Chapter 147: Become the Fire Punch!

Chapter 147: Become the Fire Punch!

Chen Wenrui fell silent as he read through this section. As an educator, he resonated deeply with Derma's words on the importance of "proper education."

He even felt that Derma was correct.

What Derma was essentially saying is that humans should never lose the most basic morals of being human. One such moral is that behavior among one's own kind must never cross certain lines.

Otherwise, in such a desperate environment, humanity would only end up slaughtering itself, leading to its complete extinction.

So, even though Derma knew that Agni's severed arm was a voluntary sacrifice, he still chose to destroy the village.

But was Derma entirely right?

What he did in Besimdruck wasn't entirely justified either. Following the orders of Besimdruck's upper echelons, he engaged in reckless slaughter of the innocent and the indiscriminate capture of slaves.

None of this can be erased with just the phrase "proper education."

A blood debt is still a blood debt—it cannot be erased!

However, in the face of Agni's accusations, Derma silently accepted them.

"Agni... I'm not here to blame you. I have no right to blame you."

"It wasn't the properly educated me who set you on fire, but the wrongly educated me..."

As Derma explained, Besimdruck had used third-rate films from the old era, manipulating the people with special effects, making them believe in the existence of the Ice Witch and that they had received divine instructions to go out and collect supplies and capture slaves.

It was only long afterward that Derma discovered it was all fake, that the images of divine miracles were merely scenes from movies.

So he burned those films.

Hearing this, Tohda couldn't hold back, because what Derma had burned was...

Tohda's home and the films inside it.

She immediately pinned Derma to the ground, punching him over and over to vent her rage.

But Derma did not resist; he looked utterly pitiful.

"Please... forgive me."

Derma said in a voice filled with humility.

He could have used his fire abilities to fight back against Tohda.

But he didn't because he knew he had done many terrible things and could only beg for forgiveness.

At that moment...

"Get away from my teacher!"

A dozen children came running from a distance, holding guns and warning Tohda and Agni.

They all stood firmly in front of the now pitiful and miserable Derma, protecting him.

"Don't bully the teacher!"

"Stop bullying him!"

"Yeah, stop!"

...

The children were resolute, standing united in front of Derma, protecting him.

Meanwhile, Derma, still covered in injuries, continued to plead humbly, "Please... spare me..."

"Both of you, please spare me..."

"I know I've done things that can never be forgiven, things that can never be atoned for in my lifetime..."

"But I can't die yet!"

"Please!"

Seeing the children standing in front of Derma and hearing what Derma had said earlier, Agni found himself wavering. His rationality told him that Derma was not purely evil and that he could not die.

Looking at those children, Agni felt that if he were to kill Derma now...

How would he be any different from the Derma of the past?

So he said to Tohda, "Tohda, I'm not going to kill Derma anymore."

"Both he and I have people we want to save..."

"I want to spend my life saving those I care about, and so does Derma... So let's leave it at that."

"Revenge ends here..."

With that, Agni turned to leave.

"I'm going... back."

But Tohda didn't see it that way. "Is this enough for you? Are you satisfied with this?"

"Would Luna really be satisfied with this outcome?!"

Hearing his sister Luna's name, Agni stopped in his tracks.

Then he turned to Tohda and shouted, "Luna!"

"Luna wouldn't be satisfied with someone's death!"

After saying that, he fell silent for a moment before adding, "Neither would I."

"Even if Derma dies, I won't feel satisfied."

Derma, the children holding guns, and Tohda were all stunned by his words.

"If you say so, then let's end it here."

Tohda said, helpless.

Agni and Tohda slowly walked away, but Tohda seemed to notice that Agni wasn't as rational as he appeared and asked again.

"Are you really prepared to end your revenge like this?"

Agni asked, "If I were the protagonist... would I kill Derma?"

Fans felt a knot in their stomachs at this moment. What they had expected to be a cathartic revenge ended up with Agni choosing to forgive?

But... if he chose revenge, it would mean bearing the weight of killing the 17 innocent children that Derma had adopted.

And for Agni, that was something he absolutely did not want to do.

[Translator: sauron]

But... was Agni really willing to let go of his hatred at this point?

He and Tohda continued walking, with Tohda ahead of him, while Agni's steps grew slower.

Suddenly, images of his sister Luna appeared in his mind.

Agni stopped in his tracks, and then... more memories flooded back.

Memories of the villagers burning in agony, Luna's peaceful sleeping face...

In the manga, Agni's position on the page began to shift.

He wanted to move forward, but with each new memory, his position shifted back to the left side of the page.

It was as if the left side represented his emotions, urging him to turn back and kill Derma and the children without hesitation.

The right side represented his rationality, telling him to let go of all the hatred and start anew.

Agni wanted to follow his rationality; he knew killing Derma was wrong.

But those painful memories from the past were pulling his emotions back, dragging him to the left side.

One memory after another appeared: Luna's peaceful sleeping face, followed by her agonizing, contorted expression as she burned to death.

The arrogant look on Derma's face as he looked down on them...

The scene of a young Agni looking up at him...

The pain of being engulfed in flames...

The triumphant smile on Derma's face after committing all those atrocities...

And finally, the scene of the children standing in front of Derma, protecting him.

Finally, his sister Luna appeared before him.

Everyone knew this was just a hallucination.

But in the hallucination...

She gazed at the blazing bonfire before her and said to Agni, "Brother, please."

"For me, kill Derma..."

"No... Derma is already reflecting on what he did..."

Agni said to the hallucination of Luna.

He could no longer tell whether it was an illusion or reality...

He truly couldn't tell!

"His regret is just an act..."

The hallucination of Luna said to him.

"An... act?"

Agni was confused.

"Yes, an act."

The hallucination of Luna said, "Brother, isn't everyone around you like that?"

"But... But I'm already the protagonist, I'm already a god..."

"Brother... For me."

In the hallucination, Luna continued to speak to Agni.

Finally, she made a punching gesture—

"Use the Fire Punch on him!"①

　① Diejia: The original correct translation is "Become the Fire Punch," I know, but I think "Use the Fire Punch on him" is better and more fitting, so I changed it!