Rise of the Rejected Deity from Chaos-Chapter 66 - 65: The Line Drawn

The others crouched to sit, finally thinking they could catch a breath—only for Riena to come crashing violently against the already cracked wall.

Their heads snapped up, eyes following the trajectory of her fall. When they saw Seiya standing there, his chilling gaze locked onto them, their hearts lurched. Panic surged through their minds, each scrambling to piece together what had just transpired between Seiya and Riena in the brief moment they had let their guard down.

Hayne, with his pulse hammering, rushed to Seiya without hesitation. His voice wavered with uncertainty.

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"Sei, what happened?" Skepticism laced his tone.

Seiya merely shrugged. "I don’t know."

His response left everyone, including Hayne, baffled. There was no trace of hostility in his demeanor—only his usual impassivity. Yet, when they turned back to Riena, she was struggling to rise from the wreckage, her face contorted in pain from the force of the impact.

"Oi, Heiji! Have you gone blind?!" Riena grunted, rubbing her waist as she remained hunched over.

Hearing Heiji’s name made the others shift their focus back toward where she had been sent flying from. They saw nothing but Seiya, standing there, until Heiji—who had been knocked down the stairs—trudged back up, grumbling under his breath.

The group exchanged confused glances, eyes darting between Heiji and Riena.

"Sorry," Heiji muttered, brushing dirt off his already battered clothes. "I was sprinting at speed x4 and didn’t see you there."

Realization dawned on them. They had been mistaken—Seiya hadn’t attacked Riena at all. He had merely been standing there by coincidence, his menacing gaze a natural part of him. It was their own fault for assuming the worst. Even so, a collective wave of relief washed over them. If Seiya had truly been the one to send Riena flying, none of them would have been able to stop him. And Riena… she might not have survived.

Hayne exhaled heavily, standing before Seiya, who remained expressionless, his elite a short distance away.

"Anyway, follow me," Hayne said, grabbing Seiya and pulling him along.

Once they reached a secluded area, Hayne let out a deep breath. The cool breeze stirred the spiked strands of his light blue hair.

"It’s about your mother," he began, pausing to gauge Seiya’s reaction. But Seiya only stared, his expression devoid of emotion.

Relieved by the lack of resistance, Hayne took it as his cue to continue.

"You may not remember anything about her… or your past, but…. I want you to know this—she was a good mother to you." His gaze dropped, a quiet melancholy settling over him. Whenever he thought back to the past, comparing who Seiya once was to who he had now become, it felt like a needle pricking his heart.

"You loved her very much," he murmured. "You still do—you just don’t realize it yet."

Seiya’s blank stare shifted subtly, a flicker of exasperation crossing his features. He despised when people danced around a subject instead of getting straight to the point. The roundabout way they spoke, wasting time with unnecessary words, irritated him beyond measure.

One look at Seiya’s face was enough for Hayne to understand his frustration.

"What I mean is—keep it in your heart that a mother isn’t just the one who gives birth to you but the one who offers a love no one else can replicate. So please, use your eyes to find a nearby clinic or pharmacy and get your mother and Eiro treated." He spilled it all out at once, without pretense or hesitation.

Seiya’s gaze remained fixed on him, unreadable. Then, after a long pause, with deliberate bluntness, he asked. "Why?"

Hayne sighed. "Because hospitals are always crowded. If we take them there, questions will be raised, and complications will follow. A small clinic or pharmacy is a safer option for first aid."

Seiya’s stare didn’t waver. "Yeah. But why should I?"

A vein twitched on Hayne’s forehead. He lifted his chin, staring down at Seiya in frustration. After all the preaching he just did about his mother, the boy still had the nerve to ask why.

But Hayne forced himself to breathe, steadying his irritation.

"Because she’s your mother. And Eiro is like a friend. Just do it—PLEASE," He emphasized the last word with a heavy sigh.

{Tsk! Do it!} Ibyu’s voice snapped inside Seiya’s mind, making his stare deepen. The way he looked at Hayne—unblinking, eerily still—sent a chill down his spine. Sweat beaded on Hayne’s forehead as he waited for a response.

After a long, suffocating silence, Seiya finally spoke.

"Okay."

Hayne was momentarily stunned by the simplicity of the response, but relief quickly followed.

"Thank you. I’ll leave you to it." With that, he stepped past Seiya and headed back.

As he walked back, he noticed Riena a short distance away, partially hidden behind the cornering wall. She leaned against it, as if she had been listening in on their conversation.

Hayne hesitated for a moment but ultimately ignored her and continued forward. That was, until she started moving in the direction he had just come from.

"Enough already."

His voice was cold, stopping Riena in her tracks. She turned to him, her expression clouded with confusion and mild irritation.

"Don’t go to him," Hayne said firmly.

Her brows furrowed, her face tightening with restrained anger.

"And who the hell says I was going to him?" she snapped.

Hayne turned fully, stepping toward her with slow, deliberate movements. The usual warmth around him had vanished, replaced by a chilling sternness. Leaning in slightly, he met her glare with one of his own.

"Enough with this childish behavior of yours."

Riena’s face flared red, a mix of indignation and embarrassment. But Hayne wasn’t finished.

"If you go to him again—like right now—you’ll die," he stated, his tone was factual, not threatening.

Her expression wavered, confusion creeping in like she didn’t understand what Hayne meant, prompting Hayne to emphasize.

"He’ll kill you."

Riena’s mouth opened slightly as if to argue, but no words came out.

"And if by chance you think he can’t do that, then all I can do is laugh and pity you," Hayne continued, his tone edged with cold amusement. "You haven’t seen much of what he can do nor do you know him well but… with the way he is now, you’re nothing more than a pest—one he wouldn’t hesitate to crush."

Riena’s anger spiked, but Hayne didn’t give her the chance to retort.

"And if that happens, nothing will change," he said, his voice quieter now, but no less stinging. "I’m saying, even if you die by his hands, nothing much will change. We’ll get over you, move on and he’ll still be our friend. And you? You’ll be gone—forgotten."

He drew nearer, his presence looming.

"Because I for one, I plan on taking his side forever. No matter what he does, no matter what crimes he commits, I’ll always be there for him until he changes back."

There was a pause before he continued again.

"And should he never revert back to his old self, and regain his humanity, I’ll still be there."

Leaning down until his gaze was level with hers, his voice dropped to a whisper

"That is to say. Even if he ends up killing you, which he will, the next moment you stand in front of him, I’ll consider it nothing more than your own foolish mistake and side with him. That is me choosing him over you—something I’ll do time and time again."

Riena huffed, her face red with rage. Her whole body tensed as if she were seconds away from exploding.

Hayne took a step back, turning to leave. But just before he walked away, he glanced over his shoulder.

"But if your life means that little to you," he said calmly, "then by all means—go to him."