Chapter 11-14 - The Origins Of An Empath, p2
14 - The Origins Of An Empath, p2
“Tell me, who exactly are you?” Otto asked.
“I’m Mukawa from the GSC Intelligence Agency.” Mukawa answered, hating himself for his powerlessness against Otto.
“And those are your allies from the very same agency, correct?” Otto asked.
“They are. They’re my friends.” Mukawa said. “Could’ve asked me before you beat their faces in, dickhead.”
“I’m sorry for the trouble, but understand that this was the most merciful I could’ve been.” Otto said. “I’m sure you’re well aware of who I am and what group I represent.”
He looked over at the briefcase on the ground.
“Tell me, Mukawa, why did you spare my informant? He, just like all the other ones that were sent to retrieve confidential information, should’ve been killed. If the Heisei were here, my ally here would have been a corpse.”
“Because...”
Mukawa took a deep breath.
“I just didn’t want to kill him, alright?” Mukawa said. “Why does it matter to you so much? Be a little grateful instead, will ya?”
“I see. He was a family man, after all.” Otto said. “I would never expect someone like you to end up in the GSC. Someone who can follow his heart, even if it means potentially putting themselves in danger.”
“Stop wording it in such a corny way.” Mukawa said. “I joined the GSC because it aims to keep the world in check and make sure everything doesn’t go to shit.”
“Oh? Is that what Kaito told you?”
“What...there’s something else?” Mukawa asked, already falling into slight disbelief. “Oh, don’t tell me, you’re gonna drag me into some obscure political games?”
“The real goal of the GSC is irrelevant.” Otto said. “But Kaito Kamiki...” His voice suddenly sounded much more serious. “From the intel I’ve gathered, he’s an utterly unhinged lunatic who is obsessed with the idea of a ‘soulful world’.”
“A...what?”
“A world with only soulfuls.” Otto said.
“And how does that work?” Mukawa asked. “He wants...everyone to be a soulful.”
“Yes, but not in the way you hope.” Otto said. “He wants soulfuls to be the only ones remaining. Everyone else...he wants them gone.”
“Nah, you’re bullshitting.” Mukawa said, slowly panicking. “You’re...seriously lying.”
“Would I go to such lengths if this were a lie?” Otto asked. “The Adler Group is an organization meant to keep an eye on Kaito Kamiki. Do you think all of this is built on lies?”
“You just want to take his throne, right?!” Mukawa asked, raising his voice. “Is that what this is all about?!”
“This is about a man that has a power connected to the global soul events.” Otto said. “I’m sure you’ve heard of many religious explanations surrounding the Global Soul Event, some even suggesting that it confirms the existence of a soul-related divine entity. But...I’m sure if you dig in those documents enough, you’ll find statements from Kaito himself that suggest otherwise.”
“No...” Mukawa shook his head.
“If you struggled so much to take just one life, I am right to assume that the death of billions might upset you enough to make you act.” Otto said. “That is why I have an offer for you.”
“...”
“Starting today, you and the entire Intelligence Agency will join my side.” Otto said. “You will be my informants and my allies within the GSC.”
“And...if I refuse...?” Mukawa asked.
“If you refuse, you will be my enemies.” Otto said. “But most importantly, you’ll aid Kaito’s potentially devastating cause.”
“...”
They looked at each other in silence. Mukawa slowly crawled back and stood up, still in disbelief. He looked at the briefcase again.
“No matter how dangerous this betrayal might be...”
“After hearing his explanations, I just...”
“I can’t let that happen.”
“Why me?” Mukawa said. “Why do you think that...I’m not just gonna backstab you like I’m about to backstab Kaito Kamiki?”
“I still have faith.” Otto said. “I have faith that soulfuls exist who can not only see the truth, but also conquer their fears and fight for what is right. You also share that faith in people, right? That is why you spared my associate. You believed that he was a human being.”
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“I...agree.” Mukawa sighed. Otto extended his hand, and Mukawa shook it.
“I apologize once again for hurting your friends, Mukawa.” Otto said. “Report to your higher-ups that you killed the operative and disposed of the body. I will also aid in training your group to become better at soul combat.”
“Right...” Mukawa said, still lost in his mind.
“Thank you for fighting for the right cause.” Otto said. “I had just lost a very powerful ally, so it is good news indeed that I found someone even more...devoted.”
“Devoted...?” Mukawa asked. “You’re...really trusting me, you know?”
“It is not unjustified trust.” Otto chuckled. “I can see it clearly. You’ll always fight for what is right. You’re an empath.”
“Ugh, I hate this nickname already...” Mukawa thought.
“Makes it look like I’m weak or naive.”
“I ended up sticking around with him. I became stronger, more aware, more determined.”
