'If there were no farms...our families and friends would not have been killed to be served as food. If it wasn't for you, the abhorrent hunting ground wouldn't have existed. If it wasn't for your clan...the world wouldn't be this way. This world wouldn't be a place where we children are continually eaten by demons. How many children have died because of you? How many have shed tears?'
"How foolish. If there were no farms, if the Ratri clan wasn't around, you wouldn't have been born." Peter coldly stared down at the two restrained kids.
"I am your creator. I am your dad!" He placed his hand on his chest.
'Dad? You can't be serious. My dad...No, our...dad...is definitely...not you!' Oliver thought as Lucas appeared in his mind.
He, Zack, Gillian, and Ayshe with her dogs appeared behind Peter, holding their guns up.
"On your knees, Peter Ratri." Oliver scowled, pushing the barrel to the man's head.
"Vincent!" Don called as he ran into the room.
He and Gilda released the restrained kids from the ropes and Don examined Vincent.
"Thank goodness! I thought you had died!" Hayato teared up as they looked at Vincent who was clearly alive.
"I figured I wouldn't be killed immediately. If I died instantly, they wouldn't be able to do the Gupna ceremony." Vincent said.
"It was still reckless." Gilda worriedly said.
"Thanks. You saved us, Hayato." Vincent smiled at the boy.
"We're good here!" Don said in the transmitter.
-----
"We've gained control here too!" Ray replied as he and the other three held down some men.
"You have nice hair. Do you have any recommendations for me?" Y/n hummed, gripping the chin of the man he restrained.
He pouted as the man glared at him and stayed silent.
"You had me seriously worried, Vincent." Norman pursed his lips.
Eventually, they took down the remaining demons and gathered in one room with the adults restrained.
"You lose." Oliver stared down at Peter whose brows were furrowed.
Peter was silent before a grin stretched onto his lips and he started laughing.
"How stupid. What will you gain from killing me? Even if I lose, you still have no escape route and no chance of winning." He told them.
"No need to worry, thank you very much." Gillian glared.
"We disabled the system again. The only issue that remains is you. No one can come and save you. We will..." Emma spoke.
Y/n glanced at her blankly before looking at Peter as an amused smile stretched on his face.
"No one can come and save me? All that's left is me? Let's see. I think you kids are forgetting something." Peter grinned.
In an instant, many mother candidates surrounded them with loaded guns.
"Why are they...?" Gillian muttered.
"They were...able to unlock the doors?" Vincent questioned, clearly stunned.
'This isn't good. Just when we thought we won!'
They heard footsteps and turned to see Isabella approaching them.
"Mom..."
"Was is fun outside, Emma?" Isabella smiled, pointing her gun at the ginger.
"You've destroyed everything. You fought, and fought, and fought, and fought. But no matter how much you resist, it still ends up this way. Despair is unavoidable, right Y/n?" Isabella spoke.
"I'd say yes, but what do you think? You should know the answer very well." Y/n hummed as he stared at her.
"You and everyone else returned. You didn't learn your lesson and this is the result. All of you did splendidly. Perfect scores for everyone." Isabella grinned as she and the other women pointed their guns at Peter.
"Huh...?" Peter uttered.
"What?!" Emma gasped.
"You...betrayed me, Isabella!" Peter yelled, infuriated.
"Do you wanna get out this time? From this hell?! From your destiny?!"
"I want to get out."
~November 13, 2047: Just Before Emma's Group Infiltrated the Farm~
Isabella and a few other mother candidates behind her stared forward at the group of women in front of them.
'What's going on? Why did Grandma gather all of us here?' One of them wondered.
"We got a notice from above. The escapees from two years ago will attack Grace Field either today or tomorrow. Those upstairs are currently quite busy preparing for it." Isabella spoke as the others listened.
"I'm going to betray the farm." She revealed with a smile.
"...What?" The others gasped, staring at her incredulously.
"I will assist the escapees. Are there any among you who want to stand up with me?" Isabella questioned.
"Grandma...what sort of joke is this...?" One of the women smiled nervously.
"I'm serious. This is not a joke. I've been waiting a year and eleven months since becoming Grandma for this moment. It's true that it's wrong to go against the farm. In this small world we know we must continue to cling to the rulers to survive. That was Grandma Sarah's teaching, and that's why we all aimed to become Grandma." Isabella started as the others carefully listened.
