Chapter 67 Which Side Are You On, Rhys?

Name:Rise of the Eromancer Author:


"So, you're really abandoning me, Recruit?"

"Ayesha..."

"I know, I know. We've had this talk a hundred times; the only reason you joined the Underworld Corps is to become an Explorer. Zeus, why take the long road for revenge? I can squash that Noble bitch like a bug — I'll do it before he becomes even more of a menace to society."

"Why don't you join me instead?"

"I don't belong here, Recruit."

Rhys could see the reflection of the sky from Ayesha's eyes — the looping horizon that always painted them, replaced by an endless blue instead,

"My place is down there — at least the monsters that live down there are honest with what they want and are. Here? You won't know the monsters until they stab you in the back."

"Hm, that is true."

"And you're one of those people, Recruit."

Rhys could really only stare at Ayesha as he heard those words, waiting for her to just burst out in laughter and hit him on the stomach. But even as Rhys's eyes already wandered across their base on the Surface, the only response she gave was just glancing back with a serious expression on her face.

"You're not a good person, Rhys..." Ayesha smiled as she gently placed her hand on Rhys's cheek, even as a lot of soldiers were there subtly watching them,

"I hope you do not get the idea that you're actually one of the good guys. The things you have been through made you what you are, but you can't blame them for what you are becoming from this point on."

"..." Rhys rested his cheek on Ayesha's palm as he held her hand.

"The last mission I gave you was a test of where your morals truly lie," Ayesha sighed, "You passed with flying colors as a soldier. Following orders without fail and delivering efficient results. But as a human, you have some things to work on."

"That is—"

"But the world doesn't owe you anything, Recruit," Ayesha removed her hand from Rhys's face, "If anything, it owes you everything. So, kill it if you have to, let it suffer as you have — but never forget which side you belong to."

"I... will remember that, Ayesha," Rhys nodded.

"Well, on that note... a lot more people are worse than you. A lot worse," Ayesha finally burst out in laughter as she started hitting Rhys on the stomach, "So...

6 months.

Rhys had only spent 6 months in the Underworld Corps, and yet it almost felt like it was already his entire life. The training, the missions, and all the departed almost made him forget about what he had set out to do...

...but it was time to wake up from the violent but beautiful dream, and return to the reality of nothing but just violence.

Even more so than Ayesha, he was the one that perhaps truly did not belong in the Surface.

But as Ayesha said, he could kill the world if he had to...

...mold it the way it molded him.

If he does not belong to the world, then the world should just belong to him.

Rhys looked at his fist, closing it tight almost as if he was trying to crush something — and perhaps he was, but it will only truly be known to him.

The first step to his plan is gathering influence. He could have already done that with Ayesha and the Underworld Corps, but it won't be his.

He needed the freedom to earn it by himself, and the only way to do that was to become an Explorer.

"Justice..." Rhys opened his hand and looked at his slightly red palm,

"...is on my side."

***

"Oh, you still need to go to the Academy and take supplementary classes for a week."

"...What?"

Rhys immediately headed to the nearest Explorer Association as soon as he returned to Old York, but what greeted him inside was a big red stamp that said 'incomplete' and a receptionist chewing gum.

"Explorer Academy..." the receptionist started waving her hand and gesturing to Rhys to move away,

"...1 week. Then come back here, but not on weekends because we are closed."

Alas, it would seem justice was currently resting on the side instead.