Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Necessary Sacrifices
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How many days had passed? Or maybe an entire week had slipped by. Her sense of time had gone numb.
Inebil moved her foot. The iron chain wrapped around her ankle clanged unpleasantly.
“Silder! Dianne!”
She shouted with all her might, but only a hollow echo returned.
The women locked in the cell opposite covered their ears and screamed. Some had collapsed and weren’t even twitching. They looked dead.
Since the spirits appeared, no one had come down to the basement—either the situation outside was bad, or they’d forgotten anyone was here.
“Damn it.”
She looked down at her ankle. Her physical strength and mental fortitude were both hitting rock bottom.
One more day, and she’d be in such bad shape she’d hand over everything for a single cup of water.
She had to make a decision while she still had her wits about her, while she could still judge for herself.
There were no blades. Her only tool was her teeth. She knew it was insane, but it was the only way.
She’d gnaw the flesh off her right leg with her teeth, then snap the bone.
A hollow laugh escaped her first, followed by the anticipated agony stabbing at her back. Even thinking it over again, it was madness.
She bent at the waist, opened her mouth wide, and brought it toward her ankle.
That was when she heard it. Someone was coming down the stairs. She clamped her mouth shut and looked toward the entrance.
It was Dianne. She carried water and food in her hands.
The moment Inebil saw it, saliva flooded her mouth. The thirst she’d been forcing down revived at the tip of her tongue. One drop of water, and she’d have no regrets.
“Sorry. Things upstairs aren’t great.”
Dianne opened the cell door and stepped inside. The smell of food assaulted her nose.
“Are you here to kill me?”
“It’s not your last meal, so don’t worry.”
Dianne reached out. Seeing the hand headed for her face, Inebil pulled her head back.
But Dianne’s hand followed, stroking her cheek and hair.
“Your face is a mess.”
“Tell me it isn’t true right now. Tell me it’s all a misunderstanding.”
“Inebil.”
“Please, just say it isn’t. The Silder and Dianne I knew wouldn’t do something like this.”
“I know. It must be a huge disappointment. Unforgivable, even. But someone had to do it, and Silder took responsibility.”
“Is dragging in people who can’t even resist, using them as sacrificial lambs for magic—that what had to be done? Dianne, snap out of it!”
“Why did your father sell you to the nobles?”
Inebil shut her mouth and glared at Dianne. Why bring that up out of nowhere?
“Your father didn’t sell you because he hated you. As the head of the household, as the leader of a small community who had to protect his children and wife, he did what he had to, even if it hurt.”
“What does that have to do with killing these women?”
“It’s the same story, just on a larger scale. Their sacrifice is needed for the massive ‘us’ we’ll soon face. You know better than anyone that everything comes at a cost of sacrifice.”
“Stop with the disgusting nonsense. Did these people agree? Did they raise their hands and say they’d gladly participate in that sacrifice? The sacrifice I know, the effort I know—it’s not something forced on others. How can you even call this sacrifice? Are you sane?”
“I get it. I understand exactly what you’re saying. But Inebil, widen your view a little. Right now, lives are vanishing in pointless conflicts, in absurd greed. Evil has taken root everywhere. An evil dug in deep can’t be uprooted by ordinary means.”
“So what? You grab healthy people, kill them, and then what? What will you do with the power you get?”
“We’ll change everything. We’re not dreaming of utopia. We’ll make it real on this land. You don’t yet grasp the greatness of this body. It’s not just enhanced physical abilities. Immunity improves across the board, senses develop beyond comparison, transcending limits.”
“Are you planning to overthrow a nation with that amazing body?”
“It’s more than overthrowing. We’ll remake everything from one to ten. The continent is vast. There are places left unconquered everywhere. Places a normal body can’t reach—we can go there by receiving new bodies through the Realm. Territory expands, new resources are developed, abundance follows. We can easily overcome similar races, magical beasts, and hidden threats. Don’t you see what that means?”
Dianne looked at her with pity. The gaze made her want to vomit.
“I’m too dumb to understand what you’re talking about.”
“No, you know full well. You’re smart. Humanity has reached a point where revolution is needed. Things can’t go on like this. We have to tear down the shoddy house built on the sacrifices of the many and build a new one pursuing everyone’s happiness.”
“Do you know who you’re saying this to? Why don’t you try telling those women over there. ‘You’re the fertilizer for a new era, so die for us!’”
“It can’t be helped!”
Dianne shouted.
“Do you think we brought them here lightly? We’re tormented by guilt several times a day. I know better than anyone that it’s unjust. And yet, someone has to do it. Someone has to get blood on their hands.”
“Don’t bother justifying yourself.”
