Night World Players

Chapter 266 This affection is in no way inferior to theirs.
The morning breeze blowing in from the window was very gentle.

Last gently reached out, feeling the breeze brush against his fingertips.

"Even if you know it's an illusion, a mental landscape that's been projected, it doesn't matter."

"For me, Canaan is such a special place."

The boy spoke softly like that.

His figure was bathed in the soft morning sunlight, reflected in Amys's eyes, his profile sharp and deep.

“Throughout my life, I have always worn various different personas.”

"A seemingly harmless, indistinguishable passerby; a charming and polite gigolo who always attracts the opposite sex and makes those who see him feel like they're basking in a spring breeze; a cold-blooded, ruthless demon, cruel enough to be a killing machine..."

"In the echoes of history in the Night World, and in the eyes of others in the Western Continent of the present... the person named 'Last' possesses so many contradictory aspects."

His voice paused slightly.

"However, I know that those were just disguises I used in different situations to gain the greatest benefit for myself and achieve my predetermined goals."

“They are just aspects of a character I play on stage as an actor, not the real me.”

Luster smiled slightly.

He looked up at the window, his gaze seemingly crossing the mountains and reaching the cave at the end.

"Beneath the mask of disguise, the real me... is nothing more than that reckless, hot-blooded, and naive little boy from the town of Canaan."

"Because I admire the knight stories in fairy tales, I casually talk about my ideal of becoming a champion of justice."

"Because he wanted to find the little girl who had gone missing in the same town, he recklessly rushed into the cave alone, completely ignoring that he was only a six or seven-year-old child himself... to the point that the rescuer almost died in the cave along with the girl he was trying to save."

He turned his gaze away from the distant mountains outside the window and back to the blonde girl in front of him.

"So, in that case, I have to apologize to you, Xiao Ai."

Last looked at the breakfast utensils that the two of them had already eaten clean.

“Back in that dark cave, I promised you that I would take on the responsibilities of a father from now on... to prepare your three meals a day and take care of your daily needs.”

"But in the end, it was I who forgot everything that happened in Canaan..."

“When I was trapped in the time loop of Deep Blue Harbor, during those days when I lost my memory and was most distraught, it was you who took care of me.”

He gave an apologetic smile.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Xiao Ai."

……

Listening to Last's voice.

Not far away, the girl with light golden hair couldn't help but show a slightly surprised expression.

After a long while, she silently turned her head away, not letting Rust see her expression.

"What is this, apologizing like this without any explanation..."

"and--"

Amys paused slightly.

"You say you're always disguised and wearing a mask in front of others... but you only reveal your true self in front of me."

"To say something like that so suddenly."

"That's such a shameless confession..."

Amys's murmur was so soft that even Raste, who was standing right next to her, couldn't hear it.

However, she quickly calmed down again.

The girl stood up and began tidying up the tableware.

"Speaking of which..."

She composed herself and spoke again in a voice that betrayed no sign of her distress: "Tomorrow is the day Miss Hiltina is scheduled to hold her coronation ceremony, isn't it?"

"Ah."

Luster nodded.

"The angels who have remained among the tomb guardians since the ancient eras... and all the ancient gods who still covet the present world, will probably take this opportunity to come out in full force."

Originally, this was just a feud between the shore keepers, the Granville Empire, and the tomb keepers.

However, as time went on, undercurrents surged among various forces, forming alliances and counter-alliances... The impact of this war extended far beyond a mere secret organization or the future of a nation.

Rather, it may very well determine the future direction of the present world, that is, the entire Seventh Age civilization.

Thinking this, Last looked up slightly and saw the girl in front of him, who was full of energy, humming a Canaan folk song as she tidied up the tableware with light steps.

"Xiao Ai, how are you feeling right now?"

"nice."

Amys answered in a light voice:

"After a full epoch of slumber, the Judgment Star Cup has been completely absorbed by me and has truly become a power that I can control at will."

"In the realm of the mind, after the Star Cup and the embodiment of the will of Heaven dissipated..."

"I am now the master of the Judgment Star Cup, the Judgment Angel in my prime."

"With the added combat power from the trial sequence, if I were facing those old Denges who have fallen into a deep sleep in the long river of history, I feel like I could take on three of them in one go without any problem."

"Is it."

Last's voice paused slightly.

"Xiao Ai, let me finish what I have to say."

He spoke slowly.

"If possible, I hope that when the great battle in the capital breaks out, Xiao Ai, you won't go into battle yet..."

"Once the situation becomes clear, you can then decide whether to intervene on the battlefield as part of our reserve force."

This is a reasonable decision.

Even though Amys has truly ascended to become an angel, and even though she wields the "Judgment" sequence, which is arguably the most destructive and capable of direct combat among all sequence ranks.

However, Amys was not a true superhuman.

Before being caught up in the catastrophe of spacetime collapse, Amys was just an ignorant country girl who had grown up in Canaan since childhood, never seen the scenery outside the mountains, and had never been in contact with the world that belonged to the extraordinary.

After time-traveling to the Sixth Era, Amys quickly became a member of the "Artificial Angel Project," remaining in a deep sleep and self-sealing until today. Despite possessing the rank of an angel, she has never truly trained or fought like a superhuman who rose from humble beginnings.

