The Outer God Needs Warmth-Chapter 223: Song of the Betrayed (3)

The sun set today.

The gentle heat of the sunset faded, and the cold night came.

Despite the chaos, no one came into the Automaton Knight School until nightfall.

It's easy to understand why, just by looking at the flames rising from various parts of the capital.

Although the plague caused people to scatter for a moment, no one actually died. Moreover, everything that could be broken had been destroyed, and everyone who could be killed had been killed.

This place is where the hunt has ended.

The rioters, the citizens who became part of this madness, didn’t suffer properly.

Because there was no suffering, there was no learning.

People find it hard to learn if they don’t experience pain.

The people who weren't made aware of their wrongdoings through suffering, after the chaos had settled, thought this:

They had defeated the enemies of society.

Yet, it was still cold, and they were hungry.

Nothing had changed.

They had gained nothing from becoming rioters, and reality remained the same. So now, they acted again, thinking the problem wasn’t that their actions were wrong, but that they hadn’t killed enough enemies.

The citizens of the capital flooded back into the streets. Someone had mentioned a plague spreading, but hardly anyone had actually seen someone collapse.

They simply ran because others were fleeing, calling it the plague.

It was not real, and it had no tangible form, so they weren't scared. Compared to the reality they were feeling, which was painful, the phantom plague was nothing.

So, they went back outside.

Watching them from the Harvester’s perspective, I wondered what their next target would be.

The easy target, the Automaton Knight School, had already been destroyed, hadn't it?

I watched to see what they would do next, and wow.

They are truly talented at creating enemies. Very creative.

In this world, people have the built-in ability to use magic. In other words, they can feel magic.

Even those who haven’t trained can feel the flow of magic if they are sensitive. And people living in the capital can at least use magic to some degree.

This is because even older Automaton Machines need magic to operate.

Therefore, in order to power the machines, they need to sense the flow of magic. They couldn’t have missed it. It was part of their daily life.

And if you apply the formula that all machines are evil, it leads to this conclusion:

Anyone using a machine right now is a social evil that must be killed.

Yes.

In this cold winter, it’s impossible to completely eliminate Automaton Machines. After all, homes are built on the basis of these machines.

People can detect when the power source is drawing in magic.

So, what will happen?

They attacked. I don't know their exact feelings, but they probably thought we were living poorly because we had abandoned the Automaton Machines, and they were still using them.

Additionally, these homes were mostly owned by people with decent wealth. In other words, they were the so-called upper class. Of course, this means they were the upper class among commoners.

There was reason to be jealous. They were places rich in things to steal.

Coincidentally, at dinner time, many people had powered their devices to cook. It was easy to find.

They broke in, killed everyone inside, and took valuable things with them.

Some might have questioned what they were doing, but they convinced themselves with thoughts like this:

They were defeating the villains and earning rightful wealth.

Among those acting this way, some kept silent, pretending not to know the truth.

Because they looked at those who claimed to be right with disdain, seeing them as foolish idiots.

Interestingly, those who knew the truth and turned a blind eye were the ones who acted worse.

They would incite people, leading them to the most expensive homes and then take the most valuable items.

Those who had the intelligence to understand the situation didn’t try to fix it; instead, they used it to their advantage.

They were really clever.

If you speak the truth, you’re bound to be killed.

Rather than speaking the truth, they decided to blend in and squeeze as much profit as they could.

Now, those who were angry at their current situation went mad with frustration.

As flames rose throughout the capital, those responsible for maintaining order in various parts of the city moved here and there.

At first, it was like that.

But this wasn’t something that happened in a specific group.

Most of the people living in the capital had already been sick for a long time, starving and freezing.

The number of people in the security forces wasn’t enough to deal with the sick ones.

Maintaining order requires the cooperation of the citizens living there.

But if the entire population turns against you, no matter how much the security forces try, they can’t stop it. The very premise had collapsed.

So, to survive, they let go of their duties to maintain overall social security. Instead, they only focused on the safety of special individuals.

The collapse of order happens in an instant.

Now, with the sun completely set, most of the capital was already burning from arson. People, in their foolishness, had given up on the future so easily.

No, they hadn’t given up on the future.

They made the best choice they could, but that choice led to the collapse of society.

Such robberies were spreading, because by robbing the upper-class homes still using Automaton Machines, they could get not just wealth, but food as well.

