Chapter 588 The Dark Truth



**Hey Guys, I have a big tournament Today, so only one 1500-word chapter (One Piece TCG). That means that this weekend will be Two chapters instead of three.**

"By my estimates, a large portion of Valor City has now become a no man's land, and although evacuation procedures were carried out by the Enforcers and several branches of the Military, anyone within a certain distance from ground zero will be considered unsavable, as within a week they will be dead," Jessup said with a stony expression. 

"Tsss, Uncle Jessup, what constitutes being abandoned? How far away do we need to be from Ground Zero to be acknowledged as saveable." Sucking in a cold and sharp breath, Brance imagined families close to the Governor's Mansion melting as if hit by an atomic blast. 

For him, who came from Earth and had seen the devastation unleashed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he couldn't help but draw a parallel between then and now. 

"If there is a willful Tier-6 higher up leading the charge, I expect them to push onward past us in the 5.5g zone, at the very least; however, the odds of that happening are slim at best."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they write off anyone beyond the 3g ring. It's not that they are forsaking anyone trapped inside the fallout zone, but things are just that dangerous."

"There is a reason battles between Tier-6 and higher existences are forbidden by law unless under certain restrictions. Divine Particles are too destructive to the environment." Pausing his monologue, the old man turned around and seemed to be looking through the walls of the training room to the west. 

"Well, I guess that answers that…sigh, I had hoped it was Carleigh Mindsom in charge…but it seems we drew the short straw this time, folks." Shaking his head in disappointment at what he sensed, Jessup closed his eyes briefly before looking back toward Brance. 

"It seems the powers that be have decided against moving past the 2g zone, as the density of Divine Particles is considered too strong for their forces to withstand. As such, it has been decided that the ends don't justify the means."

BANG

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF CORRUPT POLITICAL BULLSHIT IS HAPPENING? THESE ARE LIVING AND BREATHING PEOPLE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, NOT LIVESTOCK." Slamming his fists into the ground hard enough to dent the flooring, Brance yelled, causing the air around him to shimmer. 

"Keep your emotions in check, Brance; whether you like it or not, this is how things are handled when the government is involved. It is no different than the strong sealing off access to higher forms of knowledge; everything is done in such a way as to limit the growth potential of the average person."

"Why else do you think so many people are interested in you and your brother? The two of you break the status quo. From the Government to the Military, hell, even the big corporations and underground organizations want a piece of you and the other members of MyrkLys." Walking toward Brance as the young man knelt on the ground, Jessup placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to help calm him down. 

"I…I can't accept this…Uncle Jessup, you know I'm afraid that's not right; it's unfair to those who can't defend themselves…." Tasting something sour in his mouth, Brance looked down at his clenched fists leaking blood on the grey padded floor. 

"To those in power, fairness falls to the wayside when benefits are involved. The strong get stronger while the weak suffer; this has always been a fact we are forced to live by, and it's one of the main reasons your brother differs so much from the average person."

"Cynrik refuses to bend to anyone, which is a very uncommon characteristic, especially in someone his age. The world is a dark place, young man, and it's only when you get old enough to break passed some of that darkness that you realize it only gets darker the longer you live."

"But you and your brother are different; I saw it when you and that knucklehead showed up on my doorstep with nowhere else to go. Unlike someone who had lost everything, the fire shining in both of your eyes burned hotter than any forge or even the suns in the sky."

"What I saw that day wasn't two crippled children unable to use Mana; no, I saw two warriors who were bound to do great things. And as the old guard, the generation ready to pass the torch, I knew that if more people like you existed, we would be fine, no matter what came next."

"Now, your brother's way of doing things may be ass-backward, but he believed in your ability to help these people, Brance. He already cleansed all those whose Codexes weren't corrupted, but he knows his limits and has passed the job of saving the lives of the corrupted to you."

Jessup continued speaking while standing up and motioning toward the ten unconscious and extremely pale young adults beside the Governess. 

"I won't downplay what he expects of you, as even to my knowledge, there have been zero successful cleanse attempts when it comes to Mana Corrupted Codexes; still, not a single of those old coot doctors has an Affinity on the level of your HolyFire."

"If anyone can pull it off, I have no doubt it would be you. Leave the rest of these kids to me; I will ensure they leave the Divine Fallout." Pausing, Jessup then looked to Geralt, who was already condensing a new type of Mana construct, one Brance hadn't seen before. 

"Heh, Space Affinity users are in a league of their own, don't worry about what he is doing and get to work. It will be a tedious and thankless task, but it is still something you will learn from."

VOOOOOOMMMMM~

As if heeding some silent call to arms, a disk-shaped object formed of pure space Mana manifested above the heads of every healed, unconscious person. 

"Whew, damn, that was rough; I hate using this skill, [Compression Cyclar] has the highest toll of any skill in my toolbox," Geralt complained as a small disc in a deeper shade of Aqua than those floating over the heads of the unconscious hovered over his hand. 

"The worst part is the damn thing has a six-month cooldown, but on the upside, the disk can sustain itself for an indefinite amount of time thanks to its ability to draw in Ambient Mana." Wearing a complicated smile, Geralt noticed the curious eyes of Brance, so he explained that the disks were all linked to the one above his hand. 

When he gives the signal, all objects targeted by the smaller discs would be absorbed into the main one. What distinguishes this skill from the [Spatial Cube] is that he can control the dimension inside the disc, meaning it could be as large or small as he wanted. 

"Woah…when my brother finds out about this, you do realize he won't let you go, right Geralt," Brance said as his eyes glazed over, and he pictured the scene of Cynrik flipping out about all kinds of theories from Earth that were impossible to bring to fruition. 

"Then it's a good thing he isn't here, and I have such a long cooldown on this skill, right?" Geralt responded with a shaky smile and a slight quiver in his voice.

He knew how crazy Cynrik acted regarding his experiments, and Geralt had no intention of becoming the young psycho's lab rat. 

"A.. anyway, let's get this lot stored away for now, *SNAP*." Snapping his fingers loudly, Geralt activated the discs, causing them to spin and wobble until they took the form of an orb and sucked in their target into the pocket dimension stored within the smaller discs. 

Then, with a wave of his hand, the hord of discs flew toward the larger, darker one and merged with it. The once full training room was almost empty in no time, as over 100 unconscious people seemingly vanished into thin air. 

Brance watched in amazement as the disc, no larger than a dinner plate, vibrated and spun until slowing to a stop and hovering silently, waiting for its following command. 

"Brance, time is of the essence; although Cynrik isolated all their Codexes and pacified the Death Mana within, it was only a temporary fix, so you need to get a move on."

Jessup's stern tone pulled Brance from his thoughts, and with a nod, the youngest Jetlensr stood up and walked to the unconscious young man farthest away from the Governess. 

'Sigh, leave it to Cynrik to even go so far as to organize a bunch of injured people in a pattern suiting his needs. Still, I can't complain too much since it gave me a starting point.' Kneeling down beside a young man with orange hair and freckles, Brance placed his hand on the person's chest and activated [Mana Sight]. 

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