Chapter 343 The Price of Strength
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/Step…/
/Crying.../
Under the cries of both people and stone, Dale and company slowly approached the center of the mayhem as they crisscrossed firefighters, military personnel, and police officers.
The contrast between their clothes and the rags of the survivors was clear to see...
They were constantly being watched, but Dale couldn't tell if the eyes came from the people themselves as they had greater problems to resolve.
Such as the death of their loved ones...
Throughout their walk, they were approached by a group of men in black, who after a short but heavy discussion with Roger, eventually let them move on, albeit Dale disliked their gazes.
"The SCU stands for Supranatural Contingency Unit, they're the American organization in charge of making sure this situation doesn't blow out of proportion." Roger said seriously as he moved past the agents
"They work like the FBI and the CIA, although their identities must remain hidden. They usually pose as them whenever problems rise."
"... They don't seem to like me." Dale said as he followed after him, still feeling their gazes on his back
"You're misunderstanding, it's more like… They see you as a walking bomb."
"Look from their perspective, you're an unsanctioned Super-Human that lives in the heart of a metropolis with millions of civilians, there's no way they would ever see you in good lights until they can brand you in some way."
"Nonetheless, most of the blame falls onto me."
"They failed to notice and contact you when shit hit the fan, and to some degree, they failed in upholding their duty, causing that 'incident'."
"To this day, there are still investigations going as to how they got inside the country, things aren't pretty and I imagine they had many sleepless nights and worries to go through daily."
"To some degree, they likely pin that blame on you, the source of their troubles… As for the rest, it's on me, I approached you first and 'took you under me', leaving the rest for them to deal with."
"So technically, they're cleaning after someone else that isn't even tied to then, I would be upset too. But so is the power of connections."
"... Am I under you?" Dale asked with a thin smile, trying to push away his chaotic thoguths with a distraction
/Chuckle/
"Well, would you like to? I can offer you quite a good wage, though that's the most I can do aside from everything's I've been doing already."
"..."
Dale went silent, he was reminded yet again that Roger's actions were already quite significant, and that he owed him somewhat, even if he had accepted to help take care of his granddaughter as repayment.
He worked as a nanny while Roger worked as a guardian. It wasn't the same scale, although one could say that was how much Roger valued his family, they had the same worth as the entire world for him.
Joining him would be a way to pay for those remaining debts, but at the same time, he did not entirely like the idea of working…
What did Roger even do in the first place? What would he even do?
"Are you considering it? Don't worry about it, I was joking…" Roger added as he waved his hands around
"No, you said something that worries me." Dale retorted
"Why help me? So much that is. The value of whatever I can provide does not match your actions."
"It pains me a little to hear that... You remind me of my son."
"Sigh... But so is the world, free meals are hard to come by."
"It's for the exact same reason you were attacked twice… Once since this time… Ahem."
"I must make sure some things move a certain way, and if this includes helping you, then so be it."
"I've watched many suddenly like you did, some with grand goals, others for their own satisfaction… I let them all do as they pleased with the world, for as long as they adhered to the principles."
"Besides, my arms are only so large and I'm not the guardian of the planet, I see no point in stopping others from enforcing their powers onto whomever they wish."
"For as long as they do not bear their fangs towards my family…"
"Others tried to take such a role, they all failed."
"As for me, all I wish is to leave a world behind for them, and if you've noticed by looking around, that isn't exactly easy when dealing with 'our' kind."
"Concrete and Metal may be indestructible for a civilian, but to us, how different is it from sand?"
"... So, in essence, you're keeping an eye on me?"
"Ahem... That is a very grim way of looking at things… But I never said I wouldn't be doing so, I thought we made that clear before." Roger replied as he cleared his throat
Upon hearing his words and realizing from his tone that Roger felt upset, Dale understood that he was undermining Roger's morals and actions, villainizing him in a certain way for no reason aside from his one-sided suspicion.
That wasn't the way he wished to phrase things. He was cautious, but not an asshole.
