?Nick left Dark Dream's building after finishing his talk with his new superior.

After Nick left the building, he went to the edge of the city again.

Whenever he wasn't certain about something or felt overwhelmed, he came here to look at the wall of red mist.

Just as always, Nick looked at the red wall while lost in thought.

At this moment, his heart was beating rapidly in his chest.

'My first kill was an adult woman who stole my credits in the Dregs, and I didn't even kill her on purpose.'

'My second kill was someone from the Insurance Gang that tried to rough me up. This one wasn't accidental.'

Nick took a deep breath.

'It might not have been a kill, but the next time I felt something like this was when Horua became catatonic. In a way, that was accidental.'

'Later, I killed several people belonging to the Riker Strikers.'

'Compared to my first kills, these were much easier.'

'They were causing suffering to innocent people, and no one would care if I killed them. Most people would probably even be thankful.'

'Then came Pator.'

Nick remembered what Pator had said to Horua.

While Pator had gone against Dark Dream, he was also helpless in the fact.

In a way, Pator was just a child who had been exploited by a rich psychopath.

Nick could see a definite trend in the people he killed.

From accidentally killing an enemy.

To purposefully killing an enemy.

To accidentally killing a helpless person.

To purposefully killing a child that was forced to become his enemy.

After that, Nick thought about the day the Crimson Sea had escaped.

He remembered the way all the innocent people turned into liquid while screaming in pain and terror.

It was still difficult for him to think about it.

The only way Nick could deal with the guilt was to keep telling himself that he would stop even more suffering from occurring.

Yet

'And now, for the first time, I am going to kill an innocent person on purpose.'

Nick took a deep breath.

'Albert has never done anything against me. In fact, the opposite is true.'

'Albert is the reason why I even managed to become a Zephyx Extractor.'

'He trained and taught me for months.'

Nick looked at the ground.

'And now, I'm going to essentially kill him. I might not be the one actively killing him, but my actions will result in his death.'

Albert's face shot through Nick's mind.

The nice old man.

Naturally, he really didn't want to kill Albert.

He wanted Albert to be successful and happy.

Albert hadn't even shown an inkling of wanting anything bad to happen to Nick.

'I don't know,' Nick thought.

'There's just no way I can justify killing Albert.'

'It's not right.'

'How am I different from the people I despise?'

'In order to further my goal, I am going to kill an innocent person.'

Nick just kept looking at the floor.

'But what choice do I have?'

'Death.'

'If I don't do it, I will die.'

'What then?'

'Will the deaths of all the innocent people be for nothing?'

Silence.

'They will be.'

'If I die, all these people would have died for nothing.'

'But how many more innocent people will die until I finally reach my goal?'

'Albert might be the first innocent person that I will kill on purpose, but as long as I follow Julian, he most likely won't be the last.'

'As long as I keep following Julian, I will commit more and more horrible acts.'

Nick took a deep breath.

'Nevertheless, what I told Julian was not a lie.'

'If he becomes the true ruler of the city, the city will have it better than right now.'

'I only have three choices.'

'First, refuse and get killed off by Julian. This will make the city's future uncertain. The deaths of the innocents might be for nothing.'

'Second, secretly visit the governor or a level six Extractor and unveil Julian. This will definitely result in Julian's death, but I will also die. The fact that I sold him Dark Dream is already unforgivable. Albert will survive, the city will stay as it is now, and the deaths of the innocents will be for nothing.'

'Third, kill Albert. This has the highest chance of improving the city, but it will result in more innocent people dying. The debt of guilt will increase as time progresses, and the pressure of repaying said debt will increase.'

Nick just kept thinking about the issue.

'It is an undisputable fact that Julian will improve the city in the long run. Especially if he also wants to please me a little bit to keep me loyal to him.'

Nick looked at the red wall with focus.

'The best outcome for the city is if I am the sole ruler.'

'The second best one is if Julian is the ruler with me as an important support.'

'The third best one is Julian being the ruler on his own.'

'And the worst one is if things stay this way.'

'The lives of the common people are morally more important than the lives of the Extractors.'

'The weak do not have the power to change the city. Only the strong people have the power.'

'A Newbie might be able to sway the way their new team works just a little bit.'

'A John can already work as a guard and not condone illegal things that happen around them.'

'A Veteran can change how teams operate.'

'An Expert has a lot of influence over how the guards and at least one Manufacturer operate.'

'And the influence every Extractor has over their surroundings only increases with power.'

'Which also increases their responsibility and guilt for why things are the way they are.'

Nick looked at the red wall.

'As long as the city's security isn't majorly compromised, I would rather kill a Specialist than a commoner.'

Nick took a deep breath.

He made his decision.

'Albert, you may have treated me well, and you are not my enemy, but this is bigger than you and me.'

'I don't want to kill you.'

'But for the good of the city, I have to.'