What had I just done? Why did I do it? As I knelt there all this questions flooded mind as my body shook and my teeth rattled. Was this fear? Was I scared that I had just defied the most powerful man in existence and failed? No, this wasn't fear, this was sadness. I had just tried to seal away my best friend, someone who had saved me more times than I could count. Someone who had shown me hope for survival.

Why? Why couldn't he have just seen that what he was doing was wrong? Why couldn't he had just listened and realize that ruling people with fear was not the right way to prevent evil? Why couldn't he had just stopped to look at how the people suffered, and how seeds of rebellion were sprouting all around?

I looked back at the moment of his escape. I remembered how I weakened the barrier to allow him to escape. And now my friends had died for nothing. What was wrong with me? Was my resolve that weak that I could be easily swayed like that?

Looking around me, the bodies of my comrades lay there lifeless, a price to pay for using the most powerful seal in the land. I curled up in a ball and tears started going down my face. I cried and cried untill I couldn't cry anymore. I had just lost all my friends in one day. How was I going to go on? Who's was going to rule the land from now on?

Suddenly I heard a groan from one of the bodies. Looking around I saw Camilla starting to stir. I couldn't believe it, how was she alive. I rushed to her hoping she would live. Dark circles around her eyes as she sweat profusely. I quickly called one of the maids from in the palace who rushed in and took Camilla to the common room. I told them to grab the others as well and take them there. 

Hastily I dragged the doctor from the infirmary all the way to the palace.

"So, what's going on with them?" I asked

"Well they are not dead, but their are extremely fatigued. Their mana circuits are blocked and they are almost completely drained,"

" Can you heal them?"

"Yes I could but I need them to recover their mana first, and I also need your sealing and barrier magic."

I couldn't believe it, the seal we had tried to use was one that took the lives of those who used it, it was one that could never be broken.

Was it because the seal was incomplete and it did not seal all of Bu's power?I sighed in relief with new found hope at the news of my friends being alive.

A few days later, the doctor had came back and started on healing them. Turns out their actually wasn't any healing to be done. All he did was correct the distorted flow of their mana while I unsealed the magic that had clogged their mana circuits.

After another few days of me pacing around and starving myself, they finally woke up, all three of them.

I looked at them with tears in my eyes as I rushed in to embrace them all, Truly it was a blessing that I never thought would be possible.

"Look at you crying like a lost child, did you really miss us that much you dramatic baby?" Camilla said, chuckling at the sight of my tearful face.

"How are we even alive? I thought you said we were going to die." Alex asked looking disappointed, as if he would rather be dead.

"Who cares, as long as I am alive it really doesn't matter now does it. So where's the banquet?" Mia shouted, with a cheerful smile as always.

I looked back at them, it was truly them. My friends were really alive.

"Can't a guy shed a few tears for his friends and get a hug?" I jokingly said wiping the tears off my face.

We all looked at each other, waiting for the egoistic someone to speak up, but no, he wasn't there he was gone.

"I realize that my existence bring you pure and unimaginable bliss but please, stop embarrassing yourself." Camilla said, trying to imitate Bu.

We all laughed at her terrible impersonation as she looked away pouting as we joked about how bad it was.

"Hey at least I got the words right. Like you could do any better."

"So, what has been going on and what happened to Bu. Where did he jump off to?" Alex asked

I looked at them with as they looked at me expecting answers that I didn't have,"I don't know what happened to Bu or where he is. I don't think he is in the capital anymore. And as to why you are alive I can't say it either, maybe it's because the seal didn't take full effect and Bu still has some of all of his powers."

"I don't think he has all of his powers though, otherwise he would have already come back and we would probably be dead."

"And what about the affairs of the kingdom, have you been doing anything that entails ruling while we were asleep?" Camilla asked, ready to pounce and tear me apart if I answered wrongly.

Truth be told, I hadn't done anything to look after the kingdom for the past two weeks. Rebellions had grown all over and no one knew of Bu's dethronement. But if I told her that, she would kill me before I could even finish speaking. She had made me promise that no matter what, I would take care of the kingdom in their place.

" Um, you know, a little bit here and there, signing some papers, listening to nobles. Nothing major."

She looked at me, staring daggers as I tried to escape her piercing gaze. She sighed in disappointment and decided to leave it be.

Later on, I had a large banquet prepared for my friends, where Mia could eat as much as she liked. After spending two weeks in a coma without eating anything, her appetite was beyond what we had ever seen before.

Camilla was busy trying to look at the mountain of paperwork that had been left piled up due to my negligence while Alex was trying to keep Mia from eating everything on sight all at once. It was just like old times, as eating together, the only one missing being our leader.

After the banquet, as Alex carried Mia, who had been knocked out from drinking too much booze, to her room, I stayed talking to Camilla.

"You let him go, didn't you?"

Guess I couldn't fool her no matter what I did,"I'm sorry Camilla but, I don't know what happened. I just couldn't bring myself to go through with it."

She stood up and walked over to me. I looked down ready to receive any punishment that she was going to bring down upon me

Suddenly she hugged me with tears rolling down her cheeks,"Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for saving my brother."

Lost for words all I could was hold her in my arms.

Thinking back on it, she must have been really burdened, being the one to suggest the idea of not just sealing her brother's power but also banishing him to the abyss. I should have realized that she was deeply hurt when I rebuked her for thinking about it.

"Look at me, crying all over you after I had just called you a little baby, how pathetic." 

I held her even tighter, trying my best to comfort her for that was all I could do. I didn't save her brother, I let him drown in his own ego and hatred. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was for not being able to help her brother, for not noticing how much hatred he held in his heart even though I was his closest confidant.

After a few minutes of silence, she finally got off of me, her face looked haggard and her beautiful eyes were red and puffy from all the crying.

I helped her to her room and onto her bed. Once she was fast asleep, I left her room and went to the study, where Bu spent most of his nights researching on lost and arcane magic.

He was the most powerful being but was always trying to achieve more. I guess that that was just the type of guy Bu was.

Sometimes I couldn't even understand his way of thinking. I slept there that night, foolishly hoping that I would wake up and Bu would be there, his head buried in his books.