"No, I didn’t say that, you did," Ryuk replied as Grozque’s upper eyebrows knitted.
’This damn kid really getting on my nerves,’ he silently swore to himself, but just before he could reply, the words echoed out through the group, shocking many of them.
The one who spoke was none other than Orraniel.
"We all have 4 Divine Senses spread out already," she said, turning her golden gaze to Grozque.
"Having one more additional or less would make no difference..." She ended.
’She’s supporting him?’ Was the thought that first echoed in Grozque’s head.
’Is that a silent jab at me?’ was the thought that echoed in Ryuk’s.
"Also," she continued, pausing the thought in his head.
"We focus on the Loyalty Mission, and hence all that helps towards achieving it. Anything else is of no importance, and could act as an impediment factor," she said while turning back and resuming her walk.
"And that also includes both of your Childish Skirmishes..." She completed her task, leaving both Ryuk and Grozque in a state of shocked stupor.
The group eyed the two of them once, snickering in mockery before they followed after the back of the disappearing Orraniel.
This leaves just Ryuk and Grozque standing frozen behind.
Their gazes drifted to the other before Grozque humphed, following after the group.
Ryuk paused for a moment, turning to look at the crimson Moon in the sky while silently determining in his heart.
"I think I’ve truly played around enough. This is the time to focus on the reason why I came here." He muttered to himself, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds.
Silence was all he met with first, but then he began he started opening it.
His ears began twitching, and his nose faintly scrunched up.
They began coming from a distance. All sounds being made in a radius of about a Kilometer, but it never ended.
It only kept spreading and spreading as he picked up each of these sounds.
After a couple of minutes, silently pausing and listening, he finally heard it.
A sound that seemed different than most.
It was like the sound of something faintly knocking on the wall. Or like a tool slamming into a rock, seemingly in carving.
It was a clear sign that whatever it was, was most definitely something’s conscious act.
A beast? Or one of those tourists, perhaps?
He could not identify, until he spread out his senses of smell, sniffing in the air.
The sound was the thread that bound it, bringing his smell forward.
When it finally reached the end, and Ryuk took a sniff.
His eyes immediately snapped open.
’Blood,’ he thought to himself, and a moment later, he silently faded away from where he stood, the dark mist trailing on the ground billowing away in a rising circle 5 seconds after his disappearance.
"He has stopped." Mason noticed, turning his back to look at Ryuk standing behind them, bathed by the crimson moonlight.
"Hey Grozque. You sure we want to live the kid..." He was saying when Grozque waved.
"If he wants to stay behind, then so be it. Not like he’ll be of much use anyway..." Grozque said with a tired shrug of his shoulder.
Just like Orraniel had said, it was time to focus on the mission, and four of them were more than enough for it.
He couldn’t care less about the ignorant boy anymore.
But just a moment later, they witnessed as Orraniel paused in her tracks, looking to her side.
The group followed her gaze, and just for a second, they saw the figure that flashed past them like a phantom, silently fading away with speed.
"Ryuk?" Grozque muttered, but then saw as Orraniel suddenly resumed running after the boy.
Without a word being said, they all quickly followed after, moving forward with speed, with Ryuk in the lead.
A moment later, and they were in a vast mountainous field.
It was a strangely bizarre place as fragments of broken rocks lay on the ground, their source none other than from those sky-piercing mountains that have been reduced to half their height and Majesty.
Some of them were high enough to become obstacles, but the group marched forward unrelentingly, shattering all in their path.
"It’s closer..." Ryuk muttered, closing his eyes and taking in a breath.
He could smell the blood, and it was thickening in its aura.
Soon enough, he watched as Orraniel appeared by his side, having caught up to him.
"Which direction?" She asked him, her voice colder than ice, but Ryuk paid no attention to it.
The nauseous smell was spreading, and he simply pointed in the direction where he could sense the thickening blood concentration.
A moment later and he stood in surprise as Orraniel suddenly disappeared from his sight as if she never existed.
"What the!?" He cursed only for a powerful hurricane of golden to slam into him from the side, almost blowing him off his feet.
"Such power...and speed," he thought, looking forward to seeing her back quickly disappearing, and soon it was completely out of his gaze.
"She really is a monster," he muttered as he also picked up his speed, although the group also soon came to arrive by his side with some, like Grozque, surpassing him by 500 meters.
It was a clear reminder to Ryuk just how much the difference between him and them was, although he didn’t feel an oppressed feeling in his heart.
Instead, he felt the flame of completion realigned within him.
Just before it could inflame and consume him.
An explosion of golden energy, along with a bizarre crimson energy, exploded into the sky and quickly enough.
Three more explosions followed after.
The group was quick to arrive at the scene.
A scene of chaos with weird beings Ryuk had never seen before.
"Crimson Demons..." Grozque words rang out, torn between a faint mix of shock and disgust.
Without a word being uttered, the group shot forward towards the dozen of these weird entities.
If you’re enjoying the novel, consider voting for the novel with Golden Tickets and Power Stones. It helps I, the author, with visibility on the NovelHub app.
In and Out_SnowySmoos