One look.
That was all it took to kill high-level MANTISes whose ICHORs came from emperor-class honkai beasts.
Such an overwhelming and strange power made her silent. If there were more people—researchers— who saw it, they would definitely scramble for the right to study Aleph's ability to kill someone with a gaze.
"...Sir Aleph."
"You've handled things well."
Her dry throat and trembling hands were no longer her focus.
'With him… I can understand why the commander put so much trust in him.'
Aleph was no longer a mere person.
He was a symbol.
His existence alone calmed down the hearts of many. He was the biggest difference between the original Previous Era.
Tap.
He did not mind others and touched the cocoon.
Even though Great Sage was currently unavailable, Aleph could still tell what it was.
'A phenomenon caused by honkai energy… It's similar to the Evolutionary Energy's nature.' He thought. 'It did make some changes to her original powers.'
Most of the original Flamechasers, save for Griseo, underwent the Evolution Cube's treatment. It brought either of the two things: an evolution of their original abilities or a completely new power.
For example, Kevin. His original ability, Heat Manipulation, outright turned into Molecular Control. It was similar to the abilities of the fifth and the seventh Herrschers, but combined.
Mobius' Shedding underwent a similar mutation. It would be a problem for others to see its effects without its actual application—death. That wasn't the case for Aleph.
His elemental sight had been a significant help up to now. He peered at its information and found the said changes.
'No longer escaping death… being reborn anew…'
Her shedding originally had the effect of saving Mobius from death, with each death causing her body to regress in age. This was seen by Aleph when she succeeded in the surgery. It couldn't be used too much, nor could it be used infinitely.
Once a certain point was passed, that would spell true death.
This was also one of the things he looked at when it came to her "death".
It was different now.
For once, the side effect of regressing in age became temporary. Given enough time, she would return to normal after a shedding. Not only that, it could also be used as a means to entrap her killer, resulting in the latter being killed off. Their remains could then be used by Mobius as a sustenance.
This was her biggest change aside from the increase of her mind-based powers.
"What a pity…" He muttered. "I'll be escaping from your experimental table for now."
Aleph let go of the cocoon.
"The enemies outside are dealt with. You should call the others to deal with the aftermath."
"Yes, Sir!"
Aleph reappeared to the battlefield not far from the fifth institute. The first person to notice him was none other than Elysia.
"Ain?!"
"...and it's done."
Bam-!
Splatter-!
Before Elysia could properly react, she saw the Herrscher of Thunder exploding into bits of blood. A purple rhombus-shaped crystal floated midair.
Despite the confusion, she removed her fingers from drawing her bowstrings.
"You really like your surprises. You can stare someone to death now!"
"It's a long story. I met a god and went through many things."
"...So that's why."
Elysia felt his changes even with Aleph's deliberate control. His True Form could be exposed to whomever he wants, whatever circumstances, and whenever he wants. It was a 'strange' power, so as to say, but so was Elysia's origins.
"I came here to ask you a favor."
"Yes?"
"I'm going to the Moon. I want you to check on others while I am gone."
"..."
She did not reply immediately. His words reminded her of writing a 'last will'.
Seeing her expression, Aleph let out a laugh.
"I won't die. Don't worry. It's just that… it could be troublesome. What if it sends me to a prison of sorts? Still… you can wait for my words from them."
Aleph's way of saying "them" pointed to the four girlfriends he has. Elysia was sharp enough to understand his words.
"Alright… Don't die."
Elysia's words revealed a rare side of hers.
"I won't. Who knows, I might even bring you a dessert you haven't seen before?"
Like the wind, Aleph disappeared from her sight.
Elysia could only look at the silhouette of the moon hidden by the sun's brightness.
She thought of the time when strange thoughts randomly popped up on her mind.
'Our first meeting… it asked for his death. Then…'
The random and spontaneous thoughts became worse when she saw the black cat—Kurumi—lying atop his head for the first time. That was the time when she easily pierced through Kurumi's perception barrier.
The cat's existence itself further provoked 'it'—the entity Elysia could vaguely guess as a part of her origin.
All in all, 'it' rejected Aleph harshly.
"Is that… the only other way?"
*****
A blink later, Aleph arrived at his next destination. A feeling of piercing through layers of paper was sent to his body.
Tap.
Bam-!
Boom-!
Waves of sonic booms greeted his face. Pieces of flying rubble scattered all over the place.
The occasional bombardments of the nearby artillery rang. The ground they were standing on was now full of cracks. The huge barracks that served as the dormitory was utterly destroyed—unrecognizable, even.
Pieces of torn tents could be seen everywhere along with burning metals.
Sou-!
Bam-!
Boom-!
Two figures appeared and disappeared amidst it all. One of them has a noticeable pink color, while the other has a dark blue light.
Clang-!
Clang-!
Clang-!
…
Their speed was extremely exaggerated to the point they began leaving afterimages. The minimum speed required to do such a thing was Mach 49.
Zoom-!
It became inevitable to wreck further havoc to the military base.
The Herrscher of Flames, Wind, and Thunder sought to attack the second, third, and fifth institutes, respectively. The first one was drawn by Kevin away, which resulted in them fighting on a nearby city. The space-isolating device was then used to contain the battle's aftermath.
The second one and third ones were dealt by Aleph.
The only remaining Herrscher was the Sixth Herrscher who aimed at a military base. Sakura fought with it for quite a time, though they were now caught in a stalemate.
'Aleph..?'
She noticed his presence first, followed by the Herrscher of Death.
'Ah..?!'
Strong warning signs appeared all over the latter's mind. The sense of 'death' that froze high-level MANTISes instantly was fought by her.
"Alright, alright. It ends here."
Aleph clasped both his hands once again.
For the second time…
"Ryouiki Tenkai." (Domain Expansion.)
…his domain was unleashed to the world.