The question hit Asteralaxia like a high-speeding train, as she stared at Ryuk in disbelief.
Aster's plan had been simple—one she had carefully crafted from the second she had been trapped in her realm.
To devise a portal to random worlds that would allow them to gain access to her realm and help defeat the pawn that was used to trap her.
Once that was done, she would be freed, and then she would follow whoever freed her and escape to his or her world, freeing herself eternally.
Ryuk had done everything, and now she had been able to reach Endearth.
But her plan didn't just end there.
This planet was a wild world. It was unlike her real world, and she had already sketched a plan to return.
That plan was to widen the disparity between her and Ryuk's strength, hence rendering the Contract Grimoire ineffective.
She had planned that by going around Endearth and absorbing the Soul Power of high-ranked individuals to improve her own strength, using the absence of the 'Hurt' clause in the contract to her advantage.
She had also placed a tracker on Ryuk so she would be alerted when he was close to her, and she could move away from him, all until she reached the Eternity stage.
Once she reached the Eternity stage, the strength disparity between her and Ryuk would be too wide, and the contract would naturally be broken.
But less than a few minutes, and all her plans had gone distraught.
For one, Ryuk had been able to track her down. Secondly, he had a cure that could remove her ability of Soul Devour from others, successfully nullifying her siphoning and stopping her cultivation ascension.
And to top it all off, he had also reached the Cataclysm stage!
Asteralaxia already knew what Ryuk was capable of.
When he was only at the Dominion stage, he had been able to complete the quest, which she knew well would need the power level of the Cataclysm stage.
He was already capable of the Cataclysm stage of power at just the Dominion stage.
Now that he was at the Cataclysm stage, she wouldn't fool herself into thinking he was still only as strong as a Cataclysm expert.
Right now, the young man before her should be at least at the Pseudo-Eternal stage.
Even if she reached the Eternity stage right now, the contract wouldn't be broken, because the disparity of strength is no longer wide.
That had ruined her plan, and she had eventually come to accept her fate—but of course, a new plan was already brewing in her mind to escape his control.
But how could she have expected this offer?
The offer for her to regain her freedom after his world escaped the wars of the Knull.
But the question was—could she agree to it?
'This type of Wild World facing the Knulls and winning? It's difficult, very difficult,' Asteralaxia thought with furrowed eyebrows.
She had never considered the Knull at all ever since she had arrived, because she was confident she would be leaving soon anyway.
But now, if she was to consider his deal, then she must be well aware of how they would fare against the Knulls.
'It will be difficult for them to escape their fate,' Aster muttered.
She knew well the horrors of the Knull, and she had more than once come across many worlds which all had succumbed to the might of the Knulls.
There were a few strong experts in this world, something she had found out during the small time she had spent here, but the Knulls?
The least thing they were lacking in were Strong experts.
It was a tough choice—as she would still be trapped if this world ended up losing to the Knulls.
But then, Aster's eyes flashed.
'It might be impossible for a Wild World on this level to fight against the Knulls and prevent their fate from being turned to a Dark Gomar. But they're not hopeless. I'll take the risk…' she thought, as Ryuk silently watched Aster's eyeballs rolling here and there—and in the next instant, she bit her hand and swerved it forward, sending splashes of her blood flying toward the Contract Grimoire.
Quickly enough, it landed into it, dispersing into it.
In the next instant, the Contract Grimoire flashed with a powerful golden light before it faded into the empty space—to a place even Ryuk couldn't sense.
"You agreed to the deal?" Ryuk asked in surprise as he looked at Aster's serious gaze.
But then his shock faded, followed by a brilliant light that shined through his eyes as he unconsciously turned his gaze into the space.
"Seems like we're not so hopeless after all..." he muttered, his words barely picked up by Aster.
"Seems like you didn't have much hope yourself?" Aster said, as Ryuk nodded his head.
"I was hopeful at least. But I'm never the hope type of person. I never loved hope."
"The Knull being stronger than recorded is scary."
"That was why I requested the deal to you."
"You know about the Knull and their power. If even you yourself refused the deal, then that means we're truly completely hopeless since you'd rather risk being under my control than believing that we will succeed in defeating the Knulls."
"That would have destroyed any hope I have left in me."
"But you agreed. That means there's a clear hope," Ryuk stated as Aster shrugged her shoulders.
"I won't say there's a clear hope. I would just say I know a way…" she replied, as she continued into the distance and Ryuk followed after her.
"Good. You just need to show that plan to the Ten Leaders. They would be a major help," Ryuk stated as they continued into the distance before he came to a stop, as his gaze looked downwards where he could see the top of the large mansion.
Bringing out his device, he was about to dial up MadWhite when...
"You're finally here..." MadWhite's voice resounded as they both turned their gaze behind them and watched as a vortex opened up and MadWhite stepped out with a grin on his face.
"Welcome back, Ryuk."
"MadWhite!"