We Are the Same

"So, are you planning to put on an exhibition, carrying a display case around with you? Don't you get tired, Karen?" "I used to find it a bit troublesome, but now it's basically resolved. After all, it's all been ordered." "I realize I made a mistake. From the start, I shouldn't have asked you, let alone continued asking deeper questions. I carried a ladder over and asked what you were doing standing in front of the wall, and you climbed up the ladder I brought, mounted a lamp on the wall, and flipped the switch, blinding my eyes with the glare." "Squadron Leader, is there any possibility that the person who flipped the switch was actually yourself?" "I will find a way to purge all the power of Light from my body, because I've always firmly believed that my faith belongs to Order." "Most of the time, it's not about what a person says, but what they do." "Phew. I think we ought to find a suitable opportunity to spar and exchange combat techniques. The urge to guide your progress is burning furiously in my heart like a blaze." "Thank you, Squadron Leader. So, for right now?" "For right now, hurry up and find something suitable so we can go 'down' and see what the hell is going on up 'above.'" "So it comes back to multiple-choice. The family faith system can't be used, and Ancestor Allen can't be used either. Both are too conspicuous." Neo said, "Dark Moon Island has already pledged allegiance to Order, the Sea God Religion has fractured, and as for the Church of Samsara, anyone with half a brain knows they couldn't possibly be stirring up trouble right now." This incident was highly unusual. Once they chose to intervene, they would likely attract scrutiny; even if they weren't caught red-handed on the spot, follow-up investigations were bound to come. Therefore, selecting an appropriate identity was of paramount importance. Karen nodded and said, "Then two Light remnants acting together?" At this stage, among the orthodox churches—especially in the eyes of the Church of Order—the remnants of Light felt like the world's foremost terrorist organization. They could appear anywhere, commit any atrocity, and pinning every crime and motive on them made complete sense. The Church of Order was eager to lay every threat and sacrilegious crime at the feet of the Light remnants, and the Light remnants certainly wouldn't refuse; quite the contrary, even if they hadn't done it, they were more than happy to claim credit. "Two Light remnants? Wouldn't that be a bit too monotonous?" "Wait, Squadron Leader, what do you mean by monotonous?" "I mean a single cluster of light in the dark of night is enough. A light source usually doesn't like having another light source trailing right beside it, if you catch my drift." "That's what you care about?" "I think you could try this coil of mosquito incense—the one brought out from the Gate of Samsara. Nobody knows about it anyway." "Can I only stand in your shadow, Captain?" Karen asked with a smile. "No, I am the Light; I illuminate you." "Very well, Captain." "What's with that tone? Why does it sound like you're humoring an elderly relative with dementia?" "It's not as if that started today." "All right, time is short. Let's begin." A layer of Light aura radiated across Neo's body. He took a step forward and plummeted straight downward. Karen looked at the Thousand Phantoms in his hand and said, "You should be able to see that door inside me. I can establish a contract without being inside the Gate of Samsara, but all of this depends on your performance. Right now, I need to borrow your strength." The Thousand Phantoms instantly stretched out its body, coiling around Karen before sinking into his back. A faint black mist immediately rose from Karen's body. Intense negative emotions, such as bloodlust and savagery, violently assaulted Karen's mind, tinting his eyes with crimson. Yet in the next moment, Karen's eyes were covered by a layer of Order's blackness. When it dispersed, they were clear once more. Karen took a stride forward and dropped down. As he fell, a pair of black wings unfurled from his flanks, allowing him to execute a remarkably smooth glide before landing behind Neo. Neo said, "I seem to recall that among the spells of Light, there's also one that sprouts wings, but that's for dispelling negative attributes and projecting an aura of sanctity, not for actually flying." "Mine is its innate ability." Karen raised a hand toward Neo. In a flash, the Thousand Phantoms extended its torso, baring its hideous visage directly in front of Neo's face. "Heh, feels pretty good." "You mean its combat effectiveness? Shoving one's own head right in front of an opponent just waiting to be lopped off—how can such stupidity be called 'pretty good'?" "Cutting it won't kill it. It's a spirit body, and its tail remains anchored inside me. As long as I don't die, it won't die, unless you purify me along with it. And furthermore, let me see..." The chains of Order around Karen emerged and merged with the Thousand Phantoms' body. The wings behind him immediately gleamed with the luster of black metal, while the Thousand Phantoms' frame became markedly tougher, its head taking on the striking look of a king cobra. The Thousand Phantoms seemed to grow even more excited. Though this fusion placed it further under Karen's control, it distinctly felt itself growing stronger. At this moment, it was no longer a mere spirit body, but a ferocious beast possessing a formidable physical form. It immediately swung back around, hovered before Karen, and then wound itself around his neck, curling into a considerate scarf. At this time of year, the evenings were growing sweltering; wearing this scarf felt refreshingly cool and quite