He had never seen himself as a hero. To him, the most important thing was his family, he didn't feel the need to care about anything else. Compared to those he loved, the lives of those strangers meant little to nothing to him.
Maybe it was due to the gradual callousness he was gaining, or maybe it was something else. But, this was his truth no matter what the reason was.
It was the two of them that kept him sane. No, maybe sane was the wrong way to put it. It was more like they kept him closer to reality or more in tune with the lives of normal people.
Dyon couldn't help but feel that this was part of Junior's intentions. But, he dismissed the thought. If it was in his intentions, wouldn't that mean that Junior would know that he would be sent to the immortal plane? If he did know, why hadn't he stopped it?
In the end, Dyon concluded that it must have been a last minute decision on Junior's part. He must have realized that his connection with Dyon was weakening as the latter was being forcibly sent to this plane, and thus to Saru and Lilith, who had been with him at the time, along.
Either way, even though Dyon knew somewhere deep inside that this couldn't have been the truth, he still felt thankful.
"No, you definitely lied to us." Lilith said stubbornly. "How do you plan on making it up to us?"
The bubble world the three of them currently walked through could be summarized in the words dark and sinister.
Howling winds that almost sounded like the cries of beasts whipped around. However, these winds weren't colorless and imperceptible to the eye as normal winds would be. Instead, they made up the fabric of the dark black fog around them, lashing out like thin, willowy whips that could lacerate even the toughest of skin.
However, the three laughed and teased as they walked through as though it was the safest place in the world. If one followed the trail of their steps, it was even possible to see a line of demonic and thoughtless beasts that had foolishly tried to interrupt their fun.
Dyon smiled bitterly. Why did Lilith always seem to be taking advantage of him? How cruel.
"What kind of repayment do you want?"
Lilith blinked innocently, her eyelashes fluttering like the delicate wings of a butterfly.
She looked suffocatingly beautiful, then. The way her white hair fluttered as the only point of light in his gaze left Dyon mesmerized, her teasing, playful smile playing with the strings of his heart like an expert composer leading its orchestra.
At that moment, while Dyon was distracted, he felt something soft and the tiniest bit wet quickly latch onto the side of his lip that left him stunned.
"Saru!" Lilith cried out in indignant exasperation. "I won the bet, I was supposed to get to go first!"
Dyon sent a shocked and confused gaze who was looking forward with a slight red tint on her cheek as though nothing had happened. Her arms, still wrapped around his own, still remained there without moving an inch. However, Dyon could see that her lips held a delicate curl to them that showed she was holding back a smile.
Just like when he had been gazing toward Lilith who had wrapped around his front to stop his steps forward and force him to accept her conditions, Dyon became lost in Saru's beauty for a moment. Whereas it had been Lilith's white hair, for Saru, it was her blue eyes, twinkling as the only light of this dark world.
Together, they were like twin shining stars. Maybe he was a little too lucky.
As Dyon was distracted, he suddenly felt a gust of wind come from his front and another pair of soft lips touched his own. But, unlike Saru, Lilith lingered for a small while, even leaping up and wrapping her arms around Dyon's neck and her legs around his waist in a completely unladylike way. She looked no different from a koala bear holding onto her favorite tree, even knocking Saru who had been wrapped around Dyon's arm away a step.
Dyon had no choice but to grab onto her waist with his free hand, irrationally worried that she might fall. At the same time, he made sure that he didn't lose his grip on Saru. He didn't want anything to happen to her just because of a few joking actions. They were still in a dangerous world, after all.
After an exaggerated smooch sound, Lilith pulled away and grinned happily, still hanging onto Dyon's body.
Dyon could only shake his head and laugh. The two of them were so innocent, their kisses were ultimately just pecks on the lips, but they were so satisfied. It was nothing if not adorable and heartwarming.
**
In the Dark Flame bubble world, just as Dyon had predicted, the Immortal Hunters had swarmed. There were easily dozens that converged in just a few days, practically salivating at the prospect of capturing Dyon.
However, there were only three who managed to find the trail Dyon left behind.
One was a lanky man who stood at an incredible 8 feet tall. His muscle definition was so poor that he didn't seem capable of supporting his body, leaving him hunched over to barely 7 feet of his true height. He was known as Immortal Hunter Ivane.
The second was an old lady with a crane forged of ancient wood. She had the adorable appearance of someone one might want to help the street. She was known as Immortal Hunter Weeping Widow Alais.
The last was a woman with spine tingling beauty. She had black hair and black eyes and skin so flawless that it seemed a step away from being as reflective as a crystalline lake. However, what was the most striking were her nine black tails.
She was the Immortal Void Hunter, Kukan.
