Hmph we just have to get out of here somehow." Sakuya got up and started observing the room. The older girl giggles at her childish optimism. It is a nice change of pace to see someone being optimistic instead of gloomy or stressed out like the rest of the adults.

"What's so funny!?"

"Nothing. You just look cute that's all."

"Hmph." Sakuya pouts and the older girl can't help but pat the little girl's hair. "Just remember, I, Sakuya will not give up!"

"Mhm. That's a good spirit to have. Oh and my name's Safa."

And that is how the 2 girls meet. It was an unfortunate set of events that led to them meeting each other. It is both a blessing and a curse for the one who inevitably survived at the end. However at that moment in time, Sakuya was feeling a bit happy that she could make a new friend in that unknown place.

"Sakuya?" Safa called her out. They've been stuck in that place for an unknown amount of time. Some adults tried to escape but their attempts all failed in the end.

"Hm?" Sakuya looks up. She was trying to entertain herself by drawing on the floors using some chalk. She was inevitably waiting until it was her turn to be called again by the guards.

"Mind if I join?"

"Nee-san you don't need to ask my permission."

Safa giggles and takes a chalk. Instead of drawing she seems to be writing something in a language Sakuya doesn't understand. "Safa Nee-san isn't going to draw?"

"Unfortunately I'm not a good artist so. I'm writing a diary of sorts."

"I can't understand what you're writing."

"Ah, It is in Indonesian. Do you want me to translate it?" Sakuya then nodded enthusiastically. "Hehe. I can teach you the language if you want but this translates into. Mom, it's been a while since I've heard your voice. I missed you and Dad already. I don't know how long I've been here but know that I'm okay. I suppose it's more of a letter to them than a diary entry." Safa smiled sadly as tears started to build up in the girl's eyes.

"I'm here for you Nee san." Sakuya tried to comfort her by hugging the older girl.

"Thank you." Safa quietly sobbed on her shoulders. The older girl tried to keep an optimistic view of things but over time she too had started to miss her parents. They must've been so worried about their missing daughter. Oh, how a bad daughter she is. Safa thought to herself.

Seeing her message made Sakuya think about her own parents. What were they like? Was she happy with them? Why did they leave her and where did they go? She wanted answers but this isn't a good place to look for them.

"So-sorry that you have to see that." After a while, Safa's tears stop as the girl regains her composure.

"It's okay Nee-san. Umm, Nee-san could teach me instead! I-if Nee-san doesn't mind." Sakuya pushes her index fingers together. A distraction might be what they need right now to get their minds off the hopeless feeling they all subconsciously felt.

"Sure." Safa smiles a little "Hmm, where should I start?"

"St-Stop an-anything but that!" Sakuya cried. She was strapped onto the bed as the WS researcher prepared to administer their tests. The little girl panicked as soon as she saw the syringe. "Pl-Please! Do-Don't! Th-That thing hurts!"

Even today she doesn't know what they put inside of those syringes but all she knows is that they contain some sort of drug that prevents them from aging as well as fluids mixed in with a lot of Honkai energy.

A regular person would've succumbed to zombification if they were to be directly injected into their system. But Sakuya? She's unfortunate enough to have the resistance needed. She's also a stigmata bearer.

"KyA! I-it hurts!" Sakuya screamed as the scientist injected her with it. Immediately her body began to show signs of Honkai corruption, especially near the spot where the drug was injected.

Her arm felt like it was being stabbed and cut open. Her head began to throb and her body temperature started to rise as her body tried to fight off the Honkai infection.

This is the first phase of their twisted and cruel experiment. They needed the test subjects to have enough Honkai resistance for the 2nd phase and that is the MANTIS creation procedure. That's why these scientists were injecting high concentrations of Honkai energy into her system. It is done so she would build up her Honkai resistance.

While their method is cruel it is the fastest method to build up a person's Honkai resistance. A vaccine of sorts would take a very long time for that person to have the necessary Honkai resistance needed for their procedure.

However, by injecting higher doses, they are increasing the risk of losing set specimens. Not only that they're also torturing these innocent souls if they survived. But for the sole purpose of making their sire an army. An army of strong MANTISes. They needed to take this option. After all no one would know how many years humanity had left before the Herrscher of The End descended upon this world and reset it.

