================================

Chapter 408: The Two Sides of Siva

================================

The warships were only 7km away and Siva and Baal had already fallen back 2km away from the barrier dome of the city.

Kladis… he was a lucky bastard and the angels that got confused earlier caught him before completely falling to his second tragic ending.

“Would you come here?” he challenged them. But he underestimated the remnants and as well as the demon warships multiple times bigger than those ordinary ones. “They will. Oh well…”

Siva felt regret but he had enough. He then killed Baal and waited for the ray of black light to fly from Baal’s chest into the sky.

That was his ‘soul parasite’. Unless Siva killed the real body, Baal and these Devil Gods will forever live on endlessly… but it will take longer with each resurrection.

As if squashing a tiny ant, Baal’s struggle came as abrupt and as ugly it can be. His solidified magma corpse rotted like a dried wood and as impossible as the transition was, it did happened. As soon as that ray of light escaped his body, within just three seconds, the entire corpse finally broke into dust and drifted away.

“I’ll still kill you all…” Siva swore in his heart.

The warships stopped descending and the rest of the Demon Armada only paused, looked hatefully at him, before retreating to the skies. They lost the general commanding them so there was no need to linger here any longer. Even Invidia who was just a porter, with all his grand entrance and bravado, did not survive more than an hour.

Even though the Demon Armada can still put up a fight, they would only reduce their numbers. With Siva there, even if there were more of them, their defeat was inevitable without their generals.

In the end, this venture was a grand failure.

The retreat happened following these reasons and it happened to the scattered alien fleets on rest of the planet.

This entire event… was a success and the demon invasion was a failure.

Witnesses in Jeremiah began to cheer in their big victory…

…………….yet not everything was fine.

“““Get him!”””

“Oh NOW you want to attack me?!” Siva was really surprised with these people’s attitudes. As soon as the external threat vanished, the internal threat that was sleeping all this time began to climb and attack.

It was ridiculous.

He laughed at the face of this ‘human nature’ but at the same time, he applaud them.

Siva was really reminded just how much people are susceptible to greed and how they will show their true colors when faced with certain circumstances.

Some of them may have been driven by revenge to those times that he trampled upon their quests and missions in order to advance his own.

Some of them may even be those desperate ones that because Siva was too bright, the opportunities that should have been theirs were snatched right in front of their faces.

Some of them… because Siva was driven by his mad pursuit for power in order to ensure his goals will be met with the appropriate strength, were all unwittingly been swept in the floods of events that he himself may have started, or were triggered just as he took a step to advance in his journey.

And now, now that he killed two ‘avatars’ of those Devil Gods he hated, for some odd reason, there was something in his heart that felt a little lighter.

It was a feeling of contentment, even though it was not full, it was still that feeling of relief that even if it’s just for a tiny bit… he vented the wrath that had built upon him —he expelled that putrid, decaying, and rotten emotion, for just a bit, out of his system.

And as a result, he felt himself evolving.

He saw the approaching mob of players and NPCs, the group of zealots chasing after fame and glory, money, and revenge. He saw them all. He saw the look in their eyes burning with the intent to kill him, a feeling which was rather new considering their reason was different than that familiar hostility he’d been living his life with back then in Mitra.

“So this is human nature…”

It was a realization.

The “need to fight” in order to protect and pursue one’s own goals and aspirations.

It was a kind of hostility only those living in a world of competition are familiar with.

A kind of ‘hostility’ that, depending on how it was perceived shouldn’t even warrant even a tiny bit of an enmity, yet many people and organizations fell because of this very reason itself because of how they perceived such a thing.

The difference between greed and ‘need’ was as shallow and as thin as an atom between two kinds of dimensions.

“But you people are different. You guys are driven by your greed.”

Siva could tell it now; between those righteous and desperate attackers and those greedy desperates, wanting a quick trip towards the path of exaltation.

“As such, I won’t have qualms about ending you.”

Cortana’s domain was still active and there are four Liberty Drones dispatched around him from those his allies abandoned after they escaped the ship.

He didn’t want to use the BMA Puppets because he was yet to use the White Knight to its full size.

Siva only have a hundred or so blades but dealing with these people would be easy even if he only had ten.

[FCS function at maximum performance. Calculated targets number 7,592 in total.]

“Kill them. Show no mercy.”

