Chapter 45

The town was devoid of human figures.

The main street that ran through the center of the town, which had been bustling with people until yesterday, was now completely empty, not even a cat to be seen. Instead, there were fresh bloodstains on the ground and large signs of destruction on the houses lining both sides of the road.

Soma had expected this outcome, but when he actually saw the scene, he was speechless at the stark contrast to the town of yesterday.

Shahata, worried by Soma's unusual demeanor, looked at him with a questioning gaze. Shemul shook his head slightly, signaling him not to say anything.

Until then, Shahata had been entrusted by Soma to take care of Hopkins' family and stay at the fortress.

Even though Garam and Zugg had pledged to follow Soma's orders, many of the Zoans harbored ill feelings towards humans. Among them, the only person, besides Shemul, who could be trusted with the important hostages, Hopkins' family, was Shahata.

Shahata was dissatisfied that he couldn't participate in the battle to capture the fortress or serve as Soma's bodyguard, but he couldn't refuse Soma's request.

He had struggled with the overly fearful wife of Hopkins and the son who had become overly attached to him, but he had managed to return them to Hopkins as promised, just as the town was captured. He had been looking forward to resuming his role as a bodyguard, but when he finally met Soma again after a while, Soma, who had successfully captured the town, was far from elated. Even Shahata, who found it difficult to gauge human emotions, could tell that Soma was deeply dejected.

Something must have happened, but Shemul also had a troubled look on his face, making it hard to ask.

Worried, Shahata's face gradually clouded over.

However, Soma had no time to notice the two of them.

Walking silently through the town with the two of them in tow, Soma's feet eventually led him to the mansion of the slave trader, Gurocacos.

Despite knowing the result of his own strategy, a small groan escaped Soma's lips when he saw the mansion.

The brick mansion was completely burned down. Even from the outside, one could see the vast courtyard and the many bodies lying there. The hatred of the former slaves seemed to have extended to the mud walls surrounding the mansion, which had been thoroughly destroyed and reduced to mere clumps of earth.

Turning away from Gurocacos' mansion, Soma frowned at something he saw in an alley.

There lay the body of a girl.

With her long brown hair spread out like a large flower on the ground, the girl lay face down. The white dress-like garment she wore was soaked in blood and mud, stained in patches.

With a hand pressed to his chest, wracked with bitter regret, Soma managed to squeeze out a voice.

"Shahata, please give her a proper burial."

With that, Soma turned on his heel and left the scene.

Watching Soma and Shemul, who quickly exchanged a glance and followed him, until they disappeared around the corner, Shahata sighed worriedly.

"Is Soma-sama going to be alright...?"

However, all Shahata could do now was to give the girl's body as respectful a send-off as possible. If it could bring Soma some peace of mind, even a little, that would be good.

Thinking this, Shahata was about to pick up the girl's body when he was taken aback.

The girl's body, which had been there just a moment ago, had vanished.

Panicking, he looked around, but the girl's body was nowhere to be found. He blinked several times, but the girl's body was not going to reappear just like that.

"Was it a mistake...?"

Soma had seen it too, not just him. It couldn't be, but there was no other explanation, and Shahata was left scratching his head.

Something moved at the edge of Shahata's vision.

Turning his eyes quickly, he saw the back of a girl turning the corner of the alley.

She seemed to be in a good mood, her steps light, skipping as she disappeared around the corner of the alley.

For some reason, Shahata shivered.

◆◇◆◇◆

Life in this world was intertwined with the sun.

People woke up with the sunrise and went to bed with the sunset. This was because candles and other lighting devices were expensive and the risk of fire made them impractical for common use. Therefore, only a few nobles and wealthy merchants could afford to hire candle keepers to hold late-night banquets and gatherings.

In the newly captured Borinis, Soma had strictly restricted nighttime outings, so the town welcomed the night earlier and deeper than usual.

In the bedroom of the lord's mansion, which the Zoans had just seized, Soma sat huddled in a corner, lost in thought.

He already knew what the problem was.

Everyone's goals were different.

For the Zoans, the primary goal was to protect their plains, their home.

While Garam and Zugg understood the need for the Zoans to venture outside the plains, most of the other Zoans were simply following their leaders. If things went badly, there was a possibility they would retreat to the plains.

The dwarves, led by Dovarin, seemed to strongly desire to return to their homeland.

