Book 6 Chapter 18.5 - Leaving
The night of the third day, when Persephone drove her classic car back to Leeds, O'Brien and Eileen had already left, letting her release a breath of relief. However, soon afterwards, her sharp senses noticed that the expressions of the eyes that were looking at her were a bit strange. On the second day, the tavern's elder found her, and then after a chat, Persephone learned the reason behind the townsmen's strange change in attitude.
Turns out they already no longer welcomed her.
The method O'Brien used was extremely simple, all he did was tell the people of this town that Persephone was someone Bevulas insisted on capturing. As long as he knew she was here, the chairman's army would come sooner or later. Before the chairman's great army, all things would be crushed to ashes. As for the residents of Leeds who had previously sheltered her and associated with her, the chairman's army definitely wouldn't let them off easily. That was why for this small town, Persephone became the bringer of destruction.
There was already no one who remembered that if it were not for Persephone, Leeds would have long been captured a month ago by armed mobs. There was also no one who remembered that nine out of the ten weapons they were holding were things she brought back from the wilderness, moreover sold to them at a cheap price. There might be some who still remembered, for example, the elder in the tavern, but compared to the entire town's population, they only made up a very small percentage, not enough to represent or convince the others. All of them liked Persephone, but liking her wasn't the same as fighting for her, or dying for her.
Meanwhile, after a night of contemplation, the few residents of the town who still felt guilty became quiet, thinking more from a rational perspective. If Persephone stayed behind, they were definitely going to die. If she leaves, the chairman might show pity and let them live. No hope versus a trace of life, it was just this simple of a choice, and most of them already had their answer.
Persephone didn't blame them. Before a true threat of death, few people would choose not to think about themselves. That was why when she learned the whole story, Persephone packed her few possessions, tossed everything into the classic car's trunk, and then prepared to leave at daylight the next morning.
As for where she was going, she didn't think that far yet, nor did she want to. Either way, it didn't make a difference.
However, that classic pickup truck didn't only carry Persephone, there were also Ruddick and his two brothers.
When Persephone decided to leave, Ruddick had also packed up his belongings, deciding to go with her. While looking at this robust man who left her in quite the troublesome situation, at the time, Persephone said, "I have a man, and have a child as well."
Ruddick thought for a bit, and then said, "However, I accepted your payment, so I have to work for you for a period of time."
As a result, the pickup truck had three more people added to it.
Smoke surged from the classic car as it drove into the distance. On the hill where Rudolph had previously stood, O'Brien lowered his binoculars, silently standing there. After some time had passed, Eileen silently appeared at his side. Just now, she was in the town, watching as Persephone left.
"That fella named Ruddick seems to have quite the courage." O'Brien said.
Eileen coldly said, "There's only a fine line separating courage and stupidity. Is this level of battle something even he can get involved in?"
O'Brien released a light sigh, and then said, "The priest has said before that when there's no bravery, miracles will also lose their cornerstone."
"You are taking the words of someone with no skills seriously? Look at this world, if there is a god, then he's definitely blind." Eileen spoke ruthlessly.
O'Brien shook his head, and then said, "The priest indeed doesn't have any abilities, but that doesn't mean he is without wisdom. In reality, if he casts aside his religious coat, I believe that of all the people who I've ever met, he is one of the few wise men who understand the essence of this world."
"How can someone without abilities have wisdom? The brain efficiency of ability users is several times, several dozen times, or even hundreds of times that of ordinary people!"
"Intelligence is not equivalent to wisdom."
They debated while leaving this hill. O'Brien and Eileen were no longer as rigid and singular as when they first got together. Using Eileen's words, it was that outside of the standard mating, they truly began to communicate with each other. O'Brien was quite learned, and even more so dipped into the arts and religion. In this era, these were subjects that were extremely rare. Meanwhile, Eileen saw all things from a different extreme, at times being overly realistic, cruel, and seeing things based on their utility. However, they couldn't deny that serious discussions from different angles opened up both of their minds, understanding each other deeper from this. A more realistic comparison was that even though they were both Magic Domain ability users, their styles were entirely different. Eileen was more infatuated with berserk power and energy, while O'Brien favored meticulous control. The two paths continuously clashed, allowing both of them to travel even further along their magic paths.
The relationship between the two, thus began to quietly and quickly change. Traveling together through life and death really was the best smelting furnace. After fighting countless battles together, the two gradually became closer. This was one of the reasons why when they met again, Persephone didn't sense the slightest bit of hostility from Eileen when they reunited this time.
Perhaps the only crack between them was Eileen's dedication towards producing a perfect offspring. Even now, there weren't any posterity that were to her satisfaction. With her exceptionally powerful abilities, even if it was just a tiny fertilized ovum, she could still inspect whether or not there was a chance of giving birth to a perfect human who exceeded all.
Towards any posterity that weren't perfect enough, Eileen would ruthlessly destroy them. Even though not even she knew what a perfect organism was like, it was enough for her to make a decision if she found any incomplete abilities.