Chapter 22 Chapter 22: Do You Have the Determination to Change Everything?
Chapter 22: Do You Have the Determination to Change Everything?
Yes, why exactly did she hate the Overworld so much?
Was it because they withdrew all the Silvermane Guards, leaving people powerless against the encroachment of the Fragmentum? Was it because they sealed off the Underworld, turning a blind eye to it for so long? Or was it because of the slander she often heard about the Overworld from the mouths of vagrants?
Seele had never really thought about this question seriously, because she simply didn't have that much time to ponder such meaningless issues.
Ever since joining Wildfire, getting injured or bleeding had become commonplace for her. Monsters from the Fragmentum could attack people at any time and anywhere, and she had to rush around to protect these innocent people.
Thanks to her extraordinary endurance, she could fully unleash herself in battle, ignoring those insignificant wounds and bruises.
But while wounds would heal, just as the threat of the Fragmentum would always keep breeding, people would always return to their dull, miserable lives after being rescued.
This often gave her an illusion in her mind, as if time in the entire Underworld had stagnated... as if all the efforts she and Wildfire put in were futile.
But the Underworld had always been like this in her impression. She only knew that everyone suffered in such an environment, and as for the so-called Overworld, she actually didn't understand it much at all.
The differences those adults talked about were, in her eyes, just a normal state—the world she had always lived in.
When truly digging into the root of her hatred for the Overworld, Seele found that she could only think of one thing.
That was when she was very young. Back then, Oleg wasn't the leader of Wildfire but a Silvermane Guard captain responsible for Underworld security.
Naturally, as a child, she had long yearned for the so-called Overworld. To fulfill her wish, Oleg hid her in his supply bag and took her back to the Overworld via the cable car.
She followed him around Belobog's famous sights, ate delicious food she had never tasted before, wore beautiful clothes beyond her imagination, and even scared off a group of children with rough miner slang.
Those two short days were filled with laughter almost every minute and second. It wasn't until the evening before leaving, when the two sat on a bench in the Administrative District plaza, that she noticed the details that truly made this city different from the Underworld.
"Is the Overworld fun, Seele? Do you want to come again?"
"Uncle, I have a question."
"...What is it? Go ahead."
"Those few Overworld people, they threw away their food after only eating half."
"......."
"Do they know some people underground can't get food?"
Seele wasn't sure if Oleg noticed her unusual expression back then, but judging from the silence in her memory, he obviously did.
But she also didn't know how complex Oleg's true feelings were when he saw the gloom flash across that young face.
"Let's go back, Uncle. I don't want to come again."
She only remembered that her mood was very gloomy at the time. After replying like that, she didn't say another word on the way back, let alone show a smile.
After that, that 'Supreme Guardian' withdrew all Silvermane Guards from the Underworld under the pretext of counterattacking the Fragmentum and issued a decree sealing off the Underworld. Since then, she never learned about that other world again—a world that was only a few hundred meters above or below but completely different from the life she lived.
In fact, children's worlds don't contain so many principles that belong only to adults. Their likes and dislikes about something often stem from a corner that might seem very one-sided to adults.
But it is in such a simple world that the purest colors exist.
After recalling all this, Seele ultimately chose to tell Kevin everything exactly as it happened, without any embellishment.
Some might think, how could anyone remember something from childhood so clearly and word-for-word? But perhaps... for Seele, this was indeed an experience she simply couldn't forget.
"Maybe you think this narrow starting point is childish. After all, with strength like yours, you've probably never worried about food."
Looking at Kevin, who remained silent and whose expression still hadn't changed much, Seele continued softly stating the sad truth: "But in the Underworld, two strangers might even fight over a mouthful of water, and for the one who loses, what awaits him might be a fate of gradually heading toward death."
In any healthy society, fighting desperately over a little water or a bite of food would probably be ridiculed by most people because they've never experienced it and can't understand that feeling of life hanging by a thread.
"I see. I think I understand now."
Under Seele's gaze, Kevin merely closed his eyes and said these words.
It wasn't exactly disappointment; after all, she had never really thought that mere words could make someone willingly help. In the Underworld, words are perhaps the most useless thing.
But actually, Seele found her mood couldn't help but sink lower.
"I knew it. So we..."
"So, do you have the determination to change all this?"
"...Huh?"
Just when Seele was finally about to say some harsh words and then go their separate ways, Kevin's next words suddenly made her freeze.
"Great power often means more responsibility and also comes with a huge price... So, do you really have the determination to change all this?"
Hadn't Kevin decided long ago—as an outsider, he had no right or status to decide or change this world's future. But if he were just a correct catalyst, that wouldn't be wrong either.
This riddle-like, jumping train of thought left Seele unable to immediately grasp his true intention. But thinking of how relaxed and comfortable Kevin looked when eliminating Fragmentum creatures, she finally understood what he meant by power and responsibility.
"Injuries and such are just daily routine for me anyway. If you really have a way to teach me to become stronger, then I don't care what you want me to do."
Compared to many people who joined Wildfire, Seele's simple thinking might actually be the purest—make everything she thinks is bad become good. That's all.
But after hearing this, Kevin still shook his head.
"That's still far from a good answer... but it'll do."
Even if such words seem weak, it's actually just because they're limited by her narrow perspective. If given a chance to see the whole picture, she would still spare no effort in choosing to change the entire planet.
For no other reason than because Kevin believed this kid was truly... stubborn enough.
There is an illustration here. You can view it after updating the version.
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