Because I Am Surtr, Chapter 9

"The Infected die too quickly," she concluded. "You are the oppressed. Logically, only the oppression of the majority can sustain a minority. Therefore, as the majority, you inherently possess 'justice.' After all, for the population as a whole, the side with more people can inevitably contribute more. Thus, 'justice' must prevail, because justice always serves the interests of 'most people.'"

"But the Infected die too quickly... Originium Infection is incurable. Once you have it, death is inevitable. The more you fight, the more you use Originium Arts, the faster you die. So the Infected instead changed from the righteous majority into a small group that 'can be sacrificed.'"

"This is the Infected's greatest flaw, and the reason they are destined to perish."

"When you are weak, you receive kindness. As you pass by windows, bread and water will be left on the sill. When you face encirclement, you will 'find' supplies and weapons. Because these are spontaneous acts by individuals; the education they received compels them to feel pity for the weaker side. However, once you gradually grow stronger and gain scale, everything will become completely different from before."

She moved closer to Frostnova and stared directly into those eyes ruled by panic and wavering.

Each word was like a blade, like the cold wind of the northern lands.

"Those who once helped you, those who once supported you, the uninfected. Those ordinary civilians. Every one of them, every single one, is a beneficiary of the modern industrial system and modern social order. You may close your eyes and pretend that conscience can overcome the piercing pain of damaged interests. But I only look at reality."

She took half a step back, giving the maiden room to breathe.

"That is why the Reunion Movement is destined to fail. That is why every organization like the Reunion Movement, every organization that 'speaks for the interests of the Infected,' is destined to fail. Because you are the minority, because you have no way to unite the majority. Even in Ursus, where ordinary people live the hardest lives, ordinary people merely live difficult lives—with the Infected beneath them as a cushion. And in comparison, they gain happiness."

"...False happiness."

"Yes. But false happiness is still happiness. Whether you admit it or not, it is happiness—where there is oppression, there will be resistance. Conversely, if oppression is not severe enough, there will be no resistance." Miss Surtr chuckled. "That is why ordinary people will not resist their rulers. The oppression they suffer is not enough to make them cast aside their stable lives and risk everything in a desperate fight. Yet if the Infected resist, they will overturn the existing order. Even if they ultimately win, the result will be nothing more than everyone in the world becoming Infected, or all the nations upon the earth being beaten back into primitive tribes."

"...Returning to that old history, threatened by Catastrophes, displaced year after year, never able to enjoy even a moment of peace." Frostnova murmured, "So are we Infected destined for this...?"

"Destined for it. Unless modern technology leaps forward overnight to the point where it can withstand natural and man-made disasters without Originium. Or modern medicine develops drugs that can cure, suppress, or at least weaken the lethality and infectiousness of Originium Infection. Only then can the Infected and uninfected establish shared interests and fight side by side under the same banner."

Those bright eyes dimmed completely—she could find no flaw in Surtr's words. Or rather, she knew all too well what human nature was like.

In this world, both the noble and the vile were minorities. Far more people simply stood in the mediocrity between good and evil. Yet even the gentlest farmer would pick up his hoe to face a savage beast if it injured his prized ox. Because his own interests needed protection.

And what benefit could the Infected offer ordinary people? Hollow slogans, pale ideals, and a road ahead that was clearly nothing but darkness. Could that truly win allies for the Infected?

And without friends, isolated and helpless, how could victory possibly fall into the hands of those destined to lose?

Frostnova's convictions collapsed like an unsteady stack of blocks.

And amid that silence, Miss Surtr gently placed a hand on Miss Yelena's shoulder, meeting no resistance or struggle.

Without question, if she gave even a slight push now, she could pin this emotionally shaken little girl onto the bed—and for quite some time afterward, do whatever she pleased with her.

Unfortunately, this thing, not even worth calling trash, was such a disappointment.

"But I suppressed the Originium Infection in your body. I know how to assemble the final missing piece of the puzzle."

A spark of starlight lit up in the maiden's eyes once more.

"B-but..." Her voice was dry, expectant, yet trembling with the fear of touching a bubble. "You said those medicines were relics from ancient times. It would be difficult to gather a second set..."

"That is why I told you to go to Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals." The corner of Miss Surtr's lips lifted slightly. She whispered into Frostnova's ear and watched a blush spread across that fair earlobe. "Your body is far more valuable than you realize. And everything I have accumulated and achieved over these past years is stored aboard that landship... Go. Seize the future of the Infected. Compared to being buried alongside the Reunion Movement, a ship destined to sink, you can serve a greater purpose there—for me... for the Infected."

"...Are you willing to join Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals—for me?"

She watched the crimson on Miss Yelena's earlobes spread across her cheeks and even tint the base of her neck—was she that excited? Miss Surtr watched the maiden lower her head, her gaze not even daring to meet hers.

Yet Yelena seemed to quickly raise her head and glance at her once, her heartbeat apparently accelerating even further.

"I... am willing to join Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals." The maiden's voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum.

"I'll be waiting for you there." Miss Surtr's tone was gentle, as though she were caring for a fragile treasure. "Together, let us weave our dream—and our ideals."

And the frost maiden did not refuse.

—Plan successful. Nice!

I'm Going for the Good Ending! ### Frostnova left.

