g himself to become selfish .

Creating such an excuse, Haruto kept running away from Rio .

Indeed, he was a pragmatist .

He resolved to never lose self-control .

He resolved to not act on instincts or emotions .

It did not necessarily mean he would be an intrinsically good person, but at least one who would not bring trouble onto others .

If everybody acted like so, surely the world would become a better place .

Wouldn’t that be awfully lovely?

However, even if he lived by such a principle, the world would not follow suit .

He was forcedly made to realise that the world was cruel and unforgiving .

Even seemingly good people held a perverted sense of value .

Life was cheap and malice prevailed .

Greed and emotions made people direct malice towards others .

When one encounters another acting maliciously, they will have no choice but to act human . 2

One cannot help but act on desires and emotions .

It is an unavoidable fate .

Rio had encountered several such incidents so far as well .

During each and every one of those times, Rio repressed his desires to protect himself .

Every time he recalled any of the incidents, it left a bitter taste .

Surely, deep down, he understood that it was only a human reaction after all .

If one were to carefully analyze it, revenge was but a concentrated lump of instincts and desires .

It was a fact he could not deny but at the same time, he did not want to face .

He would become evasive whenever the thought of revenge crept into his mind; he did not want to admit the ugliness existing inside him .

Although he bore a grudge against the man who lived according to his desires and instincts, to also live in accordance with his own desires and instincts—

Impossible .

That was not something he could live with .

However, after experience the turbulence of emotions that day, Rio could not help but notice his hypocrisy .

He was also a human who lived in accordance with his desires and instincts .

When he understood that, he became aware of something cold, something sinister, dwelling within him .

Even now he still wanted to continue exercising strict self-restraint, to still live as a rational human being .

However, now that he realised he was merely just like any other human being—

Not wanting to face his ugliness and only licking his wounds like a hypocrite, it was no longer a kind of life he wanted to lead .

The world was cruel yet he wanted to follow the most comfortable route in life .

Therefore, from here on out, even if he faces hell itself, he will not run away .

He will make decisions based on necessity because he was, and will remain, human no matter how hard he tries .

He will not mind getting his hands dirty if the situation calls for it .

He will no longer go easy on his opponents .

He will no longer run away from the ugliness within him .

Even if all this resolve was just for self-satisfaction, he was going to see them through .

Any sins, any hell, he will shoulder all of it .

He will not run away anymore .

He will no longer try justifying his actions .

For now, Rio decided to return to Strahl to finish his business there .

As long as that man dies, he does not care if he is killed as well .

However, if he survives, he will atone for his sins .

He was irresponsibly advancing ahead .

This was farewell .

Farewell with his former weak self .

Finally, he could proudly say that this was a sincere wish he decided all by himself .

On that day, with renewed determination, discarding his former powerless self, his former grievances, Rio was born anew .