Sharley's body, which remained on the ground, was likewise shattered and blown away by the wind after being reduced to tiny crystalline dust. Nothing was left but bandages and a few scraps of cloth he had put on as clothing.
"What was that?"
"I don't know if someone is kidding us..."
Neither of them could make sense of what they were seeing. The most logical guess would be that Sharley had finished himself with magic.
"Anyway, like I said, we're going to pretend it never happened. We'll pick up the bandages on the floor and burn them and that'll be the end of it, we'll be out of this mess. Capiche?"
"C-capish?"
Yu used his clothes and his foot to pick up the debris on the floor without touching his skin. By this time, almost no trace of Sharley's pulverized body remained.
"I hope things are going well in the future."
Yu's left hand carried the shirt and the pieces inside, while Yurine held his right hand and began the healing spell. Yu had that smug smile on his face that comes when his ego is at its peak.
He said, "See how I end this?" Even though he was surprised himself, he spoke as if everything was according to plan. "Who did you think I was in the first place? I am Yu Valarfin, the greatest man who ever lived or ever will live."
Yurine silently listened to Yu's compliments to her. She was used to hearing them every day, but something was different now. Yu was speaking with much more enthusiasm now than on other occasions.
"When you fought in town, I didn't get involved because you wanted to fight alone. Otherwise, you know me, I'm a real go-getter. Sharley got on my nerves there too, showing off in front of you. I was going to take him down with one punch, but you were eager and I didn't want to spoil it, and it would have been an experience for you. If things had gone badly, I would have gotten involved and put the bastard in the ground.
And what else was I supposed to do? What, and get beaten up? Is that really what you think? Don't be ridiculous, it was easy for me. Actually, I thought for a while, maybe I should give him an advance. After all, who's Sharley to me? I'm stronger, I'm smarter, I'm better looking, I'm more charismatic, girls are crazy about me, I'm better at everything. I was going to give him an advance so that it would be a fair fight, and if you notice, I don't count being tired as an advance. If I wasn't tired, I wouldn't even need to raise my hand, I could just blow.
I swear he's looking for a beating, he's forcing me to kill him. Why do you have to come and force me to kill you? Run away to your parents, be a good son, they must be worried. See them, kiss their hands, apologize to them, but where is it... He's going to be a son of a bitch, he has to be. It's in their blood, they must be passed down from uncle to nephew.
But how the fuck did he see it? If your name isn't Yu Valarfin, if you're not even a thousandth as great as me, you won't push. If you ask me why, and do it ask me why? Why? Because I am Yu Valarfin, but not everyone is me, people who are not me should know how to give up. Anyway, it's a mistake for him to think that he's going to win against me. No! 'Never give up, never give up, blah blah blah.' Never give up is something that is said for me and people who are at least a thousandth as great as me. If you are not me, you will give up, if you are not me, you will fail.
Anyway, that's how you see it, what do you think? I'm so amazing, I'm wonderful, I'm super, I'm a man beyond dreams. Don't you think so?"
After Yu finished his self-congratulatory speech, he took a deep breath and saw Yurine taking a deep breath with him.
"What happened?"
"I get tired listening, don't you get tired talking?"
When Yu received no praise after his long speech, the corners of his lips curled down and he pouted.
"Why don't you praise your beloved? I got us out of trouble."
"Well done, keep working for me."
"Hmm... You accept that I'm your beloved, so that's progress."
Yurine squeezed Yu's hand to hurt him. She was ashamed to let her feelings come out.
Until they arrived the burning area, Yurine used healing magic to heal the cuts on Yu's hand and to try to rejuvenate his body by making him forget his fatigue.
Of course, Yurine was about to finish her mana, so the spell didn't last long. Still, Yu was feeling better. He would be able to stay awake for a while longer, even if sleep overtook him.
There was an empty space and a tunnel in the middle of that space. When Yu couldn't see anyone inside the tunnel, he started moving towards the back of the tunnel. In the process, he threw Sharley's remains into the fire, along with his t-shirt. He was disgusted to wear that t-shirt again, even if he washed it.
Yu, who was wearing a tank top on the autumn night, was warmed by the fires on the ground. When they got to the back of the tunnel, he saw a girl standing over two people on the ground. This girl was Ana.
