'The one who made the promise was Emma. And they haven't implemented the promise yet. As long as I kill Emma...'
"Please. Don't shoot me." Peter nervously smiled at Emma as the three other boys appeared behind her.
'I've lost. It's over. There's no future for me. They have a revolution and a glorious future waiting for them while I'm about to fall from grace and go to hell. No, you all are done too. If I kill Emma, the promise will never be implemented. You'll go back to hell. I'm taking you down with me. Come die with daddy...my children...!'
"I was wrong!" He told them.
'I can do it. If I get a little bit closer, I can kill her.'
"I'll do anything! So please don't shoot me."
"Hm? Y'know, we weren't planning to kill you. No need to be so "afraid", Peter. By the way, the one who made the promise wasn't Emma. So you don't have to kill her." Y/n stepped forward with a smile.
"Huh...?" Peter blinked.
"Yes, Emma was originally going to make the promise, but I'm the one who made a deal with him. So if you successfully kill Emma, it's not going to stop the promise from happening. To stop it from implementing, you'd have to kill me." Y/n grinned tauntingly.
"But there's no need for that. We're not here, as Y/n said, to kill you. We can here to talk." Emma spoke.
'Talk? What is this kid saying?'
"Inviolable noninterference. We won't retaliate or attack the Ratri clan in any way. In return, we want you to approve our freedom. We'll all go to the human world. We want you to approve and not get in the way. To leave us alone." Emma said.
'An idiot! She's an idiot!' Peter thought.
'She's gonna let me live? She wants to talk? Is she crazy?! Naive! She's naive to the end! She's an idiot!'
"You're going to forgive me? Really? You're going to..." Peter spoke.
~Flashback~
"I can't forgive them! No. I'm never going to forgive them!" Gillian shouted.
"How could you? How could you feel sorry for them? Forgive them?" She held Emma's hands into her own.
"I can't forgive them." Emma shook her head.
"There's no way I can. I hate them! I miss Yuugo and Lucas. Ustinez too. What they did to Mary and them...Norman and his friends...The fact that they built that hunting ground and the system of the farms and this world...is unforgivable! Chris hasn't woken up either." Emma lowered her head.
"Because we want to be free..." Norman muttered.
"It's hard to forgive, but unless we do, we won't truly be free." Nigel said.
"Got it." Oliver said. "But it won't be easy to get through to him."
"Even so, I don't want to abandon communicating. I want to talk it out." Emma said.
"Agh! Emma, you're such a softie! Those are the words of a dreamer!" Gillian said with her head lowered.
"But fine, bring it on. Let's go as far as we can." She looked up with a grin.
"We've come this far anyway." Nigel smiled.
"It's for our dear future. I don't want to regret anything." Gillian smiled.
'Our sole objective is to win and have a discussion.'
~End of Flashback~
"I can't forgive you. But I don't want to resolve this by killing you. Hating, resenting, fearing...I don't want to do that anymore! All those feelings are things I don't want anymore. We want to smile. We want to be free. That's what we've been fighting for this whole time. It's not just our fate and circumstances. Hatred and fear too. We don't want to be imprisoned by anything anymore." Emma said.
"The demons were only eating to live. Mom and the staff's only choice to survive was to serve us to the demons. And Julius Ratri just didn't want to see any more people die in war. We also kill in order to survive. We can't be indifferent to the suffering of mom and Julius. I can't criticize them for being weak. I've thought a lot about it. If demons weren't creatures that ate humans, maybe they could have been our friends. If I had been born in the Ratri clan, maybe I could have done something for the children. If you were born in Grace Field, could we have been friends?" Emma wondered, staring up at Peter.
"Just because our positions are different, we fight, denigrate, and hate each other. But if we take away our positions...if we could think that way...maybe we wouldn't have to hate each other. You also had your own sense of justice as you protected the two worlds, right? I was raised as food and I can't ever forgive you for what you did to us. But...there are people who were protected by the Ratri clan sacrificing us. I'm sure you had your own struggles, like protecting the world or choosing the world over your family. You also had a fate you were burdened with from the moment you were born." She continued.
"Let's be free. We're all prisoners. The demons...humans...Yes, both you and us. But the world will change. We can change it now. Let's change. Let's end the 1000 years of suffering now. Let's live together, Peter Ratri!" Emma extended her hand with a determined expression.
'Protect the world. That was the honorable, noble, and most important mission of the Ratri clan for generations. To me, the clan was my pride, joy, and light. And the leader, my older brother, was my biggest hero. He was kind, smart, handsome, sincere, and refined. And I respected him more than father, mother, or any great person from any era or country.' Peter thought.
'I loved him more than anything in the world. I believed that I was to support him for the rest of my life and that I was born to do so. If only he hadn't found that document.'
"Julius betrayed his comrades to enter the promise? The children are descendants of his allies, not the rogues who were against peace and wanted to continue the world. And even the citizens who were left behind...were turned into food!" Peter stared at the paper with horror.
'An old confession. A document that was hidden for several hundred years, the regrets of the first leader, Julius. It was the truth of how the clan came to be- The complete opposite of the heroic tale that we were taught.'
"How could he have done such a thing?"
"We must protect the two worlds. But what of the children?!"
'My brother changed that day. Hesitation and guilt arose in him. But I didn't understand. In fact, I thought "How wonderful!"'
"Julius didn't do anything wrong. We're the clan that protects the world. He pushed aside personal feelings to save the world! It was a wise decision. He protected the world, even if it meant he betrayed his comrades." Younger Peter grinned.
"That is what makes a hero. A clan that carries out a noble mission. This is wonderful! This is how we should be."
"A noble mission. I've always thought of that way too. But we were wrong. This is punishment. As well as a curse, Peter."
