The three girls exchanged glances, hesitating to answer. Sawa who usually looked the most reserved but was cheap with a smile could only bite her lower lip.
Meanwhile Kayo was trying to digest this sudden decision. Aoi, who was young and innocent, simply looked down, gripping the hem of her dress tightly.
El was still waiting patiently, his gaze focused. Inside, he knew this decision would not be easy to accept, but he was also aware that keeping them in this city meant risking their lives on the upcoming battlefield.
"Ice statue, you seriously want us to leave? Leaving you here alone? That's absurd!" said Kayo with a trembling tone of voice, but full of firmness.
Pausing for a moment while holding back anger, Kayo continued. "You act like you care about us, but you want us to run away while you fight alone?"
El sighed, his voice remaining cold yet measured. "I'm not asking you to agree. Staying here will only make you Gastrea's victims."
Tears began to run down Aoi's cheeks. She stood up from the sofa. "I don't want to go! I don't care about war or danger, I just want to stay here!"
El remained silent, letting Aoi express her anger. His gaze shifted to Sawa, who was cheap with a smile, suddenly looking uneasy. "Sawa, what do you think? Do you want to leave or stay?"
Sawa was surprised and looked down, searching for the right words. "I... I don't know anything. I only know how to smile and that my life depends on others. But if we leave, does that mean we're just a burden to you?"
El sighed heavily, looking at Sawa. "It's not that. I just don't want to see you become victims. I can't always protect you."
Kayo came forward with heavy steps, his eyes very stern. "Then it's decided. I'm joining the fight. I won't leave you alone!"
El looked at the three of them, silent for a while before giving in. "Alright, you guys can stay. But if things get too dangerous, I'll make sure you guys survive. No bargaining."
They looked at each other, small smiles starting to appear on each other's faces. Despite the threat of war, they knew one thing: they would not leave El.
El stood up from the sofa with a calm yet firm movement. His gaze alternately looked at the three of them. "It's getting late. Go to your rooms and get some rest."
He looked at Kayo with a slightly sharper look. "Kayo, you should get plenty of rest. Tomorrow, I'll train you a little harder than before for the week before the war breaks out."
Kayo looked like she wanted to argue, but refrained when she saw El's serious expression. With a small nod, the three of them finally left the living room and headed for their respective rooms.
After making sure they were gone, El stepped onto the balcony of his apartment. The cold night breeze touched his handsome face, making every strand of his hair dance in the wind.
With a serious gaze, El observed the huge monolith that towered into the sky in the distance, looking like a solid dark shadow under the starry sky.
"Soon, chaos will break out," he murmured softly, the voice cold and determined, his eyes radiating deep seriousness.
Then, a smile that felt forced was etched on his lips, "Soon, I will leave this World."
Unintentionally, Kayo's steps halted near the balcony door as El's words sounded faintly in the night air.
"Soon, I will leave the World..."
Kayo was silent for a moment, her mind jolted. Originally, she wanted to express her concern about Adjuvant still lacking three Promoters and Initiators.
But hearing that sentence confused him. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, trying to understand what El had just said.
However, despite her best efforts, Kayo could not find the answer. The words felt so heavy, so full of meaning, but like there was a thick wall preventing her from truly understanding.
El seemed untouched, separated in a world that only she could understand. Kayo felt an unbridgeable distance, as if there were layers surrounding El, which he couldn't reach even if she asked.
Even if she asked directly, Kayo knew El's answer would not come, or if it did, it would only be something more difficult to understand.
"Did you hear what I said, Kayo?" El asked without turning head, his voice flat yet full of meaning, as if the words were meant specifically for her.
Kayo stepped forward, her steps hesitant yet curious. When she finally stood beside El, her eyes fell on the towering Monolith in the distance, then she asked cautiously, "That was... What does that mean? Who exactly are you? No human has powers like you."
El smiled faintly, an almost imperceptible smile. "You are indeed perceptive, Kayo." Without turning around, she continued in a calm tone, "If I told you I was a God, would you believe me?"
Kayo was silent for a moment, digesting those words. Then, with his head slightly bowed, he nodded slowly and replied, "I believe it. No human has the ability like you." Her gaze fell on El, full of interest that could not be hidden.
El, without turning his head, raised her hand and placed it gently on Kayo's head. "Fool, I was just joking. I'm not a god, but at least I have similar powers..." he said cold voice.
Kayo, slightly annoyed, immediately grabbed El's hand and pulled it gently. "Don't treat me like a child," she said with a pout that looked cute, but Kayo's eyes looked serious. "So, what are you? I always don't understand you. You seem to be different."
El lowered her gaze slightly, her eyes implying a deep silence. She sighed softly, then said in a cold tone, "I don't know, I'm curious too..." Her sharp eyes seemed to ponder, searching for an answer that she had yet to find.
"Oh, yes. I'd like to say the Adjuvant is short three more people," Kayo said, then paused for a moment before continuing in an annoyed tone as she remembered the baseless thing from earlier, "Then what was the point of our conversation earlier? Promoter failure."
El sighed, then turned to Kayo with a very rare warm smile, something that was rarely seen from her. That smile made his usually stiff face even more charming.
"Just making sure, is my action right this time?" he said calmly.
Kayo's face warmed, her eyes widening slightly as El's smile came to her. Her heart was beating fast, but not because of the Total Breathing Concentration Technique she usually used.
Seeing the change in Kayo's expression, El tilted his head slightly and asked, "Are you sick? Your face is red."
Kayo immediately looked down, feeling embarrassed. "You know what? Promoter fail... You look better when you smile like that..." she said in a low voice, almost a whisper.
Hearing that soft whisper, El just watched Kayo with a sharp yet thoughtful gaze. In his view, Kayo's figure seemed to overlap with the image of his long-gone younger sister.
Kayo's face, which was now flushed with embarrassment, made El pause for a moment, as if trapped in memories that were difficult to ignore.