Value

The brief silence was broken by the sound of coughing.

Dust rose from the ground.

"Ugh... ow... you really haven't changed at all since back then..."

Russell lay on the ground, laboriously rolling over as he examined Yekaterina's cold expression. "You despise all weak emotions, including love and tenderness, yet became Gaia, renowned for love and mercy... Katya, when will you finally face yourself honestly?"

Boom!

A large hole had appeared in the floor where Russell's head had been.

Russell had somehow floated up from the floor and regained his footing. Across from him, Yekaterina seemed utterly motionless as she merely said calmly:

"Of course, when I can face you with peace of mind—"

Russell sighed. "I understand your resentment and misunderstanding toward me, but didn't we break up peacefully back then?"

"Peacefully?" Yekaterina asked, puzzled. "You mean how, on the eve of the secretary selection, you framed me and caused me to lose my qualification?"

Russell's expression froze. After a long while, he said solemnly, "That was an accident!"

"An 'accident' involving you?"

Yekaterina shook her head. "Russell, you were never caught up in accidents. You were the accident itself—at first, I believed in your innocence and your promises. But how did you repay me? More lies, more deception—you sensed Heavenly Kingdom Fall in advance, yet said nothing. Instead, you tricked me into coming to the Present Realm!"

"Because apart from saving you, it was already too late for everything else."

"That is not a reason to stand by and do nothing!" Yekaterina sneered. "You have brought shame upon your teacher."

"Ah, he did say that, but I had my own difficulties too."

Russell sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a troubled look. "It seems I really can't clear my name?"

"Do you need to clear it?"