Caelus could not detect any emotion in those eyes. It was as though, in Nanook's eyes, everything in the world possessed only one Finality, destruction. Therefore, he cared for nothing and cherished nothing. Or perhaps it was precisely because he loved everything in the world that he had chosen the Path of Destruction.
When the scene faded and his consciousness returned to his body, Caelus opened his eyes and discovered that he was lying on the surface of the sea. The sky was clearer than ever before. After so long, this was the first time he had seen the sun upon the land of Terra.
Whether it was because the overall atmosphere of this land was too oppressive and heavy, or simply because of Caelus's luck, this was the first time he had seen sunlight in all these days.
Caelus rose from the water. At that moment, the seawater beneath his feet seemed to turn into solid ground, supporting his body.
A tiny wisp of golden flame ignited in his hand. This flame was the power granted by the Path of Destruction.
Fire holds an extremely important place in human civilization. It can be used to cook food, drive away wild beasts, keep people warm through the cold winter, and forge weapons.
But those are merely humanity's uses for fire. If mishandled and allowed to rage out of control, it brings destruction.
The most direct manifestation of destruction is fire.
Caelus extinguished the golden flame in his hand, then sensed the seven Path powers currently residing within his body.
Nihility, Remembrance, Equilibrium, Finality, Abundance, Finality, and Destruction.
Seven Path powers, along with the blessings and attention of two existences beyond the 7th rank. Caelus was somewhat curious. If a hostile System holder appeared in the future and their strength was sufficient to break through the barrier he had established, who would they see upon this wondrous roulette wheel?
However, in order to preserve Equilibrium's opposing nature, Equilibrium did not participate in the roulette. Therefore, there were currently eight causal existences that outsiders could observe. If they encountered a favorable aspect, such as Abundance, their body would be greatly strengthened, while their recovery ability and lifespan would also increase accordingly. But if they drew an unfavorable aspect... then it would depend on whether their life was resilient enough, and if it was not, what manner of death awaited them.
Caelus looked across the vast ocean surrounding him. While he had been meeting Nanook, his body seemed to have drifted with the waves for some time. He had no idea where he was now. It appeared that if he wanted to return to Ursus, he would have to use another method.
Caelus launched himself from the surface of the sea and flew high into the sky.
Ursus...
Talulah silently stared at the warehouse before her. The walls inside, and even the warehouse door, were covered in bloodstained scratch marks. Merely looking at those marks was enough to feel the despair that seeped from them.
The village chief standing behind her looked at Talulah with a trembling body. After swallowing hard, he spoke in a shaky voice.
"Th... they were all Infected who escaped from the mine without permission. We were truly afraid of becoming infected, and we did not have much food left ourselves. When I saw that they were all starving and barely conscious, we became terrified. We truly had no other choice."
Talulah knew the village chief was making excuses, and she also knew that he was deliberately presenting the situation in the way most favorable to himself.
Talulah understood the darker side of sentient beings. In the past, she might have been nothing more than an impassioned fighter. But over these past days, as she continually accepted people from all walks of life and communicated with those who had also been granted power or knowledge by that gentleman, Talulah had come to deeply understand that if she wished to save others, she first had to understand both the good and evil within humanity.
"You have your reasons. From your perspective, doing this to protect yourselves and avoid infection is understandable. But at the same time, from our perspective, what you have done is evil. It is a crime."
Talulah turned to look at the villagers gathered by her subordinates, as well as the village chief whose body would not stop trembling.
"The person I was before would have hesitated, because I would not have known how to deal with you. After all, in a certain sense, you were not wrong. You were merely trying to protect yourselves. But now, I will not hesitate."
"Alina, you will preside over the trial. Hei Lian, you will be responsible for security. Make these ignorant people understand why they are being judged, what exactly they did wrong, and why they must pay the price for it."
Wrong was wrong, and right was right. Although good and evil in this world were often blurred, there were certain things that must never be confused.
Ignorance was not an excuse for wrongdoing. If everyone could use stupidity and ignorance to escape responsibility, then there would be no need for justice in this world.
After Talulah finished speaking, she turned and left. There were still many matters awaiting her attention. As Reunion continued to expand, the army group's tolerance for them was likely approaching its limit. Although she did not know why those people had not acted against them before, it seemed they were now running out of patience.
"Sigh! Across this vast snowfield, why are there so few people capable of leading a team? Of all the people under my command, hardly any have read a book, and barely any are even literate!"
After returning to her office at the base, Talulah felt a headache coming on as she stared at the pile of pending matters. Although Reunion currently had only a few thousand members, daily work schedules, administrative duties, food logistics, and the recording of everyday consumption and expenditures in every area all required calculation and summarization.
The newly recruited personnel could certainly handle these tasks, but each of them was leading a squad and going out every day on reconnaissance, search, or rescue missions. None of them would remain at the base to deal with administrative work.
For the sake of Reunion's future development, Talulah had to formulate all kinds of plans and personally manage matters in every area. At the same time, she also had to hold meetings from time to time to explain the current situation to the middle-ranking and senior members, describe the resistance and trials they might face as they developed, summarize the organization's present condition, and educate them on various ideological matters to avoid raising a group of bandits.
Talulah now wished that her Originium Arts were some kind of cloning ability. With such a power, she would be able to handle everything perfectly, unlike now, when she was so busy that she wished she could split every hour into two.
"The upper classes have imposed far too severe a blockade on knowledge among the lower classes. Most of the Infected we rescue are ordinary civilians. Although some of them recognize a few words, it is still far too early for them to truly participate in logistical management... Education is indeed extremely important. I do not know whether Alina has enough manpower on her side. If not, I will have to find a way to send more people over. After all, she is currently our only teacher, and the burden is still too heavy for her alone."
Based on intelligence gathered earlier, Talulah had located a mining site specifically used to dispose of fallen nobles and merchants. Those nobles and merchants had either lost political struggles or lacked powerful patrons and connections, leading others to covet their wealth and frame them. In any case, after becoming Infected for various reasons, they had all been deliberately sent to that particular mining site to be dealt with together.
Talulah believed it should not be difficult to find a few people among them capable of managing logistics. The difficulty was that they would first need to undergo a period of ideological reform.
Just as Talulah was struggling with the problems of future development, a voice suddenly sounded.
"It seems you have already achieved some results and begun to advance along your Path."
Talulah abruptly raised her head. There, sitting not far away and watching her, was the gentleman she had not seen for a long time.
(To be continued.)