"Subject S-010 is doing well. The immune system is fighting back." A scientist records their findings as she observes their test subject. The purple lines have started to climb up to Sakuya's neck though it seems to have slowed down its pace.

Her body has successfully slowed down the infection just as the scientists predicted. "This is incredible. Subject S-010 is really our lucky specimen! Her adaptation rate is 1 in a million. While initially, her resistance is relatively low for a stigmata bearer. To think that her body is still fighting is a miracle." The Female scientist is astonished even her colleague couldn't help but agree.

"How's the other subjects that are in the same cell block as hers?" Her superior asked.

"Ah, recently we've lost 2 more due to Honkai corruption, 1 of them became a zombie while the other died on the spot. Subject-007, the one that's close to Subject S-010. She's holding remarkably well though that's mostly because she has a mutation in her genes that caused her Honkai resistance to be abnormally high even though her family didn't have any record of being a Schicksal Valkyrie or Knight. Her gaining a stigmata is also a surprise." The Female scientist replied.

"...Make sure to keep those 2 alive at all costs. So far none of our subjects has survived the procedure. We may have underestimated how deadly this Celestial Class Beast really is despite their high compatibility with humans."

"Yes sir. But how did the 1st Celestial has higher compatibility with humans? The 3rd barely has any and we don't have any samples from the 2nd Celestial class. The 4th well we haven't gotten any sample yet."

"I don't know. Maybe it simply evolved to Earth's conditions. Just like us these calamities also adapt. Tsk. As if they weren't annoying enough." Her superior waves his hand before leaving the room. "Do some more preparation. Grey Serpent hasn't given us the green light to proceed Batch S to the 2nd phase."

"Understood! You bring the IV fluids. We need to keep them alive as long as we can." The Female scientist points at her colleagues.

"All of them?"

"Well of course. If one of them died due to our negligence Grey Serpent and Jackal wouldn't be pleased and you know the rest."

The scientists all look at each other and shudder. Yeah, they should be grateful that it's not them that's on the operating table right now. Well at least they have their prosperity secured no need for them to go against their boss now do they?

Some sacrifices needed to be made if they wanted to survive and thrive in this world.

The team acted quickly. This experiment was a success and fortunately for them many of their test subjects in batch S are still alive. Even though it was only a small portion of the original test subjects that had survived. It is still better than all of them dying before this batch could reach the 2nd phase.

Still how many years has it been since they've done this? Well, whatever as long as it's not their family that's being experimented on it wouldn't matter in the end. This is the path they choose to survive. No matter how inhumane it may seem. They will persevere till the end.

"So cruel… Sister Maria. You liar. Adults are very cruel. It hurts… Why does everything have to hurt so much?" Sakuya thought as the girl sobs. She feels tired and her body is very hot right now. The right side of her body is screaming in pain despite the scientists already injecting her with morphine to keep her sedated.

"Did I commit a sin? Why am I being punished for being a good girl? I-I did everything right. I followed the rules and prayed but why weren't my prayers answered?" Sakuya did everything that sister Maria told her. She was a good girl in the orphanage. She has never broken any rules and is usually empathetic towards others.

Yet the world didn't respond to her kindness. Is this a test of her faith? If so how long does she need to endure it? "Please. If anyone, anything heard me, please. Save us." Silently the girl pleaded in her heart. She tried to cling to hope that one day. One day her prayers will be answered and she and the others can get out of this place safely.

How long has it been? 3 years? Maybe 5? Sakuya couldn't tell how many years had passed at this point. Now it's their turn.

"Safa nee-san… A-are we going to die?" Sakuya asked with tears in her eyes. The little girl is scared. Scared of death. But wouldn't death bring them out of their suffering? What would she see after death? Would she be able to meet Safa again in the afterlife?

"I don't know…" Safa's eyes had lost their light. The two of them already accepted their fate at this point. "But don't worry Sakuya. I'm here." Safa smiled. Despite this the older girl gently pats Sakuya's head, giving her the love she needs in this otherwise desolate hell they're stuck in.

As they arrived at the room. Batch S test subjects saw multiple empty pods. They were all then pushed into these pods.

Thankfully Sakuya's and Safa's pods were near each other so the two girls could see each other. Sakuya touched the glass border that separated them as some sort of liquid began to fill the pods they were in.