'Why? No, brother. Stop. Don't go. Don't put the world in danger. You're wrong. Our clan is correct. The children are necessary sacrifices for this world. I have to stop him. What now? What should I do?! What do I, a Ratri, do? I'll also...protect the world. Just like Julius.'
"My brother is a traitor. Eliminate him!"
"And the body?"
"We've found him."
"What was he like at the end?" Peter asked staring down at the corpse.
"He was smiling. He told us to tell you "I'm sorry"." A man replied.
Peter's lips quivered and he burst out crying, bringing his brother's cold body in his embrace.
'Brother. I promise I will carry out the mission, for your sake too. No matter how much it hurts. No matter how warped the world may be.'
"Let's be free." Emma told Peter.
'I was burdened? I was a prisoner? All this time? By the fate of being in this clan? No. It's a noble mission. We're an honorable clan! This mission isn't punishment and in no way is it a curse!' Peter grit his teeth.
"You and your descendants are caught in the whirl of destiny." He said.
'No! I did the right thing. But it was a curse? Punishment?! I protected the mission and the world, even if it meant killing the brother I loved. No, no, it's a lie! What our clan did for 1000 years isn't meaningless!'
"I'm sorry. Sorry, Peter...to make you carry the burden.'
"Let's change. Let's end the 1000 years of suffering now!" Emma outstretched her hand.
'Was my brother fighting back against his destiny? Did he want to be free? Did he want to free me?'
"Let's live together, Peter Ratri!" Emma stared at him in determination.
Peter smiled, catching them off guard.
"You should just kill me. But you say you want to live together? Fools. That's why you were meant to be eaten. Actually, the demons aren't so bad. What they've been doing to you are things that humans have done to each other since long ago. Yes, even though humans don't eat humans. Go wherever you want. Do what you want. You kids win. But remember this one thing. The human world isn't any different because they are a mirror of humanity. "Code solid". You can pass that on to my uncle. Try it if you can. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you can go in the human world." Peter said, pulling out his knife and bringing it to his neck.
The kids gasped, even Gillian and Oliver who hid around the corner down the hall.
"Sorry, but I can't go with you kids. I'll enjoy the new world from the depths of hell. Farewell." He grinned.
"Peter!" Emma exclaimed, reaching out to stop him.
'Fools. A position in life isn't something one can easily throw away. I choose to die here.'
Blood splattered around as the blade came in contact with his skin. He felt his legs give out on him and as he lay in a pool of blood, his eyes fluttering open and closed, he could see the blurry figures of the kids surrounding him.
'Why are you trying to save me? Why do you look like that?'
"If you were born in Grace Field, could we have been friends?"
'Of course not. Never. Don't bother. I'm done. The new world you're about to create is too bright for me. I'm...'
"I was able to enjoy this longer than expected. Well done for 1000 years." He said, placing his palm on Peter's face.
Emma stared at Peter's corpse, pure devastation on her face the moment his heart stopped.
"The world isn't any different. Try if you can."
Emma stood up and rubbed her eyes.
'Watch us. We'll find it for sure. A life where we could live happily with our family.'
"So...Emma and all of you. What do you plan to do now?" Isabella questioned, shifting her eyes to the side.
"We're going to retreat for now. There are still the 2000 imperial soldiers and we have other stuff we need to do. But I'm glad because I wanted to talk to you once we got to Grace Field. Let's go to the human world." Emma smiled.
Isabella and the other women looked at the girl, stunned.
"Once everything is over, you should come with us." Emma added.
"I want all the children to go to the human world. All means the children who grew up too."
"I've already proposed the promise with him for it to be that way. Of course, that's only if you want to. Once everything is done and the promise is implemented...Mom, the sisters, the adults and children of the other farms...we can all go to the human world." Emma smiled.
"You're going to forgive us?" One of the sisters asked.
"After what we did?" Another added.
"Well..."
"But..."
"We'll stay here. We appreciate you're offer, but we're..." Isabella looked away in shame.
"Get over it already. You were sick of this, right? If you have regrets, take care of them in the human world. I'm glad I'm alive. It's because I'm alive that I can atone for my sins and clear my conscience." Ray said.
"It's fine. No one will resent anyone. We're not holding grudges. So let's go. All of you with us." He continued.
"Yeah, let's go!" Yvette exclaimed.
"Let's go!" The other kids yelled.
"Come on, mom." Gilda smiled.
"Mom!" The younger kids ran at Isabella and the sisters, latching onto their dresses and waists.
'It should have been so painful. You must have been so shocked. You were betrayed by your mother in the most horrific way. Even now, you're all trembling. But why? How could you forgive me? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I've been sorry...for so long!'
"I'm sorry...and thank you, everyone...!" Isabella said, tears streaming down her face.
"Then it's settled. Just a little longer. Once we finish everything, we'll come back here. Until then, Grace Field will continue to operate but..." Emma said.
"We'll be waiting. Don't worry. The demons and the Ratri clan servants don't know about our betrayal yet. We'll handle it. Leave Grace Field to us. We'll take care of Phil and the others and we'll deal with the demons too." Isabella smiled. "Be careful."
"Yeah, we'll be back soon." Emma nodded before turning to walk with the others. "Okay, we're going!"
"Cislo! We're going to evacuate! Is everything okay on that side?" Norman spoke into his earpiece.
"Boss! Everything's fine...or it was...but...Well, I don't really understand. The imperial soldiers are on the move. They're all leaving and heading toward the outer bridge!" Cislo reported.
"That's not good! Reinforcements! They're gonna attack us! We should run now!" Hayato panicked.
"Wait. Look at this." One of the sisters said, holding a tablet.
"Notice! A message from the imperial capital to all citizens..."
"Huh?" Emma's eyes widened as she and a few others stared at the screen.