novel-bin Chapter 402: Blood Stained Innocence
Chapter 402: Blood Stained Innocence
Chapter 402: Blood Stained Innocence
Light returned in the next moment, and as they opened their eyes, expecting to see the arena, they were met with the familiar walls of their classroom.
They looked around collectively, scanning each other and the relatively empty room.
The space was equipped only with laid-back chairs, each outfitted with deep dive systems connected to their necks through many wires.
One by one, the students removed themselves from the chairs, the deep dive systems hissing softly as the wires retracted with a faint click.
Fully disconnected, they were left blinking and adjusting to the dim light of their classroom.
...Did they really come back to the real world?
Was Emir's lesson over? Just like that?
No, he never ended a class early.
There had to be something-
A large hologram materialized in front of them, cutting off their thoughts.
It displayed one hundred images, matching the number of students present.
Each image showed a face that at least one student had become very familiar with in the past hour.
They were the same digital creations they had killed... and they weren't in the best of shape. In fact, they appeared to be dead, limp on the cold ground, their mouths open, as well as their hazy eyes, which stared at the walls and roof, their bodies showing no visible injuries.
Most of the students struggled to understand what they were seeing, unable to piece two and two together.
Emir, who stood next to the holoscreen, noticed that and, with deliberate calmness, announced:
"Congrats on your first kill, everyone. You successfully learned of death."
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They didn't know how to respond.
His tone was too relaxed, but his words shook them deeply.
Those digital creations they had repeatedly killed were real people.
Death had visited them in the real world, even though there was an obvious absence of injuries on their bodies.
That could only mean one thing:
Their minds were directly connected to their icons.
Every punch, kick, twist, shot, spell, and choke had been felt in a visceral way.
With each virtual death, the death of the mind came closer, until eventually all was gone.
Not one student had managed to come out of that realization unscathed, or, as Jake would crudely put it, all their cherries were popped.
Thankfully, none of them had lost control of their bladders like he did, but they weren't doing
much better.
While they hadn't fully lost their innocence yet, as these deaths fell on Emir's already heavy shoulders, the experience had left its mark, staining what was left with dark, coagulated blood.
Blergh!
That sound-a sudden, involuntary retch-served as the catalyst, allowing the students to finally process the grim reality of what had just happened.
"Did we really... kill them?"
"I thought it was just a simulation!"
"How could this happen? They didn't even look injured."
"Are we... murderers now?"
"I can't believe it. I didn't sign up for this."
"Those poor people... did they feel everything we did to them?"
"I... I never wanted to be a killer."
"I can't handle this. I just can't."
'Somehow... I'm fine. Maybe it's because of those two.'
His initial reaction wasn't so calm, however.
At first, he was visibly confused, evident in the furrow of his brow and the way his mouth
opened and closed as if searching for words.
After that, his eyes darted around, seeking answers in the faces of his classmates, but he
found none.
Only then did the weight of what they had done slowly settle on him, though that left him unaffected with a disconcerting sense of detachment, as if he had done nothing wrong.
[...You guys do anything?]
[Noo~.]
[Do 'anything' about what?]
While he talked with his two AIS that tried their best to act dumb, Quinn, who sat at the
opposite end of the classroom, whispered:
"I get it now... This is what he meant by teaching us the reality of death."
Her earlier reaction was a mix of shock and cold indifference.
She did feel a pang of something, perhaps guilt, but she shoved it aside.
There was no room for emotions when the bastard was still alive.
Said "bastard" didn't comment on any of their reactions; he simply waited, allowing them to
let out their emotions.
This process was necessary; he knew it firsthand as he had vomited when he accidentally
killed the young 'spark' two years ago.
It was a moment that he would never forget.
He almost smiled at the memory but stopped himself, choosing to remain composed instead.
The students didn't take much longer to settle down-only a few minutes-prompting Emir to pause his unfocused circulation and walk to the middle of the room. "Those you killed are prisoners. Some had committed grave crimes, but most were hunters
who couldn't repay their debt... They're not entirely bad, but are still considered 'bad' by the UEF."
He scanned their faces, noting the relief that began to surface as they convinced themselves that they hadn't done anything wrong.
The guilt that had weighed heavily on some of them seemed to slightly lift as well.
'As expected.' Emir delayed the reveal for a reason, waiting to share it until the right moment while
carefully managing their emotions, and guiding their thoughts, simply stringing them along.
His goal wasn't only to grow his Puppeteer Embodiment but to shape their perceptions, making them believe that killing 'bad guys' was justified.
And judging by their visible relief, it was clear that he had succeeded. Thankfully, the principal had allowed this, only after much discussion and negotiation of
course, as he was the one who supplied the prisoners.
Those pitiful men and women were condemned to work under the UEF for life, stripped of their rights, and treated like slaves.
This meant that killing them would be a loss to the UEF.
To compensate for that loss, Amon reimbursed them with billions of credits from his digital
pocket, declaring it as Emir's second reward.
It was an obvious attempt to make him feel grateful, but he shamelessly accepted it without a
word of thanks.
This conversation had taken place yesterday morning, just before Emir's usual homeroom
class.
Amon had mentioned a follow-up meeting, which Emir was now heading to as the class was
over.
The bell rang the moment he stepped out the door, perfectly timed as always.
But while on the way to the top floor, inside the elevator, Lyra suddenly unmuted their
channel and reported: [Nathan's report is in.]