Reality check

Nathan quickly climbed the stairs and realized that he was in some kind of warehouse. 

Now he only had two things to do, find Lira and escape the place. The problem was that Nathan had no idea where the girl was, let alone how to get out of the place without being spotted.

As he looked around, he saw a red-light flash from another staircase on the other side of the room, followed by a high-pitched scream, definitely from a girl... it was Lira's scream.

Nathan turned pale at the sound and ran quickly through the storeroom and up the stairs. He no longer thought about the consequences of going up without a plan. He might run into other men and get caught.

But the girl's scream had shaken him, Lira had been the most supportive person. She had always greeted him with a smile at the factory, and Nathan had been able to bear the disappearance of the other children, to whom he had not been particularly attached. But after two years, he had grown fond of the child.

He thought of her as a little sister, so he didn't give a damn and ran upstairs. When he reached the top of the stairs, Nathan stopped, not knowing what to do or how to react.

There was Boreas, standing in the middle of the room, directly in front of the man who had knocked Lira out in the factory. The girl stood behind the old man with tears in her eyes and trembling visibly.

Nathan looked at everyone and then back at Boreas. The old man looked back at him and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"You were here?"

Nathan didn't know what to say, he didn't understand what was going on.

"What are you doing here?"

Boreas thought for a moment before speaking.

"Getting rid of the garbage... come to think of it, this is a good opportunity"

Nathan looked at Boreas cautiously, whenever he said that Nathan always went through a terrible training that he wouldn't wish to anyone.

Boreas took his cane and struck the man in the stomach as he lay on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Kill him"

Nathan was silent for a few seconds.

"What?"

Boreas struck the man again in the stomach as he groaned in pain.

"Kill him. That's what you train for, isn't it? In this world you must be prepared to kill and die. But you've died enough, now it's time for you to learn how to kill"

Nathan froze, in the last few months he had gotten used to dying all the time, but it was still a horrible experience. It didn't matter how much, dying was painful and exhausting.

But the thought of killing someone had never crossed his mind, the mere thought of ending someone else's life made him sick.

He had grown accustomed to seeing his own blood, but the sight of someone else's blood reminded him of that moment in the facility where the blood of the workers had covered the floor and walls.

His hands began to shake, his lips were dry, and his heart was pounding. Nathan did not know what to do.

Boreas saw his condition and sighed.

"If you don't, forget about training with me again"

Nathan looked at the old man and then at the man suffering on the ground. His legs were destroyed and there was a puddle of water underneath him. It was something Nathan had seen before and knew very well, the man was scared, he was afraid.

Nathan's eyes then turned to Lira, who was still trembling, unaware of what was happening. The girl was ten years old, two years younger than him, and Nathan knew what it was like to be in a traumatic situation. 

He had no idea what they were doing to the children, but he got an idea when he saw all the blood on the floor and that Lira was almost naked, covered only by a blanket.

Boreas saw that Nathan was still doing nothing, so he walked over and looked him straight in the eyes.

"This man and his men have been kidnapping children in this area for years. Some were used as sacrifices, others as sex toys. You can agree with me that they were scum, people who didn't deserve to live"

Nathan swallowed and looked at the man who was crying silently.

He definitely hated what the man had done... but his hands still shook at the thought of killing them.

"If I hadn't arrived, the girl would have been used by him. Surely her body would have been dumped in some ditch afterwards"

Nathan no longer knew what to think.

"W-why?"

Boreas was silent and then said in a serious tone, a tone Nathan had never heard since he had met the old man.

"Why...? Simply because that's the way of the world. This man is also of the first rank, he has a technique that erases his presence, that's how he kidnapped children without anyone noticing"

Nathan finally understood how the man had entered the room without him noticing.

"Just as there is a good side, there is also a bad side. People with techniques are superior to those without one, so there will be some who will take advantage of their powers"

Nathan had never entertained the idea of using his technique to do harm or evil. He just wanted to be strong enough to forget, so that he would never be afraid again... but now he realized that he could also hurt other people.

So far, all the evil he had known had come from calamities. The one responsible for the deaths of the workers at the facility was a calamity, and the boy who tried to strangle him in the realm was also a calamity.

But Nathan had never seen a human being harm another human being.

They were supposed to be heroes, the saviors of humanity. They were supposed to use their powers to save people from danger.

But in less than a minute, whatever good image Nathan had of the world came crashing down. Boreas gave him a reality check, showed him what the world they lived in was really like.

Nathan clenched his fists and looked at Boreas with determined eyes. He trusted the old man's words, and although he still wanted to see the world for himself, if what he said was true, then he had no choice but to accept it.

Understanding Nathan's decision, Boreas reached behind his suit, pulled out a knife and handed it to him.

Seeing the knife in Boreas' hands for a few seconds, Nathan took it and took a deep breath before walking towards the man.

The man saw Nathan approaching and, seeing the knife in his hand, began to scream.

"NO! WAIT! I can give you anything you want! Money! Women!"

Nathan frowned at the man's shouts.

"That girl! I Don't touch her, she's still clean! You know her, don't you? You can still enjoy her!"

Nathan clenched his jaw, the words coming out of the man's mouth were simply disgusting. He just stood there looking at him with disgust.

The man paled when he saw his words had no effect, so he grabbed Nathan's legs and continued to beg.

The man's words no longer reached Nathan's ears, he was no longer interested in cheap excuses. All he felt now was sickness and disgust at the filth in front of him.

Nathan squeezed the handle of the knife in his hand and stared at its edge for a few seconds.

His mind was in chaos. He wanted to end the man's life badly enough, but the memories made him tremble and prevented him from continuing.

At one point Nathan looked to the side and saw Lira looking frightened. But the girl was not frightened for him, there was nothing but appreciation in her eyes.

That was reason enough for Nathan. He imagined the fate of all the children who had disappeared and for whom he had done nothing.

Lira had been lucky enough to be the last, so she had been saved. But that's all it was, luck.

Nathan knew he could have been a victim. So, he didn't hesitate and lowered the knife.

The blade plunged cleanly into the man's neck, making him writhe and spit blood. Seconds later his body went limp, and Nathan stood up and stared at the man's body.

He thought that the man's death would be payment enough for all the children who had died at the man's hands. Other than that, Nathan's mind was blank.

The blood splattering on the floor meant nothing to him. Yes, his traumas still lingered, but he didn't really feel anything when he killed the man.

The only thing Nathan felt was a slight fear. Fear that other people's lives meant nothing to him.