Chapter 1244: Aekari’s Request

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Aekari felt grateful that Shiro was willing to hear him out.

"My daughter… I know you had some interactions with her and that she tried to take your adopted daughter's body. Due to the nature of some of the dungeons, the one you entered was one that could alter the course of reality. It changed the history in which she succeeded in obtaining a compatible body. Her soul's composition is unique and requires a very compatible body or else it'll degrade and disappear… I want you to save her, please." Aekari sighed as Shiro narrowed her eyes and put pressure on her foot.

"You realise that I don't owe any of you anything. I would gladly end your daughter's life as well as your own. So in what universe did you think I would accept your request?" She asked with a frown. After all, she still had a vendetta against Aekari's daughter and knowing how Aekari is like, she wouldn't be surprised if the girl turned around and attacked them.

"I know. I don't deserve your pity and neither does my daughter because I raised her wrong. And I understand that if the roles had been reversed, I most likely wouldn't have listened either and would've cleaned up the loose ends." Aekari admitted while biting his lip.

If he had Shiro pinned beneath his foot and she begged for Lisandra's life, he wouldn't accept and would kill both of them so one couldn't take revenge.

"But as a father, I have to try even if it's unlikely. She is my flesh and blood and I would even give up the world for her safety." Aekari glared back as Shiro was silent.

The old 'Aekari' would forsake his family and friends for the world. As he has done many times. But he is a father now. He would forsake the world for his family.

"What about your mission? What about your goal of stopping me from bringing about the end." Shiro narrowed her eyes.

"If your envisioned future is one where no life can prosper, there's nothing I can do anyways. But knowing you and how you are from the times we have spent together, that's not what you wish for. Especially now that you have a family you never had, and close friends that won't betray you like I did. So I can trust that you won't bring about the end. You are my worst enemy, as I am to you. But you are the one I trust the most with my daughter's life." Aekari replied with resolve in his eyes.

"What are you willing to give up for your daughter's life?"

"Everything." Aekari stated as a matter of fact. There was no hesitation in his voice. Only one goal in his mind and that's for his daughter to survive.

"And if after all that you've said, I still say no. What would you do about that." Shiro taunted as she slowly increased the pressure of her foot against his throat.

"I… Would… Fight… You to the… Bitter end for a chance." Aekari squeezed out with difficulty as he grabbed her ankles in an attempt to lift her foot off his neck.

"Bold words for a pathetic worm who prostrated against his biggest enemy." Shiro clicked her tongue as she lifted her foot slightly before stomping back down in an attempt to crush his head.

"A parent can stoop to any level for their child!" Aekari shouted back as the backlash of his stills faded just enough for him to move once more. Flickering out of the way, he stumbled back on his foot and summoned a weapon.

"So tell me Shiro. Will you help my daughter?" He asked while pointing his blade at her.

"What daughter? Oh you mean this one?" Shiro's lips curled into a sadistic grin as there was a capsule in her hands. Similar to the one that held Isilia's soul, she had created a container while interrogating him and used Error to find out where he kept his daughter's soul. Lifting her foot up was just a distraction for him to turn his attention away while she stole the soul.

Widening his eyes in disbelief and shock, Aekari realised that his daughter's soul was no longer hidden in a separate domain, recuperating. It was now in Shiro's hands and she could crush it whenever she wanted.

"Let go of her!" Aekari shouted out while dashing towards her, his eyes bloodshot from panic and fury.

"That's more like it! Fight for it! Despair for it!" Shiro laughed out as she tossed the capsule into the air before slamming her heel against his chest.

Grabbing firmly into her foot, Aekari understood that he couldn't damage her body to the point he could cut off her leg. So there was only one choice.

Dismissing his defences, he jammed her foot through his chest, causing Shiro to lose balance momentarily. With Shiro off balance, he stepped back to pull the leg out of his chest before jumping up to catch the capsule.

With the capsule now in his hands, he sighed in relief and tried to send it away to safety but realised that the space had been sealed off.

*BANG!!!

A sudden wave of force collided with his head as his body was sent tumbling towards the ground.

Protecting the capsule with his body, Aekari managed to activate some barrier spells just before he hit the ground.

Laying on the floor, Aekari watched as Shiro walked towards him. Her expression couldn't be seen properly through his blurred vision but he could tell she was far from happy.

He tried to heal the hole in his chest but the regeneration was slow as blood continued to pour out.

"What now? You got the capsule, but there's a hole in your chest. What's stopping me from just taking it and destroying her soul permanently?" Shiro asked with disdain as Aekari opened his mouth but choked on his own blood.

Forcing himself to barely sit up, Aekari leaned his body against some debris and activated some berserk skills. His aura started to turn red as he tapped into his own life force.

Each breath was taken with difficulty as Aekari could barely hold the capsule properly. Looking at the swirling energy that was his daughter's soul, his lips curled up into a soft smile that Shiro had never seen him do when they were back in their old world.

He could feel his end coming, his core had already been damaged by their first fight and hadn't been able to recover properly since. And now there's a strange energy tearing away at his body that he was unable to stop. It was only a matter of time before he disappeared from this world.

Tilting his head back, Aekari looked at Shiro and opened his mouth.

"I trust you Nytri…" He muttered softly before burning every ounce of strength he had to preserve his daughter's soul so that it didn't continue to degrade. It was a temporary measure as the soul would continue to disappear after a period of time. If it was anyone else, he would die with worry on his mind. But because it was Shiro, he decided to take a gamble.

He would gamble the last remaining specks of his vitality to prolong his daughter's soul, long enough for Shiro to come to a decision on what she should do with it.

Looking down at Aekari lifeless body slumped against the wall with the last vestiges of his power funnelling into the capsule, Shiro didn't know what to say. She could only stand there with a complicated expression.

She hated him. He was the most pathetic piece of sh*t that she had ever known, someone who she would gladly torture and kill him a million times over and nothing would change her thoughts.

He was someone who couldn't care less about other people and saw them as objects.

While Shiro continued to stare at Aekari's dead body, she waved her hand and summoned Nimue out from the mana realm.

"Take everyone back to Asharia and help the injured. I will catch up shortly." She said without turning around.

Understanding that Shiro needed some time to sort out her thoughts, Nimue nodded and left the area.

Shiro didn't know how long she stood in the same spot, she wasn't even thinking about the soul in the capsule, she just continued to stare at Aekari's body before taking a deep sigh.

"Lived as a shit man, died as a father…" Shiro muttered.

Leaning down, she picked up the soul capsule. It was delicate, the energy that Aekari burned in his last moments couldn't even protect the capsule if someone wanted to crush it.

If she decided to put even the smallest amount of force in her hands right now, she would extinguish the soul within.

Gritting her teeth, she looked back at Aekari. She understood that he said everything he said in order to sway her. To call out to her merciful side. While there was no mercy for him, he knew she had mercy for others. And he gambled that she had mercy for his daughter.

"Died as a father but still a piece of shit to the end. What do you mean you trust me." Shiro spat out in annoyance. But despite her harsh words, she didn't crush the capsule.