After having one more week of rest for extra insurance after his rather 'tense' encounter with Mobius, Alex was now fully ready to return to his usual ER excursions as he was now ready to finally catch up to whatever progress Mei was currently at right now.

As the boy entered the lobby, he walked straight ahead to the entry portal to begin immediately however before he could do so, he felt a tug at the back of his jacket.

He'd turn around before seeing it was none other than Mobius' assist Klein.

"Hm? Oh, you're the snake girl's assistant right?" Asked Alex.

"Indeed. It took you a while to finally show up." Said Klein.

"Why's that matter? Was someone expecting me earlier or what?"

Klein would then nod before placing an small machine on the ground between them, tapping it as the mechanism activated showing a life size hologram of Mobius as the snake lady had seemingly left a pre recorded message.

"If this message is being played, then I'm glad you've finally arrived my little guinea pig. You're probably wondering why I had Klein track you down to hand over this message. Well, the reason is quite simple. You see, earlier there was some rather intriguing energy spikes within the Realm. I had Klein go assist my lab rat for a bit, but she wisely advised her to not proceed any farther in the investigation as the risk was too high and she hadn't gotten proper rest. With you bring at 100%, I figured you should continue where she left off. See if you can find anything strange. It could prove quite valuable in my research."

Alex truthfully wanted no part in the snake lady's investigation considering what the end result could be and how it might benefit her but the boy knew better and realized he really had no say in the matter.

"Not to worry though, little guinea pig. Klein here will be assisting you remotely. Not only that, but you'll also have a partner along with you. I wish you good luck."

With that, the pre recorded message ended as Mobius' hologram went away.

'Great. JUST what I needed to start the day. Having to do a job assisting that crazy ass lady.' Thought Alex to himself as he was handed a comms device.

"Here. This'll allow us to keep in touch." She said as Alex nodded and hooked it up to his ear. "So, who's my partner?"

"That'll be me." Said a voice from the corner.

The boy faced that way to see Akame approach them.

"How'd she rope you into this?"

"She didn't. I actually sensed the anomaly myself. I just needed a reason to go check it out. Unfortunately, I wasn't around when Klein went with the Thunder Herrscher initially. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't at all. Considering the fact that Mei was advised to turn back, this is probably something serious. I'd appreciate all the help I can get."

Akame would nod in response as Klein walked away to her station where she'd be able to communicate with the two.

Alex and Akame would approach the rift as the girl held a hand out, trying to pinpoint the location of the energy reading.

She'd eventually mark it down, now altering the rift to send them there as they walked in.

Once their vision returned, the two were in an area that highly contrasted every other location in the realm.

Instead of the usual warm colors such as orange, the sky and surrounding area was an odd, icy blue as even the lone tall tree's leaves also were blue to match the environment.

The most important detail though was that Alex felt his left arm begin to react to the Honkai Energy that permeated in the air, placing a hand on it.

'Damn. Very strong reaction here. Far larger than anywhere else.' He thought.

"You feel it too, right?" Asked Akame, lowering down her hood since it was now just them two.

"Yeah I do. Left arm's tingling a lot. Gotta say though, why aren't you reacting the same as well?"

"My right arm has gotten accustomed to this sensation. So much so that it's practically numb from Honkai overload. It's why I'm able to sense such reactions from large distances. Come on."

The two walked on ahead as at the end of the current land mass they stood on, they were met with three different rifts to take which was extremely odd as normally there'd only be two.

"Hello, this is Klein. You there?"

"Yeah, I've got you."

"Good. Ahead of you should be three portals. This is where I had Mei retreat. The readings I'm getting from all three are very odd."

"She's right. I get a very ominous feel from these. The energy being emitted is far more immense that what I normally sense in the realm."

"Damn. Well, not much we can do about it. Just gotta pick one and see what's on the other side." Said Alex.

"Advise extreme caution when doing so. Who knows what'll be on the other side."

"Understood. Akame, let's roll."

The two would eventually settle on the middle portal, walking through as their vision momentarily went blank again.

Upon returning to them once more, the two saw that they were still in the same general area but now on the landmass that had the aforementioned large tree in the middle.