When he saw them, his face lit up with hope and he shouted for them to come. Not content with shouting, he ran to them, grabbed Yurine by the arm and led her to the people lying on the ground.
Yurine wouldn't let go of Yu's hand, so he was dragged along with him and brought to the ground.
"Lylphia's fine, but him! Him! Heal him!"
Normally, Yurine would not allow herself to be spoken to in the imperative mood, but this was an exceptional situation, so she kept quiet and leaned in close to him.
"It's too late, he's no longer alive."
Ana's lips trembled and she began to cry.
"Is this who I think it is?"
His body was burnt, his hair was gone as what was left of his burning clothes clung to his body. Yu couldn't look at him directly.
"S-Sony..."
"What does that mean? How do we complete the mission then?"
Yurine's goal in this mission was to bring her mother back. If Sony died and they failed the mission, she could neither judge and avenge Salery nor enter the small library where they would research to turn back time.
Yurine could not hold back her tears, she turned to Yu, hugged him around the waist and started shaking him while shouting.
"Then what do we do? Didn't he tell us to bring him back? How do we do it? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!"
Yu had nothing to say. He hugged Yurine and pressed her head to him. Yurine kept crying.
"Please... Please! How do we get her back now! Please! BRING MY MOM BACK!"
Yu bit his lip as Yurine hugged Yu's waist and cried. He didn't want to make a promise he couldn't keep, but seeing Yurine cry hurt his heart more than he could describe.
"I..."
Yu couldn't control his emotions and was about to make a promise when Ana jumped on top of him and grabbed Yu's shoulders and started shaking him. Yu's whole body was shaking.
"Sivina is still not here! Please let's go look for her!"
"Where was her?"
"Shewent after the killer!"
He was about to continue with his main sentence when a mesmerizing voice stopped him.
"Sony!"
As Yurine continued to cry, she kept her arms around Yu and turned her head to look in the direction of the sound. None of them could believe their eyes, it was a puppet.
Her wooden body shone, her jeweled blue eyes showed a vague concern, and her pink hair, woven of silk, blew in the wind. Although her body appeared to be made of wood, the movements of her joints were fluid, not mechanical.
When the puppet came up to them and picked up Sony, everyone gasped. No one in the room made a sound, everyone was watching the puppet without understanding what was going on.
"Sony! Sony! Sony!"
As they continued to watch the puppet, she continued to call out Sony's name. Her voice was mesmerizing, like a light, cool breeze in the summer heat, but it was as painful as it was mesmerizing. Yu felt her pain in his own heart.
He had once called out his sisters' names in the same way. Yu shed the tears for her that the puppet could not shed.
In fact, he tried to hide her tears, not feeling comfortable crying among the girls, but he was in such a state that he couldn't move.
Yurine and Ana were also crying for the puppet, even though she couldn't see it because she wasn't looking at them. Even though the puppet did not radiate a sense of danger, her pain was abnormally penetrating.
"Sony!"
The puppet bent down and its wooden lips touched Sony's lifeless, burnt lips. As the puppet kissed him, a shape of light formed above them.
When the figure was complete, a phoenix rose out of the flames. The light emanating from beneath the figure descended to the ground and covered the puppet and Sony's body. The light from the top of the figure rose up to the stars.
"Blessing," Yurine murmured. She was the first to break the spell and speak.
As the light thinned and disappeared, the puppet and Sony's body reappeared. Sony's body was completely regenerated, there were no burns. Sony coughed and a smile spread across the puppet's wooden face.
"Nana..." Sony whispered.
Although he had come back to life, he was not joyful, but sorrowful. There was pain in his voice and tears in his eyes.
She put her head to his chest to hear the sound of his heartbeat as she hugged Sony with both arms. First the puppet's arms that were holding Sony were severed, then her legs were separated from her torso. Finally her head, which was resting on Sony's chest, detached from her body and began to roll on the floor.
"NO!"
He tried to pick up the pieces of the puppet with his hands, but it was a hopeless, pathetic effort. He could only shout Nana's name and ignore those around him. When he realized that he could not bring Nana back, he formed a dagger of light in his hand and stabbed it into his chest before those around him had a chance to react.
"Yurine, don't let him die!"
Yurine ran to keep him alive, to keep clinging to his dreams, and spent the last of her mana on a healing spell.