"... I apologize I…"
"It's okay, you're tense and you have every reason in the world to distrust everyone around you."
"I know how it feels, I was your age once too… We're almost there." Roger said as he turned a corner, directly onto Dale's street
There, things were even worse than before.
Buildings had been destroyed, some missing large chunks, others completely collapsed, laying on others just a few moments from collapsing on the streets.
The street itself was full of holes, as if shellfire had befallen it, displaying what stood underneath it, cables, tubes, plates of metal, and so on.
Sparks would oftentimes fly to the sky as the firefighters fought bravely to try and contain any electrical discharges, oil leaks, or gas hazards.
Puddles of grime, oil, blood, and more were scattered and mixed all around, assaulting Dale's nose with each breath he took.
"This is hell." Mei muttered from the side as she closed her eyes
"It is… But this is what'll happen if the State of Secrecy ends, if Super Humans are allowed to do as they please, if they believe there are none to stop them."
"If ten decide to live peacefully but one decides to spread mayhem... Things will end like this."
"I'm not the only one working towards preventing this, as you may think, countries and other institutions aren't exactly pleased with such sights either, the loss of infrastructure and life are too grand to be accounted for."
"Not all corporations are monsters, there are Humans there after all."
"... That is why, out of everything sacred…"
"Don't lose your cool." Roger said as he looked at Dale
"..."
"As we speak, the area 1km from this place is in the process of being evacuated, it's the biggest mobilization of the SCU since its creation around two hundred years ago during the late 19th century."
"It's only going to get worse, I've received numeral calls from High-Class individuals regarding what'll proceed this event… Those include the Prime Minister of Japan and the President."
"This is an International issue, such a large-scale attack has happened in American territory and it was resolved by International forces, and at the center of it lies an American family, can you grasp the implications of this Dale?"
"..."
"... Look, I'm not telling you this is your fault, this is but a side effect of the turning tides."
"But a piece of advice, this will happen again… It is the consequence of pursuing strength."
"... I understand."
"Good, I don't like talking like this either, makes me remember my son and grandson, those stubborn bastards..." He said with a light, dry chuckle as he turned his attention back to the road
"For now, don't leave my side. If anyone approaches you, just tell them to speak to me first, I know what that in itself may imply from a political standpoint, but I don't think you care about that.",
"Don't be intimidated, if you give them a centimeter, they'll ask for a mile."
"They are professionals, stand your ground."
With that, they stopped in front of Dale's apartment complex, now only a shadow of its former self.
The multiple skyscrapers that used to compose it are now in shambles, its once-decorated walls now lay in ruin, broken and torn throughout its length.
When he looked up, he saw his apartment, flames bursting from within...
His fist clenched, it seemed he wouldn't be able to log back to Azmuth for now.
Meanwhile, dozens of families stood on the crosswalk, either hugging each other in silence, or crying over white cloths laid atop silent… Cold bodies.
He knew some of them, in fact, the sight of seeing his upstairs neighbors crying over what was likely the corpse of one of their own made Dale's heart stop to a halt.
'... Mr Crampbell…'
He knew the old man, was always there from the very day he was born.
His oldest son was also a friend of his, a bit older then him, the man was always there.
They weren't super friends, but they used to play a lot when they were younger, and a bit too when he was still in high school.
Now… The lad stood there, silent, using all of his strength to remain completely and utterly emotionless, otherwise, if he were to cry too, his mother and sister would likely completely break.
They looked at each other for a moment, and the man closed his eyes before turning to the side, foreshadowing a terrible scenario Dale could not bare to think about.
Sometimes, he thought about it, then tried to distract himself by thinking of his close friends.
Some of them lived nearby, not that close for them to be affected by the destruction, but close enough for them to be spoked out of their mind by it.
Hopefully, nothing had happened to them either.
/Stop…/
Eventually, they came to a halt, stopping in front of three bodies laying quietly on the floor, side by side with their hands on their stomachs.
The sight of it made Dale's mind blank.
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Notes
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