Chapter 503: 502   - Goodbye"How's the efforts to restore peace going?" I inquired, as I sorted through the documents before me.

"Decent progress is being made after a rough start. Parading the corpse of the Spectre around has helped ease tensions, and peace is slowly but surely being restored to the Democratic Republic of Rustlands and Idyll.

However, outside of the nations, things are proving to be more difficult. Gangs, bandits and other criminal groups are rampant, and crime levels within the two nations are rather high as well," Jhin informed me.

"Hm, I see...assign our combatants to deal with these issues and wipe out the criminals, use force if necessary. Give them the opportunity to surrender, but if they refuse, then kill them all," I instructed after mulling it over.

"Very well, understood, my lord."

"Anything else to report?" I asked him.

"Nothing of importance, my lord."

"Good to hear. And again, you can stop calling me 'my lord'. Seriously, man, you've run this nation for far longer than I have, and I know you refused to take the helm of leader for good instead of giving it back to me, so the least you can do is just call me Kuro," I said to him.

"Er, very well, if you insist, my l-...I mean, Kuro."

"I'll ask again, is there anything you want? I'll grant you anything that's within my power," I offered in response.

"No, there is nothing in particular that I desire. If I do think of something, I shall let you know."

"Mhm, make sure that you do. I feel bad that you had to shoulder the weight of ruling Abyss for all this time, so I want to make it up to you," I remarked sheepishly.

"There is no need, it was my pleasure. And for most of that time, I was not alone...in fact, Rai deserves far more credit than I do," He replied.

Yeah, from what I've heard, it's thanks to Rai that Abyss had advanced this much. Of course, he couldn't have done it alone, but he spearheaded it for decades.

He and Key had left behind a recording addressed to me, Persia and Az, but the three of us hadn't been able to bring ourselves to watch it yet.

It was now the 17th of January, 1822 in this world, an immense amount of time since the day I first came to this world. It almost doesn't feel real, how much things have changed since I arrived.

It still feels like only yesterday that I was taking the Academy entrance exam in the Rustlands, where I befriended Rai, Persia, Az and Key.

It started with simple Quests here and there, before the big escort mission to Goldway, where we first encountered the then-Magic Research Group, and then escaped from a horde of Zombies.

Goldway was then destroyed by the Blood Crystals, and The Valaque Empire built in its place. Then came the infiltration mission, which looking back, was actually kinda fun.

After that, it was just one thing after another...battles against The Valaque Empire, the Vampires, Shiro taking my place, then the Demons, Belia, followed by Sant and the other races, and finally concluding with the defeat of not-God.

We then managed to establish peace, only for not-God to return and seal us away. We ended up breaking free sooner than we initially expected, but still, a lot of time had passed.

This world is now completely and utterly unrecognizable to what it used to be, it now offers every luxury imaginable, and once we restore the peace we lost, it won't be an exaggeration to say that this world will be an absolute utopia to live in.

But I'd have been happy to continue living in the era before we were sealed away. I'm certainly not complaining about all the advancements of course, it's just...so many of the people I knew are gone now.

They're all dead and gone, and have been for decades. I'll never see any of them again...Ekai, Siert, Cusana, Agatha, Cusnai, Lusk, heck even Misen and Selesa...and, of course, Rai and Key.

And yes, the real Key may have been dead since the Demons first appeared but still...the copy of her personality I imposed onto the Demon that took over her body, it wasn't long before I forgot all about that.

I suppose that was my biggest regret...in the end, no one ever found out about it, and I'll take it to my grave. Well, that might be a while though...I'm not even sure if I can die anymore.

Anyway, I'd agreed with Az and Persia that we'd watch Rai's message to us later today, we can't keep putting it off, after all.

But for right now, I've got work to do. I'll make sure we restore the peace that we lost in this world, I won't let the efforts of everyone I worked with go to waste...

...

"Alright, you guys ready for this?" I inquired with a nervous sigh.

"No, not at all...I think I might cry," Responded Az wryly.

"Yeah, me too...I just can't bring myself to accept that they're really gone, you know?" Added Persia somberly.

