8 The Harsh Reality of the New World

Magnus opened his mouth wide as he was stunned by her words. A chill ran down his spine, and his legs froze. His vision started zooming out as he imagined countless baby boys being killed.

The sorrow, the sadness, the inhumanity, and the truth of this world finally hit Magnus. His face darkened, and the excitement he initially felt melted away. He looked away from Caitlyn and stared at the floor.

He couldn't look at her the same. It was hard for him to accept what she had just revealed to him.

"Your side does the exact same thing!" the brown-skinned woman, Jurena, shouted fiercely.

"Huh?"

Magnus looked at her in shock. His already widened eyes widened even more. He looked back at his memories of Farqos and wondered if the man was hiding his true evil intention under his confident smile.

It was sickening. Magnus was horrified by what he got himself into.

"Then what do I do..?" Magnus asked shakily and in a low voice.

He thought he was tough, he thought he could live a better life in this world, and he assumed that he would be able to help these women escape. He was all wrong—none of those he could do.

This world was fucked up.

"..."

Somehow, Caitlyn couldn't answer that question. She didn't know why, but the shock on his face made her afraid to let the words out of her mouth, even if that would benefit them. He was honest and didn't seem to have lied to all of them.

She didn't believe that someone could put up an act this well.

"Free us!" Jurena shouted.

Caitlyn turned to her in surprise. Those were the exact words that couldn't leave her mouth.

She looked around and found the others to be nodding their heads in agreement. Caitlyn suddenly found herself alienated. These women couldn't see the despair in this man. It was obvious to her, but they were oblivious to it.

"..."

Magnus looked around him and saw the desperation on the women's faces. They all wanted to urge him to let them escape. They didn't care if he was going to get in trouble because of it.

Except... Caitlyn. She looked at him with a troubled look on her face. It was as if she could understand him.

He might be speaking a language they could understand, but out of all of them, only Caitlyn understood his body language and his raw emotions. Though, Magnus was doubtful about it. She was one of them, after all.

"Enough," Magnus said in a low voice.

He stood up and looked around him once more. This time, he was mad. He was really mad. They were scum, and he was their king in this underground basement. He could do whatever he wanted with them.

"I... will teach all of you a lesson you won't ever forget!" Magnus roared.

His booming voice caused them to jump in fright.

"Magnus!" Caitlyn called out in fear.

She knew that they would suffer if she didn't stop Magnus from rampaging. She wasn't terrified before, but she feared that she unleashed the beast within him.

"So you were actually just testing us earlier!" Jurena shouted as if she had just revealed his master plan.

"What, bitch?" Magnus responded and lazily looked at Caitlyn.

He looked at her as if he was staring at an object.

"Don't ignore me!" Jurena shouted out of frustration.

"Shut up!"

Magnus kicked the metal cage with the boots he got from Farqos.

The loud sound startled the woman, and she closed her mouth shut.

Magnus turned back to Caitlyn and stood directly in front of her cage.

"This is normal and the reality of the world. Why are you reacting so violently?" Caitlyn asked in confusion.

She was sure that every man that could think knew about this truth.

"Normal? Reality? Ahahahaha!" Magnus laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke.

Caitlyn's face became serious. Something was wrong with Magnus' understanding of the world.

Magnus abruptly stopped and raised his voice, "So it will be normal if I beat you with my fist!?"

Caitlyn jumped to the back of the cage in fright.

Magnus glared at her and held the opening latch of the cage. He stopped in place and thought if he should enter or not. He thought if he should beat her up. He took several deep breaths, and the anger on his face slowly disappeared a few minutes later.

He looked around and saw all the women looking at him fearfully. The confidence they had earlier had disappeared. Magnus regained his clear mind and sat back down.

"Normal... normal... Reality? Yes, reality... Huh..." Magnus talked to himself as he tried to process the new information with a rational mind.

So, basically, it was normal for women in the Cynthian Empire to abuse men, and it was normal for men in the Phaeton Empire to abuse women, which included all age ranges, like a baby or the elderly.

"..."

It was inhumane. In his previous world, wars were fought with ethics in mind. Children and the elderly would be saved if they were seen on the frontlines, even if they were part of the enemy's side. But in this world... there were no such lines.

It was all fair as long as it was the opposite sex.

The Cynthian slaves didn't know what to say when they saw Magnus talking to himself. They all thought that he had gone insane.

"Ahahahaha..."

His laughter only made them think more so.

"What is this world called?" Magnus asked Caitlyn with a deranged smile on his face.

"T-The Sun and Moon World..." Caitlyn answered fearfully.

His smile was entirely different from before. She couldn't understand it anymore. It was an emotion she couldn't put her mind to. It was unexplainable to her.

"I get it... This is my punishment— To live in a world that doesn't match my values and ethics. Indeed, this is worse than hell," Magnus talked to himself.

If he was a weak-willed man, he would follow the social norms of this world. If he wasn't, he would become insane. It was the worst torture imaginable: becoming someone else or losing yourself. Those were his only options.