"Well... I need her to shoot me," Henry said, his voice calm yet grave, as he looked at Yoshino and the others. The entire wagon plunged into darkness as the train entered a tunnel, casting eerie shadows and heightening the tension.

As the train emerged back into the sunlight, Yoshino blinked several times, the sudden brightness stinging her eyes. She turned to Henry, her face a mask of bewilderment. "WHAT?!" Her initial shock quickly morphed into utter confusion.

Henry sighed, his expression already showing signs of regret. "Hear me out, lass. Don’t you think it would be kind of suspicious if I returned to your mom empty-handed and unharmed? Especially since she has probably sensed me using my barrier."

"Wait, my mom can do that?" Yoshino asked, surprised by her mother’s capabilities.

Henry nodded. "Yep, only up to a certain range, but yes, she can. Normally, she wouldn’t be able to pinpoint who activated the barrier. But since she’s familiar with my magical signature, I wouldn’t count on it. So yeah, to keep our meeting mostly secret, I need your friend to rough me up a bit. Obviously not to the point of dying—just enough so your mother won’t start asking difficult questions."

Yoshino opened her mouth to retort but found herself at a loss for words. As difficult as Henry's idea was to swallow, it seemed more likely to work than any idea she could come up with on the spot, and she hated that realization. "What about your regeneration? I’ve seen how Nozomi’s magic completely shuts it down. Do you have a plan for that?" She couldn’t tell if she asked Henry to reconsider or to convince herself to go along with it.

Henry waved off her concern. "Don’t worry. I will be able to regenerate... eventually. I haven’t counted how long it takes for our regeneration to kick back in, but I assure you, I’ll be fine."

"Won't it hurt?" Yoshino asked, her voice trembling with a final, desperate plea for him to reconsider.

Henry paused, the weight of her question hanging heavy in the air. For a brief moment, his eyes softened, revealing the vulnerability hidden beneath his tough exterior. He hesitated, collecting his thoughts before forcing a smirk to his lips. "Eh, nothing this old man can't handle!" he said, attempting to lighten the mood with a wink.

But Yoshino saw through the act. She could sense the flicker of fear in his eyes, the subtle tension in his shoulders. His bravado was a thin veil over the very real apprehension he felt. Her heart ached, knowing he was trying to protect her even now, masking his true feelings to keep her from worrying.

The certainty settled over her like a heavy shroud. This wasn't something her uncle was willing to back down from. Despite his smile, she could feel the underlying dread, the quiet resignation to the pain he was about to endure for their sake.

Yoshino didn’t even bother asking why it had to be Nozomi and not her. Dark magic would only slow down the healing rather than shut it down completely like Nozomi’s magic. Besides, Henry and Yoshino knew she wouldn’t be able to go through with it. Clenching her teeth, she closed her eyes, lowered her head, and sighed in defeat. "Do you need me to leave?"

"I... wouldn’t wish for you to see this," Henry admitted, avoiding her gaze and looking out the window instead. "But I won’t force you to leave if you don’t want to."

"W-what? Yoshino, are you really okay with this?" Nozomi asked, snapping out of her shock and looking nervously between Yoshino and Henry.

"No, but... you heard him. For our meeting to remain secret from my mom and, in turn, the Great Master monitoring her, this is necessary." Yoshino kept her gaze fixed on the table, her expression filled with guilt and shame. "I’ll stay."

As Nozomi stared at Yoshino's ashamed expression, she felt a pang in her chest. Her first instinct was to hug her best friend and comfort her, but she restrained herself, knowing that might only make things worse.

"W-where do I... need to shoot?" Nozomi barely managed to ask Henry.

Henry nodded slowly. "Well, if you aim here," he pointed to a spot on his left arm, "and here," he pointed to his right leg, "that should be okay, I think."

"You... think?" Nozomi asked, distressed by his uncertainty.

Henry gave an awkward shrug. "I mean, I've never tested it out, but it should be fine."

Nozomi sighed. "Do you at least have a way to get out of here without one of your legs?"

Henry's unsure expression turned confident. "Oh, don’t worry. I made sure to cover that." As he finished speaking, two men in ragged cowboy clothes appeared beside him. "But thanks for asking."

"Er... hi?" Nozomi greeted the duo while Yoshino gave a small nod of acknowledgment.

The man on Nozomi's right introduced himself first. "Hello, I’m Charlie Bowdre, and this distinguished gentleman by my side is Tom Pickett." Charlie declared, clearly patronizing Tom.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Tom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." He turned to look at Nozomi. "You don’t need to worry about this idiot. We’re used to carrying him around. The two of us are more than enough to hold him down," he said grumpily.

Nozomi realized why they needed to hold Henry down. After the men firmly grabbed his arms and legs, Henry gave her a nod.

Yoshino slowly nodded in response. She took a deep breath and concentrated on making her index fingers glow with energy, finding it significantly harder than when she had used her powers earlier. Nozomi knew why that was, but couldn’t process her feelings about it.

Aiming at the spot on Henry’s left arm, Nozomi took a deep breath. Okay, 1...2...3! As she counted the final number, nothing happened. She tried to release the energy but couldn’t.

