Chapter 224

“Always sayin’ that before takin’ one step forward.”

I asked if she was a monster, but got a weird answer back.

Victoria bowed her head again, hidin’ her face. Like that’d hide her emotions from me—impossible!

She even pushed away my last outstretched hand.

Time to start cryin’, right?

But contrary to my thoughts, Victoria didn’t shed a tear.

“Every time, huh? You’ve been claimin’ you’re a monster while still movin’ forward. So, retreatin’ now means you’re less than a monster?”

Huh?

No, that wasn’t what I meant at all.

I just meant since I’m a monster, don’t follow me. Do what you want. Seriously, even if I acted all good, it doesn’t mean I truly am, right?

But Victoria looked up with the expression I knew.

The same look from when we first met: me as a giant fishman covered in blood, her clutching tools amidst gore.

“You’d make a really cruel mom to your kids.”

Then she stood up.

Probably an insult, huh?

Thinkin’ about Rebecca and childbirth, maybe I could enter some offering thing. Though who knows what’d happen now. High chance it wouldn’t work anyway.

Even if I entered a male body instead of female, no way kids would come out.

If they did, maybe it’d be considered part of my flesh… Wait, does that mean men are better?

If so, I could prep multiple backup bodies. Not sure how kids would turn out though, just possibilities.

Still, not plannin’ on doin’ that.

Remembering Rebecca, when she had her consciousness intact after using me as a vessel. Someone diggin’ through my memories? No thanks!

You never know where info might leak from!

Rebecca moved without light, yet acted normal, birthing a kid and livin’ freakishly long.

She endured her tragic past by sticking with me. If she hated me, she could’ve exposed my weak points worldwide.

Thinking back, that was a dangerous moment.

Anyway…

After saying that, Victoria left the corpse behind and walked toward the exit. Guess she’s headin’ home.

So I followed.

But she went in a strange direction. Even if she kept going straight, there’s nowhere she’d wanna go within my knowledge.

Is she off for revenge?

Yet she isn’t heading to any fiery spots. Where is she going?

I trailed the stern-faced Victoria, crossing wide roads, narrow alleys, even areas trashed by riots.

Despite slight detours, she kept walking straight ahead.

Where is she headed?

After walking a bit, Victoria stopped.

There was a river.

Compared to the Han River I mostly see in faded memories, this one’s tiny—only 1/6th its size. And unlike the purified water there, this is polluted with sewage, stinkin’ like crazy.

The water floated into the air, leaving gunk at the bottom while clear streams ascended skyward.

Ah! This is revenge!

Right?

We already did this in Bern City. Dragging water to drown people.

Sounds great. Wonder how many casualties we’ll get this time?

The lower tier of the population turned into rioters. Treat ’em all the same, blind attacks will mow ‘em down easily.

Warmth party!

Meanwhile, reapers among the rioters crossed into upper-class districts, killing and looting wildly.

Sometimes they fight with what look like law enforcement but avoid direct confrontations.

They throw weapons from afar then retreat, only to loot elsewhere. Did their original purpose of eliminating social evils via clockwork devices disappear somewhere along the line?

Citizens run rampant under their gaze. Simultaneously, through Bell’s eyes, I see Victoria doing something.

The river water keeps rising into the sky.

It’s emptied to the point where the bed crumbles like desert sand.

That’s right.

Even filth turns to powder without moisture.

The entire river current lifts into the sky like a massive snake coiling upward over the capital.

The air’s bone-dry now. Not just me; even distant reapers can feel it.

But nobody realizes.

Instead, they cheer thinking fires will burn better.

Rumble.

Wait.

The river shot up, clouds filled the sky, thunder roared.

Huh? Thought she’d gather water to crush people, but seems not.

Rather, the more water supplied, the bigger the storm clouds grow.

Soon, they cover the night sky entirely.

The lifted water starts falling.

Drip.

Drop.

Pitter-patter.

Rain began pouring over the capital.

People scream and rush for shelter, though not because they’re attacked.

Even if it’s not cold enough to freeze, chilly frost forms in the early morning.

Ice-cold rain begins pelting down.

Swooshhh!

With the icy rain, the rage covering the capital slowly cools.

The festival-like madness fades, leaving soaked, shivering people behind.

Winter night has fallen.

The flames that illuminated faces have disappeared.

Even fires that might reignite after the rain gradually dwindle. Rain noise drowns out distant voices.

In the void left by the festival’s end, a chilling reality seeps in.

Harvesters scattered throughout the capital hear murmurs.

“What do we do now?”

Like someone sobering up from booze after a bucket of cold water, they palely stare at each other. Despair and fear trickle down their faces with the freezing rain.

Meanwhile, Polaris grumbles about inaccurate weather forecasts while returning to her mansion.

While Victoria stitched corpses together at the Mechanical Knight School, the protest blocking the Royal Academy dispersed.

Not forcibly.

Apparently, Kanana guarding Soringidges until dismissal heard rumors of fires and black smoke across the city causing the protests to disband on their own.

Ah, yeah, makes sense.

No harvesters were among the protesters at the Royal Academy. Either it was only upper-middle class folks or just coincidence.

If those people were upper-middle class, they’d return home to find empty houses.

Still, the expected ongoing riots vanished.

Surely creating rain alone is quite special.

I approached Victoria who stared at the sky till the moon dipped low.

“Not doing a Bern City style move, huh?”

“I felt like I’d never be able to look anyone in the eye again if I did.”

Mmm.

Extremely high praise. From a misconception, though.

I know Victoria mistakenly sees me as some saintly figure.

But I’ll let her keep thinkin’ that.

On the surface and inside.

I hope humanity spreads far and wide across this land.

Just wish harvesters and their offspring get involved too. The bigger society grows, especially with harvesters at the top, the more warmth I gain.

Massacres like riots help too. Harvesters thrive in extreme conditions.

Bad is fine, good is fine. Everything leads to me gaining warmth.

To clarify:

As long as humanity prospers, I’ll gain warmth.

Economic depressions, world wars—they’re all good. I know humanity will overcome them and fill the planet.

Global warming’s kinda scary, but I believe they’ll conquer it and reach the stars. Worlds like that actually exist here.

Though harvesters living super briefly before being killed is problematic. Anyway…

I spoke to Victoria.

“A harsher tomorrow awaits, so let’s hit the bed.”

She lowered her head, her already pale skin looking ghostly white.

“Wish you’d give me hopeful visions during moments like this.”

Approaching me without much anger, she muttered,

“I’ll tell my grandkids decades later about stuff like this.”

“That’s too far in the future!”

She complains about lack of affection, wanting too much. But I won’t give her what she wants.

Because it’s fun this way!

Together with the whiny Victoria complaining about my coldness, we returned to our accommodations.

The rain kept pouring until the moon set and dawn broke.

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