Surprisingly she was still able to breathe even though she was submerged within it. She took another glance at the older girl whom she considered her older sister at this point. Her heart was racing with uncertainty but Safa gave her a reassuring smile. Reassuring her that everything will finally be over. That they could be free from this hell. Though perhaps that was just a false hope that her mind had created the moment she saw her older sister's reassuring smile.

"Preparations are complete." Sakuya could hear the scientist talking from inside the pod. Before long they pressed some sort of switch and the 2nd phase of the experiment officially started.

Sakuya could feel her body's temperature slowly rise again as unknown data entered her DNA as well as Honkai energy. Soon signs of corruption began to show on her limbs though it didn't climb any further. Overall she didn't feel her body rejecting the new information. Her body is actually accepting it and she has a high enough Honkai adaptability that she's not getting corrupted by the Honkai energy that's flowing in her veins.

"GAAHH!" The other test subjects however aren't so lucky as their screams can be heard from all over the room. Their bodies reject the new DNA information. Some died almost immediately while others were slowly turning into some sort of monster or a zombie as they didn't have the Honkai resistance needed to withstand the Honkai energy that was flowing into their bodies.

Sakuya looked to her side to see a weakened Safa slowly coughing up blood as the purple lines made their way up to her neck. She's dying from Honkai corruption.

The little girl soon panicked. "Nee-san!" Sakuya punched the glass that was caging her.

"Sakuya…" Safa weakly put her palm on the glass while coughing up some more blood. The blood on her palm smeared across the glass. "I….I-I'm so…..Sorry." The older girl is slowly losing her breath. "Bu-But It's…okay. Sa…kuya."

"Nee-san!" Sakuya continuously hits the glass as she tries to break out of her containment.

But the little girl's punches were too weak. It didn't even make any dent or cracks despite her using every bit of her strength to try and break free. "Nee-san! Ho-Hold on. Pl-please." Tears started forming in Sakuya's eyes. "Ple-Please don't leave." Sakuya pleaded.

"A…At least… Yo-You'll be…able to live… You'll be able to see th-the world aga….in." Safa smiles. "Do-Don't…Worry ab-about me…Sorry that…It has to be this way…but." Safa turns around and places her back against the glass as she doesn't want her sister to see her face when dies. "St-Stay strong… Yo-You're a good kid…I'm…Proud to ha-have you as…my little….. Sister…. I'm sure… We'll me-meet again….Someday."

Sakuya knows Safa doesn't have much time left. But she refuses to accept it. No, she won't accept it. "No! I- I don't want that! Nee-san, please… Stay with me. Don't leave me here. Don't leave me alone." However, her efforts were futile as in the end she couldn't do anything other than watch her slowly die in front of her eyes.

"So…. Please…..Don't….Cry…Sa…ku…ya." The older girl exhales her last breath as the light in her eyes fades away.

"No! Nee san! Nee-san Wa-wake up. He-Hey. We're going to be free soon. Pl-please don't open your eyes. Please… Don't… Leave…" Sakuya sobs uncontrollably "No!" Sakuya continues to pound at the glass. Slowly her punches get weaker and weaker. No, she can't accept this. She refused to accept it. Why couldn't they take her too? "At le-least… Ta-take me with y-you… Nee-san….. I hate you…" Sakuya held onto her arms. "I hate you. Why do you have to leave me here?"

"Batch S is a success! 1 subject has survived." The scientist was overjoyed. So far none of the other test subjects in the other batches have survived. No one except Sakuya.

As the liquid was being drained, Sakuya continued to cry as she fell on her knees. "Nee-san…. Come…Back. I promise I won't cry again. If you come back…I'll be good. I'm sorry I said that I hate you so please. Respond." Sakuya looks at the corpse of her 'sister' lying lifelessly on the ground. No matter what she says, It won't talk back to her as the dead can't interact with the living.

She puts her hand on the glass and clutches it into a fist. She bit her lip and cursed this cruel world.

Why does she have to be left alone again? Then the image of Sirin, Safa, and her other friends came up in her head. They all smiled at her and when she tried to reach her hand towards them their image shattered into a million pieces. She was left alone in the void.

