As Feuer and Adel continued throwing techniques that melted bedrock in seconds, Haruto and Tokino threw ones that sliced off teams of trees and boulders with no effort whatsoever.

With Haruto reaching the peak of his ability outside of Zenith Corpus, he now proved to be a great handful to his enemy. Even still, Tokino was more nimble. Unlike the emperor and the defector, the two swordmasters did not receive grievous injuries yet.

After dodging every swing, Tokino thrust to his chest. After dodging every thrust, Haruto swung to her neck. Even with simple swordplay, the ground shook and fissured, prompting soldiers on both sides to run for the hills. The sound of metal now clanged twenty times a second. As it went on, scratches turned into gashes. Eventually, the swordmasters closed their distance with a blade lock.

“Why are you fighting for Adel?! For someone so young to join his barbaric cause, what drove you into this?!” Tokino’s eyes narrowed.

Haruto grunted, enraged. “Why should I tell you?!” he broke the blade lock, making her move back. “Besides… how could you possibly know how I feel?!”

Tokino lowered her rapier and passively healed herself with runes. “You’re right…. I don’t know you at all. I don’t even know if there’s still some good left in you. So here’s what I’ll do…” she prepared for an attack. “…If I win this—I’ll monitor you for a week.”

“TRY IT, THEN!!!” Haruto flash-stepped toward the enemy.

Their blades clanged twenty times a second once more; gigantic explosions occurred far away from where they stood. Eventually, Haruto and Tokino constantly changed ground and chased each other around the field. More cuts and punctures were now visible in their bodies. For an average man to feel this, they would quickly die of shock.

As the fight continued, however, Tokino noticed Haruto slowing down. His face appeared tolerating the intense pain—wanting to yell so bad. Eventually, she dealt far more to him, but his will never wavered. At that moment, Tokino had to try a foolproof method to take Haruto down.

She stepped back for one last attack. “Come on, Tokino, you can do this…!

“Think of her…. Think of her. THINK OF HER!!!” memories flashed.

Tokino’s eyes widened like never before, briefly producing transparent clock hands within the corneas. As if Haruto were a magnet, a single thrust obliterated half of his gut in one-millionth of a second. “AAAAAAGH!!!” his eyes turned white and fell on his back.

Tokino stood victorious.

The battle between Feuer and Adel also now reached its conclusion. If Feuer’s Zenith Corpus was like staring at the sun, Adel’s was like staring at a blue giant. Even standing a kilometer away from the canyon proved very blinding for the soldiers on both sides.

Adel was now like pure plasma, effortlessly pummeling Feuer and pinning him down. However, the bloodied and battered defector expected all of this to occur. No matter how powerful magic could become, a mage’s human vision would always stay the same unless an innate ability could alter it. Managing to remove Adel’s foot off of his chest by throwing dirt in his eyes, Feuer quickly moved behind him for a chokehold. Falling on his back, no matter how hot Adel’s blue plasma clawed at his arms, Feuer tensed up his muscles with all of his might. Adel’s eyes rolled back.

As both fighters’ Zenith Corpus state deactivated, Feuer stood victorious—or so he thought.

Getting back up, Adel coated his right arm in blue plasma with what was left. Feuer did something similar to his own. With both yelling at each other as they charged for another fist clash, one last massive explosion occurred. Soldiers on both sides nearby were metaphorically and literally blown away.

A while back with Tokino, she tended to Haruto via casting runes on his body.

She sighed, eyes closed briefly. “I knew it…. You don’t know how to heal yourself. You don’t even know how numb the pain with Runic Art.” Tokino finished the job, restoring Haruto completely. “If you did know to heal yourself—you would have won….”

Haruto got back up, kneeling. “Are you… satisfied…” He spoke with a heavy breath. “…You might as well just turn me in….”

Tokino turned him around and cast restraints on his hands behind the back. “I am very much satisfied. And I will turn you in. At least for now….” Later on, she called in Novusian brigade mages.

Back with Feuer and Adel, the latter’s body began flaking away in the wind; he lost half of his face before. Feuer could not stand up, lying down next to Adel as he looked at the clear blue sky; he passively healed the gaping hole in his chest.

Feuer looked at Adel briefly, then looked at the sky again. “I should not be mourning you at all. And yet—it feels right. I know nothing of these feelings.” He shook his head. “With your death, your people’s morale would crumble quicker than your empire. That is all I understand….”

Adel chuckled. “No need understanding such pointless matters, old friend…. I perish before you, as it is now the end of my story. Only one request remains that I insist you hear….”

“Then what is that, your Highness?” Feuer looked at him, panting.

Adel looked at the clear blue sky. “Never… hurt… my family….”

“I have come home… my beloved son….”

For Feuer, the emperor’s ashes in the wind were in no way tragic; they were beautiful. He could not help but smile and rub his eyes while sniffling, for he witnessed the passing of an impeccable man who never waned over his goals and passion.

As Feuer climbed up from the ashen canyon, Novusian mages flooded the scene. They began apprehending the enemy. Feuer looked around, seeing Adel’s men bawling while arrested. In another area, he saw the subjugated people rejoicing their freedom. They ran about in their streets while throwing hats.

“Feuer…! What do we do now?” a brigade mage ran to him in front.

The defector sighed, eyes closed. “That is simple. We shall travel to the Alaric Empire—or at least it was. Expect devastation from citizens’ hearts, but nothing we do could ever mend that. Half of you lot should stay here. Tokino will lead you while I’m away.”

“YESSIR!!!” The brigade mage saluted.

As Feuer and his group moved east, a sunset followed.