Here, the relationship between class and population is shaped like a pyramid.

The poorer you are, the more numerous you become.

Throughout the capital, murder, arson, and plundering spread like wildfire.

The era was heading down an irreversible path.

And when eras change, many people die.

I turned my gaze and approached Victoria, who was crouching among the bodies.

She knew I was there, but she didn’t move, keeping her head lowered.

It was time for her to break.

Too much had happened.

No one had been there to help her.

It was too hard for one person to endure.

I had predicted that she would be so angry that she would channel massive amounts of warmth toward me, but I didn’t expect her not to kill anyone.

I thought she had already become accustomed to killing people. I know how many people Victoria had killed, from the Nant Harbor to Vern City.

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I had absorbed their warmth and memories.

It was a strange sight, a killer, one who had massacred countless innocent people, now looking depressed because someone had died.

"Bel, what should I do?"

Victoria asked me in a hoarse voice, like metal grinding.

"Weren’t you angry with me?"

Oh my.

I thought our relationship would end here, but she spoke to me. Or maybe she just wanted to collapse and find comfort in the breakdown?

Hmm— uh— hmm—

Kick.

Now, I could let her rely on me and use her however I wanted!

But I won’t.

I stood in front of Victoria, who was quietly lowering her head, and waited for her to speak.

After a long silence, Victoria finally spoke.

"I’m angry."

Then, silence again.

I saw her eyes rolling as she was forming words in her mind. Hmm. This is ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) definitely convenient. Even if she lowers her head, the Harvester can’t escape from me.

She had everything, so what more was there to take?

I already took what I wanted.

Of course, the warmth is still inside her, but it seems like it's deferred—already over. From a macroscopic view, Daegon and the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign are both terrible.

The more foolish they are, the more they’ll say it’s nothing to take warmth from. But what they're saying is this:

Eating this food makes me so happy! What's the problem?

It’s like a drug, destroying brain cells with every bite, experiencing intense pleasure, and leaving only a miserable future.

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Right? As long as we’re happy now?

That’s it. Only those who can see things from a broader perspective know that their life will end in a tragic way. When you only look straight ahead, all you see is the profit of pleasure.

That’s warmth.

I’m not so cruel that I’ll take more from someone who’s already been ended.

Thinking that, I waited for Victoria’s words with a warm heart, filled with the warmth flowing through the Harvesters who were happily killing people.

"But how am I supposed to be angry?"

This is another philosophical question. It’s not that I’ve never been angry. I’ve actually been angry several times. Once, I even starved for a day after getting mad at Beatrice during a break.

I’d get angry over trivial things, be scolded, and reflect on it.

But I don’t think that’s what she meant.

"Do I just have to kill everyone? Is avenging the teachers and friends who died so miserably the answer? I could’ve done that. Now, killing people is so easy."

Hmm, is she saying it’s too easy now?

No, actually, it’s easy to make someone faint by extracting bodily fluids through their lungs.

From what I’ve gathered from the memories of the Harvesters, this is simple to handle. Blocking it with magic is possible.

But if you don’t know, it’s a technique that’s lethal. Especially since you can’t predict the signs because no magic is moving.

"But earlier, you were saving people."

It sounded like she was saying she originally intended to kill them.

Strange. Victoria was the one who didn’t kill anyone earlier.

"Earlier, why did you choose not to kill anyone?"

I was happy because it was the harvest season for me, but the one who decided not to kill anyone was Victoria, right?

Hearing my question, she buried her face in her arms and spoke in a tired voice.

"Because you did it."

I? When?

Ah, right. It does look like making Harvesters seems like I’m saving people on the surface.

"I never forced you to do it."

"Yeah. I know. You always tell me to do what I want, but then you just leave me to it."

Victoria, saying that, raised her head.

"And then, you showed me the cool path. You didn’t do it on purpose, did you? You wanted us to make good choices, learn by watching, think for ourselves, didn’t you? You wanted to lead me, didn’t you? So..."

Victoria spoke to me with a pleading expression.

"Tell me what I should do."

She looked at me as if blaming me for not telling her, even though she already knew the way.

First, I’ll correct the misunderstanding.

This part has to be cleared up.

"Victoria Bet. Do what you want. Don’t make others think for you. Think for yourself. I’m not here to lead, and I’m not someone who can lead anyone. I’m not even human."

Just in case she misunderstands.

"As you said, I’m a monster."