SCIAW: Chapter 116/117

Chapter 116: The Problem of Human Nature

After the special forces completed the clearing operation, the regular officers from the Metropolitan Police Department moved in to investigate the back mountain.

Naturally, Inspector Megure was among them.

"…"

Even with his years of experience on the force, the scene before him left him speechless.

He had seen many gruesome crime scenes throughout his career.

But this... this was different.

Seeing the lifeless bodies of middle-aged victims was already tragic enough.

But now, several of those corpses belonged to children.

The horror of that realization made his stomach churn.

Megure lowered the brim of his hat.

"It looks like things on this island are far more complicated than I thought."

He had initially assumed that once the drug dealers were subdued, the remaining work would simply involve collecting evidence related to drug production.

Confiscating the drugs and dismantling the equipment should've been the straightforward next step.

But he'd underestimated the scale of the crime.

What lay before him wasn't just about illegal drugs.

They were dealing with a massacre, dozens of innocent lives, snuffed out in the name of experimentation.

He approached one of the lab tables and examined the sheets of paper pinned to its surface.

Chemical formulas and data were scrawled across the pages.

The cold, clinical precision of the text contrasted with the brutality of the acts committed here.

There were no names listed, only numerical designations.

But the patterns clearly referred to test subjects.

Human subjects.

Megure clenched his teeth so hard his jaw ached.

He was a police officer, he'd seen his fair share of human cruelty.

But this crossed into something else entirely.

Even so, he knew he couldn't let his emotions cloud his judgment.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his phone and dialed his superior.

The line connected after a few seconds.

"Superintendent Matsumoto, sir. The clearing operation has been completed."

"Good work, Megure," came Matsumoto Kiyonaga's voice from the other end.

Megure hesitated before continuing. "Sir... the back mountain was indeed a drug dealer's base. We've confirmed it was being used as a drug manufacturing lab."

"…"

The brief pause from Matsumoto told Megure that his superior was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"There's more, isn't there?" Matsumoto asked, his voice low.

"Yes."

Megure steeled himself.

"In the basement of the drug lab... we discovered a hidden facility."

"There were dozens of bodies, sir. Men, women... the elderly... even children."

"We're certain the drug dealers were using living people to test new drug formulas."

"What!?"

Matsumoto Kiyonaga's voice shot through the phone like a bullet.

Live human experiments?

On that scale?

The implications made his mind reel.

Drug dealers had always treated drug trafficking as a profit-driven enterprise.

But now, it seemed they'd crossed a line, moving from distribution into experimentation.

The goal? Developing new drugs at the cost of innocent lives.

Who the hell gave them the audacity to try something like this?

Matsumoto's grip tightened around the receiver.

This wasn't something they could quietly sweep under the rug.

The Metropolitan Police Department had already mobilized significant resources for the raid. The public would be expecting answers.

And, more worryingly, if the data from these experiments had already been shared with other drug syndicates...

The consequences could be catastrophic.

"Megure, secure the scene," Matsumoto ordered, his voice sharp.

"I need a full, detailed report as soon as possible."

"Understood, sir."

The line went dead.

Megure lowered the phone and looked around the lab.

The stench of death clung to the air.

The corpses hadn't fully decayed yet, but their contorted expressions and visible wounds told the story of their suffering.

"These victims..." he muttered to himself.

"They were locals. People from Tsukikage Island."

He knew what had to be done.

Identifying each victim, one by one, was going to be a painstaking process.

But it was the only way to bring closure to the families left behind and to build an airtight case against those responsible.

He sighed and rubbed his temples.

Today was supposed to be his day off.

He'd planned to spend the weekend relaxing at home with his wife.

But now...

He'd be lucky to make it home before next week.

"Looks like I'll need to apologize to her later," he muttered, forcing himself to focus.

---

After resting for a while, the girls at the hot spring hotel seemed to be in slightly better condition.

Unfortunately, none of them had much of an appetite left after what they'd witnessed.

"Ugh… I feel awful…"

Chika groaned. After vomiting so many times, even her stomach acid was gone.

Her limbs felt weak, and she could only lean against Ren for support.

Being close to him was the only thing keeping her fear and nausea at bay.

Ren let out a quiet sigh.

He gently patted her back, just as he'd done earlier, hoping it would help ease her discomfort.

"This is why I said some things aren't meant for you to see."

"Ugh... yeah… I definitely get that now."

Chika finally understood how out of her depth she'd been.

It wasn't about gender or age.