W-why can't I shoot? She had done it before against the feline monster and Judai. Her eyes widened in realization: He was innocent. Nozomi had never hurt an innocent person. Even her childhood bullies pushed her too far before she retaliated. Harming someone who had done nothing wrong was too much, especially someone dear to Yoshino. The fact she had experienced the pain of her own attack firsthand didn't help matters either.

Henry sighed loudly. "Wait... let me do something first." He closed his eyes, and his face quickly turned to dust, leaving only a skull staring at Nozomi. "There, this should make it easier."

Nozomi felt chills down her spine as Henry's new form triggered a fight-or-flight response. She realized he was trying to make it easier for her by becoming more threatening. As much as she hated to admit it, it was working. "I'm sor—" she started to apologize but stopped.

Henry interrupted her. "Don't. If anyone should apologize, it’s me for forcing you to do this."

Nozomi was about to retort but settled for a slow nod.

Outsider offered a piece of cloth to Henry. Henry looked at it briefly before nodding. Outsider wrapped the cloth around Henry's skeletal mouth for him to bite on.

"There, it's not much, but it should help a little," Outsider said before moving to give Nozomi space to shoot.

Without further hesitation, Nozomi aimed her glowing finger at Henry's left arm, her heart pounding in her chest. The energy gathered at her fingertip, pulsing with an intensity that mirrored her turmoil. She took a deep breath, bracing herself, and released the energy with a deafening bang.

The shot flew straight and true, hitting Henry's left arm with devastating impact. His arm didn't just sever—it violently tore away from his body, the dark magic cleaving through flesh and bone as if it were nothing. The detached limb transformed into a plume of black smoke as it collided with the seat, dissolving into nothingness.

Henry, who from what Nozomi had seen and heard from Yoshino, was a figure of calm and care, instantly morphed into a figure of raw desperation. His laid-back demeanor vanished, replaced by a frantic, almost primal, instinct to react to his sudden dismemberment. He lashed out violently, his face contorted in pain and panic.

Tom and Charlie struggled to hold him down, their muscles straining as they battled to keep Henry's thrashing under control. It was like trying to tame a wild beast. Nozomi’s heart shattered at the sight. Seeing someone so kind reduced to such a state by her powers was unbearable.

Charlie, beads of sweat forming on his brow, lifted Henry’s right leg to give Nozomi a clear shot. "Here, do it... please," he grunted, his voice strained from the effort.

Nozomi nodded, tears blurring her vision. She aimed her other glowing finger at Henry’s leg. Closing her eyes, she released the energy, another thunderous bang echoing through the wagon. The sound was followed by a sickening squelch as she felt the magic rip through his leg, severing it.

The sight was horrifying. Henry crumpled to the floor, his body thrashing in uncontrollable spasms. He began banging the back of his head against the wooden floor with a force that made the entire wagon seem to shudder. Cracks appeared in his skull, each impact against the wood echoing loudly in the confined space.

THUD. THUD. CRACK. THUD. CRACK. THUD.

Each sound felt like a hammer to Nozomi’s already cracked heart. Charlie and Tom did their best to restrain him, but even with one less arm and leg, Henry's strength was almost unmanageable.

Nozomi stood frozen, her mouth agape in horror at the chaos she had unleashed. Tears streamed down her face, her hands trembling as she struggled with the enormity of what she had done. It was a living nightmare, watching Henry—someone she came to understand why her best friend viewed with such high regard—reduced to such a pitiable state.

Amidst the chaos, Nozomi noticed a familiar green light bathing Henry from under the table. She peered down and saw it was Seiza, his small form glowing with healing energy. His presence seemed almost miraculous. As Seiza's power worked, Henry's limbs began to regenerate, the stump of his arm and leg slowly reforming. His frantic struggles ceased, his body gradually calming as the pain and panic ebbed away.

Nozomi’s tears of horror transformed into tears of relief. A shaky smile broke through her sobs. The nightmare wasn't entirely over, but the worst seemed to be behind them.

Looking under the table, Nozomi confirmed her suspicions. Seiza’s healing magic was soothing Henry, knitting his flesh back together. She felt a wave of gratitude and pride towards the small creature. His efforts were a beacon of hope in the darkness of the moment.

When the healing suddenly halted, Nozomi's heart skipped a beat. Henry’s limbs, almost fully restored, reverted to their injured state. She expected him to lash out again, but he didn’t. Though he was still in pain—his skeletal face a mask of stoic suffering—he remained calm.

Seiza leaped onto the seat beside Henry. "Are you... alright?" he asked with a tremor in his voice, uneasy despite his healing efforts.

Henry turned his head slowly towards Seiza as if the simple movement took a great effort. He seemed to struggle with the cloth covering his mouth, preventing him from speaking. Charlie intervened. "He says he'll be alright. He just needs to rest a bit. Also, he thanks you for the healing,” Charlie relayed, interpreting Henry’s telepathic message.

Seiza tilted his head, still unsure, but nodded. "I see... if he really says so." He then hopped down and settled back onto Nozomi's lap. She stroked his chest, murmuring her appreciation for his timely intervention.

As Nozomi focused on Seiza, Yoshino sprang into action, helping to lift Henry from the floor with Charlie and Tom's guidance. They moved carefully, ensuring not exacerbate his pain.

Outside, the wind howled, carrying away the last vestiges of their ordeal. Nozomi hoped fervently that this would be the last distressing moment they would have to face today.