Endless Evolution: Last Star

Chapter 135: The difference in the value of lives

Bam.

Prago slammed his fist into the wall, right next to Adamʼs face, leaving a long cut on his cheek and a deep dent in the wall.

Then, Prago put Adam back in place, picked up the table, and sat down on a chair. He went from furious to completely calm extremely quickly and that was not a good sign.

”Anyway, if you were an ordinary man, you would have been locked up for several years or even decades, however... some military officers did everything to minimize your sentence. How it annoys me!” Prago growled, clenching his fist tightly.

As a member of the Azure Lotus, he wanted full equality between all sectors of society, so he wanted the Phantoms to receive the same punishment as ordinary people. However, even he couldnʼt increase Adamʼs sentence beyond six months.

There was logic in Pragoʼs words, because getting only half a year in prison for killing a man in public, in the First Ring, was the minimum punishment. If some military officers hadnʼt helped him, it would have been two or three years.

However, Adam wasnʼt going to put up with it. He realized that against Prago he didnʼt stand a chance, but... he couldnʼt lose six months rotting in jail and wasting his potential.

”Khm.” Raina coughed, ”Thatʼs not all. Adam Vinter, youʼre going to Fall Hill Prison, north of the Second Ring, for half a year. Youʼll be there for six months, and if you donʼt cause trouble, youʼll be released in five. Furthermore, you must pay a fine of 200,000 credits and obey all orders of your warden unless you want your sentence increased.”

Adam frowned as anger began to bubble up inside him.

In fact, he felt no guilt for killing Baldhead, for he hadnʼt even expected it to happen.

Since Adam had become a Phantom, he had never fought a normal person before, and he wouldnʼt do it, because he had no reason to.

What ordinary person would provoke K1-Phantom? There was only one answer: a suicidal one.

Baldhead and his group were new to Proud Wing, so their superiors just used them, not even warning them of the danger.

Adam realized this, and it only made him angrier, since it meant that someone in Proud Wing or Azure Lotus was watching him closely and had decided to remove him, at least temporarily.

ʼTsk. Maybe Aiden Henk did it...? I doubt heʼd be interested, though. He may be a crazy bastard, but surely heʼd rather spend his time on his experiments than on political intrigue.ʼ Adam pondered internally, burning Prago with a glare.

Tap.

Raina tapped the table and said:

”Thatʼs it for now. You wonʼt cooperate with us, so the sentence comes into effect immediately. I hope prison will reform you. Monsters kill people every day, so we donʼt need Phantoms doing it too.”

”People...?” Adam raised an eyebrow with a cold stare.

Raina gulped, a chill running down her back.

”Tsk. Do you disagree with that? Do you think there are losses only among the Phantoms?” Prago snorted, unleashing his aura on Adam.

Normally, that should have been enough to silence the K1-Phantom, but... It weakly affected Adam.

The reason was that Pragoʼs aura, although strong, was not threatening, as if it wasnʼt infused with the experience of difficult fights and the blood of deadly situations. Also, Adam was a Naturalborn Phantom, and that played a role.

Prago, as an Artificialborn Phantom, didnʼt know that Adam was the Naturalborn One. The fact that he was a K2-Phantom couldnʼt help him get that information, even his status as a prison warden was useless.

Finding out that some Phantom was the Naturalborn One was a difficult task achievable only in a few cases.

First, any Naturalborn Phantom, with the help of his Operator, could find out if another Phantom was a Naturalborn One. For example, Silvana had access to the special sources through which Adam had learned that Alexia was a Naturalborn Phantom. That required time.

Secondly, the Natiuralborn Phantom himself could tell someone, but it had to be another Naturalborn Phantom or someone with special status, like Jena. She was his personal doctor, but she had no right to tell anyone about it.

Sure, plenty of ordinary people in the military, departments, and politicians had this information, but they were all trusted individuals and carefully controlled the situation.

Even if someone like Jena or Silvana had told someone about the Naturalborn Phantoms, they would have been quickly found and stopped. The person they told it to would be scared enough that he wouldnʼt say anything.

That was why Prago got a baffled look on his face. He didnʼt understand why Adam only slightly flinched at his aura, even though he was just a K1-Phantom!

”Monsters donʼt just kill Phantoms, itʼs true. Harvesters and military personnel also die a lot, but the Phantoms are the ones who fight the monsters. I have no complaints about ordinary people, especially departmental workers. However... the one I killed, the bastard from Proud Wing, I donʼt feel sorry for him.” Adam waved his hand.

