Abyss Draconis-Chapter 566: Missing Home?

"My image, huh?" Ryuk mused to himself, loud enough for both of them in the car to hear as the vehicle cruised down the road.

"I just realized that... it doesn’t really matter that much anyway," he said, drawing Antares’ attention.

"And what made you realize that?"

"Simple. The Half-Fallen One."

"A Beloved Queen of the Fallens and a very important Eternity Expert placed a death bounty on the head of a 17-year-old boy, giving a reason that the Cataclysm stage experts, most respected figures known as the gaurdains of Endearth, all know is an obvious bullshit—yet decided to follow anyway, all because it’s her." freёwebnoѵel.com

"The other experts and other higher-ups, with their beloved images, all watched from the sidelines, not commenting on anything—and no one stood up to challenge her?"

"Tell me, isn’t her real image quite... evil?" he asked, as Antares furrowed his brows.

"So what does it matter if the world praises her as a good queen and preserves her name, giving her the honors? All that image, reeking of falsehood."

"Neither does it prove the real image of those beloved Higher-Up bastards who waited on the sidelines and did nothing to stop it."

"My image? It doesn’t matter that much at all."

"So far, I did what I needed to have done...done! Then I think I’m pretty good."

"As for going into the Titan Forge without permission? Well, I think if they all feel like they need to reward me for my ’heroic acts’ in the Knull Invasions... then maybe borrowing their forge to craft a weapon is not too much to ask for, is it?" he asked, as Antares’ expression twitched briefly before he smiled, seemingly lost for words.

"That’s rare. Most would like to keep a good image and conceal their bad. But you don’t hide the good, nor do you hide the bad. You simply don’t care at all."

"Not many can handle being seen in a bad light..." he said to Ryuk, who shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

’Only when I got to Grade B did I notice people starting to care about images."

’In Grade E, a Group of adults will fight for a quarter-filled bottle of alcohol and burst their lips for it. Who cared for what images?’ Ryuk silently thought to himself before his gaze softened.

’I used to think Grade E was a shitty place to live. But even though it’s shitty... One thing is undeniable—and that’s that it’s real. Really real.’

’Maybe I should go pay a visit to Old Jack. Close to four years have already passed, but I know he has the tenacity of a cockroach.’ He thought, smiling foolishly for a bit—something that didn’t escape Antares’ eyes as he looked at the bizarre young man beside him, feeling a sudden sense of ease that made him settle in his seat.

’I had thought... living would be hell, once I got out of that trail and had quietly come to terms with my own death.’

’But by his side... things don’t look that hopeless. Maybe I’ll even be able to find my tribe one day. Who knows?’ Antares thought, hope rekindling in his scarred heart as they soon arrived before the sea.

The car shifted into amphibious mode before it continued into the distance.

Eventually, it came to the end of it, quickly returning to its car mode once more. Ryuk continued driving through the island before he came to a stop, parking in his garage.

"Huuu, good to be home..." he mused softly to himself as he got out from the vehicle, same for Antares before he picked up Rakshas and headed upstairs.

"Now, let’s see what the world has to say about our little heist," Antares said expectantly as his hands reached for the TV remote, jumping onto the comfy sofa.

"Don’t get addicted to TV, Antares..." Ryuk’s voice echoed from the stairs.

"Why?" He asked as he switched on the TV.

"Because I heard TV makes barbarians soft!"

"Whoever told you that must be soft in the head," Antares replied as Ryuk laughed out loud, disappearing up the stairs.

Antares rolled his eyes before he turned to look at the TV.

There was a fashion walk show, but she switched it away from that to a second channel, a news channel—only for his gaze to suddenly pause in terror as she looked at the screen, especially at the bolded words flashing on the TV.

The Horned Hero? Or a Possible Rapist Danger to the Endearth!?

Footage followed of Ryuk, Antares, and the Titan girl, Cillian, who had taken them both to the Forge, going into the Titan Forge gate and then the image of them coming out with a feminine figure covered in robes that hid most of her figure in Ryuk’s arms, him putting it into her car and driving her off along with background explosion of hsi figh with the three Peak Cataclysm experts at the end.

"We have learned that right now, a total of 100 million Star Coins will be issued to anyone who reveals the approximate location of this heinous group of aliens. Courtesy of the Kindred Sir Albano Giant Kin, CEO and Founder of the TitanForge Organization.

"Wow. That sounds... bad."

_____

"Huuuu, finally done..." Ryuk’s words eased out as he gently closed the bedroom door, cracking his exhausted neck and bones before he moved to his room, making his way straight to the bath.

A quick shower and he came out, feeling more refreshed as he donned a simple soft white shirt and trousers before he moved out to the balcony in the room, taking a seat on the sprawler.

’Activate System Interface’

[Congratulations on completing the Secret Quest: Tap into your Knull Bloodline for the First Time!]

[Rewards:]

1. Possession of a New Element: Abyssal Energy.

2. A Free System Shop Tuning to New Element.

3. A Knull Transformation Skill!

"Abyssal energy, huh? That makes the third energy that I can control now..." Ryuk mused to himself, a bit of a smile on the corner of his lips.

Normally, he had the potential to cultivate just two energies.

His Draconic bloodline, which allowed him the ability to cultivate Aether. And now his Abyssal bloodline, which allowed him to control Abyssal Energy.

As for Apex Energy, it wasn’t really Ryuk’s true energy. It was obtained from his bonding with Isha and Void.

’My Purchase Points are low now, so I can’t even get anything if I wanted from the specially tuned shop, and without a cltvaion manual, I don’t have an expendable Abyssal energy to play around with’

[Congratulations. Leveling up of the Techno-Void Ruin has now been completed!]

[New Constructs and New Features Unlocked!]

The system flashed as Ryuk smiled in anticipation.

He had fulfilled the criteria to level up the Techno-Void Ruin and had then proceeded with it. According to the system, it ought to take two days, and it was beyond the second day now.

That was more than enough time for the leveling to be done.

"Time to check out my new warriors..."