Blood Thicker Than Blood
I feel no pity for them.
The world is already cursed, after all. People living like this aren’t rare, and sympathy changes nothing.
I don’t possess the power to fix it anyway. The simple act of staying alive in this world is already a struggle for me alone.
Thwack!
Three minutes.
“As expected… even when exhausted, it’s still hard to dodge with abilities.”
A small arrow skimmed my cheek.
My stamina was already at its limit, and knowing the trajectory didn’t make dodging any easier as it dragged on.
But the exhaustion wasn’t only mine.
Thud!
“It doesn’t hurt, but standing up is getting harder, no matter who you are. Even an Awakener is still human in the end.”
“…I can’t believe it.”
Lilac knelt on the snowy ground, collapsing.
She had taken nine stab wounds—shoulders, legs, arms, chest—and in the end, even she fell.
It wasn’t just from the fatal wounds. It was also massive blood loss combined with mana depletion from overusing her abilities.
“My squad failed because of just one person…”
No matter how deep a well is, there’s always a bottom.
I walked across the snow toward Lilac.
Instant teleportation doesn’t drain mana much, but a red arrow consumes a lot because of its power.
With an A-rank Awakener’s stamina, it was dangerous, but I couldn’t keep fighting.
“Lilac.”
“Why do you call me that?”
“That’s your name.”
“I don’t have a name.”
I knelt to meet her eye level.
“Lilac.”
“That isn’t my name.”
“You just don’t remember it. That’s the real name your family gave you.”
“I don’t have a family.”
Corvo Family brainwashing erases the ability to think of others.
It doesn’t force obedience like some extreme mind control. It simply steals the freedom of thought from the target.
That way, even the right or wrong of the commands given to them can’t be judged.
Thinking memories from outside the head becomes impossible—that’s what they call brainwashing.
“Lilac.”
“I told you that isn’t my name.”
“Lilac.”
“That clearly isn’t my name—”
But there was one hope.
“Do you remember this picture?”
I took out the necklace Ethylene had given me.
Inside the gemstone-studded pendant was a photo of past Lilac and Ethylene together.
“…I don’t remember—”
A tear welled up in Lilac’s eye.
One last hope.
It wasn’t that they deleted memories. They simply made it impossible to recall them.
“I don’t remember…”
Thanks to that, showing her something she treasured could make her body react even if faintly.
But it ended there.
Even if they broke the brainwashing, they couldn’t bring back locked memories. Living with the loss forever was the best outcome.
“Good. It wasn’t sealed forever.”
“Ah, ah… I-I can’t stand up—kuk?!”
I grabbed Lilac’s neck.
Without memories, the emotions from that time surfaced, and she tried to force her abilities.
Using it more would be too dangerous.
I had to stop it even if forcibly.
“Hah… gasp…”
“Look into my eyes and think.”
I stared at Lilac’s pupils.
Just as I looked at her, she looked at me.
This was an application of Capella’s ability.
It wasn’t normally used that way, but I was glad I knew it could be done this way.
“This is in your subconscious. No, even deeper. The thoughts your soul holds.”
—Ethylene—
The thing that occupied the most space in his memories.
I read the thoughts, then made her see them again.
The only family.
Someone you love.
More precious than life.
An existence you can’t exchange for anything.
That was what Lilac thought of as Ethylene.
Of course, maybe I was doing something even crueler than killing him…
“Ah…”
I had to do this because I was asked before.
Without forgetting the past, there’s no freedom.
Even if the past is gruesome and cruel, you can’t just ignore it.
Just as past failures lead to present success, you can’t turn away from something you don’t want to remember.
“…Ah.”
I couldn’t teach this poor girl anything.
All I could do was make her think.
Shk!
“Ugh… it’s starting to hit my limit.”
Using the ability gave me a severe headache as a side effect.
If I kept going, I’d cross a river I couldn’t come back from and leave Lilac behind. I dug through my pockets and shoved a handful of pills into my mouth.
Even short-term use left aftereffects like this. How did original Capella endure it while manifesting for twenty-four hours?
At this rate, even if my body was drugged, I’d be past the point of tolerating it.
“Haa…”
That was everything I could do.
I had kept my promise to Ethylene.
What remained was for Lilac to recall her own memories. Since I’d opened the path, she had to walk it herself.
If she failed here, she’d suffer guilt over a past she couldn’t remember for the rest of her life.
That was basically becoming a shut-in.
“Ethylene… oppa…”
Tears ran down Lilac’s chin.
…Good. She found the way.
“Ah…!”
I didn’t know how much she had remembered.
But Lilac spotted Ethylene on the other side, pushing her unsteady legs forward somehow.
Even if she fell while running, even if she tumbled with her limp leg several times, she reached out toward him anyway.
After that, she was hugging him, talking about something. I didn’t want to hear the details, so I moved back a bit.
“Ugh…”
The headache was worse than I thought.
It felt like thin needles stabbing my brain thousands of times. I wanted to smash my own head open.
