Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 88 88: When Did You Start Mistaking Them for Humanit

This plan was the result of compromise.

Because Charon understood that Scarlet's sense of honor and belonging ultimately ca from humanity itself. Nikkes had once been human beings–they were not so completely separate third party.

Charon's original idea had been far more radical than this. Rose might have accepted it, but based on his understanding of Scarlet, she might even have parted ways with her own sister over sothing like that.

Even now, Scarlet only barely accepted the plan, because there truly was no other option left.

What else were they supposed to do? Rebel outright?

At the very least, Scarlet could never do such a thing.

Fundantally, what the lee squad lacked was simply supplies. They had no objections to difficult missions. After all, this wasn't so sheltered academy examination–it was a desperate fight for survival against humanity's mortal enemy.

Just because it was difficult, were they supposed to stop fighting?

What they truly could not accept was that their own side refused to acknowledge their achievents, and even hoped for their destruction.

As though all the bases they reclaid through bloodshed ant absolutely nothing.

But Lieutenant Ron had told them otherwise.

Their efforts were not aningless.

If those above refused to see their accomplishnts, then they simply had to achieve sothing too significant to ignore.

No food? Then they would find it themselves.

No spare parts? Then they would take them from the enemy.

As long as they could carve out a path through despair, every possibility was worth trying.

Starting the next day, they resud their nearly impossible missions as usual.

But this ti, shortly after leaving the outpost, they disobeyed Lieutenant Barnes's order to "head directly to the mission area" for the very first ti.

"Five people?"

At the edge of the forest, Charon sat atop a rock, nodding as he looked at the five fully ard Nikkes standing before him.

"Did you bring backpacks?"

"We did!" Rose raised her hand. "But Lieutenant, are we scavenging food again today? We still have canned supplies left."

"No."

Charon took the lead and began walking forward.

"Today we're looking for replacent parts for the girls who can't move anymore. Like I said before–if nobody's giving us repair components, then we'll have to find our own."

Leading the five Nikkes onward, they arrived half an hour later at a ruined site.

It was the old base they had blown up with explosives the previous day.

Now the place was buried beneath collapsed debris, with Rapture fragnts scattered everywhere. Most of them had clearly been sliced apart by blades–but that also created one important result:

Aside from the parts crushed by rubble or destroyed by explosions, nearly every Rapture killed by the lee squad still possessed intact, reusable components.

"Based on the damaged body parts you investigated yesterday," Charon said, "search these Rapture remains for usable components."

"Forget compatibility concerns for now. As long as it doesn't involve a Rapture core, almost everything here can be repurposed."

"Gather as much as possible. We need to restore our injured sisters to combat readiness as quickly as we can."

Scarlet silently crouched beside a relatively intact Master-class Rapture.

The thing could no longer move, but she still rembered vividly how it had attacked her.

These things… were humanity's mortal enemies.

And yet now… they were supposed to use parts from their bodies?

Scarlet hesitated.

She understood the logic behind it, but standing here now, she finally realized how strongly her heart resisted the idea.

Her own body had not yet suffered severe damage.

But so of her sisters had completely lost a leg or an arm.

Were they really supposed to rge with Rapture parts?

"rge" might not have been the right word, but still–

Could a Nikke who used Rapture components still be considered a "pure" Nikke?

What if those parts influenced them sohow?

She knew the thought itself was irrational, yet she could not stop herself from thinking it.

Nikkes were Nikkes.

Raptures were Raptures.

She–

A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.

Scarlet instinctively turned around.

It was Charon.

Suppressing the reflexive urge to throw his hand off, Scarlet lowered her voice.

"Sorry, Lieutenant. I got distracted. I'll begin imdiately."

anwhile, Rose had also been watching Scarlet.

Yet her own hands never stopped moving. She even sorted the recovered parts carefully–placing the higher-quality ones to one side facing Scarlet's direction, while setting the more ordinary but still usable parts on the opposite side, toward herself.

"I know what's troubling you, Scarlet."

Charon's voice remained calm.

"This is actually one of your strengths. Especially when you devote yourself completely to a single goal–that quality can make you incredibly strong. Strong enough to soday stand against even the Goddess Squad."

"But right now… we've been forced off that road."

Not only Scarlet–even the other Nikkes paused.

Because they knew it was true.

The lee squad had been abandoned by the Central Governnt the mont they left the human city.

"But," Charon continued, "there's always a 'but.'"

"Just because you've strayed from the main road doesn't an nobody can still reach the sa destination by another path."

At that mont, a weak voice ca from the corner.

"Lieutenant… humanity already abandoned us…"

It was the Nikke who had first given Charon sword-training advice long ago.

Now she no longer looked spirited and confident. The endless high-intensity battles and the strain on her body had left her looking as though she might collapse at any mont.

The others looked similar.

Aside from Scarlet and Rose, the remaining Nikkes all seed frighteningly fragile.

Faced with such despairing words, Charon rely sighed.

"When exactly did you start believing that the Central Governnt represents all of humanity?"

Scarlet's eyes widened instantly.

The words struck her like enlightennt itself, shattering the rigid limits of her thinking in a single mont.

"Maybe the Central Governnt has been humanity's official authority for the last few decades," Charon continued, "but what about one hundred years ago? Two hundred years ago?"

"Where were these people back then? Did the Central Governnt even exist?"

"You need to understand sothing clearly."

"The ones you serve are humanity itself–not the Central Governnt. They only represent the will of a tiny portion of humanity alive today."

He looked directly at Scarlet.

"Scarlet… is your honor really ant to exist only for the sake of those few people?"

"Absolutely not."

The emptiness in Scarlet's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by clarity and light.

There was even excitent in her expression now–as though clouds had parted and sunlight finally broke through.

The anger and disappointnt she had carried for so long suddenly seed to dissolve within this conversation.

"The people I want to protect are all of humanity," Scarlet declared firmly, "not those vermin who treat others as experintal material!"

It was the harshest thing Scarlet had ever said about the Central Governnt.

"Lieutenant."

Rose smiled gently as she looked first toward her younger sister, then toward Charon walking away from Scarlet's side.

"Thank you. Truly… thank you."