"Who said I agreed?"

My voice echoed through the empty corridor, carrying my irritation with it, while the images of the monsters were still clear as they struggled on the other side of the glass.

I didn’t fully realize it until the words left my mouth... was I losing my mind again? I should’ve said it in a polite and tactful way, yet here I was saying this instead.

But for some reason, I didn’t feel any fear or sense of danger. At the same time, Medirin didn’t seem genuinely bothered by what I’d said.

Instead, the curious look on her face disappeared, and the smile returned to her lips as she spoke in the same gentle tone.

"You really are just like the reports."

I couldn’t help raising an eyebrow. "And how do those reports describe me?"

"Rude, indifferent, uncooperative, arrogant, and with a touch of madness." Medirin resumed walking forward.

Wow... how rude.

I followed after her. Did you forget what I just said?... I wasn’t joking when I said I didn’t agree, and I think that was obvious.

She gave me a sidelong glance before looking forward again. "I understand that you have doubts about us, especially after the way you were brought here."

"As I said, it may take time, but in the end, you’ll realize we’re right."

No... you’re not, and you never will be.

I know the Void system is divided into seven, each led by a Pillar, and each one is different from the others in the way they act and conduct themselves... but in the end, they’re all the same, and Medirin certainly wasn’t the hidden angel among them.

"Oh, you’ve gone quiet again. Is something bothering you?"

I shook my head as I caught up to her. "No, nothing is bothering me."

Because everything here bothers me.

But since Medirin had decided to ignore what I’d said earlier, I might as well take the opportunity to ask, "Does Marquis Valimont work for you?"

She brushed a strand of her hair back. "No, under the Pillar of Destruction. That’s why I told you earlier that I wasn’t the one who was supposed to meet you today."

"So does the Marquis handle all his shady business or something?"

I thought she’d ignore the question, but instead she answered as if it were nothing.

"Yes, you could say he’s one of my hot-tempered colleague’s main sources of funding."

Out of habit, I slipped my hand into my pocket. "So there are a lot of nobles working for you. What about the Axis, or the other academies?"

She touched her chin while the sound of her heels echoed through the quiet corridor. "Yes, there are many nobles working for us. As for the Axis, there isn’t anyone useful there besides a few ordinary students... I think there was a professor, but I heard something happened to him."

She spoke as casually as if she were talking about everyday life. "As for the other academies, yes, there are some useful people."

"What about the other empires?"

She shrugged, her black dress moving with her. "The same."

She lowered her hand and turned her head toward me, amusement flickering in her red eyes. "I feel like I’m the one being interrogated here."

"I need to know your full reach before I even think about anything." I gave the most reasonable answer.

"Oh... how wise. Maybe we should add that to the report."

I resisted the urge to click my tongue. "So who are these students? Are they in my year, or older?"

"Hmm... I don’t know." Medirin hummed softly as she continued leading the way to who knew where.

As expected, she didn’t answer that either.

As we continued walking, I tried asking more questions, hoping to get something useful or some specific identities I could work with, but of course, she didn’t reveal anything meaningful and only gave vague answers.

We reached the end of the corridor, and a pair of double doors opened before us, revealing a small room with a glass wall at the far end.

Medirin entered first, and I followed behind. Judging by my sense of time, it had been around forty minutes or so since I’d been brought here.

"Come. You’ll be interested in seeing this." Her gentle voice urged me to approach the glass.

I walked over and stood before the smooth wall, looking at what lay below outside this small room.

It was nothing but a vast area divided into several smaller training grounds with people moving across them... men and women, young and old, all wearing light armor as they fought one another.

Others sat around the edges watching, while sweat and blood dripped from their bodies covered in wounds.

Here and there, figures who looked like supervisors could be seen shouting and urging them to keep fighting.

Even with the clash of weapons and abilities, along with the shouting, not a single sound reached this room. Only my voice broke the silence.

