Chapter 180: Death Sentence

Despite having the poorest physical attributes, Clara remained the leader of the rabbits even while fleeing. Even if the rabbit rebels slowed their pace, they always stayed behind her. This was an acknowledgment of her status; Clara was the undisputed leader of the rebels.

She led the Moon Rabbits into the nighttime rainforest, finding a rabbit hole she had never visited herself. They ran through the interconnected tunnels toward the headquarters. Despite never having been there, her steps were certain, and she didn’t get lost at all.

[This is nothing to be surprised about. The Hive Mind has taken over your Combat Body. Therefore, it doesn’t need your knowledge to find the webway recorded by the Hive Mind.]

Even with Nyx’s explanation, Clara couldn’t stop. This Combat Body was no longer her own body. It was merely a biological machine strictly executing commands.

[Combining permissions and accessing the Hive Mind’s biological network… though the possibility is slim, Nyx might be able to…]

Nyx seemed to be muttering something, but Clara had no heart to listen. Although she wasn’t the one running, she still had to endure the feeling of physical exhaustion and the gasping of her breath. She couldn’t even stop to rest.

***

Just as she had experienced in the afternoon, the commands issued by a higher authority remained mandatory until they were completed. Clara ran all the way to the headquarters without stopping.

She had originally thought that after returning to the burrow, she would be forced to work until death as an ordinary Moon Rabbit or be sent to the slaughterhouse to be turned into flesh-and-blood feed for the Big Rabbits. Instead, she ran all the way into the air-raid shelter above the headquarters.

This was a place where ordinary Moon Rabbits were forbidden to set foot, yet she wasn’t stopped by the rabbit soldiers. She ran into an empty basement. The higher authority also issued commands forbidding the destruction of walls and forbidding escape. The door wasn’t locked, but she couldn’t leave.

These were continuously active commands. If the permission level she got from Psycho wasn’t high enough, she might not even be able to save them tomorrow. Clara could only lie flat in the basement. Excessive exercise made it impossible for her to move her limbs. The Moon Rabbit rebels surrounded Clara as if they were protecting her…

Then, the door to the cell opened.

The person appearing before them was the Blue Cavalier. Wearing a light blue coat and a white shirt, she looked somewhat like someone in a resort uniform.

‘Was she the one who just gave us orders? Where was she hiding?’

Come to think of it, since the number of Moon Rabbits was countless, why was she so obsessed with these eight Moon Rabbits? Even if they ran to the human side, it shouldn’t be much of a loss, right? The so-called “Moon Rabbit Rebels” was just something Clara had said offhand; these Moon Rabbits shouldn’t have much value…

“The sparks of rebellion will spread. They must be snuffed out before the fire starts.”

The Blue Cavalier spoke, her words sounding ambiguous. It was an emotionless girl’s voice. Although the gender, appearance, and voice had all changed, the calmness and rationality that radiated from within remained entirely the same. It was just unclear if her position and memories had been modified.

‘I’m afraid she’s been brainwashed,’ Nyx guessed.

Given that the Moon Rabbit Combat Body was not currently under Clara’s full control, she and Nyx had entered spectator mode together. The Moon Rabbit Combat Body had essentially become a camera.

Moon Rabbits couldn’t speak, and the Blue Cavalier should have known that. Yet, why did she start talking to herself the moment she entered? Could it be that there were so few people to talk to in this air-raid shelter that she had developed some sort of mental issue?

‘For a Soul reincarnated from a human, staying in a rabbit hole can indeed lead to psychological problems. Not to mention, she’s essentially the gatekeeper…’

No, a “gatekeeping sister,” perhaps?

Clara really didn’t know what the Blue Cavalier wanted to do. However, the latter walked up to her, squatted down, and looked at her.

“You’re the leader… It’s you again.”

The Blue Cavalier seemed to recognize her. Although they had indeed met before, Clara hadn’t expected her to be able to distinguish between different Moon Rabbits. Clara certainly couldn’t.

“Even though she gave you a chance, you ran away again and disappointed her once more… You have set a bad example for them, yet they view you as a role model. This is a dangerous signal—the first crack that leads to a total collapse.”

‘Who is “she”?’

‘Probably Predator.’

‘Does the Moon Rabbit Mother even know what I—the Moon Rabbit Combat Body—did?’

Clara had thought that common Moon Rabbits walking around the headquarters wouldn’t be noticed. Was she actually being watched all along?

[It’s not hard to understand. Just as the Blue Cavalier said, you are a dangerous signal,] Nyx explained. [In a stable Moon Rabbit population structure, a deserter appeared who refused to sacrifice for the group. You even guided other Moon Rabbits who had awakened self-awareness and led them out of the headquarters. To the ruler, Predator, you are the leader of the rebel forces. No matter how weak your rebel strength is, you must be snuffed out… otherwise, the consequences will be endless.]

‘Oh, so I sound pretty great? It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’m a Hero among the Moon Rabbits.’

Though Clara didn’t actually feel that way herself.

While Clara and Nyx conversed in the spectator seats, the Blue Cavalier continued her monologue.

“You are an anomaly in the population, a spark of rebellion, a discordant note in the ensemble. For the stability of the race, to completely occupy this island, and to fulfill her wish…”

‘Was this guy always the type to talk so much nonsense?’

It felt as if she were reciting lines.

‘Perhaps she’s awakened some strange attribute,’ Nyx mused.

“For that reason, I must execute you in front of the other Moon Rabbits as a warning to the rest.”

In the end, it was still for this. Capturing the rebel leader and publicly executing her to snuff out the sparks of rebellion was an expected outcome. It wasn’t anything new. Making an example of her to warn the others.

Clara wasn’t afraid of death. The death of a small Combat Body wouldn’t have the slightest impact on her main body. But the few Moon Rabbit rebels behind her…

*Squeak!*

Clara still stood upright and let out a cry with her arms spread wide. At the same time, she took a step forward and stood out, resolutely blocking the front of the Moon Rabbit rebels.

“Hmph, you still want to protect them?”

*Squeak-cheep!!!*

“What can you possibly do?”

The habitually expressionless Blue Cavalier frowned now, speaking lines that sounded like they were from a stage play.

“The execution will be tomorrow morning… I’ll let you live for one more night.”

Saying this, she shook the rabbit ears on her head and turned to leave the basement. Her duty to inform them had been fulfilled. No, she didn’t even have such a duty to begin with. She just wanted to see what an “Awakened” among the Moon Rabbits looked like, but it turned out there was nothing special about her.

Even if self-awareness had awakened, if there was no power, one still wouldn’t be able to do anything in the end. Tomorrow morning, the rabbits would see the fate of rebels. Defying her will resulted only in death.

The Blue Cavalier was convinced of this.

But why was she so convinced?

Or rather…

Who was she, exactly?