---

BOOM!

Returning to the periphery of the village, we were met with a vastly different outcome than I'd envisioned.

A stalemate.

Rysef and Tyton were both much the worse for wear. Bruised, bloodied, and disheveled, their clothes were practically tatters by then.

Both men were unwilling to back down though, and thus the battle carried on.

「Heh... you pack quite the punch you oversized lummox!」

「Ya won't be laughin' when I rip yer spine out, cur!」

BAM! BAM! BOOM!

Even in their battered conditions, they still wreaked havoc on their vicinity with every blow they dealt. This was the true strength of two seasoned fighters.

「Lorenzo, I know of a safe passageway that leads to the city. Stay by me, we're headed to the watchtower.」

「R-roger that...」

Had Lia not addressed me, I would've continued to stand and gape at the display in front of me.

It was like witnessing two dancers duking it out. The dodges, the blocks, the punches—everything was so oddly... graceful, I couldn't help but be mesmerized.

But seeing the depressed thief girl in Lia's arms was enough to pull me away from the spectacle. I averted my eyes and went back on track to the watchtower.

We skimmed between the tree line and the ruins of the burning village. Our only goal was to escape this hellish environment.

However, along the way, I caught something sticking out from amidst the trees.

Is that a... ballistette..?

I jogged over to the disused weapon and inspected it.

It had a unique design, the likes of which I'd never seen. The body was made out of light but sturdy wood and had a decorative pattern engraved into the stock.

I had a sneaking suspicion it belonged to a boisterous hunter I knew.

Upon picking it up, I felt something wet on the grip.

It couldn't have been anything else but blood.

My gaze followed the trail of sanguine behind the weapon and ultimately fastened on the body slightly obscured by foliage.

Slowly I neared it, only to confirm that it was indeed Asthos—his head severed and his body brutally maimed.

It was a grisly scene—the corpse dripped with blood and water. Anash's keen blades of liquid were the obvious culprit.

Startled, I stumbled back and fell to the grassy floor. It took every fiber of my being not to scream my lungs out.

A-Asthos...

「Lorenzo! What are you doing here?! I told you to stay close—」

Lia then realized what I was staring at, and swiftly walked in front of me.

「Lorenzo... there's nothing we can do. I promise we'll come back and give everyone a proper burial. Just follow my lead and don't look back.」

I silently nodded and rose to my feet. There was a slight uneasiness in her tone. She too was undeniably affected.

We left behind the brutalized remains of our deceased friend and proceeded through the hamlet. The flames had subsided, making it easier to traverse the empty roads.

The absence of fire only caused the haze to dissipate, bringing all the surrounding slum dweller bodies into full view. Flies had already begun swarming the corpses.

Lia brought the thief girl nestled in her arms closer to her chest and shielded her from the horrors around us. Any more trauma could've permanently scarred her.

I myself was on the verge of losing my mind.

But I stayed vigilant, for the sake of my loved ones. And with that resolve came another sound.

VWOOOP!

I turned around and saw the confrontation intensify once more. Rysef was charging up another City Buster. Even from afar, I could recognize his special move.

The Ashen Thief powered up his fist while Tyton was halfway submerged in the dirt ground. It appeared as though the contract killer was too sapped to dig himself out.

「CITY...!」

At that moment, I thought this was the end. In this battle of attrition, Rysef reigned supreme and was ready to deal the finishing blow.

「BUUUSTER..!」

After his hand had vacuumed a shining ball of immense energy, he swung his arm and released it at the immobilized hitman.

Lia and I, standing atop the hill by the manor, witnessed this faraway development with promise in our souls.

Tyton had nowhere to go and his blunderbuss was trapped underground. He was toast. There was no counter. There couldn't be.

BOOM!

Contact.

Tyton was consumed by a bright glowing sphere and swallowed by thousands of joules. I screwed up my eyes and tried catching the whole thing unfurl.

Then... the impossible happened.

VWOOOP!

And the hope in my heart shattered along with my perception of the ordeal.

「SO... THIS IS THE POWER YOU HOLD!」

Tyton had intercepted the blast of matter and lifted it in the air.

My vision wasn't playing tricks on me. To perfectly take control of such an object was... inconceivable. It was like he was cheating.

If Rysef's brain was akin to a supercomputer, then Tyton's was... something else entirely. His processing power approached infinity.

「T-THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!」

None was more shocked than Rysef, who had spent all his mental strength in this final attack.

「ARE YOU IMPRESSED, ASHEN THIEF! NO MERE NEPHILIM IS A MATCH FOR ME!」

Without a lengthy monologue, the assassin hurled the City Buster back at the Ashen Thief. Completely drained, Rysef braced himself for the collision.

BOOM!

The Ashen Thief was launched all the way to the promontory, where he'd make his final stand.

「RYSEF!」

「SIR!」

Lia and I were dismayed by Tyton's successful comeback. The hitman effortlessly pulled himself up from beneath the surface and sauntered over to Rysef.

That slimy bastard purposely let himself get hit to redirect the attack back to Rysef...

There was no use complaining. What happened, happened. And what was going to happen would come to be.

Whap! Bam! Whack!

Unable to recover from the City Buster's impact, Rysef was forced to endure a one-sided thrashing. Tyton's merciless flurry of wallops sent the Ashen Thief further back.

My mentor shivered as she watched her leader getting beaten to a pulp. As did I.

The usually unstoppable Rysef was being battered before our very eyes, and as he was pushed to the end of the precipice, I felt the need to intercede.

I promptly looked down at the ballistette in my hand, then remembered something.

