World's Best Protagonist [BL]

Noir’s face darkened. "I won’t surrender it."

"Noir—"

"You don’t understand, captain! I don’t care about everything. This is the only—"

"What can happen if they find out about this, Captain?" Allen chimed in, giving Noir a warning look, shutting him up.

"Disciplinary action. Suspension for a month or longer."

Noir stiffened. He found the way to go back, but it’s meaningless if he can’t do it faster. Judging from how desperate he was, his mother’s illness must be terminal.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to think what the best thing to do was. Hmm...

Huh?

Wait.

"You can bring Etienne with you...?" I unconsciously murmured.

Everyone turned their gazes to me. So, I explained what was in my mind. "We’re going to enter the vortex as a team, so why not Noir bring Etienne with him—is what I’m thinking."

"Is that possible?"

"How about Etienne?"

"How will he go back to his world?"

I raised my hand in surrender. "Hold your horses. There’s only one me."

I turned to Claude and answered him, "I think that’s possible. Remember the Infernal Vortex? We can step out of the monster lair, and we can stay longer inside the vortex if we don’t kill it."

"Sounds like the evil UAO’s strategy," Lexie commented. Well, I picked it from one of their lords, so yeah.

I looked at Terrius next. "Etienne will, of course, come back with us. While some of us subdue the boss monster, he and Noir will go search for Noir’s mother. After that, Noir stays, and we go back."

My gaze shifted to Allen. "The same way as Noir. That answers your questions. What else?"

"What if someone kills the boss monster and we get trapped inside?"

"Aren’t you an overthinker, Captain?" Claude glared at me because of the amused tone I used. I shrugged. "Then, we have to make sure that our team is the only one to be sent in raids. We also need to make sure that we get to be sent in raids."

As I spoke, I turned to Noir and gave him a meaningful look.

Noir sighed frustratedly while grabbing his head.

Claude showed his palm to Noir, waiting for the latter to surrender it. After a few minutes, Noir finally looked at Claude.

At first, I thought he would challenge the captain in a fight rather than give the stone, but as he slowly reached for his collar and pulled out a black cord underneath his shirt, my shoulders released the tension I didn’t even know I had.

It was a necklace, with the magic stone as the pendant. The stone was an onyx, its obsidian color tainted by streaks of gold, as if Etienne’s hair was gathered and tangled inside.

Claude snatched the stone from Noir immediately, not giving the latter a second of hesitation. He immediately grasped it and, using his poisonous mist that could melt anything it touched, he directed his full force on the stone.

Soon enough, the stone melted and gradually disappeared in his hand.

Noir watched it with a pained and complicated expression. His hands were clenched on his side tightly his knuckles whitened. He was restraining himself from grabbing it back.

Before I could walk to his side and pat him on the back, Etienne blocked his view and grabbed his hands together.

"I’ll go with you. Who knows how much that stone can do? If I go with you, it’s more effective, right?"

Noir looked at Etienne, his eyes laced with visible guilt. However, Etienne erased that with a smile. My lips slightly curved upward, witnessing that.

After all the drama was finished, the team began discussing the plan. The first one to send back is Noir, but if the world we end up in belongs to Terrius, Claude, or Etienne, we need to think of alternative plans.

But if Etienne goes first, then how can he heal Noir’s mother?

"I’ve talked to Commander Lan and asked him to prioritize our team on the lists. But I should warn you now. The faster we kill the boss, the quicker we get out and take another mission. Which means from here onward, we will work our ass off and enter as many as vortices as we can. Understood?"

Claude eyed us one by one. He knew the risk, since he used to be the madman who jumped into every vortex he laid eyes on.

However, two people don’t benefit from that kind of strategy. Sure, they work as Seekers to save the country, but they don’t have anything or any reason to be that desperate.

I watched Lexie stare at the dent they created on the table. She was lost in thought, and I had an idea just what she was thinking about. Despite knowing that, I didn’t voice it out.

Who am I to question her? Raiding a vortex once a day is already tough on the body and mind; what more if we do it multiple times?

"Understood."

My gaze shifted to Allen. He was watching me, so when I locked eyes with him, he simply smiled. His eyes bore no hesitation or expectation. He was willing to help the four without asking anything in return. Truly one of a kind.

I smiled back at him, showing my appreciation. I remembered how he asked me to allow him to help. He was sincere and resolute, and thinking back on it now, I just knew he would still mind my business even if I told him off.

Suddenly, I felt something heavy pressing on my foot. I peeked under the table but did not see anything.

"Is there something under, Jade?" Etienne asked.

I waved my hand. "Nothing."

I straightened myself and shifted on my seat, unintentionally hitting my elbow on someone’s chest. A soft groan came from the captain’s lips. I fully turned to him, my eyes widening in surprise.

"Oops, sorry."

Claude glowered at me. I immediately looked away. At the corner of my eye, I saw him massaging the part of his chest I hit. My elbows are sharp, so I could feel how much that hit probably stung.

Well, it was his fault. Who told him to step on my foot that hard? Yup. That elbow hit was intentional.

The following day, the team was given a mission. I don’t know why Commander Lan suddenly decided to send only our team, but it worked for us, so we didn’t complain. We entered a ZT Class - B and fought desperately.

We survived, but none of the four belong to that world.

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End of Volume 1: The Apocalypse

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