Chapter 103: [Volume 1 End] Unfairness

As Hilda’s Killing Intent began to quickly recede, everyone soon woke from their stupor.

Each and every one of them was left in shock, unable to fully comprehend that a powerful Predicament had been put down by one person before their eyes.

Their gaze was filled with amazement, even slight reverence. And it didn’t take long till joy overwhelmed their Hearts, leading them to burst out in celebration.

"She did it—SHE REALLY DID IT!"

"Oh my god, it’s all finally over!"

"We’re saved!"

Many of them cried as they hugged the closest person, some collapsing on the ground from fatigue and relief, while others silently savoured this moment.

Nadia, who watched as Seraphine clung to Callum’s chest, crying tears of joy and relief, relaxed her body — her expression soft and at ease.

She then wrapped Hilda’s coat around her shoulders tighter, careful not to touch her mangled arm.

By now, the adrenaline that had rushed through her body was gone, causing her to feel the pain in her mangled arm. But she didn’t pay it much mind, no matter how painful it was.

Because...

’It’s finally over...’ Nadia thought, feeling euphoric.

She then noticed as everyone turned to look in Hilda’s direction and began to pump their fists in the air, chanting:

"Hilda! Hilda! Hilda!"

Their cheers quickly reached the German’s ears.

Unfortunately...

"Cough! Cough!"

... The woman wasn’t in the best condition to process it.

Hilda coughed up a copious amount of blood into her fist before collapsing onto one knee and vomiting it. Her mind felt hazy, unable to think clearly, and her body had begun to grow cold — and it felt like her Heart was knotting up.

’The Spell took more Vitality than I had anticipated...’ She chuckled to herself, self-deprecatingly, her arms shaking.

She estimated that the Vitality used in her attack was more than what she had left. Because of that, she predicted it wouldn’t be long until she fell unconscious.

She licked her lips before sneaking everyone a hazy glance, eyeing each and every one of them. Then, after a brief moment of contemplation, she shook her head.

’They’re untrustworthy... I’ll have to force myself to stay awake until the Land Reclamation Military arrives.’

Shortly after coming to that conclusion, she pushed herself back onto her feet, stumbling slightly at first. Then she looked over at the mess she created and scratched the side of her head with slight regret.

’I needed the eyes... I shouldn’t have destroyed its entire body.’ She sighed before shaking her head.

She then chuckled silently. ’I’m sure I won’t be reprimanded for it...’

Afterwards, she hauled her body towards where everyone was, carefully avoiding the cracks and small craters in the ground. At the same time, she put on a calm facade to mask her current condition.

She stopped in front of Nadia, who shifted awkwardly in her presence.

Having seen what Hilda was capable of, she began to see the woman in a different light. Specifically... a dangerous, yet reliable light.

With an awkward cough to clear her throat, she greeted Hilda, though she struggled to think of what to say.

"Um... Hey. So, um... how are you holding up—"

"That was an excellent assist," Hilda interrupted, smiling warmly with half-lidded eyes. "Well done."

Her sudden compliment stunned the Heroine.

"Huh?"

Before Nadia could give a proper response, she watched as Hilda grabbed her right shoulder with her left hand before pulling her in.

She then flinched when the woman leaned into her ear, which was easy to do, considering they were similar in height.

Hilda whispered in a low voice, "I’ve finished my end of the deal. So, you better hold up your end, as well, Meine Dame~"

Nadia’s body locked up, stiffening.

Slightly flustered by the closeness and the warm breath blowing into her ear, she nodded strongly.

"I-I will," She stated before adding, "I-I don’t break my promises."

Hearing this and seeing her nod, Hilda smiled genuinely.

She then whispered in a sensual voice:

"Good girl~..."

Nadia immediately froze in place when she heard it, her face flushed pink from embarrassment.

’What the hell did she just call me!?’ She thought, extremely flustered.

She then turned to Hilda and shouted, "D-don’t call me that!"

But when she did, she realised the woman had already walked past her.

Hilda now stood over Ross, who looked up at her, still seated on the ground.

She then smirked. "What’s the verdict? Per our agreement, in exchange for your group member’s lives, you are to hand over a certain amount of eyes equal to my contributions. Und to let you know, I killed 30 Scoundrels before coming here to kill that Soldier on my own."

Ross’ face remained stone cold, though deep down, he was incredibly shocked. To be able to win such an intense battle after going through such a gauntlet of Predicaments... was nothing short of terrifying.

’If those 30 Scoundrels had come at us as well, when she wasn’t here, we would’ve been wiped out!’ He gritted his teeth.

He felt a greedy urge to downplay Hilda’s contribution, just so he could keep a small portion of the eyes to himself... But he quickly and wisely decided against it.

He sighed in defeat. "All of them... just take them all..."