[Executing command…]

A horde of seven thousand targets occupied a very large area stretching up to the nearest 5km around Siva. In this open sky riddled with debris and those floating shards of alien metals above him, Siva was in a mood for a washing... like having a stein of ice cold beer after a few rounds of Emperor Brandy.

Many didn’t choose to partake in this endeavor. As they’ve just witnessed Siva take down two leaders from the alien armada, it was clear that although he was weakened and maybe fatigued, he was still in battle shape and kill-ready.

As such, those seven thousand people… as weak and as soft as they are compared to Mobile Suits, the blades only needed to pass through once and their bodies fell like mosquitoes hitting marihuana.

Every spectators here were familiar with how wars in Terroa sometimes end up brutal, especially to those who had their visual settings maxed out.

But this… this was different.

Seven thousand people… they aren’t aliens that you can dismiss after killing because firstly, they’re fundamentally and visually different from humans that you wouldn’t feel any revulsion when you end them brutally with either magic or physical attacks.

Secondly, because they are ‘enemies’ in your own perception and adding to that their appearance, the vast majority of players wouldn’t feel anything as they killed hundreds or even thousands of them.

But this was different.

They are, in every aspect and every way, all people —regardless of the Human or Terran distinctions— and yet Siva didn’t even shook or tremble as they died minced and slashed from his sinister blades.

Miserable screams echoed across the sky. The cry of despair of a single individual multiplied by over a thousand fold was as frightening as one could hear it resonating with each other like the requiem from the depths of hell.

It was a hellish scene…

“No… no person could even do this…”

“He’s not a player!”

“Monster…”

“I think I’m gonna be si—BLUUUUURRGHH!!”

The rising and falling waves of their cries of agony and despair drowned out all other noises. A cry of pain and despair but most of all, of fear, left many people logging out on the spot just to stop their minds from repeating the image.

It was a scene that will put endless nightmares to just about anyone. It was a scene not meant for a game.

For the first time in the history of Terroa, they saw the true extent of the brutality Siva was capable of.

—no.

For the first time ever, they began to curse the fact that Terroa was 90% as close to reality that even a scene like that looked so real, it was revolting.

Rentaw was long gone and is now just watching the events in Jeremiah through the video call of an Imperial Agent and as soon as he saw the scene of carnage in the sky —no—starting from the moment Siva caught Baal and killed Invidia, Ren did instantly recalled Siva’s words back then in Alexandria.

In his wrath, he cursed at Kladis… he promised he will suffer a fate worse than death and that if Kladis should fall into his hands, he will wish he could die as he went his way with him.

Back then, Kladis was saved by that booming voice and so was spared the ‘fate worse than death’.

Yet now, Ren was wholly convinced that Siva had been telling the truth.

“The world made him into a monster.”

Based on the available news records of Rex, he was nothing more than a young adult on his late teenage years.

“To corrupt this boy into this monster, I could only imagine just h ow much suffering and mental tortures he had to endure…”

He was genuinely sad for Rex.

His experiences weren’t something a boy his age should be experiencing. And yet he did. And now, this was the result. He was showing the world how corrupted he had become on the inside. Deep in his heart, Rentaw really pitied Rex Kingsley.

Ren was on a cantina in the Knight HQ back in the Imperial Capital, and should have been in the midst of a celebratory mood with his successful mission.

In fact, he was immediately rewarded a court seat because the Emperor, despite being old, was truly happy with his haul this time that he emerged from his cryo-sleep and physically inspected the sphere he brought back with him.

Rentaw’s company was supposedly celebrating…

The scene in Jeremiah was projected as an active Video Call and there should have been many other people watching it with smiles of schadenfreude as they witnessed the scene.

The invasions in Flowerion Empire have been dealt with easily because unlike other nations, they are a unified country —a unified continent.

Poppers were blown, cakes were lit, partners were kissing and making out while their leaders such as Ren held wine glasses halfway full of wine… and should have been happy.

But right now, everyone wore a grim expression.

It was so quiet and so eerily silent that his words uttered under his breath was heard as if it was in a loudspeaker.

On a corner was Rafaela and she paled in fright as she watched the scene.

Her hands covered her mouth to stop herself from letting out a scream of horror.

Willard Newgate supported him like a reliable aide, while he himself was aghast at the sight of the sky that’s now filled with a fog of a deep red color, and chunks and bodies of people falling down.

Siva was floating there like a God, commanding his blade minions, and while his ragged appearance do looked like he was weakened to that extent, it only made him look more frightening —a God of War on a killing spree in the mortal realm!

