The Writing Clione

Riyo "I can't trust any of you, but also Zanka told me to turn around and I trust him so I will"

And Zanka "this shield is going straight at me at the speed of a bullet but Riyo told me to stay put that she's going to cut it and I trust her so I will"

we don't talk enough about how rudo asked riyo specifically to kill him if his transformation went wrong

prior to this moment, she was contemplating retreating with the belief that facing mymo in their current state was a lost cause. normally, she's cocky. impulsive. she jumps into situations without any information and comes up with a plan as she goes. this, however, is the new riyo. the one who has learned from her near death experience against the humanoid trash beast during the information broker arc.

but then rudo asks her to revert back into the person she once was, the version of her who likely killed someone that was close to her (see this post for an in-depth breakdown on that).

(that post goes into detail about how whenever riyo is recalling her past, the manga only ever shows half of her face btw, which is something that is consistent here.)

this frame is the only reaction we get of her - the next time we see her is a couple of chapters later in 159 when she comments that felix and gil are missing, so we get no follow up to how she feels about this request.

so, we don't see any follow-up on this (at least not as of chapter 172 part 1). that being said, we do get some idea of how she might be feeling based on the conversation before rudo made his request:

"a human can't quit being human"

the conversation was between rudo and gountess about mymo trying to turn himself into a god, so i find it notable that we get a reaction shot from riyo, of all people, in this panel.

riyo, whose past life as an assassin has likely made her question her own humanity. riyo, who is still human regardless of how many lives she took. riyo, who is watching mymo turn himself into a monster - a being she might relate to in an abstract way - makes this face upon hearing that someone like that is still human.

unless she has some knowledge about gods, which i doubt based on her reaction to the word, i feel it's safe to assume that she's relating this situation to herself.

maybe someone she loved asked her to kill them in the past. maybe she asked someone else to kill her and they didn't. either way, rudo asking this of her clearly struck a nerve.