Strongest Hammer God

Chapter 1011: Fate Worse Than Death

Kyle looked with worry at the Karmic Line leading to Manny.'What the hell is going on? Something must have happened, but I don't know what,' he thought. 'The intensity of negative Karmic Luck means that Manny is most likely suffering because of me, but that doesn't explain the black.'

'Black means he hates me, but why? Even if something happened to him, I wouldn't expect that he would hate me with such intensity. He did all of this voluntarily.'

Kyle took a shaky breath. Even though there were some things he didn't understand, the change in the Karmic Line still represented an undeniable truth.

'The Demons got him, but he's also still alive. In that case, there can only be one explanation.'

'They are interrogating him. They want to know what happened.'

'Did the Overseer get involved? Actually, I don't think so. I can't be sure, but I think the Overseer wouldn't need to interrogate Manny. They are so powerful that they don't fear Humanity. They can see the entire world and kill whomever they want.'

'Most likely, the leadership of the Demons got wind of the incident but decided that it wasn't important enough to disturb the Overseer. They took matters into their own hands and abducted Manny.'

'I don't want to know what they're doing to him. It's probably really bad.'

'But then, why does he hate me, all of a sudden? Manny doesn't seem like a person who would hate me after he willingly put himself into danger.'

'If I were Manny, what would I do if the Demons caught me?'

'Well, is there a way for me to escape? If yes, I wait. If no...'

'I would kill myself.'

'However, neither of these two options would result in such intense hatred, which means there's another one. What if I couldn't kill myself?'

'Well, I would be forced to live in agony until my natural end, but that also doesn't seem feasible. Manny has all kinds of plans and strange powers. He even created the Demon Car, which knew enough about the world to manipulate its rules. I don't think someone like that doesn't have some kind of last resort. The Demons might have the power to stop any human from committing suicide, but I don't think they can stop Manny. But then, why is he still alive?'

That was when Kyle realized something.

Manny was the most self-sacrificial person in their group. For the greater good, he had been willing to sacrifice basically everything, including himself.

'That's the point!' Kyle thought. 'They can stop all the others, but they can't stop Manny, and that is the biggest issue! If Manny somehow manages to do something that nobody else could, they would know that something bigger is going on! They would realize that he has unknown powers!'

'Even more, if Manny suddenly vanishes before they even get to him, they would become more nervous. They might even contact the Overseer if they can't get anything out of this.'

'Because of that, Manny is forced to give them what they want, a target. He's the target, and as long as they get him, they will feel safe!'

'That's why he has to be caught and why he can't show any of his powers. Most likely, they will keep interrogating him until he's dead.'

Kyle's insides shook as he realized something else. 'Manny values the greater good above everything else, and he's also prepared for basically any eventuality. He must've already expected something like this to happen, and he would know that revealing anything would put everything in jeopardy.'

'And the safest way not to reveal anything under unending tortures...'

'Would be to not know about anything!'

Kyle looked at the black and red line. 'I see.'

For a while, Kyle aimlessly stared into space. The image became clear. At least, Kyle believed that it had become clear.

With that line of thought, everything made sense. It would also explain why Manny hated Kyle this intensely. Manny wouldn't know why he was here or why he was undergoing such suffering. He would just be a random, innocent person.

'In that case...'

'Manny's already dead.'

'If my conjecture turns out to be true, the Manny I know has died when he deleted his memories. This is just a stranger.'

Kyle looked to the side, not focusing on anything.

'Is the Manny I know truly dead? Wouldn't he also have a contingency plan for such an eventuality? Couldn't he create a way to lock his memories away instead of deleting them? He probably can. After all, the Demon Car also had memories and a personality.'

Kyle took a deep breath. 'Who am I kidding? Even if Manny had such powers, he wouldn't use them. If his memories still exist, they have to be somewhere, but no matter how well you hide something, the chance of finding it is infinitely greater than if there were nothing.'

'A person who exists can be found. A person who doesn't exist can't be found.'

'He's gone.'

'I guess that means Swamp Dr- wait! Right! The inheritance!' Kyle thought as his eyes widened. 'Manny gave Swamp Dragon an inheritance! He said it contains a lot of memories!'

'Swamp Dragon has probably already absorbed the inheritance, but if Manny could create an inheritance, Swamp Dragon could probably do the same thing! If Swamp Dragon can create another inheritance, and if we find Manny, we might be able to...'

Kyle sighed. 'It wouldn't be Manny. The inheritance contains some memories, but it probably doesn't contain Manny's memories. And even if we had access to his memories, how would we even find him? I don't think I could become strong enough within 150,000 years to save him. Even if I could, his longevity would already be close to over. Additionally, would he even want to survive? At that point, he must have survived a hundred millennia of agonizing torture.'

Kyle remained silent as the same train of thought circled in his head.

He's dead... but they could maybe... but that wouldn't work... he's dead... but they could... but that wouldn't... he's dead...

At some point, Kyle wasn't even sure what he was thinking about anymore. He knew he was thinking about something, but he didn't know what it was.

After some time, Kyle put his head in his hands and looked down.

He didn't say anything.

'What fucked situation is this?'

'I know why he's done this. I know that it was the best way to ensure success. I know that he's willing to sacrifice everything.'

'But why does his fate have to be this bad?'

'Why did he choose a fate that's so bad that wishing death upon him is considered a positive instead of a negative thing?!'

'A fate worse than death.'

'Agony until your life ends.'

Kyle kept looking down.

Minutes passed.

He remembered meeting him for the first time. Back then, Kyle had called him a comedian because of his pranks. For a long time, Kyle hadn't been close to Manny. He had been much closer to Star Genesis and Swamp Dragon. In a way, Manny had felt like an unimportant onlooker.

And then, Manny had shown them his real personality and abilities. Within a short time, he had become one of the most important people in the group. Maybe he had even been the most important person in the group.

He had given so much for the cause.

'Manny's basically dead, and Swamp Dragon might become the Overseer.'

'We've arrived as six...'

'I hope we can leave as four.'

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