“Stahp…” Rafaela murmured very weakly, “Please stop while you still can…”

Under any normal circumstances, this weak and fragile voice could’ve seduced men into bowing to her feet in worship.

But right now, it was a weak voice pleading for his soul’s sake to be saved before it was totally burnt.

Because she knew what the Ruler of Goldwyn City did to him, she didn’t want him to completely turn into a monster.

But she also knew that their relationship was very shallow and that her weak voice wouldn’t be able to reach his ears… even if they are with each other.

This scene… this very image of an actual carnage, it was something that goes beyond the extent of a mere game —it was purely realistic.

She turned her head to the side, her eyes flowing with glittering tears like a river.

At the moment she cried, the people around her also regained their wits and many started vomiting and so ran out of the cantina, with many more on their seats and others collapsing on the chairs, the look in their eyes as if they’ve just seen what hell actually looks like.

It was a brief scene, only taking a few tens of short seconds, and yet the sheer impact of those small seconds defined a meaning to their existences.

“Aaaaaahhh…” Rafaela’s cry made people turn to her direction and they saw, for the first time, just how pure she was underneath her seductive front.

Ren, by his time outside Warjillis, have been taken under her wing purely because of his relationship with Siva. And from that, he realized that there was a connection between Rafaela and Siva.

“Cruel… they’re too cruel…”

Ren wasn’t talking about Siva. He was talking about the people that made Siva the way he was in that few short moments.

He knew, from this day forth, the world’s view of Siva will never be the same again.

*****

Siva didn’t even bat an eye to the bloody carnage left of his deed.

He turned a deaf ear to the pleads for mercy…

He ignored the stabbing guilt of showing them how sharp were his angry fangs…

“You forced me!” he cursed them and his voice was heard with the help of the speakers in the city.

All ears were listening quietly to this tyrant.

“What right did they all have to plead mercy when I, alone, vanquished the invasion and killed the ones that led this armada? I SAVED THIS CITY AND YOU DARED TO ATTACK ME?!!”

His words didn’t match up to the scene of carnage he just did earlier. How could this tyrant that can kill thousands of people in only tens of seconds even say that he was a hero?

Is he twisted in the head?

“I’m done with you all.”

With that Siva looked up and went to collect as much alien metals as he can salvage.

There were still honest ones who didn’t mind the carnage and only concentrated on harvesting. Siva didn’t fight with them and only collected as many and as fast as he could.

Siva ignored the small ones and focused on the big ones… and it was at this point in time that he came to realize that the battle for The Box was already on its final crescendo.

Flagship Jeremiah suppressed the dreadfully large Dust Aegerion Battleship, along with the rest of the invaders of the capital’s airspace.

This was the reason why Siva never dared to make a move against Jeremiah. He knew his limits and he knew that no matter how much power he owned by himself, it will never be enough to fight against any of the super power countries of Terroa.

Aside from the minor traces of Mobile Suits left in the vicinity, the sheer amount of alien metals Siva collected made him lose all thoughts of his fatigue.

“The core has been collected…” Siva surprisingly discovered that the Black Sphere he saw in the corner of his eyes earlier disappeared. “Who could have gotten it?”

His attitude and actions were really far from that [God] who slaughtered seven thousand people a few couple of minutes ago.

Right now, Siva was just like any of the players in here, collecting as much of the alien resources as he possibly can.

BOOM!!!

A loud explosion rung below and Siva turned to see a smoking Warship —the Dust Aegerion had just suffered a sinister blow from the right cannon at the main hull of Flagship Jeremiah.

‘Cortana, can you hack on to their Comms Line?’

[Yes sir.]

In terms of hardware, Maki was far superior to the current arsenal of gadgets Cortana had but simply in terms of Software, Cortana may perhaps be the foremost powerful AI in Terroa.

[Done. Displaying all contact channels.]

One pop up after another, communication channels of all the warships in the city appeared and in them were faces he wasn’t familiar with.

Cortana already arranged and classified them as to who’s in contact to whom, complete with their video call fully bared for him to see.

To Siva’s point of view, it was both beautiful yet it’s also unethical, but most of all… this can also be seen and considered as a weapon; to see what the other people do during a call, to know who they’re talking to, to spy on them like this, Cortana’s ability to exploit this ability of hers was really dangerous.

As such, it should be controlled.

‘Create a database on their conversation topics and personalities as future references. Find keywords on their conversations, and base them on our own objective list.’

