Simon came out of the building a couple of minutes later. "Let's go."
Nick nodded, and the two of them flew towards the northeast.
They crossed the small part of the ocean and reached the island to the northeast of the Desolate Continent.
Due to Simon's speed, it just took them a couple of seconds to arrive.
Crimson City.
As soon as the megastructure of Crimson City appeared in Nick's vision, he closed his eyes.
He might belong to Aegis now, but the Crimson Sea didn't care about status.
In the grand scheme of things, the Crimson Sea was still vastly more powerful than Nick, and a careless glance could still kill Nick.
"Can you hide us with your Zephyx?" Nick asked with closed eyes.
"Of course, but why would you want that?" Simon asked.
"I want to show you the city. It will only take a couple of minutes."
Simon frowned.
He wanted to get back to keeping guard over Envy, but he decided to humor Nick.
"Sure," Simon answered.
"Land near the southern edge of the city, please," Nick said.
Simon did just that, and the two of them reached the edge of the city.
By now, huge walls surrounded the city once again.
The Crimson Sea incident had happened over ten years ago, and by now, the entire city had expanded to its old size again.
Since the Crimson Sea could no longer deal with outside threats, walls were needed again.
Nick and Simon stood just behind the tall walls, near the southern entrance of the city.
No one was paying them any attention.
Nick wordlessly walked towards the east while Simon followed him, looking around.
The city didn't seem so bad.
It looked quite new and clean.
Nick and Simon jumped over a couple of houses before they reached a couple of houses that seemed just as new as the remainder of the city.
On the surface, it didn't seem any different to the other parts of the city.
However, if one looked at the people, one would see the difference.
"Do you see them?" Nick asked, pointing at the people walking around.
Simon looked at them with a raised brow. "They seem quite exhausted."
Nick nodded. "Just recently, Kugelblitz has started going back to their old ways with the Blood Tax. Can you see how thin they are?"
"I can, but I've seen that in many other cities as well," Simon answered.
Nick nodded again. "And that's the bad part. It's not only this city. Try to forget how common this is and think about whether or not this is right."
"Of course it's not," Simon answered, "but it's very difficult to survive in this world. The Specters are a constant threat, and Aegis needs the Zephyx from the cities to resist the Specters."
Nick looked at Simon. "Do you believe suffering is necessary to achieve that?"
"I haven't seen another way work," he answered.
"Simon," Nick said. "If the richer people give a little more, the poor wouldn't need to suffer. That makes logical sense, right?"
"Of course, but it's not that easy," Simon answered. "The rich are rich because they are very good at earning and keeping their money."
"And they deserve their money," Nick said. "The rich will still be rich. Even when I am in charge of Crimson City."
"The difference is how rich they will be."
Simon raised an eyebrow. "The rich are the most powerful people in the city. They run everything. Taking from them means making the entire city your enemy."
"That's the tradeoff," Nick answered. "The poor need someone strong that has their best interest in mind."
"I know there will be assassination attempts on my life. The powerful will try their best to keep their fat stacks of meat and Zephyx."
Nick turned to Simon. "But I'm willing to put my life on the line and meet their assassination attempts."
"I'm willing to make the entire city my enemy."
Simon looked with worry at Nick.
He recognized that this was a noble goal, but it seemed like a very bad idea.
"Can't you do it in a less dangerous way?" Simon asked.
"You said it yourself," Nick answered. "You haven't seen any other way work yet."
"There's one truth to this world, and Aegis demonstrates that truth very well."
"Power is everything," Nick said.
"The Specters rule this world because they are powerful."
"Humans can only survive because Aegis is powerful enough to resist the Specters."
Simon looked unconvinced at Nick. "That might be true, but you're not powerful."
"And yet," Nick answered. "I am still willing to put my life on the line for what I believe in. If an Initial Expert is willing to do that, what excuse do the Governors have, who are the most powerful?"
Simon didn't answer.
"I might not be the most powerful in this city," Nick said, "but I am the hardiest and toughest."
Nick's eyes narrowed. "As long as I can keep surviving their assassination attempts and kill the people resisting me, sooner or later, the powerful will be forced to comply."
"Easier said than done," Simon commented.
Nick just wordlessly nodded.
Nick led Simon around the new Dregs, showing him the malnourished and stressed people.
Naturally, it didn't feel good to look at them, but Simon had seen these scenes in many different cities.
Eventually, the two of them reached the actual Outer City.
"Do you know why I've shown you the Dregs?" Nick asked.
"No," Simon answered. "I've seen that so many times."
"I wanted to show you that this city isn't any different from other cities."
Nick turned to Simon. "Remember what this city looks like right now because, in a couple of years, you won't recognize it anymore."
"I want to prove that if I can change things here, I can change things in other cities as well."
"My goal is no longer just to improve the lives of the poor people in Crimson City."
"After I'm done with Crimson City, I want to help other cities as well."
Simon raised an eyebrow. "Quite a big claim. You seem very confident."
Nick looked forward with intense eyes.
"It's not confidence."
"It's necessity."
"I have to succeed at all costs!"
"If I can't succeed, my entire life is meaningless and worthless."
"This is like a fight to the death."
"Either I succeed, or I die."
Scenes from Nick's life shot through his mind.
Horua.
Pator.
The Crimson Sea incident.
Nick had killed important people in his life and a great number of innocent strangers.
His guilt was unending.
He had managed to keep living and betting on his future.
Someday, he would be able to redeem himself.
But now, this no longer worked.
The opportunity had arrived, and with it, Nick's destiny.
Redemption or death.
To survive, Nick couldn't bet on a possibility anymore.
Now, he had to bet on a certainty.
And it was all up to him.
He had all the power.
There were no more excuses.
He had to succeed now, or everything would have been for nothing!
Simon looked at Nick with worry.
He could feel how tense Nick was.
It truly reminded him of watching someone fight for their life.
Simon wordlessly followed Nick as they approached the megastructure.
"Please, get me through one of the holes. I don't want to be seen yet," Nick said.
"Sure," Simon answered casually, and the two of them flew through one of the holes in the megastructure.
It had only been a bit more than a day since the grand fight, and the holes hadn't been fully repaired yet.
The two of them landed in the Inner City.
"Where's Julian being held?" Nick asked.
"You want to deal with him first?" Simon asked.
Nick nodded.
"I put him into one of Kugelblitz's Containment Units. Due to his dangerous power, I ordered that only Heroes be allowed to have access to it."
Nick nodded again. "Smart choice."
The two of them traveled to Kugelblitz and stepped through the entrance without being noticed.
Simon's powers were incredible.
Simon and Nick walked up to the highest floor, and Nick led him to a door.
Nick knocked on the door.
"Ah, makes sense," Simon said.
He could perceive the space behind the door.
Then, he stopped hiding their presence, and a moment later, the door opened.
Aria Light looked at the two of them with surprise. "Honored Protector," she greeted.
"Nick," she said casually with a nod to him.
"We have a couple of things to deal with," Nick said neutrally.
Simon just stood beside Nick, silent.
Aria raised an eyebrow.
It almost seemed like Nick was the one in charge between the two.
"Okay," she answered. "What do you need?"
"Access to Julian," Nick said.
Aria narrowed her eyes.
Naturally, she didn't believe that Nick couldn't have known about Julian's true identity.
The two of them had been way too close for over a decade.
"Why?" she asked.
Nick's eyes narrowed.
"To kill him."
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