A porcelain white, oval-shaped face, with slight dark soot dusting her cheeks.
Eyes of a rainbow hue, tears like shimmering crystals sliding down from them.
She was the most gorgeous child Ryuk had ever seen—but the sadness in her expression broke him so deeply, his lips parted, his teeth grinding together.
But that only lasted a second... before the grinding from anguish turned into a slowly widening grin.
"Your skill is really powerful," he whispered, rising to his feet.
When Ryuk looked down at the floor beneath him, he saw it—rainbow runic lines etched all over the ground, almost invisible to ordinary eyes.
But he could feel it.
This runic circle was responsible for the deep sympathy blooming in his chest. And none but the little girl sitting before him could have conjured it.
She had wanted out of her imprisonment.
She had lured him here—and enhanced his sympathy through the runic formation all over her cell.
But now, Ryuk watched as the runes beneath his feet began to disperse, slowly recoiling back.
"H...e...lp...me...Ryuk...Pl...ea..se..." she called out once more, her voice soft and trembling.
Ryuk’s brows furrowed.
This was clearly a trap laid out for him.
She had called him in a way only he could respond to. Probably because she had somehow been able to witness how he had suceeded in saving his trio group earlier.
But now, her dispersing the runic circle she conjured—and then begging him for help?
Was she merely manipulating him into freeing her chains... or was she just another prisoner, desperate for freedom?
RUUUUUMMBLLLLLLEEE!
The rumbling of the entire base—shaking like it was about to collapse—snapped him out of his thoughts.
He knew then: he needed to make a choice.
He turned away, walking back toward the exit.
But when he reached the end of the prison wall—
RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBBBLLLEEE!
Again, the rumbling filled the air. The walls cracked dangerously.
This was a clear sign—the entire structure was about to fall.
And then, the thoughts returned to him again.
’Is ignoring the cry of someone asking for help really the best thing... just because I felt manipulated?’
’Can I really be cruel enough to watch her get buried alive... when I have the power to save her?’
’And if I save her—would it be fair to only save her? What about the rest of the prisoners, doomed to die when I could have saved them too?’
The thought struck him deeply.
He raised his scaly white hands to his face.
He held power.
Power enough to save them all if he wanted.
Yet... why had he doubted?
Why hadn’t he even considered saving the others until this one girl had called to him?
RUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBBLLLLE!
A third rumble echoed out.
Part of a wall collapsed—and Ryuk moved.
One step, he was gone from where he stood.
The sound of chains being broken rang out next.
Surprise covered the little girl’s face as she brought her hands to her face.
They were ugly red and mangled flesh around the wrists, wounded by the damage those chains had done to her.
But now... she had been freed.
A moment later, Ryuk picked her up into his arms.
Wordlessly, he disappeared from what used to be her prison cell.
All around them, other cells remained—with agonized screams echoing out from prisoners who could hear the walls of their prison crumbling.
They knew it: only certain death awaited them if the building truly collapsed, something which was eventually bound to happen soon enough.
But just before their despair could settle in, a blur of light flashed past with stunning speed.
Then—
CRRAAAASHHHH!!
The sound of their prison cells being ripped apart resounded.
At first, they thought it was an illusion.
But when they felt the weight lifted from their bonds... and stepped forward...
Realization struck them.
"We’ve... we’ve been freed!?"
RUUUUUUUUUUUMMMBLLLLEEE!
A fourth, thunderous rumble shook the structure, reminding everyone that time was running out.
Every prisoner began racing out of their shattered cells, bolting toward the prison exit.
Ryuk’s energy was exploding from him—his Beyonder Dragon skill and Sovereign Retribution skill activated to the max as he raced across rows of cells.
He broke them.
And broke them.
And broke them—until there was nothing left to break.
By the time he was done, he could already see Isha’s back up ahead.
"Hey, you’ll have to find your way out on your own..." he began, looking down at the girl in his arms.
But all he heard was her soft exhale.
She’d fallen asleep.
"I’m pretty sure I’ll regret this," Ryuk muttered, grinding his teeth as he moved, appearing upon the Frost Hydra.
"We leave now!" he called out.
Isha flew forward into Void’s portal without a word.
At the last moment, Ryuk saw the exit to the prison cell being broken and all the prisoners rushing out.
Just ten seconds after silence settled over the prison—
It completely collapsed.
The falling walls, powered by gravity and destruction, held enough force to bury even a Peak Apocrypha-stage being to their death.
A fate that about hundreds of prisoners in the building would’ve faced... had they not been freed.
__________________
The Hangar...
Ryuk was bewildered when he arrived at the hangar—only to find an open grassland.
A grassland that held millions upon millions of spaceships!
It was the largest number of ships he had ever seen in a single location—each bearing a unique design, shape, and size, all of which were travellers ship.
"Just how many people did they kidnap?" he wondered.
Without wasting time, Isha flew forward at top speed—quickly arriving before a peculiar-shaped spaceship among the bunch.
It was none other than the Snowardocraft—their spaceship.
And with a single touch from Elder Celine, it recognized them.
The group immediately poured in, the hatch sealing shut a moment later.
Elder Celine got to work at once—rapidly tapping on holo-screens and controls.
Ten seconds later—the engine thundered to life, the ship rising higher and higher into the air.
Moments later—it burst forward with speed, rising toward the sky of this strange world.