"Hahaha, you're still as funny as ever!" Asgore gave Rudy a hearty slap on the back.
Not to be outdone, Rudy replied, "So are you, little~ fluff~ ball~"
Asgore seemed to remember something, and his eyes dimmed for a moment, but he soon returned to his warm, smiling self.
As they chatted, they arrived at Rudy's front door before they knew it. Rudy immediately noticed that the door was slightly ajar. "Huh?"
Worried about his daughters' safety, Rudy rushed through the doorway without a second thought. Then he saw his two daughters, perfectly unharmed... and two human children trembling behind them.
"Humans?!" Rudy's thoughts were a tangled mess. He had met three humans before, so he knew that not all humans were as evil as the books made them out to be.
"Rudy, don't worry, your..." Asgore hurried inside, only for his brain to nearly shut down the instant he saw the two humans.
"Um, uh... how should I put this... this is so awkward..." Linde gave a rather strange smile.
Asgore noticed that Linde seemed to be keeping his left hand behind his back, but he paid it no mind. He hadn't heard any reports of monsters being hurt, which meant these were two kind children...
Asgore sighed. "Would you two... if you don't mind... join me for some tea?"
Frisk looked at Linde. Linde looked straight into Asgore's eyes and nodded.
"Gori (Asgore's nickname), are you still planning to do that...?" Sorrow showed in Rudy's eyes.
Noelle and Dess ran forward and took hold of Asgore's large, furry hands. "Uncle Gori... please spare them... they're friendly!"
"Come here." Rudy gathered his daughters into his arms. My silly girls, what you should really be worried about is whether your Uncle Gori will survive...
Linde and Frisk followed Asgore into the guest room, where he fetched some fine tea he had recently set aside.
He boiled the water in the kettle, poured it into the teapot, then added a few ice cubes.
Once the water had cooled to around seventy degrees, he slowly opened the tea packet and added the leaves to the water.
The two children sat quietly, waiting for Asgore to brew the tea and bring it over to them.
"Phew, all right, all right. This is so nerve-racking, just like going to the dentist." Asgore took a small sip of tea, as though it might help him relax.
Linde watched Frisk with some amusement. In her nervousness, she had taken a large gulp of tea and burned herself on the water, which was still over sixty degrees.
Asgore noticed Frisk's flustered state. "Don't worry. I don't want to hurt you."
He looked straight into Linde's eyes. "Honestly, you give me a very strange feeling, as though you knew me a long, long time ago... you seem very comfortable around me, not at all worried that I might attack you."
"So was I right?" Linde gave a polite smile.
"You really are a strange human." Asgore shook his head helplessly. "All right, then I'll tell you the truth.
"After meeting you, I'll return to the Throne and wait for you to arrive, then fight you...
"But if you can... please kill me."
Clatter- Something seemed to fall and shatter behind Linde.
Frisk glanced behind Linde with a conflicted expression, while Linde met Asgore's puzzled gaze as though nothing had happened.
Seeing that Linde had no intention of explaining, Asgore could only continue.
"I'm really... so tired...
"To give the monsters hope, I told an enormous lie... I said I would gather seven human souls, become a god, and lead the monsters out of the Underground to wipe out humanity...
"But I never wanted to hurt anyone...
"And so, for the sake of the monsters' hope, I killed the six humans who fell here before you with my own hands... and took that sin upon myself.
"But now that you two have appeared, if I keep going... I'll truly have to kill all of humanity...
"I really can't go on...
"So if you can, I hope you'll kill me at the end of your journey, then return to the surface.
"That may be selfish of me, isn't it? Making you the villains of the monster world just so I can find release...
"But I truly hope you'll do it. I'm just so tired...
"All right, it's time to return to the Throne. I'll wait for your answer at the end of your journey."
With that, Asgore drained his cup, stood up, and took a long look at the two children before turning to leave.
"Rudy, I'll be going now." Asgore waved to his old friend outside in the yard, then left in silence.
Rudy watched Asgore's retreating figure anxiously. "Gori! Whatever you do, I'll support you!"
Asgore smiled, but it was the sort of smile someone wore after swallowing something terribly bitter and insisting it tasted sweet...
"All right, he's gone now, so what do you think," Linde said, taking out the phone hidden behind his back, "Mom?"
Before you continue