It was clear to him that Hilda wasn’t going to take anything less as an answer. And he wasn’t foolish enough to try to deny her that.

Everyone in Ross’ group widened their eyes in shock, while Hilda grinned happily.

"I’m pleased to hear that."

Afterwards, she picked out a few people from his group to help her collect it. At first, they refused, but after a little intimidation and guilt-tripping, Hilda was able to convince them.

Once they located the area, they got to work scavenging around. And...

It didn’t take long to finish.

...

As everyone watched as Hilda stored the last eye into her Inventory, someone from Roxy’s group asked:

"Uhm... so can we have our eyes back?"

"Y-yeah, you didn’t make any deals with our group about eyes."

Hilda turned to look at them and eyed them intently.

She then smiled at them innocently.

"Now why would I do that?" Her smile turned wicked. "Shouldn’t I deserve something for saving your lives? If it wasn’t for me, every one of you would be dissolving in stomach acid or as a bloody mush against the ground."

Every member of Roxy’s group recoiled at that and appeared uncomfortable with what they heard. They then looked to those in Ross’ group for help, specifically Ross and Nadia.

"Come on, you guys, tell her she can’t do this!"

"We all worked hard for those eyes, please, this isn’t fair!"

"At least try to convince her to spare her a small portion, at least!"

Unfortunately...

"I’m not obligated to help your group." Ross huffed, stoically.

Nadia turned her face away with a helpless look. "I... can’t help you guys..."

Even if the two tried to convince Hilda, they knew the woman would ask for something in exchange — something of equal value, which they don’t have. And Nadia doubted Hilda would willingly offer up so many eyes for some wish...

Every one of Roxy’s group became distraught and, upon seeing that, Hilda smiled playfully. "I pity you all, truly, I do."

She then began to casually walk among them, her arms crossed behind her back.

"The weak, und the strong. The foolish, und the intelligent. The poor, und even the rich... I pity every single one of you. No matter how early or how recently you awakened your Heart, in my eyes, all of you are just about equal to an ordinary human."

She then stopped at the edge of the quayside before climbing down the ladder built into it, grabbing the head of the Soldier Predicament and ripping its eyes out.

After doing that and storing the eyes in her Inventory, she climbed back up with a deep breath.

"There will always be unfairness in this world, no matter how it may present itself. Be it something as small as losing a race simply because you tripped. Or something as significant as losing your loved one to circumstances beyond your control.

"No matter how much you all complain, these types of things will continue to mess with you in your life. There’s no stopping such unfairness from happening to you, but you can always change yourself to try to soften it.

"You’ve tripped in a race? You can get back up und keep running; there’s always a chance you can win that race. You lost someone close to you? Move on, live. Experience life in their name und be proud that you’ve met them."

Nadia’s eyes trailed behind Hilda, who walked right past her, and watched as she wandered over to a random spot in the area.

Hilda bent down and picked up a clock hand with slight difficulty before pushing it into her Inventory.

She let out a deep breath before wandering back and continuing her speech.

"No matter how unfair or unjust the situation is, you must learn to deal with it und change yourself for the better; otherwise, you will never be able to improve."

Hilda then stopped in front of Nadia and gently held out a hand, her gaze filled with gentle tenderness. "To be able to live life to the fullest... isn’t that what it means to be human?"

Nadia’s eyes widened.

She gulped dazedly and glanced down at her hand, inspecting it. After she did that, she subconsciously raised it towards Hilda’s.

Right as her hand was about to fall on the woman’s...

Swoosh.

Hilda suddenly shot her hand up and yanked the coat off her shoulders.

Nadia was stunned when she felt the warmth of the coat leave her shoulders. She then watched as Hilda put on the coat before walking past her.

The Heroine spun around to face the woman, but was met with three beams of light aimed at them from out at sea, causing everyone’s shadow to stretch behind them.

Soon, it was revealed that the lights each originated from three gigantic battleships — each one bearing the insignia of the Land Reclamation Military.

Hilda, standing at the edge of the quayside, at the front of everyone else, looked towards the incoming battleships before turning around.

"Let me say this. I do not know most of you here, und you all don’t know me. But there is one thing I know for sure about you all, und that you all are weak."

Without giving them a chance to speak out, Hilda continued.

"But that doesn’t matter. Because, like I said before, improve in the face of unfairness. You all were forced into a battle that no one could’ve expected when they first arrived here. I empathise with your weakness, fears, your grief, your frustrations, und everything you’ve experienced in this battle.

"However, the difference between me und all of you is that I have understood the concept of unfairness enough to make use of it. Because of that, I’m the one who benefited the most in this battle. Does that mean you all should give up going forward, believing that this was your only chance at making it big? Of course not!

"Grow! Live und work hard! Unless it’s death, nothing is truly the end! Nothing is worth giving up! Let the battle today fuel your growth! Let all the things you’ve experienced in these few days fuel your growth as well!"

