Chapter 98 - Arc 13 - Public Enemy No.1 - Part 1

Monday, 21st of June - London, UK - Earth:

In Central London, inside a small house, on the second floor, in a messy bedroom, Emily groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Mornin’.”

“It’s almost noon,” replied her mom abruptly.

Mikasa Jones, Emily Jones’ mother walked into the dirty room.

Looking around, a disgusted look appeared on her face.

“How do you live in a room like this?”

“I will clean it up… soon,” Emily slowly said.

Mikasa sighed as she opened the windows of the room.

“What’s wrong?”

“... Nothing.”

“You haven’t been yourself lately. You look lifeless.”

“It’s noth--”

"You can tell me if something is bothering you."

Emily let out a sigh.

Sitting up in the bed, clothes appeared around her.

“I don’t know what to feel about this situation right now.”

“Hm?”

Emily looked at her mother in her eyes.

“I… Remember, the Nameless One, right?”

Mikasa nodded as she sat next to Emily on the bed.

“He is dead.”

“Oh...”

From what Emily had told her, he was the worst of the worst.

“Isn’t that good?”

“It is. It really is. But...”

Emily looked down.

Mikasa wondered why she felt conflicted. If anything, she should be happy.

So, she said, “Shouldn’t you be happy? Isn’t that a good thi--”

But then suddenly, she realised something.

Her eyes widened in horror.

“!!”

Emily had also told her something else a long time ago.

“Then...”

“Yes, that’s the problem.”

Emily’s finger twitched and the room started to clean. The clothes flew into their rightful place. The rubbish was disintegrated into air.

Within a second, it was perfectly clean.

“Without him the--- Without him and the Supreme One, everything could die. Probably. Our existence has changed a lot so not sure if the old rules apply but still, this could be troublesome.”

“I see...”

“But it’s not that. That’s not why I am feeling conflicted.”

Emily looked down at her fidgety fingers.

“I...”

She bit her lip.

“I hate that he got the heroic end he so didn’t deserve. I hate that he went out like a hero saving us.”

Mikasa, surprised, wondered what she was talking about.

“I hate that he became the saviour of us,” Emily spat out. “I hate that he didn’t pay for his crimes. I hate that he avoided his repentance. I just can’t accept this. He didn’t pay for his crimes. He didn’t pay for his wrongdoing.”

She gritted her teeth while breathing heavily.

“So, what if he died? He died like a fucking hero. He died like...”

When she clenched her fist hard, blood spurted from it.

Before Mikasa could notice it, she healed herself.

“I don’t know how to feel about this. I am angry… but also kind of happy.”

She looked at her mother.

Mikasa inhaled sharply once she saw her daughter's eyes that were close to tears.

“Wh… What should I do?”

Mikasa reached her hand towards Emily.

“What do I feel about this? What should...”

Being hugged tightly by her mom, Emily closed her eyes.

“If only… If only that cunt did as I said...”

She rubbed Emily’s face slowly.

“Nazar?”

“Yes, that shithead.”

Emily clenched her fist.

“I told him to save us… He could. But he didn’t. He didn’t save us. And now… Now that he is gone… It’s so frustrating.”

Mikasa smiled lightly.

“Are you sure you aren’t blaming Nazar too much?”

Emily opened her eyes in reflex.

“I know you always had a soft spot for Nazar… but believe me, he needs to be blamed for a lot of things. Hey, almost everything would be even better.”

"Isn't your reasoning for hating him a little… childish?"

Seeing the warm smile on her face, Emily frowned.

"It's not as simple as that."

"Sure," Mikasa said as she smiled thinly. "Isn't it because you love him?"

Emily smiled at her blankly.

To which Mikasa replied with a shrug.

"I am your mother. You can't hide it from me."

"It's… complicated."

Mikasa let out a small sigh.

"Ah, right. Forget that."

Her face turned serious.

"If memory serves me right, you said that the Nameless One-- {why did he never bother with naming himself?} -- is currently weak. So, how did he…?"

"Ah."

For some unknown reasons, Emily looked a little proud.

