Roaming the grand streets of the Royal faction, I noticed that it was different from the Assault faction. How can I put it? It matched its theme. The buildings were tall, and so were the glass windows. The snippets of conversations were brimming with intellect and haughty laughter.


    I feel out of place...


    Compared to that, the Assault faction had more standard architecture, akin to your typical country. Maybe because the Assault faction was in charge of the war against humanity, so all of the infiltration resulted in a similar architecture. But I was glad that it meant that I had an opportunity to explore all kinds of structures.


    Not that I cared but it still brought me some sort of solace away from humans.


    "We''re here. Wait," Alpha instructed before she identified herself to the guard.


    As for me, I looked up in awe, admiring the tall walls, and the...castle before my eyes.


    "Strange. I met the princess before the castle. Does that mean the dragon hasn''t captured her yet?" I joked under my breath.


    "Quit staring into oblivion and come already."


    The gates opened, and then Alpha took the lead once more.


    "You better thank me, brat. I went through the effort of dismissing the other knight commanders from the castle otherwise you would''ve passed out from the heavy atmosphere. Also..." She stole a sharp glance at the way I carried myself. "So nobody would be there to decapitate you for your unethical and disrespectful behavior."


    "Well, thank you," I responded sarcastically.


    "A brat to the very end, huh."


    I don''t like the way she phrased that.


    "We''re here. Like I said, we''re not expecting any etiquette, so just be yourself."


    She''s surprisingly reserved compared to earlier. Did she perhaps not mind if the king was disrespected by me?


    Anyway, she knocked twice before opening the gigantic doors to the throne room. While I was still adjusting to the brightness of the illuminating interior decorations, Alpha marched to the king, coming to a halt at his right side.


    "So you''re the human that I heard about."


    All I heard was a voice. I thought I''d eventually adjust to the brightness, but it was too much for me. I decided to close my eyes.


    "So you''re the king that I heard about."


    "That''s right. Let me cut to the chase: Are you joining our side?"


    Honestly speaking, I was more on Maria''s side than the alien''s as a whole. Of all the aliens I met, she was the only decent one—or the most ideal. Such specifics would put me in a bad position, but randomly praising the aliens would birth doubts.


    "That''s right. I''m not particularly fond of the aliens, but I detest humans. I''d like nothing to do with either, but if I had to choose between a species that I bear nothing towards and a species that I hate, it''s clear that I would choose the former."


    "I see. I won''t ask about the source of your hatred, but what are you planning on doing? If you don''t partake in this war, I can place you in a peaceful faction. But, if there''s even a part of you that wants to soothe your raging heart by drenching yourself in human blood, I can give you the necessary power."


    "Necessary power?" I asked, opening my eyes to finally see the bright path that I needed to take.


    "That''s right. I can give you access to the Tower of Ascension, and I can ask Dr. Stein to whip up some good alien parts for you."


    "But Your Majesty, isn''t it impossible for humans to enter the Tower of Ascension?" Alpha asked.


    "That''s why we''ll ask Dr. Stein to implement alien organs in him—or do something of the sort that''d trick the Tower of Ascension into thinking that he''s an alien."


    I see. So, not only will I be given an ability, but also the superhuman strength of the aliens. I would practically become one of them. But...


    "That sounds rather enticing—too enticing. Not only will I be granted power equivalent to an alien, but I will also receive the power that the Demiurge will grant humans to balance the war. If I had both, I would be stronger than your best knights. What''s your motive?"


    "I''ll tell you if you ever manage to make that a reality. So, what will it be?"


    "Is there a need to ask? Of course, I want power."


    "Good choice."


    The king snapped his fingers. A servant immediately approached me to give me a letter with a seal on it.


    He already prepared a letter, huh.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    "Give that to Dr. Stein." The king got up from his throne. "Oh, right. Alpha."


    "Yes, Your Majesty?"


    "Join the Assault faction."


    "W-with all due respect, I need to guard Your Majesty."


    Oh, someone is getting demoted.


    "You too, human. I''m appointing you both as leaders of The Branch."


    Not only did he offer me power, but also authority. What are you after, sly fox?


    Alpha didn''t push the topic further and simply accepted her new role. As I thought, maybe she didn''t like him that much.


    Wait... doesn''t this mean that I will have to work with her from now on? Good grief.


    <hr>


    After making our roles official, we left. Alpha was leading me to the nearest wormhole—or so I thought, but...


    The cliff of a mountain. The evening sun was clear in sight along with the calm waves before us. It was a majestic scenery. It was most likely the spot that Maria was talking about. I''d be surprised if there was something better.


    Why did she bring me to this place?


    "This wormhole sure is in a strange place," I remarked sarcastically.


    She didn''t respond to my joke, instead, the atmosphere became heavier. Smelling something brewing, I increased the distance between us. I stood closer to the edge, admiring the scenery. Deep in her thoughts, she was left behind.


    Seconds...minutes passed. It became dark after I said goodbye to the sun, so our expression was hard to discern. So, just...listen.


    "As the strongest knight that this nation has to offer, I''m very experienced when it comes to gauging the strength of someone, and...how many people they killed."


    She broke the silence, glaring at my back before continuing.


