Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

A total of five places were struck by major honkai eruptions. Although it was extremely sudden, it was no longer unexpected. Fire MOTH's experiences from the fifth eruption prompted them to come up with a series of countermeasures. 

The special transport ships, for example, were improved. Their maximum speed became Mach 70. Lower-leveled transport ships were also produced to accommodate the growing numbers of high-level MANTISes.

"Reinforcements will be—"

Buzz-!

Elysia's earpiece was interrupted by a static noise. The clear sound of air resistance came to the forefront.

Swoosh-!

"Eh? This isn't the flight function?"

Her voice became high pitched as she tried to press a button on an ornament in her waist.

Click-!

A translucent purple sphere surrounded her. It was an anti-honkai field, ironically fueled by honkai energy itself. Honkai energy was said to counteract other honkai energy when used in a special manner—something Vill-V discovered a month ago.

Although, this wasn't important.

"Then, this?"

She clicked another button.

Fwoosh-!

This time, Elysia felt the resistance to the Earth's pull. She was now flying in a literal sense.

"Fu…"

With the usual sensation of flying returned, she descended into the city. Immediately, she was greeted by a pillar of light.

Buzz-!

Boom-!

The perpetrator of it, a mature woman who wore formal long sleeves, eagerly eyed Elysia's direction.

Moments later, her ears that perceived ultrasonic sounds as well as numerous complicated application such as x-ray fed back one information:

Elysia dodged the attack.

"Miss Elysia…"

She was no stranger to Elysia. Before Aleph, Elysia was the one who dealt with high-level combat forces of the honkai. Her reputation amongst the entire Fire MOTH was huge.

Even when everything was opened up to the public, she was the second most popular due to her lively personality and extremely beautiful appearance.

'Compared to her… I don't…'

A sense of inferiority arose from the depths of her mind. What followed next were the times she attempted to kill herself.

She wasn't a good person, but it could be argued that she wasn't evil, either. She was what most would consider the 'most average of the average'. She did not have any outstanding features, nor the talents she showed were excellent.

She was average.

The targeted harassment came out of the blue. 

Her situation was tacitly ignored by everyone. The few friends that she had left her. The continued harassment wore her down.

Later on, she discovered that one of the thesis had been plagiarized. It was used to complete a crucial research related to quantum mechanics. All of the harassment she received was to cause her indirect death—suicide.

'No… I didn't do anything wrong..!'

A strong hatred overwhelmed everything. Her eyes turned red at the thought of being hurt again.

'They did it! THEY DID!'

The first thing she did the moment she awakened was to kill everyone in her research institute. They specialized in researching electricity's correlation to other research fields, hence the number of ways she tortured them numbered dozens.

"Hey~! That was a bad greeting, you know~?"

Elysia's playful voice came from her right.

"Can we talk?" She asked.

"Hah… Then, what next? Persuade me to stop fighting? To turn myself in?!"

The woman's answer was self-evident.

Boom-!

A dazzling purple bolt of lightning descended from the clouds. The artificially induced lightning in the cumulonimbus clouds descended continuously. 

Rumble-!

Bam-!

Boom-!

Each strike leveled a high-rise building. Its power was no less than an intercontinental missile. The thickness of the lightning bolts were measured in several meters.

The woman did not care about the undeads or the honkai beasts. She indiscriminately bombed everything around her.

While this scene ensued, several arrows made of pink light headed to her direction.

Sou-!

BAM-!

A sound akin to a thundercloud resounded. Thick dust clouds were kicked off on the woman's surroundings.

When these dust partially cleared off, Elysia saw a spherical purple light around the woman. It was this barrier that negated her attacks with ease.

"...It's very similar."

Elysia was the one who fought against the Herrscher of Thunder. Naturally, she wasn't surprised when she saw this 'negating barrier' appear. When explained by Vill-V (in simple terms), it was akin to a shield that disintegrates every matter it contacts—including energy forms.

Just as she was wondering how to deal with it, a 'figure' appeared out of nowhere. It was close to the woman.

In the next moment, the woman disappeared alongside that figure.

"..."

Elysia's heart sank. She knew who it was at first glance.

Her thoughts remained unknown as silence dominated the ruined city.

*****

The fourth city.

Just like the other three, it was extremely devastated. Ten minutes of wanton destruction was enough to turn its inhabitants into undeads. Those who did not turn would be dealt with massive honkai beasts.

Boom-!

An extremely huge explosion occurred from the city's center. A circular shockwave came first before it swept across the infrastructures. They soon melted due to the extreme temperature brought by it.

"Hah… This is refreshing."

The girl had an urge to drink her favorite brand of tea. With a thought, a teacup appeared on her right hand. She grasped towards the blown city far from her. The transport ship that carried her did not reach Fire MOTH's specialized ships, yet it was enough to remain unbothered by the aftershocks.

The hangar was kept open for the girl to look towards the city.

"Hm. One isn't enough. Let's double it down."

In the atmosphere above it, a huge 'outward shell' was being constructed out of thin air. What followed next were its components and substances.

Then…

BOOM-!

For the second time, this city in the Mu Continent was bombed. The aftershocks overlapped with the previous one, thus creating a heatwave that swept through the twenty kilometer radius of it.

Boom-!

Just then, several intercontinental ballistic missiles exploded a few kilometers away from her. The wind swept through inside the hangar, spilling the newly made tea on her hand.

"Tsk. I swear, I'm going to bomb the headquarters next."

 Like the other chosen wielders of the Gem, she was both proficient in her own field and possessed strong hatred towards humanity.

Just then…

Tap.

The girl was prompted to look behind her.

"Oh~? It looks like you're having fun~?"

A girl wearing black-red gothic dress appeared out of nowhere.

*****

A/N: Five chapters debt, it is. I'll start to reduce them tomorrow.