Concept: World - Chapter 12: Sunset (1)

On the way out of the city for another subjugation mission, Ethel tried desperately to remember what had happened the previous night.

He vaguely recalled running into Captain Tia again...

But everything after that was a complete blank.

By the time the bartender woke him up, he had been the only person left in the bar.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

Caesar leaned over curiously, his long hair swaying beside his face.

"I drank so much last night that I completely blacked out."

Ethel scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

The moment the other two heard that, they immediately leaned in as well, eyes sparkling with interest.

"Oh?"

"What embarrassing thing did you do?"

Muzhen asked with his trademark sunny grin.

He clearly smelled gossip.

"I remember... I think I ran into Captain Tia."

"We talked about... something."

"But I honestly can't remember what we talked about."

"Oof, what a shame."

"I really wanted to know."

Muzhen spun his staff idly as he sighed.

He sounded genuinely disappointed.

"How did she react when she saw you this morning?"

"She didn't."

"She acted exactly the same as always."

"...You didn't confess to her, did you?"

"What?! Of course not!"

Ethel shot the idea down immediately.

He didn't have feelings for Tia.

They weren't even that close.

"You never know..."

"Who knows what kind of earth-shattering things people do when they're drunk?"

Muzhen teased him relentlessly, looking far too entertained by the possibility.

Now that he'd said it...

Even Ethel wasn't entirely sure anymore.

Still...

He couldn't imagine himself doing anything that outrageous.

Just as the interrogation was about to continue—

Wanzhu cleared his throat softly.

It was enough.

Both of them immediately stopped talking.

"...Thanks, Wanzhu."

Ethel sighed in genuine relief.

Wanzhu simply waved a hand.

"It's almost time for the mission."

"If you're still distracted out there, that's not going to end well."

"So..."

"We'll continue this conversation on the drive back."

"..."

Ethel let out a defeated groan.

He really shouldn't have brought it up in the first place.

After the subjugation mission ended, the squad returned safely to Central Headquarters.

Fortunately, today's demon had been incredibly weak.

Tia dispatched it in moments.

For Ethel...

The ride back proved far more exhausting than the battle itself.

He kept his mouth firmly shut the entire journey.

Not another word.

Meanwhile, Caesar and Muzhen bombarded him nonstop, demanding to know exactly what he'd said to Tia the night before.

Muzhen, in particular—

behind that bright, friendly smile—

looked like a hunter who had finally cornered his prey.

Ethel tried shooting Wanzhu a pleading glance.

Only to discover...

Wanzhu looked just as curious as the other two.

Completely abandoned,

Ethel could only endure the relentless questioning.

At that moment, he silently swore to himself—

Never again...

would he let himself get drunk.

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Chapter 12: Sunset (2)

Several more days passed.

Ethel, who had always remained calm and composed during training, began making one small mistake after another.

None of them were serious.

But they weren't like him.

Oenone noticed immediately.

One afternoon, she asked Ethel to meet her privately.

"What's wrong?"

"You've been distracted throughout every training session."

"Are you alright?"

She got straight to the point.

Depending on his answer...

She might have to suspend all of his battlefield duties.

She couldn't allow him onto a battlefield in this state.

"I... don't know what I'm supposed to do."

For the first time,

Ethel voiced the question that had haunted him for days.

He couldn't bring himself to abandon another person.

Emotion and reason were locked in an endless struggle for control.

Logically...

He understood that sacrifice was an unavoidable part of war.

Emotionally...

He couldn't force himself to carry it out.

He feared making the decision to sacrifice someone.

As though the moment he did...

His own hands would forever be stained with blood.

Yet he feared something else even more.

He couldn't accept choosing to sacrifice another person...

...just so he himself could survive.

He knew how valuable his Concept was.

He knew how many lives it could save.

But he couldn't accept living on...

while carrying that kind of guilt.

"...Ethel."

Oenone sighed softly.

It was a dilemma many Concept wielders were eventually forced to face.

Cypher.

Soth.

Yasin.

Yinbing.

Herself.

Every one of them had faced it in one form or another.

But none had faced it as many times as Oenone.

During the year she served as Acting Captain...

She had made far too many decisions just like this.

Even now...

She still couldn't bring herself to face the surviving members of the First Squad.

She searched for words that might help Ethel accept the cruel reality before him.

He was a good kid.

She had never seen an ugly side of him.

Except once...

"Ethel."

"During the simulation battle..."

"You didn't hesitate to attack Yinbing."

"You were able to—"

"...Ethel?"

She had meant to remind him that Yinbing had willingly accepted being gravely injured.

Just as she herself had attacked Ethel with every intention of seriously wounding him.

