It was pure chaos. A dozen of helicopters ravaged the sky, accompanied by Fulish's Aircutters. Summoners and Hunters emerged from beneath the reservoir, carrying with them the wounded. They shouted at the medical teams , urging them to provide treatment. The air was a hideous harmony of scream, moan, siren and flapping wings. Some curious humans tried to get a look, only to be turned away by frustrated hunters swinging their batons around, and would surely be branwashed later. No fewer than a hundred hunters surrounded the area with their weapons ready. Veritas stood in front of them, waiting.
" Sir Veritas, is it true that Samundo is here?" A hunter asked, sweating.
" Most likely. This time, we may be able to kill him before he even became a legit threat."
" Another one is coming, sir."
Veritas squinted at the water. He could not mistake that cloak for anything else. " Tetrax." He whispered.
The Singulus Digiti was looking at him from above. She was followed by Aria and Hiatus. The two young hunters looked more and more miserable each time Veritas saw them. He waved at them. " Where is Wander?" He shouted.
Tetrax pointed down.
Veritas nodded." Aim at the boy only. No summoner or familiar is to be hurt."
His subordinates unsheathed their swords. The helicopters turned their guns at the water.
Tetrax jumped down and landed by Veritas. " You are not going to kill him."
" Sorry, but I do not answer to you."
" That boy is my mission. I can take care of him. He is not strong enough to defy me."
"Yet." Veritas glanced at Tetrax. " He is potentially the demon lord, and I will not take the risk of letting him live."
Tetrax pointed at the reservoir. " All we have up until now is circumstantial evidence. Yes, he was picked up around the same time Samundo was defeated. So what? It's just a coincidence, have you ever considered?"
" Do you really think it is that convenient?"
" Sir, someone is coming!" A hunter shouted.
" Listen, don't you think something is wrong? We conclude that he is a demon lord based on that fact alone?"
Veritas frowned. " If he is just a boy then why is he your mission? He must have some significance!"
" And why do you assume his significance is him being Samundo? Let me get him, and I will tell you his significance, after I discover it."
An aircutter shot through the sky, carrying Wander. Less than a second later, Fulish emerged, flying to its side. Three other summoners accompanied him. Veritas squinted. He realized one of them.
The Aircutters descended, and Wander became clearer. Veritas had never seen the boy in flesh before, yet he felt like he had known him for a while. "Keep your aim. Wait for Fulish and the summoners to leave his side, then shoot immediately."
"Sir, watch out!"
Veritas could not react in time. Before he knew it, Tetrax's sword had reached his neck.
" This is a big mistake." He glanced at her." Keep your position. Focus on the boy!"
" I know it has to boil down to this, Solus." Tetrax tightened her grip on the sword. " Telling them to fall back, and you keep that head of yours."
" I see. Do it then. I assure you my death will not deter my men."
Tetrax chuckled." But for each of them to lose a limb or two would surely deter them, right?"
Veritas glared at her. " You dare?"
" Why not? Tell you what, nice guy, do you think the suffering you are about to put your subordinates through is worth it? Killing a boy who you think is Samundo based solely on the story another boy told you? And trust me, if he's truly Samundo, you will fail, and your men will die."
Veritas clenched his fist. He shouted. " Lower your weapon. On stand-by!"
The hunters hesitated, but followed their commander's order without question.
" Thank you, Solus. You have always been a man of reason. Well, most of the time." Tetrax said, lowering her sword, but not sheathing it. " Now, my mission."
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Wander had his eyes fixed on the sea of people below. They did not look that different from the demons.
" Do not leave his side. Those hunters will not dare to shoot him with us nearby." Fulish told his followers.
" They are withdrawing." Callus said. " That's weird."
" It's a trap!" Fulish said." Those fools dare think I will fall for such a trap!"
" It's not a trap" Wander said with a cold voice." Most likely the person next to Veritas just threaten him. She did not want me dead, apparently."
Fulish squinted. " The girl who attacked you earlier? One second she wants to cut you the next she wants you alive. This is not Las Vegas."
Handi tapped Wander's shoulder. " We'll take you out of here with us. Don't worry."
Fulish whispered into the walkie-talkie. " Now, Elecaimant."
Elecaimant did not reply, but the sound of an explosion was more than enough.
" Let's hope we will not blow this island up too." Carl crossed his fingers.
Seconds passed, there was no impact.
