After Pride cut the connection, Nick looked at the Fallen.
Nick hadn't heard anything that they said, and he couldn't be sure what Pride was planning.
Nick waited in silence for a couple of seconds as he analyzed the Fallen standing beside him.
'It isn't interacting with me in any way, and it isn't doing anything. If Pride had given it a job, it would be moving around or talking to me. Pride also can't tell it to kill me since all of us know that it wouldn't be able to kill me while I'm standing beside the green wall.'
'The only way to kill me would be to lure me away from the wall, but it isn't doing that.'
'If they wanted to let this entire matter rest, the Fallen would just leave. If they wanted to make use of me, the Fallen would be talking to me right now or trying to get me to move away from the green wall.'
'Yet, the Fallen is just waiting in silence, doing nothing.'
'Pride also didn't seem distracted.'
'In fact, the only thing she really paid attention to during the conversation seemed to be me. She seemed really annoyed that she couldn't deal with me.'
'I mean, I thought about such a possibility in theory, but I didn't think that it would actually happen.'
'Is she actually coming here to kill me herself?'
'I think so.'
'If she sent somebody else to kill me, the Fallen wouldn't need to wait here. She believes I fully follow her orders, and she would only need to tell me to wait.'
'It might actually be the case that she's coming here to kill me herself.'
Nick remained silent and waited.
Naturally, if Pride actually showed up, he would almost certainly be helpless in front of her.
Every Corruptor was a Peak Fallen, and they were all more powerful than normal Peak Fallen.
The Corruptors were also ancient.
Most likely, they had all been alive during the era of the Suffering Ones. They might have even been alive during the era of the Enlightened Ones.
This meant that they were, at least,a couple thousand years old.
Not even Shields could live for that long.
Only Specters could.
Although, the chances that they were actually alive during the era of the Enlightened Ones were low.
The reason was that the Enlightened Ones were crazily powerful and advanced.
Most likely, they had been the closest ones to getting rid of all Specters.
The evidence was not rock-solid, but it suggested that the Enlightened Ones had managed to capture at least a couple of Adversaries.
Additionally, the evidence also suggested that the Maw only came to power during the era of the Suffering Ones, which meant that the Enlightened Ones had not been constrained to just seven Shields. 𝙍
Humanity had over ten Peak Protectors who were ready to become Shields but couldn't due to the Maw.
If humanity gained another ten Shields, the power dynamic between the Specters and humans would not be as oppressive, where humans had to fight tooth and nail just to keep a city of humans alive.
If Nick hadn't seen the inhuman engineering and architecture of the machine, he might have believed that the green wall behind him had been created by the Enlightened Ones.
In terms of skill and technological achievement, the Enlightened Ones might have been able to create such a Force Specter trap.
It seemed like the chances were the highest that all of the Seven Corruptors, the Trio of Destruction, Death, and the Maw came to power during the era of the Suffering Ones.
The Suffering Ones truly had a fitting name.
There were also some theories that the Nightmare had appeared during that era, but the evidence wasn't conclusive.
It must have been horrible to live during the era of the Suffering Ones.
The Seven Corruptors, who had all possibly become powerful during the era of the Suffering Ones, had had an insane amount of time to become stronger.
This was why they were much stronger than normal Peak Fallen.
Every Corruptor was bound to have some kind of attack or ability that could kill Force Specters.
If Nick went into the hole right now, he could escape from Pride.
No matter how powerful Pride was, she wasn't small enough to fit into the tiny hole that led to the actual machine.
Nick glanced at the Major Relay lying in front of the Fallen.
'If I escape now, it might warn Pride and stop her from coming,' Nick thought.
'I could destroy it and escape after that, but the fact that none of the Corruptors have been captured or killed means that they are amazing at staying hidden. It's very likely that she will see that something isn't right and retreat without showing herself.'
Nick became nervous.
He was betting his life here.
'If Pride attacks me before showing herself, I will die.'
'Even if she shows herself, I might still die.'
Nick wrestled with his thoughts.
Fight or flight?
Risk or safety?
High reward or low reward?
Trust or suspicion?
Nick didn't want to take the risk.
If he stayed here in the open, he would lose control of his life.
He would have to put his life in the hands of others.
He had contacted Aegis earlier, and he knew that someone from Aegis was here.
However, Nick couldn't be sure who was here.
They were definitely at least as powerful as a Mid Protector since they could stay hidden from the Fallen.
But were they powerful enough to do anything against Pride?
Killing Pride might require at least three Peak Protectors.
Nick was not sure if somebody like that was here.
'Then, there's also that other thing…'
Nick noticed that another second had passed.
'Pride can be here any second now.'
'If I want to escape to safety, this would be my opportunity.'
'I have already killed a Peak Demon, and when Aegis notices that I'm running away, they will close the net around the Fallen as well. I have already contributed a lot. I don't need to contribute even more.'
'I don't need to put my life on the line any-'
And then, Nick's thoughts stopped as he remembered some things he had said in the past.
When he had been a Liaison, he had been willing to risk his life against many more powerful people who could kill him.
Had he needed to do that?
No.
What about when he decided to go back to Aegis and reveal his true status as a Specter?
That was also extremely dangerous.
Had he needed to do that?
No.
Yet, in both cases, he had done so.
'I have not yet redeemed myself,' Nick thought. 'I have only helped about 200,000 people so far.'
'There are still 800,000 people left to go.'
Nick remembered his last name.
'But the old Champion of Light entrusted me with saving all of humanity.'
'Wouldn't dying now be like selling a Specter? If I just invest more, I would gain much more out of this.'
If Nick were in his physical form, he would be gritting his teeth.
'What is this shit?!' he thought in anger. 'I am turning into the very people I swore to kill.'
'I have the power to change things, and I am trying to find justifications for not risking my life.'
'I am fighting for humanity!'
'Aegis is humanity!'
'I can fight for humanity, but I won't be able to truly save humanity without humanity's help.'
'I have to trust humanity!'
'I have to trust Aegis.'
'And if my life ends here, then my trust was misplaced.'
'But, at least, I will have done my best to redeem myself and will die without having been corrupted.'
'I will stay!'
Nick's doubts vanished, and he steeled himself.
About two minutes later, Nick felt a terrifying pressure.
Something was appearing in the dark of the cave.
It was a tall and slender woman with black hair. Her long dress clung to her body, and she seemed to partially fuse with the shadows.
Her eyes were filled with pride, disregard, and disgust.
She was probably over three meters tall.
It was Pride.
Right now, Pride was focusing on Nick.
Then,she slowly moved closer without a word.
Nick could feel the pressure on his body increasing.
He couldn't move anymore!
It was like his Specter Core was being constrained by a clenching fist.
"You're worthless," Pride spoke coldly.
Nick's Specter Core shook.
The pressure increased.
Time seemed to stop.
A little girl appeared in front of Pride.
She held a sacrificial dagger in her hand.
Pride didn't move and just looked at her.
A black streak seemed to cut across Pride's body.
"I'm willing to comply," Pride transmitted.
The Knife didn't answer.
Instead, she rammed the sacrificial dagger into her own abdomen before violently moving it upward, splitting her torso into two pieces.
A fountain of blood shot out of her.
But at the same time, Pride's body fell into pieces.
Her black Specter Core became visible before turning into black dust.
Pride had died.
The Knife was here.
As soon as Pride died, War noticed.
The Knife was now on the gameboard.
For the next couple of seconds, it didn't need to fear the Knife's sudden arrival on the battlefield.
The carefully balanced scales of conflict were tipped.
One second after Pride died, war broke out all across the world.