Ryuk asked them, his voice ringing loud and clear as the sniper man shouted once more.
"The lady you’re holding hostage—drop her now! And get down on the floor or we’ll open fire..." he said aloud, and Ryuk sighed.
"For a sniper, you have quite a shitty eye."
"Anyway, I asked you lot not to come down below, and you did actually listen. For that reason, I’ll be leaving y’all in one piece..." he said, and in the next instant, a vortex formed around both Ryuk and Antares.
In less than a split second, they disappeared.
The scene was more than shocking to the guards who had just watched the world seem to pause—and then, there was nothing in the area where their target had been standing.
"Where... where did he go? Don’t fall for it, they must have turned invisible,"
"Open Fire!"
___
When the vortex materialized once more, Ryuk appeared right outside the gate of the TitanForge.
But the instant he stepped down, a light crossed through his eyes as he returned his gaze upward and noticed two individuals standing in the air before him.
Then, he looked forward, finding that another person was sitting directly on top of his car.
A green-haired man, wearing equally green attire, with a nonchalant face.
"Nice ride you got here, Mr. Hero."
"Fuck off my car. Now!" Ryuk said, and the man grinned as he slid down from the top of Ryuk’s car before sitting on the bonnet.
"Or what, little kid?" he asked daringly. Ryuk was about to take a step forward when he stopped, as Antares walked forward instead.
"Go on. I’ll join you in a minute..." he said while stretching.
And in the next moment, he faded off where he stood.
"Immediately—"
BAAAAAANNNNG!
The green-haired man, who was still seated, had his face smashed in with a sudden punch before he could react.
It was like the punch had pierced through time to appear before him and just before he could even be sent flying back.
Antares’ hand flashed forward, grabbing his head and then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A five-meter diameter crater appeared on the ground as the man was smashed into it, his head buried within as he stood there upside down, with red blood quickly filling up the hole.
Ryuk stepped past his body as the door to the side opened up, and he placed the unconscious body of Rakshasa in the little backseat that was present.
It should’ve been too small for one person to sit upright in it, since it was a hypercar with not much consideration for back space.
But Ryuk had managed to fit her in nicely by placing her to sit horizontally instead.
Once done, he got into the driver’s seat.
The car was started quickly enough, and unceremoniously, Ryuk drove out of the Titan Foundry—behind him rolling smoldering emissions of fire and dust, along with serious shockwaves.
45 seconds into the drive, he swerved to the side, stopping.
A hand reached forward and opened up the car door, and Antares slipped in without much change in his expression or body.
The only sign he’d gone through battle was a shallow flaming cut at the side of his chest.
"They’re still all alive..." he said to Ryuk, who nodded his head, unperturbed, before he resumed driving, continuing down the road.
The silence was stifling before Ryuk suddenly grinned hard, and it was like a spark had been set as both burst into loud, boisterous laughter.
"Tell me, Antares. Wasn’t that better than going to some clown party and requesting permission from some head clown to use the forge?" he asked, and Antares nodded his head.
"It very well is. That is how a true barbarian would have handled things. We got in, got what we wanted, and got out."
"And seems like you managed to get something even better out of it..." he said with a smirk as Ryuk raised an eyebrow
. But then he watched as Antares took a nod to the side, prompting Ryuk to turn his attention to the unconscious Rakshasa.
"Oh?"
"Yes. HAHAHAHA!" Antares said, laughing out loud as Ryuk grinned, but then replied,
"Actually, it’s not that. I feel like she has some semblance to you instead." He said, drawing Antares’ attention.
"Semblance to me.
"Yes...In the sense that she was once a free-living person, but was then placed into a test."
"There’s a cave down in the lava where I found her. And like the tests, I completed it—and instead of ending her, I decided to bring her out... like I did with you."
He spoke, and Antares’ eyes gleamed with understanding, and he nodded.
"Now that makes sense."
"But if you don’t mind, Antares."
"But who is this person? Who could be so powerful as to be able to gather absolute experts like you at the Eternity stage, defeat you, and lock you up in tests!?"
"She’s the second person I’ve found out of sheer luck. Who knows if there are still more of you guys out there?"
"Why didn’t he just kill you all? I mean, he defeats you, doesn’t hurt you or try to fully cripple you?"
"But he prefers to place you in tests, instead? I’m thinking that’s a bit..abnormal," Ryuk muttered under his breath as he watched Antares’ gaze spark with a blood-red glow.
"He’s an Insane Monter, and as for the reason why he left us alive, I can say with 90% certainty—it’s that he himself doesn’t understand."
"And one day, I’ll find him—and kill him," Antares swore as Ryuk furrowed his brow.
"She, too. She has that conviction. To take her revenge..." he mused under his breath, as Antares’ pressure eventually dispersed, settling his rage and regaining his positive aura.
"But Ryuk... about what we did back then?" Antares suddenly asked, and he replied.
"Yes?"
"Don’t you think that’ll affect your image?"
"Like, you saved the world and all that, and the day when the world expects you to be seen in a commemoration of its fallen warriors."
"Footage appears revealing you brute-forcing your way into the TitanForge... clearly without their permission."
"Don’t you think this will backfire on your image?"
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A/N:
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In and Out_SnowySmoos