Chapter 480 - From despair, hope is born [61]

We had a new objective thanks to Selyra, but I still couldn’t say just how feasible her plan actually was. Naturally, when I’d told her earlier that she could leave the protection to me, I had genuinely meant it. I was confident that I could do my part, regardless of what the mushroom did.

However, Selyra’s next words were anything but reassuring, at least not for Victor, Rupert, and Arthur. Apparently, when the mushroom felt threatened, it was capable of attacking in a variety of ways. The tentacles covering practically the entire area were only one of them. The most concerning method, however, involved its spores.

According to Selyra, the mushroom could distort, on a fundamental level, the very concept of “Hope” that all humans inherently carried within themselves. Its spores didn’t erase a person’s hope, much less simply create an emotion that hadn’t existed before.

Instead, they did something far worse: they solidified and amplified the hopelessness that everyone naturally possessed to some degree, turning it into something increasingly difficult to ignore. At that point, it was already bordering on complete mental manipulation.

Fortunately, this wouldn’t be much of a problem. Selyra was inherently immune to it, since her Authority was, in essence, the complete opposite of the mushroom’s nature. I, on the other hand... apparently, I was a special case.

The same couldn’t be said for Victor, Rupert, and Arthur. Unlike us, the three of them seemed to immediately realize just how unfavorable the situation could become. After all, they were just ordinary humans, and when faced with something capable of directly affecting their emotions, there wasn’t much they could do to protect themselves.

Arthur was the first to break the silence, casting a subtly resigned glance toward Selyra before speaking: “This... doesn’t exactly sound like a favorable situation. At least not for us”

There was some hesitation in his voice, as though he didn’t particularly like admitting it out loud. Victor remained silent, merely clenching his fists slightly, while Rupert clicked his tongue and looked away.

“Tch...” Rupert muttered: “I hate it when he’s not wrong”

Victor and Rupert knew Arthur was right. Like any other creature on this planet capable of experiencing emotions, they were completely at the mercy of the spores. If this thing really could interfere with feelings and thoughts, all it would take was the slightest opening to turn fear into panic, despair into submission, or even courage into a false sense of security.

Fortunately, there seemed to be at least a glimmer of light in the middle of this dark tunnel. Selyra quickly noticed the three of them growing concerned and moved to reassure them before the situation could get any worse: “You three don’t need to worry about that”

Victor raised an eyebrow, clearly confused: “We don’t?”

“No” Selyra answered naturally: “Although I can’t use all of my power while I’m bound to Charlotte’s human body, I can still perform some more basic actions” She paused briefly, as if choosing the right words to explain: “One of them is the ability to protect you from external interference”

Arthur finally turned his attention back to her: “Interference... with our thoughts?”

“With your thoughts and feelings” Selyra confirmed: “I can make the three of you immune to attempts at external manipulation. That means that as long as the protection remains active, the spores won’t be able to alter what you think or feel” Rupert let out a breath he seemed to have been holding since the beginning of the conversation.

The three of them visibly relaxed, their shoulders dropping as though they had finally managed to shed some of the tension they’d been carrying up until then. Even so, there was something that still made me a little uncomfortable. I had asked whether Selyra could extend the same protection to me, but the answer I received was, to put it mildly... concerning.

Apparently, thanks to my Authority, I was completely immune to any external Authority. According to Selyra, that also meant the spores would be incapable of affecting me. However, honestly, simply saying that I was immune to Authorities didn’t really explain much.

I didn’t even know the extent of my own immunity. After all, I couldn’t even remember what my own Authority was, so how could I be certain that something as specific as these spores would actually fall under this supposed immunity? And to make matters worse, Selyra’s explanation had been incredibly vague.

According to her, I couldn’t be influenced through external means because, in a way, my own Authority didn’t allow anything external to overwrite my existence. It was as if my very nature rejected any attempt at interference on principle. It wasn’t exactly an explanation that put my mind at ease.

I frowned slightly, staring at Selyra with enough suspicion that it was probably obvious I still wasn’t convinced: “That means the spores won’t work on me?” I asked, keeping my tone cautious. “Or is there a difference between “not being influenced” and simply being able to resist their effects?”

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“They won’t” Her answer came so quickly that I fell silent for a few seconds, caught off guard by the certainty in her voice. There was no hesitation, not even the slightest pause to think. It was as if the possibility wasn’t even worth considering.

“You’re sure?” I asked again, my tone sounding even more suspicious than before. I couldn’t quite explain why, but there was something about the way Selyra spoke that kept my guard slightly raised.

She seemed absolutely certain of her own words, as though there wasn’t even room for another possibility. And somehow, all that confidence made the whole thing feel strangely suspicious.