"I brought out Nazar Prime. Using him, I stole the power of millions of Nazars and the excessive energies of Nazar-- {which he released by forcing some bad emotions onto him} -- and placed it within the Nameless One. That way he had enough power to save everything he damaged."

"What if…"

Seeing the horrified look on her mother's face, Emily finally realized something.

Emily sucked in a breath before she stood up on reflex.

"Oh shit…"

Covering her mouth with her hand, she thought.

"He was right. What if that bastard… And to think I nearly left all of the Nazars to their deaths..."

She bit her lip once more.

"There… Is there… No, I can't even--- Argh, why did he have to be right?"

"You were always the careless one between the two of you."

Emily looked back at Mikasa who was smiling.

"Me? The careless one?"

Emily forced a laugh.

But the laugh slowly vanished.

"Oh right... He was a collected and planning type."

Seeing the somewhat depressed look on her face, Mikasa got up and patted her shoulder.

"It's okay. Don't beat yourself over it."

Emily clenched her fist in determination as she looked at her mother straight in the eyes.

"But that's not the case anymore. He is dumb."

"Sure, if you say so," Mikasa smiled thinly.

"Ugh, damn him!!!! Always pretending to be the dumb and careless one! And removing his memories regularly!!! He is so fucking annoying."

"Isn't it…" Mikasa's voice was filled with anxiousness and worry. "Why does he do that?"

"Oh, he gets rid of the…"

Emily tried to think of the right word to use here.

"Basically, his body absorbs the knowledge of... well, a lot of things. So, he removes it regularly to be more… human."

"Oh…"

Mikasa was not sure how to feel about that.

"I think he already knew about the stuff I told him but he didn't remember because he removed his own memories. He also always tries to weaken himself as much as possible and lower his intelligence. He is a moron."

"I see…" said Mikasa with conflicted feelings.

"It's stupid. It's nigh time for him to accept his true self and stop being an idiot."

Mikasa kept quiet as she was at loss for words.

In the original timeline, she knew Nazar quite well. She knew him before his powers returned.

Nazar and Emily were close friends from a young age so naturally, he was also close to her family.

She wondered what happened to that nice and quiet guy she knew back then.

"Ahh, why are we talking about him? He always ruins the mood."

Mikasa let out a small sigh before smiling.

Putting aside her thoughts, she said, "Didn't your mood get better?"

Emily frowned.

"You should be more honest with yourself, Em."

Perhaps she was telling the truth. And Emily knew that.

But seeing the rather smug look on her mother's face, Emily decided not to admit it. Instead, she tried to change the subject at hand.

"I am gonna go get a shower. Shouldn't you be going to work too?"

Mikasa looked around.

Seeing the confused look on her face, Emily knew she was looking for a watch or phone to check the time.

"It's 10 AM."

"Oh crap, I need to get going."

Mikasa hurriedly left.

"A job, huh?"

Emily stared at the wall in front of her.

"Since I am also living as a human, I should get a job too."

And at that moment she had a thought which led her to smile softly.

"I wonder what he will do--"

Noticing what she was thinking about, she slapped herself on the face.

"Ugh, please just die ALREADY!!!!"

လလလ

Edward "Eddie" Hunt flew high above the blue waters of the Indian Ocean.

(Thankfully, I didn't see anything concerning.) Thought Eddie as he flew very fast.

Every day, he goes to each corner of the planet at least twice to see if there are any troubles he could help with.

As he was flying high above the ocean, he noticed something.

“What is…?”

His eyes widened in horror.

“!!”

Eddie saw someone falling from the sky.

“Shit!”

He sucked in a breath as he increased his speed.

Manipulating the air, he slowed down the flow of the person’s fall.

Moving as quickly as he could, he caught the person.

“Thank God...”

His happy smile vanished as he looked down.

“What are you doing…”

Eddie recognised her.

“Haru?”

Haru rolled her eyes in annoyance.

“Did you just try to kill yourself?”

“N-No...”

She tried to avoid his gaze.

“To be honest, I did not think that you could go into orbit. I am impressed. How long did you stay there? Two days?”