She then planted a fist over her Heart.

"You’re Humanity’s future soldiers. Vitalists! Your Vitality is the blood of Humanity’s dreams und your Hearts are the hope of Humanity’s survival! Don’t let the weight of unfairness drag you down from growing! Keep moving forward, all for the Good of Humanity!"

Her inspiring words caused a warm sensation to well up in everyone’s Hearts — Seraphine’s especially. Having lived in this world for around two weeks, not once had the thought of unfairness left her mind.

Why was she the one sent to this one? Did she do anything to die the way she did? Had she done anything that made her deserve this treatment?

She loved the story and the characters in it, but how could she have enjoyed the bliss of knowing she was in her favourite story when she was constantly scared of Predicaments?

Seraphine bit her bottom lip and repeated Hilda’s words inside her head. ’You can’t stop unfairness from happening, but you can change yourself to soften it...’

A conflicted thought then passed through her mind. ’Hilda... why are you so much more different than the you in the game...’

Was she... really a Villainess?

At that moment, everyone who had been inspired by Hilda slowly raised their fist to their chest, placing it over their Hearts.

Then, with a loud and zealous cry, they shouted:

""FOR THE GOOD OF HUMANITY!""

Hilda grinned. "Again!"

""FOR THE GOOD OF HUMANITY!""

"Another!"

""FOR THE GOOD OF HUMANITY!""

...

"Again, one more time!"

""FOR THE GOOD OF HUMANITY!""

Their voices rang out like a symphony, echoing over the ruins around them. Their gazes were now steeled with confidence and determination, tempered by Hilda’s speech.

Nadia, who watched all this happen, slowly placed a hand over her Heart as well, but not to salute. Instead, she was trying to understand the turmoil in her Heart — a conflict in her belief.

Since the day she and her mother were taken into the LCEO, she was constantly hammered with beliefs that those who worked in the government were corrupt and tyrannical, especially the LRM.

But now...

She stared intently at Hilda, conflicted. ’Uncle... are you sure that everyone in the LRM really is... all that cold and unfeeling?’

A second after she thought that, the battleships arrived at the docks, near the quayside.

Countless soldiers, wielding high-quality gear and intimidating cold weapons, exited the battleships — some carrying strainers as they rushed over.

After the soldiers marked a safe perimeter of the area, everyone was approached by a middle-aged man with slicked-back brown hair.

This was the man in charge of overseeing their exam, Herman Ritchel.

"Congratulations on passing the entrance exam, you’ve all done well. Rest easy now, we’ve got you."

After saying that, the soldiers around him immediately went to the injured and unconscious, setting them down on strainers before carrying them back to the battleship.

Nadia, who was also placed on a strainer, caught a glimpse of Hilda in the corner of her eye, watching as she handed something over to Herman Ritchel — having stored it in her coat.

It looked to be a plastic zip-lock bag, which was covered in blood. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell what was inside from the lighting and angle.

Her eyes then became half-closed, concern flashing through her eyes as she now realised the paleness in Hilda’s face.

’I wonder if she’s actually okay...’

Herman looked down at the plastic zip-lock bag before putting it away. "Alright, I’ll be sure to have it sent with proper care."

"Thank you..." Hilda responded sickly.

This concerned the man. "Would you like to make your way over to the ship first? We can talk again once I come back onboard."

Hilda shook her head slightly as she gave a wry smile. "That’s not something... I’m going to be able to do... I apologise in advance..."

Before the man could ask, Hilda’s arms suddenly dropped to her sides with her head lowering slightly as her eyes went blank.

’Is she—!’ Herman’s eyes widened with panic as he immediately checked Hilda’s pulse.

Once he determined that Hilda was still alive, he let out a small sigh of relief. He then marvelled at her current posture.

’To fall unconscious while standing...’ He smirked slightly. ’As expected of the Strongest Vitalist of this entire Generation...’

Herman then placed a hand on Hilda’s shoulder with a gentle gaze and whispered:

"You did a good job, Hilda. I wish you a good night..."

[End of Volume 1: The Beginning of a Heart]

***

A/N

Wow! Here it is, the end of volume one! It took a while, but we definitely got there. Who’d expect Hilda to be so good at giving speeches? And about unfairness, at that! xD

Anyway, I would love to thank those who have been reading up to this point and say how grateful I am for your support — it warms my Heart always to know someone is enjoying something I made.

If you would love for this story to continue going, please shower me with all the support you can. Powerstones, Golden Tickets, Gifts, even comments from time to time — it keeps me motivated!

And if you want even more incentives, the next volume will expand more into Hilda’s and Nadia’s relationship~... maybe even forming something~!

This will be the end of the author’s note now, so I hope you all have a good day or night! <3