"In the end, a vessel is just a vessel. You will never be able to rival the gods, in the same way I do."
Amidst the rubble, fire, and smoke, Lionel stood tall and firm, uninjured. Mental, he was heavily fatigued.
Beiric's plan had worked out in the beginning. The torture and pain were starting to affect him since he had the memory of each death that occurred.
But he pushed through.
"I have to find... Julian and..."
The bandages wrapped themselves back onto the spots where they previously were.
The drawbacks came, hitting like a train.
Lionel felt every death that he had experienced, all at the same time.
"Keuk!-"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the city. The injured Beiric stared blankly.
Lionel collapsed.
All his mana had disappeared, as well.
"I'm... going to die..."
Lionel's words came out weakly. He was speaking to nobody. Yet somebody decided to respond.
"You put up a good fight." Beiric coughed.
The drawbacks of his Lumen God technique were equally as deadly. If he fought for any longer, his heart would've stopped, and he would've died right then and there.
"I... guess you did too, Beiric."
"It was fun for me. Seeing all the ways I could've mutilated you. And the best part was that you could come back to life. It was really fun."
"You're sick, you know that?"
"It's not the first time I've heard that."
"..."
"..."
"I... I don't want to die...! I have so many more years to live! Why did I have to die so early!?" Lionel yelled out, weakly. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes.
Beiric turned his head to look at the boy.
"You're such a wuss."
"Wh-what!? Aren't you feeling the same way I'm feeling? We're both young, and we have to die so early!"
"My life really isn't mine. As a vessel, I don't really have many attachments."
"Liar. There's something you want to do. You just haven't figured it out yet."
"..."
"..."
An uncomfortable silence filled the air. A strange silence, that could be heard, or instead felt, even through the screams and crackling fire.
Sniffling began.
"I... I-I don't wanna die... either."
"You killed me. I killed you. Yet, I don't feel any negative emotions toward you." Lionel mentioned. Beiric quietly agreed.
"I went out with a bang."
"Yeah. I mean, look at this city."
Beiric laughed, quietly and weakly. His inhales sounded rough and ragged, indicating that it was his time.
"Haah. I'm so angry, even though there's really nothing I can do about it. Nothing I can do about this feeling in my heart. I feel incomplete. But at the same time, I feel a bit content."
"Really? You were just crying about how you didn't want to die."
"I don't want to die. Nobody wants to die. People who say they don't fear death are liars."
"..."
"All these negative emotions... the fear of what's coming next, the sorrow of not being able to see those who are dear to me, the anger and frustration that comes with not being able to complete all the things I always wanted to complete. I hate all these feelings. I'm scared. But at the same time, I've... come to accept all these things. It's not like I'll be able to change it. No one's coming to save us, Beiric."
Beiric listened, and listened. The more he listened to what Lionel said, the calmer he felt.
"I've... never been good with emotions, Lionel. And it's not like anybody tried to help me sort them out. I was encouraged to harm. And eventually, I found solace and beauty in it. Now that it's really over, I'm starting to regret choosing violence as an outlet for pleasure. But hearing your words, makes me feel a little bit better about myself."
Lionel smiled, warmly. Gazing fondly into the night sky.
"I'm glad."
He rolled over weakly, sighing.
"I'm leaving everything to you, Julian and Leo. To defeat the headmaster."
Slowly, things started to fade to black.
"Hey! There are some kids over here! I think they're still breathing!"
. . .
. .
.
The headmaster stopped suddenly in his tracks.
Leo had been chasing him for so long, into the deep forest, taking cuts and turns of all different natures.
They had been running for so long, that even Julian managed to catch up with the two.
The headmaster stopped just 10 minutes or so after realizing that Julian had finally reached them.
Leonore took a glance at his superior's heavily disfigured face.
"Master... is that you? You look a little different-"
"Don't worry about me, Leonore. Attack!"
Julian's firm and confident way of commanding was just a bit different. But wasting no time, Leonore stuck his palm out.
[Cast: Squash]
Gravity magic.
Millions of pounds of force were currently being pushed against the Headmaster's body.
Despite how much force was being applied, the headmaster stood tall.
Leonore began to levitate, an inch or so off the ground. He was starting to get serious.
While this was occurring, Julian was starting to get serious, as we
In this state, Julian was strong. But not as strong as Gervem.
He really managed to win with luck, and outsmarting him by appearing stronger than he actually was.
Cheap tricks of deception would likely not work on the headmaster.
Wsh!
With all the weight on his body, the headmaster moved sluggishly. Sluggishly was still very fast.
[Cast: Barrier]
Leonore quickly created a barrier between Julian and the headmaster, the headmaster's leg colliding with the barrier.
Shatter!
Shards of mana fell to the ground.
"Thanks, Leonore."
Besides using mana to enhance his body, the headmaster was not using any casts.
The situation was pretty bad for Leonore and Julian.
With Leonore not being at his full strength, and Julian not having any casts, it was essentially two support characters fighting a tank.
"I have an idea, Leonore."