The Great Thief

They peacefully ate their meal. Everyone waited until Water Fairy finished.

“I am not someone who gives in easily, but …” Soul Eater began speaking with great difficulty, then continued, “I really made a mistake here. I have to admit, I betrayed your trust. I hope you can forgive me – if only because I have followed and supported you for such a long time.”

For Soul Eater, the act of speaking with a lowered head was a somewhat awkward act. To bow his head before an enemy made him feel as if dying might had been a better option.

This meal was one of the most difficult meals of his life. Everything he ate tasted bland.

“You want me to forgive you. If your plan had succeeded, would you have come here to ask for my forgiveness?” Water Fairy replied softly.

“Yes, of course …” Soul Eater responded with uncertainty. He was lost for words.

“To be honest, nothing you say can change what has already occurred. You have done something you should have never done. The moment you made the choice was the moment you accepted the consequences of failure,” Water Fair responded firmly.

“I shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t have done that. What should I do then?” Soul Eater responded with a low and monotone voice. “Do you want me to watch you two in love from afar, and then continue being your slave, without the right to speak? I am a man – and I definitely have a temper.”

The suddenness of the remark from Soul Eater caused Lu Li to have a forced expression.

“When did we ever publicly display our love?”

“…” Both Water Fairy and Soul Eater were speechless.

“Okay then, you two continue. Just imagine that I don’t exist.”

Being a victor, Lu Li decided to show a greater degree of tolerance. However, his mannerism was not persuasive because he had a desolate expression.

“I hope you can give me a way out,” Soul Easter said.

“Pa!”

Lu Li nearly spat out the tea he had just sipped.

Why wasn’t this idiot dead yet?! Soul Eater thought of using a chair to smash Lu Li to death. ”

What’s wrong? If you have something to say, just say it. It’s not as if I’m stopping you from asserting yourself.”

Water Fairy angrily stared at Lu Li. During such a serious conversation, she was confused as to why her boyfriend was smiling. The reason why she had asked him to come along was for safety purposes, and to add an additional sense of loftiness to her remarks.

“Sorry about that,” Lu Li apologized, then shuffled ever so slightly to the side and lowered his voice, saying, “I misinterpreted him as coming to challenge me. I didn’t expect him to come and beg for forgiveness. The difference in expectations is way too dramatic.”

“Endure, you must endure,” Soul Eater said to himself. He had to pretend as if he did not hear what Lu Li said, even though Lu Li’s ‘whisper’ was so loud that the table nearby could clearly decipher every word.

“The prospect of me giving you a way out is not an impossible one,” Water Fairy said, ignoring Lu Li, then continued seriously, “If you retire from the gaming world, then I will no longer hold you responsible for your actions.”

“Hey, you call this a way out?” Soul Eater cried out with rage.

“Don’t forget, your finances are currently frozen. Who is to say they will not continue to be frozen?” Water Fairy’s lawyers had gathered an assortment of so-called ‘evidence’. They had managed to level several criminal violations against Soul Easter’s name. For this reason, the Criminal Trade Unit had directly frozen his assets.

“Over all these years, even though I haven’t managed to achieve much in terms of results, I have put in a lot of effort. How do you think Peerless City managed to reach its current heights?” Soul Eater said in a despairing tone.

“Yes, it is true that Peerless City’s development is partially due to your efforts, but it’s not as if you haven’t been fairly compensated. As for the question of whether Peerless City could reach what it is today without your presence, such a hypothetical question has absolutely no value or purpose. I never intended to kill,” Water Fairy paused for a moment before continuing, “But your method and actions were truly despicable.”

“I admit that what I did to the Elite Group was unethical, but I only wanted a good foundation,” Soul Easter protested, but to no avail.

“You are way too greedy. This is not a question of foundations. You tried to destroy Peerless City,” Water Fair shot back. “Even if you were to steal 1000 Elite Group players, I would never have considered forcing you out of the gaming sphere. You should have never, ever, deliberately lost a Stronghold to Wings of Dawn.”

“Hang on, wait a second. What do you mean I deliberately lost to Wings of Dawn?!” Soul Eater responded in a panicked manner.

He could still wrangle over the Elite Group accusation, but if he was successfully accused of deliberately losing to Wings of Dawn, then his reputation would be severely damaged. This would open him to litigation for deceptive conduct from sellers. If that were to occur, his financial accounts might become frozen for an even longer period.

“He even brought up what Elevenless lacked,” Lu Li mumbled in a low tone.

“Damn woman!”

Soul Eater was outraged. He thought that what he did was flawless; Peerless City’s defense of the Stronghold seemed watertight. Soul Eater, along with everyone else in Peerless City, had used all their effort and might. The only thing that Soul Easter had done was that he had given Wings of Dawn the numerous layouts of Peerless City before the actual battle itself.

Wings of Dawn and Peerless City possessed similar degrees of strength. Giving a forewarning to the opponent allowed them to take down the Tanaris Stronghold.

As such, when he heard such information emerge from Water Fairy’s mouth, Soul Eater lost his bearings – he never doubted the authenticity and reliability of Lu Li’s source. This was especially so since Lu Li and Elevenless often interacted with each other in public, and had developed a strong friendship over time…

Water Fairy finally had her suspicions confirmed – there was indeed something fishy about their loss of a stronghold.

“What else do you want to say now? You clearly knew the value of a Stronghold. You knew, in your heart of hearts, the damage your despicable actions would cause to the club. Do you really think I am going to give you a way out now?” she coldly remarked.

“I have spent so much time battling in the gaming world, and now you want me to exit it …” Soul Eater muttered, struggling to continue speaking. He had tried to gain an advantage but had ended up in a worse-off position. He initially wanted to use the assumption that Water Fairy, by virtue of being a girl, was more likely to have the flaw of being soft and forgiving. He never anticipated the outcome to be like this – they wanted him to disappear from the game completely. This was more awful and more difficult to accept than death itself.

“You can take some time to consider it,” Water Fairy said as she stood up, then added, “From now on, you are no longer Peerless City’s President anymore.”

Soul Eater watched on as the girl he loved coldly turned around and disappeared with Lu Li’s company around the corner of a restaurant. He kept sitting in the same spot, until a waiter came along to ask if he needed anything else.

“He won’t leave the gaming sphere, you know,” Lu Li said. He was sitting in the spare driver’s seat.

“I know, but it isn’t enough to scare him. What I need to do now is to re-establish Peerless City.”

Water Fairy, within the gaming world of Survival and Escape, was bound to flip the car. But in reality, she was a well-seasoned driver, while Lu Li didn’t even have a driver’s license at all.

“We have lost significantly more than usual this time around,” Lu Li said despondently.

It appeared as if the two had just succeeded in a huge battle, but they both knew that everyone was a loser this time. Soul Eater not only caused the entire plan to unravel, but he was also about to face a series of court cases that would follow him for years. However, Water Fairy’s loss was perhaps greater – a Stronghold had been taken. All the effort they had invested was now lost, and Peerless City’s morale was shaken. She suspected that it would be a while before it could stabilise.

Water Fairy had also lost an important ally.

“I have seen and experienced all forms of catastrophic events. What happened here is nothing, plus… I’m really happy that you’re by my side,” Water Fairy said quietly.