comfortable. Karen said to Neo, "When infused with the chains of Order, the Thousand Phantoms' abilities are enhanced even further." Neo looked at him. "We're here to investigate, understand? Maybe we could wrap up the fashion show for now?" "You were the one who suggested avoiding monotony in the first place, Squadron Leader." Karen lifted his chin, and the Thousand Phantoms retracted entirely into his body. Together, Karen and Neo stepped out of the alleyway and onto the street. "Karen, I have a feeling that what we discover tonight might get me incredibly excited. What about you?" "I want to head to the phone booth up ahead and make a call to check if my maid has been picked up yet." "Oh, damn it, I brought you another ladder!" *** "Purple pigs go to hell!" "Purple pigs go to hell!" This was a small neighborhood inhabited by purple-haired people. Here, they had established their own school. Though its teaching faculty was meager and unrecognized by the York City government, when a marginalized community gathered to a certain scale, they tended to spontaneously develop their own means of self-reliance. At this moment, a crowd of white-robed figures had appeared outside the school. They had intended to storm the building, but ran into trouble at the front gate and perimeter walls. The school had boarding facilities, meaning a considerable number of young students were already inside. When the violence broke out tonight, many neighboring purple-haired residents had gathered there as well. Most importantly, the school's principal, Mr. Tansei, was a staunch supporter of the purple-haired civil rights leader Mr. Luther and served as one of his close assistants. He had helped Mr. Luther organize numerous rallies, and his teachers and students frequently participated in such events. As a result, their organizational discipline was solid, completely unlike the disarray seen in other purple-haired enclaves. Brooms and mop handles had been sharpened into spears, desks were piled at the entrance as barricades, and broken classroom windowpanes had been gathered as throwing projectiles. Principal Tansei himself stood resolutely in the center holding a firearm—or rather, the starter pistol used by the physical education teacher for school track meets. During the first charge, the white-robed mob had surged forward while chanting raucous slogans, but were swiftly repelled. Relying on the gate and the perimeter wall, the teachers and students mounted a fierce counterattack. They hurled shards of glass without hesitation, turning many of the white-robed attackers into red-robed ones in an instant. Yet the failure of that initial assault did not dampen the Holy Fire Believers' determination to storm the school. Compared to the purple-haired laborers dwelling in factory quarters, shantytowns, or sewer drainage basins, these purple-haired youths active in an educational institution grated far more painfully against their pride. They ridiculed the lowly purple pigs for daring to pursue education, while secretly dreading that learning might truly grant them social mobility and a chance to prove their worth. It was a complex psychological knot, but it all culminated in a single objective: destroy their school! Not only that, but they sought to force the government through this violence to ban their schools and strip away their right to education. Soon, more and more white-robed figures gathered, swelling their numbers to three times the original count. The second assault began. Under Principal Tansei's command, the school repelled the invaders once more. Although the faculty and students paid a heavy price, the walls and gate remained in their hands. "Do not weep! Tears are our greatest burden at a time like this! We must stand firm, and we must confront them bravely! We are not here to demand favors; we are here to earn respect! "Since they have chosen to challenge us with blood and fire, we can only answer them in kind! "Everyone, stand up and get ready! They won't give up, and tonight is still very long!" *** In truth, the contest between the defenders inside the school and the attackers outside centered on the main gate and the front wall, because the other sections were unsuitable for a mass breach, even though individual people could slip through. Thus, while the Holy Fire Believers outside continued massing reinforcements, many neighboring purple-haired residents armed with kitchen knives and iron pipes spontaneously scaled the rear wall to join the defense. They knew that once the school fell, those white-robed killers would march through its corridors and then turn their blades against everyone else on the block. It was precisely thanks to these fresh reinforcements that the school withstood a third wave of attacks. Principal Tansei quietly lit a cigarette, his gaze fixed intently on the street outside. *** Outside, six white-robed individuals shed their robes, exposing their purple hair. Purple hair was merely their most conspicuous feature; in reality, racial differences were also clearly visible in skin tone and facial structure. In other words, even if someone shaved their head or dyed their hair, it was virtually impossible to match the locals in physical appearance. Unless one managed to shed their very skin. "Neka, are we really going to do this?" Neka turned to face his companions. "Listen, we have to do something to show our leaders, our employers, and our neighbors that even though we have purple hair, we are not like those swine! "If we do nothing, we deserve to be treated as inferior pigs by them. "We must use concrete action to show them that we stand with them, understand?" "Understood." "Understood." Neka nodded in satisfaction. His day job was as