Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: A Dream Shatters
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A voice fervent with excitement.
Without me even having to ask, Isaac began to ramble on about his grand cause.
His face was filled with elation and joy, as if he were thrilled to finally reveal the thoughts he had kept bottled up inside.
A tale of one man's devotion and sacrifice for the sake of the world.
On the surface, it was a moving story, the kind you might find in a fairy tale, but I could glimpse the ugly contradictions and darkness lurking beneath.
Not that he seemed to notice.
My body shook.
I'd been curious just what grand purpose he had.
I had to stifle my laughter as I listened to his story.
It was so absurdly funny. I never knew he had such a sense of humor.
What a waste.
He should have been a comedian or a clown, not a Fixer.
Like a balloon inflated to its limit and finally bursting, the laughter I'd been holding back erupted.
Of course, I couldn't make a sound. So I expressed it with my body.
I flailed on the floor, opened my mouth wide in a pantomime of laughter, and thoroughly mocked his tale.
Displeased by my attitude, Isaac's brow twitched.
His story came to a halt.
He looked down at me, his eyes full of irritation.
“What's so funny? Was there something amusing in my story?”
And how.
It's a truly preposterous story.
In response to his question, I nodded, my lips trembling.
The look on Isaac's face grew even more menacing.
To think the famous Frost General was this kind of person.
It was beyond disappointing; it was pathetic.
He was much better before I saw his true colors.
“Forget it. How could a brat living in a world like this understand my cause? I was a fool to get so worked up.”
Isaac took a deep breath and regained his composure.
A severe glint of greed and desire flickered in Isaac's eyes.
What a truly pathetic man.
A hero? Justice?
Saving the world?
Wrong.
A man like that is the furthest thing from a hero or justice.
Seeing his attitude up to now, I was certain of what kind of person Isaac was.
A selfish man, common in this city.
And a particularly vile one at that, drunk on vanity and a sense of superiority.
The worst kind of person.
He cloaks his selfishness in the guise of justice, justifying his actions with the plausible pretense of helping others.
Because of that, he commits the most heinous acts without hesitation.
Such people are intoxicated with the pride of being a 'good person' with an 'altruistic heart,' so they have no brakes.
To achieve their goals, they pay no mind to what happens to those around them.
It makes sense. They can do anything because they firmly believe their actions are all for justice.
They're under the delusion that they can be forgiven for whatever they do.
Look at him now.
Even after conducting horrific experiments here, he shows not a shred of guilt or remorse.
Doesn't he just arbitrarily define it as a noble sacrifice, without any regard for the victim's feelings?
You have to see the forest for the trees, you say?
What a joke.
He forces others to sacrifice, yet never considers sacrificing himself.
In fact, people like him are the first to balk when things turn against them.
Memories of my own naive past come flooding back as if they were yesterday.
They would wear a friendly smile and cry out for justice, but when a situation truly demanding justice arose, they were busy making excuses to get out of it.
I slowly breathed, calming my agitation.
It's all in the past.
No need to get worked up.
Instead, I lifted my head.
I glared at him, my eyes filled with contempt and disgust.
His face, which had regained its composure, twisted in an instant.
He looked furious, as if he'd heard something outrageous.
He grabbed my collar and hoisted me up.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
The smile vanished from Isaac's face.
His eyes were wide and wild, brimming with scorn and fury.
Facing his murderous intent, I calmly raised the corners of my mouth and moved my lips.
[You're no hero.]
Isaac's eyebrow twitched.
Even if I conveyed my thoughts to a man like this, he wouldn't understand.
A single, simple word was enough to shatter his fantasy.
[Murderer.]
The hand gripping my collar flinched.
Soon, his face flushed red and purple with rage, and he violently threw me.
Thud!
My body bounced off the floor from the impact.
As if that wasn't enough, Isaac strode over to me and began kicking me repeatedly.
The word 'murderer' must have really gotten to him, as there was considerable force in his kicks.
Thud, thud, thud, the sounds echoed. Was he avoiding my face because it was pretty?
I winced in pain.
I hadn't reinforced my body with mana, so the shock was transmitted directly.
It's fine... I can bear it...
...I'm used to this kind of pain.
“Murderer? No... No! I'm not a murderer! Don't you dare lump me in with scum like that!”
For an ice magic user, he was incredibly incensed, continuously spewing furious rage.
He showed no mercy just because I was a child.
Perhaps having lost his reason to anger, his violence grew more and more savage.
“This is all for the world! I dirtied my hands to save the world! And you call me a murderer? What does a little brat like you know to say something like that!”
