Chapter 223

The sun has set today.

The gentle warmth of the twilight disappeared too, and the cold night came creeping in.

In this state of utter chaos, no one had come into the Mechanical Knight School even as night fell.

That’s because it was easy to tell from the flames rising here and there across the capital.

It wasn’t an epidemic that scattered everyone for a moment—it didn’t actually kill anyone. Besides, we’d already broken everything breakable and killed everyone who could be killed.

This place is where the hunt ended.

The citizens turned into rampaging mobs, but they weren’t properly tormented.

Because there was no pain, there was no learning.

Humans are creatures that find it hard to learn unless they’re hurt.

Those who hadn’t experienced the pain to show them their actions were wrong thought like this after regrouping:

“We’ve defeated the enemy of society.”

But it’s still cold, and we’re still hungry.

Nothing has changed.

We gained nothing by turning into rampaging mobs, and reality remains unchanged. So now, we do the same thing again—thinking the problem isn’t that our assumptions were wrong but that we just didn’t kill enough enemies.

The citizens of the capital poured back out onto the streets. Sure, someone said there was an epidemic going around, but almost nobody had actually seen people collapse from it.

If others say there’s an epidemic and run away, you’ll follow along without thinking.

Things that lack real substance and can’t be felt aren’t scary. Compared to some unseen disease, the pain we feel right now in reality hurts much more.

So, let’s go outside again!

While watching all this through the eyes of the Harvesting System, I wondered what these folks would choose as their next target.

Isn’t it obvious? The Mechanical Knight School, an easy-to-identify enemy, has already been destroyed, hasn’t it?

So I observed how they’d proceed—and wow.

They’re truly amazing at conjuring up new enemies. It’s incredibly creative.

You see, everyone in this world has the innate ability to use magic power—you know, the capacity to sense it.

Even untrained people with heightened sensitivity can easily perceive the flow of magic power. Moreover, anyone living in the capital knows at least a little bit about using magic.

Why? Because older mechanical devices require magic power to function.

To operate machines, you need magic power, and you become familiar with the sensation of its flow. There’s no way not to know—it’s part of daily life.

Now add the formula: all machines are evil.

And boom—you get this conclusion:

Anyone using machines right now is a social menace who must be killed.

Yeah.

In this freezing winter, it’s impossible to completely avoid mechanical devices. Most homes themselves are built on systems that rely on these mechanisms.

You can detect when a power source is sucking in magic power.

What will happen next?

They attacked. Honestly, I don’t know the exact motive, but it’s probably something like, “Why should we live without mechanical devices while you guys keep using them?”

Plus, these kinds of houses usually belong to people with decent financial means—in other words, the upper class, or at least the upper tier among commoners.

There’s plenty of jealousy fueling this. These places also have valuable things worth stealing.

Just so happens, it’s evening time, and many people are turning on their power sources to prepare food. They’re easy to find.

Break in, slaughter everyone inside, then take all the valuable stuff.

Some might question this, but they brainwash themselves into thinking:

“This is defeating villains and obtaining rightful goods.”

Among those acting this way, there are those who close their mouths even when they know the truth.

Because those who claim to be righteous look down on such people as foolish idiots.

Interestingly, those who knowingly turn a blind eye to the truth often commit worse acts.

They incite others toward fancy-looking houses, then grab the most expensive items for themselves. People smart enough to understand the situation don’t correct it—they exploit it.

Truly clever.

Telling the truth in such situations would likely get you killed.

Rather than that, it’s better to blend into the group and extract maximum profit.

Thus, the angry masses, driven mad by their circumstances, ran rampant.

As flames erupted throughout the capital, people employed to maintain order rushed around trying to control the chaos.

At first.

But this wasn’t caused by any specific group.

Most residents of the capital had suffered hunger and cold for far too long.

There simply weren’t enough law enforcement personnel to handle the sheer number of troubled individuals.

Maintaining public safety fundamentally requires cooperation from the citizens who live there.

But when the entire citizenry turns against you, even the police force can’t stop it. The very foundation collapses.

So they gave up maintaining societal safety to focus solely on protecting certain special individuals.

Public order collapses in an instant.

By the time the sun fully sets…

Already, most of the capital is ablaze due to arson. Humans are surprisingly simple-minded when it comes to abandoning the future.

No, they haven’t abandoned the future.

