MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Adam's answer to her request was clear and direct, making sure to leave absolutely no sense of ambiguity in his choice.

"I refuse."

Piaget's eyes opened wide at the blunt tone of his voice and she soon expressed her disappointment.

"Why do so many people always reject my proposal like that?" She sounded really curious and clueless.

"I believe that is because most people do not want to become test subjects."

"Oh… You would be surprised by how wrong you are. People are always willing to do things others would balk at when they decide they have no other choices. Of course, we always have a choice. The decision to choose nothing is a choice by itself."

"You are a very confusing woman, you know?"

She chuckled slightly, "I guess I am. Few people talk to me without fear so I enjoy discussions like this.

She clapped her hands, "Speaking of, this is the first time you have shown your true emotions to me, you know. I guess for now, Adam Gospel is a man who does not wish to become a test subject, it seems. Let's just go with that."

She laughed under her breath at the sight of Adam scowling at her teasing words.

She was finding this discussion very much enjoyable. Her eyes twinkled as she trudged on, "Adam do you know how much this test weighs?"

"10%"

"Indeed. For many, it's nothing more than a formality. A small step that ultimately does not matter in the long run."

"I suppose they are wrong."

He said so sarcastically but Piaget nodded enthusiastically, "I like smart men like you. Makes everything so much easier for everyone."

Her smile never went down as she continued explaining her stance, "This test is made to determine how much responsibility can be given to a hunter. The higher the rank, the more important the test becomes. As simple as that."

She looked at Adam with intrigued eyes, "Normally when I say this, the examinee panics but you still stayed calm. This shows me one thing — You do not simply care about this job at all. Being a hunter is just a means to an end for you and I appreciate that fact."

This was true. Becoming a gold rank was high enough for him. Executors were basically tied to the government itself and this was something he did not want.

"But see," Piaget was not finished, "This test is also necessary to determinate how far along you are on the path of understanding yourself and the world around you."

She took a deep breath and said her final piece, "So now Adam, once again, why do you want to become a hunter? Tell me, what do you desire?"

Adam hesitated slightly and mused. Since there was no option of bluffing left for him now, he decided to simply be honest, "Money and influence. Perhaps a little bit of Fame as well. There are more, of course, but they also encompass these fundamental reasons."

"That is wonderful."

"...What do you mean?"

"Adam… While we do fight for humanity, we are not supposed to be saviors who fight selflessly. Being a hunter is a job. A risky, dangerous, unrewarding, bloody, shitty, and every negative word in the dictionary kind of job that generally ends up in your untimely death. Humans are weak and so it's hard for them to sustain themselves in this line of work. This is why, I believe there is nothing wrong with wanting fame and money. As long as you do your job right, at the end of the day, then nothing else matters."

"I have seen many strong humans." Adam knew that he was arguing for the sake of it. But he had to admit once again that speaking with her felt weirdly enjoyable to him. He had no choice but to acknowledge the fact that she was pretty good at pulling people in.

She smiled thinly as she spoke, "You have seen a handful of powerful humans out of 8.5 billion humans.

"You have been around people with extreme sets of power so this may have affected your perspective of the world. But for the vast majority of humans and even hunters for that matter, fighting one against one with the Supernatural is simply impossible. Our guidelines strongly emphasize the necessity of forming a large party for any mission of the same grades as yourself. For a gold-level bounty, you need at least 3 or more gold-ranked hunters at the minimum. That is the reality for the masses."

Her eyes started to twinkle, "But now, Adam… Let's think about this together. The number of godly beings, spiritual creatures, and so many other supernatural entities may be overwhelmingly inferior to humanity as a whole. But in terms of pure powers, one super entity like Asmodeus would be enough to lay waste to 80% of the earth like it's nothing. Beings like Surtr can bring the end of the world in a matter of minutes. Why then do humans still have control of the earth? Why then are we the ones in charge? Can you tell?"

Adam stopped to think for a bit before opening his mouth, "Technology?"

"Heh, I give you 60/100 for the guess. It's a good guess, but not quite good enough. See, Adam, supernatural beings aren't dumb now, are they? A vampire can use a gun or create a nuclear bomb just as easily as we can. In fact, because of how long they live, the few beings who actually want to, all learned and even steered the development of humanity along the ages."

"Let me give you a simple answer." She raised one finger, "Arrogance is one simple yet correct answer. While long-lived beings Can learn, they Do not find it necessary to learn. Stupidly thinking it's beneath them or rightfully deciding that they do not need to because of the powers they inherently wield."

She raised a second finger, "While some of them are arrogant it would be stupid to think all of them are. So this brings us to the second reason. The World itself protects us from them."

She smiled when she saw Adam flinch slightly, "The law of the world protects humanity. This is the highest law in existence. Causality will make sure that whenever the Supernatural oppresses humanity with overwhelming power, humans will start giving birth to incredibly powerful humans beyond the normalcy of their capacity."

"Gilgamesh, Arjuna, Atalanta, Heracles, Arthur, Siegfried, Joan of Arc and so many more. Men and women born with the destiny of being loved and hated by Fate. Destined to go through the so-called Hero's journey and fight for sake of the world and its people. To fight for humanity."

A small smile of reminiscence arced her lips as she spoke about Joan.

"We call it the Scales of Equilibrium. But it's so long, I simply call it — The Scales or SoE, and the punishment it brings to those who upset the scale is the Storm of Causality.

"Truly. Don't you think the world and the ways of the universe are both beautiful and mysterious?"

(AN: *30/04/23*

Guys, next month I am entering classical in win-win, this means I need 10K to unlock to obtain a banner and be promoted on the front page. I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me reach that goal. This is why, for next month only, as it is my first month of Classical, I will make all the Tiers at 99%. I would really appreciate it if all of you guys subscribed once again next to my story and helped me reach that number. Perhaps even promoting my book to your friends if you think I am good enough. Really thanks for your support during this month. Thanks to your support, I reached more than 5K before leaving newbie Win-Win, which was really helpful.