The evening of the next day...
"I want to thank you all once again for the care you showed me these past few days. I would have become a qualified ranker without your help." Astartes spoke as he bowed his head at the party of rankers that he had come to see as comrades.
After a whole day of rapid, non-stop catacomb raids, Astartes had honoured his word to Adele and her party by engaging in over five catacomb raids. However, it was time for him to part ways with them and continue along his sole journey to greatness.
His rate of improvement was only going to get greater. He could not risk sending them into the higher-class Catacombs, where the danger was enormous. But he also could not waste time slowly building up this party of rankers right now. He needed to become more powerful in a short period of time. It was a hard decision, but one that he took nonetheless.
Oaken Shield patted his shoulder and released a hearty laugh. "You will one day be a great ranker for all to see. I can't wait to brag about once being your teammate, Infinity!"
Autumn Leaf also smiled sweetly at Astartes as she said, "Promise us that you will join us in our raids when you are free. I have told many of my friends that you are my boyfriend. You don't want your dear teammate to be disgraced, do you?" she teased.
Astartes laughed and only nodded his head, not saying anything more.
After saying their final goodbyes, Astartes departed from the gathering.
After he left, the smiles on the faces of the party members faded.
The older and more experienced Bear Paw had a solemn look on his face compared to the rest, but even he sighed while saying, "Do not feel down, Oaken Shield. Although you tried to sound tough, you are sad that he is gone. But as you said, that lad is destined for greater things. He is not fated to languish in the lower ranks like us. He has to soar higher."
Oaken Shield drew in a deep breath and nodded. He was young and was able to have a closer bond with Astartes than the other members. He composed himself and acknowledged that Bear Paw was right.
On the other hand, Autumn Leaf was not doing well. Her mood was extremely sullen at the moment. Like Oaken Shield, she was also someone who admired Astartes deeply, even though the latter did not pay attention to her feelings. Willow Steps, who was much closer to Autumn Leaf, knew her feelings for Astartes, and therefore she hugged Autumn Leaf and comforted her.
"Do not be sad that he is gone, be happy that you were able to spend moments with him. I am sure he will not forget about us." Willow Steps said as she stared in the direction of Astartes' departing figure with misty eyes.
What Autumn Leaf did not know was that Willow Steps also felt the same way about Astartes...
Astartes set the meeting point for the party at a recreational park closer to the outskirts of Yosemite City. It was because he wanted to visit a certain location closer to it. He walked towards the place slowly.
It was a cemetery.
"You also have someone you are coming to see, Adele? Your parents, perhaps?" Astartes stared at Adele, who was accompanying him.
Adele nodded. "Yeah, something like that."
Astartes nodded and said nothing more. They both walked quietly to the cemetery. The place was extremely large with hundreds of thousands of tombstones. Since it was nighttime, not many people were here. Astartes' face was solemn and unreadable as he cleaned the dusty tombstone belonging to his parents.
Isabella and Mark Ruther, 2129.
He lit a candle on it before bowing his head towards it for a long time without saying anything. Adele, who was behind him, also did the same silently.
When he was done, he slowly searched around until he located what he was looking for. It was a very small black tombstone that had the names "Killian and Ember" written on it. Just like he did for his parents, he offered the same rites towards his dear friends.
He also accompanied Adele to the tombstone belonging to her parents and joined her in paying her respects to them. However, after she was done, she lit a cigarette in her hand as she sat beside a dusty tombstone beside that of her parents.
Even though it was dusty, Astartes could tell that Adele treated this particular tombstone with an unusual regard, placing a lit cigarette on its surface as she sat beside it quietly.
"Would you like one?" Adele gestured to the pack of cigarettes in her hand. Astartes politely declined while he stared at the tombstone. With he sharp eyesight, he could tell the name on the tombstone.
Oberyn, 2133.
"He was your lover," Astartes said as he stared at Adele.
Adele chuckled. "My husband. Married for one year before he was smashed into a blood mess and ended up eaten by a Catacomb Lord."
