"I'm… somewhat worried about those children."
Seitenshi voiced her thoughts.
Yet, as her words fell, the room was enveloped in silence.
The young woman knew she had spoken out of turn. She shouldn't have expressed sympathy for the Cursed Children, likened to rats in the sewers.
But she didn't understand.
The Cursed Children had done nothing wrong. It wasn't as if they chose to be born in such a form.
Unlike most officials, Seitenshi was among the rare few who were Willing to approach the Cursed Children and see them as equals.
"Enough, Lady Seitenshi."
"The Cursed Children don't deserve sympathy. They're no different from Gastrea... monsters!"
"Indeed, you're far too kind."
"Those repulsive creatures must be plotting something."
"Why else would only the Cursed Children disappear?"
"…"
No one was willing to accept the Cursed Children.
But if that was the case, why did they keep discussing them, even feeling anxious and concerned?
The answer was simple: the power of the Cursed Children was indispensable.
Civil Security teams operated in pairs.
Without an Initiator... a Cursed Child... a human Promoter was like a beast without its fangs.
This made fighting Gastrea exponentially more difficult.
'Isn't it laughable?'
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Seitenshi's mind. Startled, she heard it continue: 'They rely on the Cursed Children's power to protect humanity.'
'One after another, Cursed Children die fighting Gastrea.'
'To the Promoters, they're merely expendable.'
'If one dies, they adopt another. After all, it still earns them merit and boosts their IP ranking.'
In the end, the Cursed Children gave everything, yet couldn't even secure the most basic human rights.
'Their deaths are so utterly worthless!'
"Who are you?!"
"Who's speaking to me?!"
Seitenshi could no longer suppress her emotions, her words bursting forth.
But she quickly regained her composure.
She was about to explain her outburst to the human officials around her when she turned and realized she was no longer in the meeting room.
A pure white, boundless space.
Seitenshi floated there, lifting her gaze to see a young man seated on a chair.
"Who are you?"
"Please, have a seat."
Damien summoned another chair, gesturing for Seitenshi to sit.
This world wasn't devoid of good people, and the Seitenshi before him was a kind-hearted young woman with a pure soul.
'As expected of one of this world's heroines, I suppose?'
Damien had intended to summon a pure-hearted human with sufficient authority to deliver news of the great flood.
He hadn't expected it would be Seitenshi herself.
"You… could you be the divine being the children spoke of?"
Aside from a miracle, Seitenshi couldn't imagine any other way she could have been transported from the meeting room to this pure white world.
"By human understanding, I am no different from a god."
Damien snapped his fingers, and the white space faded, replaced by the beautiful scenery within the Void Ark.
A pristine, unpolluted environment.
And there, playing and laughing, were the Cursed Children, their faces adorned with smiles Seitenshi had never seen before.
"As you can see, I've taken these poor children."
"As for where they are, you can call it Paradise, Eden, or Avalon. It's all much the same."
Damien conjured two cups of tea and some pastries, signaling for Seitenshi to relax.
"Thank you."
Seitenshi still felt a sense of unreality, but she could genuinely sense the heartfelt joy and freedom radiating from the girls.
That was enough.
When she first heard reports of the Cursed Children disappearing, Seitenshi's initial thought wasn't about humanity's future but concern for the children's safety.
She was a capable leader, but born in the wrong era.
If this weren't a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Seitenshi might have become an exceptional stateswoman, working for the people's benefit.
"May I ask why you summoned me here?"
Seitenshi's tone was deeply respectful. As a person of faith, she had always hoped the gods or divine beings could save these children.
And Damien's appearance, demeanor, and displayed abilities perfectly matched her image of a deity.
"You must have heard by now, haven't you?"
Damien said, "Today, I will unleash a world-ending flood to reshape civilization on this earth."
"Is that true?!"
Seitenshi was startled. She had previously dismissed such talk as doomsday rhetoric from some cult.
She never imagined she'd hear such a harsh truth directly from a divine being.
"Yes."
Damien cut off Seitenshi's impulse to plead, saying, "I will eradicate all Gastrea, take these children, and deliver fitting punishment to the sinful."
"Punishment… you mean…"
Seitenshi's voice trembled. "Death?"
"No, death is far from the heaviest punishment."
"The gravest penalty is for their souls to fall into hell, subjected to infernal flames and endless torment."
As Damien spoke, Seitenshi envisioned a hellish scene, the infinite tortures chilling her to the core.
"What's wrong?"
Damien asked, "Do you think it's cruel?"
"…"
Seitenshi wanted to say "yes," but she dared not defy a divine judgment.
At least the deity wasn't annihilating all of humanity... only judging them.
This meant many would still survive.
"How many… how many will live?"
"Roughly one-fifth will perish."
Seitenshi gasped.
A single sentence, erasing 1.5 billion lives.
Yet this was the most accurate figure, calculated by Violet.
The souls of this world's people were already irredeemably tainted.
They were no different from Gastrea... perhaps even more cruel and twisted.
The Black Bullet arc will conclude tomorrow, followed by a return to the Cardinal World to begin the awakening ceremony.
***
If you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)