Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 118 118: Liliweiss, Mission Guaranteed

At this point, whether Charon admitted it or not no longer mattered.

The mont Liliweiss appeared here like a thunderbolt, it already ant she had her suspicions. And the instant she saw that box, every suspicion in her heart was confird beyond doubt.

Had she arrived even a little earlier, or a little later, none of this would have happened.

But fate was cruelly precise.

She had arrived exactly in ti for Charon's final monts here.

Charon let out a sigh, removed his hat, and casually tossed it into the grass before turning around, revealing the face Liliweiss had longed for day and night.

"Even after becoming a superstar worshipped by everyone, your instincts are still as sharp as ever, Lilith."

Once upon a ti, she had imagined what she would say if she died and t him again in another world.

She had thought of countless things–her efforts, the changes in human society, the rise of the Nikkes, even the position she eventually gained within the governnt.

But now, she forgot all of it completely.

All that remained in her eyes was that helpless smile, and the face of the man who had never changed since those days long ago–the man whose gentle smile had once staked his life for her and faced endless Raptures alone.

At first, she stumbled forward.

Then she broke into a run.

Finally, she leapt into the air like a bird returning to its nest and tackled Charon to the ground.

Her strength was imnse, yet she carefully avoided using enough force to harm a human. Whether it was the old her or the current her, she would never use strength capable of injuring Charon.

But she still had enough strength to stop him from escaping.

"Got you."

Slowly leaning close to his ear, she whispered in a tone firm enough to resemble faith itself:

"This ti… I absolutely won't let you run away again!"

Yet the almost yandere-like tone shattered the mont she realized the man beneath her was real flesh and blood–not a dream.

"Why were you hiding from ? These five years… why didn't you co see ? Clearly… clearly I've been waiting for you all this ti. I kept looking for you. I searched for so, so long… really… so very long…"

Her voice was on the verge of breaking into tears, and hearing her sobs caused cracks to appear in Charon's heart as well.

Her tears quickly soaked through his chest.

At this mont, she was not so world-saving goddess.

She was simply a wronged little girl.

He truly wanted to hug her back.

He wanted to tell her he wasn't leaving anymore.

But then what?

Would he wait for Liliweiss's death, then kill himself to leave this world, allowing Sleeping Beauty's dog tag to drift forever into the void with no possibility of revival? And because it had already been used once, even the Styx ferryman's coin would no longer be able to retrieve Liliweiss's dog tag.

Would he return empty-handed to his hideout?

He couldn't do that.

Holding Liliweiss's body–a body unmatched in strength, yet soft enough to feel like it could collapse at the slightest push–Charon slowly sat up, letting her remain seated on his lap, their faces separated by re centiters.

Honestly, it was an incredibly intimate posture.

But neither of them held any romantic thoughts at that mont.

Charon gently patted her back before slowly pushing her away. Looking directly into her tear-filled eyes, he cupped her cheeks and forced her to et his gaze.

"Look at , Lilith. Look at ."

Charon's voice finally pulled the dazed Liliweiss back to reality.

"Do you rember the first ti we t?" he asked gently with a smile.

"I rember."

How could she not?

That scene was the one that appeared most often in her dreams.

Again and again, she dread that until the very end of her life, she still failed to wait for the person she longed for most.

Or worse–

That she had been forcibly turned into the strongest Nikke without permission, eventually becoming the one who destroyed humanity.

"Back then, I told you a story. A story about soone trapped inside a town caught in an endless loop."

"At the ti, you asked whether that person ever escaped from the town. I told you… he didn't know."

"Lilith, you already succeeded in escaping from a world like that. But the person in that story still hasn't truly broken free from that town. In fact, if that person wants to save the life of soone most important to him, he still has to remain in that town, working day after day, year after year."

Liliweiss's voice trembled.

"But what if that important person doesn't even want eternal life? What if… all she wants is to stay beside that person during the final monts of her life?"

Countdown – 2:35

Charon fell silent for several seconds before finally speaking again.

"Lilith… do you know your current physical condition?"

"..."

"Haven't you already been advised not to engage in any more high-intensity combat? Otherwise, even the lifespan you barely managed to extend will shorten even further."

"..."

Liliweiss turned her face away, unwilling to answer.

Charon reached out and pinched her nose. Only after she irritably slapped his hand away did she glare at him with slight resentnt.

"So what? As long as I can stay with you, even if it's only for one year–"

Her words were filled with stubbornness, both hands tightly clutching his clothes as if terrified he would disappear imdiately.

Then Charon interrupted her forcefully.

"But I can't accept that!"

He spoke almost word by word.

"I can't accept you walking only such a short road. I can't accept watching you turn into a pile of scrap tal. I can't accept humanity abandoning you–their hero–only to reduce you into so aningless symbol!"

"I can't accept the last light in this rotten world disappearing from history!"

Charon pulled Liliweiss tightly into his arms, embracing her small body fiercely.

"I have to go. I have to return to that town–the town that bound my entire life–because only there exists a way to save you! Even if death itself tells to give up on you, I absolutely refuse! You are hope–the hope capable of changing this world. I won't allow you to vanish into the dust of history like this!"

This was almost the first ti Charon had ever openly revealed his determination to Liliweiss.

Though their ti together had been brief, he understood just how important Liliweiss truly was to this world.

Not rely because of her overwhelming strength–

But because she had already beco a symbol in the eyes of humanity and even the Nikkes themselves.

Liliweiss's face gradually flushed red.

She never expected that what should have been her offensive turn would instead end with him completely overwhelming her emotionally.

And had he completely misunderstood what she originally ant?

…Well.

This wasn't so bad either.

"You'll really co back… right?"

Closing her eyes, she murmured softly.

"You won't… lie to again like you did five years ago?"

"I won't."

Charon's gaze was unwavering.

"I swear."

"Listen carefully, Liliweiss. The following are your commander's orders."

"First: protect yourself. If anyone tries to hurt you, or soone important to you–even if they are human–I permit you to beco their enemy."

"Second: protect humanity until the Ark is completed, or until you believe humanity no longer needs protection."

"Third: wait for . No matter what happens, no matter how much ti passes–even if the world itself is destroyed–as long as you're still alive, I will return to you with sothing capable of saving you."

"These are… orders?"

"Just like last ti. Orders."

Liliweiss forced herself to leave the warmth of his embrace.

She stepped back several paces.

Then stood straight and saluted.

"Yes, Commander! Nikke Liliweiss… guarantees mission completion!"

"Well done. Even without , you're still the greatest goddess."

The wind began to blow.

Though it was winter, the breeze sohow felt warm to her.

The wind lifted her hair, scattered her tears–

And carried away the man before her.

Charon's figure disappeared.

Right before Liliweiss's eyes, his body transford into streams of data and vanished together with that box in a faint glow of light.

"This magic trick… I never liked it anyway. I hate it the most…"

So ti later, Liliweiss finally regained her senses when the roar of engines reached her ears.

Turning around, she saw a transport aircraft landing nearby.

"Lady Liliweiss!" Dorothy was the first to rush out.

"My, my, why are you all in such a hurry? Did sothing happen?"

Liliweiss tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her smile as warm as the spring breeze.

She was still the sa person who never cried–

The great goddess.

The pride of the Goddess Squad–

Liliweiss.

I'll wait for you.

Even if the world is destroyed… I'll keep waiting forever.