"I know what you mean...but we need to see this, we shouldn't put it off any longer. Okay, here goes...I'm playing it," I remarked, as I steeled myself and activated the Spell Card.

A hologram-like square display then formed in front of us, and after a couple of seconds, Rai popped into frame, Key seated beside him.

"Oh, wow...," Muttered Az wide-eyed.

"They look so much older than when we last saw them," Added Persia, as Rai cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Kuro, Az, Persia...if you guys are seeing this, then I'm probably dead by now. Heh, I've always wanted to say that!"

"Idiot...," I chuckled, as I felt a lump in my throat.

"Anyway, uh...what's up, you guys? That was stupid, it's not like I can hear any responses you give...still, the fact that you're seeing this means you guys broke out of that barrier, didn't you? I'm so glad!" He grinned cheerfully, before a sad smile appeared on his face, "It kinda sucks...because it also means that the last time we all saw each other was back during the tournament, huh?"

"Hey, come on, don't be so negative," Key nudged him.

"Right, yeah, I shouldn't be such a downer, don't wanna depress you guys, after all! I just...I really miss you guys, you know? Wish I could drink and smoke some weed with you guys one more time..."

"You're still doing it," Sighed Key, as she lightly smacked the back of his head, a somber look on her face.

"Sorry, my bad...okay, here goes, I'll try to lighten up the mood! So...we're making some pretty awesome advancements lately, I can't wait for you to see it! We've sorta sealed ourselves in this barrier, so the peace we all worked towards...well, it's not going well. But hey, it's not the end of the world. We've faced worse before. And-..."

"You know, what? I'm taking over. Hey, guys, it's Key...well, not that I need to say it, since this is a video recording. I really hope you guys like what Rai's done with Abyss...it's amazing, some of what's been implemented seems like stuff beyond my wildest dreams!"

"Well, I can't take all the credit, so many people have contributed greatly, I'm just the bozo who approves their ideas," Grinned Rai sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Hey, that's the part where you deny what I said and say something like 'no, babe, none of this could've been done without you'!"

"Even after all these years, you're still an idiot," She rolled her eyes as she stifled a smile.

"That's so mean..."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, we should probably wrap this up, huh? Kuro...you were the first real friend I made in this world, and I'm super glad I met you, dude. You were always so reliable and overpowered...a bit too overpowered if you ask me, can't deny that I was super jealous! Heh, but seriously...you're one of the best friends I've ever had, and I really hope you have a blast in this world once you return!" He remarked with a heartfelt smile.

H-hey, come on, man...

"What he said...you've protected us more times than we can count, plus you saved me from being taken over by a Demon. I'm so grateful to you," Added Key with a gracious look on her face.

...damn it. I'm so sorry.

"Persia, thanks to you, in my next life, I can say that I was friends with a cat girl! How awesome is that!?" Laughed Rai, as he began tearing up.

"Don't call me that, you idiot," She whispered in response, her lower lip quivering as she held back her tears.

"Is that really the best you can say?" Groaned Key, as she smacked him again, "Don't listen to this idiot...hey, I really wish we could've gone out to eat one more time. There's this amazing new restaurant that specializes in meat dishes, I don't know what they do, but it's the best meat meals I've ever had! You should definitely try it!"

"Y-yeah, okay...I will," She nodded, as the tears started streaming out.

"Az, dude...you were as lazy as they come, and you know what, never change. You're a freaking genius badass, and I'm super proud to call you my friend!" Exclaimed Rai with a grin.

"We grew up together, and you were always kind of a pain since you were so unflappable. But for the longest time, you were my only friend, and I'm glad and grateful for that. Take care of yourself, okay?" Added Key, as she wiped at the corner of her eye.

"Alright, guys...this is goodbye, I guess. Thanks for everything...I love you guys so much. And who knows...maybe we'll all meet again in some other world someday. So, until then...sayonara!"

And with that, the video ended.

"I-I...damn it, I can't stop crying," Stuttered Az, as he wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

"Y-yeah, join the club," Replied Persia, her shoulders trembling as her tears streamed down her face.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything, my heart aching as a sob escaped my lips. Come on...this...th-this isn't necessarily goodbye. Like he said...we might meet again in another world. But until then, like he said...sayonara...

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