[Silver Ash] - Become The Strongest In Another World
CHAPTER 128: Past tragedies (2)

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A few moments had passed since the Voyagers met each other. Now, Olpus walks alone through a cemetery decorated with strange purple crystals with a gruesome history.

Olpus never once forgot all that.

Although he initially opposed Ivan to spread the virus in one of the densely populated settlements, he eventually agreed because Ivan forced him on behalf of loyalty.

They didn't create the virus. They just use it for their own benefit.

The origin of the virus itself is still unknown even to Olpus, and Olpus also believes that the other Voyagers also have no information about the virus.

Olpus believed that the superiors knew something, but he did not have enough power or authority to extract information from them.

When looking at the row of tombs filled by the bodies of the victims of the virus, Olpus inevitably returned to remember everything. Everything that happened that night.

Initially, Ivan and the others downgraded the virus to conduct a small experiment to support the development of the monsters from the 'underworld' that had been Ivan's pet.

However, the effectiveness of the virus exceeded what they had anticipated.

People who live in the villages where they first downgraded the virus have very low resistance, so they can eventually be easily infected by the virus.

The virus quickly grows and spreads. From infecting only a small village with a population of less than 60, it became a deadly plague that has spread almost to the outskirts of the major countries surrounding the village.

However, something unexpected happened.

One person survived the virus. The virus has infected her body for more than 48 hours. Even so, he did not die. Dark purple crystals had also grown in some parts of his body, but only to that extent. There were absolutely no organs that turned into crystals.

Initially, Olpus and the others assumed that the person had a higher resilience than all the previous victims, but they immediately removed that assumption when they saw the new ability that person had.

This was a very unexpected result for them. They never thought that people who survived the virus would develop new abilities according to their genetic code.

Overjoyed by the results of the experiment, Ivan tried to increase the spread of the virus to other cities in the country where the village was located.

And as a result, all in vain.

All infected people die in crystallized state after 48 hours.

After that, they concluded that the case that happened to the survivor was a case with a very low percentage.

"But, if the percentage is indeed low, it means there is a possibility that there will be survivors again if we expand the offense further, right? "

That is what Ivan told Olpus when he had already begun to give up this terrible practice.

What Ivan said was not wrong. If they paid attention to the comparison between the number of dead, and the number of survivors, they would find a level of comparison with a very small percentage of survivors.

But, they could not increase the spread of the virus any further. Because, parties from other countries started moving once they noticed the virus.

If the spread was to be continued intentionally, the team of investigators sent from various countries would sniff out the existence of the Voyagers who were the mastermind behind all this.

Because of this, the Voyagers could only let the virus spread by itself.

And that's where people who survive the virus will replace them to spread the virus.

One of the Voyagers had incredible brainwashing abilities, so they harnessed that ability to brainwash survivors. They refer to the person as 'Subject A'.

They implanted an important task into Subject A's brain, leaving it free so that it could do its own.

Subject A created a strange sect that advocated suicide in its adherents. This is a little off the mark of what the Voyagers are planning, but it doesn't matter. As long as their main goal is met, a little deviation should not matter.

The sect run by Subject A managed to gain a high position in the kingdom where he lived, and he also had considerable influence over the nobles involved in the parliament.

At its peak, Subject A had to be held in prison for various offences. It was quite difficult to capture Subject A, but the joint investigators between the Kingdom of Nothingnos, with the Alacrylia Empire managed to sniff out its existence somehow.

But, it's too late. The virus has spread and infected almost the entire population of the kingdom where the Subject A sect rules.

Due to the widespread spread of the virus, both the Northern Kingdom, and the Alacrylia Empire, had to make a bitter decision.

It was Genocide.

The decision was an event that had completely deviated from the path that had been predicted by Olpus and the other Voyagers, but they could do nothing to stop it.

If they insist on stopping the genocide between the two sides, then their existence will be revealed, and everything they have done so far will be in vain.

Olpus and Voyager did nothing.

During the genocide, more than 6,000 people were killed. In fact, among the victims, there are residents who have never been infected by the virus. Even so, they were still killed blindly by the executors who had been sent by both parties.

The Voyagers didn't mind it, because it wasn't their business. Except for one man, it was Olpus.

Olpus, who witnessed the number of people who died in the genocide, immediately made a decision.

He has to stop it. Although he belonged to the group that first brought down the virus, he was not so cruel that he could see many people who had absolutely nothing to do with the virus, killed in genocide.

Later, Olpus did things to stop the genocide. Of course, secretly.

The only way to stop a chain problem is to 'delete' the source and all of its distributors.

