I Have 10,000 SSS Rank Villains In My System Space Chapter 414: Won Or Loss? Weird Reaction?

"For the greater good...?" Sofia echoed softly, the phrase tasting bitter on her tongue, her gaze locked onto Razeal with a blend of shock and subtle defiance, her eyebrows furrowing as though she were fighting to dismiss his reasoning outright, and she gave a small shake of her head, her words firm yet heavy with the dread she truly felt.

"No... that won’t suffice," she declared, her voice resolute, "That’s no justification at all," her chest lifted as she drew in air, striving to remain poised, "Not even to begin something so massive... not even for the initial move..." her tone quivered briefly, not from frailty, but from the immense horror of the vision before her.

"Millions would perish... millions," she stressed, her eyes narrowing, "families shattered... lives wiped out... agony lingering long after it ends..." her look fell momentarily before snapping back to him, fiercer now, "Your scheme... it’s riddled with flaws," she murmured, softer yet gravely earnest.

"Far too many risks... far too many irreversible outcomes," then, gentler, nearly beseeching under the resolve, "Let’s seek another path... there must be a superior option."

"But there isn’t one."

Razeal responded at once. Flat and Unyielding.

"No alternative exists," he stated, his tone serene, nearly remote, as though he’d long ago dismissed every other possibility, "It’s this path... or oblivion." He cocked his head a bit, a dry, faint laugh slipping out, "And that ’greater good’ notion?" he continued, his gaze flashing with an enigmatic glint, "It’s not even my invention." His mouth twitched upward. "Someone convinced me sacrifices are essential."

"A God... That God uttered those very words when commanding my actions." His stare intensified subtly. "A deceitful God."

Sofia recoiled inwardly at his words.

Yet she persisted.

"...But..." she pressed on, her voice defiant amid the tension, her gut rejecting this as the sole solution, but before she could proceed

"It’s not his fault." Maria interjected. Sharp and Abrupt.

Sofia whipped her head toward her, caught off guard.

Maria’s face held no serenity.

No poise.

Tension gripped it fiercely amid inner turmoil, yet her eyes remained fixed as she stared at Sofia, "Should this unfold... should all that destruction come..." she uttered, her pitch dropping but laced with fervor, "the fault lies not with him." Her jaw clenched. "It rests with fate... with those gods... with whatever birthed this nightmare." Her eyes darted to Razeal then back. "He doesn’t desire this," she whispered, conviction unwavering, "He has no choice."

Even uttering those words

She recognized their ring.

She sensed their falsity.

Yet she understood

A kernel of truth lingered.

Sofia’s features eased briefly, marginally, as she absorbed it, nodding subtly in recognition, "I get it," she replied, her tone subdued, measured, "I truly do." Her gaze shifted back to Razeal, resolute and grave, "But grasping the cause... doesn’t validate the choice," she pressed, resolve returning, "I’m not denying your circumstances... I’m rejecting this fix." Her brows creased once more, "Another route exists... even unseen... we must search for it," her voice grew taut, "So much loss... such devastation..." she faltered, head shaking lightly, unable to yield.

Razeal observed her in silence.

Then he breathed out.

"I see your thoughts clearly," he remarked, his manner tranquil, almost indulgent, "But deaths?" he angled his head, "This scheme doesn’t invent them." His eyes held firm. "They’re unavoidable already."

"That’s woven into my fate."

"Even without my involvement," he went on, "Even if I withdraw and do nothing... it’s still going to occur." His pitch stayed even. Unshaken. "That’s the unchangeable reality." He adjusted in his chair, "With this clash persisting... with me against them... or whatever opposes me..." his gaze shadowed, "...anguish, demise, torment... it won’t cease." A short hush. "Not until one side vanishes."

Those words landed with immense weight.

"It’s either me..." he murmured softly, "...or them."

Silence reigned.

"What about those caught in the middle?" he continued, his voice easing a touch, "They were doomed from the start anyway." His eyes fixed straight on Sofia. "But here’s one truth I can give you," his tone grew a bit keener, "Whatever deaths come from my actions... no matter how many or what kind piled together... they won’t even touch a sliver of their grand scheme." He paused briefly. "Not by a long shot."

