Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 82 82: If You Cut the Wrong Thing, I’ll Bear the Sin

Although it was only a short walk, it was more than enough ti for Scarlet to prepare herself ntally–or rather, to carefully think through what exactly had gone wrong with her.

She was a swordswoman.

A warrior who had tempered herself through countless trials and poured her entire being into the blade in her hand.

She should not, and could not, allow unnecessary thoughts to cloud her mind.

Originally, she could have pretended nothing had happened.

Continue carrying out missions step by step.

Continue improving her strength step by step.

And eventually, just as her sister had once said, surpass her, beco the strongest swordswoman in the lee squad, lead the unit forward, earn an official designation, and fight alongside the Goddess Squad.

That had been their original dream.

To protect humanity.

To fight life-and-death battles against the rciless, bloodless Raptures.

To beco heroes like the radiant Goddess Squad–even if they ultimately died on the battlefield, they would fall as protectors of mankind.

That was how it was supposed to be.

Until she personally witnessed the "abnormality" hidden within this world.

The mont she cut through that enemy was also the first ti she truly experienced the sensation of slicing through a human body.

In that instant, countless thoughts surged through her mind.

For a brief mont, she even genuinely believed she might have killed a person.

If that man had not completely dissolved into the air, the psychological pressure alone might have triggered NIMPH's ntal stabilization chanism.

She was humanity's protector.

Her blade must never be pointed toward humans.

But what if… those truly had been humans?

Or worse–

what if the place she currently lived in was not reality at all, but so kind of false world?

That was why she had to obtain answers.

Otherwise, sooner or later, the ntal burden might push her into a "Mind Switch."

Mind Switch was a special phenonon only discovered after NIMPH beca widespread among Nikkes.

The exact chanics were complicated, but it could roughly be described as a kind of "protective chanism."

When a Nikke's stress exceeded its limit and normal stabilization thods failed, NIMPH would forcibly alter her cognition and certain mories in order to prevent a total psychological collapse.

After experiencing a Mind Switch, almost every Nikke beca like an entirely different person.

The probability of retaining their original mories was extrely low.

And those were actually the lucky cases.

At least they could still fight.

Most Nikkes who experienced Mind Switch completely lost the ability to organize their mories and cognition properly, descending into madness before eventually being coldly scrapped by the governnt as defective units.

That was getting off-topic.

Even if it represented only the worst-case scenario, Scarlet still wanted to avoid it at all costs.

She needed to grow stronger without distractions.

To put it another way–

her thoughts were unsettled, making it impossible for her to advance further.

"Yo. You ca."

Charon leaned casually against the wall with both hands in his pockets.

That body of his–which was at least sowhat pleasant to look at–was now concealed beneath his officer's uniform, yet he still looked absurdly relaxed, as though he were here on vacation instead of fighting a war.

Scarlet subconsciously compared him to Barnes.

Clothes really did make the man.

Barnes wore the exact sa uniform, yet sohow looked unbearable, while this man appeared far more handso–

…Wait, why was she even thinking about that?

"Lieutenant."

Scarlet took a deep breath.

Ever since that day, she found herself becoming slightly nervous whenever she faced Charon.

"Please tell the things I deserve to know."

"I'm begging you."

Damn it.

Her sister had been right.

She really was still immature.

If Rose had been here, she probably would've seized complete control of the conversation by now.

"Hm… things you deserve to know?"

Charon rubbed his chin.

"I have a pretty bad mory. Mind reminding what you an?"

His face still carried that gentle smile, but at that mont Scarlet genuinely wanted to draw her sword and slash sothing–

preferably the ground.

With NIMPH installed, harming humans wasn't rely forbidden–it was sothing she couldn't even seriously think about.

Even "teaching soone a lesson" fell under that restriction.

"Please stop joking around, Lieutenant."

Scarlet's voice grew louder.

"The people from that day–what exactly were they?"

"Why did the one I killed leave no corpse behind?"

"Could it be that… the world I'm living in right now isn't reality at all, but so kind of virtual illusion?!"

The more she spoke, the more obvious the anxiety hidden beneath her anger beca.

She was wrapping fear inside fury in order to protect herself.

If only she could discuss this with her sister, she would never have ended up like this.

Charon quietly watched her.

Then he smiled faintly, stood up, and began walking toward the outskirts of the camp.

"Co with ."

This ti, Scarlet followed without hesitation.

...

On the other side of the camp, Rose watched the two figures disappear into the distance one after another from atop a rooftop.

Then she leapt down silently, her figure lting into the darkness.

...

"This place…"

Scarlet's expression gradually changed as she stared at the familiar gate.

Charon had actually brought her back to that sa villa from before.

Even the pile of Rapture corpses near the entrance remained untouched.

After all, nobody bothered collecting those things. Either future Rapture hordes would recycle the wreckage eventually, or the remains would simply rot away with ti.

"Rember this place?"

Charon lightly tapped the rusted gate.

The crisp tallic sound echoed through the silent surroundings.

"In that battle, there were five enemies total."

"I dealt with four of them by myself."

"You killed the last one."

Scarlet clenched her fists tightly.

"Let's start with the conclusion."

Charon spread his hands.

"They're neither human nor Raptures."

"But if you ask what they actually are…"

"I can only tell you this."

"I don't know."

"Wha–"

Scarlet's pupils trembled violently.

She had thought she was finally about to receive answers, only for Charon to say this instead.

"Then how are we supposed to deal with them?!"

In her agitation, she instinctively stepped forward.

"Does that really matter?"

Even facing a fully ard Scarlet, Charon showed no intention of retreating.

Instead, he looked directly into her eyes.

"You already fought them yourself."

"So tell –when facing their gun barrels, are you willing to just stand there and wait to die?"

"Absolutely not."

Scarlet answered without hesitation.

"Did your NIMPH stop you from attacking them?"

"...No."

At the ti, she had continuously hypnotized herself.

But even before that, she had already witnessed those humanoids dissolving into particles.

Subconsciously, she had already accepted the idea that "these are not humans."

That was why she had been able to strike without hesitation.

"I've dealt with those things longer than you have."

"The one thing they all have in common is this: they look no different from humans, but communication with them is impossible."

"Their sole purpose is to kill every living thing around them–including Raptures."

"And after death, they leave behind no corpse."

Scarlet bit her lip.

Would creatures like that appear again in the future?

"We'll probably encounter similar things again soday."

Charon's voice remained calm.

"But identifying them isn't your job."

"That's the responsibility of , the 'observer.'"

"As for your sword…"

"It only needs to cut down what should be cut down."

"I can beco the eyes of your lee squad."

"As long as I tell you to swing your blade, then swing it."

"And even if, by so chance, you cut down the wrong target…"

"I'll bear that sin myself."

Watching Scarlet's eyes slowly widen, Charon quietly let out a sigh of relief inside.

Looks like the bluff worked this ti too.