" Oh, that went better than —"
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It was not seen, only felt. An earthquake of such magnitude that it was enough to shoot all the water of the reservoir into the air and destroy the firm grips of every tree roots. All people on the ground was pushed by an anti-gravitational force into the air, and the people already off the ground found themselves even higher in the air. The summoners instantly use their spells to counter the force, keeping themselves and the hunters from passing the troposphere. The earth, now not so different from an onion, cracked layer by layer as boulders of rocks floated upward. A reverse waterfall manifested , being stretched towards the sky. Gravity did not vanished, but a force more powerful had dispelled its effect.
" You had to jinx it!" Handi screamed." And is it just me or a fish just winked at me?"
" It's just you!" Carl screamed back." Oh wait, it's not just you!"
" The force is getting weaker. Cast any protection spell you know the moment it disappears. All those rocks and trees won't stay floating!" Callus shouted.
It was like a climax that came to an abrupt end. The water stopped, and at that moment, the whole world froze. It was not an ambiguous feeling, but an empirical phenomenon that every single hunter, summoner, human and familiar witnessed. Nothing moved.
That moment lasted for a second. Before anyone could overcome the profound feeling of seeing the world stop, they all came crashing down.
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Veritas disliked Summoners, but at the same time he admired them, particularly when they saved his comrades and him from being flattened by the fall. What was supposed to be an agonizing impact felt just like falling on a poorly made bed. It still hurt, but much better than falling on the ground.
" Blast away those things!" A summoner shouted.
All summoners simultaneously shot their spells at the boulders and the trees. Orbs and beams of all colors raced towards the falling objects, burning them, disintegrating them, breaking them. Some turned their staff into a sword, slashing everything. Some synchronized their attack, creating multiple shockwaves that reduced the boulders to mere dust. Some halted the movement of the debris, letting them land without hurting anyone.
Veritas glanced at Tetrax. She was being distracted by the commotion. He nodded at the hunters standing close to her.
His subordinates moved right after he gave his order, charging at Tetrax. They took three steps and she vanished like a shadow.
" Get the boy!" Veritas shouted.
Tetrax could still be seen, but was little more than a faint phantom phasing through space. She was heading straight for Wander.
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" Keep him safe." Fulish said as he charged forward. " Let's see her speed."
The familiar shot hundreds of electrical orbs at Tetrax. The Singulus Digiti evaded them all, her sword unsheathed. For a brief moment, her legs transformed. The forced caused by them was so great that the water under her feet burst in the opposite direction. Her sword flashed through Fulish's body. She landed on a rock, one of a hundred now scattering across the resevoir due to the previous phenomenon.
Blood dripped from Fulish's low torso. He glared at Tetrax, slamming the water and electrified the reservoir. He took off, aiming at Tetrax like an arrow. He trapped her in the same attack he used on Maria.
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Aria could not stabilize her breathing. Her hands was all wet, her throat went dry, she wanted to rip her heart out to stop it from destroying her chest with its accelerating beat. She glanced at Veritas, giving orders to his subordinate, at Tetrax and Fulish combating, at the helicopters hovering not so far away with their guns point in Wander's direction, at the piles of rocks and metals floating around the reservoir.
" I can still do this. We can still graduate. Yes, yes. Wander can still be saved. I must do something."
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She turned to Hiatus. He was looking down at all that were transpiring.
" We need to help Wander. He will really die at this rate." Aria said, holding back her tear." We need to get to him."
Hiatus turned his eyes on her, and she shuddered as she felt them pierce her soul.
" Hiatus?"
" This is going to be the last time." The boy said, jumping off the Aircutter.
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The summoners watched the battle between Fulish and Tetrax stagnated.
" If she can get out of that attack, she's faster than him." said Callus." And she will come for him."
" Come, Wander. We get out of here." Handi said.
Wander searcher for Aria and Hiatus. He wanted to tell them the truth. He wanted to tell them everything. He did not want to leave.
" Please, we don't have time!" Carl raised his voice.
Wander did not care. He could not leave like this. He searched for his friends. He could see the two walk towards him. Hiatus did not show any emotion, Aria's eyes were red. He put them through all this. He should have told them sooner.
" I will apologize. I will. I will be if they want me to."
Carl and Handi could not restrain him. He was faster than them both. He ran towards Aria and Hiatus.
" Stop! You must leave, you know that. You can't go back to them. What is wrong with you? You are not this unreasonable brat!" Doom Mark shouted in his head.
Even the thing inside his head did not understand him. Wander smiled. He knew he was an unreasonable hunter since the beginning, but only for Aria and Hiatus. Everything he did, he did for them.
" It's a lie, you freak! You turned! You freaking turned! You turned for yourself, not them!"
" No, no, I turned, I turned because I..." Wander could not remember.
" My god, your insomnia, it is already to this extent."
" I must get there before I forget them too."
