CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!!
The once newly built golden cathedral continued to collapse upon itself. The tall walls that previously stood towering over the surroundings and the cliff they were built on, were now raining down upon the few individuals still inside.
The only part of the building that was still standing tall was the wall behind the altar that held the biggest stained glass mural, and in front of it, the glowing yellow orb that had been able to avoid getting crushed by any fallen debris so far.
“Hngh!”
Lawkey, still on one knee, pushed up against the section of the wall many times his size, hoping for whatever little strength was left within him to help save the little chained girl from being crushed.
To make matters worse, more sections of the wall were hitting the one he was trying to hold up, while others crashed around him, imprisoning him and Sana in the little space under their new roof.
“No! Wait you two, I’ll be right there-”
BANG!
Riana tried to rush towards them again, but Nast shot her with the last bullet in his current revolver gun.
CLANG!
BOOM!
Right as she blocked it with the scales on her arms, the bullet exploded, forcing her back and away from her destination. Looking up, she immediately saw her opponent draw another gun of the same type.
Dammit! How many of those guns do you have?! She lampooned inwardly. I need to save them quickly!
Both her turquoise Pathbreak emblem, and Nast’s gray emblem were still going strong and neither seemed to be gaining an edge over the other.
“That’s what you get for what you did to the Eversun Goddess’ home!” To the side, Zoran the priest opened his arms wide below the two sacred shields blocking all the debris coming his way. “Be crushed under the weight of her embrace!”
“Zoran, don’t forget that the Coin Masters wanted the little girl alive…” Nast said offhandedly as he sidestepped a piece of a wall and held up his new gun towards his opponent.
BANG! CLANG! BOOM!
“That’s right… Finish that siren quickly so we can at least get the girl out of there.” The priest remembered his priorities and made up a plan on the spot.
Inside the newly created space, Lawkey and Sana could still vaguely hear the ones outside, despite the falling debris muffling most of the sound.
“Urgh!”
“Uncle…”
Sana looked up at Lawkey, clenching his teeth to the point of drawing blood just to save her.
Again.
Time and time again everyone was always forced to come to her rescue, to save her.
That was all she was good for.
“I’m sorry, uncle…” she muttered while casting her gaze low, “I’m sorry I’m so useless…”
“...” Lawkey looked down without moving his head an inch, afraid of losing momentum. “Don’t say that… Even the moon in the sky… shines its light on this dark continent…”
“?”
“No one is useless… Sana. And you, especially… are important to us…”
Sana reflexively touched the hair accessory Lawkey had gifted her depicting a crescent moon.
“I’m like… the moon?” She asked, having come to her own conclusion.
“Heh, yeah…” Lawkey chuckled, before turning his gaze back to the piece of wall he can’t seem to move away.
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No matter how much he tried, all his current strength allowed him was to hold it up. Nothing more, nothing less.
BAAM!!
“?!”
Suddenly, a light beam came crashing through one of the rocks, passing right between the two.
“Don’t you dare die just yet… We still need the girl alive.” Through the new hole in the rock to the side, Zoran relayed a message. “You can be crushed for all I care, cursed miscreant, but the little girl is another matter entirely. She is too special to die here with you.”
“...” Lawkey stayed silent for a moment, then made up his mind, “Then, take her out of here... What the hell are you waiting for?”
“Not just yet.” Zoran responded with a scoff, “Once it looks like you have lost all your strength, I’ll move that wall and kill you in front of her. That should make her give up on any hope going forward.”
“...”
Lawkey couldn’t find the words, so he simply looked down at the little girl clasping at her heart.
“It’s not your fault, Sana… I chose… to help. I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough…”
“No! I don’t want Uncle to die! I don’t want auntie to die!”
“!!”
Sana suddenly looked up, her turquoise eyes glowing a new shade.
“I don’t want anyone to die!”
“You…” Lawkey muttered, his eyes wide. “Where did you get that second one from?”
Lawkey was referring to the new hair accessory on Sana’s head, which looked oddly identical to the one next to it.
“Is that… Your Sign?”
“Mhm! I think so…” Sana said as she got up on her feet, bringing her to eye level with the kneeling Lawkey. She stepped over the discarded Eclipsed Dawn on the ground and got closer to the one trying his best to save her. “I don’t understand it, uncle… but please…”
“?!”
Suddenly, Sana grabbed both sides of Lawkey’s face and brought her forehead forward to touch his.
“What…?!”
Immediately, Lawkey noticed the emerald glow being emitted from the little girl and flowing into him.