Selyra remained silent for a moment, as if considering the best way to answer. Then she tilted her head slightly: “It’s a little more complicated than that”

“I figured...” I muttered, letting out a quiet sigh.

She calmly ignored my comment: “The spores can still come into contact with you. They can still try to affect your body, your mind, or your energy. The difference is that their Authority doesn’t have enough room to impose itself upon yours”

Completely oblivious to my internal concerns, Selyra showed not the slightest hint of worry. On the contrary, she seemed genuinely convinced that there was nothing I needed to be concerned about: “Don’t worry, sister. I’m absolutely certain about this!”

She said it so calmly and casually that it was almost as though my concern was completely unfounded. Then, before I could question her again, Selyra continued, explaining everything with the natural ease of someone simply pointing out the obvious: “This mushroom’s influence depends on something external being able to interfere with what you are. The spores can distort hope, turn insecurities into despair, and even alter the way a person interprets their own reality. But none of that can overcome your Authority.”

She paused briefly, as if choosing her next words: “In other words, sister, it can try to influence you as much as it wants... but it has no way to force a change upon something that falls under your domain. Your Authority simply doesn’t allow it”

Well, at least that was one positive point in the middle of all this. Considering everything that could go wrong, I should probably have felt a little relieved. That said, there was still something that continued to bother me: “By the way, I thought you, or any of our sisters, weren’t allowed to interfere directly”

My words immediately caught Selyra’s attention. She blinked for a moment, as if being pulled out of her own thoughts, and finally shifted her gaze from the mushroom to me: “Don’t we have laws regarding that?” I asked, continuing before she could answer: “Laws that none of us can simply ignore or go against? As far as I know, I have much more freedom in what I can do than you do, but I thought that neither you nor the others could just act however you wanted”

Selyra didn’t answer immediately. She remained silent for a few moments, as if carefully choosing the words she wanted to use, before finally parting her lips: “That’s true... at least in most situations. But this is a special case”

My expression remained practically unchanged, but inwardly, I was clearly both curious and confused by her words. A special case? If exceptions really existed, couldn’t my sisters have told me about them? Their help would have been pretty useful in quite a few situations, to be honest.

However, apparently oblivious to my inner complaints, Selyra simply continued her monologue, maintaining the same calm, explanatory tone: “We Virtues can only act directly when something is competing against our own Authorities. That’s the only time we’re free to interfere, precisely because it’s directly tied to maintaining balance. Even if we wanted to, we couldn’t. There are rules that even we have to follow”

She paused briefly, allowing her words to sink in before continuing: “When two Authorities come into direct conflict, however, the situation changes. In that case, our intervention stops being a choice and becomes a necessity. It’s a matter of balance, not personal preference”

Honestly, the rule seemed strangely convenient, especially considering that, from my perspective, I was the one who almost always ended up handling most of the difficult work precisely because I had more freedom than my sisters.

I couldn’t exactly say that I thought it was fair, but unfortunately, I couldn’t see any way to change how things worked either. Maybe the best thing to do was simply go with the flow, so to speak, and deal with things as they came.

With that in mind, I simply nodded toward Selyra before turning my attention back to the mushroom. Up until that point, whether because we hadn’t made any move against it yet or for some other reason, the mushroom hadn’t shown the slightest hint of aggression.

It remained there, completely still and silent, almost as if it hadn’t even noticed our presence. However, according to Selyra, that was because the mushroom itself was nothing more than a tool used to spread despair. It had no will of its own, nor even a consciousness that could truly be considered its own.

It was almost like a simple drop of sweat running down the body of something far greater. A tiny fragment of what was truly it had somehow managed to slip into our reality and, in some way, taken on this form so that it could continue fulfilling its purpose.

Anyway, all that aside, I wasn’t really interested in the story behind this mushroom or anything related to it. If I was being honest, all I wanted was to get rid of this thing, which seemed to be an incredibly troublesome problem, and go back home, where I could spend the rest of my days doing absolutely nothing.

Maybe that was asking for too much, but at the moment, it sounded like a much more appealing prospect. That was why I decided not to waste any more time. It was true that the spores were going to be a real pain in the ass, especially considering that Victor, Rupert, and Arthur were with us.

Even with Selyra guaranteeing their safety, it would be a huge hassle if something went wrong. I couldn’t simply ignore the spores and risk putting the three of them in danger.

Fortunately, I had already thought of a way to deal with that... or, at the very least, I hoped my idea would be viable enough to work without making the situation even worse. Because, considering how badly things had already escalated by this point, I definitely didn’t need another problem to deal with.