Night World Players

Chapter 246 Wherever he is, that's where I am
The car glided slowly and finally stopped at the main entrance of the large hospital with its futuristic-style exterior.

The car door opened automatically. Hiltina put away the pen and personal seal she used to review documents in the car, got up and got out, while Ophelia naturally followed behind her, slightly behind.

Ophelia in this state showed no trace of the majesty of the Second Princess, and was more like Hiltina's personal secretary.

"Ophelia, do you want to come too?"

Hiltina was slightly surprised. Whenever she took the time to visit Ophelia in the hospital, Ophelia would wait in the car downstairs and rarely come into the hospital with her.

However, Hiltina did discover by chance that her half-sister would often visit this place alone at other times... As for why she didn't come with her but insisted on coming alone at other times, the reason was unknown.

"Uh-huh."

Ophelia nodded with a grin: "It's also related to treating Brother Last."

"Sister, have you forgotten that I am, after all, a mechanic? ... I was in charge of following up on all the attempts made by the medical team to wake up Brother Last from his vegetative state, including proposals for the latest medical technologies and equipment."

"This proposal came from Star University. They said that Brother Last was trapped in the historical echoes of Deep Blue Harbor for hundreds of years, and can be said to be a person who truly lived in the Night World."

"Compared to the real world, Brother Last's soul is actually more adapted to the night world and has a higher degree of compatibility."

Ophelia paused slightly before continuing, "Therefore, if we bring those fragments that fell from the Night World Era stone tablet in the Mystic Tower to Brother Last's side, allowing his body and spirit to experience the atmosphere of the Night World up close..."

"Then perhaps it can stimulate Brother Last's soul, which is as desolate as ruins at this moment, and heal his fragmented memories and spirit, and even speed up the awakening process."

"I came here today with fragments of the Epoch Stone Tablet, intending to place them in Brother Last's hospital room."

"So that's it."

Hiltina nodded slightly.

Two years ago, there was that wedding that never took place, and then the hunt in the heavens where Satan, the demon king, shot down the angels...

The human boy named "Last" fell into a persistent vegetative state, which doctors called "unresponsive after coma"—or, in simpler terms, a "vegetative state."

There was no need for Dean Yin to act all meek and submissive in front of me, like a cat that had done something wrong, and to begin explaining.

As the wielder of the Nightblade "Infinite Sword," Hiltina knew everything when she saw the boy who had fallen into a long slumber and felt the embers of "Fantasy Collapse" still remaining on Rust's body.

As a superior ability to "True Name Liberation", if "Fantasy Collapse" is activated with a weapon such as a Mystic Code, then after the ultimate bloom brought about by the collapse, the price is the permanent destruction of the Mystic Code.

It's not just a simple breakage, but a conceptual destruction at the structural level, with no possibility of repair... Just as a skilled swordsmith might be able to mend the fragments of a broken sword, but could never reassemble the millions of shattered metal particles—even if a sword could be forged in its original form, beneath the same exterior, its core essence would be completely different.

If the cost of targeting with weapons is so high, how much more so when it comes to things that are more vulnerable?

"Equivalent exchange" is the only universal law in the extraordinary world, and even angels are no exception. However, the price that Rast paid to kill a quasi-angel with a rank below legendary was extremely high.

Using the ability of "everything can be a weapon", he not only imbued his crested costumes, but also his Rank Long and Nightblade "The Library of Fools" with the concept of weapons.

Then it all collapsed, and in that instant, it burst forth with a brilliance comparable to that of the divine realm.

The Sequence Long Rank and Nightblade are the origins of extraordinary beings in the present world. They are the powerful sources that they have spent their entire lives cultivating and honing... Similar to the so-called Golden Core and Nascent Soul in those fantasy and martial arts novels, if they were to suddenly collapse, one can imagine the severe trauma that would be inflicted on extraordinary beings.

It's perfectly normal for someone to completely transform from an extraordinary being back into an ordinary person with no strength, or even die.

Moreover, what Rast destroyed... was not just the Sequence Chief and Nightblade, but also his body and soul.

Only in this way can the gap between the peak of the sixth rank and the quasi-angel be erased in an instant, and briefly touch the divine realm.

Like the phantom of the demon king, with its dark, decadent wings outstretched, that day above the capital, it burst forth with a dazzling light like a shooting star in a fleeting moment.

But this is ultimately just a fleeting spark, just as the brilliance of a meteor is only a rare exception, while the darkness and nothingness are the main themes of the deep universe... After the intense performance, it can only fall to the earth and sleep in the dust forever.

At this moment, Raste, in body, spirit, and soul, was like a wasteland burned to ashes by flames, a ruin left after the tower collapsed, and had fallen into a long period of silence.

Given such a tragic situation, it would be more accurate to say that the boy was extremely fortunate not to have died outright, but to have maintained basic vital signs and simply fallen into a long sleep.

It was a fundamental trauma that caused the annihilation of both body and soul, and even though Hiltina had already ascended to the legendary level and was comparable to an angel with the Holy Sword in her hand... she was still powerless against it.

During these two years, Hiltina worked tirelessly to establish a cooperative hospital between Star University and the Imperial City... and whenever possible, she would make time to visit the hospital, located on the outskirts of the capital, regularly to see the boy sleeping in the top-floor ward—

This is the only thing Hiltina can do right now.

