"At this point…"
An unusual angle.
Isabelle tries to raise her sword again—
But her wounds restrain her movements; her body grows stiff.
SCKHWAAAHMN!
Zeco charges.
Extremely fast.
Extremely close.
Straight into the dead zone of a greatsword's reach.
Too close for a full swing.
His blade curves.
If that strike lands—
"Goodbye!"
—it will end her life.
GDBRAAAAAAAAAKKK!
Isabelle collapses instantly—before the finishing strike that would have ended her life can land.
"Hah—huh, hah." Isabelle's breathing becomes extremely ragged. With so many deep wounds, she will slowly die in agony as her life fades away.
"Huft." Zeco lets out a short, heavy breath, while his heart begins to feel increasingly hot.
Both of his eyebrows rise.
"You will suffer every second from those wounds if I do not end it now." he says, looking up toward the sky with an empty gaze.
He lowers and slightly tilts his face, staring deeply at her.
"Should I?"
---
Leon skids to a stop.
"Huft. I'll be cornered if this fight continues like this…"
SHKLHAAAAAAAAHMN!
"…because you—"
Leon charges.
SHKHWAAAAAAAHMN!
Loki charges as well, brows tightly furrowed.
"—are incredibly intelligent in every regard."
Both leap briefly into the air.
Loki draws his leg back—
"I have no idea what I should do to defeat you!"
DUGT—His heart is seized violently.
"EEHK—"
Loki's face twists in pain as his heart stops pumping—
—BLUARK!
He vomits blood.
His vision grows blurrier, his ears ring, and his body feels as though it is burning from within.
"My adrenaline…" he says in a low, strained voice.
SKHWAAAAAAAAHMN!
Leon charges.
DUK—DAK—DUK!
Loki staggers backward several steps.
"UKH—over?!" he continues.
Leon leaps briefly into the air.
"Exactly—" Zeco says halfway.
Leon pulls one arm fully behind his body, every finger straightened.
"—the emotion—" he continues halfway.
BRAK!
Zeco plants one foot into the ground with all his strength, halting his backward movement. His body and head lower as he struggles to lift his gaze—
His brows furrow.
"—is incomplete!" he adds.
—Leon before him has already swung, ready to strike.
Zeco grits his teeth.
"DAMN IT—!" he shouts.
SCKLHAAAAAAAAHSH!
Leon slashes him—from the upper right shoulder down to the left side of his abdomen.
SKWAAAHSH!
Blood bursts out—
"—UKH!"
SCKWHAAAAAAAHSH!
From the left side of his abdomen up to the upper right shoulder.
Blood explodes outward—
"—ARKHT—I'll die—"
SCPLAAAAAAAAAHSH!
From the upper left shoulder down to the right side of his abdomen.
"UKHT—I can die—"
SCTLHAAAAAAAAHSH!
From the right side of his abdomen up to the upper left shoulder.
"AKH—If this continues—"
PCKTHAAAAAAAHMN!
"AEGHT—like this!"
A strike pierces his heart.
SCTKHWHAAAAAAHM!
An explosion of air detonates violently against his body.
"ARGHTTH—"
SWHUUHMN!
The wind blasts him far away from Leon.
CKHAHMNH!
Loki crashes harshly into another wall of his house.
His face twists.
"—EKH—without adrenaline…" he says.
He tries to rise from his seated position before sinking helplessly beneath the collapsing wall rubble.
"—AKH—I am—"
Both elbows press down hard, supporting his limp body over his thighs—
"—Nobody!"
—BLUARK!
He vomits blood again.
DUG—DAG—DUG!
His heart pounds violently, his body burns from within, sweat drenches him further, his vision blurs, and his hearing grows faint.
KRTAK—KRTUK—KRTAK!
"ARGHTKH!"
Bones crack throughout his body. Loki grits his teeth, enduring the unbearable pain.
SKHWAAAAAAAAHMN!
Loki struggles to lift his head.
In front of him—
"UKH—" he hisses.
—Leon gives no room, charging again to close the distance.
He cannot evade. He cannot avoid it—his body refuses to move.
"MY BODY!" Loki shouts, forcing even the slightest movement.
Leon leaps briefly into the air—
"WON'T—" he shouts halfway.
—Pulling his hand back, every finger straightened behind his body.
"—ENDURE THIS—" he continues.
Ready to swing, ready to end the battle with a barrage of finishing strikes—
"ANY LONGER!" he roars again.
CPTKHAAAAAAAHMNH!
"AKHTC—"
CPTKHUUUUUUHMNH!
His abdomen.
CTKPHAAAAAAAHMNH!
"UGHTK—"
CTKPHUUUUUUHMNH!
His solar plexus.
BLUARKH!
KRKTHAAAAAAAHMNH!
"EARKH—"
His ribs.
KRKTHUUUUUUHMNH!
"ARGKHT—"
His spleen.
TKPCHAAAAAAAHMNH!
"KHHKH—Let it end—"
His heart.
"Enough—"
TKPCHUUUUUUHMNH!
"My life—"
His neck.
"—already!"
TKCPHAAAAAAAHMNH!
His face.
---
Olivia walks slowly across the green field within the vast expanse of Gaelvorn—the cemetery.
SHRAK!
Her steps are slow, her body exhausted, and her expression filled with despair as she forces herself forward.
SHRUK!
Her gaze remains lowered, as though every ounce of energy has already been spent, with nothing left after coming this far.
SHRAK!
She slowly lifts her head, no longer holding even the slightest hope, turning her gaze right and left as she scans the area slowly.
No one stands within the cemetery—
SHRUK!
—except herself, her shadow—
"HMPHT?!" she murmurs, freezing in place.
BRUK!
Her steps stop, her sharp gaze fixed straight ahead.
—and someone standing silently among the gravestones.
"Is that you?!" Olivia says.
"Hm?!" Zeco murmurs, turning around after catching the faint voice within the silence.
"ZECO?!" she shouts loudly.