Chapter 100 - The Will of Man

Chapter 100

The Will of Man

Within an hour after Ethan departed from the scene of the battle, the entire town–now all but razed to the ground–was swarmed by hundreds of people. Some were Awakened, curious as to what happened, most were military personnel trying to establish order and wall off the area, and some just curious passersby wondering what the fuss was about.

However, the absurdly gruesome scene left many aghast and reeling, and the news quickly spread like wildfire online–as well as the picture of a dead woman lying on the ground, covered in blood, her body riddled with tiny holes. It was the very same woman who terrorised the world for what felt like weeks at this point, and the same one that many were preparing to die defeating. And yet, it was all for naught–she had already died at the hands of another.

That begged the other question–who was it that killed her? UK authorities remained mum, and even the survivors of the hellish nightmare didn’t seem keen on sharing what happened. There was a mention of an ‘American man’ here and there before the authorities shut down all interviews, but it wasn’t as though ‘American man’ narrowed it down all that much.

In the meantime, Ethan was sitting in a car next to the man who welcomed him into the country, Don Traw. The two were on their way to London, and the silence between them was palpable. The man had recently gotten the pictures and videos of the scene in the town, and considering how Ethan looked entirely unharmed, he likely assumed that the sheer amount of blood was simply sadistic desires coming out to the surface.

Ethan didn’t bother correcting him–in the end, it didn’t matter. He’d done what he came to do, and still had plenty to figure out–namely in whether he’d challenge A’stul or not. Parts of him wanted to do it, in some ways to converge all of who he was into a singular battle and see how far he’d gotten as even Zaya wasn’t strong enough to corner him and in a lot of ways simply because of the ridiculously tempting reward.

Then again, there were countless parts of him that desired nothing more than to stay away from that monster–if he was stripped of his Awakening, he’d become an ordinary man. He wouldn’t be able to live an ordinary life, either; he’d made a promise with a fairy, and for however simple and easygoing Tian seemed ever since they arrived, Ethan knew the real persona behind it all. Like most other fairies, Tian was proud, cold, and never willing to forego a deal.

He’d either kill Ethan or force him to tutor a substitute vessel for the same purpose as Ethan’s original one.

“Did… did she suffer?” Don’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking sideways, he saw the grown man fidgeting like a child who asked a rather inappropriate question.

“Would you believe me if I said no?” Ethan asked back with a faint smile.

“... I don’t take you for a liar,” the man said. “So, yes. I’d believe you.”

“How very mature of you,” Ethan mumbled, looking away and through the window of the car at the blurring English landscape. “I imagine she did suffer. It wasn’t physical suffering, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“Imagine you’re married,” Ethan replied. “You love your wife with your whole being. Then, out of nowhere, one day, she hands you divorce papers. Would you be suffering, then?”

“I imagine, very much so. Yes.”

“That’s the kind of suffering she endured in the last few moments.”

“... considering how… fine you look, it seems like she wasn’t as strong as we anticipated.”

“She was,” Ethan retorted. “Probably even stronger than your wildest estimates.”

“Then how–”

“Just a clash of Classes, is all.” Ethan said vaguely, prompting Don to look at him oddly for a moment.

“Aha. A clash of Classes. How convenient.”

“Always is.”

“... we have arranged a flight back to the U.S. and it’s waiting for your arrival,” Don moved past the question rather swiftly. “Though you are welcome to stay and relish in your achievements. We will spare no expenses.”

“That’s alright,” Ethan said. “Spend those expenses elsewhere. Like rebuilding that town.”

“... will it always be like that?”

“Like what?”

“When two Awakened fight,” Don asked. “Will it always end like… that?”

“... perhaps,” Ethan said. “It’s only going to get worse, with time.”

“So many will die, then.”

“I didn’t take you for an empath, Mr. Traw.”

“I was just an ordinary Member of Parliament before all of this,” Don replied with a faint smile. “I didn’t have many aspirations, politics-wise. I just wanted to serve and help, however stupid that sounds. When this all hit… I thought I’d be among the first to drown. But, somehow, one way or another, I kept climbing. And now… I’m here. I hold this modicum of power, but it can’t be used to help anyone. And it’s fading, with each day. It’s become obvious quickly that, sooner or later, there will be no law to restrain the Awakened. And who shall suffer then?”

“... the ordinary.”

“The ordinary.”

“I can’t save the world, Mr. Traw,” Ethan said. “Even if I wanted to. Nobody can. The cogs had already begun spinning when that orb descended, and the wheel cannot be unturned. Whether you’re swallowed, drowned, or whether you emerge from this with fire for wings… it will only ever be up to you.”

“If even someone as strong as you can’t save anything, then what hope do I have?” Don chuckled bitterly.

“Hope dies last, it goes,” Ethan said. “Nobody knows the future. Trust me… anything can happen, however low the odds.”

Silence befell two men as they retreated to their thoughts. Ethan, now more so than ever before, keenly believed his words. Though he’d killed Zaya and ‘saved the world’, as it went, she had already done irreparable damage. She’d accelerated the progress of Tunnels for at least a few years, and her actions will echo throughout the world for long months to come. Nobody was prepared–even Ethan himself, let alone others.