There are just some scenes that the human mind isn't built to process.

Even now, when she closed her eyes, the images of those mangled corpses haunted her.

The bodies of those children, especially, were burned into her memory.

"What kind of torture did those kids go through?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

Ren gently tapped her forehead with his knuckles.

"Don't dwell on that," he said softly.

"Trying to imagine what those kids experienced without any concrete information will only drag you into endless mental exhaustion."

"If you obsess over it too much... you might end up with lasting psychological damage."

Chika rubbed her forehead where he'd tapped her and reluctantly abandoned the thought.

"Okay... so what should we focus on instead?"

The question seemed to resonate with everyone else.

The others, who had been silently processing the horror they'd seen, turned their attention toward Amamiya Ren.

"What we should be focusing on," he said, "is how to hold on to our humanity."

"Humanity?" Chika repeated, confused.

"Wait... are you saying the drug dealers lost their humanity?"

"Exactly," Ren replied, nodding.

He turned to look at Shinomiya Kaguya.

"Shinomiya-san, remember what I said to you earlier?"

Kaguya's expression shifted as the memory surfaced.

"You said... that once someone gains power, they'll start pushing past the limits of their humanity without even realizing it."

"That's right," Ren confirmed.

She lowered her gaze.

It hadn't even been that long since she'd obtained the Ice-Ice Fruit and her first instinct had been to think about how it could help her escape the constraints of her family.

"Humanity isn't just about morals or kindness," Ren continued.

"It's about empathy."

"Once someone loses the ability to empathize with others, they stop being human."

"Without empathy, there's nothing left but instinct, desire, and a hunger for more power."

The room grew heavy with silence again.

"But... if they lose their humanity, aren't they still technically human?" Ran asked hesitantly.

Ren shook his head.

"No."

"Someone who discards their humanity in pursuit of power isn't human anymore."

"They're just monsters that happen to look like people."

The words sent chills through everyone present.

Monsters.

The drug dealers they had seen earlier fit that description perfectly.

They had looked like ordinary people but their actions had proven how little of their humanity remained.

Ren's gaze sharpened.

"This isn't just a philosophical debate," he said.

"It's directly tied to the path I'm walking."

"The path of Sequence... is the path of human nature."

Even gods, after all, needed an anchor to hold on to their humanity.

Sequence 0 wasn't the end.

It was simply the stage where one became powerful enough to bear the responsibility of retaining their humanity, no matter the temptation.

Because once someone became consumed by their powers...

They stopped being the master of their abilities.

And became the slave of the power itself.

_________
Chapter 117: Self-Discipline Is Not Weakness

"Human nature... it's not something that's easily defined."

"I'm not some well-read philosopher or a scholar with sophisticated theories. I'm just an ordinary person."

"My understanding of human nature is shallow, at best. Nothing profound."

Amamiya Ren spoke with calm honesty.

He wasn't here to impress anyone with complex theories or elegant rhetoric.

He was simply sharing his own perspective, one built through experience and observation.

"To me, human nature is closely tied to desire."

"People without desires have, in essence, lost their humanity. I honestly don't think there's anyone out there completely devoid of desire."

He paused, his eyes reflecting a quiet intensity.

"Maybe... not even gods can be free from desire."

"If gods were truly without desires, they wouldn't need faith. They wouldn't crave power."

"And without power and faith... would we even still call them gods?"

"So, even gods possess human nature in some form."

"That's why I believe that emotions and desires are the clearest expressions of human nature."

The room grew silent as everyone processed his words.

But then, Ren's tone shifted slightly.

"Of course, I'm not talking about unchecked desires or out-of-control emotions."

"I'm talking about desires and emotions that remain under our control."

"Once someone lets their desires run rampant, they stop being human."

"They become beasts, driven solely by instinct."

"That's why humans are such complicated creatures."

"The line between us and beasts isn't just intelligence or speech—it's self-restraint."

"Self-restraint is the very core of what makes us human."

His words carried a weight that resonated deeply.

People weren't human simply because of biology.

They were human because they could impose limits on themselves because they could act on reason instead of pure instinct.

"If a wild animal ever came to understand mortality the way we do, it would start developing something akin to human nature as well."

"And if that happened... that creature would eventually begin evolving toward humanity."

He exhaled slowly.

"The same principle applies to the path of Sequence."

"Even the gods that reach Sequence 0 need anchors to hold on to their humanity."

"Without that anchor... they fall into madness."

"Power without restraint is like a ship without a rudder."

