Leon led a team rushing into the camp, exchanging fire with the gang leaders' guards in the darkness.
The young children were brave; their blood still ran hot.
But the gang members were numerous and ruthless. Even if the Midnight Phantoms could win, many would die, which would severely undermine Curze's foundation.
So he chose the safest tactic.
Leon and his team didn't need to face every enemy. They only had to capture and hold the gates, preventing anyone from escaping this hell.
Curze would hunt in the darkness. The gangs, driven by fear, would be funneled toward the gates, crashing into the Midnight Phantoms' defenses, leaving corpses scattered in a storm of death.
With their leaders dead, no one commanded them; everyone was only thinking of survival.
Anyone trying to lead others against the Midnight Phantoms' line would be Curze's first target. His efficiency in killing surpassed everyone else combined.
Then the battle would end.
Vik collapsed to the ground, blood spilling from his mouth.
He had bravely blocked a group of thugs who nearly broke through the first line, killing many with his laser gun.
But he had also been hit by bullets; his shoulders ached, his thighs burned, his heart pounded.
He stared at the sky, pitch black.
He knew he was dying. He just didn't know what he was hoping for.
His consciousness blurred, and he seemed to see a pale giant.
Weakly, he asked, "Are my sins forgiven?"
"The sins you committed are forgiven, but your original sin is not."
Hearing this, a smile spread across his face. He was ecstatic.
"I'm sorry, sir."
Even as he drifted into unconsciousness, he apologized for his unatoned original sin.
The rescue team organized by the girls cried as they lifted him onto a metal stretcher, but all they could do was stitch his wounds with relatively clean cloth and hope for the best.
Curze intercepted them, plunging his hand into Vik's wound and extracting the bullets left inside.
Leon silently stepped in front of Curze, his face streaked with blood.
It wasn't all his own; some belonged to enemies, some to Ben, who had lost both hands protecting him.
Curze said, "Sacrifices are inevitable in the pursuit of justice."
"I know." Leon looked up at the pale giant. "I just want to ask… is it worth it?"
"Yes. I promise."
Satisfied with the answer, Leon silently walked away to tend to Ben.
Hatred?
Long gone.
He believed they were walking the right path. His only regret was that his father hadn't died sooner, so there wouldn't be any barriers between him and the others.
"Will they survive?" Curze asked.
The Midnight Phantoms had never suffered such casualties. A single gang could not stop Curze's slaughter; others faced little pressure.
He could see their futures, but these futures conflicted.
He saw them miraculously recover, and he saw them die from infection, far deadlier than the wounds themselves.
Caelan said, "They will."
Curze exhaled, though he kept his face cold.
He noticed the smile on Caelan's face and turned his head.
"I want to go to the upper levels. The nobles won't let this go; they'll retaliate against the Midnight Phantoms."
"Afraid?" Caelan asked bluntly.
Curze remained silent, then nodded.
He was afraid.
Alone, he feared nothing. He didn't fear death, and he wouldn't die.
But the Midnight Phantoms included many others. They were his foundation. They didn't fear death either, but they would die.
The gangs of the underhive were the lowest layer of the city. News of the Midnight Phantoms' failure would quickly reach the upper levels.
He had seen in the future that the lower hive gangs would launch a large-scale attack on the underhive. They were more numerous and better equipped. Curze could kill many, but he could save no one.
The Midnight Phantoms would gradually be eaten away; many would die, and his foundation would collapse.
He could not allow the nobles to make the underhive the battlefield. He needed to open a new front in the lower hive. If that failed, then the upper hive, up to the spire.
To passively endure would only lead to destruction. He had to strike first.
Caelan smiled.
"Admitting your weakness isn't shameful. Only the arrogant believe everything is under control, like your father. Then let's go to the lower hive. I'll go with you."
"Not just us," Curze said. "The Midnight Phantoms will go too. Justice is needed in the lower hive."
"And the underhive? Who will you leave in charge?"
Hundreds of gang leaders in the underhive were dead, but their foundations remained. The gangs still existed. The Midnight Phantoms could slowly dismantle them.
"Leon has leadership talent and conviction. There's no one more suitable."
Curze had decided to go to the lower hive, but he still had time to clean up the underhive gangs.
He couldn't eradicate all of the underhive's crimes personally, but he could confiscate or destroy every gang's weapons.
Children were lambs before adults. But children with weapons were as lethal as armed adults; adults without weapons were lambs before armed children.
Whoever wields the weapons wields the law.
…
"I'm sorry," Dorothy said quietly.
Caelan replied, "It's not your fault. With or without you, the Midnight Phantoms and the nobles' interests are fundamentally at odds."
From their first meeting, he had seen that Dorothy wasn't of the lower tiers. Her culture, knowledge, manner, and beauty did not belong to the underhive.
"I hid my identity. I thought they'd leave me alone."
Dorothy looked bitter. She had come to the underhive, so why wouldn't they let her be?
Curze shook his head. Dorothy was a good person, but far too naive.
Without Caelan and Curze, the small flame she ignited would soon be snuffed out.
Yet she was still great. That flame became the foundation upon which Curze built the walls.
One day, that flame would ignite the entire world, dispelling the darkness that shrouded Nostramo.
Curze told Leon, "After I leave, don't expand further. If the lower hive gangs launch a large-scale attack, you can abandon other territories and wait for my return. Preserve people, lose territory, territory remains.
Leon's face remained cold. "Lose people, preserve territory, territory lost. Caelan taught me this. You don't have to repeat it. I value my comrades' lives more than you do!"
Curze didn't argue; Leon was right.
He wanted to preserve the Midnight Phantoms because they were the means by which he would achieve justice. For justice, he could sacrifice anyone in the Midnight Phantoms.
The core of the Midnight Phantoms was always the Bloodclaw Gang's territory. Curze planned to use the gang's elevator to reach the lower hive.
The underhive couldn't control the elevator's operation.
But Curze didn't need it, he could climb slowly on his own.