Chapter 229: The Wrong Path
The man’s body had shone with raw power that flowed off him in waves and he was like a beacon that flew through the dark sky and immediately challenged the Primordial without any fear! The man told the Rulers to run away, but Katarina remembered being unable to move back then because the sheer power of the two fighters had rendered her immobile. She had watched in a daze as this man stood toe to toe with a creature she was certain would have been the end of them all, and he eventually dragged it back so they both fell from another ripple and into the Primordial expanse.
Katarina didn’t know why, but as she stared up at Jason’s calm face, she could only think that he was similar to that man. Jason was so confident in his own ability that even the knowledge of what was truly coming for them was not enough to put fear into him. He was even daring enough to declare that he would take on the Primordials and make them suffer. There were only two types of people who could do something like this: fools who did not know their place in the world, or madmen who were willing to do anything in order to achieve victory. And against all her natural instincts, Katarina found herself curious about which of the two Jason was. Katarina wanted to watch and see if Jason could truly accomplish what he promised.
A sad smile appeared on Katarina’s face as she turned down to stare at the ground. She really had gone down the wrong path. Jason was right about her all along. She had also been put in a similar situation to what Jason was facing now, but rather than betting on herself and gathering more power to try and stand up to the Primordials, she had chosen to take the easy way out. She was a fool who was incapable of seeing the bigger picture and a coward who was willing to condemn thousands of people to death just to preserve her own miserable existence.
Katarina felt tears welling up once again, but this time she didn’t dare to let them fall. Instead, she reached up and touched the Rune etched into her chest before sending a burst of mana into it. The Rune pulsed with a red light before it suddenly began to burn up until it had completely vanished. Katarina then looked at Jason, and Jason’s eyes narrowed when he saw the small, peaceful smile on her face.
"It appears that even now, I am still the same terrified girl who walked into that Green Gate ten years ago. I would ask for your forgiveness, but I know that I do not deserve it. Instead, I only ask that you make my death as painless as possible. It is a selfish request, but I’m sure you can tell that I am still afraid to die. So please..."
Katarina placed her hands on the floor and bowed her head to the ground once again, and in the process, she exposed the back of her neck to Jason. It was an open invitation for Jason to take her life, and Jason’s eyes narrowed into a heavy glare as his hand tightened around his sword. Liam immediately put his hand up and started to approach Jason to try and stop him! The higher-ups would not be happy if they learned that Jason had killed Katarina! Even though she was a criminal now, she was still very useful since she was the country’s strongest supporter! But Liam stopped when Jason turned to him with a glare! Liam’s entire body froze, and he couldn’t even take a single step forward once that intense glare was pointed at him! He swallowed and stepped back to watch from a distance.
Jason placed his sword against Katarina’s nape, and his logic battled against his anger. Jason was angry about what Katarina had caused him and others for so long because of her selfishness, but in a way, he understood her cowardice. When Katarina went into the Gate, she was no older than sixteen; she was a child who didn’t know anything about her place in the world, and she was forced to face off against monsters beyond her understanding. It wasn’t a surprise that seeing the Primordial had terrified her. But that terror was no excuse for foolishness. Her actions caused Jason to be targeted, and Jason was sure that it had caused the lives of many others over the years.
Jason knew that she deserved death, but at that moment, Jason couldn’t help but think that Katarina was just so pathetic. Jason clicked his tongue in disgust as he decided that he was not going to take her life. It wasn’t because he was sentimental or empathetic towards her, but rather because Jason knew that she was more useful alive than dead. As one of the strongest supporters in the world, she would be useful if there were ever a situation where they needed her. Besides, Jason knew that Katarina was too pathetic to pose a real threat to him, so it would be better for her to spend the rest of her life making up for her foolishness than for her to die here. That was fitting penance as far as Jason was concerned. Jason took his sword away and tossed it back into his Alternate Dimension before he put his hands in his pockets and began to walk away. Katarina slowly opened her eyes when she heard the sound of footsteps going away from her, and she looked up in shock to see that Jason was leaving.
"Why...?"
Katarina was too shocked to say more than that single word. Why was Jason taking pity on her? She had caused pain to so many people over the years, and she knew that she deserved death for it... so why didn’t he kill her? Jason didn’t bother turning around to regard Katarina and he simply spoke to Liam as he left.
"She’s all yours."
Liam nodded his head in thanks and quickly began to call on the Enforcers outside to come in and apprehend Katarina. Jason cleared out his [Black Fog] and once they saw that the fog was gone, the Enforcers and SMD agents quickly made their way into the building. They were all stunned when they saw the multiple dead bodies that were scattered across the halls and rooms. They all knew that Jason was a lot stronger than they thought, but being able to kill these many people in such a short time was simply terrifying! Once they got to the chapel, the Enforcers quickly went to put Superhuman Suppression cuffs on Katarina while some of the SMD agents began to move towards Jason. The agent in the lead quickly began to speak once she was close enough.
"Mr. Jason, we’d like to have a word with you concerning the recent raid. We would appreciate it if you followed us back to the SMD headquarters."
The person who spoke was a serious-looking woman with a no-nonsense air around her, and she was giving Jason a look that suggested that her words were not a suggestion but an order. Jason only gave the woman a dismissive glance before he was about to continue walking, but he suddenly stopped when he got a message in his system.
[The system has detected a significant shift in mana density in the location of the Lich.]
Jason’s brow immediately furrowed while wondering what the hell the system was talking about. The system was able to sense Jason’s confusion and responded quickly.
[The shift in mana density could be due to various possibilities. There are many necrotic rituals that require a significant amount of mana to be performed. But due to how significant the mana density shift is, the system has theorized that it is most likely due to the use of a significant amount of mana to open a Dimensional Tear.]
Jason frowned as he read through this message quickly and he was shocked when he finally understood what the system was trying to tell him! The Lich was leaving its Dimension!?