Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

Therefore, when people learned that Tomat was willing to solve the problem of the dinosaurs, they subconsciously assumed that "Tomat would handle it himself, rather than involving them."

In fact, after witnessing the enormous power disparity, people even began to waver on whether they could provide assistance. Now, when Tomat says that "humans will make the decision," they are even more doubtful of their own ears.

What should we do?

The doctor did not ask Thomas what he would do, nor did he ask whether humanity was truly as decisive in the war as he claimed. Instead, he directly asked about his own responsibilities as a human being.

The doctor accepted the heavy responsibility that Tomat had so casually mentioned without any doubt.

"Didn't I say that we should conserve our energy, ensure we have plenty of physical strength, and be able to muster our spirits?"

Since the doctor didn't ask, Thomas naturally wouldn't mention the Spirit Bomb.

But he himself understood that the Spirit Bomb could also extract higher quality life energy from people, thereby creating a more powerful Spirit Bomb.

Therefore, the person providing the vital energy should not be too weak, but at least maintain good physical health, should not be too tired, and should not go hungry.

"The more people, the better."

The Spirit Bomb that severely damaged Vegeta did not contain any human energy, and because it was dispersed, its actual energy was less than half of its normal amount.

[Event] Fool's Past: Chapter Twenty-Two - The Existence of Evil

"Spirit Bomb, a technique that has little to do with my own strength."

"The extent of its power depends on the surrounding natural energy and the number of people willing to contribute their own vital energy."

"Don't worry, you won't get hurt when you absorb the energy. At most, you'll just be a little tired. You'll recover after a short rest, but it's still not a move you can use repeatedly."

"In other words, it's a decisive move. I think it's the perfect way to end the war between you and the Terrorfish, isn't it?"

If it were all his own business, Tomat wouldn't explain everything in detail. However, he felt it was necessary for people to understand how to use a skill like the Spirit Bomb, which requires the participation of others.

"Vitality...is that those glowing blue dots from earlier?"

Amiya recalled the warmth of her palm touching the light spot and asked.

"That's right. This energy, which comes from life and nature, has extremely strong power and can cause massive additional damage to malicious creatures, so it is also very effective against the Terror Fish."

However, Amiya paused for a moment upon hearing this description, and then asked with concern:

"Hmm? You mean...malice? So, for non-evil creatures, vital energy is harmless? When my hand touched it just now, I wasn't hurt."

"Indeed, the power will be relatively reduced, but the Spirit Bomb itself has considerable destructive power. Its special attack against evil is just an added bonus, giving it stronger additional damage and tracking ability."

After hearing Tomat's explanation, Amiya's worry did not completely disappear, because she not only knew that Terra's natural environment and population were extremely worrying, but she also implicitly accepted another thing:

"It seems that this extra ingredient won't have much effect on the terror fish, since they don't have much 'evil intent' in their minds."

These words made Tomat's eyes widen slightly, revealing a look of surprise. After a moment of silence, Tomat shook his head and said with a wry smile:

"...No, you've all been pushed to this point, and you still think the Terrorfish isn't an extremely evil being?"

Amiya was about to explain when Tomat clapped his hands, as if suddenly remembering something, and said:

“Oh—I see. Did those nonsensical arguments confuse you? Like, ‘Dinofish are pure and natural creatures,’ ‘All their actions are harmless instincts,’ ‘The virtues that humans lack and praise are just common instincts in large groups; they don’t even need the concept of good and evil,’ ‘Their essence is actually the great beauty of nature and the inevitable path of life’.”

"Get this straight, everyone who came up with these claims has bits of 'fearfish' flesh stuck in their brains."

"The endless appetite, slaughter, invasion, destruction, any seemingly lenient act is all for the sake of dealing with you more easily later—and then, because you think that's their instinct, it's 'not evil'? Because it's just a survival instinct, there's no such thing as 'evil' or 'not evil'?"

"Stop trying to find some nonchalant explanation for your repeated defeats. Do you really think you can just let go of your failures by saying, 'It's just the cruel competition in nature'?"

