Far away from Ardoros, within an expanse spanning a distance of 7,914.3 miles, where the night seemed to dissolve, a scream tore through the shrouding poisonous smoke, sending a small shockwave.
“Kkhhwweekkk!”
CRUNCH
“Shut up, you cockroach. Can’t you see I am busy?” With a firm grip, Lucas shattered the metal like hard skull of the last remaining black creature, seated atop a huge mountain of carcasses filling an entire crater, which appeared freshly prepared unlike one a hundred miles away filled with the dark aura, aftereffect of the Rakshasa technique.
Thud
“Sigh, bro, I was just trying to take a small peek.” Jumping down from the thirty-foot mountain, landing on the broken ground, Lucas sat with crossed legs, pondering how he merely wanted to catch a glimpse of Ryuk’s brain, but something sent his body flying, severing his connection too.
“Let’s start, shall we?” Closing his eyes, Lucas’s body slowly became surrounded by a transparent barrier, enclosing him within.
“Huh, why can’t I feel my body?” Lucas’s eyes snapped open, realizing he couldn’t even feel his body, let alone connect with it, leading him to one conclusion instantly: “Bro, did you destroy my body in anger?”
“So, it is indeed true that Ryuk Devereaux came out of his sleep.”
‘!?’
“Huh, is it you, Psycho?” Suddenly hearing a soft voice, Lucas turned towards a materializing figure.
From delicate fingers to arms slowly materializing out of thin air, a woman bathed in her own aura’s illumination became visible in that darkened place, wearing a dark black robe, adorned with two furry black ears on her head accentuating her figure by a furry steady tail at back.
“…..” Hearing Lucas’s words, Iliantra didn’t speak; she only stood, looking at him blankly with her black eyes, already accustomed to being referred to as such.
“Lucas, I received a message from Grandpa just now.” Calmly stating the reason for her arrival, Iliantra lifted her hand to show a necklace, before infusing mana to play a message.
:: “My dear sweaty, today your Grandpa was asked for your hand in marriage by Lady Alisia’s son. He is a very kind-hearted boy indeed, very humble even for an Ascendancy Ranker. I am giving you his Insignia’s address; you both can talk.” ::
‘!?’
“What?! Bro is in Ascendancy?” Lucas’s eyes instantly widened, finding it surreal and impossible to digest, only if he wasn’t aware of the voice belonging to the head of the Flagbearer Confirmation Section, who would be able to see Ryuk’s strength while providing the Insignia, he wouldn’t have believed.
“Why did he propose to me?” Ignoring Lucas’s surprise, Iliantra came directly to her reason for being here.
“What? Hey, aren’t you surprised to know that he is in Ascendancy?” Lucas was already surprised, but seeing the composed demeanor of the young woman, he felt confused.
“Is it really surprising?” Narrowing her gaze, the woman, seeing Lucas’s expression, completed her sentence, “He had killed two Legendary Rankers at the mere age of eleven.”
“But wasn’t bro in a coma for five years?” Lucas had already noticed the absence of any energy when he had brought Ryuk back after the battle with Lady Drishti, making it confirm that him in coma for such long time had halted his growth.
“To be exact, it’s five years, eight months, and twenty-three days,” Iliantra stated before continuing, “And yes, he was sleeping all this time, but he is different.”
“Huh? Because he isn’t native to Ardoros?” Lucas made a wild guess, taking Iliantra’s words as meaning that Ryuk was different from them in resources.
“He is privileged and blessed by heaven, Lucas,” turning her gaze towards the necklace in her hand, Iliantra continued, “He was born with a golden spoon, had a body with the purest bloodline, a mother who was just two steps away from being the head of the family, and a place devoid of any power struggle—a favorable place for anyone to train and grow limitlessly.”
‘….’ Lucas kept looking at her while her softened gaze turned towards him before speaking.
“But we are not, Lucas. We were born in branch families, had the lowest bloodline purity, had to struggle all our way to this place, even going as far as to participate in the Heir Battle just to make a name for ourselves, alone unlike those who have a whole army moving with them. So, Ryuk Devereaux is different, Lucas,” Iliantra’s gaze fixed on Lucas, while not feeling much from all this, after all, at the end, it was all true—she was nothing but an extra with nothing to support her back.
Lucas, hearing her genuine words, turned his gaze downward before slowly lifting it again, while blankly stating, “You damn psycho. Aunt got her foundation destroyed to protect her child and thrown in that shitty place which takes away one’s energy, not in the least favorable for anyone to grow. Where did you get your logic from?”
“And still he killed two Veterans at such tender age….sigh, I am not going to argue with you on this, but it is true that we are just the background crowd standing while watching him get to the top. But whatever,” coming out from her words, focusing on the main reason for which she was there, she stated, “Why did he ask for my hand in marriage?”
“Hey, you delulu, don’t be delusional. Why would bro want to marry a below-average woman like you?” Lucas scoffed with a mocking face, looking at the woman with black hair and black eyes, unlike Devereaux members who had amber eyes, signifying the lowest level of purity in bloodline with proof being her two furry ears, revealing her as mixed blood.
“….I am aware, that’s why I’m asking. Why would he ask for my hand?” Iliantra blankly stated, making Lucas realize why he refers to her as psycho, causing him to rub his forehead before realizing something.
SWISH
“Wait! That old man gave Bro’s Insignia’s address to you. Let me have it; I will convince him to share his location.” Lucas closed the distance to grab the necklace from the woman’s hand, but it seemed his approach wasn’t appreciated.
SCHLKT
“Kughh!….Wh-why?!” Lucas widened his eyes, fixed on the thin long blade of the katana piercing his neck, gripped with one hand by the woman while her other hand holding the necklace was distanced from her body, leaning in a battle engagement position.
“Don’t act like you’re dying. I want you to accompany me to visit him.” Iliantra narrowed her gaze while gripping the katana very elegantly, further explaining, “If he attacked me, with you being there, my chances of survival will increase.”
“What? Bro will never attack anyone without reason,” Lucas retaliated, defending the innocence of Ryuk.
‘…’ Hearing Lucas’s words, Iliantra slightly leaned and glanced at the thousands of carcasses making a whole mountain, while oozing poisonous smoke with which she had protected her body using aura until now, she stated, “Just a moment ago, you were the one crying about your body getting destroyed by him in anger.”
“…It was a misunderstanding.” Averting his eyes while his neck was pierced by the thin sword, Lucas stated, not making any eye contact with her.
“Do you even believe your own words?” Not wanting to engage in more conversation with Lucas, her hand tightly gripped on her sword’s hilt. With a calm and serious tone, she stated, “Are you going to accompany me or not?”
“No, I am not your servant.” Lucas sneered at her proposal while moving his hand towards the blade piercing his neck, since, he was slightly feeling itchy there.
WHOOSH
A white aura shrouded the blade, evident of her decision to bring Lucas with her willingly or forcefully.
Iliantra’s cold gaze settled on him before firmly stating, “If not your whole body, then pieces will be fine too, but we are going.”
REGINA, DRISHTI AND ILIANTRA ~ Their Illustration is uploaded on Discord, You can check this Out, Thank you
