Volume Five: Returned from the Other Shore - That Girl, G (4)
Revenge against her is my wish, my goal, and the reason that has kept me alive until now.
I'm going to kill her, I will definitely kill her, that's the only thing I want to do.
But, but... but!
Why... do I feel so powerless?
178 years ago--
The compressed Air Bomb struck the rocks, and the deafening explosion echoed through the deserted valley. A small hill collapsed with a roar, and the blast of air swept through the forest, rustling the leaves.
"Haa... haa... no... not enough!"
Another Air Bomb landed in the mountain stream, sending the cold water soaring hundreds of meters high. The shockwave pulverized all the riverside rocks within a few dozen meters.
"Not enough... not enough... not enough!"
The girl's voice was filled with bitter resentment. Several more air bullets were fired, shaking the entire mountain. At the same time, her strength was almost exhausted. Her budding breasts heaved violently, and her hands and feet were too weak to move. She gritted her teeth and forced her almost numb hands to scoop up a handful of spring water and splash it on her face, which finally brought her back to her senses.
Her reflection appeared in the mountain spring; her messy hair was stuck to her face with sweat, her clothes were covered in dirt, her eyes were red and swollen, and there were deep shadows under her eyes. Givinia was completely different from her usual elegant and graceful self; she looked like a wild, unruly little lion.
"Damn it... keep going!"
Let's temporarily halt our training in physical attacks like Air Bomb and return to our old specialty: Mind Projection.
Hundreds of miles away, on the border of a certain country --
Thousands of border guards are conducting their daily drills, each move swift and powerful. They are elite soldiers who have been stationed on the frontier for a long time, and their combat strength and mental fortitude are far beyond that of ordinary soldiers.
But a few seconds later, even these brave men were given a big fright.
They didn't know when or where it started, but countless light brown-haired girls with identical looks and clothes surrounded them. Several soldiers instinctively threw punches, only to find that they were all illusions.
"Such a powerful psychic! Who are you? We can—"
"Shut up, I'm just using you guys as practice!"
The girl's face was grim. Without saying a word, she launched an attack, and a new projection was immediately inserted into the minds of all the soldiers. Even these soldiers, whose minds were usually extremely firm, were now clutching their heads and collapsing to the ground, groaning in pain. There were a few psychic ability users among the soldiers, but they were completely suppressed after only a brief exchange.
"Ugh... Get out of my head...! We... have no... grudges... why...?"
The leading general was in the worst condition. He spoke in broken sentences, begging to stop, but the girl not only did not stop, but made their headaches more and more intense. Just when the generals were sure that their heads were about to split in two, the projections in their minds suddenly disappeared, and the countless projections in the outside world also vanished without a trace.
Meanwhile, in the deserted valley, Givinia suddenly coughed up blood, the shadows under her eyes deepened, and she lay half-reclined on the rubble, rubbing her aching head.
"Is this... the limit? No... no... it's simply not enough!!!! With this level... how can we possibly win?!"
Her roars echoed endlessly, and a deep sense of powerlessness nearly crushed her; she had never in her life craved power so much!
She is now fifteen years old. Her superpowers have only been awakened for a little over six years, yet she has reached such a level. She is also a rare Hybrid Ability User, which is already considered a peerless genius. However, in an organization full of extraordinary people, she is not considered outstanding. Rather, it is more accurate to say that she has been deliberately hiding herself and not letting others know about her existence in order to avoid attracting the attention of the madam.
The hatred that began in infancy has lasted for fifteen years, and she has been a member of the organization and met the Madam for a year now. Givinia's forbearance is admirable; she has suppressed the urge to attack the Madam several times. Before taking any action, she needs to have a comprehensive understanding of the Madam's strength.
And then, despair followed.
The gap is too big.
Those beings known as the higher-ups are on a completely different level from the members below them; each and every one of them is a true monster.
The same goes for the lady.
Givinia now has no chance of causing any harm to the lady.
So she began to train herself like crazy, putting in ten times more energy and effort than before. Her second ability, the Air Bomb, had improved somewhat, but her main ability—which was also her greatest reliance, the Mind Projection —had made very little progress. Simply training and suppressing her mind didn't seem to help this ability grow much.
Most superpowers in the world become stronger with use, but a few are not related to training and mainly grow naturally with age. Although reluctant, she had to admit that her Mind Projection belonged to the latter. The advantage of the latter is that the superpower can become stronger naturally without effort, but the disadvantage is that the speed at which the superpower grows stronger cannot be accelerated by one's own will. This drawback is fatal for Givinia, who is single-mindedly focused on achieving success.
Taking into account her intelligence, planning, and other factors, and after meticulous calculations, she finally concluded that it would take more than 180 years for her special ability to evolve to the point where she could have an opportunity to confront the Madam. Note that it is not "able to confront the Madam," but merely "having an opportunity." If she wanted to confront the Madam head-on, it would take at least several hundred years.
