Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

"Prepare yourselves for this one."

The three other girls sent Kevin questioning glances as he said these words. Sakura was the first one to understand it followed by Hua.

"Um."

"Hey~? Am I the only one out of this?"

Sakura responded to Elysia's question.

"You haven't fought against him yet. Whenever Sir Aleph smiles like that, you can expect a tough fight."

Hua nodded upon hearing her description. Before the fifth eruption occurred, Aleph occasionally visited her. The two sparred as a way of learning the martial arts he wanted to pass onto her.

Hum.

Tick-!

Their attention was taken by a clock's phantom. Contrary to the usual, Aleph's left eye became golden. A flintlock pistol was present in his left hand.

Its sight shifted everyone's thoughts to the short girl with a gothic lolita dress who acted intimately with Aleph.

It did not come off as a surprise to Kevin, but the rest were flabbergasted upon hearing how Mei, Mobius, and Aleph's long-lost childhood friend, Kurumi, became his girlfriends. Aleph did not say anything further aside from Kurumi's background and power.

'...Am I really as Carole said..?'

Indecisive.

That was the word used to describe Hua. Unlike the proactive Carole, she was the type to go along the flow. Nine months had passed since her first meeting with Aleph. Yet, she was satisfied with how things are between them. She buried the affection brought by her first crush.

However…

'Should I really do it?'

Bang-!

"Get ready. I will take his attention first. Miss Sakura and Miss Elysia should strike when they see fit. Try not to get caught. As for Miss Hua… can you act as the second vanguard?"

"Um."

Hua's chaotic thoughts were placed to a halt. The loud gunshot indicated the beginning of their mock battle.

A black-red aura appeared on Aleph's body. The clock's phantom had long disappeared, leaving him standing still a dozen meters away from them.

Bam-!

Sou-!

Kevin was the first one to charge at him. Hua followed in his footsteps. The distance of a dozen meters was swiftly closed by the two of them.

Crack-!

The huge greatsword was dragged by Kevin along the ground. Its dull side cut through the soil while the sharp edge was left untouched.

Bam-!

A single vault of his closed the remaining distance between him and Aleph. Kevin grasped the greatsword's handle with his two hands and spun it, directing the sharp edge to Aleph.

Bam-!

His blade cut nothing but the air. It crashed deeply into the ground, creating a small-scaled dust cloud.

Another figure dashed straight into the dust cloud. She seemingly knew where Aleph was amidst the visual obstruction.

The honkai energy that came from her body converged at a single point.

BOOM-!

Shatter-!

A large force easily cleared the dust cloud. It extended to the soil and cement, shattering them whenever the force went. 

Soon, Hua's and Aleph's figures were revealed. The latter dodged her punch with a backstep. Her fist was a few centimeters away from his face.

"Good stance. However…"

Sou-!

Swoosh-!

Bam-!

The greatsword's huge blade separated him and Hua. It promptly forced Aleph to move away to dodge it.

"...there's still a lot to learn."

Sou-!

Sou-!

Sou-!

Several pink arrows interrupted his words.

Bam-!

Bam-!

…

Aleph's figure turned in a blur as he evaded all of them. Each arrow left a crater on the ground. It forced Aleph to move further backwards.

Despite not using his elemental sight, his Deathly Intuition pricked the back of his neck.

'It should be coming anytime soon.'

Kevin, Hua, and Elysia's attacks had a purpose—to force him at this exact position.

As to why?

Hum.

The sound of a blade unsheathing had seemingly halted time itself. In this world filled with gray, a fox-eared girl drew her blade.

However…

Shatter-!

A pure white light painted yet another color to this dull world. By the time Sakura could react, Aleph's figure was long gone. What greeted her next was a flash of black light.

Bam-!

It was a clean punch. It struck Sakura's shoulders. As she was holding her blade, she could not put up a decent defense.

Thud-!

Bam-!

Colors returned to the world. Sakura's body flew more than ten meters before stopping. Her katana cut through the ground as she slid.

Seeing the first plan fail, Elysia moved away from her previous location.

Flutter-!

Her current battlesuit—an outfit reminiscent of her Flamechaser attire but with added metallic parts—fluttered along the wind. Three arrows at a time were placed on the bow's notch.

Elysia's relentless attacks acted as a cover for the three of them.

Unfortunately, Aleph was planning something else.

His figure briefly disappeared before reappearing. He was now less than five meters away from Kevin. Hua attempted to strike at his back when Aleph leaped.

His real target…

"This is bad..!"

…turned out to be Elysia.

Kevin's words could not reach her in time.

Aleph used his Blink, reappearing right behind Elysia's flying figure. Star Rage acted for the first time. He placed both his hands on Elysia's shoulders.

Buzz-!

His cursed energy was consumed as the imaginary mass appeared on his body. Once it reached a few tons, he stopped.

"I'll compensate you later."

Bam-!

Rumble-!

Just like that, Elysia was struck down to the ground with a strong pull at her shoulder. She was brought along with Aleph's fall. Star Rage does not affect its user's weight, but the imaginary mass becomes tangible when Aleph is in contact with another thing.

A large crater appeared on the ground they fell onto. A cloud of dust rose up correspondingly.

"Ahem… You don't hold back against a cute girl."

Aleph was the first one to stand. Elysia was still kneeling in the center of the crater.

"Would the honkai beasts hold back if it was a cute girl?" He asked in return.

"Yes!"

"..."

Aleph did not choose to remain arguing. Elysia was the unstoppable force when it comes to retorts.

Fizzle-!

An imaginary fizzling sound rang in Aleph's ears. He extended his reverse cursed technique to her, healing any sorts of injuries caused by their fall.

"Come back once you have recovered. I'll fight with the others."

That night, the abandoned airfield was damaged beyond recognition.