Chapter 497: Trust, One More Time
“Seems like I haven’t been forgotten due to old age, at least. That leaves some hope—except you looked pretty freaked out.” Ryuk’s words came out along with a teasing grin.
Aster’s eyes flashed in disbelief before she mentally recalled her attack, her hand lowering to the table only to aid in helping her rise to her feet.
Even then, with her exceptional height, she only reached the height of his chest.
“I… how did you—?”
“You left this, remember?” Ryuk said before she could complete her words, as he unfurled his palm.
In it was a communication device, which Aster’s eyes widened upon sighting.
It floated forward, and she took it in her grasp.
This was the final thing she needed to completely drop her guards—it was the device she had left for Ryuk to be able to track her.
‘This explains why he could track me so fast and why he’s here at all…’
“Ryuk.” Aster called out, her voice mixed with faint disbelief, but most of all, it brimmed with tiredness—something Ryuk didn’t fail to notice.
In an instant, he was an inch before her, his arms wrapping around her and pulling her into a hug.
“It must have been exhausting, Aster. But it should be okay now.” He whispered into her ear, tearing down the little resistance she might have left, and unconsciously, her body melted into his embrace.
A line of tears dripped from her left eye, sliding down his shoulder as she buried her head deeper.
It has truly been tiring.
It really was for Aster—to keep this up for so long, to stay strong, and all alone too.
She had left a long, long time ago form the ruin and had spent a week waiting or perhaps hoping for Ryuk to appear.
But when he didn’t, she had left the tracking device and went on her own.
And slowly, days turned into weeks, weeks into months—and she never saw Ryuk again.
What affected her the most was guilt.
He had simply needed a place to lie low, and she had taken him to that ruin.
A ruin where he must have eventually met his end, the only thing that described the meaning for his absence.
She was the one responsible for killing him. And after that, she had sworn it her mission to make sure his will of saving Endearth was fulfilled.
It was hard work for her alone—most especially with the inhabitants of Endearth, who could never understand why she was working for them and held zero trust, eyeing her as an alien with an unclear purpose.
There was no one she could feel safe confiding in, no one with whom she felt a sense of familiarity and understanding—except Ryuk himself.
And she had killed him.
The guilt had powered her all this time.
And truly, it had been exhausting.
For some minutes, the sound of silent sniffing was all that filled the room.
The tears soaked Ryuk’s shoulder, but he didn’t falter at all.
After about ten minutes passed, the sniffing faded, and they both slowly parted from the hug.
“I know you have a lot of questions and I also wish I could learn more about what has happened all this time since my absence, but… I think we have more pressing issues right now, no?” Ryuk said, as Aster inhaled deeply, settling down the chaotic emotions before her eyes opened once more, brimming with seriousness and focus.
“Yes, we do.”
“The greatest problem is happening here in Garde A. Just a few kilometers away, the war is ongoing in full heat, and the Eternity Stage experts we have are struggling. They need backup urgently.”
“I’ve asked for two more Eternal Stage beings to prepare to support, but even those ones are only available because they’re still in healing from their last fight.”
“I’m afraid they’re not of much use against the fight.”
“We would barely be able to inch away a victory—but not without massive casualties and the potential to lose an Eternity Stage expert of ours.” Aster analyzed, as Ryuk’s eyes flashed, calculations ongoing in his head.
Before long, he turned to the glass wall and immediately, his eyes flashed with a burning blue light as the entire world briefly zoomed under Ryuk’s gaze—soon settling on a particular place where the Abyssal energy concentration was above the roof.
His eyes flashed.
“The war is taking place exactly 30,000 kilometers east of this building, right?” Ryuk asked, as Aster’s eyes flashed in surprise.
He can see that far!?
“Yes, the coordinates are correct,” Aster said. But then—
BEEEP
BEEEP
BEEEP
A beeping sound filled the air as a new footage opened up.
“A Knull King has descended from the open portal in Grade C, and the Eternity Stage experts have now engaged in battle.”
“A full-blown war has erupted within, and they might be needing backup soon.”
“The war is ongoing in two places?” Ryuk asked, and Aster nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then it’s simple. Do you have access to the Eternity Stage experts currently in war in Garde A?” he asked, and Aster nodded again.
“They all have communication devices that I can connect with…”
“Good. Then send them a message.”
“Tell them to prepare to move to Grade C and help the two Eternity experts who are fighting there.”
“I’ll arrive at the Grade A battlefield in five minutes.”
“In that timeframe, prepare them a map or jet of Grade C—where the second full war is happening—and let them join that war as quickly as possible.”
“If they reach five Eternal Stage beings on that battlefield in Grade C instead of the current two, I think that’ll be enough to secure victory…”
“It will.” Aster said, but then her eyes pinpointed in confusion as she asked
“But what about the Knull King in Grade A?”
“Who will take care of them if all the Eternity Expert leave for Grade C?”
But then she watched at Ryuk stretched out his hand and softly tapped her on the head.
“You’ve been in charge since forever, Little Aster. I think it’s time you leave things to the man now…” he said with a grin, as Aster wiggled her head off his pat.
“I’m not little, you goof,” she said, as Ryuk chuckled mockingly.
Then he turned toward the glass and began moving out.
“Send the orders now, Aster.” Those were his last words before his image suddenly glitched—and all Aster saw was a beam of light that appeared 500 meters away in one blink and disappeared in the other blink she made.
“How… how fast!”
Once he was gone, she grabbed the communication device as her teeth gritted together, but she pressed the call button down in the end.
‘I’ll trust you once more, Ryuk. Once more…’