[Several Grueling Hours Later...]
"We're leaving now." Kuzon muttered, his face as indifferent as usual.
Aloe, Ciara, and I all huddled close to him, smiles evident on our faces.
"As I already said, Neron is currently harmless to you. I've used my Marionette Worms on him, in addition to conditioning him with [The Absolute Emperor]. He will be completely loyal to you and your cause." Kuzon added.
Apparently, while we were all engaged in more mundane activities, he was interrogating Neron, and then he conditioned the poor soul at the last minute.
I had to ask though... what were Marionette Worms? I tried inquiring from him, but Kuzon wouldn't tell me.
"Neron has a lot of androids in this facility, toms of technology you can exploit, and he also has a highly volatile self destruction sequence that you can use in case he's outlived his use and you need to destroy lots of enemies."
The way Kuzon spouted out these words made me afraid of him sometimes.
Honestly!
"Just because you took down Neron doesn't mean the Grand Federation has stopped existing. It existed before Neron came into power, and even afterward, it'll still be a force to be reckoned with."
Ciara and Jerry nodded, having Neron by their side. His face appeared blank, like a robot, so Kuzon had to be right about him not having the capacity to turn against them.
"Your fight against the Grand Federation, and your goal of removing their tyranny... make it your way of atoning, Ciara. And as for you, Jerry... guide her on the right path." I added with a smile.
They both nodded in resolve.
'Their plan is to reunite with the other Freedom Fighters, and then use Zone 0 as their base while slowly dismantling the Grand Federation using the Technology of the very same organization, as well as their leader.'
It was a plan with good prospects, so I wished them good fortune.
"The future of this world is in your hands. Dont mess it up." Aloe smiled brightly as she said.
"Yeah. Kick ass! I'm rooting for the two of you... and of course, this world!" Ciara beamed, her true priorities clearly revealed by her own words.
With our farewells said and done, we decided it was time to leave this place.
'This is the shortest time spent so far. I wonder how the next place will be like...' I smiled.
"Let's go." Kuzon activated the Blu-Blu—if I got the name right—and a golden portal instantly appeared in front of us.
"We're really finally going home!" Ciara beamed in genuine excitement.
'Oh snap! Didn't anyone tell her we're not going right away?'
Sure, we made it seem like we were in a hurry to return home, but we still had a few stops to make before returning home.
"Erm... not quite." I murmured, barely audibly.
"What was that?" Ciara beamed at me, her eyes filled with too much glitter.
'... Na, I'm not taking responsibility for this one.'
However, after thinking about the pact I made with myself, and hoe I finally decided to be a more reliable person... I decided to just let it out.
"We have a few stops to make before heading back."
"What?"
"Yeah. You're not the only one we lost, you know?"
"So I won't be able to see Jerry right away?"
"Um... no...?"
"B-b-but no one told me about this!" I could see Ciara tearing up, and it honestly broke my heart.
After seeing the two doppelgangers in love, I was sure that Ciara was excited to get together with Jerry.
All of that pent-up energy would have to be stifled by the rest of our journey.
'We aren't even sure how long this next voyage will take.'
I could only brace myself for the best as I patted Ciara on her shoulders.
"We're all your friends, right? Just help save two more and we get to return home."
"Don't touch me." A cold reply came instantly.
The dead look in her eyes told me to back off, and so I did.
"Sorry."
"Haa... it's fine. It cant be helped. If Jerry was here, he would have done the same." She sighed, dusting the part of her shoulder where I touched.
'T-this girl...!'
"Besides, you're all my comrades. Of course, I wouldn't abandon you all so easily." She made a warm smile at me.
'Do you really think I'd believe that after what you just did?!'
I was wrong! I truly did not understand this girl at all.
We both nodded at each other with smiles, and I resolved to myself not to even bother trying with her any longer.
The middle ground that we both had was more than enough.
We decided to face the golden portal instead, finally moving forward to the golden portal in front of us.
"Well... goodbye world." With a final glance behind me, I hopped into the swirling pool in front of me, accompanied by the rest of my comrades.
Whatever awaited us... whoever we would see next... I was going to be prepared this time around!
'The final two are Edward and Neron. Something tells me we'll be seeing the former first.'
I couldn't wait to meet him and see how he's doing.
'I hope he is well...'
**********
[In Another World: Land Of The Demons]
"Heaven Splitting Strike!" A swordsman swiftly moved, brandishing his blade as he increased his pace like the wind.
He tightly gripped his blade and conjured a sharp horizontal strike, instantly devastating his opponent.
"Kriekhhh!!!" The monstrous screaming of the grotesque creature he had just cut down radiated through the air as it perished.
He looked around him to see his other comrades doing the same.
They had already killed a good amount of demonic beasts, and while the swordsman could feel his arm growing weary, he had to persevere.
The image of his absolute ruler and deity flashed in his mind, giving him strength to continue wielding his blade and strive for victory.
"For the God King... victory must be achieved!"
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[A/N]
Alright! Since I've gotten complaints that the Lost Worlds Arc is dragging on for too long, I'll be brief about the next Mini Arc.
It's a very interesting one, but it won't take very long.
