Sasha sat alone in the coffee shop. At this moment, she was the only one there. It had been two days since the attack. Aside from the casualties that had been accounted for, Noid and the Supreme Council commissioner were both missing.
According to the soldiers, the two had gotten onto something that looked like a flying board and fled from a pursuit by a swarm of helicopters. These helicopters belonged to the Doom cultists.
Following their path and traces, the military found scattered remains of the helicopters, stretching in a straight line for dozens of kilometers. But the trail ended there. Even after searching a five-square-kilometer area around the wrecks, they found nothing else.
Because of the attack, the plan to rebuild Karj City had to be canceled. One of the modified humans was killed, along with many other soldiers and civilians. The most serious consequence was the disappearance of one of humanity's highest leaders.
After this event, the military was truly enraged. They began to launch a full-scale sweep against the Doom cult. Initially, the military had remained quiet to lure out the cult's true forces. Now that they had shown their faces, the military couldn't wait any longer to strike.
As for the bishop, the information had been spread throughout the military. However, the fact that the bishop was once a modified human was only allowed to be known by a few modified humans and those with high authority.
Sasha was currently filled with an indescribable sense of grief and suffocation. The bishop's words and mannerisms reminded her of someone. Combined with the fact that the bishop was a modified human, it led her to a terrifying possibility.
With her mind in turmoil, Sasha left the coffee shop, not forgetting to lock the door. She had a personal key to the shop that Noid had given her. She didn't know when, but they had become close.
With a chaotic spirit, Sasha returned to the military base and went straight to the prison area. In front of her was Toriel's cell.
This wasn't a typical prison of concrete and steel bars. It was a room that was purely white; only objects like the bed or the closed-off bathroom had their own color. In front of the cell was a large pane of glass with many small, round holes drilled into it like bottle caps.
"Isn't this Sasha? What brings you here..."
Bang!
Sasha's hand slammed against the glass. Her eyes were frighteningly cold as she spoke, each word a growl.
"Who trained you to be like this?"
Toriel had a terrifying tolerance for pain. Almost all physical pain couldn't make her utter a sound; only by attacking her mind could she be made to back down and confess.
This kind of method, which only honed the ability to endure pain to an extreme degree while twisting one's mind, Sasha had only ever seen in one person. The answer was already in her head, but she still wanted to confirm it. It was like she was grasping at a delusion, a delusion that the truth wasn't what she thought it was.
"The bishop."
Toriel's face was radiant, a complete contrast to Sasha's cold expression.
"Who... is... the... bishop?"
"Oh, Sasha, to ask that... means you already know... don't you?"
Unlike all previous interrogations, Toriel did not remain silent or taunt her. She simply gave her the answer softly.
Crack!
A small crack appeared in the glass pane. Sasha left.
Henry Orcok
Henry Orcok, one of humanity's first modified humans. He was one of the people with the most brilliant achievements, standing with the first generation of modified humans to fight against the Doom. This was in an era when the defensive line was still being built.
In a life-or-death battle to save the fledgling Rorgh City, Henry fought against nearly a hundred elite Doom monsters. He killed half of them, along with countless regular Doom monsters. He was confirmed to have died in that battle. Sasha and the other modified humans had fought alongside Henry in many battles. Henry Orcok was also very close to Sasha, treating her like his little sister.
But that wasn't all there was to him.
Those who had fought with him knew that the reason Henry was able to be so much stronger than other modified humans was because he had trained his body to the point of not feeling pain.
These weren't exercises like pull-ups and push-ups; they were exercises of intentionally injuring himself to an increasing degree, until he became numb.
Someone had even seen Henry emotionlessly peeling off a piece of skin from his arm, but then he put it back and talked normally. The person could only pretend that nothing had happened.
Not only that, Sasha herself had once secretly seen Henry with a terrifying expression, staring into a mirror and muttering something.
Although Henry treated everyone very well, some of his behaviors made others uncomfortable, even scared.
They all didn't know that when he received the news that modified humans would only live to be no more than 25, Henry Orcok buried a seed of hatred in his heart. That hatred was gradually nurtured by the fear of a ticking clock to his death.
Henry might have genuinely been a good person at first, wanting to help others, but his obsession with pain and death corrupted him, and he was gradually swallowed by hatred. After that battle, Henry disappeared. No one knew what he had gone through to have completely unleashed the darkness within him when he reappeared, becoming the king of a group of ruthless and savage fanatics.
"Why... what made you betray us, Henry?"
Sasha was standing on an empty hill. The grass and trees around her swayed in the night wind. A few leaves flew with the wind and fell to the ground. Standing with his back to her was someone who shouldn't have been here. But his being here was also a matter of course.
"Just reminiscing a bit, and someone has to come and disturb me."
The bishop turned around and caught a flying leaf. This was the place where Henry Orcok used to train. He spent the most time here.
The reason she knew was because Sasha had come here many times to call him back to the base. Henry didn't have a habit of carrying a phone.
"Sasha, you're still so standoffish after all these years. I treated you pretty well back then, didn't I? Why don't you come closer?"
Sasha looked straight into the bishop's eyes. Henry, though eccentric and frightening, had clear and pure eyes. But in the eyes of the man before her, she only saw disgust and depravity as he looked over her body. She quietly notified the base, and the bishop probably knew, but he just let her do it.
Henry Orcok was already dead, killed in the battle to protect Rorgh City. There was only the bishop of the Doom cult. And he was... someone who needed to be eliminated.
She closed her eyes, then opened them. There was no more coldness, confusion, or turmoil, only determination as she prepared for battle.
"I never had any intention of harming you, Black Cloak, I swear. If you don't believe me..."
Bang!
The bishop smiled, but before he could finish his sentence, Sasha flew up and hit him with a punch to the jaw. He staggered backward, still smiling, and took a series of punches to his face, chest, and stomach. The horrifying sound of breaking bones rang out. Sasha's final horizontal kick to his legs bent his knees backward.
She threw one more punch, but it was blocked by the bishop's hand. He lifted his head. The bones in his knees made a "crack, crack" sound and began to heal. When modified humans use their power, their pupils turn a golden color, the color of pure energy. But the bishop's pupils turned a murky black. He no longer resembled a modified human. He laughed maniacally, the corners of his mouth upturned, looking even more like a demon from a most terrifying nightmare.
Facing such a person, Sasha's pupils turned a brilliant golden color, as radiant as her hair. The golden color symbolized a will that would never fade.
"Such beautiful eyes! I... want to gouge them out, Sasha!!"
"Try."