He closed his eyes, smiling. “Oh, how I wish you were here to this beautiful light shining upon me, your Highness….”

Hours later, Novusian guards confined Haruto at a chrome-colored detention center. His cell was all white and held within a glass casing. Haruto shielded his eyes from the bright lighting.

With permission, Tokino was allowed inside the compound. She gave Haruto a food basket, inserting it on a moving slot. Seeing him sitting by the glass wall, she sat with legs crossed.

Tokino sighed. “You can hit anywhere you want if you’re angry. Magic won’t work inside. Your monitoring hours will be effective tomorrow. Being uncooperative means imprisonment. In your case—it’d be a lifetime sentence.”

Haruto moved away to another spot, prompting her to move as well. “I don’t know how you lived your life before. But that’s not why I’m here. I need information.

“Considering the Alaric Empire’s goals before it fell just recently—surely you see us like family, right…? Is it true?” Her words made Haruto seeth quietly, turning around to look at her.

His eyes said it all, as Tokino was familiar with them.

“No….” Haruto shook his head. “THEY were my family! Not you. None of you are. Not anymore! That ship has sailed. For all of you—I have nothing but resentment!” he punched the glass wall, making his fist bleed.

Tokino sighed again with eyes closed briefly. “I want you to ask yourself these. Say if you were out there in town, right now. Would you resent the mother of three forced to dance in a pole? Would you resent the withering elder in a park who has no one left? Would you resent the countless citizens whose loved ones you’ve taken away from them in droves?

“Ask yourself this, too. Do you sincerely believe the people here deserved your resentment?” her eyes squinted, filled with sternness.

Grunting with teeth clenched, Haruto stood up quickly. “WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS?!!! I don’t know any of them! I only knew the ones back home, and I fought for them! I was a hero!

“WHY WOULD I WASTE MY TIME KNOWING STRANGERS?!!!”

“BECAUSE YOU CAN!!!” Tokino stood up as well. “You can always give them a chance, Haruto…! And if you can’t do that—are you even human?

“I’m not asking you to walk to their houses and have dinner with them. I’m asking you to have basic empathy. Because I know you’re still human. Your eyes can’t lie to me….” Tokino walked to the door but turned around briefly. “Don’t try anything stupid tomorrow… or something that’ll make me take back everything I said about you.” she went outside, accompanied by guards.

Haruto stood still in complete shock with eyes wide open as the door shut loudly at him—perhaps too forcefully. Throughout Tokino’s words, it baffled him so much of how eerily familiar they just were.

“Maki…?” his eyes squinted.

Even with a cozy bed, the night felt cold. Haruto did not want to feel it again, but there was nothing he could do; a sleepless night occurred as he stared blankly at the ceiling.

Tokino’s words did not leave Haruto until morning. Eventually, she came back for him while being accompanied by a guard. She saw Haruto sitting on the floor by a wall, doing kendo stances with his hands. Tokino also noticed the bags under his eyes.

The same guard opened his cell, prompting her to come inside. “Oh dear… let me patch that up for you.” Tokino removed Haruto’s eyebags and made him look presentable outside.

Unexpectedly, Haruto cooperated, coming out of the detention center with no issue whatsoever.

Walking on a street, Tokino turned to him. “Okay, here’s the thing. The people here are scared of you. I worked all night to convince them that even you can change. They won’t scorn you anymore, but some will still turn their faces away. Just follow wherever I go….” They headed to the town square.

Along the way, as Haruto walked from behind, Tokino hummed a familiar tune with hands behind her lower back. Haruto recalled some memories and realized she hummed “Baby Mine” by Betty Noyes. Eventually, the two arrived at their location. Just as Tokino said, some citizens turned away.

“So… what’s your favorite?” Tokino looked at Haruto.

“What…?” His eyes squinted.

She giggled. “It’s morning…. I can’t just starve you to death. My favorite is kartoffelsalat and currywurst with fries.” After hearing Haruto’s food preferences, she decided to go inside a buffet restaurant.

While Haruto got his udon, Tokino complained that they were out of fries. For dessert, she picked marzipan and castella, requested by Haruto. They sat on a table for two by a glass window.

Looking at his gloomy demeanor, Tokino sighed, eyes closed briefly. “Why the long face? Could you possibly lose your appetite over your favorite?”

“Please don’t do this….” Haruto sulked down at his dish.

“Hmm…?” She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

He sighed and dropped his chopsticks. “I don’t want to disobey… but I suggest locking me up again—rather than be with you….”

A nerve popped in Tokino, raising an eyebrow. “Huuuuuuh…?! Now just what are you implying here? Does my face disgust you? I might accept your wish if you’re gonna say it right now. Hm!” She pouted with eyes closed while turning her head away, crossing her arms.

“It’s not that. It’s just personal reasons….” Haruto looked up.

Tokino turned back to him. “Well, I got my reasons, too. And it’s something that won’t go away anytime soon—unless you wanna be behind bars. Which reminds me….” she moved her right arm to him.

Haruto backed away. “W-What are you— Hey…!” his forehead was tapped by her index finger.

Tokino giggled. “Moment to moment—I’m gonna do that to you for the time being….”

He grunted. “Stop it! Why are you doing this? Stop!” Another tap occurred.

She giggled again. “I already told you. I got my reasons. And who knows–I might do it forever till the end.” Tokino smiled intimately at Haruto, tilting her head.

Ever since then, Tokino’s forehead-tapping was relentless, doing it just as she and Haruto got outside the buffet restaurant.

As this story went, this was the one thing the world never expected for the sorry child. It never expected another light to shine over the little boy’s life—and this time—it never diminished.