The moment Astraea drank the blood wine, she felt a strange connection.
It was like an invisible thread linking her soul to Genichi's.
Through that thread, she could faintly sense Genichi's condition: his emotions, his vitality, even the calmness and coldness he carried at this very moment.
So this was Schrift?
Astraea thought to herself, yet she felt no discomfort.
On the contrary, that connection gave her an inexplicable sense of security. She had finally been accepted. She had finally, truly, taken her place at this boy's side.
Genichi watched Astraea set down the cup and nodded.
"Since you've already drunk the blood wine, there are some things I should tell you."
He paused, his gaze sweeping between Demeter and Astraea before he slowly spoke.
"I'm not from this world."
The sentence struck Astraea's ears like a thunderclap.
Her eyes widened, and she stared at Genichi in disbelief.
"You… you're not from this world?"
Genichi nodded and briefly explained his origins.
A transmigrator. Soul fragments scattered across countless worlds. The battles in the Colosseum. And the other versions of "himself" he had killed.
Astraea listened, her expression gradually shifting from shock to solemnity, then from solemnity to a deep complexity.
She had lived for thousands of years and had seen countless incredible things, but this was the first time she had ever heard of something like this.
Countless worlds, parallel worlds, different versions of the same person killing one another.
This had already gone far beyond the limits of her understanding.
But Genichi did not give her much time to digest it. Right after that, he told her about what had happened to the Genichi from the female-oriented romance world.
Astraea listened quietly, and the more she heard, the more bewildered her expression became.
When Genichi finished describing how that other Genichi had been sent to the operating table, had his kidneys taken, and died in a pool of blood, Astraea's brows knitted tightly together. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"Are you certain… those were humans?"
She asked the question hesitantly, her voice trembling slightly.
It was not fear.
It was confusion.
The kind of confusion that came from seeing something utterly incomprehensible.
In Astraea's understanding, humans could sometimes be selfish, greedy, and capable of cruelty, but there was always a bottom line.
Parents loved their children. Husband and wife supported one another. These were the most basic bonds of human society.
But the actions of those people from the female-oriented romance world had completely overturned her understanding.
His biological parents favored the adopted son so much that they treated their own child like air.
From the moment he was brought home, they ignored his existence, denied him affection, and, in the end, personally sent him to the operating table so his organs could be taken to save the adopted son?
What kind of parents was that?
And that contract wife. They had clearly signed an agreement, and that Genichi had clearly fulfilled his obligations, yet she treated him as nothing more than a tool to fill her emptiness.
In the end, she had even helped kill him?
What kind of wife was that?
Astraea could not understand it.
She truly could not understand it.
"Are those really things a person can do?"
Her voice carried a trace of bewilderment, a trace of confusion, and a faint, hidden anger.
Demeter looked just as lost.
She stared at Genichi and opened her mouth, wanting to say something, only to realize that no words would come.
As a goddess of agriculture, she had seen every side of humanity.
Kindness. Evil. Light. Darkness.
But she had never seen humanity as completely twisted as that female-oriented romance world.
That was no longer evil.
That was… inhuman.
Genichi looked at their reactions and merely shook his head.
As for those false humans from the female-oriented romance world, he had heard of such things before, but only after another version of himself had personally experienced it did he understand that those descriptions were not exaggerated at all.
Those so-called "protagonists," so-called "family members," and so-called "lovers" were not human at all.
They were monsters wearing human skin.
False humans with twisted souls.
Trash that should be completely erased.
An icy killing intent rose in Genichi's heart, but his face remained calm.
"So what do you plan to do?"
Astraea seemed to have already guessed what Genichi wanted.
Her voice was very soft, but it carried complicated emotion.
Genichi looked at her calmly. There was no anger in his eyes, no hatred, only a deep, heavy coldness.
"You've already guessed, haven't you?"
He did not answer directly, but his meaning was perfectly clear.
Kill.
He had no intention of letting any of those false humans from the female-oriented romance world go.
Whether it was that biased pair of biological parents, that contract "wife," or the accomplices who had taken part in it, anyone who had left wounds in that Genichi's memories would die.
All of them.
Not one would be spared.
Astraea was silent for a moment before she spoke.
"Those people truly deserve death."
Her voice was calm, carrying the unique impartiality of the goddess of justice. "As the goddess of justice, that is my judgment. Their actions have surpassed the bottom line of humanity. They do not deserve to be called human, nor do they deserve to live in that world."
Genichi raised an eyebrow slightly.
He had not expected Astraea to say that.
As the goddess of justice, she should have advocated judgment, procedural justice, and the chance for criminals to repent.
But now, she had directly sentenced those people to death.
Astraea looked at him, a complicated sharpness flashing through her eyes.
"I know what you're thinking."
She said softly, "You're wondering why I, as the goddess of justice, would support you killing people."
Genichi did not deny it.
Astraea continued.
"Because those people are beyond saving. Their evil was not a moment of impulse, nor was it forced by circumstance. It is a distortion rooted deep in their souls. They will not repent. They will not change. They will only continue hurting more people."
She paused, and her eyes grew firm.
"For people like that, death is the best conclusion."
Genichi looked at her in silence for a moment, then nodded.
"Good."
He turned and walked toward the window, gazing into the distance.
That female-oriented romance world was somewhere beyond his sight.
Those false humans were still there, getting away with everything.
Waiting for him to harvest them.
Demeter walked forward and gently took his hand.
"Are you really going?"
There was worry in her voice. "Will that world be dangerous?"
Genichi shook his head.
"That world has no supernatural power. With my current strength, I'm invincible there."
He paused, the corner of his mouth lifting into a cold smile.
"Even if they used a nuclear bomb, they still wouldn't be able to kill me. Before the bomb went off, I could leave through a portal. Even if I really got caught in the blast, with my current physical condition, I might not die. As long as I don't die, one healing spell will restore me soon enough."
He touched the potion pouch at his waist.
"Besides, I still have the elixirs I extorted from the Guild. Those potions are enough to deal with any injury."
Demeter listened, and the worry in her heart eased slightly.
But she still could not fully relax.
"Then when will you come back?"
Genichi looked at her, and his eyes softened a little.
"Soon. No matter how long I'm gone, as long as I return to this world, time here will be the next second after I left. So don't worry."
He reached out and gently stroked Demeter's cheek.
"Wait for me."
Demeter nodded. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she did not let them fall.
Astraea walked forward and stood beside Genichi.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Genichi shook his head.
(End of Chapter)
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