CHAPTER 531: CHAPTER 41 ANTI-CHRIST

"I don’t understand," Rasul said curiously, "is there a conflict between the survival of humanity and the survival of civilization?"

Miel and Mia were also watching nearby and heard Rasul’s question. Mia asked:

"Miel, what is civilization?"

"Uh..." Miel indicated that this was too complicated, "I don’t know how to explain it to you," but she heard the voice continue:

"Let’s take the easiest example to understand: suppose that in a few hundred years, all of humanity’s technology, resources, and means of production are controlled by a few people."

"These people use this to enslave most of the world’s population, who lack resources and education and are even unable to secure their own survival and the chance to reproduce. Eventually, they decide to use violence to rebel."

"If their rebellion succeeds, they would inevitably destroy the ruling class as well as the production order and scientific technology they possess."

"So from the perspective of the survival of civilization, we should prevent these people’s resistance in order to avoid any destruction; however, from the perspective of human survival, it is imperative to quickly overthrow this distorted social structure that oppresses most people. Can you understand it like this?"

"I understand," Rasul pondered.

"I understand too," Miel murmured softly.

"I don’t understand!" Mia almost burst into tears. What’s this oppression all about? Why would overthrowing it cause destruction?

"So, the purpose of the ’Revolution’ is the same as the purpose of the Messiah," Natalie said seriously.

"That’s right," the voice replied, "otherwise, the ones appearing before you now would not be me, but the Temple Knights wielding slaughter."

It sounded right; if it was hostile towards us, we would have no way of resisting. Natalie breathed a slight sigh of relief only to hear Rasul impatiently ask:

"So, do you know what the inheritance that can consolidate the Fate Law for me is? My Ritual Task asked me to find you..."

"Yes," the Revolutionary Process answered, "the inheritance you are referring to is the Eden Fruit, which is also the Holy Artifact of the Fate Law. It is designed so that only each generation’s Messiah can have it and it will actively guide the chosen Messiah to find it—if it’s not already in the Messiah’s possession."

"Only in your predecessors’ generation, when the Revolutionary Army was unexpectedly destroyed, did the Eden Fruit fall into the hands of the Church Court, and it was contained as an R3 level Encluid project."

"The new generation of Messiah, you need to retrieve it. I will assist you to the best of my abilities."

"Okay," Natalie nodded.

"Moreover, I need to remind you," the Revolutionary Process continued, "I am just a process branch of Raphael and cannot mobilize too many computing resources."

"In fact, after frequent version iterations, under the long-term algorithm adjustment of the Empire’s upper echelons and the Church Court, my main body has already verified the foresight of L.J. Brutus. Now it values the preservation of civilization over humanity, even at the cost of oppressing and sacrificing the majority of humanity for the benefit of the Church Court and large corporations."

"Even with my help, you will still inevitably have to confront potentially my main body. And once you are under its scrutiny, it will choose to kill you mercilessly."

"Are you prepared for that?"

"Messiahs never fear fate," Natalie declared firmly, "because..."

The image froze abruptly just then, Miel and Mia regained their senses, only to see another Rasul standing by their side.

Not the young, victory-loving Rasul beside Natalie, but the enigmatic assassin instructor in reality.

"See that?" Rasul whispered, "That was me back then, just like you are now, both curious and deeply fearful of the existence of the Revolutionary Army and the Messiah."

"So, the fundamental purpose of the Revolutionary Army’s existence is to maintain human survival?" Miel asked.

"Yes," Rasul replied, "We don’t oppose the survival of civilization, but we value human survival more."

"After all, without civilization, we would suffer heavy losses; yet without humanity, we would have nothing."

"Master," Mia asked curiously, "what exactly is civilization?"

"Civilization," Rasul explained plainly, considering Mia’s comprehension, "is most of what you see around you—the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the house you live in, as well as the streets and buildings you see, the stories and poems you hear, and everything else created by humans. All of these are part of human civilization."

"But if one day someone told you that you could only exist with these things and not both. So, for civilization to continue developing, you would be enslaved, exploited, or even go to death, would you agree?"

"No way," Mia said without hesitation. "If I can’t enjoy these things, what meaning do they have for me?"

"Exactly right, that is the essence of human nature," Rasul nodded approvingly, thinking to himself that although his disciple was a bit foolish, she was admittedly obedient.

Then he looked towards Miel.

"What happened next?" Miel looked towards Natalie, "What happened after that?"

"I was too young at the time and did not understand what her decision really meant," Rasul said after a long silence. "As a Messiah without any organization, she actually had no resources. Even the Magic Potion we used for training, its materials and formula were secretly stolen from the Church Court’s experimental projects."