“Inebil, think wisely. The world will soon change dramatically. We’ll make it happen. Many will groan in pain, but when it’s over, those groans will turn to joy. A world without petty illnesses, without resource wars, without one incompetent ruler dominating, a world moving for the happiness of the many. I want you with us.”
She glanced at the women in the opposite cell.
A chill ran down her spine. Part of her thought Dianne had a point. There was a self inside that could accept this as a necessary evil.
The world was built this way anyway, and those women were unfortunate, but what could be done?
What couldn’t be helped.
Inebil snapped her head back hard. The back of her skull slammed against the wall with a thud.
Her vision spun, sharp pain throbbed through her head. It snapped her back to reality.
“You’re right, Master. Sacrifices happen.”
“Inebil, we need more time to talk.”
“No. I’m good now. I get it all. So…”
She kicked the bowl in front of her with her chained foot. Food and water spilled across the filthy floor.
“Go finish your grand work. I’ll die here.”
“When Silder gets back, he’ll really have no choice but to kill you. Join us while I can still convince him. Don’t throw it away like an idiot—follow me like before. You said it yourself. You’d always chase after me, that I was your goal.”
She had said that. Even a few days ago, she hadn’t wavered.
She’d admired and respected her. For the first time in her life, she’d wanted to become like her.
“The Dianne I admired was a cool woman who knew the value of effort. An amazing person who understood self-sacrifice. But what’s this in front of me now? My goal? I wouldn’t take a wretched woman like you as my goal.”
“Think again, Inebil. The tide of history will shift with us at the center. We hold absolute power. Full-scale war might be tough now, but time is on our side for sure.”
Dianne knelt on one knee in front of her.
Their eyes met at the same level. Dianne’s eyes were the same as before.
Pretty eyes like autumn light. The pupils were unchanged—why had the inside changed? What made you this monstrous?
Inebil steadied her trembling lips.
“Since when?”
“What?”
“Since when did you start thinking like that?”
“I’d vaguely thought about it for a very long time. But it stayed buried deep inside, never surfacing. Then I met Silder, got a sure method, and realized it. We have to move for a new era.”
“Enough. I don’t want to hear more. We have nothing left to say.”
“You’re just going to die like this? After everything you went through to get that life?”
“Then will you let me go without any strings attached?”
“Inebil, you know I can’t. There’s only one way out of here. Join us.”
“I won’t.”
“Please don’t do this. I don’t want to lose you.”
Inebil shook her head lightly.
“The women locked behind me are people someone doesn’t want to lose too. How can you ignore that simple fact?”
Dianne grabbed her shoulders. The grip was incredible. It felt like her fingers might pierce the flesh.
Pain furrowed her brow instinctively.
That was when Dianne pulled back in alarm. It was like during their spar.
Inebil endured the pain and spoke.
“You made that face during our spar too. That strength—can you really control it? You said it yourself before. A weapon you can’t handle will one day wound its wielder.”
“You’re right. There’s always a price. But I can control it. It’s a power I can master.”
“Are you sure? Someday those hands might kill Silder, someone precious.”
“That won’t happen.”
“How can you be so certain? Did Gilliud say so? That it’s a power you can handle perfectly?”
“I know! I’m not weak enough to be defeated by something like this.”
Dianne yelled as she stood. This was the woman who’d brush off even the harshest curses with a calm smile—now Inebil watched her breathe raggedly.
“I guess the Dianne I knew is gone.”
“Inebil, don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
Dianne steadied her breathing and continued.
“While we’re on the topic, what did Gilliud tell you?”
“Nothing much. Just how you got that power? But it’s weird. How could you listen to that lunatic and start all this?”
“What did he say?”
Inebil recalled Gilliud’s words. The future is set, laws are made in the Realm, laws can’t be defied, he’d prove and dismantle the world’s structure, and so on. No weirdo like that one.
“Why should I tell you?”
“Whatever he said, don’t believe it. He’s a man lost in delusions. His master was a great mage, but he’s just a madman who inherited the magic. Spouting nonsense about fate and the Grand Flow—trash from a loser.”
“Perfect. You’re trash who steals lives, so you match well.”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“You still have some shame left.”
Dianne let out a small sigh, looking exhausted.
“Things upstairs are chaotic. I’ll wrap it up and come back. With fresh food, of course.”
“No need. I’m dying anyway.”
“I know you. You’re not the type to give up life easily. If you were, you wouldn’t have killed a noble and survived. Above all, you’re drawn to getting stronger. You’ll crave this power.”
“You’re right. That’s me.”
She said with a smile.
“But I’ve seen the real thing. Not that crude power—the true strength that shook my soul.”
(To be continued next time)