Searching through the bags around my waist, I finally felt a familiar pouch by my side.

Inside was a single bite-sized arrow, leftover from the raid two years ago. I hadn't touched it since that day.

Hastily, I grabbed it and inserted it into the ballistette.

BAM!

Tyton swung his massive gun at the Ashen Thief and slammed him over the cliff. Disoriented and clobbered, the Ashen Thief held on to the edge for dear life as the assassin closed in on him.

「Hah... hah... now that is what I bloody call a fight! No one has been able to hurt me this badly before. Felicitations, Ashen Thief!」

He then pointed his soil-covered blunderbuss at Rysef and fleered at him.

「Now... I suppose I could afford you a few seconds to mouth your last words. So what says you, Nephilim?」

「Th'...」

I leaned in to hear him, and at the same time, I took aim.

「TH' LAKUA DISTRICT WILL NEVER DIE!!!」

His declaration resounded through the desolate hamlet and reached my ears. It suffused my chest with pride and reminded me how much Rysef loved his district.

His voice radiated the same love I possessed for everyone I'd lost.

Tyton though didn't exactly care. In fact, he was quite annoyed.

「God... don't get your knickers in a twist. At least go out with a wicked one-liner, you bore...」

Fwoop! Schtuck!

The assassin quickly moved his head aside and seized my arrow mid-air, without a flinch. My aim was dead-on, but his reflexes were insanely fast.

He swiveled to me from over his shoulder with a venomous glare.

「You thought that piss-poor attempt was enough to stop me? Bugger off, you barmy runt...」

My confidence tanked as his insult hit me. Lia was mortified that I'd even attempt to face the sadistic killer. It took every ounce of my courage to fire that shot, and for what..?

Rysef spotted us though, owing to my reckless act, and his frown instantly turned to a smile.

「Ahaha... hahaha! My idiot of an apprentice... doesn't know when to stop, huh?!」

「Rysef...」

He stowed away his natural accent and spoke to me as he usually did.

His change in tone was paired with his trademark grin. Though it was typically used as a faux visage of joy, I felt this was somewhat genuine, given the context.

「Lia! I assume... Mel is safe?!」

「Y-yes sir! She's in my arms right now!」

「Hahaha! Just as I'd expect from my confidant!」

Tyton waited patiently as we had a lengthy exchange. It was almost as if he was observing us. Either out of amusement or fascination...

「Mel! You there?! I know you've been through hell once... and now it's staring you in the eye again. I apologize for letting this happen... There's so much I want to tell you but...」

Crumble..!

The weakened tip of the headland began to crack under the Ashen Thief's sheer mass. The assassin noticed this and stepped back.

「Crap, I haven't much time left... Lorenzo!」

He directed his cheerful gaze at me.

「I'm sorry for all I said... you were ultimately right... though I knew that from the start...」

Ashen Thief...

「I-I'm kind of a dunce you see! I may act like a smarty-pants... or a smarty-pants pretending to be an idiot... but really... I'm just an idiot, haha!」

Don't...

「If I could punch myself two years ago... I would... you have every right to be mad at me...」

Please.. don't talk like that...

「But whatever! You can't change the past right?! It'd be unfair if you could! Hell, I wish I could've granted Asthos that rematch of his but... uh...」

Don't talk like it's the end... I'm begging you...

「Anyhow... if you need someone to blame... blame me! I relied on my powers too much and paid the price for it! Everything Tyton says is right... I'm nothing but a phony!」

Don't leave me... I'm not ready yet...

「A phony who got cocky, and started calling himself the Ashen Thief... That's all I am, haha! Kinda pathetic if you think about it!」

I'm not ready for this at all...

「So... self-loathing aside... the point I'm trying to get across is uh...」

Rysef...

Then emerged a smile.

One that wasn't forced. One that I knew couldn't be forced.

A gentle smile that lined his strong lips.

He shot me a wink as the land he clung to gave away.

「You'll do great out there, Lorenzo!」

CRACK!

「SIR!」

「RYSEF!」

The entire cliff abruptly split from the continent and plummeted into the Nimbus Sea, bringing the Ashen Thief down with it.

And from the endless abyss overlaid by white, came a burst of stardust that ascended into the sky. It was a last gift from Rysef, that soon disappeared just as he did.

His boisterous spirit went out with a bang, fittingly enough.

Contrary to Rysef's prideful exclamation, his demise had marked the death of the Lakua District, and Lia and I were the onlookers, tainted with this grim reality.

This... isn't happening... right..?

We overlooked the ruins of the Lakua Village. Everything and everyone was gone. Erased by the flames cast by those sent to kill us.

The longhouse, the clinic, the promontory... our home had effectively been razed to the ground.

Tyton dropped his blunderbuss and quietly sat by the border of the cliff. A pensive expression was painted on his scratched-up face.

It was this countenance that made me recall parts of my dream last night.

So vivid, so exact. It was almost like I'd seen the future during my sleep.

「But that's... madness...」

---

No drama, a few petty theatrics, and not even a chance to say goodbye.

That was how I—Lorenzo—Lakua District slum dweller, lost everything in a blink of an eye.

Targeted by a cruel mistress called fate; one of many who begrudged me my very existence.

Lorenzo, the outsider who stumbled into a familiar realm, only to lose his bearings.

Lorenzo, the sinner who craved power, only to be weaker than the resolve he helmed.

Lorenzo, the fool who learned to love, only to have his attachments stripped away from him.

And a luminous star who was reduced to stardust. Nothing more than stardust.

---