You Still Have Hope

Red Monkey did not ask. He waited for Elf to explain.

"If you had chosen to act halfway through instead of waiting until the final moment, then... you would have represented 'Sloth' and 'Evil.' If you had gained the power, whenever trouble arose, you would choose not to struggle but to withdraw halfway through. It might even have happened that, before the final moment arrived, before Sokovia had flown high enough, you would have blown up Sky Garden, people and land alike."

Red Monkey: "..."

"If you gave up halfway, then you would take shortcuts in the future. We would not allow power users who gave up without making an effort to exist!"

"So in that case, you would have killed me too?" Red Monkey asked with a bitter smile.

Elf did not answer, merely smiling. "Fortunately, you did not disappoint me."

Red Monkey smiled bitterly, while also feeling immensely fortunate that he had escaped death.

"Then... was my money fake?"

"What, did you think it was fake, so you threw the card over?" Elf asked.

Red Monkey nodded. "Yeah! To be honest, I really did think that. This place is inside a grand formation. Would there even be a signal? And when I swiped the card, I didn't even enter a password. How could the money possibly have been withdrawn all at once?"

Elf smiled. "I'm sorry, but it was real!"

"Huh?"

He was dumbfounded.

"H-How is that possible?"

"But it was possible." Elf smiled. "What, now that your money is gone, are you not going to keep going? Are you leaving?"

After swallowing several mouthfuls of saliva, Red Monkey finally shook his head. "How could I? I... I still have to look forward in life. Heh, I'm still young. Even without money, I can start over. Besides, I've