Cecilia falls after mustering her last strength.
Cecilia collapses onto the ground. She is breathing, but there is no light in her eyes.
“Pitiful girl. Did you unjustly release your energy from your immobile legs? But I had your neck struck earlier. You probably can’t even hear sounds by now.”
Cecilia is merely taking shallow breaths.
“Get away from her. Can’t you hear me?!”
Gadou ignored Elana’s voice and approached Cecilia. Tears spilled from her vacant eyes. The tears, unwiped, flowed quietly onto the hot ground.
Fear, repentance, frustration, regret, sadness. Everything swirled like a muddy stream in my chest.
It was the first time. After traveling together for so long, I had seen Cecilia cry. Her face had been so bewildered. I wanted to run out immediately and swing my dagger wildly.
But I couldn’t. Because she smiled faintly, even as she gazed at me with eyes devoid of light.
“Not yet, not yet. Are you going to ruin everything?”
My turn will surely come. This isn’t a game; death is the end. Choose carefully where to use your one life.
Gadou knelt and placed his hand over Cecilia’s head. A shockwave was released as a final blow.
But it didn’t hit Cecilia and only gouged the ground. Even Gadou couldn’t understand what had happened.
Cecilia sat up with a movement as natural as waking up in the morning. Though she could be seen with her eyes, her presence couldn’t be tracked.
It was like watching an astral projection. My brain was tricked into thinking Cecilia’s body was still on the ground.
Gadou slowly raised his face. By then, a glowing sword had already pierced his chest.
“Guh!!”
Gadou immediately blew Cecilia away and created distance. The sword that left his hand rolled with a dry clatter.
The sword had snapped halfway.
“Haa, haa, kuh”
And the broken tip was embedded in Gadou’s chest. He was taking deep breaths. He seemed to be circulating energy throughout his body to prevent the wound from spreading. Veins appeared on his muscles, and his chest muscles tightened.
He probably didn’t expect to be defeated by her, who was on the verge of death. Cecilia had continued to grow until just before her death. It might have been a state of mind she reached precisely because she had lost her five senses.
It was her husk that moved, retaining her energy. By emptying her physical body, she prevented the opponent from sensing her movements. There was no panic, no killing intent; she was like the air itself.
This might be the state of emptiness that Void Magic reaches.
Gadou, after taking a deep breath, looked straight at me. No, I saw it. The path of light that Cecilia pointed to.
Gadou’s killing intent turned towards me. He drew back his fist. A fierce blow followed. I ran towards it.
Sharin crossed in front of me, raising her shield. She shifted her weight to her side as if to redirect the force. I kept running. The next time I blinked, Gadou was right in front of me. He looked as giant as a mountain. He was an opponent I could never hope to defeat.
Then his large fist rushed towards me. His appearance was just like falling rocks. Instinct told me it was the end. My surroundings darkened, and the word “death” flashed in my mind.
But there was no fear. I simply reached out gently and touched the light.
*Thump*
I felt the beat of a heart from my fingertips. The next moment, my vision went black. The pain in my whole body jolted my sinking consciousness awake.
“Arisugawa, snap out of it!”
In my wavering vision, Sharin’s face appeared. That’s right, what happened to Gadou? Whipping my creaking body, I stood up. He was still standing there in a triumphant pose. At his feet lay the tip of Cecilia’s sword, which I had pulled out.
Alright, I did it. No living creature could have a hole in its heart and remain unharmed. He’ll die sooner or later.
Then Gadou touched his blood-soaked chest. Blood gushed from the hole, wetting his arm through the gaps between his fingers.
“Hah, hah, suuuu–”
He took deep breaths, loud enough to be heard.
“Hah, hah, hah”
His face gradually turned red, and his entire body’s muscles began to bulge. White steam started to rise from him. The area around him shimmered like a mirage.
“Hmph!!”
He flicked the blood off his hand with a *pi* sound. His bright red face looked furious, his eyebrows curled, making him look like a different person. And the wound on his chest tightly closed, the bleeding stopped.
“Wh-what was that?”
“I don’t know either.”
As he was saying that, Elana, who was near Gadou, was sent flying at an unbelievable speed.
“Elana!”
She collapsed after taking one blow and didn’t get up. Steam rose from his over-expanded muscles with a *shuuu* sound. His form was like a demon shedding its human skin.