What was supposed to be an acclimation period where people slowly got stronger and more used to their supernatural status had ended, and ushered was the age of rapid expansion. During it, the weak died off even more quickly than during the Descent, while the well-prepared flourished. However, there were no well-prepared. Even those Ethan took in to tutor weren’t ready for what was to come–they were underleveled, severely lacking in items, and, most importantly, in want of life-saving measures.

In fact, there was really only one thing Ethan could do–put a pause to his own hunt and wait for the world to catch up… somehow. So long as no Fields spawned–and there shouldn’t be if he himself stays put–the world will soon learn to avoid most Tunnels and simply hunt down either the easy, repeat Tunnels for some long, headache-inducing XP grind, or go after stray Kaynuls.

Even so, just thinking about the length of that process was… damaging to his psyche. I gave her too quick of a death, he grumbled inwardly. He wasn’t much of a vengeful person, but she had truly upturned everything beyond the point of repair.

No, there’s one more way, Ethan sighed, fiddling with his fingers. There was a way to somewhat restore the balance–but that would require him to become a centrefold of the entire world. In effect, he’d go into all the Tunnels and force-level others, over and over again. He’d have to give up items, titles, and a myriad of other rewards to allow the world to catch up. It’s the only way.

He needed the world, in as much as the world needed him. He couldn’t contend against the future avalanche all on his own–Fields will spring like mushrooms, and he couldn’t be everywhere at once, not even with Delilah at his beck and call. At the very least, he’d need walls, dams to hold back the flood for just one day longer, if possible. But brittle, weak, underleveled Awakened couldn’t even constitute a wooden barrier, let alone a dam.

“Don,” Ethan’s use of his name surprised Don, causing him to look at the man next to him oddly.

“What’s this? Are we becoming friends?”

“I thought to warm the link before asking for a favour,” Ethan smiled.

“Must be a rather depressing favour, if you’re sucking up to me.”

“Zaya’s actions,” Ethan said. “Have changed the course of the world. Permanently.”

“... how?” Realising that the conversation that was about to unfold would be world-altering, Don eliminated all other sounds from his mind besides Ethan’s voice, focusing.

“You’ll soon start noticing it, if you hadn’t already. Tunnels, though they were difficult even at the start, were still within the realm of possibility. Though people would die, they would also survive and thrive and come out of it stronger. However, more and more, you’ll start seeing groups of previously considered strong Awakened fall and falter and die in droves. In fact, chances are that there are, at most, 15 to 20 people in the world that can just come out of Tunnels alive as of right now.”

“...” Don frowned, though remained silent as he knew that Ethan was going somewhere with it.

“I can become the bus, so to say,” Ethan said. “And force-level the Awakened to forcibly catch them up to a standard. They’ll still suck and be incapable of actually clearing the Tunnels, but it would be a start.”

“You’d do that?” Don was somewhat surprised, having already dubbed Ethan to be more on the ‘selfish’ side of things rather than altruistic.

“Today, it was one Zaya,” Ethan said. “Tomorrow, it might be a hundred different things. There’s only one of me, and a lot of the world. And, quite frankly, I don’t feel like constantly travelling the world, putting out fires, never getting any sleep, and eventually dying because I skipped my nap one time too many. Even an incompetent army is still an army, and is better than just one man.”

“... you want to create walls?” Don already guessed Ethan’s goal and frowned, though his expression softened. It made sense, for better or worse, to do so.

“It should eventually even out, as all things do, and I’ll be able to fall back into the shadows silently. However, if I just wait for the world to catch up, it will be a long while before I can take a nice, hot, steaming bath and not worry about the world ending.”

“I assume you need my reach.” Don said.

“I’ll have you coordinate with a General that I’m close to,” Ethan said. “Try to rope in as many countries as possible using my name. Well, not my name, but the fact that I was the one who killed that woman. Tell them that I’m close to Level 40 and that I’m willing to carry however many people they want to Level 20, free of charge.”

“They’ll never go for it,” Don quickly shook his head. “They’ll think there’s a catch because, in their eyes, there’s no selfless deed.”

“Just tell them that clearing the Tunnels first grants unique titles that boost stats permanently as well as some niche items. And if that’s not enough, dunno, tell them that I get to recruit one person in a hundred to my own ranks. That should be enough, no?”

“Yeah. That should be enough. When do you want me to start?”

“Here’s his number,” Ethan whipped out a phone and called ‘Michael’, briefly explaining the situation and telling him that Don will contact him. Before they hung up, though, ‘Michael’ fronted a sudden question.

“You received the follow-up quest?”

“... yeah.”

“This is your chance,” the voice grew ever so slightly distorted with excitement. “To prove to me your worth, your promise, your words. To beat him, he he he.”

“How about you serve me forever if I beat him black and blue?”

“Ha ha ha, sure, I will. Question is… will you beat him? Hihihi, I don’t know~~”

“Just wait and see…” Eh, me and my stupid pride. Looks like I’ll be the one fighting, after all. Haah, whatever. It should be a good test. If I can’t even defeat a neutered version of him as is, then I stand no chance of ever facing any of the Terrors. I still shouldn’t head in mindlessly… let’s plan it out down to a tee…