"But, what actually happened to Grandma Sarah? She was shipped out so easily." She hummed.
"Yes, but that was..."
"What, that Grandma made a mistake, so that's why she was punished? And that we're all equal and everyone has a chance? That's wrong. Even after all the competing and kicking others down to become Grandma, we're just livestock to them." Isabella bluntly said.
"Compete."
"It wasn't my fault."
"There was nothing I could do."
"I'm done. I can't stand it anymore."
"The normal ones keep dying."
"I don't want to die."
"I'm never going to die."
"I love you so much, mom!"
"You already know by now. There are no chances here. Just an endless living hell. You've known but just didn't want to acknowledge it. This obedience has no future." Isabella said.
"I'm sick of it. Using freedom as bait and flaunting fear. It's nauseating. I've had enough!" She glared down.
'That's right. Now's not the time to die. If I can become Grandma, I'll do it. But it won't be for you guys.' She thought, referring to Peter and the demons.
'My children...will definitely come back. I'll do this so I can help them when they do!'
"I'm not going to let anyone rule over me anymore. What about you, ladies? What's your answer? Are you still scared of death? Do you want to keep living in fear? If you want to blow the whistle and report me, go ahead. I won't stop you. I'm not forcing you. If you want to just watch, be my guest. But, if you stand with me, I'll show you something very interesting." Isabella grinned.
~Present Time~
"Huh?" Peter gasped as the women all pointed their guns at him.
"What?" Emma blinked as she and the others kids were also surprised.
"Mom..." Emma approached the woman.
'You still call me mom. You and Lanni, Yvette and everyone...After all I did to you...' Isabella thought, not taking her eyes off Peter.
"You betrayed me, Isabella!" Peter exclaimed, absolutely enraged.
"Yes. Isn't it obvious?" Isabella hummed, unamused.
"What...?" Peter glared,
"These children and I...and all the staff are your enemy." Isabella said.
"Mom...is on our side...?" Gilda muttered.
"And the sisters. Why?" Don furrowed his brows.
'Ah, if only we could return to where they knew nothing. "I'm sorry. Welcome home. I missed you. Good job! You're amazing!" If I could say that and hug them dearly...but...'
"Don't get me wrong. It just happened that we share the same interests. I was getting fed up of my life here. And I didn't like the future that boy desired." Isabella spared Emma a glance.
"That boy?!" Vincent and Hayato gasped.
"Or his methods and opinions." Isabella glared at Peter.
"How dare you!" Peter grit his teeth.
'You damn food!'
"That's why I wanted to crush..." Isabella said.
"...everything." Emma finished.
"I thought I'd destroy everything." Isabella smiled.
'I don't expect you to forgive me because I don't forgive myself. So you can continue to hate me. You don't have to call me mom.'
Emma's eyes widened as she looked around at all the women, seeing their younger selves. SHe grinned and stepped beside Isabella with her gun raised.
"Thanks, mom." She said.
Peter grit his teeth as he stared at all those who surrounded him.
"How dare you, all of you...don't think you could get away with opposing me!" He yelled, but they only stared at him with determined expressions.
'Me...lose? To damn food?!'
He let out a yell, startling them as he broke out of the restraints and stole a gun from one of the sisters, now running down the hall.
"Get down!" Oliver warned them.
Peter raised the gun and shot at them rapidly before tossing it away and turning a corner.
'No! It's a lie! I won't accept this. I'm not going to lose. I have to think of something! Anything! I'm not done yet. There has to be a way!' He thought, running down the hall with a distressed expression.
'Oh, the imperial soldiers! If I can get some of the 2000....'
Peter pulled out a transmitter and spoke, "Hey!"
"Back up? That's not possible. Someone destroyed the outer bridge and no one can go through it. We are pulling all efforts into..." A demon replied.
"I know that already! Stop whining! Eat a bird of a bat and fly over here!" Peter yelled.
"Excuse me?"
"Useless idiots!" Peter shoved the transmitter into his pocket.
As he neared a corner, three sisters appeared.
"Damn it!" He cursed, turning in the opposite direction.
'The women are everywhere! If I trigger their heart chips all at once...No, that's impossible unless the system is up again. Maybe I can get to the brats in the storage room again...Damn it! That also requires the system.'