Compared to Rast, Gray, Hiltina, Cisel, and even the legends and angels of the tomb guardians... these extraordinary individuals who have experienced countless battles between life and death, who have truly emerged from trials of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and who have long since etched fighting and killing into the very instincts of their souls.

Amys is undoubtedly an exception among angels, an anomaly among anomalies.

Even those Night Travelers at Starry University, in terms of combat experience and killing skills, are undoubtedly much stronger than Amys.

If one holds an absolute advantage in position, it goes without saying that one can crush the enemy with absolute power.

However, if the two sides are evenly matched and their levels are roughly equal... then the difference in combat experience could very likely lead to unexpected accidents.

And Rust absolutely did not want to see such an accident happen to Amys.

However, the moment such a thought arose in my mind...

The next moment, Rust saw the blonde girl put the cutlery in her hand into the sink, then slowly turn around and stare at him silently.

Then, she lowered her head sadly and said:
Why would you say something like that to me?

“Because, Xiao Ai, you lack practical experience as an extraordinary being… I’m worried that something might happen to you when you confront other angels head-on.”

"Lust, I'm really getting angry."

She walked quickly to Rust, her sky-blue eyes flashing with a complex expression.

There was anger in it, but more than that, there was something deeper, something that was hard to explain.

"You mean, you want me to go to that dangerous place with Miss Hiltina and the others, to face those tomb guardian angels and demigods who are full of malice towards you... and then I'll wait for you alone in a safe place and watch over you?"

"You know perfectly well what my answer to this question will be."

She took a deep breath.

"If I were the kind of person who, out of fear of danger and death, and knowing my own vulnerability, I could accept this choice."

"Like those female protagonists in Dragon Quest games, who, while the hero ventures deep into the Demon Tower to challenge the final demon king, can only stay alone in the safe zone at the rear, silently praying and offering blessings, and then serve as decorative figures in the epilogue of the game's ending cinematic..."

“Therefore, from the very beginning, I will not accept Grey’s suggestion to become a member of the artificial angel project.”

Amys stared directly into Rust's eyes.

Sky-blue eyes met dark pupils at an extremely close distance. The girl's gaze was usually so gentle, but at this moment it was like a burning flame, unyielding.

“If you, Rust, were to leave and never return, I would do the same to myself.”

"Because for me, not only has the meaning of living been lost... but I also cannot forgive myself for not standing with you when you faced a powerful enemy, but instead just staying in the same place and waiting."

After she finished speaking, Amys moved a few inches closer to Rust.

She gently placed the fingers of her right hand on the center of the boy's chest, a slight smile appearing on her lips.

And the look in those beautiful sky-blue eyes, which had been filled with sadness and anger, softened once again.

"To this day, my promise remains valid."

"If we really have to desert, then the two of us will escape together... We'll just hide in the Night World, in this newly built Canaan town, until the end of time. No matter what happens outside, even if the world is destroyed or a great flood occurs, it will have nothing to do with us."

"Or they could simply abandon their faith and choose to side with the tomb keepers or the ancient gods, it doesn't matter."

“If you want to do this, then I’m willing to be a cowardly deserter with you.”

She opened her arms and gently embraced Rust, pressing her face against Rust's chest.

The subtle warmth from skin-to-skin contact is transmitted silently, carrying the temperature of the heart.

"However... I think that in the end, you, Rust, will not make the choice to run away."

"Because, as you just admitted yourself... to this day, the real you is still that reckless and passionate little boy living in the town of Canaan, yearning to become a champion of justice."

"It doesn't matter who you lose to, but you can never lose to yourself."

Amys's voice echoed in Last's ears at an extremely close distance.

That is the echo of time, as if it has been wandering from the Canaan town two hundred years ago to the present day, never ceasing.

"Besides, deep within the starry sea, your sister Grey is still waiting for you."

"And in the real world, in the Western Continent... there is still Miss Hiltina, fighting to protect our future, isn't there?"

"Although I have not yet been able to actually meet Miss Hiltina, I have never seen what she looks like."

“But I think Miss Hiltina must be a very beautiful woman… After all, I’ve never heard of a woman who could earn a 9.5 rating from you, Rust.”

Amise took a few steps back and gently stroked Rust's cheek with her fair hand.

“In the past, I did envy Miss Hiltina and Sister Grey... because they, who shared similar ideals with you, were undoubtedly more compatible with you, Rust.”

"But now, I no longer have such thoughts."

The girl's voice paused slightly.

"I certainly don't have the same grand and lofty ideals as my sister Grey, nor do I uphold them with all my life."

"I certainly don't have the courage and awareness to use the holy sword in my hand to cut through all obstacles and sever all distractions like Miss Hiltina, nor the decisiveness of a chariot."

"but--"

"Only in this matter."

"Only at this moment, the feelings I have for you are no less than theirs."

She whispered in Rust's ear.

"What they can do, I can do too."

Even if it means dying for you.

Listening to the girl's whispers in his ear, Last felt himself emptying his mind once again.

This was the umpteenth time he had been moved by Amys's sincerity and strength.

Looking back now, the reason he was able to find his original intentions again from the long time loop was because of the girl in front of him who always made him let down his guard.

"oh, I understand now."

Last nodded slightly and said nothing more.

All they have to do now is wait quietly for tomorrow to arrive.

It wasn't the tense waiting before a major battle, but rather a hopeful anticipation of that day of reunion.

(End of this chapter)