Over the course of two years, there were some good news, such as the instruments that sensed soul fluctuations occasionally sending delightful signals... In the depths of Rust's soul, in that wasteland that looked like it had been burned by wildfire, a faint fluctuation would intermittently emanate, as if a tiny seed was being quietly conceived in that ruin.

However, apart from that, many of the treatment plans proposed by the top medical teams of Granville Empire and Star University have had little effect after being put into practice.

Even so, Hiltina continues to strive to advance various new medical technologies and drugs... Even if she fails a thousand times, ten thousand times, as long as she lives, this effort will continue—

Just like the forest ranger's family motto, it is a vow to never abandon and never betray.

As Hiltina walked, the layers of security at the hospital were quickly unlocked. As a collaborative project between Star University and the Empire, the level of secrecy here was quite high... But Hiltina's reputation was now known to everyone, and with her frequent visits, the guards and staff at the hospital were already very familiar with her.

Ding--

The elevator doors opened after the pass was swiped, and Hiltina and Ophelia stepped inside. A few dozen seconds later, the numbers above the elevator car stopped at the top, the 23rd floor.

This was also the floor where Last's ward was located. The elevator doors opened smoothly, and the corridor was quiet with few pedestrians.

But soon, Hiltina noticed two familiar figures.

One is Akshia, who has long, ice-blue hair and exudes a cold aura like an ancient snow mountain. The other is a giant ferret that is lying on Akshia's shoulder, lazily yawning one after another.

Two years is enough time to change many things. For example, Ophelia has grown from a doll-like little girl into a graceful young woman, and Hiltina has also changed a lot compared to two years ago... However, the pair of the two in front of us, the human and the mink, haven't changed much.

Akshia remained as aloof as ever, as if time had left no trace on this Grim Reaper. As for Dean Yin, needless to say, Hiltina had once heard the proverb "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature" from Rust, and she felt that it was perfectly applicable to Dean Yin.

Let alone two years, even if it were another five hundred years, Dean Yin would probably still be this lazy and slacking shut-in.

Akshia was heading in the opposite direction from Hiltina and the others, coming from the depths of the corridor towards the elevator... Clearly, she had just finished visiting the patient in the ward and was preparing to leave.

Upon seeing Hiltina, the ice-blue-haired girl nodded slightly as a greeting. For someone who was usually expressionless and lacked emotion, this gesture was a rare display of emotion. Because of Rust and Dean Yin, Hiltina was one of the few acquaintances that Akshia knew at Star University.

"Long time no see, senior."

"You should be considered to have officially graduated from Star University now... What are your plans for the future?"

Hiltina greeted them.

Two years have passed, and Hiltina has gone from being a second-year student when she first met Rust to a fourth-year student...

Akshia, who was already a senior when she entered Rust, ranked first in the Starry Obelisk and the head of the twelfth seat of the Round Table, has naturally graduated from her fourth year.

"I think that with your abilities, Senior, you would be treated as an honored guest no matter which power in the Western Continent invites you."

"Of course, if you are willing to join the Granville Empire and work in the military or government, the Empire would be more than happy to have you."

The moment Hiltina saw Akshia, her intuition keenly sensed an invisible, silent aura emanating from her... a deathly, chilling presence, like the underworld itself.

Akshia has already ascended to the Legendary rank, a Legendary in the Death Order—she has even gone quite far on the path to Legendary status, perhaps not too far from becoming an Angel.

Of course, this is not surprising... Just as Hiltina relied on her affinity with the Holy Sword and the feedback from the Holy Sword to break through to the Legendary level so quickly and reach the realm of gods comparable to angels in two years.

Akshia also possesses a quality rarely found in ordinary legends—the Star Cup of Death.

As a descendant of the former Grim Reaper and the holder of the Grim Reaper's Star Cup... she is now the sole master of the Grim Reaper lineage. Advancing to legendary status or even becoming the Angel of Death will not pose a significant obstacle for Akshia.

However, Akshia simply shook her head slightly in response to Hiltina's invitation.

Azure light gathered at her fingertips and then wrote delicate, azure characters in mid-air.

"I declined all those invitations."

"I plan to stay at Star University."

"is that so."

Hiltina nodded slightly: "Although it's a bit of a pity, I can understand your choice, senior."

“Going to those places to take up a post will undoubtedly bring you superior power and status, but in return you will be bound by all sorts of constraints and shackles, and you will no longer be able to act as carefree as you did at Star University.”

Staying at Star University as a tutor or professor is far less prestigious, powerful, or wealthy than accepting an invitation from the Empire or other powers.

However, Hiltina also knew that Akshia was not the kind of person who coveted power and wealth.

For her, becoming a powerful figure second only to the emperor and above millions of others... was not much different from staying at Star University as a ferret keeper, accompanying that timid ferret to read novels and watch dramas.

Of course, without relying on the "super intuition" of the tank sequence, but solely on her own intuition as a woman, Hiltina could still clearly perceive another reason why Akshia chose to stay at Star University.

Or rather, the latter is the most fundamental reason why she chose to stay at the school.

"So, the reason why the senior chose to stay..."

"Besides the old principal's kindness in adopting me, it must also be because of him, right?"

"Ah."

Without hesitation, Akshia simply nodded again.

The delicate, bright blue handwriting was quietly outlined in mid-air.

As she wrote those words, a strange emotion flickered in her eyes, profound yet unwavering:

"Wherever he is, I will be."

Although the specific name was not explicitly stated.

But everyone present knew perfectly well who the word "he" referred to.

(End of this chapter)