“I disliked his methods at times, but...it was the best option there was. It was his plan. My duty was to just help him however I could. It was a war against the single most powerful soulful in the world, a war that, even without direct conflict, lasted months upon months and resulted in dozens of casualties.”
“He valued me and he gave me hope. But at the same time, I was still amazed at how he trusted me so easily.”
“They say that someone who was willing to backstab once would do it again and again.”
“Actually, he was the one that brought up the phrase to me.”
“And yet, he trusted me.”
[SHORTLY BEFORE THE SOUL-BOUND WAR]
“Mukawa, there is something I need to tell you that only you must know.” Otto said. His eyes were still red, he was straining himself too hard with all the training he was doing. They were alone in one of the rooms of their residence, Otto made sure the area was clear. Not even Erwin was there.
“Yeah, I can tell. You got me in the middle of nowhere.” Mukawa complained. “What’s the big news?”
“I cannot let anyone, I repeat, anyone know about this. Even when doing as I will instruct you to do, you will not alert your closest friends about this. Only when the time is right.” Otto said. “There is...a certain thing that you may need to retrieve.”
“A...what?” Mukawa was confused. “Just...break the news already, okay?”
Otto took a deep breath.
“This war may just be our only chance to stop Kaito Kamiki.” Otto said. “Everything that we have done up to this point was for that exact goal. But even then, even with all of our strategies and preparations, I must still not cease to think rationally. I must take into consideration the possibility of defeat.”
“No, no no no no no. There’s no ‘defeat’ here, alright?” Mukawa said in denial. “We haven’t been doing all of this for ‘defeat’, alright? There’s just you, going out there, doing your job and killing Kaito. Okay? I mean, come on, as of right now, you’re the only one who has an actual chance at taking him down.”
“Mukawa.” Otto said. “I have an ability that I have not revealed to anyone.”
“...huh?”
“As you know, my replication has a special condition. I can only replicate and store the soul expressions of those who I hold a type of ‘hatred’ against, or a desire to take their power and use it for a cause I believe is greater.” Otto explained. “But at the same time, I can also leave behind a fraction of my blade’s power to those who I deem can use it for the cause I believe in.”
“You...what?” Mukawa asked. “Wait, so you mean...”
“If I die, my soul will manifest a blade before fading away. A blade capable of replicating and utilizing a soul expression only once.” Otto said, looking at Mukawa with a slightly sorrowful smile on his face. “You will be able to wield that blade, Mukawa. Because you will fight for mankind.”
Mukawa was left speechless for a few moments.
“If my strength does not suffice and I fall in battle, you are to retrieve that weapon. It will allow you to have another chance at executing my plan, or what I believe to be the only way to defeat Kaito Kamiki.” Otto said. “That being, the replication of his own ability and its utilization against him.”
“I feel like you don’t know the magnitude of what you just said, Otto.” Mukawa said.
“No, I know it perfectly well.” Otto said. “You are the only person I can entrust this to. You are intelligent, you are a good planner. And most importantly, you are stubborn. You’re the only person I know that is as stubborn as I am.”
“I...” Mukawa’s thoughts were fading away. “Are you...sure I can...”
“I can only pray that it does not come to that, but if the need arises, you will be my insurance.” Otto said.
“Why not have that...Erwin guy that you have with you all your time do it? Or any of your generals? I’m sure you trust them more than a-” Mukawa took a deep breath.
Otto approached Mukawa a little.
“I have faith in you.” Otto said. “I know that you will strategize and fight. Because-”
“Because let me guess, I’m an empath?” Mukawa interrupted him.
“Yes. Because you have faith in humanity and you hate it when people die.” Otto said.
Mukawa looked disappointed to hear that very sequence of phrases again, but he accepted the situation’s gravity.
“But there is one thing that I need you to pay attention to, Mukawa.” Otto said.
Mukawa didn’t make any sharp remarks this time, he simply listened.
“When the time comes, you must be willing to make sacrifices.”
“He was right.”
“At that moment, he was right. The only possible way was to make sacrifices. If he didn’t make them, there would be no possible way of winning the war.”
...
“And if he was here right now, he’d say the same.”
“He’d be willing to let millions die to save billions.”
“But even though we are fighting for the same cause...”
“This is my fight now.”
“Human lives are not currencies. Every sacrifice is a human being, with their own story, their own feelings, thoughts, accomplishments, goals, past, present and future. To throw it all away and use it as a currency...”
“I can’t do that.”
“I’m sorry, Otto.” Mukawa said to himself, inspecting the dagger. “I’ll take it from here.”
He entered the hospital room and approached Sakuto. He slowly positioned a chair right next to his bed. He sat down, approached his palm and touched Sakuto’s forehead with it.