Chapter 1047: Fatherly Advice

The blade that went through Hannah's neck just appeared out of nowhere; slicing across her almost as if she did not exist at all. No resistance, not even the slightest bit. It soon became obvious that this blade, however, was not aiming at Hannah at all as it extended straight toward Riley's head.

But before it could reach him, however, Riley was already gone... along with Hannah.

"You truly are one of the most interesting out of the group, Butcher."

Riley then just appeared a couple of meters away, carrying Hannah in his arms... whose neck was completely fine. The blade went through Hannah's neck not because Butcher's ability was to somewhat completely negate friction, but because the blade really only hit an afterimage of Hannah as Riley moved him away.

This sudden force, of course, completely knocked Hannah out cold.

"And to try and slice through Sister just to get to me, truly the most efficient of the group," Riley then turned to look at the bald man floating meters away in front of him; his head, almost like the moon as it reflected the sun amidst the darkness of space. His shiny bald head was not the only thing reflecting the sun, however - he was also wearing an armored suit that had boosters on it, as well as a mask to give him oxygen,

"But to try and fight me in a disadvantageous battlefield, when you already had no chance against me on the ground is... not something I would expect from you, Butcher," Riley then let go of Hannah before flying to the side, just leaving her completely still and suspended in space, "You have always been the most calculative out of them, even above Father."

"I made a vow to end you, Darkday," Butcher then grabbed another blade from his waist as he looked Riley in the eyes, "And the only way that will not happen is through my death."

"As I recall, Sister should have sent Father a message that we would no longer return to Earth, and that there was no need to pursue us," Riley sighed, "That is the end of Darkday, Butcher - your vow was complete, and it will still be complete if you just go home."

"Not with Whiteking's daughter," Butcher glanced at Hannah, "You can go, leave her."

"I would also like to do that," Riley let out a small hum, "But you tried to kill Sister just to get through me, Butcher. I will not leave her with you."

"I know what you are capable of, Darkday," Butcher looked Riley in the eyes, "The chance of you being capable of saving her was 100%."

"Thank you for the assessment," Riley bowed his head, "The chance of me saving her will always be 100%, Butcher - no matter what. I will always choose to save Sis-"

And all of a sudden, Riley halted his words. It was so abrupt that even Butcher was slightly curious as to what he was going to do next. But Riley did nothing at all, he just remained completely still.

"I hesitated..." Riley then whispered, "This trial, it is meant as a lesson for me. If I save Sister, then Rennalyn and Lucifer will cease to exist. And if I save Rennalyn and Lucifer, then Sister will cease to exist. Can I ask you a question, Butcher?"

"..." Butcher did not answer at all as he just stared at Riley.

"Which one would you save? The family who has taken care of you for more than 14 years, or the family you have taken care of for 16 years?" Riley returned Butcher's glares, "Your sister, whom you very much love, or your children, who you hold in the same regard."

"There is no choice there, Darkday."

"I also have children who will disappear if I do not choose Sister," Riley placed his hand on his chin, "I do not want to choose in the first place, Butcher - but I need to."

"If I could only have one, then I would rather have neither," Butcher adjusted his grip on his knives, "Like I would rather not have you existing, Darkday."

And with those words, the boosters on Butcher's suit exploded; throwing him toward Riley. "Do you know that your chance of winning against me is 0%, Butcher?"

"I do."

"Then, why fight?"

"Because this is not a logical decision, Darkday," Butcher swung his knife, but Riley just casually redirected it with his finger and let it slide across his arm. Parrying it so casually, it looked like a silk cloth just sliding on him. Butcher, however, did not mind at all as he just continued to swing his blades,

"This is a decision made from my emotions."

"I did not know you had emotions, Butcher."

"I do," Butcher swung both of his blades at the same time, making Riley float back, "And you deserve all of it."

"Are you hoping that if I kill you, there is a chance that the others would avenge you and follow me across the expanse of space, Butcher?" Riley tilted his head to the side, "I do not see that happening - you are not avengers. The threat of Darkday is already gone, there is no point in chasing after me."

"I will not give up, Darkday," Butcher shook his head, "Your death is-"

"Good bye, Butcher." Riley then grabbed Butcher's wrist, initially almost not being able to as his hand just slipped away. Riley, however, used his telekinesis to grasp him so he would not be able to escape, "You have a truly interesting ability, you would have been stronger if you were just... stronger."

Butcher then swung his free hand at Riley; this time, however, his blade just disintegrated into pieces along with his free hand. Riley then grabbed the remaining knife from the hand he was holding and stabbed it straight through Butcher's eye-well, almost.

"Son!"

Before he could actually kill Butcher, Whiteking suddenly appeared, and behind him was a large ship.

"Father," Riley casually said while the blunt knife he was holding was just a centimeter away from stabbing Butcher's eye, "Long time no see."

"You... are so careless as ever," Whiteking shook his head before glancing at Butcher, "Let Butcher go, Riley. He won't follow you, or bother you anymore."

"That is not for you to decide, Whiteking," Butcher casually said even with the threat of death right in front of him.

"Maybe it is," Whiteking then turned around in place as he faced the ship, "In exchange for Darkday's exile, I would receive the punishment for all of his crimes."

[That is not going to happen, Whiteking.]

Empress's words reverberated from the ship.

"It is," Whiteking shook his head, "I knew I have always known that my son was Darkday, and I helped hide it. I am... worse than him. If you want to arrest and punish someone, punish the one who enabled Darkday."

"Interesting..." Riley placed his hand on his chin.

"Riley, do not say anything more and just leave and please, leave your sister behind."

"I just find it interesting that this was how things would have turned out if my identity was discovered earlier," Riley shook his head, "In the end, it also led to me traveling through the

expanse of space."

"What are you-

"Perhaps I should have gone to you in the first place as soon as I realized what scenario I was in, Father," Riley sighed, "After all, you are a father, and you also had to make extremely hard decisions in your life-like when you worked for the government and slept with Empress due

to all the stress."

"That's not "

"Tell me, Father - since you have been listening in on our conversation from Butcher's armor..." Riley then finally let go of Butcher's knife, just letting it float in front of Butcher's eyes before Butcher once again grabbed it. This time, however, Butcher did not attack Riley and just stared at him, "...What will your answer be to my dilemma?"

"What...?"

"Imagine you left Hannah and Mother for Adaeze, and the two of you started a family together," Riley let out a small hum as he looked at the ship behind Whiteking, staring at one of the cameras and almost looking Empress straight in the eyes, "And in this scenario, you still very much love Sister. But you have to choose between the two, and if you do not choose, both will be gone from your lives - which do you think you will choose?"

"Your mother and sister, that is not even a question," Whiteking answered without any

hesitation, causing Empress's head to slightly lower.

"I should have expected that answer," Riley sighed, "After all, you did kill your best friend for

discovering my identity."

"What...?"

"Well, not yet - or should I say, you won't in this reality. It gets quite confusing, really."

"You have been talking nothing but nonsense, Riley. You are confused."

"But am I?" Riley smiled, "You are intelligent enough to know that I am not, Father. You

know what...I need your advice, Father."

perhaps now that I have you...