"So this is how you build your strength... is this normal training, or are you forcing them to do it?"

Medirin placed her hand on the glass, her gentle voice echoing through the quiet room.

"Of course we’re not forcing them. Every one of them came here of their own free will and according to their own wishes."

She stepped back until she reached a tall table and poured herself a glass of water.

"You don’t know it, but none of these people have anything. They’re just a marginalized part of this society divided by the noble class, yet they all have the potential to contribute to preserving humanity."

"Here, that potential can fully bloom, without anything holding it back or restraining it... just like you."

Just like me?

Medirin walked toward me, holding the glass of clear water.

"I know you’re confused, hesitant... or perhaps you still can’t fully grasp all this... that’s fine. It’s only natural."

She smiled as our eyes met.

"You can go back and make your decision later. I’ll make sure no one contacts you or bothers you again."

I looked at the glass of water while slipping one hand into my pocket, smiling.

"That would be very kind of you, my Lady."

Medirin nodded in satisfaction, then raised her other hand and placed a finger over the glass.

The next moment, a small cut appeared on the tip of her pale finger.

A drop of crimson blood fell from it, mixing into the clear water and disappearing into it. At the same time, the wound healed, and her skin became flawless once more.

I tilted my head curiously. "Don’t tell me you’re going to make me drink that."

"As I said, it’s only a small guarantee to make sure you won’t reveal any of this, at least until the day you return." She held the glass out toward me as she spoke.

With my other hand, I took the glass from her and stared at the clear water.

"Will you tell me what this actually is?"

"You can think of it as a small bond between us. It won’t hinder you or bother you in any way. It simply guarantees what I told you before."

A small bond?... Who knew if I’d become a slave the next moment.

But looking at the glass in my hand, I couldn’t help finding it amusing.

Ever since my conversation with the Marquis, it had been obvious things would end like this.

One hand in my pocket and the glass in the other, I walked past Medirin and reached the table, setting the glass down before turning to face her again.

A calm, gentle smile rested on her face as she tilted her head curiously.

"It seems you don’t trust me."

She showed no impatience or annoyance at my behavior.

I didn’t look at her, but at the people beyond the glass... the people she said were just like me.

"I’m sorry to disappoint you, Lady Medirin, but I’m not like them... and I never will be."

She raised an eyebrow and glanced down below before looking back at me, but I cut her off before she could say anything, my voice carrying cold sarcasm.

"Who knows how many innocent people you’ve killed... how many you’ve butchered without the slightest mercy or compassion, and now you’re standing here telling me your goal is to preserve humanity, and that all those sacrifices are necessary for some greater purpose." My voice came out louder than I intended.

For the first time, I saw a trace of annoyance in her eyes, but it disappeared the next moment.

"Caius, you don’t..."

"I don’t understand yet?" I interrupted without hesitation.

"No, no, believe me, you’re the one who doesn’t understand. You and every other Pillar... because you know a few secrets, you think you have the right to decide humanity’s fate."

I felt the air in the room freeze as the blood in my veins trembled and my heartbeat accelerated.

I pushed Essence through my body and activated my ability.

"What the hell do you think you are... saviors? Redeemers?... Or maybe just fools who already chose to surrender?"

The overwhelming presence of the Pillar of Blood began pressing down on me and the world around me... yet she still showed no genuine intent to kill.

I smiled as I watched her face abandon its kindness for the first time, while the muscles in my hand tightened around what was inside my pocket.

"You’re a fool. All of you are nothing but fools with a bit of arrogance."

"Caius..." The last traces of kindness disappeared from her face, replaced by a coldness that sent chills through my body.

I felt the glass shatter inside my pocket as I interrupted her again, ignoring my frightened body.

"You’re not worthy of being human, let alone deciding humanity’s fate."

The shattered glass vanished from my hand, and at the same moment, a new soul appeared inside the room.

At that moment, the pressure from two Rank 7 souls was tearing my mind apart.