Bam.

Before he could say anything, Prago burst from his seat and brought his fist down on Adamʼs face.

At the last moment, Adam managed to block, crossing his arms in front of him. However, it only slightly reduced the blow, the impact threw him back.

”How dare you say that?! You killed an ordinary man, and you donʼt feel any guilt?! Even if he wasnʼt the best person, that doesnʼt mean he deserved to die at your will!” Prago exclaimed furiously, his veins swelling with anger.

Adam wiped away the trickle of blood and slowly stood up.

”Yes, because by giving me trouble, heʼs already killed several Phantoms and dozens of people.” Adam said confidently.

Raina and Prago glanced over, they didnʼt understand what nonsense Adam was talking about. Baldhead was an ordinary man and... how could he kill others if he was dead himself?

”Hah, looks like youʼre too stupid to realize that. Actually, I thought, you as a K2-Phantom, should have known that already.”

Adam stepped forward.

”I killed that man, and now Iʼm going to prison for six months. That means all the monsters I would have killed in that time - will survive, and someone will face them sooner or later, a small fraction of them will die. Phantoms and Harvesters sometimes die when fighting monsters, even a child knows that.”

Prago and Raina gulped. They hadnʼt even thought about it from that side, because... it was too immoral, yet true!

”The truth is that a month of not having me - K1-Phantom - in Dead Lands would be worse for the Citadel than losing that manʼs entire life. He wasnʼt a military man or a department employee, but a mere slacker, no... he was a parasite since he only made trouble for others.”

Moreover, the fact that Adamʼs words were true was dangerous to Azure Lotusʼs ideology of equality between Phantoms and humans.

What equality could they talk about when a month of oneʼs life was more important than years of another?

”Kid... Be prepared, Iʼll do anything to make your life in prison a living hell. By the rules, Iʼm not going to break the law, unlike you little bastard!” Prago clenched his fists tightly.

Then, after a momentʼs silence, Raina quickly completed the paperwork and led Adam down the hall.

The police officers were already waiting outside to take him to the prison.

Prago didnʼt want to go with him, because he had only come here to see Adam in person. He hoped to hear Adamʼs repentance, but instead... Adam had just pushed him into a cruel reality.

Step. Step. Step.

Raina stepped confidently, heading for the exit. She wasnʼt worried that Adam would run away because then he would be immediately caught by the Phantoms working for the police - especially for such cases.

Tap.

Raina stopped abruptly as a tall figure appeared from the corner - a man with gray hair and unusual amethyst eyes. The high collar of his long black coat covered half of his face - up to his nose.

Adamʼs eyes went wide, for he was familiar with this man. It was Tron - the K2-Phantom that helped them leave Golden Searchers Nest after the clash with Mirna and dark Phantoms.

”What...? What are you doing here...?” Raina muttered in a disbelief.

Tron cast a cold glance at her.

”Donʼt worry, Iʼm not gonna intrude on you. However, I have to talk to Adam. Wait for him outside.” Tron said calmly, but his voice sounded like a heavenly order.

”But... Youʼre not supposed to be here! You have to leave, now!” Raina was about to protest.

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

Tronʼs powerful aura made her forget how to breathe and drop to one knee. Even Adam felt the heaviness.

ʼDamn... This is a whole other level. It seems that although theyʼre both K2-Phantoms, Tron is stronger than Prago.ʼ Adam noted.

”Youʼre an ordinary human and canʼt give me orders. You must obey, do your job, and donʼt interfere with me. I said - wait outside.” Tron said menacingly.

Raina, without a word, rushed away. She did not wish to stay here a moment longer or experience Tronʼs wrath.

Then, Tron turned to Adam with a calm gaze.

”Looks like youʼre in trouble, doesnʼt it?” Tron muttered, ”Iʼll tell you right off the bat, Iʼm not going to help you avoid punishment.”

Tronʼs eyes turned cold, ”After all, you killed a human, it canʼt pass unnoticed. However... rules only work when the forces are equal, after all, the weak obey the rules of the strong, and the strong ones only respect their own rules, donʼt they?”

Adam blinked a few times, trying to understand what Tron was talking about.

Tron waved his hand.

”Never mind that. I came here for one reason - I have a message for you. Itʼs from Damien.”