Olpus then went to where Subject A was being held, and increased the dose of Apocalypse Virus present in his body. That way, even Subject A will not be able to withstand the sudden increase of the virus.

And as he predicted, Subject A was instantly killed in a crystallized state. Of course, after he banged his own head many times against the wall.

Olpus did not understand the purpose of Subject A banging his head against the wall, but he ignored the insignificant details and immediately left the holding room, and returned to where his comrades were.

Finally, the virus was successfully eliminated without having to publish the existence of the Voyagers. All thanks to the panic that hit. Thanks to that, Olpus was able to do everything behind the scenes in peace.

And this is a little ironic, but thanks to the ongoing genocidal action, Olpus' actions become increasingly invisible.

If he wiped out all the viruses as the genocide progressed, then no one would be suspicious about the virus that had suddenly disappeared.

To Olpus' surprise, Subject A received no charges at all for spreading the virus. Which means, everyone on both sides has absolutely no idea about the fact that Subject A is spreading the virus.

In the end, it all happened. Olpus could do nothing to change it.

The cemetery where he stands today, is a tomb made specifically for the victims of genocide committed on that day.

The genocide was indeed a regrettable act, but it was thanks to tragedy that he and the other Voyagers were able to carry out their plans smoothly lately.

Earl Eisen was one of the executors sent to carry out the genocidal process back then. That was enough to create a lot of resentment towards him.

The reason why the city of Eisen was attacked recently is also not spared from past events. The people who carried out the attack, were the ones who had a deep grudge against him.

Most of them were families of victims who were in the process of the tragedy, elsewhere, and the rest were groups of people demanding 'justice' for the victims who were killed blindly.

Terneth was one of those two groups. Voyager understood its potential, and eventually they manipulated it from behind the scenes to get Terneth to act the way they wanted.

As a result, great success. Terneth who had been manipulated seemed very confident in the abilities he had. He increased the number of his 'subordinates', and made everyone do as he commanded.

Everything was done to avenge him against the Earl who had been living comfortably on top of terrible achievements.

Although in the end the Voyagers had to uncover their existence a little, it was a sufficient price to get what they wanted.

Terneth may have assumed that he had manipulated Voyager as he wished. But, the truth is just the opposite.

Terneth is a real poor doll. Being used for the grudge he had, was a very foolish thing that Olpus could think of.

(Human emotions are terrible .. )

With just one deep negative emotion, a human being can perform actions that are very deviant from his or her life path.

As Olpus thought, human emotion is a terrible thing because it can be fuel for something bigger.

While thinking about how ironic it all was, Olpus in a stillness accompanied only by the whistling sound of the wind closed his eyes while feeling the air of someone approaching.

"You're finally coming, huh? Leo's."

"Why did you call me here, Olpus?

Olpus smiles. " There's something very important I want to talk to you about. Can I have a minute of your time? "

"That's it, huh? Then it doesn't matter. By the way, did I make you wait a long time? "

"Yes. It was so long that I could do that long flashback."

Leonardo tilted his head, clearly clueless as to what Olpus was saying.

"Well, forget about that. Like I said earlier, there's something very important I need to talk to you about."

"And? What's that about? "

Olpus took a breath, then looked at Leonardo with a concerned look. He had already prepared himself for what Leonardo would do next when he told Lucia about Leonardo.

Leonardo who saw the seriousness of Olpus was inevitably carried away. He prepared himself to hear what Olpus was going to say.

"It's about Lucia. Actually, just a moment ago Lucia had betrayed and left the group."

" … Uh? "

It took a while until Leonardo could understand what Olpus was saying.

"T-Wait .. That's impossible, right? There must be some mistake! "

(I thought it would be like this .. )

Olpus could only sigh in resignation because the reaction Leonardo gave was exactly as he had anticipated.

Leonardo showed a very clear face of fear, while his body trembled as he stared at Olpus with a look of disbelief.

"I know you're not gonna believe this. But, this is the truth. Lucia has betrayed us and abandoned us."

Olpus then reached out his hand and showed the metal slab that Leonardo recognized as a recording device.

The recorder poked a faint glow for a moment, then brought up a screen floating in the air.

Plastered on the screen was the same Lucia that Olpus had faced before. The usual black cloth covering both of his eyes opened, and a black mask with a golden complexion was attached to his waist.

There, Lucia appears to speak to Olpus. Leonardo listened to all those conversations without missing a single word. Even so, he still did not want to believe it.

"I know how you feel, Leo. Abandoned by someone very close to you, it must be painful. But, you mustn't make that an excuse to back off."

Leonardo's head bowed. He without saying anything just stared at the ground in bewilderment.

