Limitless The Strongest Revenant

'Aira or Exa said nothing as I sat down and tried to return to my meal.'

[...]

I tried to think about what had just happened as I continued to savor the taste of my Big Mac. It seemed that Aira not only watched me, but calculated my weaknesses.

This data was supposedly being sent to Zachary Lynch, the commander of the Death Seekers. While I wasn't afraid of what the U.S. government or people in general could do with my data, it was completely different if the one with it was a Specter.

If I were in his position, I would probably do the same thing. It was like a shock collar for dogs. In manga and anime, the most overused example was putting bombs inside people's skulls.

You would need a way to enforce your rule when dealing with people who were never normal to begin with. For the Reapers, the easiest way was violence. But a step above the Reapers, the Death Seekers would never be controlled by force.

Perhaps that was why they used the term "leash" instead. My mind suddenly remembered a warning Lilly had given me a few days ago.

'Yes dear. That is the case, many come back for their love ones only for those people to become their weakness. It is an unspoken rule among reapers. Mingle only with the humans you are prepared to lose.'

But this went beyond that. I met Earl before I even joined the Mercenaries. So how could they know? Even Caroline was marked, and I hadn't seen her in years.

Then I remembered what Aira had told me in the last few days.

'My lord, I took the liberty of ordering breakfast. I based it on what you used to eat in the past using your credit card and online delivery orders.'

'My lord moves to assassinate the members of the Savior on Earth in their homes, or blackmail those with families to betray and destroy their army from within.'

This cold and ruthless way of thinking would be the work of machines. Even if they were excellent problem solvers, morality was something they didn't understand.

'No, the problem was with the humans who asked the questions in the first place.'

An AI would use the same reasoning whether it was asked to eliminate humans or zombies. The only difference would be the traps it would set. And the more information it had, the more effective its plans would be.

Targeting a person's loved ones, while despicable, worked extremely well. There was a reason why even the noblest policemen or soldiers became traitors.

Depending on the individual, most would choose their loved ones over morals and ethics.

'Not that I would be any different. If I wanted to control people, I would probably do the same thing. '

As I began to analyze the situation, it became difficult to keep my emotions in check. Logically, I understood. But now that I knew, there was no way in hell I could take this lying down.

I understand that a few days ago I was an unproven Wraith. However, even if I had yet earned their trust this was too much.

No matter how you looked at it, such a threat was a gun to your head. And those who held the trigger could turn the narrative on its head at the blink of an eye.

'Mercenaries cannot save everyone. If given the choice, save those that follow the rules and leave traitors to die.'

'You give rewards and punishments. Punishment for those people had to be in the form of being branded traitors.'

'If you were a king, and someone directly did something you said not to do, what would you call them?'

The moment I stopped following the will of the battlefront, they would abandon me to the undead. Or worse, they would send people to kill me.

'Look here bastard. No government is completely clean. You naturally had to have someone do the dirty work. For us the Saviors are just that. We got to keep our hands clean because they got theirs dirty.'

The girls all warned me that even before all this, I had assassins coming for me.

No matter how hard you tried, there were going to be conflicts of interest. So now the main question for me was simple.

Do I want to stay in the safety of the Battlefront or brave Hellsgate on my own?'

It would be similar to the old settlers in the old days, anyone who didn't want to be under the king's rule had the option to leave. But of course, your survival would no longer be anyone else's concern but your own.

People began to form tribes in order to survive. To protect your people when you were away. To care for you when you were sick.

To band together and fight off those who would do you harm.

As society became more complicated, more rules were made to keep it that way. Villages banded together and built walls to become cities. Cities created an economy and a standing army, and thus became kingdoms.

I belatedly realized that the Battlefronts only looked like cities, they were actually countries with connections to Earth. If I wanted to create my own space, I would have to have my own land both here and in Hellsgate.

[...]

It was impossible to fight on multiple fronts forever. If I wanted to focus on Hellsgate, I had to guarantee the safety of my people on Earth first and foremost.

'Looks like I'm going to be too busy...'

Because of my status and my possible defection from North America, anyone who wanted to ally with me would be in serious danger. I had to let everyone know first.

'If they still wanted to stay after I told them everything, then my responsibility would end there.'

The Sirens, the Formless, Isolde, Krishna's group, even the Production Guilds. If I left without a word, not only would they be implicated, but they could be killed in retaliation.

The war with Savior that would also begin has its own consequences. Just for killing 26 no-name reapers in the enlistment, I was already a target.

What more can I expect when I have killed over 200 Wraiths and Phantoms?

"Sigh. Not that there would be any stopping at this point."