Emerging from the sewer, it seemed like just pure water was coming up, as the transparent water flowed sideways into the burning house like a waterfall.
Splash!
As if gravity was pulling sideways, the stream shot up from the ground, soaking the entire building as it flowed to the side.
Whoosh!
Before Morris could approach her, a man who had dashed out from the side ran in front of Victoria, kneeling and pleading that there was a child trapped above and they couldn’t do anything about it because of the fire, pointing towards the adjacent building.
Victoria headed straight for that direction.
Beatrice was busy evacuating the remaining people away with the company personnel, and only Morris stood still, staring at Victoria.
What is he doing standing right in the middle of the road?
I watched the world through the eyes of the harvesting period.
In the distance, five people working noticed the oddity in Bern City. More precisely, almost everyone around was staring at Bern City.
Because the entire Bern City was on fire!
Thick black smoke was billowing up from all over Bern City. Just a moment ago, white smoke was rising, but not anymore.
From the perspective of the five guys on the outskirts, stories were spreading.
For example, if a fire truck went inside, it would face the same runaway accidents or suddenly spread from the roadside.
There were also rumors that the wizards trying to extinguish the fire were struggling because there was a lack of magic power in the air.
Civilization had collapsed in an instant.
And in such a situation, there were people entering to save those trapped inside.
Among them, there were five harvesters too. It’s not strange.
People who act lightly if they commit minor misdeeds gently move their feet along with others. In other words, it means that at least in this country, it is a normal society to act for the sake of helping people in such ways.
At least, for now.
They were moving in a crowd to save someone.
However, if one gets injured doing so, it’s their own loss. No one will come to their rescue, and while they are treated like heroes at the time, they will soon be forgotten.
In other words, for individuals, it is a foolish act.
At this moment, the right course of action for an individual is to observe from afar, thinking, “Ah, something unfortunate is happening. I hope someone comes to solve it,” and leave it be.
The problem is that this world doesn’t operate on such icy, fake rationality.
Social and mental benefits sometimes override physical and tangible losses. Just as when there are mountains, there are beings who impulsively follow the urge to climb them.
Just like seals that starve to death climbing Rocky Mountain for no reason.
The inexplicable impulses always exist.
In short.
People of all genders are approaching the burning Bern City.
They guide those fleeing to safe spots, try to pull away from the places on fire, gather the horrific remains of those crushed in traffic accidents, and keep the injured alive.
In the meantime, perhaps Victoria was getting used to it, as her speed in using water to extinguish the flames on the buildings was increasing.
The number of lives being saved was rising.
Of course, amidst those saved, there were indeed people behaving oddly.
Some were in panic, breaking down and yelling things like “Don’t save anyone, just save me!” or “Get my stuff out!”
It’s not that they are evil.
As their rationality freezes, they cling to their deepest thoughts and scream to simply survive.
The real chaos ensues.
People slip into buildings, stealing expensive goods as they come out. In fact, among those who went into the damp buildings, there are some who do exactly that.
They know that acting selfishly in such situations can be beneficial.
Even if someone spoke to them, who would say anything if they just claimed they were taking the necessary items from their own house?
Of course, such people are a minority, but they definitely exist.
On the contrary, there are those not just waiting for Victoria, but who take tools in hand and move to help strangers.
Some are sprinting out of the restroom, dousing themselves in water, and diving into the burning buildings to rescue people, while there are groups passing water in relay from buildings that aren’t on fire to extinguish the flames.
It’s a chaotic situation.
Depending on where one focuses, people can be seen differently.
I quietly observe that.
For now, it’s not my time to move.
Amidst the screams, shouts, roars, cries, explosions, and various sounds resounding on the road, I wait for the right moment.
From the start, if there were too few harvesters, there would be a serious shortage of them.
But if too many are thrown in, the world collapses.
So, I have to move cautiously.
In fact, even without me, the key to handle this situation is right next to me.
That’s none other than Morris.
Though he seems like a useless invention, Morris’s machine doesn’t operate in a way that leaves residual magic. Of course, the output is a fraction of what it could be.
If it draws from the life force of people instead of the magic in the air, the lack of output can be resolved. The deadly downside would be that each time it’s used, it shortens one’s lifespan dramatically, right?
