As they approach the cluster of soldiers, Zarco keeps pulling Caelum forward using their 'soul rope', despite her being clearly injured.
Zarco
-Faster! You're slowing me down!
Caelum
-Stop you animal! How do you plan to get past the soldiers?!
Zarco
-I… we'll find a way!
Caelum
-Stop a little… my vision is getting blurry…
Zarco thought
-Shit! Damn you Faraway, he merged part of our souls to create a material bond and slow me down, I didn't even know he could do that!
Zarco grabs something invisible that seems to be attached to his left arm, it was their soul bond, he pulls and bites it trying to tear it apart.
Caelum glares at Zarco's pathetic attempt, in the middle of the battlefield she thinks.
-So this is how it will end huh… I see…
Looking just past Zarco, Caelum could see a white figure, with her vision still blurred and struggling to maintain consciousness she doubted that it was real. Even so, she decided to bring her hand up to her mouth to whistle, a sign she used to call out to an old friend.
The figure amidst the chaos caught the signal and went towards her, right before her eyes stood her companion, Libertatem the pegasus.
Zarco
-Whoa! where did this thing come from
Caelum leaning on Libertatem speaks.
-The inferiors captured him along with me, he must have escaped during the attack like us…
Caelum climbs on top of Libertatem and says with a subtle smile.
-Now who's delaying who?
Zarco
-Huh?
Libertatem spreads its wings and flies.
Zarco is then pulled over and has to run barefoot until he jumps and grabs Libertatem's leg.
Zarco
-Hey, a warning would have been nice, dammit!
Caelum
-Sorry, I kinda forgot.
Zarco
- Aham!
Libertatem flies to the floating island that Basilius had just made.
Basilius himself remains calm on top of it, watching as the inferiors struggle against themselves until he turns his attention toward the approaching pegasus.
Zarco releases himself from Libertatem and decides to greet the king with a kick in midair.
-ORA!
But Basilius dodged it easily.
As he observes his opponent, the king notices the young man's unusual clothes.
-I see, so it's you.
Zarco responds
-Huh, do I know you?
Basilius
-No, not personally, I honestly don't know whether to thank you or condemn you, because you were the trigger for this-
While Basilius was talking Zarco looks at the spiritual "rope" that leads to Caelum, Libertatem was circling Basilius, in moments the king would be tied, knowing that, Zarco couldn't help but smile.
Basilius suddenly feels something against his wing, out of pure instinct he tries to beat them to fly away, but it was useless.
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Zarco runs under Libertatem which causes the "rope" to wrap around the king, Zarco and Caelum stand on opposite sides with Basilius in the middle, each pulling on one side to ensure their target doesn't come loose.
Basilius was tied up, with his two wings glued to his body in a very uncomfortable way, his arms were also pressed against his torso, yet he still stand.
Zarco
-I got you! Mwa Ha ha ha HA!
Basilius tries to free himself by forcing the "rope" he felt but couldn't see with his arms.
-What is this?!
Caelum pulls using all the strength she had left.
-A bond, improvised and unlikely, but surprisingly strong.
Zarco walks towards the king while he pulls his arm to keep Basilius tied. With a smile on his face, Zarco smugly says.
-Now, don't struggle little bird, we just want the pebble.
Basilius' eyes lit up again, his teeth were closed, he resembled a cornered beast as he stared straight at the young man who was taunting him.
Zarco then feels strong reflux, as if everything in his body was rising, and it was. He sees the ground getting more distant as he was lifted into the air, his strength slipping away for an instant, enough to loosen the rope allowing Basilius to release one arm, with which he then lowers his binds and steps on the invisible link with his foot.
Caelum's arm is pulled, causing her to fall off her mount and hit her back against the ground.
Basilius then grabs the invisible rope and moves it by throwing his weight, which causes Zarco, who was tied to the other end, to gain momentum and be thrown towards Caelum, at the same time, Basilius stops using his ability which causes gravity to return and leads to Zarco falling off the island.
The momentum caused by Zarco in the air ends up causing Caelum to be pulled, she ends up holding Zarco by the rope so he doesn't fall while she tries to cling to the island so she doesn't get pulled out of it.
Caelum howls in pain as her fresh wounds open more.
-AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Basilius slowly walks toward her while catching his breath.
-Although you… are a traitor… I must admit that to survive until now… you must have the soul of an angel…
Basilius raises what remained of his scythe while saying.
-For that, I will release you from your pain.
But, when Basilius was about to attack her, a blade came flying and embedded itself in his wings.
