Chapter 88: It Is Not That Justice Always Wins, but That Only the Victors Get to Speak of Justice

Chapter 88: It Is Not That Justice Always Wins, but That Only the Victors Get to Speak of Justice

Embers Base, Surface Facility

“Captain.”

“Mm. I know. The defensive system of Embers’ underground core area… has been activated.”

Benjamin casually tossed aside Da'vion’s severed head. His mechanical eyes—equipped with thermal imaging—locked firmly onto the entrance to the core area of the Embers underground base not far ahead.

The warning lights around the entrance flickered on and off, stretching everyone’s shadows into long, distorted shapes.

The massive alloy blast door radiated a suffocating sense of pressure.

It was as if it were telling Benjamin and the others that the moment they dared cross this threshold and step into Embers’ core, what awaited them would be a nightmare straight out of hell.

But at this point, neither Benjamin nor anyone else intended to stop.

Moving forward was their only option.

Amid the muddy ruins of the rain-soaked surface base, the head Benjamin had thrown rolled some distance before finally coming to rest in a filthy puddle.

Not far away, the body that had once been petrified returned to normal and collapsed heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

Blood poured from the severed neck, mixing with the relentless rain from above, staining the surrounding puddles a deep crimson.

The head submerged in the bloody water stared wide-eyed, its expression frozen in unmistakable disbelief.

This Embers Starbearer, famed for his petrification ability, seemed to be using this grotesque tableau to testify to his own ignominious end—one he could never accept, even in death.

Three second-order Starbearers and dozens of first-order Starbearers in a surprise attack.

Using such an extravagant lineup just to deal with him—those damned Association Starbearers really did think highly of him.

And as Benjamin noticed the lifeless, unblinking eyes on the ground, a faint, almost imperceptible sneer tugged at the corner of his lips.

With one of Embers’ two second-order combatants eliminated, the strongest, Tachibana Yume, trapped by Gohn in the “arena,” and the remaining “small fry” were busy dealing with the beast tide along the coastline. Without question, this was the perfect moment for him to enter the core of the Embers base, find that key, and complete his house mission.

However, though Benjamin had his own agenda, he had no intention of revealing it.

Instead, he chose a different excuse—one far more grand and righteous.

That excuse was “justice.”

The matter of the key was a secret of the Iron Dome House. The fewer people who knew about it, the better.

And if protecting that secret required it, he wouldn’t hesitate to permanently silence the people around him at the appropriate moment.

As a Machina Starbearer loaded with the [Human Emotion Simulation Program], Benjamin not only knew how to conceal his true intentions—he also knew how to make maximum use of those around him.

“Everyone!”

In the rainy night, Benjamin suddenly raised his voice, his expression becoming inexplicably fervent.

“Embers is one of the dangerous organizations officially marked by the Starbearer Association. If we can completely eradicate this organization today and rescue those innocent people trapped inside—”

“—then every one of you here will become heroes of the New Federation!”

“So let us move out, and show these people who toy with human lives and trample order—”

“that victory will always stand on the side of justice!”

Benjamin raised his bloodstained right fist high. His thunderous voice carried an almost hypnotic power, echoing through the rain-soaked night before slowly fading away.

Then he looked around at the crowd, whose emotions he had successfully stirred, and shouted with utterly “unshakable” conviction—those words that struck straight at the heart:

“Justice—will prevail!”

“Prevail!!!”

Amid the unified shouts of the crowd, they charged without hesitation into the core area of the Embers underground base, which had activated its defensive mode known as “Endless Maze.”

As for what kinds of dangers awaited them inside—most of them no longer cared.

Because they felt that what they were doing had already transcended life itself.

Watching these hot-blooded people, their eyes gleaming with the light called “justice,” Benjamin smiled.

Justice is such a remarkably useful slogan to use.

As long as this word was invoked, foolish and emotional humans would wager everything they had on it—even if the stake was their own lives.

Spurred on by Benjamin’s incitement, the crowd charged recklessly into the underground core of the Embers base.

For the sake of the justice in their hearts, they feared no danger!

And at this very moment, Chen Kong and his group had only just arrived at the western beach and begun attempting to destroy the Star Monolith placed there.

. . .

Embers Underground Core Area — Quantum Central Control Room

Beep, beep, beep—!

Inside the quantum central control room, the sounds of countless precision Machina instruments echoed continuously within the sealed space.