But conversely, that means it can also suck the lives of others and inject them into himself.
Of course, the efficiency is low, and it doesn’t just add up neatly.
Still, if it takes hundreds of lives to extend its lifespan by a year, anyone would do it.
Humans are cheap, after all.
But that would ruin ethics. Humans would become mere goods, and human rights would lose their value. The relentless logic of capitalism would trample morality and build on it.
This means that the society that pops up when you think of cyberpunk from faded memories is coming into being.
Or before it gets that far, could be at risk of being labeled as the enemy globally.
But once something is created, it doesn’t easily disappear.
The world will be divided by the events before and after the point when humans became fuel.
As I anticipated Morris’s choice, I approached him and stood beside him. He must’ve seen me because he started talking to me.
“Your name was Bell, right?”
“Yes.”
“Can you resolve this situation?”
I seem to recall saying something earlier, so maybe he didn’t understand, so I repeat myself.
“I’m not a god.”
It’s not that I can’t, but it could shatter this world if I did, right?
I can’t do it.
“You said Tori’s ability was given by you. Then share that psychic ability with others.”
“It’s random. I can’t be sure what ability will appear or who will have the ability.”
I can make assumptions, though.
At my words, Morris looks up at Victoria, who is flying in the sky. Water orbs attach to her feet. She knows how to manipulate water in mid-air.
“But if that happens, Tori…”
Someone suddenly pops up in this situation.
Perfect for pushing her as a hero.
In other words, it’s also a public toy. If a hero is a group, it’s one thing, but as an individual, they’re torn apart over the pros and cons, left as corpses or trampled on and discarded.
Alternatively, they might grab that honor and fall into a wicked creature.
Victoria finds a child whose half body is burnt and glued to a building not far away and hugs them.
The left half of the body is severely burned; without treatment, they’ll die.
Upon bringing the child, who is on the brink of death, outside, instead of descending to the ground, Victoria suddenly stops moving. She begins looking around, her eyes shifting from side to side.
Is she looking for something?
At that moment, Victoria’s gaze locks onto me.
Then she flies over to me.
Swish!
Standing on the ground, Victoria kneels before me, holding the child.
“Bell. Bell, please. I have a favor to ask. Please save this child.”
Respectful language, huh?
Hehe!
Among the choices available, she made the worst possible one. Instead of leaving the child as a corpse, she offered them to a monster.
Truly a brilliant choice.
With one last remark, I said, “You will regret this.”
Yet Victoria looks at me with steady eyes, meaning no words are required. I nodded and approached the child. Their breath was rapid, and they were in deep agony, caught in severe pain.
But that doesn’t make it a reason not to make a contract.
“I will offer myself to you. In return, once you’ve wrapped everything up later, I’ll take everything you have. How about it?”
I asked the child.
The child answered that they wanted to live.
The deal was made.
In an instant, the child’s skin began to swell, and with a crack like porcelain, a blue-skinned boy burst out from inside!
“His skin is blue. Something’s wrong…?”
Victoria looked at me in confusion. So I shook my head.
“I don’t know the reason, but those who are mortally wounded will have their skin change to blue upon making a contract.”
And while I was at it, I looked around and said, “If you want to treat your wounds regardless of the outcome, I will make a contract.”
I seized the opportunity. Among those who saw this scene, the first to rush over were the parents of the child.
They offered their child to me, and I made a contract with the kid.
Half had white skin, and half had blue skin. But regardless if they were burned, had limbs severed, or their eyeballs were squished, as long as they were alive, they would return to their original form.
The transformation into harvesters happened in an instant. And it was easy for the injured to decide to contract with me.
Instantly, people gathered around me, drowning out shouts for salvation and cries of gratitude.
In the chaos, while some pushed past others, possibly causing someone else to die in their desperation to help themselves or their child, I liked those types and turned them into harvesters immediately.
The sun set, night passed, and until the sun rose again, I kept creating harvesters right there.
As a day passed, perhaps things stabilized somewhat, as firefighters and soldiers entered the city with large equipment to tidy things up.
With that, the incident was drawn to a close.
And I had exactly 9,190 harvesters.