Then the scene changes and she sees her home, Her once beautiful home she had lived in. The orphanage was peaceful as she saw kids running around or playing with the adults there before a small flame was ignited in front of her. It quickly devoured everything around her and burned everything to a crisp until there was nothing left but ashes and burnt belongings. She was left alone again in the ruins of her home.

Then she saw an image of a woman. She couldn't properly see her face as it was blurry but she could feel her warmth as the woman hugged her. The hug gave her a sense of comfort she had never felt before. She knew this woman wasn't some random stranger but someone related to her.

"Oka san…" Sakuya instinctively calls the woman out. Ah, so it was her biological mother. Sakuya must've forgotten everything about her because of her amnesia. If only she's real perhaps she could tell her how much her daughter has grown. She could tell her stories about her friends and her new home,

However, before she could say that, the scene changed in an instant. That very woman now lay in front of her in a pool of her own blood as her child held her mother's cold hand. "Oka san... I'm So-Sorry. I'm so sorry. You… You shouldn't have done that for me." Sakuya kept apologizing over and over as she hugged the corpse.

Everyone precious to her was taken away while the world around her rejoices. Is her misery really that funny to them? Do these so-called humans take pleasure in them? Every good person that she knew is taken away like it's some kind of sick joke by fate.

"Why? What did I do to deserve this." The little girl's tears stopped. Her once innocent heart now burns with wrath and hatred towards these monsters. "I hate it. I hate it. .It!" She cursed this world and its inhabitants. The Honkai, World Serpent, She cursed them all. "Fine, if they won't let me have something then I'll just have to take everything away from them. Their future, Their career, and Their family. They'll all feel my pain." Something within her snapped as her eyes slowly turned into a different color.

As the scientist opens up the pod to get the girl. Sakuya immediately lounges at them. Her eyes were filled with pure bloodlust a child shouldn't even have. Something within the girl had snapped.

The scientists were surprised that Sakuya managed to overpower a fully grown adult. Just like a feral animal, she continues to throw punches after punches onto the scientist's head. The others were too scared to even fight back as they all froze in fear.

As she landed another punch. She smashed through the scientist's skull as some red viscous liquid poured out. Ah, has the world gotten duller? Sakuya couldn't see any color other than the color red that was splattered across the floor and on her hand.

She thought she would gain some satisfaction but she didn't. She still felt empty and angry. The void in her heart still lingers. Her eyes had turned red as she cast her gaze onto the other scientist who was still frozen in fear. They hadn't moved a single inch despite them celebrating their success a moment prior.

Sakuya had slaughtered everyone in that room within a few moments with just her bare hands. The girl then took something sharp from that room and headed out.

The old Sakuya died that day in that room alongside the other test subjects. What was born there is a new monster. A hunter that will not stop until every single WS member is dead. No matter who it is or how powerful they're she would hunt them until the end of the world.

"Subject S-0010 has escaped! Subdue her. Don't kill!" The guards quickly moved around the base as the alarms blared.

"There she is!" One guard spotted Sakuya while she was running. They began firing tranquilizer bullets at the girl. Though their shot gave away their position and even though the girl was hit multiple times, she kept moving towards them and later she lounged at them with a syringe. One by one she took down the guards with a stab to their neck or head.

"Haah. Haah." Sakuya pants. Her injuries are slowing her down not to mention the tranquilizer that is in her bloodstream. She did a number on this base as many of the WS employee was killed during her escape.

As the girl saw the front entrance. She immediately collapses. She was walking with just her sheer willpower and hatred of the WS. But unfortunately, her body didn't have enough energy for that one final push, and passed out almost immediately.

When opened her eyes she was already in a different environment. She concluded that she had been moved to a different base this time. There were different guards, different rooms, and different atmospheres.

Her cell was smaller since it was only for 1 person instead of a dozen like the last one.

After what felt like an eternity a guard knock on her cell door. "S-0010. Someone is looking for you." The guard said. Several other guards were beside him all of them were armed to the teeth in case she tried to do something funny. He then came in and strapped handcuffs onto her wrist before pinning her down so that she wouldn't be able to move or harm the person in question who came to her cell personally.

"Good morning. S-0010. Or should I call you Sakuya?" A male robotic-like voice could be heard as Sakuya looked up she saw a person in a black outfit wearing some sort of weird mask on their face as a hood covered their head. Strangely he's holding onto an umbrella despite being indoors.

