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And that was about it.

There wasn\'t much else I could say about him. We had never come in contact before.

But also... He was empty.

Miwen: "That\'s not how you start a conversation."

Even then, I knew his name.

To protect Maya, I had to.

Erik: "I know you. You know me. Let\'s not waste our time."

Never a noticeable presence, he\'s been the shadow behind the AOTG leader for a while.

Although that\'s a facade by itself, in truth, he is the de facto leader.

Thanks to a combination of wit, luck, and power, he\'s managed to steal the whole organization for himself, starting from the top of all places.

He used his position as the shadow leader of the AOTG to concentrate and acquire all of the organization\'s power. Most of the members now were slaves to his will, either due to their own will or thanks to a trap or two.

The contracts going around on the AOTG seem to be his work. Although only those who have signed know everything the contract entails, and of course, they are unable to speak or share information about it.

Maya, my sister, was one of the last members with a meaningful position and some authority remaining who stood against him.

He tried to take care of that with an ambush that hurt and almost killed her.

I didn\'t think he was going to show up like this, under the daylight and all, but he brought too many high and top-rankers with him to simply talk.

Perhaps he\'s about to make such an outlandish move that killing some people in public like this will not even matter.

Numbers and levels are on their side for the most part. Even considering that the average level of my party has increased since the last Invasion Event this would be a hard fight.

The amount of bystanders around should also make it harder for us to act. However, this might not be a disadvantage we share.

Miwen: "I thought you would be smarter. Are you sure it\'s fine to lose so many resources again? Quite poor timing if you ask me."

Erik: "You misunderstand. I came to make up for the resources I lost last time. Although your answer tells me all I need to know. I don\'t suppose you\'d be interested in joining us ?"

A ridiculous proposal.

Any human being with a shred of sympathy would understand where the problem lies.

But I suppose this would be too much to ask of... him.

I should\'ve expected that the one in control of that animal would undoubtedly be as broken, but...

This was bad news for me.

We were too much of a poor match. I instantly knew I\'d have to be very careful.

Erik: "...You\'re not on Maya\'s level. A shame. Still, if you bring her to me, I can at least provide you with a good position in the new age I\'ll create. A reward for your contributions, if you will."

Unconsciously, I had clenched my fists.

Controlling my emotions in front of him was difficult.

Miwen: "What a joke. You, who barely qualifies as a man defining a new age? Hah. Spare me. I don\'t need you to rise. And as for my sister...

You should give up. She\'s already got a boyfriend, and let\'s be real... you\'re not in the same league. Take your sales pitch next door."

Erik: "Perhaps you are in too much of a shock to believe my words, but you should reconsider. This is the most someone unremarkable like you can ever achieve. If you show some goodwill here, you\'ll get to enjoy your best life. You must know that your sister is priceless. Selling her to me would ensure your future.

And by helping her correct her mistake, you\'d be doing an admirable job as her little brother."

A provocation. One that showed he could see right through me to boot.

He wanted to limit my alternatives, controlling my first move would make all my following actions predictable.

I\'d be ceding control.

Yet, being rational was getting harder by the minute.

My best option was to cheat.

Miwen: "Dear! I think I dropped the remaining of my goodwill under the sofa, can you take a look for me?"

Licia: "...Sure?"

Claire: "Wha-"

Licia: "Hm... Nothing here!"

He was hitting where it hurt the most.

I\'d be done for if I allowed him to see just how effective it was. My best option was to hide it by acting casual about it. As if it didn\'t affect me in the least.

As if the idea of selling my sister wasn\'t an absurdity. An insult.

As if I could ever show goodwill to the one who hurt her in the first place.

I had to control myself... He was already four steps ahead of me.

He came to my house. This showed he knew my address and could reach me at any time. The idea of this place being safe for my family was no more.

He brought enough people to make his last attempt look like a warmup.

His attempt to bring me to his side showed that he knew I had some value, so he must\'ve known about my involvement last time.

This meant he also knew that information about that could be a problem for me, especially since they had yet to declare themselves as state enemies.

The perfect offer should\'ve been his finishing move. The last and biggest advantage that would ensure his victory.

But he misread.

Sure, there may have been a time when I envied Maya. My parents too.

I also felt insecure and angry about how unjust it was that I had nothing and that she was so much better than me in every way.

However, those were childish thoughts that went away quickly. It wasn\'t anyone\'s fault, to begin with.

