Chapter 226: Self-Sacrifice
Jason didn’t know if Katarina was telling the truth or not, but he could feel a significant amount of mana pulsing out from that tattoo, and he knew that it had to have some extraordinary function! Jason felt anger swell in his heart as he realized how fucking twisted this woman truly was! She was so terrified of death that she was even willing to wager the lives of all those people just so she could preserve her own!
’Is she lying?’
Jason immediately asked this message to the system, and the system responded quickly.
[The rune carved into the subject’s chest is indeed the [Rune of Mortal Severance]. It is a special magical item that is used mainly by the leaders of cults and secret organizations to protect their lives and the secrets of their cults. If the leader of the cult bearing the Rune were ever to be killed, then every member of the cult who has dedicated their lives to the leader will also lose their life to ensure cult secrets cannot be extracted from them.]
Jason grit his teeth in anger at this answer! He dragged Katarina with a rough tug, and Katarina felt fear pass through her heart as Jason seethed right in her face.
"You fucking coward..."
These were the only words that Jason said at that moment, but they struck Katarina so deeply in her heart that she didn’t even know when she began to tear up! Katarina’s eyes watered desperately, and she sniffed in despair while looking up at Jason. Jason’s frown deepened as he saw this, and he clicked his tongue in irritation before he tossed her to the side roughly! Katarina fell to the ground at the foot of her altar, and Jason calmly walked over to the first seat facing the altar. He sat down and leaned against his sword before looking down at the crying woman with an impassive stare.
Katarina continued to cry as she hugged her legs desperately, and Jason offered her no words of compassion. The sound of footsteps echoed from outside the chapel, and Liam finally appeared from the darkness outside while breathing heavily. Jason had left Liam a few minutes ago to find where Katarina was, and Liam only managed to find his way here now! He looked around at all the dead bodies littering the floor and grimaced at the loss of life! He knew that they brought this on themselves by attacking first, but that was no reason for him not to feel bad that they died!
Liam then turned away from the dead bodies and faced the front of the chapel where Jason and Katarina were. Jason was leaning forward and staring at Katarina, and Katarina was on the floor crying profusely! What in the world did Jason do to that woman? Liam wisely chose to stay back and simply watch what was going to happen. He stood a small distance away from the pair with his hands behind him as he watched the events unfold. Back with Jason and Katarina, the woman was still crying as she sat on her knees. She hugged her hands around her body and bowed her head in shame, and Jason’s frown only deepened as he finally spoke.
"Your crying is becoming irritating. Stop."
Katarina shook at Jason’s words and put a hand up to her mouth to try and muffle her crying. Jason waited until he was sure that she wasn’t wracking with sobs anymore before he spoke.
"You and I have never met before today, that much I’m sure of, and yet you decided, for some fucked up reason, that it was necessary to get rid of me. Tell me why you were after my life."
Jason’s gaze pierced into Katarina, and she found herself looking away from how heavy it was! Katarina placed her hand against the floor to hold herself up and stared down miserably, and Jason barked in anger!
"Answer me!"
Katarina shook in fear once Jason shouted at her and she immediately spoke up.
"I... I wasn’t after your life. I never wanted things to turn out like this. If I had a choice... I would never interact with the world outside these walls again. I just want to be left alone."
How pathetic. Jason couldn’t stop this thought from crossing his mind as he heard what Katarina had to say. She sounded like someone who had truly given up on life, and she was simply holding onto her pathetic existence out of fear of death. Jason stared at Katarina calmly and spoke.
"What really happened in that Green Gate ten years ago?"
Katarina’s entire body shook at the mere mention of the Green Gate, and Jason watched as she had a near meltdown! She put her hand on her head and pressed her forehead against her knee while letting out a low cry! Her eyes were wide as she stared at something in front of her that only she could see! Jason immediately called on one of his subordinates, and Rosa appeared from beside Katarina and grabbed her by the arm! She pulled Katarina up, and Katarina let out a pained cry as she was forced to face Jason once again.
Jason’s eyes were still completely devoid of all emotion, and he simply stared at Katarina while calmly waiting for an answer. Behind them, Liam thought about intervening since things were starting to spiral out of control, but he decided against it. This was important, and Liam also wanted to know what Katarina had to say.
Katarina looked into Jason’s eyes for a few seconds, and she could see her own mad image reflecting off his pupils. She bowed her head, and a miserable laugh echoed from her mouth. Rosa was still holding her up, and that was the only reason why she stayed on her feet when she spoke.
"You want to know how it happened in the Gate? Do you want to know why I was driven away from humanity and secluded myself from the world for so long? Did you think that it was fair? Five of us were sent into the Green Gate alone. Five newly awakened superhumans, without any support or aid from the government, like lambs to the slaughter. We were thrown in there and asked to save the world. They called up the Five Rulers and told us we would be heroes! But that was a lie! We were Martyrs! Sacrifices! They fully expected us to die, and we would’ve if not for him! You have no idea what it was like! No one knows what it was like for us! What we saw in there wasn’t some Magical Beast! We met the devil himself!"
Katarina suddenly shot her head up to Jason once again, and Jason could see madness in those eyes! Jason narrowed his gaze as he simply listened, and Katarina let out a small laugh as she continued.
"We weren’t even good enough for a warmup! The five of us were like ants before that monster! I stared at it and I knew without a doubt that it would be the catalyst that ended the human race! We’re nothing in front of the monsters out there! Nothing! Do you think I could still live amongst these doomed animals after seeing something like that!? Do you think I’d want any part of this world after knowing what was waiting for us!? Hahah! You think I wanted to kill you? If you want to save this world, then you’ll do it yourself! Take a sword and fall on it so we don’t have to suffer through that madness! Sacrifice your pathetic life for the sake of the other humans!"