Chapter 29: Does Everyone Deserve the Truth? Part 2
"Oh?" Edward looked at Krauss with an amused smile, though his body trembled under the intense cold radiating from the general.
"You're throwing the entire awakened world into chaos," Krauss said coldly. "Do you have any idea what the consequences of your actions will be?"
Edward laughed softly.
"General… do you really think I care about that?" His eyes narrowed. "Look at yourself. How far have you fallen. Would the man you once were be proud of what you've become?"
For the briefest moment, Krauss hesitated.
But only for a moment.
SHING!
An icy blade formed in his hand as he shot toward Edward.
SLASH!
Edward blocked with a wall of shadows, yet the force behind the strike still sent him skidding backward across the frozen ground.
The temperature around Krauss plummeted further.
Ice spread across the earth like a living plague, freezing trees, stone, and even the moisture in the air. Weaker awakened individuals couldn't even approach him without their bodies stiffening from the cold.
Edward clicked his tongue before lunging forward again.
His fist drove toward Krauss's face while shadows erupted from the ground, surrounding the general from every angle and sealing off his escape routes.
BAM!
Edward's punch collided against Krauss's ice-covered arm.
At the same time, the shadows closed in—
CRACK!
Krauss slammed his foot into the ground.
A forest of ice spikes erupted upward instantly.
Edward twisted to evade them, but one spike still pierced through his arm.
"Tch…" Edward glanced at the wound with mild surprise. "As expected of a high-level awakened."
Then he smiled.
"But you forgot something, General."
Krauss frowned.
A second later, his instincts screamed.
A shadow detached itself from beneath his own feet.
'He hid inside my shadow?!'
SLASH!
Krauss turned at the last instant, but the blade still carved across his back, leaving a deep wound.
He grunted before instantly freezing and shattering the shadow creature.
Edward observed him silently.
'Even powerful awakened ones can't last long in this environment.'
A thin layer of frost had already begun creeping across Edward's own body.
Then suddenly—
He sensed someone approaching at terrifying speed.
And smiled.
As Krauss prepared to attack once more, Edward calmly spoke.
"General… it seems I'm no longer your biggest problem."
"Hm?!"
Krauss turned sharply—
BOOOOM!
A sonic explosion tore through the battlefield.
Rael appeared before Krauss like a meteor, his hand slamming directly into the general's face and driving him into the ground.
The impact shattered both concrete and ice in a massive crater.
"You must be the leader of this place," Rael said coldly while staring down at him. "You owe me answers."
---
"Damn it…" Reyna muttered as he looked around the devastated island.
Bodies of awakened individuals littered the ground—some dead, others unconscious.
The entire Association would be shaken by this incident.
Still, Reyna felt no sympathy for them.
Only confusion.
"Judging from the energy fluctuations… this really was the Energy Vein." His expression darkened. "But that should've been one of the Association's greatest secrets. How did they even find it?"
After a moment of thought, he reached the same conclusion as Krauss.
Traitors.
And not ordinary traitors either—people high within the Association itself.
As Reyna continued moving, he noticed several hooded awakened individuals slaughtering members of the Association and independent groups alike.
One of them suddenly approached him.
Reyna instantly prepared himself to fight—
But before anything happened, the awakened was stopped by a blond man.
"Leave him alone," the man said lazily. "He appears to be connected to the boy our leader likes."
Reyna stared at him for a moment before recognition flashed through his eyes.
"You're Draven Larmazac," he said quietly. "To think someone like you would belong to Eclipse."
Draven smirked.
"Sharp as expected from the famous young genius. You know quite a lot for someone who only recently entered this world."
Without another word, he turned and walked away.
The conversation ended there.
Then suddenly—
> "Hey! You there!"
Reyna nearly jumped when a robotic voice echoed beside him.
He quickly looked around, finding nothing.
> "Oops. Forgot to disable the camouflage."
A floating drone gradually revealed itself before him.
> "My name is Kirishima. I'm a friend of Rael-san. I'm here to help you escape."
Reyna stared at the drone in shock.
It had completely hidden itself from his senses.
