Shortly after what Gray's time with Ruby, Charlotte appeared on their fleet In search of her. She had gotten the message from the flare and decided to act on her own.
It was exactly around that time that Ruby woke up.
"Ah, you're up. Did you sleep good?" Gray asked with a smile.
"..."
"...?"
She stared at Gray with narrowed eyes for a few seconds without saying anything. Gray stared awkwardly back, not sure of what to do or say.
"...Are you sure you're not a monster?" She asked seriously as her stare moved downwards.
Gray let out a nervous chuckle before rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not sure what to say to that."
Ruby's face suddenly flushed red as if she had just realised what she said and recalled exactly what had happened.
"A-Ah... That just came out...!" She explained filled with embarrassment. "F-Forget I said that.." She continued whilst crossing her legs.
"Yeah, I got that impression." Gray chuckled.
Gray laughing made her feel even more embarrassed.
"Stop laughing...! This is all because of you!"
"Alright~ Alright~" He said before extending his hand out towards her head
*Pat*
Gray gave her a pat on her head before rubbing it. He made sure to avoid the horns so that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.
Gray noticed that every time he'd pat her head she would calm down. This time was no exception.
Her cheeks remained flushed red but she wasn't saying anything.
For a few seconds that is.
"Hey... Gray... Do you..."
Ruby was interrupted as a burst of wind blew by them.
A familiar voice calling out to them followed shortly after. "Ruby, your highness and Gray!"
Turning to the source, the two smiled. Ruby suddenly leapt at the person to give them a hug.
"Charlotte!" She called out with a bright smile as she leapt towards her with her arms extended out.
Charlotte extended out her arms too and caught Ruby with open arms, hugging her as she did so.
Gray who was seated there smiled seeing the two. Regardless of what anyone would say, even if they were from different families.
Whenever they were together, he couldn't help but think they resembled sisters.
Charlotte was the older, more rational sister who would always hide off most of her thoughts and remain dignified.
Not to mention just how much care and love she had for Ruby.
Ruby on the other hand was the younger, more do what comes to mind sister. Her expressions were readable and, in many cases, it was easy to tell what she was thinking.
Despite how immature she may seem, she had a very responsible and powerful side to her.
The two truly seemed to fit each other, even with their contrasting hair colours, Ruby's being black and Charlotte's being white.
"I assume everything's been dealt with?" Charlotte asked with Ruby wrapped around in her arms.
Ruby nodded.
"Gray easily dealt with it as expected."
"If there's any more, we thought you might know of it."
Charlotte shook her head.
"I think that was the last one..."
"We've already began piling up and imprisoning the lower ranks of their race."
"The remaining Airships including this one are all surrounded. Although there's not a trace of life left in this one based on what we can feel."
[X-Ray Level 1]
Gray stared off into the distance to confirm a few things. With his X-Ray he got a good sense of the situation.
"Yeah... There's none left alive in this Airship, but the other surrounded Airship has quite a good number of survivors hiding inside. You all should be able to find them."
Charlotte narrowed her eyes at Gray. She raised her fan up covering her mouth before asking.
"I see you've acquired a new set of abilities as usual." She said. "Does it allow you to detect the enemy?"
Gray turned to her and pointed at his silver eye.
"Yeah, thanks to this Artifact."
"W-"
Charlotte froze in the spot.
Ruby slowly moved out of her grasp and walked over to Gray.
"Did you just... Say you got an Artifact eye?" She asked.
'Ah right, I didn't tell her did I? She probably assumed it was just another ability of mine.' He thought to himself.
"That's right. I more or less synchronised and merged with it. It's a part of my body now." He said.
Shock grew all over Ruby's expression, she too froze for a moment.
Gray rubbed the back of his head nervously before asking. "Is that something bad? Is synchronising uncommon?"
The two quickly shook their heads.
"It's not bad at all! It's just..."
Ruby was interrupted by Charlotte who suddenly said.