Seeing as nothing was currently targeting them at the moment, Alex figured now was a good time to ask some much needed questions.

"Hey, Klein. You said that Mei explored this place earlier with you correct? Did anything notable come up?"

"Currently, it's all speculation based. My leading thought is that some outside force is tampering with Mei's thoughts and mind, causing the Realm to react in response and conjure up these strange areas."

"The realm's in sync with Mei's mind? How the hell is that possible?"

"Since she was the first to arrive into the simulation, the realm immediately labeled her as the successor and began shaping everything such as enemies and trials around her. Even with you showing up later on, the Realm still remained with Mei at the helm."

"Huh. Well that's interesting. This outside force you mentioned, any clue as to what it could be?"

"Nothing concrete yet. All I know is that it definitely isn't anything ordinary if it's able to easily tamper with the Herrscher's mind like this."

"Alex, we've got company."

The boy immediately stopped his conversation with Klein though as he stood by Akame, both drawing their blades out as a horde of Honkai Beasts and Zombies emerged.

Strangely though, the enemies weren't charging at them like normal. They just continued to walk slowly and even past them, towards the large tree.

"The heck? Why aren't they targeting us?" Asked Alex.

Akame remained silent, not wanting to get her guard up just yet.

The horde just stood at the tree, seemingly staring at it for minutes on end before their attitude suddenly shifted, now turning back to face the two as they'd now charge at them.

"Oh come on! Seriously!?"

"Stand back."

Akame would dash at the horde, aiming for a strike as Alex quickly realized the situation at hand.

"H-Hey hold on! You can't take them on all at once!"

Much to his immense surprise though, Alex would Akame swiftly carve through one beast at a time with a single strike, quickly emerging at the other end as the horde were staggered and still.

'D-Did she really get them all solo in just one slash!?' Thought Alex who was immensely impressed.

That feeling would quickly go away as the beasts would regain movement, as they ran at Alex.

'Well, too good to be true I guess!'

"Akame! Gonna need some more help here!" He shouted, aiming his blade as he prepared to charge in.

As he did though, he saw the horde freeze still again.

This time though he noticed something bizzare, as strange markings akin to a Honkai Infection began to spread across every enemies' bodies.

Alex would watch in astonishment as the all the mobs would fall to the ground convulsing and eventually perishing.

The boy remained stunned before looking up to see Akame approach him.

"You just killed them in one strike! How's that even possible!?"

Akame remained silent for a moment before sheathing her sword back by her waist.

".................my right arm's gone numb because of what you just saw. Where as you draw Honkai Energy from the sword into you, I do the opposite. I infuse my blade with innate Honkai Energy. Over time, I was able to create an infection to potent that now even the Honkai enemies themselves fall victim to it."

"H-Holy crap that's amazing!"

"....................no, it isn't."

Before she could continue speaking, Akame would begin to cough, nearly falling onto her knees before Alex caught her.

"M-My bad for saying that. Seems like doing so drains a lot of your strength. We should bail now." He said before radioing in to Klein. "Klein! Akame's used up all her strength. We gotta go."

"Understood. Please wait. I'll open a way back for you two." She said.

The wait wouldn't be long as a trip to the lobby emerged.

Right as the rift opened though, Alex felt a sudden sensation in his left arm again as it reacted to a sudden shift in the energy present.

The boy felt compelled to look behind him and when he did, he saw what appeared to be a humanoid figure far in the distance, just barely visible, at least their outline was.

Due to the distance, any more prominent features were unnoticeable.

What Alex did notice however was the figure wave at him, seemingly knowing that it got the boy's attention despite the sheer distance between them.

As much Alex wanted to satiate his curiosity on who ever it could be, he knew that Akame's well being took top priority.

He'd put his curiosity aside, placing Akame's arm over his shoulders as he'd guide himself and her back to the lobby.

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Going off of what Klein said, that means Alex has been taking on challenges meant for Mei, ie obstacles likely higher than his skill level.

Alex has got that DAWG in him! 🔥🔥🔥

Chapter 15: Complete