The previously chaotic battlefield went dead silent.
『...You're lying! You didn't even touch him!』[Sarena]
Zousa placed his free hand on his chest, where the black and white spiral was constantly spinning and slowly growing.
『...Let Nova go! Viridian Gale!』[Freyana]
She kept blasting the barrier with blasts of green wind.
『...Stupid kid.』[Zousa]
He slowly dropped Nova down, resting Nova on his feet.
『...You delivered a shot to me at the cost of your life. That's worthy of some respect.』[Zousa]
He had a complicated look on his face, but he stood there, not doing anything.
Everyone there stopped attacking, not sure what to say.
『...He… He's lying...』[Freyana]
『You manipulative bastard! You would even resort to lying to win?!』[Alex]
Zousa paid no mind to their words, still talking to Nova.
『...Crazy bastard. Absolute fucking fool. You would kill yourself in the hopes of saving the lost cause inside of me?』[Zousa]
He began to have tears running down his face as the softer voice reemerged.
『...Why? I didn't want this… I just wanted to become strong...』[Zousa]
『You-!』[Alex]
『...Brother?』[Kikhia]
He stopped when he realized Kikhia didn't think that Zousa was still being used.
Kikhia had tears streaming down her face.
『...Is that… my brother?』[Kikhia]
Zousa suddenly switched back to the deeper voice.
『Keh...KAHAHAHA! TO THINK THIS WAS THE MOST EXCITING BATTLE I'VE HAD SINCE I'VE GOTTEN HERE!』[Zousa]
He switched voices again, clutching his head and stumbling down to the floor.
『Give me… back my body!』[Zousa]
The crazed laughter stopped, and he spoke with the rough voice again, not looking up from the floor.
『...It's bye-bye, you all. This is the first draw I've had since coming here.』[Zousa]
『Wa...Wait!』[Kikhia]
She raised her hand up, but Zousa paid no mind to it- only paying attention to Nova.
He looked up at Nova's smiling face with a bittersweet grin of his own.
『...Damn it. If I had done something different, it would have been to meet this crazy bastard. Maybe in another life, we can form a partnership or something.』[Zousa]
His body was suddenly thrown back, landing flat out on the floor.
『GRAAAAAAAAH!』[Zousa]
Black, red, and purple lines flew out of the spiral flying toward the sky.
『G...GIVE MY BACK MY BODY!』[Zousa]
His body spasmed, rapidly shaking and rolling on the floor.
The barrier around them broke into pieces.
Zousa laid there motionless with Nova standing there quietly.
They all stayed quiet, afraid of seeing the results and the truth of the battle.
『A...Haaaah...』
They heard a groan, all of them hoping that the noise came from Nova.
Suddenly, they heard some movement on the floor.
They looked over and saw Mune propping himself up with his sword.
『T...Tch. That… smarts. But… it looks like he did it.』[Mune]
He used the sword to slowly walk over, one step at a time.
After a few steps, he was close enough to examine Zousa's body.
『...He's… not dead?』[Mune]
Zousa's chest was slowly moving, albeit him being knocked out and subdued.
『...Nova did something crazy again. Maybe your brother is still even alive, girl.』[Mune]
Kikhia heard this, yet didn't want to go near- in fact, she didn't even say anything, still holding her breath.
『...Why are all of you so quiet?』[Mune]
He looked around and got even closer, one step at a time.
The closer he got, the longer the silence felt.
Despite the obvious victory, nobody laughed, smiled, or relaxed.
It was as if Mune getting closer... was a battle in itself.
He began to chant.
『The hero slumbered for three days, trained for three months, walked for three years, slew beasts for thirty years, and kept us safe for three lifetimes. 』[Mune]
The magical circle floated under his black sword, imbuing a contrasting yellow aura to it.
『I implore him to lend his spirit that saved our realm, to materialize once more, to aid me in my search for salvation- Sacred Templar.』[Mune]
The yellow aura fully materialized and hung over Mune's blade.
He pricked the skin of Zousa's flesh with the blade, with no indication of the flesh decaying or healing.
『...Crazy kid did the job. Not sure how he did it...』[Mune]
Mune stumbled over to Nova, who was still smiling.
『Hah. Still smiling, huh?』[Mune]
He patted Nova on his back.
『Good work, No-』[Mune]
Nova suddenly keeled over, falling directly forward.
『Hey!』[Mune]
Mune caught him for a moment, but his grip slipped and Nova fell to the floor, still smiling.
『N...Nova?』[Mune]
With this, the silence finally broke.
『...N...NOVAAAA!』[Freyana]
She flew over as fast as she could.
『HEY! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!』[Sarena]
She ran over and shook him roughly, trying to wake him up.
Freyana flipped him over and held him, tears in her eyes.
『Nova! You big liar! Wake up already!』[Freyana]
He laid there motionless with the content and relaxed smile stuck on his face.
Sarena began to cry too, no longer shaking Nova.
『Nova… There were other ways! We could have gotten rid of him without you doing this!』[Sarena]
Kikhia and Alex finally made their way over, slowly lowering themselves down to the floor.
『...Nova...』[Kikhia]
『...Nova! Why did you help me…?』[Alex]
Of course, Nova couldn't reply, so Alex was left without any consoling whatsoever.
He slammed his fist onto the ground, leaving a small hole.
『...Why…?』[Alex]
Mune seemed to be sitting there with a blank look on his face.
『...Come on, Nova. You've gotten up after worse attacks than this.』[Mune]
He raised his hand, shakily placing two fingers on Nova's throat.
Everyone waited for Mune's verdict, or for Nova to suddenly wake up.
『GAAAAAAAAAH!』
They all expected the loud shouting noise to have been a sign of Nova's revival, but the truth was that the sound came from behind them.
Zousa had suddenly started to seize, shaking before he slowly stopped.
After he stopped, he stood up on his feet and looked at the crowd around Nova.
They all cautiously raised up what weapons they had.
His voice was soft, and filled with grief.
『...Forgive me. It was my fault that this happened.』[Zousa]
Kikhia had tears in her eyes.
『...Brother?』[Kikhia]
『...I'm sorry, Kikhia. I chased power, and lost my way.』[Zousa]
She wanted to run into his arms, but her heart was filled with a deep sadness.
『...He...』[Kikhia]
Zousa came closer to them, joining in the circle.
『...He defeated the demons I couldn't. I… owe him my life.』[Zousa]
He had tears running down his face.
『...He shouldn't have died. I've should have died as penance for those that I have killed.』[Zousa]
He struggled to come to terms with what had happened.
『If... only he had cut me down, then and there in that white cage...』[Zousa]
Mune seemed to have had enough of his rambling.
『...Shut up.』[Mune]
Mune stood up and punched him in the face, sending him to the floor.
『Brother!』[Kikhia]
Nobody else there said anything or did anything to stop Mune.
『...Nova gave his life to return you to your sister, and you're going to complain?』[Mune]
Mune looked down on him, his crimson eyes sending inexplicable fear through Zousa's heart.
『...Then, how will you give your life back to him?』[Mune]