Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

Hua's surroundings were a pure blue world. Its color was constantly changing between light and dark blue. What surrounded her were numerous spheres and cubes made of dimmer white light. 

For some reason, she knew that these were "worlds".

Further was the wall of white light that woke her up. Unlike the spheres and cubes, it was boundless. As far as her eyes could see, the white wall extended.

Just like the other shapes, she knew this was a "world". Only, its boundless size suggests it was more significant than the worlds made of spheres and cubes.

Hua's reflection emerged from the wall of white light. 

"Huh? This…"

Her current attire was the blue-black uniform based on her dojo's clothes. It was reconstructed with stronger synthetic fibers, resulting in a uniform that could withstand Herrscher-level fights.

Hua's reflection changed. From her original uniform, it became a pure-black skinsuit topped with a red hanfu. Her hair was neatly tied by a jade-like hairpin. The most obvious change was her eyes. 

It did not help that her backdrop was the Moon itself.

Aleph's words rang in her mind. There was only one probable reason she would be present on the Moon.

"..."

She could not speak. The look she had seen was that of "being lost"—in simpler terms, depression.

'What happened..? How did I reach this state..?'

The wall of light did not wait for her. Her reflection changed once again. This time, she was wearing a blue-white hanfu. The familiar jade-like hairpin was still there. A sense of vicissitude could be seen in her eyes. That, and her original depressed look.

She was standing at the peak of a mountain. A wooden dojo with an unassuming plaque was hung on its entrance.

'...Taixuan.' (Grand Void.)

The reflection became extremely vague. It soon reverted to her original appearance.

Her light blue pupils stared intently at this white wall while hoping to see other things.

…and she actually did.

"Huh? What… What are these..?"

Memories sporadically appeared in her mind. It wasn't so far as 'sudden'. These memories were already present inside her mind before her 'consciousness' traveled to the Sea of Quanta.

"Why..?"

The chaotic memories were organized by her. Its contents were chilling enough to make her heart drop.

It was also then did she remember what happened prior to her entry to this pure blue space.

'A strong headache. These memories appeared simultaneously. Then…'

Hua could not recall the rest. All she could remember was her losing consciousness just as the concentration of honkai energy rose.

She rid herself of these thoughts. Her attention was pulled back by the "memories" that came out of nowhere.

'Was it true?' Hua could not fully believe them. 'Did Aleph… die?'

*****

Third institute.

Bam-!

The ideal fluid formed strong tornadoes out of nowhere. They threatened to destroy the third institute completely.

Bam-!

Boom-!

A line of crimson flames headed to the tornadoes before they caused an explosion inside. It mimicked the procedure of 'stopping' a tornado with the use of projectile explosives.

"I can't hold on for long..! This Herrscher has bottomless energy!"

"Got it…"

Even though words of affirmation were let out, the two MANTISes knew they couldn't easily resolve the deadlock. The moment either of them dies will be the time the third institute gets destroyed.

The proudest and most talented people of humanity gathered behind them. The pressure they bore was no joke.

Even so… they could not fall.

The two made plans along with the mechs surrounding the battlefield. The latter was busy with the honkai beasts and undeads that came out of nowhere. Nevertheless, they would have been useless had they entered the Herrscher-level battlefield.

Boom-!

A loud sonic boom was heard. The figure of the other MANTIS reappeared right in front of the Herrscher. His ability was a sub-skill of wind manipulation. His body adapted to ignore air resistance well. The pair of gauntlets on his fists served as his weapons.

Bam-!

Sou-!

His right fist was about to touch the Herrscher of Wind, only to be met by a horrifying cyclone.

Boom-!

BAM-!

A sound even louder than the last rang in the battlefield. The MANTIS' figure was sent flying.

"Idiot."

By utilizing the ideal fluids, the Herrscher was able to create a spinning shield that redirected force to its source. 

Surprisingly, the other MANTIS did not seem bothered by his comrade being beaten up. Several kilometers worth of infrastructures were destroyed by a single action.

Just then, the beaten up man controlled his flight trajectory. His entire body curved as the redirected force helped propel himself towards the Herrscher for the second time.

Boom-!

"What is he up to again..?"

The Herrscher was suspicious of his actions. He began to move away from his previous position.

Surprisingly, the MANTIS did not mind him doing so. He took out a spherical device the size of his palm.

Click-!

A single click on its center enlarged it to the size of an entire basketball. After he clicked it again, the man threw it straight to the Herrscher.

'It should buy time… Please.'

ZOOM-!

A sound akin to tearing space came from the spherical device. A wave of blue light swept through the radius of five kilometers. Nothing changed as it happened… merely the environment changing into something similar as the Sea of Quanta.

It was none other than the space-locking device Vill-V painstakingly developed for the sixth Herrscher. 

It was made to utilize the present space and 'deny' any entry to the Sea of Quanta. However, she later managed to derive a newer device inspired from Aleph's "domain".

Its effect was simple: to lock any phenomena within the radius indicated. Even if an explosion occurs, it would be limited to the space inside the said radius. 

Its effects were thoroughly tested when Vill-V dropped several clean nuclear bombs during its testing phases.

This was the countermeasure they thought due to the recent casualties.

Of course, it wasn't perfect. The Herrscher could step right outside of its radius—nothing prevented them from doing so. As such, it wasn't brought out until now.

The MANTIS' flight trajectory changed. His target was now the ground. A glowing dark reactor was present in his grasp.

It was the final back-up given to them by Einstein before they went out.

'The explosion of several nuclear bombs..!'

Just as he was about to crush it, a white silhouette crashed to him.

Bam-!

The man's eyes widened in surprise as the dark reactor escaped his grasp. He was sent out of the confinement device's radius—dubbed 'Showmaster's Surprise'.

"Huh..?!"

He was surprised to find out that the silhouette wasn't a honkai beast, but another weird monster. What's even more surprising was the blue-haired girl sitting atop its head.

"Ara, ara. Playtime is over, I suppose."

The tense Herrscher looked straight at the girl wearing a black and white gothic lolita dress. Her left eye was hidden by her bangs.

'Was it her? The girl she warned me about..?'

Kurumi did not waste much time. She immediately threw the silver sphere straight to him.

Then…

Hum.

…a miniature black hole emerged on the Mu Continent.