NOVEL NEXT Chapter 157
Recently, I thought the reason the journalists returned to Evilus Corporation was quite simple. Even if they had lifespans of hundreds of thousands of years, they couldn’t have been that surprised to see me. There’s no way they came all the way here just by chance.
I had already informed the lobby that guests were coming, and sure enough, not long after, two men stepped into the laboratory.
“─Mr. Powerful.”
“…Mr. Raise.”
“I’m Eight.”
The two men greeted me politely, but their names felt a bit strange. I mean, calling themselves Mr. Powerful and Mr. Raise didn’t quite sound like just simple self-identification. It felt as though those titles were their actual names…
After guiding them to the sofa, I quickly sat down and shrugged my shoulders, asking, “So? What brings you here?”
“Since you welcomed us like this, can we assume you know everything?”
“Uh? Yeah, sure…?”
“─Please, just fire us.”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head in confusion, trying to grasp what they meant. But before I could get any answers, Lizbel, with her face stiff as a board, first tapped my shoulder gently.
Looking back at her, Lizbel pointed seriously towards the back. The inner laboratory, where no sound or light escaped due to its sealed nature…
Following her cautiously inside, I noticed Lizbel taking a big breath, as if she had been holding it for a while.
“What’s going on?”
“Th-Th-Them? They’re… m-murderers.”
“Murderers, huh.”
The word lingered in my mind. If Lizbel was truly seeing their ages, then those outside must indeed have existed for hundreds of thousands of years, making it not so strange if they had killed a few people along the way.
After all, we’re talking about a time period that lacked any civilization. It was an era when apes were still swinging clubs around, unable to evolve. Having experienced a few killings over such a time would hardly come as a shock. Discriminating against them for that seemed even more bizarre.
“Killing is a possibility, sure. You’re saying they’re hundreds of thousands of years old? They probably have a killing experience or two, right?”
“N-No, it’s not just that…”
“Huh? So what, dozens? Hundreds? That’s possible too. Surviving after fighting so many is a bit impressive, though…”
“…More.”
Wait, so in a wild world void of civilization, they had killed over dozens? More than that and had never once sustained a life-threatening injury was pretty astonishing…
But Lizbel didn’t just refer to a few hundred people. This wasn’t a level a powerful warrior might randomly reach in the wild.
“About ten thousand times more…”
“…Ten thousand?”
“No, ten thousand times…”
Ten thousand multiplied by dozens or hundreds.
One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million.
If we assume one person was killed per second, that’s a whopping million seconds, or 277 hours. So, around 11 days of non-stop killing without sleep.
Even if we assume one hundred deaths a day, that’s still an astounding 27 years. Naturally, such numbers couldn’t be achieved by merely surviving a savage era.
It would take intentionality, turning killing into a trade to amass such numbers.
It would require igniting wars and single-handedly wiping out the entire enemy force.
Not just a simple murderer, but a full-blown massacre artist.
“…Which one is it?”
“…Both.”
“Crazy.”
Both were apparently mass murderers, having taken the lives of millions. At this point, I began to suspect the Saintess might be lying to me, but it was worth noting she hadn’t even seen those two recently. If she wouldn’t lie about someone she hasn’t seen, then what was going on?
Had she been that type of person, she wouldn’t have restrained herself for the sake of others when turned into that monstrous creature by the fourth-dimensional beings.
‘What the hell is going on—’
I returned to the two men with a serious expression. Honestly, feeling fear in front of guys who’ve killed millions was pretty daunting, but it wasn’t fear stemming from them being brutal; it was more the anxiety of not knowing what they might do next.
Falling into fear during such moments would be a bad move. I had to remain rational, cool-headed, and think straight.
“Excuse me. I mean, you said you had something to discuss suddenly.”
“It’s fine. We can wait as long as necessary.”
“You mentioned a firing request earlier, right?”
At that, both men’s eyes lit up with anticipation. But I was at a loss for words. What should I say? Should I offer to fire them? I knew nothing about who they were, what they did, or why they had come asking for a firing in the first place.
There was no way they were members of an evil organization, and if they were, they wouldn’t have come to me but to the Boss instead.