"The stronger someone becomes, the more important it is for them to remember who they are and what they stand for."

Ren fell quiet.

He wasn't certain how Sequence 0 gods managed to maintain their sanity.

He only knew one thing:

If he ever abandoned his own sense of self, the power would eventually consume him.

He refused to live like a beast.

After he finished speaking, the weight of his words lingered in the air.

Kaguya's gaze was thoughtful.

"...Amamiya," Kaguya finally said, her voice hesitant.

"If we have to maintain our humanity... then what's the point of pursuing power in the first place?"

The others shifted uncomfortably.

They'd been wondering the same thing.

Ren turned toward her and gave a knowing nod.

"You're wondering why we chase after power if we have to constantly hold ourselves back, right?"

Kaguya nodded.

"Exactly. If we can't even use our strength without restraint, doesn't that defeat the purpose?"

The room held its breath as Ren smiled faintly.

And then, he said something that left them completely stunned:

"Self-discipline doesn't mean you're supposed to feel aggrieved."

The girls exchanged confused glances.

"What do you mean?" Kaguya asked.

"Self-restraint doesn't mean you have to sit back and tolerate being bullied," Amamiya Ren explained.

"When someone crosses the line, when someone provokes you, you absolutely should respond with the full weight of your strength."

"But what makes you human is what comes afterward."

"After punishing the one who provoked you, you don't let yourself get drunk on that feeling of power."

"When you encounter people like that, the best thing to do is step on their face and make sure they understand that provoking you was the worst decision they ever made."

"Shinomiya-san, you should know that bottling up your emotions too often can lead to psychological issues."

"For your own mental well-being, you need to learn how to retaliate—within reason—so you can feel at ease afterward."

"Enduring everything without pushing back will only hurt you in the long run."

Kaguya froze.

She had never heard someone put it this way before.

"Think about it. Buddhism says that 'a butcher can become a Buddha the moment they lay down their blade.'"

"But Taoism says, 'If someone wants to become a Buddha, let them. As for me... I have no such intention.'"

"In other words, Shinomiya-san, you need to adjust your mindset."

"If someone bullies you, don't just sit there and take it, bully them back."

"That's what power is for."

Ren's voice was calm, but his words struck a chord with everyone present.

Of course, he wasn't advocating for mindless aggression.

When you had no power, adopting a "Buddhist" attitude, one of non-interference was the best approach.

But once you possessed the strength to act, it became equally important to follow your heart when dealing with provocations.

Power was meant to be used—not hoarded.

"After all," he added with a slight shrug, "it's not like I haven't meddled in other people's affairs before."

"Besides... who said the pursuit of power was meaningless?"

"Huh?" Kaguya blinked, confused.

The shift in topic caught her off guard.

She was still trying to process his earlier words.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You asked earlier if there was any point in seeking power when you have to restrain yourself."

"Well, I'd argue that, especially for girls, power has a very clear, tangible benefit."

"...A benefit for girls?" Kaguya tilted her head.

The others, sensing something interesting, leaned in closer.

Ren smirked.

"When you reach a certain level of strength, something interesting happens."

"The stronger you become, the more your body changes to accommodate that strength."

"With greater mastery over your powers... comes an extension of your lifespan."

The girls froze.

"Longevity might sound mythical, but it's not."

"Eternal life is nearly impossible... but living significantly longer? That's absolutely achievable."

Kaguya's eyes widened.

"Longevity?" she repeated.

"Exactly." Ren nodded.

"As your power grows, your body and mind adapt."

"Reaching the point where you could live for centuries isn't unrealistic."

"And if you're lucky, true immortality might even be within reach."

Silence.

Longevity. Immortality.

Concepts they'd always associated with fairy tales were suddenly being presented as attainable goals.

The weight of his words settled over the group.

For a moment, no one spoke.

And then—

"Wait… wait, wait, WAIT!"

Chika, who had been slouched against Ren in exhaustion, suddenly shot up.

Her cheeks, which had been pale from her earlier nausea, flushed a bright, healthy pink.

"Did you just say... IMMORTALITY?!"

"That's right," Ren said with a chuckle.

Chika's eyes sparkled.

"Eternal youth?!" she squeaked.

Ren shrugged again.

"With enough power? Yes. That's entirely possible."

The entire conversation about self-discipline, restraint, and responsibility evaporated in an instant.

The girls' expressions shifted from solemn contemplation to burning curiosity.

Because now...

They'd just discovered the ultimate incentive to seek power.

Longevity. Immortality. Eternal youth.