True Immortal Heart-Chapter 58: If Killing the Innocent Is Forbidden, Then Kill the Guilty Instead

Chapter 58: If Killing the Innocent Is Forbidden, Then Kill the Guilty Instead

Though Dusk and the Veilrose family couldn’t exactly be called comrades in the same boat, at the very least, one foot of House Veilrose was already stepping aboard.

He told them everything they should know about Heart Masters — including how to ascend through the ranks, the existence of Spirit Fruit, and other essential knowledge.

Heart Masters would likely cease to be a secret before long, but detailed knowledge would still remain scarce and fragmented. Naturally, Dusk had no intention of sharing all the crucial information — he wasn’t foolish enough to hand out every last secret.

After all, advancing through the ranks of a Heart Master became exponentially more difficult the higher one climbed. Without proper guidance, it was far too easy to stray down misguided paths and end up with nothing to show for it.

Upon hearing all this, Caelan didn’t feel the least bit pleased. The thought of killing indiscriminately disturbed him.

The other two shared similar sentiments. This wasn’t just ordinary killing, after all — it involved devouring hearts.

Such savage behavior was utterly unacceptable to them. Not everyone possessed the same madness and ruthless decisiveness as a mafia.

"Aside from Spirit Fruit... is there truly no other way? I don’t want to kill innocent people," Lysandra said.

She felt that Spirit Fruit was indeed valuable, but its rarity was utterly absurd. There was no telling if they would ever encounter one in their lifetime, let alone rely on it to achieve a breakthrough.

Hearing her question, Dusk realized he had left something out. With so much information to cover, it was easy to overlook a few details when explaining everything in one breath.

"Ah, I forgot to mention — the hearts of demons can be used as well. Fundamentally, the cultivation potential of humans and demons is quite similar. The only notable difference is that demons have tougher bodies, but it’s nothing worth worrying about."

Still, all three of them couldn’t help but feel uneasy upon hearing that.

Demons hadn’t even made an appearance on Earth yet — where were they supposed to find one?

Moreover, with their current mortal strength, trying to hunt a rank-1 demon without firearms would likely result in heavy casualties.

"Are you messing with us?!" Caelan frowned, his tone sharp and eyes narrowing at Dusk with clear distrust. "Leaving aside the fact that there hasn’t been a single trace of demon activity on Earth, even a rank-0 going up against a rank-1 would result in a massacre."

Dusk, of course, wasn’t joking — nor had he ever implied they needed to go demon-hunting immediately.

He himself was wracking his brain trying to figure out just how in the hell he was supposed to kill a demon in the first place.

’That damned system really threw me into the fire with this one, he cursed inwardly. All I can do now is hope a demon shows up sometime soon — and that when it does, it’s already injured... or I’ve got allies.’

He certainly wasn’t delusional enough to think he could solo a demon. That would be no different from him challenging Lucien to a duel right now — only with far worse odds of survival.

"Who said anything about you lot hunting demons?" Dusk scoffed and curled his lip. "We’re going to be trusted allies, aren’t we? Why would I shove my allies straight into the grave?"

He had thought they were all clever enough to understand subtext, but clearly, people could still fall into foolish thinking under pressure. Now they were doubting him over something so idiotic — it was honestly frustrating beyond belief.

"So you won’t kill humans, and you won’t kill demons either — what, you planning to sit around and wait for the next few decades to pass?!" Tharion snapped, his voice tinged with exasperation. "Do I look like someone who’s got another thirty or forty years left to spare?"

He had once believed he was on the cusp of humanity’s next great evolutionary leap — only to find out he was still just a speck at the bottom.

"Are you stupid or something? If you’re planning to wait, it’s like you didn’t hear a word I said!" Dusk barked back, annoyed.

He hadn’t expected this sly old fox to suddenly start talking like a halfwit.

Being called an idiot by some snot-nosed brat was the last straw for Tharion. His rage flared instantly. This little punk who’s barely out of diapers dares call me — a seasoned titan of the business world — an idiot?! He must have a death wish!

Lysandra saw that her grandfather was about to explode and quickly stepped in to calm him down. Letting him get into a shouting match with Dusk would be, in her own words, utterly goddamn pointless.

"Dusk, stop hiding things already. What do you really want us to do?" she asked, frowning.

At first, she had been confused, but after carefully observing Dusk’s demeanor, she was now convinced — he had a plan. And not just a vague idea, but a concrete, feasible one.

Would he reveal the method that Viper was planning to use?

Of course not.

Although he didn’t particularly like Viper on a personal level, her faction was—at least for now—far more valuable than the Veilrose Family in terms of strategic benefit.

Unless the Veilrose family agreed to become a part of the Great Love Guild, there was simply no way he could disclose certain things.

In the back of his mind, he was already plotting. He needed to tie this family to him with a rope so tight they’d have no choice but to move forward together.

[Ding! The system has detected that the master intends to entrap individuals with the potential to become long-term allies. As this is your first attempt at such behavior—and since the system finds it rather pleasing—here’s a small reward. You’re having trouble locating demons, aren’t you? The system will provide you with the location of the nearest demon the moment one appears. Note: this opportunity can only be used once.]

The unexpected good news from the system left Dusk momentarily stunned.

’Didn’t think the system would be so generous today. I didn’t even have to complete a mission. This is exactly what I needed... though a one-time offer is honestly too stingy.’

Still, knowing that he now had a fallback when it came to locating a demon gave him a considerable sense of relief. His future prospects of breaking through to rank 1 suddenly didn’t look quite so bleak.

Subconsciously, he found himself hoping the demon would appear somewhere convenient. If the demon showed up in some godforsaken place he couldn’t even reach, then he might as well kiss his short-term breakthrough plans goodbye.

After all, trying to locate a demon right now was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The era where demons roamed freely across the land was still far, far off.

Noticing Dusk suddenly zoning out like an idiot for far too long, Lysandra reached out and gave his shoulder a firm pat.

"Hey. Are you even listening? Hurry up and answer me."

"Haha, my bad. Zoned out for a second there." Dusk chuckled sheepishly. "You’re right. I do have a viable plan for you all. Killing innocent people is a problem, yeah? So then—why not kill the wicked?"

His expression darkened ever so slightly, a sinister gleam flickering in his eyes.

"Criminal scum who’ve committed heinous crimes don’t deserve to rot in cells while leeching off taxpayer money. They deserve to die—and leave behind their power to be wielded by good people like yourselves, who’ll use it to protect the citizens. That... would be the most fitting end for them."

He spoke as though he bore some deep personal hatred toward the guilty.