Of course, she couldn't wait that long.
It's not because they're worried about their lifespan running out. After all, as long as they perform well in the organization, the Leader will use some mysterious means to grant them longevity. So, as long as they're determined, living for hundreds or even thousands of years is not a problem.
What she cared more about was an unexpected situation, something far beyond her expectations that disrupted and almost sealed off her revenge plan. She never imagined that she would encounter such a situation one day.
"Why... why... did this happen?"
Madam Winsani —her mother's face flashed in and out of her mind. Yes, this was the person she hated most, the reason she had kept living was to seek revenge, a fight to the death. Whenever she thought of that face, she felt a burning rage, a surge of filthy emotions within her, and in the fire of revenge, she truly felt that she was still alive...
That's how it was originally.
But without realizing it, the sordid feelings seemed to have subsided. Now, when she thought of the lady, she still felt extreme disgust and aversion, but not as intense as before. At first, she thought it was because she was tired, or because joining the organization inevitably distracted her with many other things, causing her to pay less attention to the lady—but as the days went by, she finally discovered this situation that she had never considered.
Her hatred for the lady was waning.
Why is this? The reason is actually quite simple.
"Time heals all wounds"—everyone knows this great truth, but who can truly understand its meaning? Time can sever the most steadfast love, bury the most glorious honor, heal the most heart-wrenching sorrow, and wash away the most stubborn stains. Even the deepest hatred is ultimately just a kind of emotion, and since it is an emotion, there is no reason why it cannot be slowly diluted by time.
Although the fading of his desire for revenge is extremely slow, if things continue like this, he will lose his vengeful heart before he finally grows up enough to outmaneuver the lady.
As an infant, her first emotion was hatred for her mother. It was hatred that sustained her as she silently investigated the information alone in the cruel Orphanage. It was hatred that drove her to travel all over the country and become stronger after leaving the Orphanage. It was hatred that propelled her to actively seek out an organization and eventually join it.
Without her hatred for her mother, she wouldn't have gotten to where she is now. The only thing sustaining her life is this pillar called hatred. She knows this very well, too well to be aware of it—if she loses hatred as fuel, she is nothing.
When the hatred fades, the reason she keeps living will naturally disappear. What will she be then? A walking corpse? An idiot who lost everything because of her own resentment? A hapless woman who tried her best but failed because of herself? Don't be ridiculous!
"No! No, no, no, no!! She's the person I hate most, and revenge is my lifelong goal. How can time possibly diminish that? My hatred isn't something so cheap!!!!"
She screamed frantically, her voice hoarse but she didn't stop. She kept repeating "I hate her, I hate her, I hate her" in her mind, as if hypnotizing herself, desperately recalling all the hardships and grievances she had endured since childhood, trying her best to summon the filthy emotions within her. But the harder she tried, the more the face of the woman, demonized by her hatred, faded, drifting further and further away from her.
"... what to do?"
An unprecedented sense of confusion filled her heart.
If she loses even this feeling of hatred, what will she have left?
"What do I do?"
"That being said, you actually realized it from the beginning, didn't you?"
"... Realize what?"
"You've always been driven by hatred, making matricide your life's goal. But is the hatred between you and her really so deep that you have to sacrifice your entire life to avenge it?"
"..."
"The erosion of feelings over time is only one reason. The second reason is probably that deep down you've already realized that you didn't need to fight so hard, especially since she's your only family member. If you kill her, you'll truly be all alone. With these two reasons combined, it's quite remarkable that your hatred has lasted for over a decade."
"..."
"I suppose that's why you're so efficient? Because subconsciously you already sensed that your hatred for her wouldn't last long, you're seizing every minute and second. In that respect, it's not entirely a bad thing."
"..."
"So this is actually a choice between two options... continue striving to walk this path of carnage to the end, or give up now. But no matter which you choose, you will eventually lose your desire for revenge, lose your goal itself, and lose the pillar that has sustained you until now."
"Etc..."
Givinia finally managed to stand up, rubbing her aching eyes as she looked at the person sitting next to her.
"Who are you? When did you get here?"
"You're joking, aren't you? It's only been a few years, and you've already forgotten me? I was the one who brought you out of the Orphanage."
Yusuo Zai her.
"...!!!"
Givinia jumped back as if electrocuted, putting distance between herself and the man, even though he seemed to have no ill intentions.
She suddenly remembered that when her disciples explained the matters concerning the nine higher-ups to her, one person named "Yusuo Zai" was mentioned only briefly.
How could I not have noticed?
White hair, one eye, thin build, and—his surname is Yu.
The person who took me out of the Orphanage.
He was one of the organization's top executives.
"It's great that you remembered," Yusuo Zai gave a dry laugh. "Well... since you're so troubled, why don't you listen to my advice?"
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What a pathetic avenger.