Having been transported as slaves to a distant land against their will, their longing for home was understandable. They wanted to return to their homeland as soon as possible, but since they had no clear plan, they had no choice but to follow Soma. However, there was a risk that they might flee without fighting when faced with a large human army.

The biggest problem was the Dinosaurians, represented by Jahangir.

They prioritized revenge against humans over returning to their homeland. The warlike Dinosaurians would likely ignore any attempts to stop them and fight against a large human army. While it was their choice to self-destruct, it would be disastrous if they dragged Soma and his allies into it.

The only reason this disparate group was gathered in one place was the fear of the approaching Holmea army.

However, to Soma, this seemed utterly meaningless.

No matter how many numbers they gathered or how brave they were individually, without coordination, they were just a mob. They had no chance against a trained army.

Even if they somehow won by mistake, the next step would be self-destruction through internal strife. It would only be a matter of whether they were destroyed by humans sooner or later.

A mutter escaped Soma's lips.

"We need to unify everyone's goals and wills..."

If their goals were disparate, they needed to be unified.

But how?

Goals varied by race and individual. No matter how much they tried to align them, it was impossible to make them one.

"If not, we need to create a larger goal..."

A goal so grand that individual and racial goals would pale in comparison. A goal so grand that it would overshadow everything else.

If everyone's goals were one, their wills would naturally align.

"Yes, a grand goal is needed. A dream-like, grand goal."

It seemed like a good idea.

The bigger the goal, the better.

Even if achieving it meant facing numerous hardships, it didn't matter. In the face of a dream-like goal, those hardships would become something to overcome for the joy of achieving it.

Soma knew of such examples.

The methods of a great nation composed of diverse ethnicities with different languages and skin colors.

The methods of a dictatorial state that united a starving populace.

"If everyone unites, the chances of winning are higher..."

Soma shuddered at his own words.

What was he thinking?

To win, he had to rewrite everyone's goals.

To win, he had to unify everyone's wills.

Wasn't this like thought control or brainwashing?!

Realizing his thoughts were heading in a dangerous direction, Soma shook his head, trying to dispel them.

But the thoughts clung to his mind like blood, refusing to go away.

"But to save everyone..."

The more he tried to shake them off, the more they spread through his thoughts.

It was an irresistibly attractive idea.

It was also a terrifying one.

"Hey, my dear Soma. What are you so conflicted about?"

The sound of a girl's voice in the empty room made Soma jump to his feet.

Quickly looking around, he spotted a girl in the shadows of a corner.

"To unite different races for a single goal. Everyone living and dying for that goal."

The girl, wearing a white dress-like garment and long brown hair, stepped out of the shadows with a blissful expression, as if intoxicated by her own words.

"For a single dream, the spiral of life and death repeats, stacking up like a spiral staircase. Everyone dreams of climbing that staircase, and when they run out of strength halfway, they become part of the spiral."

The Zoans had set up strict security around the lord's mansion, wary of the rebellious slaves and the townspeople. Soma was terrified of the girl who had entered the room unnoticed.

Was she a girl from the town seeking revenge for her family killed in the battle?

Or was she an assassin sent by the country of Holmea?

However, Soma had a premonition that blew away such thoughts.

This girl was neither a revenger nor an assassin.

She was something much older.

Something much more terrifying.

"An endless dream and the spiral of life and death leading to it. Isn't that a wonderful thing? Isn't it, my dear Soma?"

Tilting her head adorably, the girl sought Soma's agreement.

But bound by fear, Soma could not respond. The girl pouted, displeased by his lack of reaction.

"If we don't win, everyone will die. Everything will be over. It's to save everyone. There's no other way. You're not doing it because you want to. If people knew that, they would understand. Isn't that right?"

It was a pardon for Soma's sins.

Tempted by the sweet offer, Soma still hesitated. Her adorable smile faded, replaced by a look of disdain.

"What are you playing at? Have you forgotten? Long ago, your hands were already stained with blood. At your feet, a mountain of corpses. Behind you, a horde of the dead."

As she spoke, Soma felt a slimy sensation in his hands. Opening them, he saw palms stained with fresh blood, not his own. Screaming, he tried to step back but tripped and fell on his buttocks. Looking down, he screamed again. The ground was covered with countless bodies, one of which had tripped him.

"Didn't you resolve to move forward to save everyone? Didn't you resolve to kill others for that? So why are you wavering now?"

Hugging himself, Soma trembled with fear as the girl looked down at him.