Then, he lifted his head and spoke to Olpus.

"In that case, I'll catch up with him! "

"No, you can't."

Olpus quickly refused.

"Why?! "

The light was gone from Olpus's eyes. He stared at Leonardo with a cold and emotionless face. Although powerful, Leonardo is still someone with physical and mental children. Naturally, he felt afraid of the pressure that Olpus emitted.

"Unlike Lucia who only had a cooperative relationship with us, you're still under contract."

Olpus then glanced at Leonardo's neck. In that section, there is a strange black tattoo that interferes with his appearance as a child.

Leonardo reflexively moved his hand to cover the tattoo.

"Because that's. Until you finish the contract you made with us, you can't leave at will. You should stay with us until all your work is done. If you don't abide by that contract, you know what's gonna happen, right? "

Of course Leonardo knows that. He had been bound by the contract for about two years, and during that time he was getting used to it.

The tattoo is a symbol formed after Leonardo forged a special contract with Olpus. Thanks to that, he gained a fairly drastic increase in strength. However, it also tied his freedom to something.

If Leonardo rebelled or performed an act that could be considered betraying Olpus, then the tattoo would automatically cast magic onto his head, and instantly burn his brain like a heatwave emitted by an oven.

Leonardo knew that. But, her desire to leave immediately and catch up with Lucia was greater than her concern for her own life.

"Leos. I know what you're thinking. Don't do that. If you leave, you'll only make the effort Lucia did go to waste."

" … Effort? "

After hearing that, for some reason Leonardo became a little calmer. He looked at Olpus and impliedly asked him to continue.

"You might have guessed it. Lucia did all this not just for her, but for you. If you go and die now, then everything he does will be for naught."

Despite having a public appearance that tended to be cold and heartless, in fact, Olpus was someone who paid close attention to his subordinates.

He did not show that concern directly, it was also because his colleagues were always watching his movements. But, Olpus would do anything so that what his subordinates did would not be in vain.

Olpus himself did not want to admit it, but he was actually quite a responsible person. If someone leaves something to him, he will take care of it with all his heart until he returns to take his 'stuff' back.

Lucia indirectly says that she will leave Leonardo to her, and Olpus accepts the role. So, Olpus now has a greater responsibility towards Leonardo. More than ever.

"I understand your desire to catch up with him immediately. But, you can't do that. At least not for now."

"Eh? "

Leonardo lifted his face and looked at Olpus in surprise.

"W-what do you mean? "

"Listen. I'm not a good person so it's not worth setting an example. But I am still your leader. I can't let my subordinates continue to sink into a slump because of my inability to help with your problems. Therefore, I'll give you a chance, Leo."

" … Opportunity? "

"really. I'll give you a chance to go free and chase Lucia as soon as the time comes. Until then, practice until you become stronger, and prove that you deserve to break free from the shackles of the contract formed between us."

" ……… "

Leonardo said nothing to answer. He stared and listened to every word that Olpus said.

"It might be hard for you. But you still have to be patient. Lucia will never be far from you. I can guarantee that. No matter how long it lasts, I'm sure you still have a chance to go after Lucia."

Olpus said it with great conviction rather than without reason. He knew that Lucia would not die so easily, so he was convinced that Lucia had plenty of time until Leonardo was finally strong enough to chase him.

"And when you see him again, surprise him with your change. Surprise him with the power you have. Make him admit you, and don't let him protect you anymore. That's the thing you have to do, Leo."

" ……… "

Leonardo's speechless. He felt too young to understand the heavy words Olpus spoke. Even so, he understood most of his point. Therefore, Leonardo would follow what Olpus said and decided to wait until the time came.

Leonardo smiled and clenched his hands together excitedly. Olpus was completely shocked by his mental strength that could adapt easily in just a few minutes.

"Then ... I'll wait until then! I will be strong so that Lucia does not consider me a child anymore! You're right, Olpus! Lucia will be waiting for me! "

Olpus was well aware of the potential Leonardo had. If Olpus could develop Leonardo towards the limit point of his potential, then Leonardo would surely be a very strong man, beyond the strength he has now.

That's a good thing. Seeing his subordinates grow and become extremely powerful was a happy thing for Olpus. At once, it would be a sad thing because his other comrades would definitely not stay idle when he saw that his subordinates had enormous power.

Even today Olpus still holds many secrets unknown to his colleagues. He swore to keep the secret until the end of his life.

Of course he felt a little guilty when he had to keep a lot of things from people who believed him, but he could not let the secret leak.

All the secrets he had. About his past, the truth he knew, beliefs, beliefs, and the various cruel things that must be done to create a 'Leonardo Ozwal'.

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