It was common for mental-type Awakener to become drugged or broken, but Capella’s ability was worse.
Puff!
“Ugh!”
In the end, I stabbed her thigh with a combat knife.
“Seriously… I’m losing it.”
The headache eased a little, but my leg hurt now.
The leg hurt was better than the headache, though.
So what now?
I was at my real limit and couldn’t fight anymore. Did that guy really not give up yet?
“What, you wanna go for round two?”
“…”
In front of me stood Lilac.
She was hugging Ethylene with his peaceful eyes closed, looking down at me with bloodshot eyes.
If I used my abilities more, the evil spirits around us would try to devour me. What to do?
“…Thank you for your help.”
“Haa.”
I breathed a sigh of relief after hearing those words.
If I had really finished her off, I’d either lose or go insane. I’d been worried.
“Thanks to you, I finally got to see my oppa. I’ll never forget this kindness, even in death.”
Lilac bowed her head in gratitude.
By now, her appearance had become exactly like the photo inside the necklace.
Just moments ago she looked like someone who only resembled her. Now she was the real Lilac.
After giving thanks, Lilac tried to leave.
“Hey.”
Just in case she used instant teleportation to vanish, I called out to her right away.
“Why are you calling me?”
“This is yours. I already took what I needed, so take it.”
I handed her Ethylene’s necklace.
I’d already taken the important notes inside it. This necklace was no longer needed.
It was the only one in the world that Ethylene himself had made as a gift for his only little sister.
“…”
Lilac took the necklace and bowed deeply.
But if you only looked at her physical age, she was ten years older than me. It was a little awkward.
Awakener aging is slow, so the appearance difference isn’t that big, though.
“Whatever you do from now on is your freedom. You can think freely about what you want to do.”
Before she left, I said what I had to.
“And I’m sure you already know, but Ethylene wanted you to live freely and happily. So don’t hold back unnecessary regrets.”
“…”
By now she must have found it.
The safe with the pills was still in Ethylene’s hands, not mine.
More importantly, the ability’s effects were still there, so I could faintly feel what emotions Lilac held.
“Corvo Family is stronger than you’ve seen.”
If she tried to take revenge and got brainwashed again, it would all have been for nothing.
My head was still ringing from the fight. I just hoped this wasn’t a waste.
“…I understand. After completing the mission, I’ll find a place for my oppa to sleep in peace.”
Huh. Even though the bloodline didn’t continue, family is family.
Knowing there was something installed in that safe, I understood what she meant.
Since she could use instant teleportation now, escaping would be easy.
Corvo’s boss still wasn’t awake, and even an S-rank Awakener would struggle to catch her.
“Yeah. If you have nowhere to go, come see us at Van Helsing. If I mention you, they won’t ignore you.”
“Thank you.”
Just like that, Lilac vanished in an instant.
During that brief moment, she had recovered enough to teleport far away where she wasn’t detectable anymore.
Truly convenient ability…
“Then what do I do?”
I dusted myself off and stood up.
I’d prepared a way out in advance, but the explosion made things bigger than I expected.
If I was careless, the Corvo Family and the Federation army might clash because of me.
At worst, war could break out.
If that happened, I’d accidentally become a world-class nuisance…
“As expected, it’s already started.”
Where the explosion happened.
Both sides sent soldiers and mafia members rushing in.
At first they had been secretly working together, but a big explosion like this was basically a declaration of war.
Both forces were sending combatants, including Awakener. If it went on like this, it really would be war.
Corvo Family might be only a mafia, but they had state-level military power. In the Federation, where corruption and arms deals were daily life, war would drag on.
—Up top, be careful—
Instantly, a warning came before the ability’s effect fully vanished.
I looked up at the warning, and that’s when I saw it.
I’d expected their interference, but I didn’t expect to see an S-rank hero so soon.
“…Did I say Awakener is still human?”
I corrected myself.
Yes, Awakener is human, but among them are already non-human beings.
“Wait, what’s that huge thing in the sky…”
I couldn’t help shivering at the sight.
The soldiers looked shocked too.
Yeah. Even battle-hardened veterans would be stunned by that.
How could something like that be a person’s power? It looked like the power of a god or alien, not anything human.
Thoughts raced through my mind.
“W-what is that?!”
“Is it the crow bastards’ trick?! No, even they—”
It was a massive hand shape.
I recalled a book I’d read in the past.
It was from Journey to the West. When the protagonist was causing chaos, the Buddha himself had stepped in to subdue him.
The technique used was the Tathagata Palm.
The Buddha’s palm had pressed down on Sun Wukong’s head, sealing him.
This was similar.
“No way, that Awakener came here?!”
The soldiers and mafia lost their will to fight.
I smiled at the prickling chill on my skin.
The palm shape, as big as a mountain, was descending into the battlefield.
The owner of that power was an S-rank Awakener with the alias Cheonma from Hero City.
I’d expected heroes to intervene, but not the top-tier one right away.