Episode 63 Aftermath
Ryuu’s lifeless body falls to the ground, blood streaming everywhere. Kunai watches as the bright green light slowly fades from his former mentor’s eyes. Kunai falls to his knees, his entire body shaking all over. Gradually, slowly, his eyes fall upon the thick rivers of blood now sliding down the cold metal blade of Fayvard’s sword.
“YOU BASTARD!” Kunai howls. He reaches for his sword, and in an instant, Kunai and Fayvard exchange blows, their swords scraping against each other with a clang of metal.
Fayvard merely glares blankly at Kunai, his eyes empty of all light.
In the sky box above, the others watch in hushed awe. Zack remains dreadfully still, his eyes glassy and wide open. Cynthia and Silver are deathly pale, while Rill remains painfully still and expressionless. Wake shivers slightly, unable to stop his body from shaking.
With a flick of his arm, Fayvard pushes back against Kunai with his sword. Kunai stumbles backwards, dropping to the ground on his behind. His sword falls to the ground next to him with a clatter as well.
Blood begins to pool around Ryuu’s body. Kunai stares as the pool slowly grows larger and larger, the blood on the floor inching towards him. Kunai pulls his foot away from the blood.
“Liar…” Kunai murmurs suddenly. “Liar!” he shouts again, glaring at Fayvard. “Ryuu’s not dead! There’s no way he can be! Look! He’s going to get up right now…look!”
Still, Fayvard remains stubbornly silent. Kunai breaks all pretense. “YOU BASTARD!” he shouts again, jumping back to his feet and retrieving his sword in one smooth motion. “Are you just gonna stand there looking so haughty, you murderer?!”
Kunai swings his sword back, his eyes blazing with fire. “SOUL COMBU—”
With surprising strength and speed, Fayvard reaches forward, pulling Myou out of Kunai’s hands and disarming him. Some of the light returns to Fayvard’s green eyes. “Kunai!” he spits, grabbing Kunai by the collar with his free hand. “Do you honestly think saving Ryuu’s life at the cost of five others is wise?! I’ll do anything it takes to give us our best chance to win, even if that means killing my own friend!”
“How can you talk about protecting your allies when you just killed one?!” Kunai growls back venomously. He reaches for Myou, but Fayvard holds it out of reach.
“Sometimes you have to sacrifice an arm to save the body!”
A flash of blue light suddenly distracts the two friends and enemies. Kunai and Fayvard turn their heads in surprise as Arai now saunters onto the battlefield, a faint smile on his lips.
“Thank you,” Arai says softly. “I will now retrieve the Anti-Paradox from Ryuu.”
A bright white light washes over the entire arena for one second, as a sapphire necklace abruptly appears, hovering over Ryuu’s cold body.
Dropping Kunai, Fayvard reaches for the necklace and grabs it in his hand immediately before Arai can reach down to retrieve it.
Arai gazes at Fayvard patiently, though not without venom in his eyes. “Return the Anti-Paradox to me, Fayvard. It is not something you should be holding.” He holds out his hand.
“You think I’m gonna give it to you after killing my own friend for it?” Fayvard shoots back. “Considering how much acquiring this little thing cost, I think I’m gonna keep it as a bit of a souvenir.”
Narrowing his eyes, Arai reaches out with his hand again. “Return the Anti-Paradox to me, Fayvard,” he repeats.
“Go to hell.” Fayvard suddenly turns tail and runs, spotting a sealed doorway to his right, directly underneath the glass box where the others are being held captive. “Let’s get out of here, Kunai!”
But Kunai remains deathly still, staring emotionally at Ryuu’s dying body. Arai catches his eye, and the two lock eyes for a moment, staring into each other’s souls.
“How could you let this happen, Arai?” Kunai questions in a low voice. “You said you were his friend!”
However, Arai remains silent, unable or unwilling to answer Kunai’s question. Kunai clenches his fists. “What about your promise, Arai?! That you would never kill Ryuu?! Was that all just a lie as well?!”
Finally, Arai raises his hands, looking into them. A smile creeps across his face. “I kept my promise, Kunai. I did not use my hands to kill him.”
Kunai bites his lip, painfully swallowing his tears even as they begin to stream down his face. Fayvard shouts at Kunai from the doorway. “Kunai! Leave Ryuu’s body! We have to get outta here!”
With tremendous force, Fayvard slashes open a hole in the wall with his sword, breaking open the locked door. He clutches the necklace in his hands still, as he stands in the doorway.
“Are you going to join your traitorous friend, Kunai?” Arai asks quietly.
Kunai clenches his teeth, looking from Arai to Ryuu’s body on the floor to Fayvard at the doorway. ‘What should I do? None of the choices are right! I can’t leave Ryuu’s body, but…!’
High above in the glass box, Zack suddenly breaks free from his captor. He grabs his staff and fires an arrow into the chest of the guard.
In the confusion, Cynthia breaks free as well, elbowing her guard with her good arm. She reaches for her dagger, freeing Silver from the faceless Fatalist latched onto her.
Wake breaks out of Recelo’s grasp, quickly grabbing his gun and firing a single shot, hitting Recelo on the side. Recelo bends down, grabbing his rib in pain.
Rill slides free as well, slithering out of the reach of his captor. “This way!” Zack cries, crashing into another doorway leading out of the room. Together, the five hurtle through the door out of the room, disappearing through it before their captors can sufficiently react.
“Kunai! Get the hell over here now!” Fayvard booms again from the arena floor.
In the meantime, several other Fatalists join Arai in the arena as they rush onto the scene. Sensing danger, Kunai finally turns away from Ryuu’s body with great effort, and forces his body to run toward the opening created by Fayvard. In an instant, the two disappear through the hole in the wall, leaving Ryuu’s bloody body behind.
As the others disappear, Arai reaches down to Ryuu’s body. He stares at it silently for some time, as if in some kind of deep reverie. Finally, Arai raises his hand over the body, as a bright blue light engulfs the area.
Slowly, the Shield of Wizet appears before Arai, floating above Ryuu’s body just as the Anti-Paradox had done moments before. Reaching forward, Arai places his hands around the cold metal of the Shield of Wizet, feeling its frozen embrace in his fingertips.
“Your Majesty!” Midori says to Arai from behind, her face still cloaked behind her mask.
“Let them leave,” Arai responds briskly, “we can capture and kill them again at any time. They will definitely return here.”
“But, the Anti-Paradox…!”
“It’s okay,” Arai answers. He turns to face Midori, the Shield of Wizet held by his side. “It is enough that we have retrieved the Shield of Wizet. Everything else will fall into place accordingly soon enough. Now, please make arrangements to bury Ryuu’s body.”
“Eh? Bury?” asks Midori, confused. “But, Your Majesty…!”
Arai turns to her, his eyes gleaming dangerously. “Do as I say.”
“V-Very well, Your Majesty,” Midori murmurs meekly, bowing low to Arai before excusing herself from his presence.
Arai turns back to Ryuu’s body, staring at its lifeless contours. Blood is smeared all across Ryuu’s face, where his eyes are closed, shielding his green eyes from the light of the world.
‘Not to mention that I got to see Ryuu with my own eyes again. Goodbye, my friend.’
—END SIXTY-THREE—
“Are you going to join your traitorous friend, Kunai?” Arai asks quietly. Props if you appreciated the irony in this line. Before I pointed it out.