They’ve made what they believe to be the best choice. Unfortunately, that choice led to societal collapse.

Such looting spreads quickly. Why? Because raiding homes still using mechanical devices yields not only valuables but also food.

The relationship between class and population forms a pyramid.

The poorer you are, the more numerous you are.

Murder, arson, and plunder spread like wildfire across the entire capital.

The era moves forward irreversibly.

And when eras change, many people die.

I turned my gaze and approached Victoria, who was crouched among the corpses.

Victoria sensed my presence but remained motionless, her head bowed.

It was time for her to break.

Too much has happened.

Until now, no one came to save her.

It’s too heavy a burden for one person alone.

Still, I expected her to unleash massive heat in anger, but I didn’t anticipate her not killing anyone.

I thought she’d already grown accustomed to taking lives. From Nantes Port to Bern City, how many people has Victoria killed? I know because I absorbed their warmth and memories.

A mass murderer grieving over dead innocents.

“Bell, what should I do?”

With a raspy voice like grinding metal, Victoria asked me.

“Weren’t you angry at me?”

Oh dear.

I thought our relationship was over, but now she speaks. Or maybe she’s crumbling and wants comfort?

Hmm… Hmm… Hmm…

Kick.

Looks like I can manipulate her however I want now!

Not gonna do that.

I stood before Victoria, who was silently bowing her head, and waited for her to speak.

After a long silence, Victoria finally opened her mouth.

“I was angry.”

Then another pause.

Her eyes moved, assembling words in her mind. Yep. This is definitely easier. Even if she bows her head, the Harvesting System can’t escape me.

You’ve got everything already; what else do you need?

I’ve already consumed it.

Of course, the warmth resides within her, but it feels like a delayed reaction—this is already over. On a grand scale, whether it’s Daegon or the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, it’s all equally horrifying.

Only the dumbest might think receiving warmth is meaningless. But it’s like saying:

This food makes me super happy! What’s the problem?

It’s a drug. Every time you consume it, it destroys brain cells while giving intense pleasure. A miserable future awaits.

But addicts would argue:

Isn’t being happy now enough?

Exactly. Only those who can see the bigger picture realize they’ve met an unhappy end. When you only focus on what’s directly ahead, all you see is fleeting pleasure.

That’s warmth.

I’m not cruel enough to take anything more from someone who’s already finished.

While contemplating this, I waited for Victoria’s words with a warm heart filled by the incoming warmth from distant harvesters gleefully killing people.

“How do I express anger?”

Here we go again.

A philosophical question. She’s not entirely unfamiliar with anger. I lost a day of food once during vacation after yelling at Beatrice.

I got angry over trivial reasons, got scolded, and reflected.

But that’s not what she means, right?

“I should just kill everyone, right? Should I avenge my teachers and friends who died so miserably? I could’ve done it. Now, killing people is too easy.”

Hmm, ultimately, does she think it’s too easy?

No, considering she can knock people unconscious by extracting fluid through their lungs, it really is easy.

Looking through the memories of the Harvesting System, dealing with it is simple. Blocking it with magic is possible.

But if you don’t know, it’ll kill you. Especially since there’s no magical fluctuation beforehand, making it hard to predict.

“But you were saving people earlier.”

It sounds like she originally intended to kill.

Strange. The person who chose not to kill earlier was Victoria.

“Why did you choose not to kill earlier?”

While I enjoyed the mass production of harvesters, the decision not to kill was Victoria’s, right?

Upon hearing my question, she raised her face buried in her arms and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“Because you did.”

Me? When?

Ah, yeah. Creating harvesters outwardly appears as though you’re saving people.

“I never forced you to do that.”

“Yeah, I know. You always say, ‘Do what you want,’ and leave me alone.”

After saying that, Victoria lifted her head.

“While showing off a cool path, right? Wasn’t it intentional? Aren’t you trying to teach us to make good choices, to observe and learn, to think for ourselves? Aren’t you guiding me? So…”

Victoria pleaded with me.

“Tell me what I should do.”

It’s a reproachful look, blaming me for knowing the way but not showing it.

First, let’s correct a misunderstanding.

This needs to be clarified.

“Victoria Bet. Do what you want. Don’t rely on others to think for you. I have no intention of leading anyone, and frankly, I’m not the kind of person who can lead others. I’m not even human.”

Just in case there’s any confusion.

“You yourself said it—I’m a monster.”

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