Chapter 1015: Help

Chapter 1015: Help

"...I am truly glad that they will die by your hands."

The empty field was barren, but it now seemed even more as Riley returned Neri's gaze — Riley had felt completely vulnerable before. Katherine, The Crimson Paladin, Pirate Queen Xra, Marleen, and now Neri.

All of them all had one thing in common — they were able to bypass all of Riley's mental defenses and could read through him completely. Either through feelings and emotions, he thought he didn't have, through his disguises, through his surface thoughts, through his memories, and now...

...seemingly just straight through him.

Riley is uncomfortable, that much is clear to him due to his eyebrows lowering on their own; something that doesn't really happen much for him unless he is truly affected deeply.

He could not even see anything else anymore, only Neri's sorrowful eyes and the tears they lay.

"Interesting..." Riley let out a small groan as he tilted his head to the side while approaching Neri again. Ramis blocked his path, but Riley seemed completely uninterested in him now. Riley just raised a finger, causing Ramis's tall and muscular body to stretch to its limits; his limbs, almost separated from the joints.

Riley then pointed his finger down, completely dropping Ramis to the ground; the hunter god, not even able to offer any hint of resistance. The only thing Ramis could do was watch as Riley crouched in front of the grieving mother of his now-deceased children.

"Neri... please, run!" Ramis used all of his strength to let out a scream, begging his wife to escape. Neri, however, just continued to stare at Riley's eyes.

"Do you know, Miss Neri?" Riley calmly said as he gently placed his hand on Emis's forehead; lightly brushing her hair before turning his eyes back to Neri, "I plan for my children to kill and stop me in the future, and if what you say will come to pass, that I will kill them for some reason — I do not see it happening. But if it does, perhaps in some chance that I become too far gone and even try to hurt my children...

...I would like your help, Miss Neri."

"I will never help you — I will not spare even a single breath or emotion," Neri bared her fangs, "You will suffer and suffer alone."

"Perhaps, but that is not the help I am seeking at all," Riley shook his head as a wide smile started to crawl on his face. He then removed his hand from Emis. And as he did so, Neri saw something in his hand; some sort of miniature glass box with something in it.

An insect?

No, not at all — it was humanoid, and although Neri couldn't feel anything from it, she knew enough of the power it held — at the same time, however, Neri could feel something else from it... the scent of death.

"What is that...?" Neri's eyes started to tremble as she saw Riley hiding the glass cage back in one of his many trusty pockets, "What is that!? What did you do!?"

"I am not doing anything, Miss Neri," Riley shook his head as he stood up and started backing away, "You are the one doing something, you will be helping me process what you have just told me." Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

"I was going to go my way, Miss Neri," Riley shook his head again, "None of this had to happen."

"Kill me."

"I am not going to do that."

"If you do not, I will seek the other gods and tell them all about you and your children — it will not be a war, but a hunt only for you," Neri's lifeless eyes turned to look at Riley, "Kill—"

And before Neri could finish her words, she suddenly found herself on a field of crystal; the corpses of her family, still within her arms.

"I am not going to kill you, Miss Neri," Riley once again repeated his words.

Neri weakly scanned the area, and as soon as she saw the wind god trapped inside a crystal, she quickly tried to kill herself — after all, the wind god may look lifeless, but Neri was sure he was completely alive and aware of everything that is happening around him... he was just completely helpless.

But alas, unfortunately for Neri, she found herself encased inside a crystal grave before she could take her life. Perhaps, forever immortalizing her regret and sorrow, literally — her thoughts as she is trapped in this grave would forever repeat the horrifying things she did. Perhaps if there was a solace here, then it was the fact that she was embracing the remains of Ramis and Emis... but that too, was a reminder of her failure.

"Hm." As for Riley, he just looked at Neri and family; nodding his head as if proud of the painting he created — a mother hugging a family she had to kill herself. Riley did not stay to admire his work for long, however, as his body once again shot straight through the ground to Sub-Theran,

"Now...

...I wonder where those sheep giraffes are?"

***

Somewhere in Automaton, the City of Androids, Aerith was currently walking across its busy streets.

No.

It wasn't Aerith at all, but Ahor Zai who still carried the image of Aerith. Ahor Zai was just casually smiling and waving her hand at the androids who bowed their heads and greeted her — in all aspects, she was almost being treated as a god by them.

But while Ahor Zai was enjoying this, something started to happen to her. Her entire body froze, with only her eyes moving. Her eyes started to glow, as if there were millions of fireflies in them.

"Why..." Ahor Zai then started to speak; the tone of her voice, back to being completely robotic,

"...are you trying to invade my body, Machina?"

HHHHMMMMM?????