'What kind of technology is this…?'
Still, hearing Rael's name eased some of his tension.
After a brief explanation, Kirishima spoke again.
> "Hold on tightly."
"Huh—?"
BOOM!
The drone shot into the sky at terrifying speed, dragging Reyna along with it.
---
"Rael Kazehiro…" Krauss muttered while staring into Rael's eyes.
Rael wasn't surprised anymore that they knew his identity.
At this point, the Association had likely uncovered everything about him.
"I don't intend to kill you," Rael said coldly. "I just want answers. You're one of the Association's leaders, so you should know what happened to my parents… and who was responsible."
"Your parents?" Krauss frowned slightly.
"They died in that laboratory incident. The Association branded them criminals, but I know that's a lie." Rael clenched his fists. "I found their research regarding the awakened. One of you killed them."
Krauss fell silent briefly before realization crossed his face.
"So… you're their son."
Rael's expression darkened further.
"Your parents were ordinary humans," Krauss said calmly. "But they were brilliant. Especially your father."
His gaze sharpened.
"Unfortunately, they refused to cooperate. Their deaths became inevitable."
Rael's breathing grew heavier.
"You talk about revealing the truth to the world…" Krauss continued. "Do you understand the chaos that would cause?"
Something inside Rael snapped.
"And since when did that give you the right to take them away from me?!"
BOOOOM!
Rael's fist slammed into Krauss's chest.
The ground beneath them cracked apart.
Krauss coughed blood but managed to lessen the damage with a layer of reinforced ice armor.
Immediately, dozens of ice spikes erupted toward Rael.
Rael leapt backward, narrowly avoiding them.
Krauss rose slowly to his feet, his eyes now far more serious than before.
'Even if I defeat the boy… Edward is still here.'
He had already contacted headquarters, but reinforcements wouldn't arrive in time.
Realizing this, Krauss pulled a pill from his coat and swallowed it.
Then he drew a sword from his storage ring.
Blue armor instantly formed across his body.
The sword and armor radiated overwhelming icy energy.
Artifacts.
"Boy, careful!" Edward warned from the side. "That idiot just used a amplification pill, and those weapons are—"
Before he could finish—
Krauss vanished.
SHING!
His blade slashed toward Rael's waist.
Rael barely blocked the attack.
Even so—
BOOOOM!
The sheer force behind the strike sent him crashing through an entire building.
Dust exploded into the air.
Rael slowly stood up.
A thin cut had appeared across his arm.
Blood dripped down onto the ground.
"Boy," Krauss said coldly, "I wasn't personally responsible for your parents' deaths. But what happened… happened for the greater good."
His icy aura intensified.
"Even if you discover the truth, what will it change?"
Rael lowered his head.
Then—
"You wouldn't understand…"
A violent surge of sky-blue energy exploded from his body.
"YOU BASTARD!"
The island trembled.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT MY LIFE WAS LIKE?!"
His voice echoed like thunder.
"I GREW UP BELIEVING MY PARENTS WERE MONSTERS!"
The air around him distorted.
"I THOUGHT THEY WERE CRIMINALS! DESPICABLE PEOPLE!"
The sky-blue aura surrounding him became denser and denser.
"TO YOU, THEY WERE JUST PAWNS!"
Krauss's instincts screamed in warning.
Cold sweat trickled down his face.
'What… is this?'
The feeling wasn't merely danger.
It was something alien.
Something unknown.
"TO ME…"
Rael slowly raised his head.
His eyes burned with fury.
"THEY WERE EVERYTHING I HAD."
Krauss tightened his grip on his sword.
"So what then?!" he roared back. "Your parents survive, and the world descends into civil war?! Is that the future you want?!"
Silence.
Then Rael spoke quietly.
"Don't people… deserve to know the truth?"
"And when millions die from that truth?" Krauss shouted. "Will you take responsibility for it?!"
Rael's gaze sharpened.
"Did you take responsibility for all the deaths caused by the awakened?"
The atmosphere froze.
Then—
Dozens of sky-blue swords materialized in the air behind Rael.
All of them pointed directly at Krauss.