Chapter 33
The road to hell is paved with good intentions
The bird opens its mouth.
-threats aside, I am glad we reached an agreement. My followers will lead you to our hideout -
Melky steps forward and bows with a smile.
-please follow us. We have a long journey ahead of us-
Saiko shakes her head.
_ I am afraid, that will have to wait. There is a living weapon facility here and we need to free the one here first _
-well, about that one -
Melky rubs the back of his head and glances at the lyrebird.
- I would like to ask you to leave that one for now. –
_WHAT? _
The lyrebird speaks causing Saiko to ask in surprise.
-this is the only living weapon Kim Sungtae has and without it, they could be invaded –
_Hold on, hold on, you were just telling me that what you were doing was to save children, and now, you are suddenly okay with torturing children? _
- I still want to save her but if I do it now, it could cause a war in which many more people would die –
_really now? And how exactly are you different from the world government? I don’t know their reason but I am sure the world government also has some messed up reason they are doing what they are doing. _
~hold on Saiko~
Ken interjects.
~ I hate to side with the talking bird here but a war would bring about much more suffering and death ~
_ You don’t trade with lives, You don’t steal and give to charity, and you don’t make someone suffer for a sin they didn’t commit. What’s so hard to understand about this? _
Ken lets out a short sigh.
It always amazed him how pure Saiko is. She always acted and thought in a way that’s completely different from anyone he met before, in a more stupid way, but as much as it frustrated him, he liked that about her. There were no ulterior motives, no hidden agenda, he felt he could let down his guard around her and trust her a thought that made him smile.
he thought it was because she grew up sheltered but he now knows that’s not the case which boggles his mind. Despite spending most of her life tortured in a living weapon facility and spending the rest of her life in a practically nomadic lifestyle, she is still as naïve as a child, or maybe it’s because of those that she is this naïve.
‘nah, most people would probably end up becoming hardened savages if they lived the same life. I guess that’s what happens when you are raised by a priest, a true priest anyway since most are priests in name only’
Ken looks at Saiko with a gentle expression.
~listen, it’s not that I don’t understand what you are saying but it’s a matter of numbers; one life versus the lives of many people. ~
Saiko lets out a sigh of her own as she recalls the words of the old man.
‘Evil is an enchanting mistress. She will always tempt you with quick and easy solutions to your problems
she looks at Ken and the bird.
_ have you ever heard of the saying “ the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. The only life you can sacrifice is your own, and even then, you can only do it if you have no other options. If you really think it’s necessary, then you defend them instead of forcing someone else to carry that burden. If a war breaks out and they need a living weapon to defend them I will defend them. _
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Ken looks at Saiko dumbfoundedly then facepalms.
‘that’s not naivety, that’s brain rot. That priest was a brain virus’
-pffft-
‘ I wonder what plan he will come up with to fight a war with the world government’
Daxia laughs and then turns her attention to Saiko and ponders on what she is seeing.
-hmmm-
-sir-
Daxia turns her attention toward the human boy who just spoke and notices he looks shocked.
-the light just got stronger-
Daxia raises an eyebrow at the boy’s comment.
‘ I guess that’s the one that was tracking us. He seems to be able to see the golden light as well’
The bird opens its mouth.
-how fascinating! You are the first one I saw whose light grew after leaving the program usually the light remains constant or even weakens but you just grew stronger. You continue to grow in strength even after leaving the program. I wonder why? –
Saiko shrugs her shoulders.
_ I don’t even know what light is nor can I see it, so I can’t help you. Can we focus back on the topic though? _
The bird shakes its head.
- I won’t argue with you. You are way too stubborn and I just finished getting you on my side and I don’t want to undo that. Just know that you have chosen a hard path, one that will likely end in your death –
Saiko shrugs her shoulders.
_it is what it is _
-Melky, Alfred, and Ron the three of you will be on stand by in Kim Sungtae consider it your vacation –
Melky jumps with excitement.
-VACATION –
Daxia looks at the followers of nature with jealousy.
-as for you three you should keep the bird with you-
Ken looks at the bird.
~really? So you can spy on us? ~
- pffft, I think you are misunderstanding something. I am always watching; my eyes and ears are everywhere; it’s my mouth that’s in short demand since most animals can’t replicate sapiens speech-
~ what a freak! ~
The lyrebird lands on Ken’s head then pends its head down and pecks Ken’s forehead.
~ouch, whatever everyone in the car ~
Ken says then uses his watch to call the car and they start driving.
Saiko sits in the back seat of the car and begins to review the conversation she had with Ken and the talking bird in her mind.
Her determination is unwavering but she can’t help but wonder if she is correct.
‘I guess it’s at times like these that I need to have faith right old man’
Saiko smiles slightly as she recalls memories from her past.
***********************************************************
‘and then Cain because of his jealousy killed his brother Abel’
The old priest sat on a chair next to Saiko’s bed and telling her stories to help her sleep.
‘but old man didn’t you say that God writes fate? Why would God write that the first son of Adam killed his brother?’
The old man is surprised by the question and thinks for a moment then smiles.
‘well, it’s hard to know all the reasons behind God’s choices but I can at least tell you one of them. Since God is just, all people who commit the same Sin shall be judged equally, and since there were only two men at the time, killing one and then running away basically means you killed all Sapiens, since that one you killed was all there was and by having it be so, God made it so that if anyone kills anyone unjustly it is as though they have killed all people as they will all be equated with the first murder which Cain committed’
‘That only made me more confused why?’
‘Well, sometimes people think they are working for the greater good and justify the killing of innocent people, but certainly there is no greater good that would justify killing everyone for there would be no one to benefit from that good in the first place. So basically, God is eliminating that argument and saying nothing justifies killing an innocent person no matter how great a cause you think you are fighting for’
Saiko thinks for a moment then looks at the old priest.
‘ but what if you are wrong? What if God is wrong?’
The old priest smiles and pats the little kitten’s head.
‘well, that’s where faith comes in’
‘Faith?’
‘Faith my child is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen. It was by faith that Abel gave a more sincere sacrifice and his sacrifice was accepted. There are a lot of things that we don’t know and that we don’t understand and what happens in the future is one of them but we have faith that doing what’s right will give us the best outcome’
Saiko leans back in the car seat.
‘that’s kind of similar to what Naoi said before now that I think about it’
‘Like birds that migrate in the winter or ants that take care of trees, they might not know why they do what they do. To them, it’s simple actions they inherited from their ancestors but if they didn’t do them, they would perish and such is the morality of Sapiens’
‘Speaking of where is Naoi? He has been gone for a while now.’
Just as Saiko was having that thought Naoi suddenly appeared in the car with half of his body phasing through the floor of the car.
-turn right there is someone I want you to meet-
The Firey entity announces making Ken jump from surprise and almost crash the car.
~AH, my dude you nearly gave me a heart attack you need to stop doing that~
-turn right –
Naoi repeats himself.
~fine, fine~
-pffft, I guess the ghost is back –
Daxia Says with amusement. It’s not every day that she sees Ken freaked out.
The lyrebird which was resting on Ken’s head was thrown off and hit the roof of the car when Ken jumped making it go angry and attack Ken pecking at his head repeatedly.
~what the? Why are you hitting me ~
The lyrebird stops its assault for a moment to speak.
- I am not. The lyrebird is doing that all on its own –
Saiko chuckles quietly at the lively scene and uses Argus to form a cage around the bird to free Ken from its assault.
_ there _
-now, turn left-
Naoi exclaims and Ken does as he is told.
~who do you want us to meet anyway? ~
-a mother-