"17 and at the Pseudo-Eternal Stage?"
"That's quite talented, don't you think, Morgaine?" the Half-Fallen One said as Morgaine swallowed down her stuffed cheek before nodding.
"Yes, it is."
"I recently reached the Peak of the Dominion Stage, and I was so proud."
"But then, he came and was already at the Cataclysm Stage. Tch, I was so happy!" Morgaine said as she grumpily stuffed another huge amount into her cheeks, and Ryuk could only roll his eyes shamelessly.
"I'm curious, Ryuk," the Half-Fallen One suddenly said, drawing Ryuk's attention.
"Yes?"
"Why did you join the war in the first place? You weren't being forced, were you?"
"You could have sat out of it, but you chose to fight. Why?" she asked, looking at him as Ryuk shrugged his shoulders, swallowing down a morsel.
"The portal was opening up right above Porion City, which held 60% of humanity's population, and the Ten Families never agreed to fight for humanity in the first place."
"I never even thought they would show up, so I knew we Humans needed as much strength as possible. A power level at the Pseudo-Eternal Stage will no doubt be a great help, won't it?" Ryuk replied as the Half-Fallen One nodded in understanding.
"So now that the calamity has passed for the humans, will you still be fighting in the next upcoming Knull War?" she asked him as Ryuk's eyebrows furrowed for a while.
He truly had never thought of the question.
He had been given no choice but to fight during the previous war because he was fighting for humanity. But the second war definitely wouldn't open right above Porion City, meaning the humans wouldn't be in danger of extinction this time. So then, did he still need to join?
"If I'm not stuck in slumber or rendered immobile in one way or the other, then I'll be fighting still..." Ryuk said, drawing the gaze of both Morgaine and the Half-Fallen One.
"It's no longer about the humans winning the war now or fighting for humanity. The Ten Families had come together and lost some of their soldiers. Something they could have avoided if they had left humanity to its doom, although it was based on an agreed deal."
"It showed me this is beyond just a war anymore. If we hope to win and stop Endearth from invasion, then we need to fight as one and the Ten Families had fought for us Humans."
"If tomorrow, the portal opens up right above their sky, then I'll be by their side too. It's a simple law of reciprocation..." he replied, as the Half-Fallen One's eyes flashed before she nodded.
"That makes sense," the Half-Fallen One said, but Morgaine asked.
"The Third Knull War will probably be harder than the previous one, won't it?" she asked, as the Half-Fallen One nodded her head.
"It would be safer if we believe it will."
"Then, are you sure you still want to join, Ryuk?" Morgaine asked as Ryuk turned to her.
"I mean, the previous one rendered you half-destroyed, and the next one will be harder. Do you think it'll be worth it?" Morgaine said, as the Half-Fallen One nodded.
"That is true, Ryuk."
"To head into war, you go with the belief of being ready to take a life."
"But if you choose to take one's life, you must be ready to forfeit yours as well. Are you really sure you're ready to forfeit your life?" the Half-Fallen One asked as Ryuk's eyes narrowed before words appeared in his head.
'Ready to kill or be killed...'
Silence covered the dining room for a while as Ryuk went deep into thought, his head flashing with memories as he thought about the answer. It truly was a difficult question.
For truly, Ryuk had no fear of battle.
A war?
A fight?
To take a life? He didn't really care much about all that. But one who headed into a fight with the aim of killing ought to be ready for his own death too.
Was he, Ryuk, truly ready for his death?
That was something that he couldn't say he was unafraid of.
If anything, death was the thing he was most afraid of.
"I'm not afraid of war."
"When I stand before an army of Knulls, I don't feel fear at all, and when I strike, I don't hold back. I'm ready to kill."
"But have I made peace with my own death? I'm afraid I've not."
"I hope I could be one of those warriors that could wade into the field of battle not at all afraid of their fates. But unfortunately, that's not me."
"I feel no fear for war, but my fear of death is beyond me."
"Then you shouldn't go to war, don't you think?" Morgaine said as Ryuk gently shook his head.
"The fear of death doesn't stop me or hold my hands, nor have I read a law where it says only those unafraid of death should head to war."
"I fight regardless, and I never lose." Ryuk said, a faint amused smirk appearing on the lips of the Half-Fallen One.
"You know, I know many with such confidence, but most of them get buried in the graveyard of swords. All get killed in the end," she said with an emotionless gaze, as Ryuk shrugged his shoulders before muttering.
"They're not me,"
Words that instantly captured the hearing of the Half-Fallen One.
"That reminds me. How's Morgaine's Queen training going?" Ryuk asked with a curious smile as the Half-Fallen One's face lit up and Morgaine furrowed her eyebrows instead.
"She's doing pretty well, according to the Throne Lords. But of course, she pales in comparison to me in every aspect of the training. Comparing us might even be an overkill," the Half-Fallen One said as she flashed Morgaine a taunting smirk, to which she snorted.
"You're just a monster." She taunted back with a smirk.
"And you're my daughter." The Half-Fallen One dished back with the same smirk as Morgaine hmphed before diving into her food, and Ryuk could only shrug helplessly.