But this might be where we differ the most. I didn\'t stand in the shadow to steal someone\'s light.

I was there to emphasize her brightness.

There is no way I would ever betray my family. No world where I make my star shine less.

So, I fought back.

A casual attitude could make it seem like I didn\'t care whether or not he knew where I lived.

Bringing attention to Licia and Claire showed I wasn\'t alone. Definitely not enough to stand up to the forces he brought, but it should make him recalculate a little.

The most important however was acting in an unexpected manner. Even if he was able to read me for the most part, it would be meaningless if he started to doubt whether or not he had truly seen through everything.

Miwen: "Sorry. I think we ran out of goodwill. Must\'ve happened around the time you tried to kill Maya."

Erik: "...I see. Such attachments will prevent you from growing. You\'ll never reach anywhere if you let them prevent you from taking the most optimal paths."

Wrong.

That would only apply if he and I were the same. If I had turned my back on everyone. If efficiency was all that I cared about.

Miwen: "Don\'t speak of what you don\'t understand. When the people I care about are by my side, why would I want to be anywhere else? A tree that grows alone might grow taller, but it won\'t compare to a forest. You and I are completely different beasts."

We would never be able to see eye to eye.

The path he chose was the first I rejected.

This was a...

Erik: "...A waste of my time. In the end, you were not good enough for anything. Be thankful for Maya, as thanks to her, you at least have some value as a hostage,"

Miwen: "Yeah, you can cry about it in hell. But let me warn you..."

As he spoke, the ones he brought with him started to cross the street.

Miwen: "You should be thankful for the AOTG..."

Licia and Claire came out of the house and stood by my side.

Miwen: "Thanks to it, you at least have some value as my lab rat."

I\'m not sure how much he understands what happened last time.

But if he knew everything, he\'d not have challenged me to the game I\'m the best at.

As his followers were approaching, I used [Hollow Destiny] to deactivate his Gift.

Erik: "...You stole Lance\'s Gift... I might\'ve found a new use for you after all..."

For 70 seconds, he lost control over most of the members he brought.

However, some followed him out of their own will. A battle between them could go either way.

No... it was definitely going to last more than 70 seconds.

But I had taken all of his advantages. Even his immense power, a certain effect of his Gift, was gone.

All I needed was one more push.

Miwen: "Seed of revolution, revolutionary machine. No matter how much you grow..."

One last reason for him to not come at us...

To prove that fighting me was a war by itself. One that would cost him his revolution...

Miwen: "...You\'ll never compare to the kingdom I carry with me..."

I had taken the [Special Role] from Maya so I could coordinate with Licia and Elizabeth without saying a word out loud.

And after the go-ahead, except for Lana and Gabriella, all the girls who serve under me appeared.

Mia and Ellie stood at the rooftop.

Angelica, Elizabeth, and the Valkyries were flying slightly above ground.

Beatrice appeared behind me, and coming out of the house were Agatha, Lily, and Olivia.

Cassandra stood right in front of me, ready to enter her sword form.

Erik: "Demon Of The Front... Level 100\'s... Interesting. I concede, you are-"

Miwen: "I am the one who\'ll cut you down if you grow your branches close to me."

I took the momentum.

His reaction remained as cold as before, and I still wasn\'t able to read him at all, but I knew this was effective.

There was simply no way for him to have known or be prepared for this.

Miwen: "With or without your Gift, it won\'t take me a minute to bring you down, so get out of my sight and see to it that your revolution paves the path for the rise of this world\'s true king... while I still allow it."

If it came down to it... I\'m not sure if we would be able to win. Battles with so many high/top rankers were bound to be too chaotic to finish quickly, and once his Gift returned... our chances wouldn\'t be so great.

But I could afford to threaten him here. Even if we were not able to win, we could at least retreat back to the Kingdom.

Now that he knew I was able to calculate just as much as him, without any info on my Gift, he should be forced to retreat, or else, he\'d risk me being able to escalate even further.

Once the people he brought snapped out of the confusion, they attacked him, and he retreated.

A few minutes passed and he didn\'t come back.

It didn\'t come down to a fight but... that by itself might have been a victory for us.

Although the attention we got was less than desirable...

However, there wasn\'t much reason for me to care about such things now.

Everything on Earth was starting to blow in my face anyway, it was time to stop hiding and come out of the shadows.