Basilius
-WHAT?!
Basilius stares in shock as he sees Zarco in the air having just jumped back to the island still with his arm outstretched indicating the throw.
Basilius realizes Caelum smiling on the ground.
-My blade! When did she give it to the inferior?!
As he puts his first foot back on the island, Zarco runs towards Basilius with the clear intention of punching him in the face.
Basilius then prepares to strike back with his weapon.
Caelum then spins around with a low kick, which throws Basilius off balance.
Basilius
-You!-
Before he could complete his phrase, Zarco punches Basilius straight in the face throwing all his weight on the king who was already wobbly, Basilius falls hitting his head against the island but still manages to land an attack, stabbing his scythe in Zarco's back. But that didn't stop Zarco, he steps onto Basilius' arm and tries to open his closed fist to snatch the crystal from him.
Basilius then, as the last struggle, twists his wrist and weakly throws the crystal that slips past Zarco's fingers.
As his consciousness faded away, Basilius lacked the strength to even muster a word, all he could do was beg in his mind.
-Please, let this one fall into the hands of those who won't hurt my people, please...
Without Basilius' conscious effort to keep the island afloat, it begins to fall from the sky and return to the ground fragmenting into pieces, the last thing Basilius sees is the cristal falling, he thinks to himself.
-I leave the future to chance...
With the cristal right in front of him, Zarco smiles as he takes a step forward, until he realizes that the crystal was falling, with his step, Zarco had exerted a force against the island, leaving its inertia and rising, creating a small but continuous distance between him and the crystal, leaving it close but beyond his reach.
Zarco desperately struggles, trying to reach for the crystal, but it always seems to be just distant enough to stay out of his reach.
-SO CLOSE! SO CLOSE!
This lasted for the longest seconds of Zarco's life, until Caelum arrived slamming her shoulder against his back, thus giving the necessary impulse to Zarco, all while screaming.
-GO!
His fingers run through the crystal as he clenches his fist and shouts happily
-YES!
His blue eyes sparkle with life as a portal opens before him.
-VICTORY IS MINE!
Zarco passes through the portal which closes in the next instant severing the bond between him and Caelum.
Caelum in full fall smiles as she sees the scene, happy knowing that they had succeed, but when she noticed that the bond she could feel on her arm had disappeared, her smile started to fade and she could feel a strong dread in her heart.
But before she could properly process what had happened, the stones hit the ground, the island shatters when it hits the ground and a cloud of dust rises.
The sudden fall of the island draws Faraway and Deville's attention, which leads them to pass through the sea of fallen bodies of the soldiers they had defeated to reach the place of the fall, only to see two bodies on top of the rocks.
One of them was a king, a fallen and wounded angel already unconscious, a sad but still majestic image to behold. The other was only a ragged prisoner bathed in her own blood who remained still with her eyes open.
Caelum thought
-Huh… I don't move… no, I feel nothing…
Deville
-Where he is?! Where are Zarco and the crystal?!
Faraway
- Calm down Deville, he ran away...
Deville
-Again?! We were so close! How did we let him go?! How did we not see him coming to the island?!
Deville then recognizes Caelum and yells at her.
-It's her fault! She was the one who helped him!
Faraway
-Yes, poor thing, she was probably tricked…
Faraway watches the chaos of war and the desolation of that land
-Come on, I don't know the causes of this conflict but I know that Zarco influenced it in some way, we can at least mitigate the damage he caused.
Deville
-Okay... let's get this over with.
Faraway and Deville continue on their showdown to take down human forces.
Caelum lies there with her eyes increasingly lifeless, she then begins to think.
- Tricked, was I tricked? I see… it was a lie, of course, no matter what I did… it would never work…
A tear runs down her face.
Caelum thought.
-I understand… I am sorry Sapere... I couldn't save you... I couldn't do anything.
Caelum loses consciousness while a portal opens before her.
Zarco comes out of it still pretty tired and worn-out.
-Yo, I came to get you.
He carefully lifts Caelum and carries her to the portal, then speaks to her.
-If you die after all this I will not forgive you, okay?
Deville and Faraway look at them shocked by the scene unfolding before them, they exchange a quick glance with Zarco before he enters the portal and disappears with Caelum.
Deville speaks in disbelief.
-Did Zarco just come back to save someone?
Faraway
-I... think he did.
Deville blankly stares at the horizon for a few seconds trying to rationalize it, and then he exclaims.
-WHAT?!
END OF THE THIRTIETH CHAPTER.