"But it's not just you, Ryuk. Most humans have forgotten the past—our grand past of being the rulers of Earth.
"Our grand past of being a race of benevolent helpers."
"Our grand past of co-existing even with the most uninhabitable races in the world and making them feel at home in our own world."
"Most have forgotten."
"Now, there are some places in Endearth where humans dare not step in, or they would get arrested and hanged to death. But there is no place where the humans are that another race doesn't live in."
"It sounds pathetic, doesn't it, Ryuk?"
"Nauseating..." Ryuk mused to himself as MadWhite smiled.
"That's why I'm MadWhite."
"When other people see the Werewolves, the Vampires, the Fallens, along with the rest of the races, they see people."
"But when I see them, I see ungrateful bastards who managed to conquer us and turn us into slaves in a world that used to be rightfully ours."
"They say I kill too much, and I've turned mad. But does my hand dare hesitate when I stand before a traitor with my hands on my trigger?"
"But I swear it in the name of Earth! If they had dominated us like the Knulls did when they came in—if the other races had attacked the next moment they stepped into our world, and a big battle had ravaged Earth for its control—even if humanity had lost, I would have gladly swallowed it down!"
"If they came in like Conquerors, and they conquered us! I would have lived peacefully even if humanity was wiped out or reduced to nothing but slaves after that."
"But they are traitors. We saw them as friends and welcomed them in."
"And when they ate our food and drank our wine, they brought out their knives and stabbed us in the back—a cowardly way to gain control," MadWhite said as the entire jet slowly slowed down massively.
An incredibly monstrous wave of aura burst out of him, drowning the entire space, causing Ryuk's clothes to flap wildly.
But then, it dispersed just as soon as it came, and MadWhite turned to him with the same grin he always had.
"In short, Ryuk, don't be afraid of anything called 'territory' so long as you're on Endearth, for we humans own it all," he said, tapping on his shoulders as the hatch opened up, and MadWhite went back to his seat.
"And besides, no one really knows where the Nagas stay exactly. A pocket of space? Underground? We have no idea at all. Just that they are living somewhere along these plains."
"Your chances of ever running into them are more than low. So, don't worry too much about disturbance."
"You can still give me a call when you're done, and I'll come pick you up. Or I can call you when the Knull War is about to begin," MadWhite said as Ryuk clamly looked outside the hatch.
But clearly, his mind was greatly ruffled inside, and he remained standing, his eyes looking back at the snow.
"What's wrong?" MadWhite asked, looking at Ryuk, who stood there blankly even though the hatch was open.
"If I had known this was how humanity had been treated in the past... If I had known this was the reason for your hate, then I never would have agreed to cooperate with the Ten Leaders."
"To work hand in hand with people who had stabbed us in the back hundreds of years ago... Now that I think about it, it's such a stupid idea..."
"It is!" MadWhite called out silently as Ryuk turned to him.
"Because the past repeats itself."
"Even if we cooperated with them to get rid of the Knulls, then once the Knulls are gone, the New Dark Era will begin."
"And once more, they'll carry on their 'humans are inferior' mindset. And you can guess what that will lead to in the end..."
"Our cooperation now is only because we're against a common enemy."
"Once that enemy is gone, the bond is gone, and everything resets back to how it was before," MadWhite's voice rang out calmly as he slowly began tapping on the control button.
"But now you know of the past."
"And I'm sure that instead of blindly siding with the traitors, you are more aware of who they truly are and will exercise caution when dealing with them."
"This Knull War is a calamity, Ryuk, no doubt."
"But for us humans, it's always been kind of an opportunity you know."
"The First Knull War centuries ago was an opportunity that allowed us barely survived extinction as gazes were directed off us and onto the Knulls."
"And this second Knull War? It is an opportunity to regather strength and make sure that when the Knulls are gone, we don't end up back on Floor 1."
"So what is a little bit of cooperation in order to become great later?"
"We are weak now, and we're taking a step back by deciding to team up with our own traitors."
"But a step back is not a loss."
"We'll plan in the dark and make sure that when the Knulls are finally defeated, we are at least viewed as equals too, and not as an inferior race."
"So I don't mind it at all."
"You made a decision that was you and what humanity currently needed—the decision of a survivor."
"It's never wrong," MadWhite said with a smile as the guilt disappeared from Ryuk's head, and he nodded.
"I'll call you, MadWhite..." he said before jumping down from the jet, disappearing into the snow below.
MadWhite looked at the hatch slowly closing in before a smile opened on his face as he mused,
"You know Ryuk, when I tell the humans the story, they laugh and say I'm just trying to justify my actions of killing the other races."
"Some of them believe it, but the weight of going against the Ten Families makes them shrink off and tell themselves that it's a lie."
"But what of you Ryuk?"
"Truly, humanity has been blessed."
---
FLAP! FLAP!
The sound of heavy flapping resounded through the frozen plains as Ryuk levitated in the air, his gaze scanning down below, looking at the endless white plains of mountains seemingly covered in a blanket fo snow—one that reminded him of his domain.
And most importantly was that the Frost Apex Energy here would almost rival that of the Trial he had come in from.
The Cultivation Ruin was a higher world, that was no doubt superior to Endearth.
But it wasn't a naturally frost-attuned world, unlike this place.
That was why this place had more frost mana and would be more helpful to him than normal.
"Finally,"
...END OF ARC 2: ASCENSION ACADEMY