"To synchronise with an Artifact is rare because it requires compatibility but that's not what's shocking. It's the fact that you've merged it with a body part and you're still alive."
Gray raised his brows in surprise.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Ruby continued the explanation.
"There's still a lot to Artifacts that even those of our world have yet to understand. One commonly known thing is that most originate from Labyrinths and can bring their owner levels of power which exceed their imagination."
"However... This power can sometimes be too much for their owner to handle and consume them."
"You essentially risked having your eye consumed when it synchronised with the Artifact. Even if it was compatible you could have gone blind and died if your body couldn't handle it."
Charlotte nodded. Ruby had explained it perfectly.
"That's it?" Gray asked with an expression which a somewhat disappointed expression.
"Don't that's it me! How'd you even get it to merge with your body in the first place?! I've never heard of a case like that...!"
"Even the Marquess who was synchronised with his own could only wear it as gloves and that was a fake one made to limit him!" (A/N CH: 101)
'Oh, System you've done something amazing yet again, haven't you?' Gray asked the system.
[...Affirmative.]
Gray chuckled inwardly.
"You...! You're laughing right now aren't you?" Asked Ruby as she stared intently at him from right up in his face.
"Maybe~" Gray stated with a smile
'It's hard to be blessed with such fortune recently.' He thought to himself, jokingly.
"Uwah... Suddenly I don't feel like praising him anymore." Said Ruby, openly as she stared at him
Gray defeating the [Hell Bringer] or in other words, [Kessho Captain] who was consumed by his own ability, marked the end of the war.
The Kessho's who were inside of the remaining Airships all surrendered without a fight. They were taken in as prisoners of war and were being held up at the each of the naval fleets.
They were restrained by a special metal which was extremely durable and hard to destroy. Any which had abilities which had a possibility of working against these restrains were being supervised carefully by the noble horned ones.
The Fallen angel opposition corps was being managed by Ria during all this time. Gray hadn't heard from her at all but he planned on paying the base a visit as soon as he was done confirming the situation of the Kessho's who were imprisoned.
They weren't sure what they were going to do with the Kessho for a few reasons. One they were interested in the technology they harboured and their knowledge.
Two because they didn't know how to operate the remaining Airships and three. There were still another army belonging to their race resting in Europe.
Europe had three Major races fighting over it. The humans were all mostly killed or in hiding since, as mentioned in the report, it had been overrun.
With all being said, the final decision in the matter rested on Gray's shoulders. Since he was the one who slayed the enemy King and the new head commander of the fallen angel opposition corps.
Even if it was just in name.
"Keep those who we need for labour and information and kill the rest." Gray muttered as he sat on the ship's edge.
He sighed before looking down at the city from above.
"That sounds like a waste of time."
"Won't it be easier to just kill them all? Plus, I need exp." He muttered.as he stared at his status window and the System shop.
[...The User has changed.]
Gray raised a brow.
"Have I?" He asked
There was one item which attracted him.
[Blank Mask]
[A simple blank mask without any drawings or features carved into it.]
[Special Effect: Mask's the user's presence and makes the User unrecognisable.]
[Price: 600 Coins.]
[Coins: 800]
He then thought back on the system's words and raised his head.
"Maybe I have... Probably because of the Evolution."
He got up.
"Regardless of the reason. I'm sure I said that I would force their race to go extinct, didn't I?"
A cold, determined look grew on his face as he turned to Ruby, waiting for him at the top of the deck.
-Memory
"Leave this Planet..."
"You'll all die if you do." Said the Dark-haired man with purple eyes.
-Memory End.
"Being soft at times like these is what will lead to our deaths."
"I've made a decision."
"No... I've already had a decision made since a long while ago."
[Mask Purchased.]
The mask manifested in the air before him, he quickly grabbed it before placing it on his face.
[Mask Equipped.]
"We'll kill them all."
"And leave behind only a few for information." He muttered.
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