After dawn, her body gradually recovered—these ancient miracle drugs had effects beyond ordinary imagination. Her flesh and blood regenerated, her newly formed organs functioning at full capacity. Her heartbeat and blood flow became clear and powerful, and when she departed, she had clearly made up her mind about something.

She only glanced at Miss Surtr when she left. Just one glance. Then, without another word, she walked out of the secret base with every step firm upon the ground—her companions had already searched this area. And some traces would not be erased by the night wind.

She left without hesitation or attachment.

Once she vanished from sight, Surtr pressed the lockdown switch for the secret base. She also left behind a locator that Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals could receive through a specific signal—these instruments were useful after all. Sent to Rhodes Island, they could at least contribute something to drug development.

She left the base, left the building.

Treading over flames and sulfur, she reached a dome with an excellent view—she saw Frostnova reunite with her companions on a shattered avenue. And she believed Frostnova was capable of fabricating a logically sound explanation... or simply telling them the truth. Surtr knew very well just how much control Frostnova had within her squad.

Then Frostnova's problem should no longer be a problem. Whether or not Surtr saw her on the battlefield of Chernobog in the days ahead, this little girl named Yelena, who had borne far too much, should be able to reunite with her smoothly within Rhodes Island.

Still... insurance was necessary.

"That woman." Miss Surtr's gaze shifted slightly toward Chernobog. Even from here, with her eyesight, she could clearly see the towering core city district. And she knew that deep within its heart, inside the Sarcophagus, a sleeping prisoner was sealed away.

"I haven't returned to Rhodes Island for a long time... No, it would be more accurate to say I have never returned. Ever since Sarkaz Babel Tower collapsed and Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals rose from its remains, I have never set foot in that structure again."

Her connections with certain people still existed. Kal'tsit, Warfarin, Closure, Amiya... She had contacted them more than once. She had cooperated with them, developed medicine, traded, and taught. She had even been one of Amiya's instructors when Amiya was learning to use Originium Arts, but even so, she had never set foot aboard that landship after its ownership changed.

She disliked that woman... that evil spirit. That chess player known as the Queen of the Underworld—Persephone!

In that woman, she saw another version of herself: colder, harsher, treating all things between heaven and earth as ants, even more arrogant than she herself was as a transmigrator. And in her previous life, in that other world, when she had played the role of Rhodes Island's Doctor in the game Arknights, her ID had been "Persephone"!

That woman definitely had some kind of connection to her, but she was not her incarnation or another fragment of her personality. Because there had never been any reverence for life or moral restraint in that woman's eyes—human lives, materials, victory and defeat, survival and extinction, all were merely simple addition and subtraction to her, and she treated them all the same.

Theresia's death was absolutely connected to her. Or rather, there was over a ninety-percent chance that she had done it herself... Seriously, in my previous life, I did everything I could on the forums to clear my own name, hunting for evidence that Theresia hadn't been killed by me. Yet after coming to this world, I discovered that the Doctor really was this much of a bastard... Damn it, you'd better wake up with amnesia, just like in the game.

And...

She raised her head and glanced at the sky blanketed by layered clouds.

...You're not completely dead yet, are you, Theresia? Don't think I can't tell. Even if you abandoned the Demon King's Originium Arts, there are still things I can clearly discern from the atmosphere. I have no idea what the hell you and Persephone have been cooking up, but I'll refrain from exposing you for now.

She blinked. Above the clouds, a drifting patch of cloud seemed, for an instant, to shift into a familiar shape. That wicked-hearted bastard who loved watching her make a fool of herself smiled apologetically and pressed her palms together in a pleading gesture. Yet the next moment, that floating cloud vanished back into the cloud vortex blanketing the heavens.

Surtr knew it had not been an illusion... Of course it hadn't. Perhaps because she had served as a tool so many times in the dream realm, her mental acuity was likely not inferior to that of the world's foremost casters. She had noticed that change the instant everything happened. Otherwise, how could that crazy Doctor have survived long enough to seal herself inside the Sarcophagus? Surtr would have scattered her ashes the very day she returned from Kazdel!

—After I finally managed to build an early-game start with GE potential, you turned around and destroyed the save file? Do you really think you're some spoiled Arknights brat whose worthless life gets protected by some little bastard protection law no matter how badly you screw up!?

What a joke! Save your dreaming for before you die!

She shook her head. That was precisely why she did not want to return to Rhodes Island's main ship—seeing familiar things would only make her think of her. Her 2D wife had died there; how could she possibly be in the mood to wander around? And even if she was not completely dead, so what? They had all kept it from her. Could she do anything but treat her as dead?

"But this time, I really do have to go back. Rhodes Island's operational state isn't good. Even though I send Kal'tsit money every so often and helped them negotiate several shipping agreements, their lack of key management personnel is indeed a major problem. That old woman Kal'tsit can't hold on much longer either... Hah. In any case, the Reunion Movement is doomed to be destroyed. I don't know what other tricks the Ursus have up their sleeves, but at least that woman should be able to leave the Sarcophagus without trouble. And a mob of thugs lacking organization and leadership shouldn't be much of a challenge for her to clean up."

—If worse comes to worst, I'll unleash Twilight and slaughter them all. Whatever insane thing the Ember Demon does, madness itself will vouch for it. Ursus would probably be delighted to add another bold stroke to the Ember Demon's record of destruction, further reducing the possibility of this Hunter King building up a power base.