Aria looked at Nick with furrowed brows before turning to Simon.
Simon nodded. "The Left Arm has given the order. Julian will be killed today."
Aria's eyes widened.
The Left Arm?!
This order came from the Left Arm?!
An order from the Left Arm was as weighty as an order from the Right Arm!
The two of them were essentially the highest authority in the human world, except for the Champion of Light.
Aria sighed. "I'm glad to hear that. I also believe he is a great danger. The number of times Experts and even Specialists tried to free Julian yesterday was shocking."
"His hold over the city is terrifying."
"I even had to station Jornis in front of the Containment Unit since the incidents were becoming too numerous," she explained.
Simon knew a little about Julian, but even he was shocked at Julian's power.
"I'll bring you right to him," she said, stepping out of her office.
The two of them went one floor lower, and Nick could already see the gigantic figure of Jornis standing in front of a door like a golem.
"Two more incidents. I dealt with them," Jornis said with his deep voice.
"Thank you," Aria said with a nod. "You don't need to stand guard here anymore. Julian is getting executed."
Jornis looked at Simon and saw his uniform.
"That's for the best, Protector," he said with a polite bow.
Simon just nodded.
Jornis stepped to the side, and the three of them went through the door.
They found themselves in a locker room.
"Please, wait outside," Nick told Aria. "I want to talk to him one last time."
Aria furrowed her brows and looked at Simon.
Simon just nodded.
"Fine," Aria said before she opened the employee entrance.
Nick and Simon walked into the Containment Unit, and the door closed behind them.
There he was.
In the middle of the room was Julian.
Just like always, he had a confident smile on his face.
"You're still alive, Nick," Julian said with a smile.
"I am," Nick answered.
Silence.
"So, why are you here?" Julian asked, looking at Simon.
"We are going to execute you," Nick said.
"Execute me?" Julian asked before breaking out in a laugh. "That is priceless!"
"You are going to execute me while you are still allowed to walk around? You have caused more damage to humanity than me!" Julian shouted.
Simon just threw Julian's comments out of the proverbial window.
He was a Specter.
He had entertained them in the past, but after Nick had gotten the Champion of Light's blessing, Julian's comments no longer had any weight.
"That is true," Nick said.
Simon looked at Nick with surprise.
"I couldn't be honest with you before, Simon, but I can be now," Nick said. "If I had told you everything before, you would have killed me. But now, I can tell you."
"Julian, why don't you tell Simon everything that I have done?" Nick asked.
Julian had a disgusted sneer on his face.
"Protector, did you know that Nick has the power of the Null and that he is the reason why Envy is after the city?" Julian asked with a sweet smile.
Simon nodded. "I know. He told me himself over a decade ago."
Julian's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, okay. Then, how about the time he released the Crimson Sea?"
Now, Simon was surprised and looked at Nick. "Is that true?"
Nick nodded.
"I infiltrated the Spartans after they tried to kill me. I killed many of their employees and freed several of their Specters as revenge. I did not expect the situation to go out of hand. It was my mistake."
Nick turned to Simon. "And there is not a single day in which the guilt doesn't tear me apart."
"Do you now understand why I have to succeed? If I don't succeed, I won't be able to live with this guilt anymore," Nick said.
Simon just frowned. "That's not right. You should have confessed immediately."
"And then what?" Nick asked. "Get put to work in some prison? Get executed? If I did that, it wouldn't help the world at all."
Nick looked at the ground while clenching his fists. "I might not be able to help the people I have killed, but I can help the world in return."
"A thousand improved lives for one innocent death," Nick said. "If I can achieve that, I will have done a lot of good for the world."
"Can I be redeemed? Maybe not, but I have to try my best! I have to help humanity!" Nick shouted with conviction.
Simon looked at Nick.
His feelings were mixed.
Undoubtedly, Nick was a monster who had killed thousands of innocent people.
Simon would execute someone like that without feeling bad.
And yet, Nick's conviction was genuine, and most important of all, he had been in front of the Champion of Light.
The Champion of Light was the oldest, wisest, and most powerful human in the world.
The Champion of Light could definitely see Nick's true self.
And if the Champion of Light believed in him, Simon would also believe in him.
"I hope you will succeed," Simon said. "Not for yourself, but for all the innocent people you have killed."
