Abyss Draconis

The second they stepped out of the portal, Ryuk took a deep inhale, feeling his chest growing light.

For some reason, sitting on the throne gave him a heavy feeling, as if he wasn't sitting on the throne and the throne was the one sitting on him instead.

It was an unbearable feeling.

"What are you going to do to me?" The voice came from the side where Ionio stood, but this time, he wasn't in combat mode, nor did he seem ready to engage in combat.

"You finally realized it's futile?" he said with a scoff, whispering. "A pity you realized that too late."

"It is not a pity. Those Angels who you crushed died protecting Ammamora from an evil like you. The same for Emeris and Oryo."

"They died… guardians," Ionio said as Ryuk turned to look at him.

"No. They died… fools," he proclaimed, his voice unremorseful at all.

"If I were in your shoes, I see a thousand ways for a single blood not to be shed at all."

"The one who was responsible for the Grade X evacuation was an Archguard whose loyalty was already sworn to Ammamora."

"He serves Ammamora," Ryuk said,

"The fact that he showed his ID card instead of just engaging in meaningless combat to test his strength or whatever shows he never sees Ammamoran as any evil."

"The evolution he went through, I would have no idea, but since he's definitely on our side, why bother engaging him in combat?"

"If I were worried about the possibility of his evolution causing chaos in the future, or curious how he had achieved such power."

"I would have invited him over, with an offering to teach him how to reign down his aura so as not to affect Ammamora, and naturally, through that process I would know a thing or two about how he came to be what he came to be."

"A young talent like that should have been won over," Ryuk analyzed, before turning back to Ionio.

"But what did you do? The second he said he won't come with you, from lack of trust in what you will do, you turned to force, believing you were supreme, instead of trying to show you can be trusted."

"You could have taken a step back, but just as you said, he was just a fortuitous ordinary Archguard."

"You looked down upon him and placed yourself on the higher pedestal you have always known."

"The result?"

"You all died. So tell me, did you die like guardians… or like arrogant fools?" Ryuk asked.

"But—"

"I didn't spare you to argue about good or bad, or right and wrong…" he said, cutting him off.

"I have a simple order for you: call off the evacuation and let Ammamora return to normal," Ryuk said, before turning away and continuing into the distance until he disappeared from view.

"That's… that's it?"

He had thought the young man would try to plant fear in his heart, remind him that his life was in his hands and could be ended at will.

Perhaps even use him as a tool to step into the power game.

But he had asked him what was bound to happen anyway, and even left right after.

He remained standing in the position and eventually muttered,

"We really never came prepared…"

________________

[You really just decided to let him go?]

The system panel flashed as Ryuk glitched through the skies.

"I'm not that stupid, system," he replied, as he paused in the air, and then he closed his eyes, dipping into the subconscious.

[You placed a camera on him!?] the system asked, bewildered, as Ryuk's eyes opened.

[But… but when!? You never had a camera or bought anything like that from the shop.]

"It's a new skill I feel I can do. And as for placing it on him, that happened when I grabbed his wings and exited the space."

"It's not just a camera. It's like a soul-watch that plays every single thing he does from now on, and a subconscious part of me had a singular purpose of simply watching him."

"He knows my identity as an Archguard and, therefore, a danger."

"A little bit of tracking and it's only a matter of time before he finds out that Mrs. Lnia and Old Jack, or Morgiaen, are related to me."

"If he wants revenge, he is more than capable of that, so killing him would have been the best choice, but…"

[If you had killed him, the evacuation would have been delayed, and Ammamora may even descend into further chaos.]

"Exactly. So, why not just spare him and watch him instead?"

"He would never admit to the higher-ups if there are any that they all lost to some Archguard."

"So, he would lie about it, say they fought the invader and he was the only one who survived or something like that."

"All of that just works to keep me hidden from unnecessary attention and headache."

"The second I sense him trying to dig deeper into my background, I can easily get rid of him…"

He said, without much change in expression.

The panel blinked.

[Is it me or does it seem like you have turned… colder?] the system asked, and Ryuk's hand reached for his neck, pressing lightly against it for a moment before he raised an eyebrow.

"No, I feel warm?"

[Never mind.]

It replied, and Ryuk looked oddly before shrugging it off.

He glitched once more and looked beneath him to find a humongous sea wave crashing here and there.

"I feel Zaffre's presence somewhere in this water…" he muttered to himself, and in the next instant, he glitched, disappearing again.

The heavy wave of the sea paused for a moment as if stuck in time before—

SPLASSSSSHH

A powerful wave of seawater burst into the sky, resulting momentum of his diving headfirst into the sea.

He continued onward through the cold silent darkness before he finally came upon it...