As I pondered this, a very impatient Mr. Powerful decided to speak first.
“We understand your concerns. However, we’ve already performed our duties for long enough. Even if we quit, we won’t just go wild with our powers. We simply want a break.”
“A break, you say…?”
“Yes. Do you know what my dream is? To buy an island with the savings I’ve made and have fun with women. Forget missions; I want to enjoy the rest of my life.”
What a dream drenched in desire. But maybe, in a sense, it was a simple, pastoral dream. After all, what he craved was the chance to indulge his desires, a rather modest wish for someone who’s killed millions.
I turned my gaze to Mr. Raise sitting next to me. He nodded silently, seemingly in agreement with Powerful.
As I shifted my gaze back and forth between the two, it felt like a lightbulb went off in my head, and I began pondering my next move.
“Hmm… I see. So your only goal is to mess around on an island with women.”
“S-Sorry. But…”
“No, that’s fine. But I still don’t quite get it just by hearing about your dreams.”
“Then how…?”
“Tell me your story. What have you been doing since you were born?”
After hearing my request, both men exchanged glances and, deeming it okay, cautiously began to speak.
“Alright. We…”
And so, the life story of Mr. Powerful, the man who had wandered the earth for hundreds of thousands of years, began to spill from his lips.
All living things are born with a single command.
‘Reproduce.’
The most powerful order given by genetics.
In contrast, the command given to this man was a bit grander.
Protect humanity.
Waking up to that outrageously huge command, the man realized he was sprawled in an empty wilderness. No parents, no friends, in a world where it seemed no life existed except for him.
He walked to obey that incomprehensible command to protect humanity.
Fortunately, the man was capable enough to follow through with the grand order of protecting humanity. He had abilities that rendered eating or sleeping unnecessary.
“─You…?”
“You too?”
How many years had he wandered until he met another man one day?
At that moment, when he saw that man, he realized he was looking at a fellow Guardian. A protector of humanity. Meaning he was a comrade.
“What’s humanity like? Have you seen it?”
“Well… I don’t really care.”
“What do you mean by protect?”
The first person he met in his life. Thanks to this encounter, the two quickly became close. But that didn’t last long. Love or friendship simply couldn’t overpower the mission they were given.
Protect humanity.
To fulfill that mysterious order, they walked the path together for decades. The man met two more Guardians like him and gradually came to learn what humanity truly was and what power they had been granted.
The first time he encountered humanity, the emotion he felt was pure disappointment.
“─G-Gods!”
“Please protect us!”
Before him knelt dozens of men. Hairless apes draped in the skins of slain beasts. Totally lacking in strength, ability, or intelligence.
“…Is this why I was born to protect these beings?”
We are—.
Our value…
Truly a piece of trash.
In a moment of impulse, he killed the humans before him. It was an act against his genes, but surprisingly enough, he succeeded. Killing was surprisingly easy. It was the capabilities granted to him that made it possible…
After taking the lives of dozens of apes in one fell swoop, he realized something.
The order to protect humanity wasn’t necessarily a command to save every human. Just as you trim branches to allow a tree to grow better, ‘cutting off’ a few humans was allowed in safeguarding the species known as humanity.
With a smile, the man began to ‘pluck flowers,’ killing humans so that humanity could mature a little more…
“…Well, that summarizes my few hundred thousand years. I regret those actions, though. If I had known things would turn out like this for over several hundred thousand years, I would have behaved differently.”
Watching Mr. Powerful muttering that feeling of immaturity, Eight could hardly suppress the curiosity bursting forth from within her.
“Wait, you said four of you? Seems like there are only two here…”
“Yes. There are two others who didn’t come. Mr. Satan and Mr. Clear…”
“…Who?”
“Mr. Satan and Mr. Clear…”
Upon hearing that name, Eight hesitated for a moment, racking her brain.
She had definitely heard that name before. Just couldn’t remember when, since she had fallen into this world…
[I’m looking for the fiends who killed my parents.]
‘Oh.’
Suddenly recollecting the identity of that name, Eight gasped.
That was the name of the culprit who murdered the Boss’s parents.