"Is this your world? You bring me to the Middle East to watch a girl die under a tank tread. Are you trying to make me indifferent? To turn me into a cold-blooded machine to serve you?"
Diana sneered. She hugged the little girl tightly in her arms. Her heart ached with pity. The little girl was trembling in fear and pain, her thin body fragile.
This world… must never fall into the hands of Barmulodi. She would not let him destroy children, happiness, and everything beautiful.
"No. I'm simply showing you the difference between the country I rule and the outside world."
Bardi remained calm.
First impressions matter.
And Diana's first impression of him had already been tainted by Batman and others, who painted him as a ruthless tyrant.
Moreover, after being captured as a prisoner of war, Diana was taken straight to a research facility where her blood was drawn and tests were performed.
How could she have any good impression?
That was not how prisoners of war were supposed to be treated.
"Chaos, killing, violence?"
"And you want to tell me you can suppress all of that with your power?"
"Even if you are strong, I will never surrender to you!"
Diana gently stroked the little girl's matted hair. It was sticky and tangled. The sensation made her heart ache even more. She continued to run her delicate fingers through it, trying to provide a sense of comfort and safety.
Her arms may not be large, but they could still protect this child from the cruelty of a few men.
Bardi laughed to himself. Diana really thought he was a tyrant who only ruled by brute force, a cold dictator who suppressed with violence.
If that were true, the world would have already fallen into chaos years ago. It would not be as stable as it was now, preparing for full transition under his rule.
Although global state power had fallen under his control, civilian casualties were far fewer than in World War II.
Considering the number of coups, deaths, and uprisings across a global population of 7.1 billion, the fact that it was less destructive than WWII was already miraculous.
Of course, this was the result of ten years of preparation by Bardi. No country could resist indefinitely.
Unless civilians directly opposed him, the Barmulodi Group, which kept a strict record of its operations, would not harm the poor and powerless.
However, when it came to rebels infiltrating the Emperor Building, he had no mercy. Eradicating nine generations of a family was brutally real.
So in that sense, as emperor, Bardi was indeed ruthless.
But he only smiled faintly. After all, how many people really understood what he had done?
"We… haven't messed with Barmulodi!"
Kairaf, standing nearby, saw Bardi and immediately broke into a cold sweat. His palms were slick, and the AK47 he held felt slippery.
His bearded face trembled with fear as he nervously spoke up.
A few years ago, when the Barmulodi Empire was first established in the Middle East, it had "politely" visited many terrorist organizations—and obliterated those who didn't understand human language.
Fortunately, Kairaf's black-flag militia was a group that had risen after the massive purge. He understood well that, in the Middle East, the Barmulodi Empire was now synonymous with beauty, peace, and prosperity, no matter how cruel it appeared to outsiders.
No organization dared challenge the Barmulodi Empire here. And now, Kairaf realized this was the Barmulodi Emperor himself. His body tensed, and he bent at the waist, cautiously speaking.
"Your Majesty... Barmulodi."
Kairaf swallowed hard, unsure whether to kneel or maintain some semblance of pride.
If he didn't kneel, would his organization even live to see tomorrow?
"Not my people."
Bardi cast a meaningful glance at Kairaf. A terrorist like him was one of thousands in the Middle East. He wasn't worth Bardi's attention.
What was interesting was how low this man's posture was, nearly groveling.
Bardi hadn't realized just how terrifying his reputation in the Middle East had become. His presence alone was enough to make hardened fighters nearly collapse.
But that was expected. Without such overwhelming deterrence, he couldn't have made the Middle East tremble and forced everyone into obedience.
Hearing that he wasn't considered one of Barmulodi's citizens, Kairaf felt a huge weight lift from his chest. Cold sweat soaked him, and he nearly fainted from relief.
Before he could utter a word of thanks, Diana cut in coldly.
"She's not your citizen, so you just sit and watch her die? She's just a child!"
Her fingers turned pale from the pressure of her clenched fists. Her arms trembled with fury. She could not stand anyone who would passively watch a child die. Hearing Barmulodi's response, the girl in her arms trembled violently with fear. Even her sobs caught in her throat.
What a terrifying name.
So terrifying that a child couldn't even cry.
Before she left Themyscira, Diana had never encountered someone so indifferent to life, so emotionless, so brutally inhuman.
At first, she had doubted what Victor, Hal, and the others had said. But after the space battle and being sent to a research lab where she was nearly dissected, she began to understand.
Maybe Victor and Hal were right.
Barmulodi was a cold-blooded animal.
"Yes."
Bardi answered without a moment's hesitation.
Diana's idealistic mindset was something Bardi could never relate to. What kind of mentality drove someone to care so casually about the lives and deaths of strangers?
If a matter didn't concern him, he would simply observe. Whether he intervened depended entirely on his mood.
But Diana was the opposite. If someone was dying, she had to intervene, no matter what.
Seeing how firm and unashamed Bardi was, Diana clenched her teeth so tightly they almost bled. Her body trembled with anger. She had never met someone so ruthlessly unapologetic.
"Why blame me for not saving her, instead of blaming them for committing the violence?"
"I'm curious about how your mind works. And I'm also curious—these terrorists who brutalized that little girl... will you kill them?"
Bardi gestured at Kairaf's men, counting them off playfully on his fingers.
(To be continued.)
***
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