Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1467 Shouldn't you try to challenge them?
Pereces eventually followed Tentis.

But it wasn't because she felt any trustworthy emotions from the girl, or because she believed those seemingly beautiful promises. It was simply because she knew she was someone who drifted with the tide, without any ideals or goals, like moss clinging to a tree, lost and directionless without support. Wouldn't it be better to be accepted by someone like her, regardless of who they were, than to wander alone? Besides, as Titis said, at least she still had the right to choose what to do or not to do. No one could force her to do what she didn't want to, neither her teacher nor this mysterious girl.

Upon learning of Perec's choice, Tentis was delighted and mysteriously told her that even greater surprises awaited her once they arrived on the Western Continent. But Perec had no interest in such things, for she needed no surprises in her otherwise uneventful life. Too many unexpected events would only disrupt her rhythm. Therefore, she still remembered her teacher's words: "Summer insects cannot live in winter."

However, the teacher is no longer here.

With mixed feelings, Perec buried him without asking for help, though Tinders showed no intention of assisting, merely watching silently from the sidelines. As she dug the tomb for her teacher—so simple for the sake of the great shaman Moria's status—Perec sometimes wondered if, had she not accepted his invitation and remained a solitary wanderer, would her teacher still be alive today? But then again, wouldn't many more have died in his experiments? Or, if she had chosen to join her teacher's experiments, exploring the so-called truth of evolution and elimination, would she one day die at someone's hands, just as her teacher had died at Tinders's? Would that have been a better ending for her? Or worse?
Fate in this mortal world is entangled and uncertain. The girl felt as if she had just woken up from a dream. After waking up, she took nothing with her except the new name he had given her, and naturally left nothing behind.

After much thought, she left an epitaph for her teacher: "The person in my dreams rests here in eternal sleep."

Then she turned and left. It wouldn't be until much later that the young woman returned to the Eastern Empire Continent, searching for similar dreams in a state of ambiguity, unaware that the tomb she had built that day had long been dug through by earthworms, the tombstone gnawed by termites, and covered in rust. Before all this happened, she was still on the distant continent of Sigria, accepting Tentis's invitation to join another organization called the Witch's Society. Here, she not only met many people with ideals, vowing to change the world regardless of the extent of their methods, but also unexpectedly encountered her relatives from the mortal world. Only then did she understand what Tentis meant by "surprise."

Are we related by blood? Do we share the same origin? Did we ever live together? Does being the older sister mean I have to take care of others? Does being the younger sister mean I can take it for granted that I will be taken care of? At that time, all sorts of questions troubled her, including the truth about the old world of Eden, the original intention of the Witch Society, and the subversive plan proposed by Tentis.

In essence, she and her teacher were indeed the same kind of people, capable of killing countless people without hesitation for the sake of an ideal. However, Perec couldn't, and didn't want to, determine whose path was right. She deliberately avoided those cruel and bloody struggles, devoting herself wholeheartedly to causes that could save lives. As Tientis said, she tried to use her power to maintain order and protect the weak; she also tried to build her own church to help the poor... Ultimately, she realized that she still couldn't escape the influence of royal power, so she decided to use a simpler method to save lives.

And so, the Emerald Hermit established the Garden of Herbs, and Peregrine became known as a saint, the head of Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, the Knights Hospitaller, and many more charitable medical organizations. She reformed the outdated medical system, standardized medical regulations and assessment systems, established more charitable hospitals and medical universities, and collected and summarized the habits and cultivation methods of more than a thousand commonly used herbs. She saved many lives, though perhaps not as many as those who had died because of her—or perhaps far more?

Pere didn't count, because she wasn't sure if this was the life she wanted.

Whenever she saved someone, she couldn't help but wonder if, unseen by her, Tantis and the other sisters who supported her had also killed someone. Was she trying so hard to save people with a desire to atone for their sins? If so, then she was undoubtedly hypocritical, because life cannot be weighed on a scale, and saving a life cannot be offset by killing one. But if not, then how was she any different from the person she was when she was still by her teacher's side? She was just as weak, just as indifferent, just as persistently trying to prove her innocence, forgetting that it was all a lie.

Shouldn't she step forward?
She stood up to stop Tentis, telling her that killing wouldn't change the world; only the beautiful things would be destroyed, while the ugly would remain. She could even cite many examples to support her argument, such as her own teacher; naturally, Tentis could also cite many examples to refute her, such as the gods and humans of Old Eden. It would be an incredibly fierce debate, their desire to persuade each other even stronger than their desire to kill each other. In Perec's imagination, if she had the courage, perhaps she could win this debate, or at least... not lose so miserably.

However, she did not live to see that moment.

Because of the sudden news of Caraboss's death.

When Perec received the news, she was surprisingly calm, perhaps because she was the most accustomed to death among the young princesses, more so than to conflict, fear, victory… or death itself. She immediately delegated her duties to her subordinates and then searched the world for her sisters: Timmes, Eve, Lilith, Phyl… Some she found, while others seemed to be deliberately avoiding her, unwilling to appear. For those who were before her, she would stroke their hair and gently pat their backs, offering comfort and encouragement, as always; for those who refused to appear, she could only send them her meager thoughts and silently pray for them.

After doing all this, she hurried to Moson City and met Tentis at the harbor, where he was gazing at the sunset. Actually, she hadn't made up her mind to volunteer to take over from her deceased sister, Caraboss, as the next person to carry out the reality plan after talking with Tentis; she had already decided when she saw that lonely, frail figure. In fact, to put it another way, long, long ago, when Tentis told her, "You can go and save people," when her teacher asked her, "Why are you hesitating?" when that unfamiliar wood elf boy lay pale and helpless on the lab table, yet still seemed to be silently asking, "Why are you afraid?"... this day was inevitable.