Thomas reprimanded her sternly and mercilessly.

"Let's embrace a new concept—'beings born evil'."

"Some things are inherently pure evil, and they only become better after other things are added to them. Instinct doesn't distinguish between good and evil? Wrong. It is good and evil that determine instinct, the desire to destroy, the urge to erode and devour, the impulse to kill."

Thomas remembered something else.

Although the two cannot be compared at all, they do have similarities in their behavioral patterns.

"But, justice and evil are only defined by people based on moral concepts. In nature, there is no contest between good and evil in natural competition, right? In the end, who decides the 'good and evil' judged by the Spirit Bomb? Is it some kind of idealistic mechanism like the Judge's Hand Cannon?"

Amiya continued to press for answers, still unable to grasp the Spirit Bomb's definition of good versus evil.

Instead of answering directly, Thomas asked in return:

"...Amiya, do you believe in the existence of 'God'? Of course, I don't mean the idealized concept of omniscience and omnipotence, but rather an existence 'like God,' something simpler."

"Just like scientists culturing cells in a laboratory, and the relationship between them and the cells they cultivate. The gods I'm talking about are those beings that further amplify the scale and size, those who create countless planets and species. They could be aliens, ancient people with advanced technology, or something else."

Amiya easily understood these words, and at the same time, she continued to think along the lines of Tomat's words:

"Hmm... such a hypothesis does exist, but since it cannot be falsified, people don't take it seriously. At most, it exists in fictional creations, as a character used in deus ex machina tropes..."

Thomas interrupted Amiya and continued:

“If you assume they really exist, then the standard for judging the good and evil of the Spirit Bomb is not the ‘good and evil defined by human morality’ as you say, but the ‘good and evil in the sense of existence’.”

"And the concepts of good and evil in the sense of existence are defined by those 'gods'."

At this point, the doctor, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, continuing Thomas's topic and expressing his own thoughts:

"Just as scientists cultivate certain cells in a certain direction or purpose, so too did 'God' create all things with a general foundation and direction. However, similar to cells in a petri dish, cells may become cancerous or undergo other unexpected changes that deviate from their intended purpose over time. Is this also true of all things—or rather, nature?"

"Whether intentional or unintentional, those beings that deviate from the norm and are harmful to other living beings are what the Spirit Bomb defines as 'evil'?"

Thomas nodded, not surprised that the doctor understood his meaning so quickly and added more details.

"Yes, some unexpected things do not pose a threat or harm to the world, and may even bring additional benefits, but they will not be defined as evil by the Spirit Bomb."

"But some have gone astray, threatening the surrounding areas with violence, and some are even dangerous entities whose reasons for being in the world are not even clear. Naturally, they are the enemies of the Spirit Bomb."

"After all, the energy of the Spirit Bomb is extracted from the natural environment and living organisms, and it can only be extracted from beings that are permitted by this world. Conversely, even if an evil being tries to give me its energy, it will not be recognized by the Spirit Bomb itself."

"Therefore, a collective of forces permitted by this world will naturally cause greater harm to those who 'should not continue to exist in this world'."

Before the Spirit Bomb, everything is treated equally, whether it is something that should never have existed in this universe from the beginning, or a threat that has been transformed and is harmful to the world.

Amiya then pressed further:

"Then how do we determine that Haisi is an unnatural being that has 'deviated from the path'? Perhaps its existence is also natural?"

For her, this matter concerned the safety of humanity, so she would naturally ask repeatedly, at least hoping to get more assurances from Tomat.

“No… Amiya, do you remember what I told you? When we were working with Mizuki, we saw a strange stone tablet.”

"That was a strange experimental record, and a pre-planned experimental direction."*

When the doctor was evacuating from the ocean, he discovered a research facility in a deep cave. Most of the instruments there were damaged and their functions were completely indistinguishable. Only one terminal appeared to be still operational.

