James’s detonation engulfed the landscape in flames for miles.

His friends had listened to him and never stopped the carpet. But even though they were miles away, the explosion nearly reached them as well.

“My god, what was that?” Denmac asked as he cast his barrier. They were too far to suffer any actual damage from the explosion, but they could still feel the heat from the blazing inferno.

“James…” Lunaris whispered as she looked towards the crimson flames.

“Brother!” Helios clenched his fists. He wanted to be there with him, the entire time he could barely keep himself from sprinting towards the fight. But he gave his word, he had to listen to James’s instructions.

“What do we do now?” Emilia asked as the carpet slowly stopped.

The dwarves had their hands clasped together, praying for James’s safety.

“We go back. Now, hurry.” Lunaris shouted.

“Are you sure?” Emilia looked at the scorched landscape. “What if Garantep was the one who won?”

“Then we’re already dead anyway.” Helious said bluntly, clearly worried about his brother. “Let’s hurry.”

They all poured their mana into the carpet and rushed back towards James.

Even with the fires having died down already, as they glided above the ground, they could feel an unbearable heat from the leftovers of the spell.

“It’s like we’re walking on charcoal!” Emilia grimaced from the pain.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” Bacchus said while casting a rune on the carpet.

Initially, the rune seemed to have taken care of the heat entirely. But the closer they were getting to their destination, the hotter the carpet was getting as well.

Ruppus and Eruditus had to cast their own spells to keep the group from getting their feet cooked through the carpet.

As they explored the giant crater for several minutes, they were anxiously looking around, not sure whether they were truly safe or not.

“We aren’t being attacked by Garantep yet. That’s good news, right?” Denmac asked with an awkward smile.

The thought had occurred to all of them. And yet they weren’t happy.

Garantep’s absence was great news. But what worried them was that they felt no trace of James either.

“We seem to be close to the epicenter.” Lunaris announced as she scanned the smoldering crater, several miles in diameter.

Crimson lightning still crackled throughout the air sometimes, so it was clear that James’s attack did most of the damage. But they still couldn’t see any trace of him.

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Even after they explored the entirety of the crater, they still hadn’t seen any sign of him, not even at the epicenter.

Lunaris and Helios closed their eyes, trying to lock onto his mana signature. But the leftover energy from the explosion made it too hard to detect anything.

“Let me help you guys out.” Denmac put his hands on their shoulders. “You know him better than I do. Think of him, and my gift will slowly lock onto his wavelength.”

Their mind was immediately filled with memories of James. The year they spent together had flown by. Through countless trials, he went from an awkward novice to a mage even more powerful than the two of them. And yet, despite the way too many dangerous situations and tribulations they’ve been through, they only felt warmth and happiness as they thought about their time together.

If it were anyone else, such a year filled with battles and struggles would’ve been a traumatic memory that they’d only want to forget. And yet, with him, it had been a time filled with laughter and smiles.

As tears began streaming on their faces, Denmac raised his head.

“I found something!” He shouted.

Immediately, he sprinted towards the edge of the crater. Lunaris and Helios almost tripped as they rushed after him.

“Here!” Denmac began digging with his hands.

Lunaris and Helios couldn’t see anything, but they began digging without hesitation.

After digging for a minute, they finally felt it too. Buried beneath layers of dirt and debris, lay James’s head.

“OH MY GOD!” Lunaris shrieked. Helios hugged her and covered her eyes, although he was just as devastated.

The two were about to collapse from the shock. They weren’t able to see or hear anything, it was like their world had just crumbled.

But among the high-pitch noise that filled their ears, they vaguely heard Denmac shouting something.

“He’s alive! He’s alive!”

Neither of the two moved. They weren’t able to compute what was happening, their brains completely overwhelmed by what they had seen.

But Denmac kept shouting, getting in their face and jumping, pointing towards James’s head.

After a few minutes, they finally seemed to regain the ability to think and speak.

“W-what?” Lunaris mumbled.

“He’s alive!” Denmac shouted again.

They still didn’t seem to understand. But all of a sudden, Helios screamed. “He’s alive?!”

“That’s what I’ve been shouting for the past five minutes!” Denmac then gently picked up the head and held it in his arms.

“He’s alive…” Lunaris seemed to reawaken as well. But as soon as she saw James’s head again, she slammed her eyelids shut again. “How could he possibly be alive? Are you sure?” What she saw made no sense, it seemed like a sick prank.

“No, no, I’m 100% sure. He’s alive, I’m telling you!” Denmac insisted.

Despite feeling like vomiting at the mere thought of it, Lunaris forced her eyes open.

“We have to be strong, Lun. For him.” Helios said, approaching the head once again.

As they looked upon the head, it didn’t seem possible for someone to be alive in such a state. But just as they were about to look away again, they felt his mana fluctuations.

Weak, listless. Nothing like the violent torrent that was his usual mana. But it was indeed there!

“How is this possible? I don’t understand!” Helios shouted.

“He’s just a head! He has no other organs, not even a heart! How could he still be alive?” Lunaris rambled on incredulously, her cheeks regaining color as life seemed to be pouring into her once again.

“Look, guys, I have no idea.” Denmac answered while holding the head. “One thing I do know is that he definitely can’t continue like this for very long. So pull yourself together and do something!”

Lunaris extended her hands sheepishly, still overwhelmed by the disturbing image of her friend’s severed head.

Helios put his hand on her shoulder. “You can do this, Lun.”

She looked at him and nodded. Helios was right, she could do this. She needed to be strong. For James.

She steeled herself and placed her hands on the head. A powerful green glow shot out as she poured all her power into the healing.

The muscles on his face immediately began twitching uncontrollably. Lunaris had seen a lot of disturbing things in her life, but she nearly fainted from the sight.

Helios put his hand on her other shoulder and squeezed. With his moral support, Lunaris pressed on, the green glow intensifying as nerves began regrowing out of his neck.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open.