The Innkeeper

Chapter 2532: A talk III

Lex thought over everything the young lady said - everything she had experienced - and contemplated what he would do in her shoes, and felt a sense of alienation. It wasn’t just because he’d never really faced such a loss before. More importantly, it was because their situations were fundamentally different, and so was their outlooks, which is why Lex could never imagine himself in such a situation.

"The question is fundamentally wrong - at least when it comes to me," Lex said, shaking his head. "Although I understand your situation, I don’t see myself getting caught in it. That’s not because I think I can face all obstacles or protect everyone forever, but because it’s not the Midnight Inn I inherently value."

As Lex spoke, he himself seemed to be coming to some kind of realization, as if he was understanding himself a little more.

"The Midnight Inn has given me a lot. It is a source of safety, security and comfort for me. It is a place I can call my own, and it is where almost everyone I value resides. It is home in a way I doubt anywhere else in the universe can be. But my people also have a saying: home is where the heart is.

"The Midnight Inn is valuable and precious because of the many things that it offers. It would, then, not make sense to sacrifice those very things for the Inn itself, right? What would I do with an empty inn, and nothing else in life to live for?

"You see, as a human, I was born a mortal. I was born weak, and with a self awareness of my limitations. I was born with the knowledge that death is inevitable, and that pleasure is fleeting. So I found meaning and value in other things.

"I found meaning in interacting with my guests. In helping them with their problems and resolving their issues, and finding meaning of their own. But the premise of all that is that... the people and things I value need to be protected to begin with.

"I am not saying that I would just abandon the Inn and run away at the first sign of trouble. If I’m not facing an unwinnable war where I can just try to abandon the Inn and run, and instead I face enemies that come and go over many years, killing people I value, I probably still won’t opt to leave the Inn. However, I also won’t just do nothing.

"Kings, rulers, emperors... I’m not saying that their ways are wrong. Someone needs to do that job. Someone needs to keep the peace, build order, and allow civilizations to flourish. But I am not arrogant enough, nor am I noble enough to take on the task of pursuing the greater good. The universe does not need it, nor does it particularly care for it either.

"For me, living a peaceful life, enjoying the company of those I love, and exploring the mysteries of the universe is good enough. The kind of self-sacrificing nature required to overlook such personal loss for the sake of an empire... I simply don’t have it, nor have I ever pretended to.

"If someone murdered one of my sisters, or even one of my friends, then they will suffer the consequences, and not just them. Everyone who played a part in it will learn what it means to thoroughly regret!"

Lex thought it over. There was no need to be too graphic with his description. He did not know the background of this young lady, but she did not feel too powerful. It was best not to show off, and instead answering simply was good enough. He did not want to scare her.

But Elizabeth sensed it even though he did not show it. The mere thought of someone close to him being murdered was enough to enrage him. The intensity of the killing intent radiating off him was closely controlled so that it wouldn’t leak, but in front of her eyes, it was plain to see. He would not tolerate it in the slightest.

However, while Lex hid this side of him, he’d been truthful and transparent during the rest of his speech. That caused Elizabeth to narrow her eyes. Did he truly have no desire to rule or grab power?

For the ’most famous immortal’ in the universe - one who had already accomplished an unbelievable feat - he certainly showed a distinct lack of interest in amassing power. Was she mistaken?

As far as Lex could tell, the young lady was neither disappointed nor pleased with his answer. Maybe she had just been curious. After listening to his answer, she continued her own story.

"As you said, the path of pursuing the greater good and self-sacrifice is not for everyone. Even in the face of everything that happened, my father never wavered. If anything, the numerous losses only strengthened his resolve to adhere to his path, and preserve this empire, for his most beloved had all sacrificed themselves for it.

"But I... I could no longer endure. The pain of my loss was only enhanced by the pain of betrayal, and the knowledge that those who harmed my family revel in the suffering that they caused us. And so... I unleashed my wrath at last.

"You claimed that you will target all those responsible. But tell me, what if someone was unknowingly responsible? What if they acted without knowledge of what their actions would cause. Do they deserve punishment as well?

"All these thoughts were far from my mind, for the way I began to see things, the subjects of the empire owe us just as much as we sacrificed for them. They enjoyed the prosperity we bought with our blood, the peace, the calm. All that was good in their life was bought using the life of my loved ones.

"I did not begrudge them their happiness. But at least they could have lent aid. At least they could have acted to stop those who were being corrupted. At the absolute, very least, they could have helped us in our search for the criminals if they were too afraid for their lives to risk it.

"But they did not do any of that. They continued to rely on us, enjoy the peace we bought, and resisted when their contribution was sought for the very peace they enjoyed. So in my eyes, they were all guilty too. Anyone and everyone who stood aside, who watched in silence, who lifted nary a finger in our aid... they were all guilty, and so they suffered my wrath.

"It came to the point where the very empire my father sought to protect was being destroyed by my own hands. And yet, my means proved useful. After cutting away the corruption, the rotting, decaying flesh of the empire, what was left behind were the parts that grow and heal once more."

The young lady paused, and looked at Lex with a placid expression, as if she had not been talking of genocide.

"Now, at last, the empire is at peace, and my father is trying to get me married once more. He hopes that I can move on with life, and feel once more all that is good. But I find myself incapable of feeling such emotions anymore. All that is left is wrath... and the knowledge that though the murderers of my family are gone, the plague that infected them still exists within the empire, hidden from view, festering until it is ready to once again destroy everything my father holds dear."

Lex could not feel it, nor could he see it, but the young lady’s calm exterior hid an explosive, nearly uncontainable fury as she looked at him, and the system hidden within his soul. How could she not see it? How could she not sense it, when there was no one better in the universe at hunting down system users than her?

This plague which had ruined Vael?n, had destroyed all that she loved, that forever changed the course of history... this accursed plague that had become a necessary evil. She wanted nothing more than to snuff it out right then and there - to eviscerate every fiber of Lex’s being and destroy the system hidden inside of him one atom at a time.

But Elizabeth did not do that. She did not even let the slightest hint of her hatred loose, keeping it perfectly under control. She hated to admit it, but the systems truly had become a necessary evil. That was not to mention the value of Lex as a nephilim candidate, or that he was under the protection of the mysterious Innkeeper. Or that Eclipse held a personal relationship with Lex.

If Elizabeth could see Lex’s system, how could Eclipse not? Yet he had been allowed to live.

"It’s like amputation," said Lex, not really disturbed by the young lady’s words. "You cut off the infected part of the limb so that the whole can survive. As for letting the plague survive, I suppose it can be considered similar to developing immunity to it, or at least a natural defense mechanism. Long term, it is the better solution I suppose."