The attention we got could be considered a loss but... at this point, I was over caring about such things.

Since the AOTG knew what I did, the police probably knew too.

They are probably using Gifts to discover though, so it might still take a while for them to take action.

If the timing works in my favor...

Well, no matter.

No matter who my enemy may be, I\'ll be sure to eliminate them one way or another.

Beatrice: "...Are you sure you\'ll be able to win against him?"

Miwen: "...I\'m better. As a person."

Beatrice: "But it might come to who is worse."

...Possibly.

Miwen: "In which case... you are free to join them if you want."

Beatrice: "...He has nothing to offer me. No... it\'s more like... anything I could get from him, would ultimately be empty."

As always, Beatrice is quite impressive.

Both of us ended up reaching the same conclusion about him, but...

It\'s still an uncertainty.

No matter how good we are at reading other people, he\'s barely a human.

It\'s hard to be sure... and even harder to probe deeper. We came off as empty, but...

His fixation with Maya.

His desire for revolution.

And his move today.

I felt like they didn\'t fit completely even though I could excuse them.

If I forced it, I could make an argument for them all being attitudes toward the same goal.

And yet-

Elizabeth: "Why do you fret? Have you not realized that you\'re capable of much the same?"

So close Liz...

Miwen: "Let\'s see.. Do you think we are alike, right now?"

Liz: "Well... No... But. You are... with us. When you are facing an enemy, you change.

I saw the same eyes on you when we fought. Focus, precision. A mind that thought of everything as a resource to be used to reach a single objective."

I really left a strong impression on her...

But it\'s clouding her judgment.

It\'s not that she\'s entirely wrong, but because she saw too much at the end, she\'s forgetting the less impressive beginning.

Miwen: "You\'re right, I can match him the same way I did his pet. But by that point, it would already be my loss."

Liz: "Hm... ? How so?"

She might\'ve been a little too tired to get it.

Miwen: "...Disable your barriers, Liz."

Liz: "...Sure? Aw- What are you doing?"

I gave her a flick on the forehead.

Miwen: "Go to rest. You still have a job today and you are no machine. You can think about this tomorrow~"

Liz: "... I... Hmrh... if you say so..."

It was the first time I saw her mumbling. She really didn\'t like not knowing the answer.

But I couldn\'t blame her too much for not being able to see the difference between him and me.

It was way harder than Lance, and only on Earth do we have something to equal him to.

Unfeeling and uncaring. Even when I called his underlings "resources", not only did he not flinch, but he also did the same, in a much more natural way than me no less.

Calculating and efficient. He focuses on his objective and what he needs to accomplish it. Everything is only as valuable as the investment he puts into obtaining it and how much benefit it provides him.

Barely a man, he\'s much closer to a computer or a machine.

He and I will use everything at our disposal, but... I remain a man.

My feelings and my instincts will still guide me.

There are things I won\'t sacrifice or turn my back on, even if it is advantageous.

Only when they are no more, can I truly become like him.

Only when I\'m alone.

Elizabeth thinks we resemble each other because she\'s fixated on the state I was in after almost everyone was down. The more she took from me, the farther from a human I became.

But still, while I can inch closer to both extremes, animal and machine, I exist in neither.

It wasn\'t just my mind that was focused on defeating her, every ounce of my existence was. My body, instinct, and power worked together with my reason and knowledge in search of a way to kill her.

I keep my hands on two reins at all times. So that I can remain perfectly in the middle, an average man, who doesn\'t fall to either side.

Which is why I might not be able to match him now.

Even if I could win by sacrificing one of the girls, I wouldn\'t do it.

This path makes the girls both an asset and a liability. Any machine seeing them as a resource would conclude they equal zero.

Thus, they\'d see this as the least efficient way to achieve their goals.

But it doesn\'t matter.

He\'s not someone who can understand this anyway.

Although... I\'m also not able to fully understand him either.

He should know that going after Maya at this point wouldn\'t be beneficial. Her running away from him was also a given, so it feels strange to me that he would come after her like this.

I guess that girl really has a special way of creating problems...

She really needs to... chill...

No way, right?

He wouldn\'t... think she\'s like him.

That couldn\'t be.

...Hah.

Licia: "Ahem. You\'re being creepy. Should we cancel today?"

Miwen: "Hm? No way."

The date with the girls didn\'t provide any benefit to my goals whatsoever.

However, it was more important than anything else for me.