24 – Confession

Celia sat with her back to Alan, some distance from the man. Meanwhile, Alan just stood still, looking the other way.

"You haven't said anything." The young lady's lips trembled. "Isn't this the time for you to explain to me?"

Allan was still silent. Celia was about to press him, but finally, the young man spoke after a few seconds. "This world doesn't need them. They robbed and killed other players. They would do it to us too. That's the reason I did it, nothing more."

"They are players, not NPCs who are just code…."

"So?" Alan interrupted. "That doesn't change the fact that they are bad people."

Celia glanced at Alan with tears in her eyes. "What makes you this cold, Al?"

"Have you ever been bullied before?" Alan asked, and Celia shook her head. "When I was little, I've always been afraid to go to school. They treated me like their toy. They stuck my head in the toilet, forced me to sit on a chair covered with tacks or put a dead mouse in my bag... And that's just a small part that I can mention. There are so many of their bullying that are more terrible."

Celia gulped, speechless.

"Until I couldn't stand it anymore." Alan continued, and his tone grew colder. "I remember it like it happened yesterday. At that time, they punched my stomach until I vomited. And as usual, they laughed at me."

The young man approached Celia and knelt in front of her. "Anger filled my head. I couldn't think anymore and picked up a large rock."

The female fighter held her breath.

"Everything went so fast. I hit one of them in the head with that rock until he fell." Alan kept talking. "And I didn't stop there. I kept hitting the rock on his head. Blood was splattered everywhere. His friends got scared and ran away instead of helping him."

The young man then fell silent, waiting for Celia's reaction.

A few moments passed, and that girl asked in a hoarse voice. "Then what happened to him?"

"Someone passing by stopped me before he died."

Celia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"But I really want to kill him." Alan stood up again. "After that incident, I almost went to juvenile detention. But the lawyer my parents had hired was quite reliable. He managed to get evidence that my victim often bullied me so badly that those could be categorized as criminal acts. Everything ends with a deal on the back. My victim's parents don't want their son to go to juvie too."

"So…." Celia lowered her head. "That's why you don't hesitate to kill people?"

"You know what happened after that?" Alan resumed. "My life has become more peaceful. They don't dare to bully me. School is no longer hell for me."

"That's still not a strong enough reason…."

"But I heard that my victim became a criminal somewhere else. He makes his victims suffer… Just like when he bullied me." Alan cut Celia off. "The seed of evil has been in him since the beginning. If only I managed to kill him at that time, then the world would be a little bit better."

Celia hugged her own body, trembling like she was feeling cold.

Meanwhile, Alan took a deep breath. He had not talked about this for a long time. It's a memory that had opened old wounds.

"Tell me, Celia," Alan asked. "Do you hate me after hearing all that?"

The young lady also stood up, wiping a tear off her cheek. But she wore a faint smile. "How could I hate you? It was you who accompanied me on this adventure, Al. I don't know what would happen if I explored this world alone."

Alan opened his mouth slightly, unable to believe the young lady's response. Lots of questions filled his brain, but he chose to smile instead. "Thanks."

Their land began to move again. Brunch has come back and pushed it.

"So, we will continue to be adventure buddies, right?" Celia held out her hand. She used a more cheerful tone. "Well, I'm not that comfortable with you that I'm willing to show myself without pants, though."

Alan laughed and shook that girl's hand. "Well, if you're willing to point it out, I wouldn't mind either."

"What did you say?" Celia snorted, but it didn't seem serious. "It turns out you have a perverted side too."

Brunch, who saw that scene, just tilted his head in astonishment.

"Well, I'll try to decipher Elaine's blueprint again." Alan shrugged. "We really need that propeller thruster."

The young man turned around to take out that blueprint, and Celia's smile disappeared instantly. She clutched her left chest, feeling her uncontrollable heartbeat.

***

At night, Alan stood guard by sitting on the outskirts of the land. His eyes focused on the night sky full of stars. Meanwhile, Celia had fallen asleep.

Brunch stopped pushing and sat beside that young man.

"For the first time in a long time, I'm speaking my darkest secret to someone else." Alan gave a faint smile. "Before this, I never even mentioned that to anyone. My parents know everything, but they also never discussed it with me."

Brunch just tilted her head, and Alan widened his smile while stroking that beast's body.

"You think she really doesn't hate me, Brunch?"

The wyvern just curled up, not making a sound. She isn't human, so she probably doesn't understand how big a deal the concept of humans killing other humans is.

"Well, maybe we'll never know."