The most complex question in the world, Pereira had long since gathered all the preconditions to prove it, but she had to wait until this moment to prove it, because it was neither an essay question nor a judgment question, but a multiple-choice question.

At the same time, she finally understood the meaning of that sentence.

Cherish your life now; at least you still have the right to choose what to do or not to do.

But some people have no choice.

……

Returning to reality from her distant memories, Perec found herself surrounded, but not by any tangible enemy; rather, by the very fabric of the world. Lead-gray walls of clouds swallowed the sky, like some kind of dark flesh, clogging the entire firmament. They piled up so thickly, so low, as if about to collapse and crash their weight onto the barren earth, until they submerged the steel fortress and filled the bottomless abyss. A deafening rumble of thunder echoed from the clouds, and countless tiny electric bolts converged into a sea of ​​light, yet their radiance could not pierce the gloom, flickering only within a limited area, creating a paradoxical interplay of light and darkness.

The storm howled, tearing at her limbs; dust formed walls, obscuring her vision; mountains loomed like abysses, blocking her escape; even the vast mine shaft, leading straight to the bottomless earth's core, seemed to possess the life of a wild beast, gaining the will and instinct to fight, silently lurking, secretly watching, ready to bare its fangs and deliver a fatal blow. Everything was aimed at her.

Because she is the enemy.

In terms of the harmonious use of natural elements, fairies are second to none, even surpassing naturally born elemental beings. If there truly is a will of nature, fairies are undoubtedly its darlings. The wielder of the fairy sword Hydras indirectly inherited this favor, gaining the qualification to mobilize the might of nature. The more the creatures of this land acknowledge her, the greater the power she can unleash. In the past, the first wielder of the fairy sword Hydras was recognized by all the creatures of the paradise village of Assyria, and was able to slay a dragon with the strength of a mortal. Today, while Cheryl is not as favored by the fairies, within the boundaries of the Feather Mine, she still has the confidence to fight against a true god.

The recognition from the people, the will passed down by the Holy War Army, and her own belief in protecting her homeland... when all these things come together, Cheryl accomplishes what is said to be something only heroes can do.

The first sword is thunder.

At first, Pereira heard a profound silence—but this was a subjective feeling, not an objective fact. The kind of silence she could sense, a silence so intense it made her heart pound uncontrollably, like the howling of a storm, the rumbling of clouds, the whistling of dust rubbing together, was all abruptly emptied by a higher will. Then, a sharp, soul-piercing premonition pierced down from above.

She looked up.

A pale crack tore open the leaden-gray cloud wall, like a blinding bolt of lightning extending from a dark world. The crack stretched downwards, transcending time and traversing space, its speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive. Only when consciousness could barely keep up with the pace of thought did the sound finally arrive. It was not the usual rumble of thunder, but a massive collapse and disintegration. The crumbling clouds, like volcanic ash from ancient times, instantly filled every inch of the space she occupied.

The dazzling lightning mercilessly engulfed the frail figure, and the scorching heatwave spread in a ring, melting sand and distorting the air wherever it passed. Pereike smelled the pungent odor of the purified air mixed with scorched earth, which suddenly reminded her of the smell of disinfectant she had smelled in that cramped and suffocating laboratory. The memory had been deeply ingrained in her ever since, and for a moment she felt somewhat disoriented.

But the opponent will not show any mercy.

Therefore, the second sword is the storm.

The lingering power of the thunder had not yet dissipated when the howling winds around her suddenly changed direction. No longer tearing wildly, they twisted into invisible, heavy shackles, coiling around her from all directions. The wind pressure pressed against her body, trying to squeeze the air from her lungs and restrict the movement of her limbs. The dust and sand in her vision were woven into turbid vortices by the wind, slowly contracting inward, each grain of sand becoming a blunt knife that eroded her flesh.

Storms and thunder clashed, the shifting light and shadow creating a scene reminiscent of a legend. The one-winged hero Italos had once chased an evil dragon atop the dark peaks, their fierce battle culminating in the scalding dragon blood that instantly evaporated the frigid night across the wasteland. But the hero's power could not be replicated, and the enemy they faced now was far more dangerous than the black dragon Nidhogg. Therefore, the third heir to the fairy sword Hydras never let his guard down.

With the final strike, the earth trembled, mountains cracked, and ancient soil groaned, fissures spreading across the land like black veins. From the deepest cracks, what gushed forth was not magma, but a torrent of solidified, steel-like earth and rock. Like a pair of enormous, living hands, they coiled and rose, blocking all possible escape routes, slowly closing in on the enemy's location.

To exclude, to expel, to leave.

Outsiders, outsiders, and hostile individuals—this is not a place for you.

Do not, attempt to, challenge... the wrath of Atoliga...

Intermittent, so faint, yet so clear.

It was a chorus of countless voices from this land: the rustling of roots gripping the soil, the sobbing of underground water changing course, the crisp sound of mineral crystals growing under pressure, and countless indescribable beings in the wind. They had no self-awareness, but the power of the fairy sword awakened the desires deep within their hearts, and at this moment they were all speaking of the same will.

That is the will of the master of the sword, the leader of the Holy War Army, and the guardian of the land of Atoliga.

Give me some cats