Tendou watched the surveillance feed, where the blond man named Benjamin was delivering his so-called “righteous” speech, filled with exaggerated gestures and dramatic movements.

A mocking smile appeared on his face.

“Victory always stands on the side of justice?”

Granted, as an organization, Embers had indeed done plenty of evil things behind the scenes.

But overall, compared to those other Starbearer organizations in the New Federation that had committed every imaginable atrocity, Embers could at most be considered Chaotic Neutral within the New Federation—hardly qualifying as Chaotic Evil.

At the same time, the Starbearer Association—being the largest and strongest Starbearer organization in the New Federation—was far less noble than it claimed to be.

In Tendou’s view, they could at best be labeled Lawful Neutral, nowhere near the realm of Lawful Good.

After all, if Embers had done its share of dirty work, had the Starbearer Association really done any less?

If the Starbearer Association were truly as virtuous as their propaganda claimed, then this world would not have seen so many Starbearer organizations operating independently of the Association.

【Current intruder scan complete】

【Second-order Starbearer ×3, first-order Starbearer ×20】

【Second-order Starbearer scan details as follows】

【Benjamin Sesko (High-Level)】

【William Howard (Mid-Level)】

【Isaiah Ulf (Mid-Level)】

Watching the intruder information listed by the Quantum Central System, Tendou placed his hand into a recessed slot on the control console.

【Identity authentication complete. Esteemed S-Class authorization holder: Tendou, what command would you like to issue to the “Embers Mechanical Intelligence Core Program · Glimmer”?】

“Lift all restrictions on lethal weapons in the underground core area. Shut down all non-weapon power systems except for the Quantum Center, the Starbeast Research Sector, and the Quantum Transfer Chamber.”

“Maximize the operational efficiency of the Base Defense System · Endless Maze, and in thirty minutes, release all Starbeast test subjects currently held in the Starbeast Research Sector.”

【Warning: Some of the operations you have requested carry an extreme risk of loss of control. Do you confirm execution?】

“Yes.”

Upon hearing Tendou’s firm response, the previously silent quantum central control room was filled with the cold, emotionless female voice of the Quantum Central System.

【Command acknowledged, esteemed S-Class authorization holder: Tendou.】

【Shutting down non-weapon power systems in most core areas. Dormitory power offline. Cafeteria power offline.】

【Base Defense System · Endless Maze efficiency increasing. Current efficiency: 110%】

【Starbeast Research Sector specimen release countdown: 29:59】

Under the control of the “Embers Mechanical Intelligence Core Program · Glimmer,” the entire underground core area began to undergo earth-shaking changes.

The first to manifest was the rapidly escalating efficiency of the base defense system—Endless Maze.

Deep within the underground core, massive metallic roars resembling the grinding of countless gears suddenly erupted.

Corridors began to rotate and reassemble like a gigantic Rubik’s Cube.

The surrounding walls, driven by numerous specialized mechanisms, slowly shifted from their original positions.

All of these movements combined to produce the signature phenomenon of the Embers underground core area—a colossal subterranean labyrinth in constant motion, devoid of any discernible pattern.

This was the so-called “Endless Maze.”

After all, when you walk from Zone 1 into Zone 2, then turn back along the same path only to find yourself in Zone 11, direction itself loses all meaning, leaving you hopelessly trapped.

What Tendou had just referred to as “increasing the efficiency” of the Endless Maze meant exactly this—accelerating the rate at which the space transformed.

What once shifted every thirty seconds now changed every fifteen seconds, thereby far more efficiently splitting up Benjamin and the others.

All of this was something Tachibana had done in the original story—only now, it was Tendou who was doing it instead.

Some time later, after watching on the surveillance screens as Benjamin and his team were forcibly scattered after passing through several zones, Tendou turned and left the Quantum Central Control Room.

“There has never been such a thing as justice inevitably prevailing. Justice is only ever spoken by the victors.”

“Because the dead… do not speak.”

“Moreover, every place has its own rules. You came here uninvited, and in doing so, you broke the rules of Embers.”

“And since that is the case…”

Standing outside the metal doors of the quantum central control room, Tendou gazed toward the far end of the corridor, illuminated by blood-red alarm lights.

“Then use your lives and your blood to atone for this act of disrespect.”

“And that—is the hospitality unique to Embers.”

With those words, Tendou’s figure vanished into the dim corridor.

And the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance was like the scythe of the Reaper dragging across the ground—low, heavy, and saturated with a chilling aura of death.

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