"Even if I devise some other scheme," Razeal went on, "the result stays mostly the same." He eased back a little, his face slipping into that familiar serene blankness, "Deaths occurring... that remains constant." A subtle shrug came next. "Unless it’s my death."

The words lingered there... awkwardly.

"Even that might not solve a thing," he tossed in casually, like an aside, "That’s just the nature of cosmic order." His eyes wandered faintly, far-off. "Should I drop... another steps into my spot."

Sofia’s fists tightened a bit.

For deep inside,

She grasped what he meant to convey.

Yet she wouldn’t yield to it.

"...Nothing’s set in stone," she declared abruptly, her tone firmer, resisting the crush of his reasoning despite the pain, "You claimed that yourself," her stare held his without falter, "So perhaps... perhaps another path exists." Her voice gentled a fraction, though resolve held strong, "I’ll uncover it... if you won’t... I shall," she insisted, her manner nearing defiant, "But for now... hold off on this," her forehead creased, "Please."

And in that instant,

It nearly seemed like a plea.

Yet before more words could flow,

"Enough."

Maria’s voice sliced the atmosphere.

Piercing and utterly icy.

Sofia whipped around to her once more, shocked.

"Which side are you truly on?" Maria pressed, her gaze sharpening, her words now slashing clean, free of doubt purely forthright, "He laid it out: him or them." Her pitch climbed a notch, feelings surging forth, "So if he skips this... he perishes." She advanced, eyes pinned to Sofia’s, "And you... his spouse... aware of that..." her chin set hard, "...still fussing over potential casualties along the way?"

"Folks perish daily," Maria pressed on, her tone keener, nearly quivering with ire, "Conflicts erupt over foolish motives... meaningless ones... folks slay for ego, avarice, or zilch," her breathing caught a tad, "This... this isn’t remotely like those," she waved at Razeal, "He flat-out lacks any option."

"Yet you aim to halt him?" her stare blazed with a fiercer intensity, nearly condemning, "What’s your real point? Spit it out plain. You wish him idle? Submissive? To fade away silently for strangers’ sake?" her volume dipped toward the close, yet the bite endured.

"Is that your stance? Just fucking own it... That’s exactly how it rings," and thus, the chamber plunged into deeper hush, thicker than prior, her statement’s burden sinking deep, trapping Sofia amid dual harsh realities, each intolerable alone.

A choking quiet enveloped the room post-Maria’s outburst, the sort not merely hovering but crushing upon the trio, dense and relentless, like the very walls drank in the gravity of the exchange, and through several drawn-out moments, nobody stirred, nobody uttered a word—solely ragged, tense breaths echoed—and Razeal, positioned amid them, turned his eyes gradually, first to Maria, eyeing her quaking fury, next to Sofia, her face transformed—not guarded, not rattled, but calmer... profounder—and sensing his look, Sofia raised her gaze to clash with his briefly ere swiveling toward Maria, her shift measured, intentional, as though weighing her response before release, "I’d never desire that," she stated, tone hushed yet solid, meeting Maria’s eyes unflinchingly, "I don’t seek it either," she appended, stress understated yet resolute, underscoring her steadfastness.

Maria's eyes narrowed a bit, her feelings still fresh and piercing, as she advanced half a step, her voice slicing the quiet once more. "So what are you saying?" she pressed, her tone laced with irritation and a deeper emotion akin to dread. "What I'm picking up..." her voice quivered faintly despite her control, "...sounds like you're attempting to halt him," she stated firmly, eyes locked steady, "Trying to convince him against it."

Sofia held back her reply for a moment.

She kept her gaze fixed too.

With a deep, measured inhale that lifted her chest subtly, she spoke anew, her words gentler yet burdened more deeply. "I mentioned that..." she started evenly, composed, "...because I understand the aftermath." Her glance darted shortly to Razeal before returning to Maria. "Even should he triumph," she went on with subdued fervor, "then what?" She paused.

"All those deaths... the fallout..." her brows knit lightly, "Do you believe he won't bear it?" she questioned, eyes intensifying. "Perhaps for now... he doesn't sense it completely... maybe he can still detach..." her tone dropped softer, "...but afterward?" Her gaze shadowed subtly. "Once he witnesses the price?"