Haru raised her hands to cover her face.

“Three days.”

“Impressive.”

Haru frowned.

"What's your name again?" Haru forced herself to speak in a flat tone.

It was his turn to frown.

"The name's Norse God."

She stared at him blankly.

“Norse Gods are not real.”

“Just give me this. Please?”

"But it's such a stupid name."

Eddie sighed.

"Look, I wasn't the brightest when naming myself. But it kind of grew on me, y'know?"

"Right… So, what are you doing here?"

"Ahem."

Eddie placed one of his hands on his hip as he smiled proudly.

"As your teacher, I cannot let you die yet."

Haru stared at him blankly.

And some more blank staring.

And some more.

"...Huh?"

"...What?"

"You? A teacher? Whose teacher?"

"Ahhh. Nevermind. Forget that. I was flying around and saw you yesterday floating there. So, I was keeping a close eye on you," Eddie said slowly. “And because Nazar asked me to keep a close eye on you just in case something like this happened-- Nevermind the details...”

Eddie inhaled as his face turned serious.

"Don't kill yourself."

"... I am not trying to," Haru covered her face once again.

"Nazar told me what happened. But you didn't mean to do it, did you?"

"And…"

She bit her lip.

"And what if he wasn't there?"

What if Nazar was not on Earth? What if he did not have the ability to resurrect? What if Nazar did not care? What if… What if…

So many questions ran amok her mind.

"Can you take the responsibility of killing thousands, "teacher"?"

Eddie fell silent.

"What is the difference between that beast and me? He didn't care about human life. But I killed them."

There were no words from Eddie.

Haru removed her hands off her face and looked Eddie in the eyes.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Eddie inhaled sharply.

"And how did you feel?"

A small barrier appeared around Haru and she started to float before Eddie.

Now that Eddie’s hands were free, he scratched the side of his head.

"I have… I have never killed anyone. Not when I was in control."

She bit her lip in anger.

"Then you wouldn't know. You don't know the feelings of disgust, frustration, helplessness, and other ugly feelings that spiral up within you every time you close your eyes."

She looked down.

"I did not mean to kill them. I didn't give a damn about anyone but… but the last thing I wanted was to kill them."

Eddie noticed that her voice was breaking apart.

So, he spoke his mind.

"I can't tell you that you did nothing wrong. I can't tell you that I know how you feel. I can't tell you to not feel bad. But here is what my father said a long time ago…"

He smiled.

"As long as you don't mean it, you didn't do anything wrong by it."

Dumbfounded, she looked Eddie in the eyes.

"Surely, it's for elementary level mistakes. It's silly for us adults to think like that. However, it was an accident. It was a mistake."

"What if I had killed your family?"

Eddie thought about it.

In the meantime, Haru chuckled.

"Of course, it's a different story when it comes to your famil--"

"No."

She exhaled sharply as she saw the wide smile on his face.

"I would have forgiven you. It was not your fault. It was an accident. A mistake which you had absolutely no control over."

Eddie paused for a moment before continuing.

“I am not saying to be one of those people who just moved on immediately. It's okay to feel conflicted. But it's not okay to give up your life."

Eddie scratched the back of his head as he tried to come up with a way to continue what he was saying.

"So… What I am saying is, don't give up on life. Make up for this accident and mistake of yours. Become a better person and be a hero. Serve the people whom you accidentally killed - who are now back in the land of the living."

“You got one thing wrong,” Haru said in a guilty yet angry voice. “It wasn’t an accident. I let go of this power. I stopped holding back and left everything running amok."

Eddie bit his lip as he tried to think of a way to reply to her.

Seeing the troubled look on his face, she exhaled slowly.

“You don’t have to think too hard about it. I will… I will figure this out by myself.”

She forced a smile.

“Thanks anyway.”

Eddie clenched his fist as he looked down. He tried to think of a way to console her.

But time passed and he couldn't come up with anything.

“Also, why does Nazar care about me?” Hary broke the silence. "I am a nobody."

Eddie slowly looked at her.

"Why does he care about what happens to someone like me? It doesn't make sense. He is a villain--"

In self-mockery, she chuckled.