"I have to!" Nick said with conviction, his eyes narrowed.
A moment later, his expression became neutral again, and he looked at Julian. "Anything else?"
Julian looked with rage and disgust at Nick.
"What about the fact that he knew who I was ever since the Crimson Sea incident? He won a bet against me, and his wish was to be allies with me and to kill Wyntor Melfion, his old boss," Julian said.
Simon narrowed his eyes.
Nick colluded with a Specter?
He had suspected something like that, but he hadn't been sure yet.
"That is correct," Nick said.
Simon looked with intensity at Nick.
"The Specters are humanity's greatest enemy," Nick said. "But is one Specter the greatest enemy of one human?"
Simon's expression didn't change.
"Julian said it himself," Nick added. "I caused more damage to the city than him."
"I have killed around two thousand innocent people with the Crimson Sea incident. Julian has killed fewer than that."
"And over the past decade, how many has he killed?"
"43 Veterans, eleven Experts, and two Specialists," Julian answered.
Nick nodded.
"And how many lives has the Blood Tax claimed over the many years? How many lives have been destroyed by their greed?" Nick asked.
Julian snorted. "I can't compete with humanity's maliciousness."
Naturally, Julian wanted to show that he wasn't so bad so that he wouldn't get executed.
"Do you see?" Nick asked Simon. "Julian has killed fewer people than Kugelblitz, Anatomy, and probably even Gemini."
"The Manufacturer that he controlled caused the least harm."
"Why?"
"Because an animal only wants to eat until it is no longer hungry."
"A human wants to eat until nothing is left!"
Nick looked at Simon.
"I knew from the beginning that Julian would cause less damage than most humans when in control of a Manufacturer. And even if Julian managed to take control over the entire city, he would only consume the powerful people while leaving the normal people alone since they won't improve his power anymore."
"And finally, he would leave the city and consume stronger people."
"If he managed to rule the city, the normal people would be happier than they are right now."
"He might be a Specter, but he is less damaging to Crimson City than the Governor or the people in the upper layer," Nick said.
Of course, Simon wasn't completely convinced.
In a certain way, Nick's words made sense, but there were still issues.
If Julian kept growing more powerful, he could endanger all of humanity.
Nick had essentially put the common people of one city above humanity's safety.
"You could have destroyed humanity," Simon said coldly.
Nick nodded.
"But I didn't," Nick said.
Simon just looked at Nick for a while.
Then, he took a deep breath.
"My faith in the Champion of Light is being tested but remains unbroken," he said.
"I don't trust you, Nick, but I trust in the Champion of Light."
That was all Simon said.
"That's all I can ask for," Nick said.
Then, he turned to Julian. "Anything else?"
Julian was grasping at straws.
"He was the one that destroyed Anatomy," Julian said.
Simon looked with shock at Nick, but this time, it wasn't because Nick was a monster in terms of morals.
No, it was because Nick was a monster regarding his abilities in combat.
Obviously, destroying Anatomy was not comparable to any of the other things Julian had highlighted.
Almost no innocent people had died, and Nick had actually improved Crimson City by getting rid of Anatomy.
That was not a bad thing, but a good thing.
"That is also correct," Nick said.
Simon could tell that Nick was powerful for his level, but this was just crazy!
Nick had essentially taken down Anatomy from the inside out.
That sounded impossible!
"Are you done? Anything to add?" Nick asked Julian.
Julian looked with aggression at Nick.
"I guess that's it then," Nick said.
"Julian, over the many years, you have taught me so many things. I have learned a lot from you."
"Yet, your most important lesson came at the end."
"You taught me that, no matter how certain I am, I might have still overlooked something."
"You underestimated me, Julian, because you were arrogant and believed yourself to be in control."
"And if someone like you can be taken down by a young man over an entire level weaker than you, it can also happen to me."
"You taught me that I always have to be vigilant, even if I believe I am safe."
"And I won't make the same mistake as you."
"Goodbye, Julian."
Then, Nick turned to Simon and looked at him in silence.
Simon furrowed his brows.
Julian grew desperate, and several mouths appeared around Nick.
Nick just looked at Julian.
Simon snapped his finger.
CRRRRRRRR!
An endless inferno consumed the Containment Unit, covering everything in white flames.