"Well then, it's settled. Better catch up, scrawny..." the voice came from the muscular man turning away and heading back to the armored beast, followed closely by the green-haired man.
"Come out, bloody mutt," Old Jack commanded as Ryuk finally jumped out from the bridge, carrying his backpack.
Arriving before Old Jack, Ryuk inhaled deeply, feeling his spine tingle at the sight of the beast, which was just a truck.
It seemed Old Jack had noticed that too.
"Bob really never taught you anything, did he?" he said with a sigh.
"I thought we were walking to the barracks. Isn't it just a few miles from here?" Ryuk asked cautiously as Old Jack shook his head.
"It's safer to go with them. Don't worry; they won't dare try anything with you on the way."
"Once you get to the barracks, you know what to do, right?" Old Jack said, and Ryuk nodded.
"Good. Now keep going already. They're not very good with patience..." Old Jack said, hushing Ryuk away.
But Ryuk remained unmoving, speechless and surprised.
Old Jack had given him too much.
He had rescued him from the explosion that threw him away.
He had brought him to his own house, clothed him, and given him a card that was as valuable as a ticket to a prison that could never be escaped.
And now, he had paid the least of 2,000 star coins just to make sure Ryuk arrived safely at the Apex Barracks.
How could he just turn back now and simply walk away?
"No need to get emotional, Ryuk," Old Jack said as he brought out his smoking pipe, got on one knee, and stared hard at Ryuk, placing firm hands on his shoulders.
"If you really want to thank me, then come back and exchange that Knull's core on my table."
"I'll take that as a good price for my help," Old Jack said with the same greedy smile Ryuk himself often had.
Ryuk couldn't help but give a firm nod.
Old Jack was right. Only the core of such a creature was enough to repay what Old Jack had done for him.
"I'll be back, Old Jack. I swear it on Uncle Bob," Ryuk promised.
PIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM
The sound of the horn rang out as Old Jack tapped him twice on the shoulder.
"That's the spirit, bloody mutt. Now run along..." he said, nudging him.
Ryuk slowly backed off, and just when Old Jack let down his guard, Ryuk closed in and gave the man a big, warm hug.
This might very well be his last meeting with Old Jack. One thing he was sure of was that he would miss the man—a lot.
The hug lasted for a few seconds, with Old Jack ruffling his dusty white hair before Ryuk parted and disappeared into the armored beast.
With accelerating speed, the car tore off, taking Ryuk into the distance, and Old Jack watched silently as it fully disappeared.
Slowly, his hands began quivering, and then DROP—
It was the sound of his smoke stick hitting the ground.
Yet Old Jack paid it no attention, simply looking at where Ryuk had gone.
"Don't fall, bloody mutt..."
In the foggy desert, caked with powerful sandstorms raging through the area, a large truck tore through the fog like a knife through butter, speeding up with incredible velocity.
Everything—even stones and rocks—was flattened to pieces in its path as the truck rampaged through like a wild beast, heading toward an unknown destination.
Within the truck, there was a group of three.
Two of them were seated at the front of the vehicle, while Ryuk occupied the wide seat at the back.
Right now, all Ryuk could see wasn't the endless plains through the window but memories of Old Jack.
His uncle had always been a very quiet man who rarely spoke with others back in the settlement.
Even if someone greeted him, his uncle wouldn't answer.
Ryuk had noticed that most people seemed to steer clear of his uncle anytime he came out, which was rare in and of itself since his uncle barely left the house.
But if there was a single person Ryuk knew who could interact well with his uncle and draw a chuckle from him, it would be Old Jack.
That was why Old Jack had been like a second father to Ryuk, and he was the only second person Ryuk trusted in the world after Uncle Bob.
He had been very kind to him.
And while there was no doubt he was a stingy old bastard, Ryuk still felt a pang of pain in his heart for leaving him behind.
'I'll kill that Knull and bring back its core. Then I'll get to take revenge for Uncle Bob and also reunite with Old Jack.'
'I just need to improve my strength as quickly as possible...' Ryuk confirmed silently to himself, taking a deep breath and clearing the nostalgia from his head.
Only then did he feel the connection to the real world return.
Right now, the two men in the front seat seemed to be discussing an issue.
He decided to eavesdrop, pretending to stare blankly at the sandstorm in the distance.
"You hear the rumors, eh, Vandal?" the green-haired man said while driving the car, giving a side glance to the muscular man, who simply hummed in response.
"Some of the soldiers said that an important guest would be coming to the barracks. They said it's a very high-ranking family from a Grade B city too."
"A guest from a Grade B city?" Vandal repeated with furrowed brows.
"Shocking, isn't it? It's been years since we had such a visit. I can't even remember what those pompous bastards from higher-grade cities look like."
"And besides, I heard they might not even be humans. They might be from the Vampiro Family instead."
"Vampires, huh?" Vandal said, his gaze narrowing further.
"Just why would such a high-ranking family visit our barracks?" Vandal mused silently but loud enough for Ryuk to hear—and obviously the same for Enok, the green-haired man.
"What reason could it be, if not to suck every ounce of blood from that bull body of yours? Muhahaha!"
"That's an expensive joke," Vandal said seriously.
"Anything to make your hair stand on end. Hahaha!"
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In and Out_SnowySmoos.