a male nurse at a nearby hospital. His status was legal because he had secured formal employment and held proper documentation. The companions with him were also orderlies from that same hospital, though their duties kept them in the morgue far more often than in the patient wards. Neka had been attending Holy Fire Believer gatherings for a long time. He had taken the stage to speak on numerous occasions, clutching his own purple hair as he shouted to the crowd below: "Before coming to Wien, I never imagined that such a magnificent land could exist in this world, where one can breathe such fresh, free air. "I am deeply ashamed of my hair, my skin, my race, and my origin! But I have not grown disheartened, nor have I surrendered to despair! Precisely because I understand the original sin I was born with, I must strive all the more toward the purification and elevation of my own soul! "From the bottom of my heart, I embrace the doctrine of the Holy Fire! From the bottom of my heart, I support the sentence of hell! "Those filthy, wretched, lowborn, despicable purple pigs deserve to go to hell!" Every time he shouted that final sentence, Neka was met with thunderous cheers and applause from below. At those moments, he felt validated; his soul felt glorious. He had never thought of cutting his purple hair, believing that doing so would be an act of cowardice and self-loathing. He wanted to live with confidence and strength. "Listen to me. Once we slip inside, you two stick with me and follow my lead. The rest of you, once we strike, find a way to clear the barricades and help open the gate. Understood?" "Understood!" "We will!" With that, Neka led the five men over the back wall. Several defenders were stationed below with spears; because the wall was high and narrow, if the white-robed mob tried to attack from there, they would have to drop down one by one, only to be impaled in sequence. However, because Neka and his group had purple hair, they were immediately granted passage as comrades. The guards even reached out to help them down. "We're here to help!" Neka declared, raising the knife in his hand. "Good, good!" Six able-bodied men arriving all at once was a welcome boon. Neka led his group to the main gate, where barricades were piled high, marking the epicenter of the conflict. Principal Tansei had just concluded a brief rest and was continuing his speech to rally the defenders' spirits. As Mr. Luther's assistant, Principal Tansei possessed formidable oratorical skill; in this critical hour, his presence alone sustained the defenders' morale to hold the school. "We must unite! No matter what happens, we must stand together! Some of you here are first-generation immigrants, but many others are second, third, or even earlier generations of descendants. "Why have we been reduced to this state, where atrocities like tonight's can still take place? "Because we are not united enough! If we stand firmly together, they will not dare commit such acts against us! "Hold the line, brothers and sisters! If we endure tonight, we will welcome the dawn. "After tonight, Mr. Luther will lead us into a brand-new era!" At that moment, a young man called out, "Then why does Mr. Luther repeatedly preach nonviolence? If we had prepared properly tonight and had enough weapons, we wouldn't need to fear them! We could have even charged out!" "I once asked Mr. Luther that exact question. I used to criticize him for being weak and willing to surrender. But Mr. Luther answered with only one question... "Are the police on our side? "Is the military on our side? "Is the royal family on our side? "What makes you think acting like a street gang will bring ultimate victory? "They do not fear our ferocity. They do not fear us smashing, looting, and burning. In fact, they would gladly encourage us to do so, just to prove to the world that we are an uncivilized bunch of inferior pigs. "They do not fear our barbarism. What they fear is seeing us neatly dressed in tailored suits; what they fear is seeing civilization within us!" Just then, Neka lunged forward, plunging his blade straight into Principal Tansei's chest. He yanked it out and stabbed again, thrusting repeatedly. Neka roared, "If you hadn't incited others to resist, we wouldn't be facing such suppression and persecution in the first place!" Clutching his bleeding chest, Principal Tansei staggered backward. Looking at Neka—at his purple hair and his skin—a look of helplessness washed over the principal's face. He parted his lips and whispered: "Actually, in their eyes, you are the same as us." With that, Principal Tansei collapsed to the ground. Pandemonium erupted instantly. Some rushed forward to treat the principal, while others charged to avenge him on Neka. Neka's companions threw themselves into the fray as well, plunging the courtyard into absolute chaos. Even more people fell into profound despair; when Principal Tansei fell, the pillar supporting their courage crumbled with him. The white-robed mob outside sensed the commotion within and immediately launched a fresh charge. This time, their advance went entirely unimpeded. They scaled the walls, forced open the gates, cleared the barricades, and surged inside, howling with bloodlust. Neka hurried forward to greet them, laughing and cheering alongside them to welcome their victory. Yet at that very moment, a white-robed man hacked a blade directly into Neka's shoulder, while another smashed an iron pipe viciously into his face. Neka was knocked backward, crashing to the ground with a dull thud. In the instant the back of his head struck the paving stones, Principal Tansei's words seemed to echo once more in his ears: "Actually, in their eyes, you are the same as us..."