"I am guessing he was a D-Ranker or an E-Ranker like yourself."
"Precisely so. He was a newly ascended D-Ranker, with brimming potential." Adele said as she puffed on the cigarette slowly. Her expression was neutral, but her gaze was hollow and stale.
"5 years ago, I sustained severe wounds in a previous catacomb outbreak. My wounds were critical, and I needed a lot of cores for surgical treatment. Oberyn vowed to spare no cost to save my life. He formed a party and braved through the Class D Orc Catacomb. He successfully managed to kill his way through the Catacomb, obtaining enough resources to pay for my treatment. However, he did not anticipate that the Catacomb Lord would leave its floor and ascend to the second floor he was on. To ensure that the resources they obtained were not lost, he covered the rear. He succeeded in his duty, but lost his life. I went into surgery with a partner and emerged without one."
Astartes frowned very hard. He never had a clue about Adele's tragic past. After all, she hid it very well with her hearty personality. Now he could not imagine how she must have felt. Compared to him, she went through even greater pain.
"I am sorry for your loss, Adele." Astartes sat beside her and lit a cigarette for himself, smoking alongside her. Adele was a little stunned but smiled afterwards and placed her arm around his neck like a big sister.
"I have made peace with it, don't worry. Oberyn wanted me to live, and hence I believed I had lived my life quite well after he left. When I saw you wounded and fighting that catacomb creature with every last ounce of power you had, I was reminded of Oberyn. In a way, you also reminded me of myself when I struggled against death."
She stared at the sky, and for the first time, a tear fell down her cheek. She stared at Astartes and smiled. "I believe that Oberyn would be proud knowing that I was able to save the life of someone as talented as you, Astartes. It is one of the moments that I can feel proud of. Now you can go on to do even greater things, not only for yourself, but for our city. I just need you to promise me one thing. It is a selfish desire, and you can reject it outright."
Astartes' face was serious. "Tell me, Adele."
Adele's gaze became sharp, with killing intent. "Promise me that when the time comes, when you reach that level of power, you will kill that damned, vile creature for me. Kill that Class D Catacomb Lord, The Blood Orc Chieftain."
Astartes responded without hesitation. "I will kill it."
Adele was once again stunned by his directness. Before she realized another tear fell down her cheek, then another, and another. For some reason, she simply knew that Astartes could do it. The moment he promised her, she felt her years of burden and guilt vanish completely.
"Thank you, Astartes. Thank you..." she hugged him tightly and sobbed silently.
****************
After resting through the night, Astartes woke up the next morning. After freshening up and eating a hearty and delicious meal of tenderised steak and fruit juice, Astartes donned his silvery white light armour and flowing white cape and emerged from his quarters within the RA building. With his tall figure complementing his dashing appearance, he attracted the eyes of many. His E-Rank power was also exuded from his body, making him look quite the mighty figure.
He was approached by an equally handsome yet less magnetic male. The middle-aged man wore black and red armour and exuded a greater, terrifying aura. It was Blaze Beam, Ranker Chief of the RA in Yosemite City.
"It has been two days since we last met, Infinity," Blaze Beam began. "I can sense that you have grown even stronger after clearing all Class F Catacombs by yourself. Your battle capability is indeed monstrous."
"You praise me too much, Branch Chief Blaze Beam. I am still weaker than you," Astartes replied.
Blaze Beam laughed, "You only became a ranker one week ago, and you are already an E-Rank. Do not sell yourself short."
"So this is the famous kid on the block, the Infinity Mage!" A tall and extremely gorgeous woman who had a bow and arrow on her back walked towards Astartes and Blaze Beam. Accompanying her were several others, most likely all part of a party.
"I have heard a lot about you from Branch Chief Blaze Beam. Although you are famous, I hope you are not thinking that you are invincible in Yosemite City. Not while there are still senior rankers like us around," the young woman sized Astartes up and down as she said flatly, with a hint of pride in her tone.