"No, it's my fault. I always blame my problems on him. It's easier to blame it on him than I have to deal with it. But...."

Haru clenched her fist.

Eddie could hear the sound of her teeth grinding in her mouth.

"This is something I have to do alone. I thank you for coming here… I won't kill myself. I won't do it. But for now…"

"I understand," Eddie smiled widely. "I will leave you be."

Haru thought he would leave, but instead, he lowered his eyes as a serious look washed away the wide and careless smile.

"But if you do try to kill yourself, then I will intervein."

Rolling her eyes, she groaned.

"Why don't you go and save other INNOCENT people who are trying to kill themselves? Dozens of people kill themselves on a daily basis for separate reasons. Why don't you help them? {And I am not trying to kill myself.}"

Eddie looked down as he tried to come up with a way to reply to the angry Haru.

"I thought you were a hero. Shouldn't a hero save people?"

"I am not a God."

She stared at him blankly before laughing.

"Norse God, remember?"

Eddie frowned.

"Look, I can't be everywhere at once. I can't see who is in trouble all the time. I can't save everyone. I tried, and all it led to was a failure."

"So?"

"I am not here to try and talk you out of death because you are special… {well, you are…} Ugh, nevermind."

He looked Haru in the eyes.

"I just happen to notice you, that's all. Nazar said to keep a close eye on you but even if he hadn't, I probably would have come across you. I go around the world twice each day to see if anything is wrong."

Haru widened her eyes in surprise. It was completely unexpected. She thought Eddie waited for trouble to come to his home before acting.

"I noticed you yesterday too. But today, as I was doing my rounds, I noticed you falling."

Not knowing how to respond, she looked down.

"If it was anyone in front of me who tried doing something like this, I would stop them."

"I see…" she said slowly. “Thanks.”

"Wh-- That's… Damn it."

Eddie's eyes narrowed as he looked in a random direction.

"Right. I will leave you be now. But please don't try something reckless like this, okay?"

Before he could hear her response, he hurriedly flew away.

"Annnnd he is gone.”

She let out a heavy sigh.

“I could have saved myself, okay?” she muttered to herself.

လလလ

It was late at night in Plymouth, UK when Nazar appeared out of thin air in his home.

Near the pool at the back of his house, Nazar smiled.

"You are still awake, mom?"

Of course, she couldn't see the smile on his face since it was very dark.

"It's only midnight," she said chuckling.

"That's true…"

He walked closer to her.

"Where did you go?"

"I took Laura back to the island."

Near the pool, there was a small round table. On one of the chairs, Nazar sat down.

"She said you guys made her uncomfortable."

"Wh-wha-what?!" Aya said in a worried tone.

Nazar laughed.

"I am just kidding."

"Ah, that's good. But still, you shouldn't joke like that."

She let out a sigh of relief.

"I didn't know you could joke," she said slowly.

"Sorry, sorry."

"Anyway, I thought you could move faster than that? It took you four hours to take her back?"

Nazar averted his gaze.

"I was talking with her."

Aya stared at her blankly.

"Oh, is that so?"

"...Yes," he said stiffly.

Clearing his voice, Nazar asked her a question.

"Did you need something from me?"

She shook her head.

"I just wanted to talk. Just the two of us."

"Sure," he said while smiling widely. "Do you want to talk about anything in particular?"

"I don't know, really. I know you already told us the basics of your story but… Can you tell me in more details? I want to know more. About this world and the previous. And what happened while we were under that... That demon's control."

She bit her lip in anger.

When she first got her memories of the other world, Aya threw up once she learned what she had done to her own children. And she was not feeling very well for a while.

Aya already knew what she had done but she wanted to know from Nazar's perspective and how he felt.

"What happened to you and Emma after we were put inside the stasis field?"

Nazar knew that, so once he noticed the negative emotions overtaking her, he sucked in a breathe.

"Oh yes, sure. It's going to be a long story."

His finger twitched and in front of them, cups of coffee appeared.

"Hope you don't fall asleep," he said as he smiled.

And so, the son told his mother his life story in details.