NOVPUB"You're despicable!" Samar said through gritted teeth.
"I have to do this," Nick said. "This is not for me, but for humanity."
"What self-righteous words!" Samar spat. "How is taking an entire city hostage in any way related to the good of humanity?!"
"Because you are worth it," Nick answered.
"What?" Samar asked with a shocked sneer. She looked like somebody had just complimented her on how good her breasts were and how good it would feel to touch them.
It was disgusting!
"Aria said you are not like Vernon," Nick said. "She knows what your goal is, and despite knowing that, she believes that you value humanity greatly."
Samar looked with absolute disgust at Nick. "And that's why you're taking the entire city hostage?! To force me into compliance?!"
"Yes," Nick answered. "I need to validate her claim. I need to see your true self."
"Your deduction skills are terrifying, which makes you valuable to humanity. Having you as humanity's ally would be very beneficial." 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
"The chance of recruiting you outweighs the risks placed on Crimson City."
Samar snorted. "You sound like the self-righteous people of Aegis."
"They speak of the good for humanity and let the people in their cities suffer. They are building their utopia on the corpses of countless helpless people."
"Based on Wyntor's words, you were not like that."
"Wyntor said that you wanted to improve the lives of the common people. He said that you didn't share that ideology."
"It seems like he was wrong."
Samar's words stung.
For the first time in a long while, Nick felt anger welling up inside.
Luckily, Nick was a Specter, which meant it was much easier to control his emotions since they were much weaker.
"Look up Water Pillar City on the database," Nick said.
Samar looked at him with furrowed brows but decided to play along for now.
She read the entry, which stated that Water Pillar City underwent a major change several years ago,and that change benefitted the normal humans of the city immensely."
"So what? You've helped one city while dooming another."
"Look up Brightclear City," Nick said.
Over the next minutes, Nick gave one city name after another.
Every single time, the city was changed tremendously, and the changes always benefitted the normal people.
After 20 cities, Samar's resolve wavered.
"I have hundreds," Nick said. "I can give you names for several hours, and you will see that they are all the same."
"Name another," Samar said.
Nick did just that.
After the fortieth city, Samar believed him.
"I've changed hundreds of cities for the better. I exposed and killed almost a hundred servants of the Corruptors. I lured out Pride so that the Knife may kill it. I lured out Lust so that the Right Arm might kill it. I lured out the Envious Researcher so that the Champion of Light may kill it." ⱤÃ
