My Muse || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

⭐ My Muse || Chapter 115

"Emma, Gilda, Don... There's something I have to tell you. Just- Just don't get mad at me, okay?" 

Emma smiled, touching my hands. Gilda sighed, rubbing her temples. It looked like they already knew, and were just coping with my confession of it. Don spoke cheerfully, putting his arm around me. "y/n, you've been with us since the very beginning. Believing in us, trusting us, and as your family, we'll stick with you, no matter what decision you make." The two girls nodded, Ray giving me a big grin. "I told you," His eyes said, sparkling. Those three were the easy ones. 

Next was the house. The whole house. 

Sonya and Pepe glared at me the moment I walked in. God, this was going to be ten times more difficult with those cougars. "Promise not to kill me?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood. The two sighed deeply, getting ready for an explosion. "I don't want to kill the demons." Zack and Oliver didn't look surprised. Nigel and Gillian's expressions were bright and cheerful, like they had been waiting for it. "Okay, so what's your plan?" Paula asked, pulling down her mask. Huh? What? Did she- Did she just- Agree? "You're gonna catch flies like that," Pepe laughed. Ray hissed, closing my gaping jaw. "Y- You're all- You're all okay with it? With me wanting to help the demons?" Violet shrugged, peeling a banana for Adam. No one seemed bothered or upset. Sonya, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up, shocking me. "Norman isn't the one who saved us. Norman isn't the one who put his life on the line for us. It was you, y/n. And even though you're a little whiny and indecisive, and I like Norman a whole lot more than you," Gee, thanks, Sonya. Paula giggled, nudging her shoulder. The pig tailed girl grinned, stepping towards me. "You're the only person I would be proud to call my family." "Aw, how about me?" Sandy jeered from the background. Sonya hissed at him, a little embarrassed by her emotional speech. I grabbed her arms, pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank you, Sonya." She wiggled herself free, blushing profusely. "D- Don't mention it!" 

Level two complete, onto the boss battle. Ray and Emma accompanied me to Norman's office, my trembling fists knocking on the door. "Come in." One look at him and I knew that this could've killed me. He brought his hand to his mouth, chuckling. "It's rare for you to knock, y/n." "I- Is that so?" I quivered, taking a hesitant seat on the couch. Emma and Ray sat by my side, the both of them squeezing my hands. Norman noticed, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"I have another solution," I started, steadying my voice. "A solution that won't kill the demons." The white haired boy's unamused face pierced right through my chest. His slender fingers traced the paperwork we had interrupted, gently setting his pen by its side. "And what would that be, y/n?" "You know as well as I do, that we were unfortunate enough to be the descendants of the first cattle people, the ones that came here hundreds of years ago." He nodded, closing his eyes. "And I can- I can fix it, I can reforge The Promise." He slammed his fist onto the table, startling the three of us. "No." "If- If you just gave me some time- a month or two-" "No." He said firmly, glaring at me. Shivers were sent up my spine. "Those monsters have already killed hundreds, if not thousands of human beings. You're okay with letting them go unpunished?" "They needed to eat us to survive!" I shouted, standing up. I pulled my hands away from Emma and Ray's the two of them watching our feud. "Like we eat animals to survive, Norman! It's not that they didn't care, it's that they don't understand- Why can't you understand? We're no better than them, and they're no better than us!" "Not yet, we aren't." He raised his fingers in sarcastic air quotes. "We'll be "better" off once they're all dead. Now what put this stupid idea in your head?" He was coming dangerously close to me, his chest brushing against mine. He felt taller than usual, and extremely intimidating. I felt a pair of hands grab my shoulders, pulling my trembling body away from him. Ray's voice was sharp, his breath warm against my ear. "Family, Norman. We're doing this for our family." He seemed to understand, settling back down. "Tell me more... About this 'family.'" Emma started to explain Mujika and Sonju's existence. Their survival and religion, based on the Cursed Blood. Norman nodded every so often, listening carefully. 

"That does... Stab a hole into my plans... To think a demon can retain human form even without the consumption of human beings." He rubbed his temples, giving the three of us one last look. "My plan will be carried out in one month. I'll be attacking the demon capital, the Imperial Palace along with the rest of my team. For some reason, I feel like Ray won't be accompanying us this time." The black haired boy nodded, pulling me closer into his chest. "If one month passes and you cannot reforge this... 'Promise', then I will carry on with my plans and those two you mentioned... Mujika and Sonju..? I'll make sure that those two are killed."

Norman stood up, walking to the door. His voice was low, almost growling his words. "No demon will be left behind. Not after I'm done."