"You may call me Grey Serpent."

"..." Sakuya has nothing to say to him. Even at a glance, she could tell that he worked here. Though she doesn't know what role he has in the organization. Whatever it is he must've been a very important person to have 6 guards protecting him.

"Giving the silent treatment are we? Very well, I've come to give you an offer. In exchange, you'll be given freedom. Are you willing to hear my terms for that?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes. Then I'll be blunt so you wouldn't get tired of listening to my proposals. Work for us, become one of our soldiers. In exchange, you'll be free. You'll be free to do whatever you want with your life as long as you continue to work for us."

Freedom. The thing she always wanted was to be offered to her. But freedom can't bring Safa back. Freedom can't bring the things she's lost back to her. How dare he think he could buy her with that after everything he'd done.

No matter what she will get her revenge as well as avenge her fallen friends. She would not make any deals with the snake, no matter how tempting it is. Even if the world ends today she would never have taken his offer.

"I see. My offer still stands if you have a change of heart." The man then simply left. He left her to rot in this hell that humanity had created.

No one would come to save her, no one would. How could they if they didn't know she existed in the first place? If she wants to be saved. If she wants salvation. She'll get it herself. But in order to do that, she has to patiently wait.

"...Sirin. If you're out there. Please be safe." Sakuya closes her eyes. She wished for a reunion with her old buddy though little did she know at that time. The Herrscher of the Void known as Sirin had perished long ago as the 2nd eruption ended.

Later the girl would try and escape her captivities many times before she eventually succeeded on 2 different occasions but unfortunately, WS would eventually find her and bring her back to their lair.

In her last escape attempt. Schicksal found her and brought her to the Kolosten lab where they later studied the Celestial Mantis.

Her old prayers eventually came through as in Kolostein she was eventually saved by Siegfried. He was led by Natalia a researcher who worked there and accidentally found her when they tried to escape. The rest is history

If it wasn't for Siegfried and his daughter Kiana. Sakuya would've never gotten free. She would've never tasted what true freedom is like. She would've never met Kiana, the reincarnation of Sirin who's also named Sirin, Leon, her cousin Kyuushou, and Mei.

Present day

Sakuya exhales some air out of her lungs as she tries to keep herself calm. She waited patiently while Nathara worked to find where her sisters and cousin were taken away.

She's not as weak as she was before. This time she wouldn't let WS get their way. As long as she lives she would continue to become a thorn in their side.

"I found it. They're still on the move." Nathara said over the phone.

"Where are they?"

"I've sent the coordinates on your phone. They're keeping track of Sirin's Herrscher core signature. Most likely Kiana and your cousin are still with her unless they moved them separately." Nathara replied. Sakuya then checked her phone and saw that the dot was moving towards the edge of the city before it eventually stopped.

Seems like AE had blockaded the exits to the cities. That's going to make her job a lot easier then.

"Then about our deal." Sakuya sighed. "Are you really serious about that?"

"Of course. The name of the Combat division is important. Now think of a good name, 'leader' or else I'll change it myself." The green-haired scientist huffed. Inside Sakuya laughed a little she thought Nathara would ask her to do something else and that she would have to sell her soul to her. But seems like that wasn't the case.

This cooperation between them will be a 2-way exchange. So Sakuya had to think hard about this one in order not to disappoint her benefactor.

"Marena. Marena Valkiriya."

"Ah, the name of the Russian goddess of Winter, Death, and Rebirth. That'll do." Nathara seems satisfied with that answer. "Good luck." The green-haired Scientist then ended their call.

Sakuya summoned a scythe and put it on her back as she jumped down from the 10th floor of the apartment building into a void portal. Another portal opened and she landed on the roof of another building.

From building to building she made her way to where Sirin is located. She ran at full speed occasionally using her void portals to leap in short distances. She couldn't do long-distance travel that accurately yet so this would have to do for now.

The snake will soon face its old adversary. Soon they'll taste her wrath once again and soon the hunter will come for them and claim her prize.

This chapter is just a short backstory of Sakuya as she reminisces about her past while she waits for Nathara's answer.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and as always some critiques are much appreciated. See you later.