He heard a sound and pulled out the transmitter to his ear.
"What?"
"This is the imperial capital and..."
-----
"We will now behead the traitors- Sonju and Mujika!" A soldier exclaimed as the crowd cheered.
'No! They're going to be killed!' Awala and Mawla anxiously thought as they stood in the crowd.
'Sorry, Emma, Y/n, Ray, everyone...' Mujika thought with her head lowered.
"Huh?!" Someone gasped.
"What?!"
The crowd made way for someone who hummed as he walked to the front.
"What the..."
"Interesting. What do you think you're doing here?" A demon questioned, standing high in his dark clothes.
"GRAND DUKE LEWIS?!"
Lewis smirked as Palvis sat on his shoulder, waving.
"You're alive, your highness?" A few soldiers bowed.
"Unintentionally, yes. Leaving that aside, what is the meaning of this? You've all gained a lot of power while I was gone, even though you're nearly dogs of the five regent houses. Well, I'm guessing you were cajoled by the Ratri boy. Deplorable indeed." Lewis said before turning his head to look at a restrained demon.
"It's been a while, Sonju."
Sonju stayed silent.
Mujika gasped and yelled Sonju's name when Lewis sliced his nails on Sonju's chest, splattering blood in the air.
"Citizens! Take a look!" Lewis exclaimed as he held his blood-drenched hand up.
"This is the evil blood. This is what you feared and hated...the sinister blood!"
The crowd gasped as he gulped down a cup of blood.
"Your highness! What are you doing?!"
"How can you drink that tainted blood?!"
"There's no need to fear. The evil blood isn't some infectious poison. That was a falsehood created by my sister, Legravalima. Rather, the evil blood is a miraculous blood to us. If you drink just a sip, you won't degenerate even if you don't eat humans. But 700 years ago, the Queen and the aristocrats misinformed everyone that this blood was toxic, framed those with this blood as traitors, and slaughtered them. All for their greed and reign. The power of the evil-blooded was inconvenient to rule the citizens with an iron fist using the farms." Lewis grinned.
"No way..."
"How could that be?"
"I speak the truth. We the royal family and the five regent houses devoured the evil-blooded long ago and obtained bodies that don't degenerate while the citizens were starving. All of it was unnecessary. Ever since the promise 700 years ago, the continued lack of human meat and the degenerations and deaths caused by it..." Lewis started.
"...all the suffering and fear were avoidable! Once, the evil-blooded shared their blood in order to save the citizens, but they were killed for it. And now for the same reasons, they're about to be killed by the greedy government. Truly ludicrous. Do you want to kill the evil-blooded? These two aren't traitors. Rather, they are heroes who tried to save you, the citizens."
"Brother...why?" Sonju questioned.
'I mean, he always said that the promise and the farms were annoying evils. But he had zero interest in politics and never cared about justice or doing something about the suffering of the citizens. All he did was pursue his pleasures.'
"I'm sure this isn't like me. But the ones I dumped all this responsibility on have left this world. And I can't look the other way if we're just following the orders of humans. This reign has reached its limit. Other than that...I guess it's just a whim." Lewis spoke as Sonju and Mujika listened.
"The traitors were the Queen and the houses and the current government vassal armies of the five regent houses and farms! I, Grand Duke Lewis, order for the execution to be canceled and the arrest of the traitors, the leaders of the current government!" Lewis exclaimed.
-----
'No. Even the imperial capital...fell to enemy hands? There is nothing left I can do! They've already made a promise too...I've lost. I've lost! I've been defeated! It's over...!' Peter thought as he gripped his hair and kneeled on the ground.
The sound of a click caught his attention and he looked up to see a ginger pointing their gun at him.
"Don't move." Emma said.
'No, not yet. They've made a new promise with him. But they haven't implemented it yet. The one who made the promise was 63194, Emma. Emma!' Peter thought, spotting the numbers on her neck.
"Got it. I lose." He stood with his hands raised, slowly making his way towards her.
'Yes, I've lost. There's no future for me. But...'
"Please don't shoot me." He nervously smiled.
'...as long as I kill her, Emma...The Promise is a Void. Their future will be destroyed too!' He thought, eyes intensely staring at his new target.