    "At the death of our own, I was the first to read the report. Something about it didn''t sit right with me. Our knight died at a school, by a student no less. I had my suspicion, and with our fight, I confirmed it."


    "Suspicion?" I asked nonchalantly, still not meeting her eyes. I could never have a good time around anyone other than Maria, so I expected this much.


    "Killing a knight without fighting against the pain of your wounds nor being disgusted at the sight of blood and organs. Of course, that was merely my speculation when reading the report. Maria loves to exaggerate, you see. However, when we fought, you didn''t fear death nor did you hesitate to kill me. You didn''t tremble and scream in agony at your wounds nor did you feel nauseous at the sight of blood. That''s not something you can develop after killing a single person."


    "Well, adrenaline is a scary thing. Also, I was affected by the King''s Eye during our fight. Stop pulling claims out of your ass."


    She closed the distance between us while trying to be intimidating with her motions as much as possible. Even so, I did not flinch. I stood my ground, calmly in place. She then ignored my response, continuing with her own.


    "None of the people you met thus far found it strange because here, we undergo combat training at a young age. It''s like every human child being trained to set out for war. However, I''m different. I''m one of the few who''s been entrusted with numerous infiltration missions on human territory, so I know a lot about your society. All of this fighting and killing experience is not ordinary for a student. And like I said, I''m the one who deals with the reports, so I''m aware that this was the only incident where an alien knight was discovered and killed. That begs the question..."


    Concluding that I wouldn''t turn around to meet her gaze, she walked in front of me. She stood at the edge of the cliff, then turned to face me. She stared dead into my eyes, sharing my empty gaze. I couldn''t see her eyes, but my silver ones were illuminating in the dark.


    "Brat. Have you killed anyone other than that high-grade alien? By that, I mean..." She laid her grasp on the hilt of her katana while ensuring that her eyes did not leave mine, keeping me in check. "Have you killed humans before?"


    I placed my hands in my pockets to reassure her. Taking the initiative, I closed the distance between us further. We were a few inches apart.


    "If I die, Maria will be depressed. If I tell her I hate her, she''ll cry her eyes out. If I invite her on a date, she''ll jump for joy. My words influence her emotions greatly, so..." I leaned closer to her ear, whispering, "Don''t tempt me to act. My psychological attacks won''t be as lenient as when I fought you, nor would the mind only suffer temporary damage."


    Maria was ''apparently'' someone who wouldn''t be swayed by anyone''s words—but as far as I''ve seen, that didn''t seem to be the case...not that I knew her long enough to draw a valid conclusion. If she was that defensive, then her heart was fragile. If something needed a tough exterior, then it spoke mountains about how weak the interior was—that needed protection. Ignoring that exterior, I started inside. I had her heart in my hands. With how fragile and delicate it was, I could send her hanging with a flick of my finger at it.


    Well, that''s if she was as everyone said. I''ll confirm it in due time. I can''t grasp anything if I''m the target—an exception.


    Alpha''s grip trembled on the hilt of her blade. Unaware of my origin and my ''ability'', she didn''t want to risk underestimating me, especially after our fight. Despite all of my injuries after my fight with the high-grade alien, and during my fight against her, she even questioned my humanity—no, my...mortality.


    I increased the distance between us, showing my back to her once again.


    "My negativity hasn''t accumulated ever since I came here—away from those humans. So, I''ve been in a good mood for the past few days. I''d like to keep it that way. With that being said..." I brushed away the eerie atmosphere and my dark expression before turning around to face her with a smile. "Let''s compromise, okay? Like an agreement."


    Finding a chance at a peaceful resolution, she removed her grip on the hilt of her blade.


    "An agreement?" She asked, intrigued by my offer.


    "That''s right. I will help the aliens against humans, and I will treat Maria with love and respect. Honestly, I hate humans, so allying with the aliens is beneficial for me too. And, since I''m no longer within their intoxicating presence, my evil side—the negativity within—has subsided for now, so I want to focus on building a good relationship with Maria."


    "I see. Basically, you don''t want me to pry into your past nor question you about your days with the humans?"


    "Yep~You see, I want to enjoy my life here. After finally leaving that shitty human territory, I had faith that the alien nation would provide me with the love, peace, and happiness that I always yearned for. As long as you don''t threaten or ruin that for me, we are allies."


    "Usually, if someone threatened and disrespected me like this, I would''ve severed their head, but I don''t know how Maria and His Majesty will react if I kill you, and it wouldn''t be a wise choice to make an enemy out of you." She sighed after considering her limited options. "Fine. You have a deal. Your information would be beneficial, especially about what the Demiurge would provide you humans with to balance us out."


    What happened to killing me regardless of Maria''s feelings? It seems her mental fortitude improved, or she just thinks better under the appropriate circumstances.


    "Good to see that you can think. During our fight, I begged to differ. Now then, I need to go to the Medicio Faction with Maria." I walked away slowly.


    "Wait. I''m going with." She rushed to walk by my side.


    "Suit yourself."


    I overdid it, so I wasn''t surprised when she decided to join us. I was confident that I was a better person without being in the presence of shitty humans. However, I couldn''t say the same if, like now, someone irked me. It''s not like I enjoyed being an evil person.