Chapter 30: Does Everyone Deserve the Truth? Final Part
Across the island, chaos reigned.
Awakened from the Association and other organizations screamed desperately for mercy, some threatening retaliation, others begging for their lives—but the hooded figures of Eclipse showed no hesitation.
"Please—don't kill me! AAAAAH!"
"Have you all gone insane?! Eclipse will—"
Their voices were silenced one after another.
Blood stained the shattered streets.
At some point, even Eclipse began suffering casualties.
'We only managed this because the initial explosion from the Energy Vein killed so many Awakened from the start,' Draven thought grimly.
With their current numbers, a direct confrontation should have been impossible.
This operation had always required sacrifices.
Several Awakened had proven troublesome to deal with, especially the elders accompanying Krauss in the VIP cabin—but Draven personally handled most of them.
Though not entirely alone.
"Loot everything!" Draven shouted while staring toward the ruined auction house nearby. "We don't have much time left. The Energy Vein is reaching its limit!"
The place that had once hosted the island's grand event had now become little more than a battlefield stripped bare for resources.
Then Draven looked toward the sky.
His pupils narrowed.
Floating above the battlefield were swords forged from sky-blue Eternium, all pointed toward Krauss.
"What a monster…" he muttered.
Even now, he could barely believe Rael possessed such overwhelming power.
The amount of energy he released rivaled the Energy Vein itself.
At this rate, he could destroy the entire island.
Even Krauss—with all his amplified attributes—was slowly falling behind.
Draven smiled faintly beneath his hood.
'Not that I mind.'
—
"Can't you see it?" Rael shouted.
"The plants, the animals, the environment itself—they're all changing because of this energy!"
The swords above trembled violently.
"If humanity keeps suppressing evolution, how do you expect us to survive the future?! Or do you think only people like you deserve that right?!"
Krauss frowned deeply.
"Your assumptions are nothing more than theories," he replied coldly. "For all we know, those creatures may become disasters."
His aura exploded outward, freezing the air around him.
"You're just a spoiled child risking the world for your own selfish ideals."
Rael's expression twisted with fury.
Over the past months, he had seen things no ordinary human on Kytherra could possibly imagine.
He knew humanity would not be the only species capable of evolving through some mysterious energy.
Even without proof—
He knew it.
"I'll bury you on this island with me!" Krauss roared.
He already understood he wouldn't survive.
So he chose to drag Rael down with him.
"You're too dangerous to remain alive!"
Gigantic walls of ice erupted from the earth.
Dozens of massive spikes exploded outward in every direction.
Rael raised his hand.
The floating blades instantly shot forward.
BOOOOM!
The Eternium swords tore through the frozen barriers effortlessly, shattering the spikes into fragments before continuing toward Krauss.
Krauss tried to evade them—
Too late.
Several blades sliced through his armor, carving bloody wounds across his body.
Rael immediately closed the distance.
BAM!
His fist slammed into Krauss's face.
BAM!
A kick crashed into his chest.
Krauss was launched backward across the battlefield, but Rael chased him relentlessly.
One punch.
Two punches.
Three.
Blood sprayed from Krauss's mouth as his battered body crashed against the ruined ground.
Even so—
He smiled.
"I knew it…" Krauss muttered while forcing himself back up. "You can't kill me, can you?"
Rael froze.
Krauss laughed weakly while wiping blood from his lips.
"What's stopping you?" he asked. "Your morality? Or fear of guilt?"
Rael's aura became unstable. Violent. Cold.
"Your parents protected you back then," Krauss continued. "And just like them, I also have a duty to protect people."
His gaze hardened.
"Do you really think everyone here is a monster?"
"Even among us, there are rules."
"We don't slaughter innocent people indiscriminately."
…
"Most of the non-Awakened imprisoned here were criminals guilty of horrific acts—"
"Criminals?!" Rael shouted furiously.
"The people in that prison were there because you rejected their choices! Because you wanted control!"
"That's different!" Krauss snapped immediately.
"They stopped being normal humans the moment they awakened!"
Then he pointed toward the Eclipse members massacring people in the distance.
"Tell me honestly," he growled. "Do those people look any different from us?"
Rael's expression darkened.
He was almost certain Eramus was among them.
And the truth was—
Krauss wasn't entirely wrong.
For a brief moment, Rael hesitated.
His thoughts became clouded.
Bodies covered the battlefield.
Even if he hadn't killed any of them himself…
He still felt responsible.
'Dad… Mom…'
'Am I really doing the right thing?'
The instant that hesitation appeared—
Krauss moved.
All the remaining energy within his body condensed into a single strike.
An ice blade materialized in his hand as he lunged forward with murderous intent.
'Die!'
Rael's instincts screamed. The world slowed.
At the final moment, he twisted his body desperately.
The blade pierced into his chest—
Missing his heart by mere inches.
"AAARGH!"
Blood spilled from Rael's mouth as pain exploded through his body.
Krauss's eyes widened savagely.
Without hesitation, he prepared a second strike directly toward Rael's neck.
Rael desperately tried to summon a barrier.
Too slow.
Then—
"RAEL-SAN!!"
A distant voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield.
Rael's eyes widened.
A drone shot through the air at incredible speed.
"Kirishima?!"
The drone's outer shell shifted instantly.
An energy cannon emerged from its center.
>"Take this, you bastard!"
BOOOOM!
The blast struck Krauss head-on.
Caught completely off guard, his body was thrown backward violently, his second attack missing Rael by centimeters.
Rael seized the opportunity immediately.
Rage exploded within him.
A sky-blue sword materialized in his grasp—
Then shot forward.
SLASH!
Krauss coughed blood.
Slowly, he looked downward.
The Eternium blade had pierced directly through his chest.
For several seconds, silence lingered between them.
Then Krauss laughed weakly.
"Well…"
Blood dripped from his lips.
"Perhaps this truly was fate."
His body collapsed.
Still.
Dead.
…
Rael approached slowly. His breathing trembled.
Then he looked at his blood-covered hands.
"I…"
His pupils shook violently.
"I killed someone…"
His voice barely came out.
"Really…"
And then—
BOOOOOOOM!!
White lightning erupted from the island itself.
The unstable Energy Vein finally collapsed.
The ground split apart as catastrophic waves of energy engulfed the entire island.
"Rael!" Reyna shouted desperately. "The island's going to explode completely! We have to leave NOW!"
But Rael didn't respond.
He continued staring silently at his trembling hands.
"Kirishima-san!" Reyna yelled frantically. "We need to get him out of here! We're out of time!"
>"Got it!"
The drone immediately descended.
Reyna grabbed Rael by the arm—
And the drone blasted into the sky with a sonic boom.
Below them, the island began to collapse completely.
Trees burned into ash.
The earth blackened.
The sea itself trembled.
And then—
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
A catastrophic explosion swallowed everything.
Even far away aboard Eclipse's ship, the shockwave violently shook the ocean, causing massive tides to rise.
—
High above the sea, Reyna stared silently at the destruction below.
A complicated expression filled his eyes.
It felt as though he had just witnessed the beginning of something far greater.
Something capable of changing the world itself.
Slowly, he turned toward Rael.
Rael remained completely silent, staring at the burning remains of the island below.
"It wasn't your fault," Reyna said quietly.
But Rael gave no response.