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Chapter 91: Conditions of Power (1)
The demand from Gunther was simple.
If you want to save that kid Roy, co to the waste disposal site by the ti specified.
If you don’t show up, think about the consequences yourself.
The intention was obvious.
It was about seeking revenge in the arena.
However, knowing it wouldn’t work out normally, they resorted to desperate asures.
It’s truly unbelievable; words fail .
“He’s so anxious, yet in the end, he resorts to this, Gunther, you worthless scum!”
Ironically, the one most excited was the manager.
“I apologize, sir!
We’ll take care of this matter ourselves. Please don’t worry, sir…”
I left without saying a word in response.
“W-where are you going? Are you really going there…?”
“Leave it to the kid.” She was taken aback and blocked my path in an instant.
“Are you crazy? This is obviously a trap! You don’t know what might happen if you go!”
A trap, indeed… If we define it, it’s like an analogy for sches that trap others in difficulties, right?
It’s definitely not going to be a good thing if you go.
But then again, I don’t even consider the thought of encountering any trouble just because I’m going.
Ignoring her words, I headed towards the waste disposal site.
* * *
In the previous life, there was a situation quite similar to this.
It was during the height of the war between the Ushif Empire and the Garam Kingdom.
At a ti when the Garam Kingdom was sowhat on the defensive, they executed a sche to turn the tide: the kidnapping of Larshel Vert, the eldest son of Vert.
What does being Vert’s eldest son entail?
It ant being the son of Aschel, who was a prominent figure in the Empire.
Although not of royal blood, being the child of such an influential figure made him valuable enough to be a hostage.
There were debates within the Empire on whether to rescue him or not, but I remained silent, simply waiting to see what Aschel would decide.
Contrary to my expectations, he asked what I thought should be done.
I told him that if he sent , I would not only rescue Larshel but also annihilate those responsible for his capture.
I was quite enraged at the audacity of those who caused him trouble; I couldn’t tolerate it.
Looking back, I realized that I was more inclined to think about killing those scoundrels rather than rescuing the son.
Regardless of reasoning, it was a rather pathetic situation.
But life goes on, and now, a similar situation has co before again.
A street urchin selling cigarettes?
Frankly, it doesn’t matter.
It’s not related to my current mission, and nothing changes if he dies.
He just happened to cross paths with , one of the many street urchins in the city.
I may have given him so assistance, but that’s where it ends.
I have no further obligations.
Yeah, none at all…
Strangely enough, my current emotions are hardly different from what I felt back then.
Reasons, relevance, they don’t really matter.
Right now, the thought dominating my mind is that I should kill that insignificant piece of trash.
With each step I take, a sll wafts in.
There are exactly two types of slls: one, the foul stench of discarded waste, and the other, the very familiar scent of human blood.
The latter, however, has an unusually strong tallic tinge, different from usual.
I didn’t want to know what it was.
It wasn’t particularly important to .
Though I didn’t consciously acknowledge it, I was aware that many people passing by were watching .
However, none of them dared to approach.
Quite ironic, isn’t it?
Even these insignificant street rats tremble in fear and watch from behind, yet the fool who lost an arm is still clueless, floundering about.
Lost in aningless thoughts, I found myself in the designated area.
“You’re here?”
Gunther, arrogantly perched atop the trash, flashed a satisfied smile as he watched .
“Frankly, I was quite surprised! I an, I did invite you, but I never expected you to co all the way here just for that little brat! Seems like you’re more compassionate than ets the eye, huh?”
Ignoring the fellow’s blabber, I glanced around.
The space was filled with tallic waste of unknown purpose.
What was odd was that among the rubbish were scattered white fragnts that seed strangely familiar.
In fact, I already knew what they were: human bones.
There were easily hundreds, if not more, scattered around.
Although it wasn’t a communal graveyard, this guy probably knew why human bones were here.
“Just by looking, you already know, right? Curious about why there are human bones here?”
I gestured for him to spill the beans.
“Don’t you know the aning of waste? Simple! It ans disposing of sothing no longer useful. This place is a disposal site for such things.”
He proudly extended his remaining arm.
“As I ntioned before, I conquered the Lambert Cage, but I was expelled for killing soone during the match. I had no regrets. I enjoyed it as much as I could! So when I left, I left with joy!”
His eyes glead maliciously.
“But as soon as I left, strangers greeted ! One had lost an arm, another had a crushed knee, and yet another had a crushed face! I don’t rember, but they all claid I did it!”
Living like this, it’s strange not to have enemies, right?
“They said they’d seek revenge! That their lives beca aningless because of ? Upon hearing that, I thought this: If sothing becos useless, shouldn’t it disappear from this world? Like waste? What’s so different about humans?”
He tossed a handful of bones among the rubbish, as if they were no different.
“I also thought, why not dispose of useless humans besides them? It’s aningless to keep living anyway, right? In a way, am I not a god here, within this waste disposal? Who would stop from judging and discarding humans? Nobody, right?”