"But it's understandable."

Suddenly, her face lit up with joy.

"Because the real you is empty."

Her words stabbed Soma's heart like a sharp knife.

"Poor Soma. You haven't changed at all since the night you acknowledged yourself as my child. You are an empty box, a hollow shell decorated on the outside.

So, you easily tip over when you stumble. You easily waver when you are pushed.

Your resolve and determination are just surface-level. The real you lacks the resolve to do whatever it takes to save everyone. The real you lacks the determination to risk everything to save everyone. Oh, how pitiful and wretched, my Soma."

Soma thought she was right.

Reflecting on it, he realized he had been going along with events.

In the despair and uncertainty of being dropped into a world he knew nothing about, he had become dependent on Shemul, the only one who had been kind to him. Because he couldn't ignore her plight, he had offered his wisdom to help the Zoans in their battle against humans. And he had continued to clean up the mess, haunted by the guilt of the many lives he had taken.

The girl pressed on, driving the point home.

"You have only one thing inside you."

She smiled mischievously, as if about to reveal a secret.

"It's the first beautiful thing you saw in this world."

Soma's heart pounded at her words.

"When you connected with this world, it was your second birth. What you saw as a newborn was something very beautiful and noble.

So, you were captivated. So, you were drawn to it.

You couldn't bear to see it hurt. You wanted to be good to avoid being disliked. You wanted to be liked, so you played the hero."

She extended her white hand, and a puppet was attached to her wrist.

It had black yarn hair, crude black eyes drawn with ink, and a large mouth that opened and closed with her finger movements.

'Look at me! Don't leave me! Stay with me! Don't leave me alone!'

Moving the puppet's mouth, she spoke in a high-pitched voice.

"Oh! How ridiculous. How adorable. And how ugly, how terrifying!"

The shame and anger at being exposed outweighed the fear of her laughter.

Standing up, Soma pointed at her and shouted.

"Shut up, Aura!"

He said it with conviction.

Instantly, the girl's brown hair turned white.

On her flawless forehead, a strange mark appeared, resembling an 8 and an ∞, or two snakes biting each other's tails, writhing and entwining. It glowed with a red light.

"You are Aura! The goddess of death and destruction!"

Despite Soma's angry words, Aura only stared at him with a smirk.

"What do you intend to make me do?!"

But Aura, seemingly unaffected by Soma's anger, replied casually.

"Whatever you want to do."

"What is your purpose?!"

"To be you."

"Stop it!!"

With a mock tear, Aura pretended to cry.

"Oh, Soma, to not believe my words. But it's true. You don't need to make me do anything. Because you are the world's deadly poison."

"Poison?"

"Yes. You are poison. If poison is something that deranges bodily functions and leads to death, then you, who derange the world's order and lead to death, can be called poison.

Your thoughts, words, and actions are all alien and deadly poison to this world. Poison is just poison."

Soma felt the same.

His words and actions, which deviated from the world's norms, were causing unprecedented situations.

His knowledge, which did not exist in this world, was leading to terrifying consequences.

Forgetting all sense of shame, Soma spoke his true thoughts.

"Send me back to Japan! Send me back to the world I was in! Send me back!"

It was a weakness he could never admit in front of Shemul and the others.

But Aura seemed delighted by it.

"Very well, poor Soma."

Her white face split into a grin.

"But can you really go back? Can you abandon everyone who trusted and followed you? If you disappear, everyone left behind will be killed.

And it will be a very, very cruel death.

Their eyes will be gouged out, their tongues cut, their ears torn, their noses shaved, their blood drained, their teeth broken, their nails pulled, their skin burned, their hair ripped, their fingers cut off—"

"Stop! Don't say it! Stop it!"

Each of Aura's words cut into Soma's heart. Smirking at his suffering, she leaned in.

"You can't go back, can you, my dear, dear Soma?"

Soma's body went limp with despair, and he slumped to the ground.

Laughing, Aura said,

"A smart Soma would have known. It's too late. You can only move forward. Yet you keep agonizing. It's boring, very, very boring. So, this time, I'll make an exception. I'll give you a little push."

She pressed the puppet's back, and its head fell off, rolling to Soma's feet.

Extending her right hand, a battlefield scene appeared behind Aura.

With countless soldiers' corpses lined up, blood flowing like a river, and broken spears and swords standing like tombstones, Aura solemnly declared,

"To save the people you care about, will you kill others—"

Then,