NOVPUBThe traveler knew immediately when he saw Black Knife again that Black Knife had the key to his freedom. So the traveler pressured Black Knife into telling him.
Of course, Black Knife denied the claims that he had found a way to free them. But the traveler wasn't buying it. The traveler made a fuss and exposed the fact that Black Knife was up to something to the others.
According to the memory that flashed in Black Knife's mind when he reached this part of the story, the traveler had said, "If you don't help me, I won't let you get away with it. You either take me along with you, or we go down together."
Things didn't get better when the Merchant got involved. The merchant, Mirlo, could tell that Black Knife was lying based on the value of his words. The merchant also noticed that Black Knife's life had increased in value recently.
Previously, the value of his life had fallen after being enslaved. Now that the value of his life was recovering, it showed that he had the potential to regain his freedom.
There was no way the merchant was going to let Black Knife have his way secretly. So he, the giantess who heard the noise, and the traveler pressured Black Knife into telling them.
After Black Knife told them his plan, he had to make sure that no one would betray them. So he forced them to stay in the same room and looked out for everyone.
Black Knife thought to himself bitterly, "That fucking traveler. He ruined everything for me."
During that time, Black Knife had a high hope that the plan would work because the traveler could sense fortune in him. The merchant also corroborated this.
Legion-2 chuckled and said to him, "Unfortunately, the bigger the hope, the bigger the fall."
While they were teasing Black Knife, the giantess was crying.
Only the giantess still lay on the ground. The others had stood up and recovered somewhat from the pain. But the giantess was in a fetal position on the ground sobbing.
She cried and said, "I can't accept this."
Legion snickered and said, "You don't have a choice in the matter. The strong do what they want, while the weak do what they must."
She shook her. "I can't accept it. I won't accept it."
Legion was amused by her reaction, but they became serious when they saw the resolution in her mind. They could have stopped what she was about to do, but they didn't because she was determined.
Whatever they did to stop her now won't solve the root of the problem. It would only be a temporary fix.
In fact, it would have made things worse. So they watched her as she took her blade and cut her throat.
Their eyes twitched, and they frowned where they were in the basement of their house as this happened.
Legion-1 said, "It seems we broke her mind."
Legion-5 said in amazement, "I am actually impressed with her. Many people know that there is freedom in death, but how many people can actually seek death wholeheartedly?"
She was so determined to die that if they had tried to stop her by distracting her with pain, she would have tried to kill herself soon after because the pain was already too much for her to bear. More pain would only prove that she was enslaved and push her towards death.
Black Knife had lost hope, but she had lost the will to live. Even so, they didn't like what had happened at all.
Her suicide meant that they had lost control of her. She had won a small victory over them in the end.
Maybe they would have snorted and thought little of her death if they were ignorant of the matter of life after death. But they know that death is not the end.
They know that she will return in the future in another body without memories of her ordeals in her previous life. It will be a clean slate for her.
So she has truly acquired freedom from them. That is worthy of a small victory at least.
Three of the other four fingers seemed to think so too. Amelia, Mirlo, and the traveler were full of admiration for the giantess.
Their respect for her soared to its highest point. But they themselves were too much of cowards to do what she did.
However, their boss didn't think what she did was special. He actually looks down on her suicide and calls it an act of admitting defeat.
Legion narrowed their eyes when they read this thought from his mind. They sneered to themselves and said, "As expected. He hasn't given up yet. He is waiting for us to die."
Legion knew what they were all thinking, so they didn't care that some of them still had rebellious intentions. In fact, in light of the recent suicide, rebellious intentions are not so bad. At the very least, it represents a will to live.
A suicidal slave is of no use to them. Actually, a suicidal slave can drag their master down with them before they kill themselves.
In order to curb that, Legion lied to the other four, "I am not a wicked master. I am fair and just."
"Have I punished you just for fun? Did I not allow you to own property? Did I not share the loot from our previous operations together with you? Did I restrict your freedom? Did I trample on you?"
"You know the answers to those questions. And if you answered those questions truthfully, you will come to the conclusion that I am not a wicked master."
"I am fair and just. I punish transgressions and reward meritorious deeds. I have a mission for you. If you perform well in it, I will grant you your freedom. This I swear."
None of them believed that he would let them go. They were not children. They might not be the most intelligent beings, but they know that it will be easier and better if he kills them after using them.
