Chapter 15: Reeling From the Consequences

Luke nearly exploded.

If the evil god were to appear in front of him right at that moment, he would have attacked him right then and there. Whether it was through his bare fists or with a sword, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was venting his anger on the evil god.

“You went back on our deal. You weren’t supposed to harm innocent people,” Luke spat, his body shaking from anger.

“I haven’t,” the evil god said.

“Then how do you explain all the dead monster hunters?” Luke demanded.

“I’m telling the truth. I didn’t do anything on purpose, but my existence naturally empowers those affiliated with me like monsters. You can say it happens passively without my control,” the evil god said.

His stomach dropped.

So it was his fault that the monster hunters died. If he had never made the deal with the evil god, he wouldn’t have escaped his prison and caused so many deaths.

“That’s right. It’s your fault all those people died, so what are you going to do about it? Will you take revenge against me? But you can’t. Not in your current condition. You still haven’t gotten revenge on your ex-comrades,” the evil god taunted.

Unable to stand it any longer, Luke slammed his fist against the wall. It caved in slightly from the blow, and several small pieces of the wall fell to the ground.

His chest heaved as he said, “That’s enough.”

“I’m only telling you the truth. There are consequences to your selfishness. You sought to save yourself from me. As a result, other people paid the price. You can’t deny it,” the evil god pointed out.

Even though Luke wanted to deny it, he knew the evil god was right.

If he had just given up back in the seal and not struggled to live, none of this would have happened. It was because he wanted to live and get revenge that other people lost their lives.

“Since you understand, there’s no need to talk about it any further,” the evil god said as he mockingly patted Luke’s cheek.

He bit down hard on his lip until he drew blood before asking in a trembling voice, “Is there really nothing you can do? Can’t you just reign it in somehow?”

“Were you not listening? It just happens simply because I exist. I can’t force myself not to exist,” the evil god said.

Luke refused to accept this outcome.

If what the evil god said was true, more people would die in the future at the hands of the monsters. He had to somehow fix this. The problem was how.

Then he recalled how someone said that his ex-comrades were on the move to solve the problem.

The thought that those traitors were cleaning up his mess and saving people from the monsters left him with conflicted feelings.

He still hated them, but they were doing their jobs as heroes. A job he should be doing.

Did he have the right to kill them if it meant putting innocent lives in danger?

“Are you just going to give up revenge just like that? How weak. I can’t believe I made a deal with such a weakling and coward,” the evil god mocked.

Luke gritted his teeth, enduring the insults.

No, he couldn’t give up his revenge. He couldn’t forget all the pain he had to endure because of them. There had to be a way to protect people while also being able to get his revenge. He just couldn’t think of it at the moment.

It took him a while to calm down, which wasn’t helped by the fact the evil god kept provoking him.

Once he felt confident he wouldn’t explode at someone or do something he would regret, he walked back to the monster hunter base. People were still loitering around and chatting, but it wasn’t as many as before.

One of the people from before spotted him and said, “Oh, there you are. Where did you run off to?”

“I just need time to clear my head,” Luke said with a strained smile despite the fact that no one could really see it underneath his hood.

“The news must have rattled you. I don’t blame you. Many people have run off, scared that the rumors are true,” the person said.

“Do you think they will open any time soon?” Luke asked, staring at the closed doors.

“It’s unlikely. You’ll probably have to head to another location and try your luck there,” the person said with a shrug.

“Thanks,” Luke mumbled, intending to head back to the wagon.

“You can always try the website or app. It’s pretty clunky, but you can get more information or connect with others using your ID,” another person chimed in.

He made a face.

That was currently impossible for him considering he didn’t have any electronic devices he could use. Besides, he had already decided to avoid using any of them to make sure he couldn’t be tracked by anyone.

Everyone knew that public devices had no privacy on them. Anything he did on them could be seen by anyone.

“Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll keep it in mind,” Luke said before hurrying away.

When he returned to the wagon, he saw that there was a crowd of people surrounding it. His stomach dropped as he hurried over to hear what the commotion was about.

“Will it be safe? We won’t have to worry about monsters, will we?” one person asked.

“I want a refund,” a person demanded.

“You can’t cancel. I have to get to my destination,” a different person said.

All the conflicting information left Luke confused about what the driver intended to do.

Was the trip canceled or not?

The driver shouted, “Back up, please. We still intend to move as scheduled. If you wish for a refund, it’s possible. As for safety, we have a monster hunter joining us on this trip.”

At the words monster hunter, everyone exploded into conversation.