Once started, it contained a bunch of bizarre experimental records that were incompatible with the doctor's professional knowledge.

She knew nothing about it at the time, but now she understands.

"Hmm...I remember, wait, could it be...? "

The Doctor nodded in response to Amiya's astonished expression.

"The 'terror fish' is an artificially created entity that deviates from the intended existence, so its 'evil' was defined the moment it was born."

If it were Tomat, he could simply sense the aura of the Terrorfish to determine whether they were evil. However, the Doctor and the others did not understand aura, so they communicated in this way and understood why Tomat was so convinced that the Spirit Bomb could cause more damage to the Terrorfish.

"At the time, I didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a routine experimental record left behind by the Agorians..."

"Now it seems that the connection between that testing site and this disaster is much deeper than I thought."

At that moment, Amiya suddenly tugged at Tomat's sleeve and hesitantly asked her last question:

Is it possible for evil to revert to normal?

"...Just as you were assimilated by the Terrorfish, the Terrorfish or the Sealings may also become operators who live in harmony with you. Some beings that are not accepted can also become your companions through their own efforts. I think you understand this better than I do, don't you?"

They all knew which operators Thomas was referring to.

Tomat did not use other people's backgrounds to crudely define good and evil as irreversible concepts.

"The Spirit Bomb is formed and judged by Qi, which is influenced by both the body and the mind. At the same time, the mind determines the nature of most of the Qi."

"If the soul is corrupted, even if the body comes from a hero, he will be a villain hated by all. If the soul is good, even if the body originally belonged to a demon king, people will treat him as their own son."

"Whether one is born a god or a demon, it does not affect the possibility of change later. The Terrorfish is no exception. In terms of possibility, perhaps they all have the opportunity to become beings like Water Moon, who can understand human emotions and are considered normal."

"But right now, your situation is so dire that you can't afford to discuss possibilities with them. Not everyone can defeat the entity that opposes them in the present moment, and then confidently expect that 'I can defeat it next time,' hoping that the other party will change as a result."

Tomat couldn't help but recall a certain face in his mind, and then tried to superimpose it on the two people in front of him.

Then he gave up.

—After all, not everyone can be like a Saiyan, who can maintain an innocent and pure mindset and also have the great luck to encounter "enemies" who become restrained and changed after being beaten up.

Especially for beings like the Terrorfish, even if Tomat himself asked them to try letting the Terrorfish go and see if it would learn to live in harmony with them, those who have the power to destroy it would probably still not hesitate to completely eliminate it.

Even Amiya was not swayed by Tomat's statement that "the dinosaurs could also become a normal race."

On the contrary, she seemed even more determined.

This actually shows that the dinosaurs could coexist with humans even without doing those things—they just wouldn't bother.

They can survive if they coexist peacefully, and they can still win if they start a war.

If the latter could gain more living space by killing all of humanity, then why bother to create a "crowded environment" where people can live in harmony?

The dinosaur doesn't need "enough space," it needs "more space."

She broke free from the notion that "the harpy was not malicious," and came to understand that it was not that the harpy was without malice.

They simply carry out their immense malice of extermination as a matter of course, acting on it as an instinct.

*Unexpected Event Node: Ignorance is Bliss, which is the place where you can get the Deep Sea version of Blade Dance.

The former is Majin Buu, while the latter is similar to the Saiyans who gradually become bloodthirsty and brutal.

In Dragon Ball, there is a difference between demons who are born that way and demons who "fall from grace." The former are like Dabra or Devilman under Baba's command, while the latter are like Piccolo, beings who fell from Namek. Garic is another example.

[Activity] Fool's Past: Part Twenty-Three - Actions and Words

Tomat's conversation about the Spirit Bomb that night was relayed to Kal'tsit by the Doctor and Amiya.

The two had expected Kal'tsit to have many questions, or to be skeptical of the part about "god" as absurd.

Surprisingly, Kal'tsit only widened her eyes slightly, listening with some surprise as the two finished speaking, and seemed unusually natural in accepting their explanations.