Just Like Papa

'What is this?' Cruciatus thought.

To his knowledge about common sense, he could feel that it was related to Jack somehow.

He felt uneasy. With the 'Mother' stopped yapping its nonsense, Cruciatus followed these two figures as he passed multiple doors of the unfamiliar hallway.

The Jack within this vision and the women had been really quiet for a while. The silence had led Cruciatus to become even more sensitive to the surroundings.

With his mind ready to be exposed to the vision even more, he began to feel and hear the writhing and crying of unknown people behind every door he passed.

Some were echoed with more than one or two people, as if there were an acquaintance or related people mourning for their beloved one.

Cruciatus carried on, until Jack and the women stopped upon one of the doors. 666 was inscribed on the metallic plate.

"Mr. Armstrong, this will be the final time you are allowed to meet with your daughter," the woman emotionlessly said, as if she had been in this phase a lot of time. "It was the same with every victim of the radiation. It's scientifically impossible with our current technology to reverse the effect of this biological weapon that was struck to the main capital. We have done everything we could.

"Likewise, I deeply apologize."

"I know," Jack replied with a raspy voice. His eyes felt distance, much more so than the gaze of the heartless. He might have lost it, or was on the brink of losing it. "You're a good person, Miss Dares."

"I suggest that you make the most of it."

Unrelenting, Jack opened the door. A slight screech of steel could be heard. Unlike those who waited for the inevitable, Jack immediately went inside before stopping and darted his gaze.

Cruciatus followed as he was met with the sight of a person being laid on the bed, dimming red eyes, and chin-length jet-black hair. It was a girl, supported by numerous machinery filled with runes and magical coding as tubes were connected to her arteries and other organs that Cruciatus couldn't comprehend.

He noticed that most of the person's skin was charred in burning yellowish red as opposed to an amber. In fact, every slightly exposed skin was in that state or even worse except from her jaw and above.

It felt like it was extremely hot there, but the bed and the clothing didn't seem to catch on fire. Cruciatus couldn't understand but that detail wasn't important to him.

The girl's eyes were lifeless. But after she realized that someone was coming, she immediately darted her gaze to the silhouette.

Cruciatus could feel that her gaze was even more distant. Most likely, she was half blind.

In an instant, Jack put up his convincing smile. He then pulled out some kind of a humanoid-shaped blue crystal from one of his pockets. His hand that clutched the object was left hanging as the other went leaning on waist.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

A surprised look could be seen on the little girl. It shifted into an excited expression right after.

"Morning! Papa!"

"Yes, it's me." Jack lightheartedly chuckled. "Your strongest papa in the world."

Cruciatus could see it. The little girl wanted to move and immediately rushed to hug her father, but she couldn't.

Jack noticed the cue and immediately approached her. He then crouched beside the bed, placing his hand on her wrist. The heat seared his palm but he didn't care.

The girl seemed to be indifferent to the touch either. As if she couldn't feel anything.

"How many bad guys did you fight yesterday?" asked the girl. She seemed to have trouble speaking but she didn't care. "It's a little uncomfortable being strapped to this bed for such a long time. I'm missing many things happening in the outside world."

Jack then put the humanoid blue crystal on her lifeless palm. The crystal emitted a cold and fresh energy. Most likely, Jack hoped that it would reduce the burden that she carried.

"Papa has won against many evil guys." Jack began to caress the girl's hair. The girl expressed even more delight when he did so. "Some of them even had a tentacle for arms as it carried a large pickaxe on the other."

"Then how did papa even beat them!?"

"Papa rushed to the center, and punched them all into a pulp!"

For the next couple of hours, Cruciatus was only spectating a warm yet depressing conversation between those two. The curiosity and sheer innocent spirit of the girl asked more and more questions without revealing the slightest of pain.

Jack knew that she was holding it all along, trying to keep it to herself. The best thing Jack could do is not make her worry.

He maintained her expression. His eyes were blocking the emotion that was looming in his chest.

Cruciatus then learned that Jack was barely having any time to interact with her. Although they conversate through each other a lot using a long-ranged communication device, their meeting every year could be counted with their fingers.

"Papa, how long will I keep staying here?" asked the girl. Her gaze was kept to the ceiling, as if she was wondering and convincing herself of something. "I can't wait to continue my lesson within the Second Chapter!"

"Hmm? I thought you hate learning all of those subjects." Jack lightly flicked the girl's head.

"Uuuh!" The girl pouted. "I do admit that I hate them, but I still need to learn them so that I can get into the Military Arc because it's the requirements for the entrance!"

"You little frog in the well, I didn't get this far because I got the knowledge from the Military Arc, you know?" Jack chuckled. "Your papa was so poor back then, he fought a wolf with a merry group of huntsmen everyday. Are you really sure that you wanted to join the Military Arc? And not the Research Arc in the academy? There are so many things to achieve by settling on an innovation after all."

"I'm sure!" The girl showed a fiery and energetic expression. "I did beat up a lot of bullies in class, I'm sure that being in the military will be a piece of cake for me!"

"You buffoon." Jack flicked her foreheads once again. "Being in the army is not about fighting alone. May your papa know what is your reason for pursuing that path?"

The girl grinned, as if she was waiting for this moment. "I want to be like you!"