"Shattered families..." Sofia pressed on, her voice turning nearly empty, "fathers slain... mothers... sisters? daughters? raped? violated...? children..." her words hitched briefly, yet she pushed forward, "Kids... ripped to pieces... drenched in gore..." Her breath snagged lightly before resuming quieter, "...that's the face of war."

Silence.

"And upon seeing it..." she added, eyes flicking to Razeal momentarily then back to Maria, "...he can't turn a blind eye." Her tone eased, though the gravity remained. "He won't escape its hold."

"Guilt... regret... remorse..." she enumerated softly, "...it lingers." Her eyes narrowed faintly. "He won't recover from it."

Maria stayed silent.

Offered no rebuttal.

For she perceived

Sofia spoke not from defiance.

But from terror.

"I'm not aiming to rescue others," Sofia declared at last, her voice firm once more, crisp. "I don't hold that concern for them." Her candor rang stark, nearly brutal, yet genuine. "I accept that deaths occur sometimes... And I'd slay anyone to shield those I cherish." Her stare held steady. "No second thoughts."

That claim

Maria trusted.

"But this?" Sofia went on, pitch dipping, "...this doesn't fit that mold." Her look shifted to Razeal anew, tenderer now. "I'm fighting to save him... Shield him." Short halt. "From the repercussions."

And that

That truth hung heavy.

Not tied to the conflict.

Not linked to the casualties.

It concerned the man those losses would forge him into.

"And I refuse to witness his shattering," she concluded softly, eyes meeting Maria's, "...or become the cause of his self-ruin."

Silence.

This instance subtly altered.

Maria remained rooted, fury fading, features evolving as Sofia's message sank in, not erasing her position entirely but muddying it, rendering it tough to cling solely to one view without acknowledging the opposite. Moments passed in her fixed stare at Sofia, breaths ragged, eyes keen yet stripped of pure enmity. Then a soft tongue-click escaped, head turning aside, inner lip caught between teeth as if repressing an urge, before her glance swung back to Razeal.

"This..." she murmured, tone subdued now, milder yet steadfast, "...concerns your survival." Eyes rose to lock with his, subtle tears welling at corners without spilling. "Whatever survival demands..." her voice grew taut, "...it's not your burden... It's your right..." Gaze held, face torn yet determined. "So never..." briefest pause, "...never fault yourself... For what you did to survive..."

Sofia, catching those words, exhaled wearily, head shaking gradually, near despairingly, as though denying the notion outright, shoulders dipping faintly upon grasping her pleas fell short of the mark.

Why won't she grasp it...? her mind echoed quietly, chest constricting once more. It's not blame... it's the transformation afterward...

Razeal, positioned amid them, observed the back-and-forth in hush.

His eyes shifted from Maria

To Sofia

Then returned.

And moments later

A soft laugh slipped from his lips, meant only for his own ears.

"Hmm..." he whispered gently, as if to no one in particular, "Two utterly distinct viewpoints..." his gaze shimmered briefly, "...yet both hold truth."

No hint of criticism colored his words.

Purely a note of insight.

"...Perhaps that's the essence of existence," he murmured distantly, lost in thought, "...its tangled complexity."

A quiet exhale escaped him.

He shook his head once, brushing it all away.

"Well..." he spoke, voice settling into even composure, "No need for either of you to worry over this."

This drew their eyes back to him.

"The choice is set," he went on plainly, tone firm and resolute, "I’m going through with it."

Zero doubt, zero space for debate.

"No matter your opinion of me..." he continued, eyes drifting from one to the other, "...no matter what fallout comes..." his voice stayed level, "...I’ll shoulder it all."

"But... I’ve pondered this thoroughly," he stated, softer yet more resolute, "Deeply. And for a very..

Very long time.

And then

His eyes met theirs squarely.

"And this is the sole road that fits me."

Silence descended.

Thick and utterly conclusive.

"So all your worries..." he pressed on, tone serene yet unyielding, "...won’t sway my resolve."

And then, following a short lull

"I shared this not to seek aid," he remarked offhandedly, though its weight hung heavy, "...or to drag you along."

His stare grew fixed.

"I told you so you’d understand.. This is my scheme.. And the path I’ve chosen, right or wrong.."

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