Everyone in the squads had already accepted the possibility of dying for Sunblaze City.

Even being sacrificed.

She simply wanted to awaken the part of Ethel capable of making hard decisions.

The part strong enough to survive war.

Instead...

Ethel disappeared.

"If she wanted to fight me..."

"Then I'd naturally fight with the resolve to kill her."

"She asked for it."

"It's a shame I couldn't finish the job."

"...Ethel?"

"Are you alright?"

"Why should anyone worry about sacrifice?"

"If someone dies out there..."

"That simply means they weren't good enough."

"They deserved it."

"People with no value create no value."

"They're far more useful as sacrifices that can produce greater gains."

The person sitting before her...

Wasn't Ethel.

Oenone was certain of it.

He still wore Ethel's face.

Spoke with Ethel's voice.

Looked directly into her with Ethel's eyes.

But he wasn't Ethel.

Even the Force radiating from him felt different.

Cold.

Filled with murderous intent.

Exactly like the brief moment she'd witnessed during the simulation battle.

"...Who are you?"

"What do you mean?"

Ethel frowned in confusion.

The murderous aura vanished instantly.

As though it had never existed.

The sudden shift left Oenone momentarily speechless.

"...Are you Ethel?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

It was a strange question.

But she had to be sure.

Seeing the bewilderment on his face...

She realized something.

He didn't remember a single word he'd just said.

It was as though those moments had never existed in his memory.

"...What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Let's continue."

"Where were we?"

"You were about to answer my question."

Oenone decided to pretend nothing had happened.

She had a feeling...

Any discussion involving hurting others...

or sacrifice...

might trigger whatever that other state was.

Something like this wasn't a problem that could be solved overnight.

Whatever lurked beneath the surface...

was a dangerous beast.

Touching it carelessly would only make things worse.

So she returned to the problem directly in front of them.

"Ethel."

"No one will blame you."

"Not even the ones who lose their lives because of your decisions."

"But I won't be able to face myself afterward."

"Then don't."

"Spend the rest of your life running away from it."

"...What?"

Ethel stared at her in disbelief.

Had she just encouraged him...

...to run away?

"What we survivors think doesn't matter."

"Our only job..."

"is to step over their bodies and keep moving."

"Keep walking."

"Until the day comes when we're the ones sacrificed."

"Only then..."

"can we truly honor those who died."

"One day..."

"We'll become the ones left behind as well."

"Until that day comes..."

"We're not allowed to die."

"We carry their souls."

"Their lives."

"Their final wishes."

"And when we finally meet them again after death..."

"We return everything we carried."

"I remember..."

"Everyone who died because of me."

Ethel quietly repeated the words Tia had once spoken.

"Exactly."

"Remember their faces."

"Carry their lives with yours."

"When your own life finally ends..."

"Tell them yourself."

"Tell them their sacrifice wasn't wasted."

"If all you can tell them is how you spent your life drowning in guilt and regret..."

"They'll only be angry."

"Living like that is the greatest disrespect you could show those who gave their lives for you."

"I..."

"Isaac."

"Yaren."

"Kresha."

"Ante."

"Post."

"Layser."

"Angela."

"Martha."

"Og."

"Jeff..."

Oenone quietly recited one name after another.

Ethel immediately realized...

These were the fallen members of the former First Squad.

The comrades Quent, Caesar, and the others had once fought beside.

"Does it hurt?"

"Does it fill you with guilt?"

"Good."

"That pain proves they once lived."

"So carry it."

"Live with it."

"And prove that none of them died for nothing."

Only then...

Did Ethel finally understand what Oenone had been trying to tell him.

Because of his Concept...

He now stood among those who made decisions.

His responsibility wasn't to eliminate sacrifice.

It was to ensure every sacrifice achieved the greatest possible result.

He shouldn't fear sacrifice.

He had to be willing...

to cruelly make use of it.

That...

was his responsibility.

He still didn't know what the future held.

But for the first time...

He could finally face it.

"...I understand."

"When that day comes..."

"I'll make the decision."

Oenone answered with a complicated smile.

Weren't they, the captains...

monsters themselves?

Trading the lives of their subordinates...

for the safety of an entire city.

And now...

She had turned Ethel into the same kind of monster.

"I'm glad you understand."

The uncertainty in Ethel's eyes slowly faded.

When he finally left the room...

He walked with his head held high once more.

Meanwhile...

Oenone could only rub her temples.

Tia's wounds were already difficult enough to heal.

Now...

There was Ethel.

And somehow...

He looked even more broken.

"The future..."

"is going to be exhausting."

That was Oenone's conclusion.

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