He calls himself a savior, but there's no noble sense of mission in him.
He spouts on about justice and salvation, but it's all for his own greed.
All so he can live a prosperous life in a paradise built on the corpses of others.
“They were destined to die miserably even if I hadn't intervened! They would've been dead long ago if it weren't for me! I gave meaning to their worthless lives!!”
This is the true nature of one who calls himself a hero.
Who would look at that vicious face and think 'hero'?
He's just a man steeped in greed and desire, narcissistically convinced of his own righteousness.
A coward who refuses to acknowledge his own selfishness and sins.
I won't bend to his violence.
I stared back at him, my eyes wide and defiant.
Seeing my eyes, Isaac's face contorted horribly.
“You...!”
Beep—!
Beep—!
Beep—!
At that moment, an alarm blared from a machine.
Isaac's assault stopped.
But his rage hadn't subsided, and he seethed violently.
“Haa, haa... Time's up.”
Isaac grabbed my collar again and roughly threw me into a capsule-like machine.
The capsule door slowly closed.
“I'd love to stay and watch you die, but I have an important guest.”
Isaac forcefully activated the device.
The capsule machine whirred to life.
Smoke slowly seeped in, gradually filling the space.
“At first, you'll feel a slight dizziness. Then, all your senses—sight, hearing, everything—will slowly fade away. In the end, your flesh and bones will melt. I've set it to maximum, so it's going to really hurt. No matter how much you scream, no one will come to save you. Oh, right. You can't speak.”
A cruel smile played on Isaac's lips.
He pressed his face right up against the capsule.
“So just die miserably in there. I was going to be considerate and make it painless since you have a decent face, but not anymore. Take this as punishment for the insolent brat who insulted my mission.”
With those final words, he pulled his face away.
Tsk, he clicked his tongue.
As if he'd lost all interest in me, Isaac indifferently walked away.
The sound of his fading footsteps soon disappeared.
Perhaps from prolonged exposure to the smoke, I felt a slight pain as the strength slowly drained from my body.
Hmm. So this is it.
‘Well then, I suppose it's time for me to make my move.’
I slightly raised my mana and tore apart the restraints binding me.
I tapped the lid lightly with my fist.
It was made of reinforced glass. Quite sturdy.
Crack!
With a single gesture, I shattered the lid and stepped out.
Free once more, I moved my stiff, battered body. A slight pain flared with each stretch.
‘Ugh, my body aches. He really didn't hold back.’
If it were up to me, I would have dealt with him myself.
I'd feel much better if I could pay him back for hitting me, but a guest has arrived just in time.
It wouldn't make sense for a child to kill the Frost General.
If I were to kill him, I might arouse the guest's suspicion.
I should avoid such complications.
‘You'll have more than enough power to win.’
I'm not worried.
I know Red's strength.
I am certain she will win.
She will never forgive a villain.
She's the Crime Killer, after all. She might even deliver a more satisfying revenge than I could myself.
I have no intention of waiting around until that's over.
In the meantime, I'll do what I can.
I approached the place that had bothered me most since I arrived.
The giant glass tube.
I looked down into it.
It was pitch black. I couldn't see anything. But I could feel it clearly.
Something far superior to Isaac was down there.
Isaac called it his masterpiece.
In other words, a test subject born from the experiments here.
‘The only thing I can do is….’
I solidified my mana into the shape of a sword.
The moment the dark blue sword formed in my hand, I saw something squirming in the darkness.
‘It's coming.’
The monster, awakened from its slumber.
A colossal form shot upwards in an instant.
The immense pressure from its ascent alone caused the entire glass tube to crack.
Screee—!
Screee—!
Screee—!
An emergency alarm blared loudly throughout the lab.
A mechanical voice warned of the situation as the entrance sealed shut. Then, a transparent barrier covered the lab's outer walls.
It seemed to be a device prepared for emergencies.
The situation couldn't be more advantageous for me.
“Kuaaaaaah!”
The giant figure roared.
The cracked glass tube shattered, sending shards flying everywhere.
They had the force of bullets.
Countless fragments smashed the machines and devices in the lab.
The shards couldn't reach me.
They melted and vanished in an instant from the heat of the transparent flames enveloping my body.
The moment I gathered more mana into my sword, the monster's maw gaped open.
The instant a beam of aqua-colored light shot from its mouth, I swung my sword.
As the frost that could freeze even souls collided with the flames that could incinerate death itself,
a flash of two mixed colors erupted, and the entire lab shook as if it were collapsing.