I expected this kind of babble from the arena.
Useless trash must be disposed of.
Therefore, useless humans should be disposed of from this world.
It’s a simple yet equally ridiculous logic.
“According to your logic, you, missing an arm, are also a useless human. Shouldn’t you be discarded too?”
“Missing an arm? Who? ? What are you talking about!”
-Whoom
He manifested mana with his remaining hand, reaching towards the empty shoulder.
“Creation: Hands of Nature!”
-Squishy sound
Fine soil erged from the magic circle created by the spell.
Gradually taking shape like molding clay, it ford a new arm.
Absolutely absurd.
The guy who argues that useless things should be discarded casually wields creation magic.
At that mont, it felt like a waste even to shake my head.
“I didn’t harbor ill feelings towards you from the beginning. I just thought you’d be a good opponent to wake up from this trash! But after seeing your eyes, my thoughts changed! That contemptuous gaze that almost belittles ! It’s exactly like that lunatic on the other side!”
He extended the newly created arm towards as if challenging .
“Do you think you can face with this new arm?”
“Of course not! I hate to admit it, but among the n I’ve seen, you’re quite the powerhouse! I never thought I could win against you no matter how hard I fought!”
The guy who knows this created the current situation?
“But isn’t it true? The end of a fight ultimately depends on who lives and who dies! If I live and you die, then I’ll be the ultimate winner!”
-Snap
He signaled sothing, and the lackeys lurking around began to gather.
Each held so unknown tallic device in their hands.
Without hesitation, they activated the devices.
-Whoosh
Suddenly, the surrounding air felt heavy, and soon an imnse pressure, as if crushing my body, engulfed .
If my mory serves right, this isn’t magic but the ability of an artifact called the ‘Gravity Zone.’
It amplifies gravity in a certain area, severely restricting movent.
In fact, for an ordinary human, simply standing would be impossible, causing extre pain.
“Oh? You’re holding up quite well! I didn’t plan this for you, but I wouldn’t mind using it on you.”
I have to admit, he prepared quite a clever trap for .
“I’m going to turn you, a seemingly intact person, into useless waste! Then you’ll sleep peacefully like the white bones piled up here! But I don’t like things ending too easily, so give it your all and resist!”
Resist?
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Forcing with strange words like giving it my all and resisting, isn’t it amusing?
Having to pour out all my strength against such guys?
This isn’t even Velias or the Academy.
Even here, except for one person, nobody knows that I’m Cyan Burt.
Except for one.
[Shall I help?]
Kaeram asked with a mischievous smile.
“No.”
There’s no need to involve her.
He asked for my all-out effort?
Unfortunately, there’s only one person on this land I want to face with all my might.
But I can give it my best shot.
I’ll give him the most extre pain a human can feel, as I always do.
-Clang
Finally ready, he leaped forward.
Certainly, his speed was twice, no, more than three tis faster than what he showed in the arena.
With a body as large as a bear’s but a speed like an arrow, it was truly a devastating movent.
So, what will I do?
In front of is just a sluggish movent.
I clenched the mana sphere generated in my palm and pulled it back.
-Swish
There’s not much I can do.
It’s the most basic posture when training the body: the stance of a martial artist.
As the guy ca charging towards with all his might, I calmly threw a punch at him.
-Thunk!
Our fists t naturally.
Despite the powerful impact and the violent shockwaves that rippled outwards, the waves soon tilted to one side.
“…!”
-Crunch
There was no crackling of bones.
The mont my fist made contact with his arm, it turned into dust and scattered in the air.
His body, unable to withstand the shockwave, was promptly ejected into the pile of waste.
-Thud
The lesson was over.
His face buried in the garbage spoke volus, a stark contrast to his deanor just five seconds ago.
“What, what’s happening? Does this make any sense?”
When people encounter their limits, they easily succumb to despair, more than any other creature.
Perhaps he knew this, and it wasn’t about giving it my all.
It was about showing him the insurmountable wall, delivering extre despair and emptiness.
It’s clearly an impossible task, but I slowly approached him.
“Who, who are you? This is completely different! Is it fair that I can’t do anything and just take it?”
Despair and confusion mingled in his face.
Every person I’ve encountered during my cleansing operations wore a similar expression.
Though he wasn’t initially on my list from the client, adding one more won’t hurt.
I looked down at him and asked softly,
“How many were there?”
“…”
He remained silent.
“I an the humans you’ve discarded so far. How many were there?”
Whether he couldn’t rember or had beco mute, considering the number of white bones scattered around, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were less than a thousand.
-Humming
I took Kaeram out of my pocket and said,
“I’ll divide you into exactly a thousand pieces.”
Then, throwing him into the trash, he’ll be disposed of automatically.
Soon, the screams of a man writhing in agony echoed throughout the landfill.
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