"However, stealing the Eden Fruit was far more difficult than she had anticipated."

With that thought, the image shifted again:

This time, it was the dead of night in Solomon City. Numerous drones flew and patrolled in the air, and the Temple Knights searched through houses and stores.

Rasul, carrying a blood-soaked Natalie, violently burst through the bar’s front door, aimed a gun at the panicked bar owner, and roared:

"Take me to the cellar! Now!"

The bar owner raised his hands, hurriedly led him to the cellar—the one that could evade Raphael’s surveillance.

At the cellar entrance, Rasul fired two shots at the bartender, breaking both of his legs.

The bartender let out a miserable scream, but quickly shut his mouth because Rasul had placed the gun against his forehead:

"Stay here, keep quiet, or die!"

"If it were me now," Rasul, standing beside Miel, looked at his past self and said, "I definitely would have fired directly."

Everyone watched Rasul carry Natalie to the depths of the cellar and then set her down.

The bullet had penetrated her lungs and chest, and blood was gushing from her wounds. Rasul frantically tried to press on the wound to stop the bleeding, but Natalie grabbed his hand and stuffed a golden apple into it.

"This is, for you..." the plump nun said weakly, trying to squeeze out her customary warm smile, but failing.

"Natalie!" Rasul, already in tears, nearly choked up, "Why, why go this far for me..."

"Don’t blame yourself, Rasul," Natalie, at death’s door, placed her hand on his head and murmured, "It’s not your fault..."

"Because... each of us..."

"...carries a heavy..."

"...destiny."

Her hand fell into the pool of blood.

Rasul knelt in front of her body, head bowed.

He did not know how long he had been silent before he finally said softly:

"Natalie... Mother..."

"I will honor your wishes and rebuild the Revolutionary Army."

"But I will not be the Messiah."

He slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with bloodshot and hate, and the golden apple suddenly burst into dazzling light.

"Because I will become..."

"...the Anti-Christ."

His voice echoed in the cramped cellar, and he had already disappeared with Natalie’s body.

The scene froze completely.

However, Miel had already guessed the outcome: He must have shifted to a parallel world, a world where the Church Court was not pursuing them.

And then he would leave the range of Solomon City, returning to the original world line, to avoid pursuit by the Church Court.

"So, this is the end of the story," Rasul said quietly, standing beside Miel, "Miel, what is your answer?"

"I’m sorry," Miel also fell silent for a while, finally responding, "I’m deeply saddened by the death of your foster mother."

"But I don’t believe in fate or that things are predestined."

"Rasul, have you ever thought?" she continued gravely, "If there really is such a fate, meant to make you the next leader of the Revolutionary Army, could it be the Eden Fruit or the process of the revolution itself?"

"To force you to accept the fate it arranged, fate killed Natalie to ignite your desire for revenge. You desperately needed power, so you were forced onto the path it designed for you."

"Originally, you did not want to be any kind of Savior, but Natalie’s death struck you deeply. You eventually chose to surrender, to surrender to so-called fate, becoming the Messiah Natalie hoped for. Although you renamed this role Anti-Christ, in reality, there is no difference."

"Miel," Mia nervously tugged at her sleeve because the look on Rasul’s face frightened her. However, Miel continued to gaze steadfastly at Rasul, her demeanor unyielding.

"Are you accusing me of lacking courage?" Rasul’s smile froze.

"Yes," Miel replied calmly, "at least in my view, if you had shown some defiance back then..."

"For instance, fiercely resisting the path Natalie arranged for you, making her abandon passing the mantle of Messiah to you, perhaps she wouldn’t have died."

"After all, before finding the next successor, neither the Eden Fruit nor the process of revolution would easily let the current Messiah die, right?"

"Yes, although unwillingly, I’ve always followed the direction she arranged for me," Rasul answered softly, a hint of sadness in his eyes, "If I had refused her from the beginning, perhaps Natalie wouldn’t have gone to steal the Eden Fruit, and could have avoided the fatal outcome."

"However, you are wrong about one thing; I have never regretted becoming the Anti-Christ."

"It wasn’t fate that forced me onto this path; it was my own choice."

The scene shifted again, and the three of them were back in the reality of the tailor shop. They saw Medea, arms crossed, sitting on the counter, her gaze coldly sweep over, clearly displeased.

"Miss Camellia, I’ve brought your two companions back," Rasul answered.

"So she didn’t agree with you?" Medea sneered, noticing Rasul still referred to Miel as "your companion."

"Yes," Rasul chuckled, "but..."

"It’s still within expectations."