CLEAVER OF SIN-Chapter 610: Naive

Asher’s imagination couldn’t help but run wild, his thoughts spiralling into countless possibilities as he tried to make sense of something so deeply concealed. This organisation could have been here for a thousand years, maybe two thousand years, maybe just a hundred years or even just fifty years.

But none of that truly mattered in the grand scheme of things, what mattered was that they were far too mysterious, their level of secrecy was undeniably top-notch, almost to an absurd and unnatural degree.

"But what if the unification of Man and Emovirae was their true goal?" Asher asked, his question valid, his tone carrying a mixture of curiosity and cautious speculation.

"Maybe, but it’s unlikely," Malrik replied, "we’ve known about their Experiment branch for a few years, it’s nothing new to us, why do you think the mission was left to the Star Academy? It’s simply because we’ve seen it way too many times," Malrik paused briefly, then continued, "surely you aren’t naive enough to believe that the Star Academy didn’t know about this and that a group of villagers could gather up thirty thousand points, that would seriously cripple all of them. Cindralis or the Vice Principal was probably the one that increased the mission reward and also added the bonus reward just so the mission would be taken as fast as possible. Just that they had miscalculated, after all, a Radiant Wavestar Life Ranker ended up leading the operation this time," Malrik added in finality.

Asher’s eyes flashed with an unknown light, a flicker of contemplation passing through them as he processed those words. He didn’t actually know what amount of points a group of villagers could possibly cough up, after all, he didn’t know what resources villages had at their disposal, he didn’t even know the conversion scale which the Star Academy used to change resources into Academy points, making it difficult to properly gauge it to begin with.

Also, from Malrik’s words, Asher came to the quiet conclusion that the Empire had, in a way, grown used to people going missing because of this Experiment branch and couldn’t be bothered by it anymore, hence they left the matter to students who were still in the Star Academy or adventurers to handle, as though it were just another routine inconvenience.

"Why isn’t the Empire doing anything about this?" Asher asked, although he wasn’t particularly a saviour, if he were an Emperor, he wouldn’t exactly sit back and watch his people being used as tools for experiments without some form of intervention.

Malrik sighed at Asher’s question, "it seems you are still too naive, little brother," Malrik stated as he ruffled Asher’s hair as though he was getting tired of focusing on this topic.

"What do you mean? Just answer the question," Asher replied as he removed Malrik’s hand and carefully arranged his hair again since Malrik had scattered it slightly. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"The Emperor... or rather the entire noble society doesn’t care," Malrik began to speak, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable weight, "commoners are the ones being kidnapped, my dearest little brother, why should nobles waste their time and resources on a few commoners?" Malrik met Asher’s gaze with his blue eyes as though subtly trying to tell him to stop being naive and understand how cruel the world truly was, "the Zarethorn Empire alone has over twenty billion people as citizens, and that is just a rough guess, the numbers could be way higher," Malrik paused, then asked with a rigid tone, "why should the noble society care if a few thousand or even a few million commoners go missing amongst billions of people?"

Those words echoed in Asher’s mind like a thunderclap, reverberating endlessly as he stood frozen for a moment as though his mind couldn’t come up with an answer. His thoughts drifted back unwillingly to the moment the Emperor had tried to read his memory and possibly manipulate him. Could an Emperor, whose first instinct was to manipulate a child, the child of a Duke, a Sun amongst the feared Wargrave, truly give a fuck about a few commoners?

"The noble society doesn’t care, they would only raise their blades when this organisation starts targeting them as they did in the past," Malrik stated in finality, explaining to Asher that this was simply the truth of the world they lived in. Those in power simply didn’t care about those below them, all they truly wanted was more power and to secure their position and legacy for their offspring and descendants, nothing more and nothing less.

Asher stood motionless, he couldn’t come up with any retort or even a single word. He was simply using the logic of his time as Ethan for the people of Crymora, applying a framework that no longer aligned with the reality before him.

Yes, Earth had its own version of sick people, twisted individuals that lurked within society, but at least the government would have tried, even if they didn’t succeed. But here, in Crymora, it seemed as though nobody truly cared, and the commoners themselves were largely oblivious, after all, where could they even gain access to information of this level or magnitude.

In this moment, ignorance truly was bliss.

Or at least on the commoners’ part, and not on the noble side, after all, Asher was sure that the nobles would be extremely vigilant against this unknown and mysterious force, especially when it concerned their own safety.

"What of Father, doesn’t he care, what of you, big brother?" Asher asked, as though his mind couldn’t fully comprehend how nobles would allow such a thing to happen without resistance.

But the moment Asher asked that question, his own mind seemed to remind him of his own double standards by dragging forth the memory of when the father and son from this organisation of ’The Consumed’ had exploded themselves, wiping out four hundred people he had rescued, and he didn’t even bat an eye at such a number of deaths that had occurred right in front of him.

Malrik sighed as he spoke, "there you go asking naive questions again, little brother, it seems the terms and conditions of the True Awakening have to be increased," he mused out loud, his tone laced with faint amusement.

Turning fully to Asher, Malrik spoke, "Father, I can’t speak for him as I’m not in his mind or heart, but if a single soul, be it ant, lizard, commoner, adventurer, Knight, or even the buried corpse of the dead, goes missing from within the Wargrave Ducal territory, then ’The Consumed’ should be ready to be consumed by the might of the Wargraves," he stated, his eyes flashing with a certain light as though he secretly wished for that organisation to mistakenly become arrogant and step into their Ducal territory, even if it was by sheer misfortune or mistake.

"As for me," Malrik continued, "while I won’t go around actively looking for them as I’m not that jobless or bored, if I come across any of them, whether planned or coincidental, they shall know why no one has ever faced me and lived to tell the tale," Malrik added in finality, his tone filled with such confidence as though he possessed power that had transcended Crymora itself, yet remained restrained, as though unleashing it fully would bring ruin upon the world by his katana alone.