Entering the Dungeon Instance, Soma surveyed the surroundings.
Dark, damp, and even a faint smell lingering in the air.
All these reminded Soma that this was not a good place.
In the corner opposite, some dry grass was piled up.
On the dry grass lay a figure.
A slight snoring sound came from it.
A voice echoed in Soma's mind.
[Instance Mission: The Confusion of Liver.]
[Mission Reward: Materials for Water Dragon Possession.]
[Would you like to accept the mission?]
"Accept!"
The next moment, a scene appeared in front of Soma.
A middle-aged man, lofty and holding a high position in the Empire as a general.
The middle-aged man was loyal to the country, loyal to his position.
For the country, he could sacrifice his life.
However, just because he did not bribe the Prime Minister like others, he was falsely accused and thrown into prison, falling from grace in an instant.
Soon after, a woman with long blue hair came to the prison and pulled the middle-aged man out.
Since then, the middle-aged man became a subordinate of the woman.
Apart from admiring the woman, all the middle-aged man had left was the pursuit of power.
Until the middle-aged man met a young man whom he admired.
He used to be a soldier of the Empire, but later turned into a member of a rebellious assassin organization.
The middle-aged man fought the youth. In a battle where both were wounded, the youth was killed.
But at the same time, the middle-aged man lost his life too.
At the moment of death, the middle-aged man was very confused.
He didn't know why he had lived this life.
He didn't know if what he had done was right or wrong.
He didn't know what the world would become in the future.
The youth's words before his death had an impact on the middle-aged man.
"Can you answer my doubts?"
The scene disappeared.
The figure in the corner opened its eyes, stood up, and looked at Soma.
It was Liver, whom Soma had just seen in the previous scene.
Regarding Liver, Soma doesn't know much.
The scenes presented are basically what Soma knows happened from the anime.
At first, when Soma saw the blueprint for Water Dragon Possession, he thought that this might be an opportunity to verify whether the world of Akame Ga Kill had been influenced by him.
But now, Soma is not sure if he can verify it.
"Okay!"
Soma replied.
Regardless of his answer, whether Liver is satisfied or not, he had to agree first.
"Regarding this question, I think only the future can answer you."
Liver was stunned for a moment.
"Do you know the future of our world?"
Soma nodded.
"In the future, your Empire's Little Emperor is defeated, the Prime Minister is killed, the decadent country completely decays, but on this rotten land, a new country is born."
"In this new country, governance is orderly, and people live in peace," Soma briefly described.
Liver paused for a moment.
"What about Esdeath-sama?"
"She's dead."
Soma wasn't sure if this Dungeon Instance corresponded to the manga or the anime.
But regardless, Esdeath's fate was death.
After being defeated, she froze herself with her freezing power.
Then shattered, turning into countless particles of ice dust.
Liver's pupils contracted.
"Who could kill Esdeath-sama?"
"Do you remember the subordinate you once admired?"
"Bulat?"
Soma nodded.
"It was Bulat's comrades who defeated Esdeath."
Liver fell silent for a while.
Not long after, speaking slowly and softly.
"The Little Emperor was defeated, the Prime Minister died, Esdeath-sama died too... After the Empire fell, and the revolutionary army won, did that world really become better?"
"Will there never be any more wrongful accusations?"
"Can the world become fair?"
"Just because they won, does it mean what they did was right?"
"Does it mean Bulat's persistence was right?"
As he spoke, his voice grew louder, as if trying to convince himself with the volume of his voice.
Soma said,
"It's certain that things will improve. The kingdom during the reign of the Little Emperor and the Prime Minister could be considered the bottom of the barrel for a kingdom. Even if the new kingdom is still bad, it is still going to be better than the current one."
"Whether there can be absolute fairness, whether there will never be any more wrongful accusations, I can't guarantee."
"No world has absolute fairness."
"No kingdom is without darkness."
"But in these aspects, the new kingdom will definitely be better than the old Empire."
"As for what you said, that just because they won doesn't mean what they did was right, doesn't mean Bulat's persistence was right, isn't that your own point of view?"
"You admired Esdeath because of her strength."
"You pursue power because you want to win, don't you?"
Liver paused.
Indeed, he was pursuing power, believing that strength meant correctness.
Power meant victory.
Since the revolutionary army won, then the correct side should be the revolutionary army.
And judging from Soma's description of the civilians in the new kingdom, it also proved what Bulat said: joining the revolutionary army for the sake of the civilians was the right choice.
No matter from which perspective, Bulat's choice seemed more correct than his own.
"But do I have other choices?"
"That's a question you have to ask yourself. If you followed Esdeath out of gratitude, then dying by Bulat's hand should leave you with no regrets."
"If you pursued power, then you also shouldn't have any regrets," Soma said.
"If you want to change that dirty Empire, then obviously, your choice is wrong."
"No one demands that a person must live up to certain standards."
"You can be a hero, or a criminal, or nothing at all."
"Understanding what you truly want is enough."
Soma's words left Liver lost in thought.
After a long while, Liver looked deeply at Soma.
"What you said makes sense."
"I followed Esdeath-sama partly out of gratitude for saving me, but more so because I realized her strength."
"Deep down, I'm actually afraid."
"I fear such things happening to me again."
"So I disguise myself with gratitude."
"But when it comes to pursuing power, I am serious."
"But in my heart, I didn't have Bulat's thoughts of fighting for the people, for fairness, for justice. I only wanted the strength to survive."
"I just want to seek revenge against that person."
"In my heart, I've masked myself with a layer of righteousness."
"I'm hypocritical, selfish, even deceiving myself."
Liver took a deep breath.
"Now, I understand."
"I, indeed, am not like Bulat."
"Now that the Prime Minister is dead, the Empire has collapsed, and even Esdeath-sama is dead, I have nothing to be confused about, nothing to be unresolved, nothing to regret."
"Thank you for helping me see myself."
A voice echoed in Soma's mind.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission.]
[Would you like to leave the Dungeon Instance?]
However, Soma didn't leave immediately. Instead, he looked at Liver and asked, "Can I ask you a question?"
"What question?"
"What do you think of Dr. Stylish?"
Regarding the Dungeon Instance of the World of Akame Ga Kill, Soma had entered three tiemes.
One was Akame's Regret, one was Dr. Stylish's Ambition, and the third was the present one.
Regarding Akame's situation, apart from the fact that the young girl and her family were saved, there probably wouldn't be much change.
Therefore, Soma asked about Dr. Stylish.
A Dr. Stylish who, when he was young, witnessed the forging of a Teigu, was inspired, and gained insight, was likely to have changed somewhat compared to before.
"Dr. Stylish? The Dr. Stylish from the Empire Research Institute?"
Soma didn't know what the Empire Research Institute was, but nodded.
"I don't know much about this person, but I've heard that he has a paranoid love for research and forging, and spends all day in the research institute without going out."
Upon hearing this, Soma was certain.
His actions within the Dungeon Instance indeed would affect the corresponding world.
In the original plot, Dr. Stylish didn't spend all day in the research institute.
Instead, he would operate as a member of the Jaegers.
The fact that Liver didn't mention this at the moment indicated that Dr. Stylish seemed to have made different choices in this regard.
Having obtained the answer, Soma didn't linger any longer.
"Leave!"
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