[Yes sir.]

Siva continued to scavenge. After an hour, all the noise below had stopped and he received a report from Lily. All hostile forces have been neutralized and resources consolidated.

Remembering Scion, Siva’s face crumbled, though it was invisible on his smoked face.

“I showed her such a scene…”

[Don’t worry, boss. Lily made sure that she would not see it earlier.]

‘But it doesn’t mean that the TV News won’t make her see it. And there are also newspapers and all those newsletters given every day.’

[I’ll tell Lily to watch out for it.]

‘No. Don’t control her life. Let her see the true dark side of me… let her see the man who lived for all those years bathed in the blood of countless lives in the battlefield of the Gods.’

Cortana could read his mind and so chose not to comment on it. Sometimes, not commenting even if it was instructed by him was better.

[I really can’t help but notice now the significance of that medical report you discovered, sir.]

Siva thought back to that time when he went to clean his side drawer.

He discovered there the ‘report’ about his mental health signed by Doctor Martinez.

[Based on my analysis, it seems they thought that you have a case of Split Personality Disorder.]

Siva thought back to it and laughed.

Not because it was false but because it was ironic.

If he based everything purely to his experiences as the “Siva” of the Era of the Gods, then yes, that’s a life different to his real life outside the system; and that his life in the real world was his past self.

But the life after he [logged out] during the ending of the War of The Braves, then yes, that ‘Rex’ was indeed another Rex Kingsley… a kind hearted lad with nothing but dreams and aspirations. He was supposed to be the life he should be having if it weren’t for the death of his parents and the deal he had no choice but to have with AG.

If he could put it into words, then this Siva, the real Siva or the Rex Kingsley who met and loved Alfred Pegasus’s daughter, Samantha, and lived through the Ragnarok Era, was the fragile yet malevolent side of his soul; while the Rex Kingsley he created after that era was a benevolent ‘self’ that wanted nothing of the life he had experienced inside the world of Terroa.

One side is a violent malevolent soul…

The other an innocent benevolent self…

‘You can say that it is true.’

[And there’s where one of your memories comes in to pacify your confusion, boss. You may deny that fact yourself all you want but I can read your brain activity and there are a lot of things in your head that’s keeping you awake at night.]

Siva looked at Cortana beside him, staying silent.

A recent memory kicked in and it was read by the ever active processes of Cortana.

[You met Mother Terra when you rescued Scion in the Cellar Dungeons of Apus Epirus in Alexandria and her words kept on bothering you.]

Back then, Terra’s were exactly what’s making Siva sort of confused and unwilling to come back again.

If only he could actually let go, he would.

The [memories] of the past kept on coming to him and even if he showed signs of being calm, deep inside his heart, he wouldn’t be satisfied until he saw himself that every last Devil Gods were dead and bleeding.

[Boss, if she really loves you, she will accept you as you are… evil or not.]

Siva chuckled wryly, ‘Heh! How do you define what is evil or not? The world as it is now is a one-sided fake coin… they will blindly believe what they can see and hear in the face of media, and then deny what they can’t understand —even fear it.’

He gazed down at the city and the busy community of scavengers.

‘Fear breeds the need to rely on others to become braver, thus becoming a community of frightened individuals who fears a common something. When that fear becomes saturated enough, it becomes a form of anger for being unable to suppress it. So to be able to control their fear and erase it, they’ll breed this anger into hate, which will erupt into the most ideal reason to use violence. You’ll not even realize it but it will just explode one day —an entire world of frightened individuals, blinded by the light of what they can only see in front of them. When that world who never tries to understand a reason to an existence or a reason to an action comes into our doors, what do you think will happen?’

[Violence, sir. Pure and utter violence. I’m afraid that… your circumstances aren’t quite as good as I initially analyzed it to be.]

It can be considered that Cortana, despite all of her capabilities, are still a youngling; full of fur and still yet to grow her feathers to make her fly.

Her data gathering and processing abilities are all top-notch, but she was yet to gather enough data to wholly reference complex emotional changes.

For the first time ever, Siva felt that he had one-upped her. But as much as a celebratory thing it is, he didn’t feel quite right to be happy about it.

‘It is true, Cortana...that based only on what people could see in me right now, adding my reputation, it would actually be a surprise if I haven’t gotten any Manhunt Missions with my name as the target.’

.

.

================================

This is happening...

================================

.

.

.

.

.

Next update: Closing chapters of Volume 6.