Shrouded Seascape

"To protect mankind? They're all that's left of humans on the entire planet. Are you sure guys are really protecting them?" Charles strongly disagreed with the attitude of the person in front of him.

"I'm telling you that they're not real humans. From their genes to their chromosomes, everything in them has been modified. At most, they can be considered a subspecies of human beings.

"The best course of action to take against them is to clear them out while they're at their weakest and then replace them with real human beings.

"And I'm sure you know that they're developing far too quickly at the moment. It's only a matter of time until they embark on the same path as the previous Foundation.

"The tiny sacrifices that we're going to make for today are all for the sake of the bigger picture. The deaths of these subhumans are for mankind's brighter future. I'm sure you understand my point."

The corners of Charles' mouth curled up slightly at K9's words.

"Why do you think I'd understand your point? What does mankind's brighter future have to do with me? I greatly admire your selflessness and persistence when it comes to your ideals, but I'm just an ordinary person; my goals aren't that lofty."

K9's two raven heads revealed astonishment. "Oh? That didn't seem to be the case when you were out there looking for the darkness."

"No, no, no, you seem to have misunderstood something here. I went all out to locate the darkness because if the sea levels were allowed to rise continuously, everyone I care about in the Subterranean Sea would die.

"In the end, everything I did was for the sake of saving myself in the face of a disaster. My wife always says that I'm a selfish person, and I couldn't retort at all. She's right. I'm selfish—very selfish. I only care about the people I care about."

Charles spread his hands and shrugged. "From what you said, any disaster that mankind will have to face is probably going to happen at least a hundred years later.

"I'm probably dead by old age by then, so why should I care? Why would I care about a flood when I'm already dead?"

Charles didn't really care whether K9 would believe his statement or not, he simply wanted to speak what he had to say.

"What if I bring over the people you care about here?" K9 suggested.

Charles merely smiled at the suggestion. In a sense, the Foundation could be considered "good people," but as far as Charles knew, they hadn't done anything beneficial to humans.

Charles could still remember how they had schemed against him to obtain Sparkle, so he couldn't guarantee how they would treat Sparkle and Anna if he allowed them to bring those two over here.

"Do you really not care about the extinction of our own species? Do you really not feel anything—even a biological instinct—to do anything for humanity upon learning of its impending extinction?"

K9's words made Charles recall the despair he felt upon discovering that the Light God's radiance was illuminating the entire Subterranean Sea. The extreme sorrow that welled up in his heart at the time was due to the realization that his own species could soon become extinct.

Charles raised his two hands and stared at them with a complex expression.

"Humanity? Can I still be considered human?" Charles asked aloud before turning to the raven-headed humanoid monster next to him. "How about you? Can you still be considered human?"

K9 was about to respond, but the two had walked up in front of a towering elevator shaft. K9 came to a halt and stared at Charles. "I want to show you something, and I'm sure you'll know the answer to that question."

The air in the elevator was oppressive, but fortunately, the elevator doors soon opened. The familiar sea breeze struck Charles' face, invigorating him. They had returned to the sea's surface.

Charles unknowingly looked around and was shocked to see a colossal humanoid figure suspended in midair. The colossal humanoid figure was a corpse the size of a small city. It was a bizarre sight to see the colossal corpse seemingly sticking out of the rock layer up above.

The sight was so bizarre that it made Charles feel like he was witnessing a glitch in reality. The corpse's twisted limbs were riddled with pitch-black holes in a variety of sizes, and its face, which resembled melting wax, featured three black eyes.

The corpse's bizarre appearance was familiar to Charles, and he instantly identified it to be Pede. However, the Pede he had recently encountered wasn't even as big as the fingernail of the Pede before him.

Just then, Charles recalled the words of Elizabeth's grandfather. There was a Divinity's corpse in the innermost islands of the Sea of Mist, and the gods of the Haikor Tribe was apparently devouring that corpse.

"It's a surprise to see that you're not affected by this sight. This is really unexpected. I assume that certain parts of your mind have been strengthened?"

Charles couldn't care less about K9's assumption. He looked up at the corpse and asked, "What is that?"

"He's A2, Dr. Pede. He attempted to assimilate the power of the gods that the Foundation had painstakingly collected, and he succeeded, becoming a YESOD12 Divinity.

"But as you can see, he couldn't control that unimaginable power. To ensure that a brand-new Divinity wouldn't awaken inside of him, he took his own life. His legacy remains here, and we've contained it for him," K9 replied.

Just as K9's words fell, Paiper suddenly appeared up above, swallowing large mouthfuls of the colossal corpse's flesh and blood.

"He became a powerful entity in the process of assimilation, but the final stages made him lose his sanity. Despite that, he still didn't forget the lofty beliefs of the Foundation, which is to save one's own species at the cost of everything else.

"Knowing his determination to save mankind, can you truly say that he isn't a part of it? That he isn't human?" K9's gaze was full of respect as he stared at the corpse of his deceased colleague.

Charles had no idea what to say in response to K9's words. However, he truly didn't want to stay around them, as staying with them was making him feel as if his ideological beliefs were inferior to their beliefs.

Charles would rather confront villains in the traditional sense rather than fight the Foundation. After all, he knew that the result would be less than ideal, regardless of the outcome.

"Charles, I can feel your heart wavering slightly. You can take your time thinking about it. You should ponder carefully about what you think is the 'best' choice.

"Once you've figured out the answer, the Foundation will open its doors to you. We shall welcome you into our ranks by then," K9 said. For the first time, K9 had made a request to Charles.

"By then, we will tell you a secret—a secret that will leave you with no regrets. In the meantime, you will be given A3-level clearance. In other words, you'll have access to the entire Site 6, and you can do whatever you wish with the exception of leaving. You can say that we're allowing you to become familiar with your workplace in advance."

The raven-headed K9 hadn't lied to Charles. He was no longer locked up in a cell and could move around freely.

Charles decided to spend some time wandering around the clean but desolate city, but he made sure to return to his cell before dinner.

Tonight's dinner was braised pork, and Charles was engrossed in the raven-headed K9's words as he ate dinner. His last remaining eye shone in a determined light.

K9's words sounded grandiose and lofty, but they wanted to bury everyone throughout the entire Subterranean Sea to achieve their goals.

Anna, Sparkle, Bandages, Dipp, James, Lily, Elizabeth, and Margaret—one face after another flashed in Charles' mind. For them, he wouldn't mind becoming humanity's sinner by disrupting the Foundation's goals!!

"Is that so? I think it will be quite difficult to accomplish that with your strength, though."

Words suddenly echoed in Charles' mind. When he looked up, he found a woman covered in black bandages and shrouded by a black robe. Charles could swear that there wasn't any woman in front of him just a mere second ago, but the woman in front of him was familiar to him!

The woman wrapped in black bandages was none other than 005, and she had appeared in his dreams years ago!