“I want to help too… so please get up uncle…”
As she said those words, Lawkey felt a rush of energy overtake him.
It felt all too familiar to him.
Isn’t this… It’s just like that time {she} merged with me against that oversized parrot… The swordsman remembered that time, how he had immediately been recharged fully to fight the Undying Elder.
However, there was a clear difference this time.
It’s not painful at all… It feels… refreshing? He questioned his own thoughts.
There was no use thinking about that now. This new flowing energy recharging his strength clearly wasn’t the little girl’s Sign, it was something else.
The duplicate accessory of the one he gifted her made that very clear.
That meant her Sign was…
Wait… Can she make pancakes too? Or does she need to see what she makes? In that case…
Just as Sana let go of his face, Lawkey thought of an idea.
“You had this Sign all along, huh? No wonder you kept winning at cards, you little cheater…” Lawkey pointed out as he felt his strength rushing through his body again. Both his sword and the shadows were calling on him once more.
“Hehe…”
The swordsman smiled softly as he looked the gleaming little girl in the eyes.
It’s too embarrassing to say this out loud, but in my eyes, you shine just as brightly as the moon…
“Sana.”
“?”
“Remember what I said back on the ship?”
“Yes…?”
“Can you do me a favor?”
**??**
CRASHHHH!!!
“?!”
It wasn’t just the sound, but the very sight in front of everyone’s eyes made them stand like rocks in utter bewilderment.
Not only was the huge part of the wall above Lawkey suddenly thrown to the side, crashing the glowing orb that had still floated about, but all remaining debris around flew away revealing an even shocking sight.
Sana’s chains were finally broken as she stood behind the swordsman.
And as for that swordsman…
“You!! How the hell are you using your Sign again?!” Zoran bellowed, then noticed it, “And where did you get that second sword from?!”
Indeed, Lawkey had been standing in the midst of shadow eruptions with one sword in each hand. He was using two Eclipsed Dawns.
“Temporary or not, I’m just glad it didn’t break…” As glad as he was, he couldn’t forget the many blades that broke under his grip as he tried fighting the Leviathan.
Although he had always owned one sword, he had always felt as though his other hand was missing one. Like a hand with four fingers or a mouth with a missing row of teeth.
In other words, it was instincts. He simply knew he needed a second sword that could handle his grip.
“Sana!!” Using that moment of distraction to her advantage, Riana quickly ignored Nast and rushed towards her niece. “Are you okay?!”
“Auntie…” Even Sana, the little girl, didn’t allow herself to jump at her aunt. Instead… “Auntie! Please take this!”
“What…?” Riana’s eyebrows suddenly shot up at the sight in front of her.
“Nast! What are you doing?! Shoot them!” Zoran shouted as he held up both his hands and finally used his own Sign instead of the glowing orb to send two beams of light forward. The amber emblem had quickly made its way back into floating in front of his forehead.
“!”
BANG! BANG! BANG!
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
“What the hell?!” Nast grumbled as his newly shot bullets were all deflected.
Zoran wasn’t in a too different situation as his light beams seemed to have been completely redirected too.
In front of them stood a swordsman with two swords, his shadows erupting with such renewed vigor as though he hadn’t used his Sign in ages. The emerald emblem in front of his forehead was glowing brighter than ever before.
Beside him, almost back to back, was a Siren, standing with a new, but identical spear to the one she had lost earlier. The scales covering her entire figure shone with a myriad of colors, making her almost seem like a destined goddess herself. And in front of her forehead, the turquoise emblem reflected her determination to protect the ones she cares about.
And behind them was the little girl who made it all possible.
A little girl who couldn’t accept the situation for what it was.
And so, she rejected it.
“Sana… Thanks to you, I can fight again.” Lawkey briefly looked back, abusing the moment of shock the opponents were in. He smiled at the little girl. “This time, I promise to protect you no matter what, so make sure to stay back.”
“...okay!” Sana nodded her head after a moment of thought.
“...”
Then Riana and Lawkey finally made eye contact, but before they could take action…
“Wait… why do you look like that?” Lawkey was suddenly taken aback by Riana’s new transformed appearance. “You could do that too? Is that like a hybrid form?”
“F-focus!” Riana reprimanded as she turned her head away, the heat somehow rising up to her face again. It must’ve been the new light beams. Probably.
“Fine, I’ll take this guy on. You give them hell on your side!”
“With pleasure!”
“?!”
Without another second wasted, the two rushed forward at their opponents.
This time, they were all on equal footing.
