Night World Players

Chapter 243 From now on, I am the guardian of the shore (End of this volume)
On the outskirts of the capital city, a huge airship swept across the sky, casting a massive shadow on the dusky clouds.

Ingrid left the pilot's seat, which was controlling the airship's rudder, and let the airship glide along its original direction, following its inertia, towards the mountains.

She herself went to the entrance of the gondola's ladder and knelt down.

Then, she carefully picked up the blood-covered boy.

The other person's body had become completely cold, his limbs and torso were pale and stiff, and blood seeped out from the wounds all over his body. Then, being deprived of its warmth in the high sky, it stained his clothes dark red.

Although Rust was not injured in the battle just now, he is now covered in wounds, looking like a tattered rag doll.

His bent fingers, which were barely gripping the suspension ladder, did not relax even after Ingrid picked up the boy and placed him on the seat of the airship. Instead, they remained stiff. It was an involuntary rigid reaction of the body after the soul circuits that controlled the body suffered severe trauma.

It is a sign of the simultaneous annihilation of both spirit and body.

This is also the price that Rast had to pay after he "fantasy-collapsed" his Nightblade, Sequence Long Rank, and his body and mind.

At this moment, his body and soul were like the ruins left after the tower collapsed, or the wasteland burned by wildfire.

Everything that was once prosperous has vanished with the collapse of that illusion.

The grassland was burned into a wasteland by wildfire, and all that remained on that desolate ruin was pale white ashes.

Even though his body was gradually cooling down, the boy's eyes remained vivid.

He sat quietly in the seat next to the driver's seat, silently gazing at the distant capital with Ingrid.

Ingrid knew that the reason Rust was still able to maintain his self-awareness was because of the lingering aftermath of the collapse of his fantasy... just like the embers of a dream still holding the warmth of a burning wasteland.

But in the end, it was just residue, lingering traces... a spark that was already on the verge of falling apart without even needing the wind to blow it away.

Before long, the last bit of heat remaining on the ashes will be stripped away by the cold wind and completely extinguished.

At that time, with only ashes remaining in his body and mind, Raste will fall into a long slumber, becoming a living dead, a vegetable, unaware of life or death... perhaps never to wake up again.

This was the last bit of time that Last had left.

"A truly magnificent battle."

Yet Ingrid still uttered such praise, knowing full well that flattery meant nothing to Last, but the compliment came from the bottom of her heart.

To kill a quasi-angel with a rank less than legendary is an unprecedented feat, even in the entire history of humankind from the age of gods to the present.

Never before had Ingrid been so grateful that on that broken, rocky beach she hadn't chosen to end it all... but instead swore allegiance to Rast, thus not missing such a magnificent view.

The boy did not answer, but continued to gaze silently into the distance.

At this moment, the huge airship had already left the outskirts of the capital and was cruising above the deserted mountains.

Below, the capital city has shrunk, becoming as miniature as a toy store model of the city.

In another distant direction, the spire of the Starry University Library church can be faintly seen amidst the golden fields.

"Please take me back to Star University. I want to see that college again."

The boy said softly, "After all, if we're unlucky, we might never have the chance to see it again."

His voice carried a pleading tone, as dejected as an ordinary young man's, yet his expression was so serene as he gazed into the distance, like an ancient Babylonian king looking down upon his capital from atop a tower.

Ingrid suddenly felt a little dazed. Last's appearance at this moment was just like the persona he presented at Star University—gentle, reserved, and approachable.

But that was clearly just the boy's disguise. The real Rast was a monster who could calmly place himself in a coffin and sink him to the bottom of the sea to be tortured for months on end... a genuine, heinous demon.

He can present the most appropriate, proper, and pleasant image in the eyes of outsiders when facing different people... but that is ultimately just a disguise of Rust, a persona that he chooses to wear to best suit his current interests when facing different situations.

Beneath the boy's approachable exterior lies a hollow, empty demon, living only for its obsession.

This has always been Ingrid's perception of the master she serves.

But now she was a little uncertain. The boy beside her was clearly not wearing any disguise of personality, but the heart he revealed was somewhere in between—possessing the majesty of the demon king Satan Yar's phantom, yet also the gentleness and tenderness of a boy.

In the end, Ingrid said nothing.

She silently obeyed the orders of the person she had sworn allegiance to, turned the rudder, and the huge airship adjusted its direction in mid-air, heading towards the city shrouded in twilight.

At this moment, the light of the setting sun slowly faded, and the sun completely disappeared behind the mountains.

An endless darkness swept over the entire cloud layer and the airships that were traveling among the clouds.

"Please give my farewells to Dean Yin, Professor Barbarossa, Dean Agatha, Akshia, and Istar... I won't see them for a long time."

"This time I may sleep for a very, very long time."

Last spoke softly, but then his words trailed off silently.

In the distant direction of the capital, the dim sky suddenly brightened.

This is the mighty light of the holy sword that once illuminated a dark and chaotic world deeper than night.

Intense yet clear starlight pierced the sky, guiding their way like a lighthouse.

The dilapidated yet brightly lit city, at this moment, was as brilliant as thousands of Kongming lanterns released at midnight, reflected in the boy's eyes like a dim, starry sea.

This was Hiltina's answer, a declaration to the world, and also an answer solely for the most important boy in her heart.

The oppressive clouds beside me had somehow dissipated, leaving only a dazzling night sky filled with twinkling stars.

As if echoing the starry night sky above, a ripple of something sprouting emerged deep within Last's heart.

It was a seed protected by Gray's blessing, carrying the Fool's Library, his Sequence Ranks, his Legendary Path, and the spark of his entire destiny.

At this moment, Raste's soul was indeed a desolate wasteland, burned to ashes by the flames, devoid of anything.

But just as wildfire can never completely burn away weeds, the symbol of the Tower in the Tarot is destruction, and the "new life" that follows destruction.

People will eventually build a brand new tower on the ruins that were struck down by lightning.

And on that barren land, a new spring will eventually grow again.

Last gazed silently at the clear starlight.

After a long silence, he spoke softly:
"From now on, I will be the guardian of the shore."

………………

(End of Volume One, The Garden of Stars)

(End of this chapter)