In the thickening pressure, Ryuk’s loud laughter made them raise an eyebrow, and even Zaffree furrowed her eyebrows, and he stopped, whispering a quiet
"I’m sorry,"
"You say I need an invitation to see the king!?"
"I promise you both, when I finally see him, I’ll also be seeing it through that both of you get hanged!"
Zaffre said, and Ryuk watched as the expressions of both Zaffre Kraken Guards changed.
She turned away, only to pause when one of the Guards quickly spoke:
"Well, we can help a little by asking the king if he is free to attend to you," One of them said, as Zafree hummed, swimming towards the door.
"Open it!" She commanded them.
This time, they didn’t try to argue back, and the door opened wide.
This made it clear to Ryuk.
They feared her words, and it seemed they would be truly hanged if they refused her.
It made her wonder just what her relationship with the king was, and what type of king would so easily hang his guards.
When they stepped in, it was like stepping through a new world.
An incredibly grand throne hall of purple with massive pillars at every corner, but that wasn’t what took the majority of Ryuk’s attention.
It was what stood at the end of the throne hall:
A humungous throne, where an equally humungous being sat.
It was a Masclune figure, incredibly muscular and as tall as a titan.
What was more were the six massive bulging hands he had, resting upon the throne’s armrest.
Long Purple hair trailed over his figure, part of it covering his face, and obscuring his true features.
A throne rested on his head, glinting with a purple light, whose glow encapsulated the entire throne room.
The steps to his throne were guarded by a total of six, ten-meter-tall tridents, all releasing a pulsing arc of energy that flowed through the entire throne room.
In the next instant, Zafree’s form changed, turning humanoid.
But it was a different humanoid.
Zafree had formerly just copied the form of one of her Nexus Legion Ascendant generals, but this time she took a new form.
Her true form, where she appeared completely different from the person Ryuk was used to, but he knew it was still Zafree.
’Why did she never use this form until now?’
He mused silently to himself, but then his brows creased when he watched her knees reach for the ground.
Before they did, Zafree felt a hand grab her shoulder, and in the next moment, she was whisked back to her feet.
Her eyes flashed with surprise as she turned to Ryuk, only to see a blue vein pulsing on his forehead.
"Do Not Kneel For A Being In My Presence," he said.
"Ever!"
It wasn’t a statement.
It was an absolute command, the first of its kind, and it shook Zafree’s heart.
"Hmmm..."
A deep hum reverberated through the throne room, and Ryuk turned, finding the crowned being slowly raising his head.
And from the space of his hair, a violet light shone upon the world, the result of two eyes that had opened.
They settled upon Ryuk, holding an unfathomable level of pressure and calm.
In the next moment, the crowned being fully rose from his throne, and all pillars of the throne room began quivering.
It was as if the crowned being himself was what truly held everything together.
Standing upright, he stood at twenty meters tall, and one of his massive hands reached out, grabbing one of the eight tridents.
"Even if your own act of not kneeling could be excused for ignorance. Do you now ask for my own daughter to not kneel before me!?"
His voice, though calm, held incredible vigor that resonated continuously.
"Daughter!?"
Ryuk muttered in shock, turning to look at Zafree, who turned her gaze to the side, not arguing against it.
But the shock lasted only for a moment.
Ryuk stepped forward toward the being, walking the entire 300 meters of the throne room to stand directly before him, barely centimeters away.
He raised his head, and their gaze collided hard.
"Even If You Were Her God, She Will Not Kneel For You In My Presence."
The voice wasn’t loud, but it was incredibly clear and filled with deadly, unshakeable conviction.
Almost as if the heavens would fall before those words would be taken back.
"You’re arrogant. Not like there was much more to be expected from a Jade Dragon," the being said, recognizing his base form, but Ryuk’s expression was unchanging.
"I think it will do the entire kingdom some good if you calm down a bit, Yorimunda."
A gentler voice echoed, and out from the side of the throne, a purple door manifested.
The sight of it made Zaffre’s eyes flash with shock, and much to her disbelief, she stepped out.
A woman, so beautiful it was like she never belonged to this world, but not only her beauty, her form was also eye-catching.
Her torso was humanoid, while beneath that was a massive fishtail, two meters long, glinting with purple lights.
"Celeste!?" the crowned being said in shock, his hard expression thawing at the sight of the woman.
Ryuk gazed upon the mermaid, but his expression didn’t change.
Beauty had never moved him for as long as he could remember, but his expression changed slightly when he watched a person swim into the woman’s hands, embracing her tightly.
"Mother... you’re finally awake."
Zafree’s voice echoed tearfully, and a single tear also rolled down from the woman’s eye, only to turn into a purple pearl as it hit the glowing ground.
"Zafree," she whispered, swimming upward in a spiral.
How long had it been since she last held her own daughter in her hands?
Yorimunda turned from them, looking at Ryuk, but then he stepped back, digging his trident into the ground and taking a seat upon his throne.
He had retreated, and Ryuk didn’t sense the slightest fear from him, yet he did.
It was from the words.
He turned his gaze back up and found the woman swimming down from the sky with the beaming Zafree.
"I do not think Zafree told you anything about us both, did she?"