It was surely surreal, Wander realized. Amidst the deafening sound of the wind, the scenery blurred by the lingering drops of water in the air, the surge of sensations reaching its climax in his innermost, Wander never felt more alive.
" Did I forget them too, when I willed myself to the path of a demon? Did I let my emotion take hold? Why did I turn back then?"
Wander could not remember the person he had been one month before. It did not matter to him now. In front of him stood the two persons most important to him. That was all he knew.
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Aria frowned, realizing the Wander in front of her did not seem any different from the Wander that cried to her not so long ago. She sensed the desperation in his eyes, an innocent desperation. However, it was too likely now that the innocent amounted to nothing but a lie.
The boy looked at Aria, then at Hiatus. He mustered all of his strength to utter some words." I don't know who I am anymore. But I don't care. I am still your friend, and that's the only identity I need."
Aria closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew what would happen. Wander could not go back with her. He must go with the summoners. Still, she could give him the promise of forgiveness, in return for the truth from him. She could still cling to the hope that Wander did things for a good reason, and one day he would return to Hiatus and her, to complete the plan they made.
" It will take a while before I can forgive you for what have done." Aria finally said." I need you to tell me everything from the beginning to the end, one day. Can you do that?"
Wander nodded.
Aria extended her hand, and without hesitation, Wander took it, a miserable smile on his face.
" You will leave with the summoners, but you will remain our friend."
Aria gave a genuine smile as she saw Wander tear up, in the same manner when she and Hiatus tended to his wounds just weeks ago.
" Hiatus?" Aria called out to her other friend.
The boy had been staring at her and Wander for a while. He walked up to them, put his hand on theirs'. Wander's eyes lighted up, and Aria nodded.
" This is the last time." He said to both of them.
And his knife went straight towards Wander's throat.
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Wander raised his hand by instinct, but Hiatus' speed was no joke: the knife penetrated Wander's hand, pushed it back despite Wander's struggle, and sunk into Wander's throat. The boy coughed blood, desperately trying to hold his friend's knife from going upwards and cutting through his head. He opened his mouth, but no words emitted, only his choking. The green blood poured out profusely, soaking Hiatus' hand. Hiatus did not faze.
Aria could not react. She just stood, her mouth open, her body trembling.
" Stop...stop...stop..." She mumbled.
Hiatus ignored her. He put more strength into his hand, and his knife slowly went up.
"STOP!" Aria shouted, grabbing Hiatus' arm.
" The grandest betrayal deserves the grandest execution." Hiatus said, his hands demonized." Decapitation."
The blade approached Wander's chin. It slowly turned horizontal.
Only until this moment did Aria realize, all the jokes Hiatus made were no jokes at all, and the hand he put on hers and Wander's sought to keep the two of them in check, not to rekindle the friendship. Aria's movements were limited, her dominant hand and half her body locked by Hiatus' unthinkable strong grip. She screamed and screamed, trying to free herself from Hiatus' control. She apologized ceaselessly as Wander's eyes slowly lost the light.
" Stop! Stop!" Aria entered her demon form. She grabbed Hiatus' arm with her left hand, trying to remove it from her right one."Hiatus, please, I'm begging you!"
" H..Hi..." Wander's voice drowned in the green liquid that was filling his mouth.
"Please, stop." Aria's voice weakened. She began to sob." Don't do this to us."
Hiatus gritted his teeth. His hand loosened, then immediately regained full force. His arm moved, and the knife cut through Wander's neck.
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Wander staggered backwards, his hands covering the wound, unable to keep his blood from spilling out. His neck was wide open, his trachea visible. He dropped to his knees, vomiting uncontrollably. A few steps in front of him, Aria was using all of her strength to stand and moved towards him. The boy entered his demon form, trying to regenerate the critical wound.
Hiatus walked towards him, empty stares in his eyes. He looked down at Wander, raising his knife. Wander looked up at him, eyes half open.
Hiatus grimaced. The knife in his hand shook. His lip was dripping blood because of his bite. His hand trembled, then his arm. And he dropped the knife.
Hiatus turned away from Wander and grabbed Aria's arm, pulling her away from Wander as far as possible. She had lost all awareness of her surroundings. The last image she saw, was her friend standing up and moving towards her, his hand reaching out to her, and even to Hiatus. Then came dozens of bullets, straight through his body, and he fell off the platform he was standing on, down into the water below. Then everything went dark.
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Veritas, standing one hundred meters away from the three young hunters, felt something stuck in his throat. He looked at his subordinates: each of them diverted their eyes from what just unfolded, at the brutality of Hiatus. Veritas had killed demons before, and even one turn, but killing a turn was not easy, especially when that turn took the form of one's most beloved. He knew had he been in Hiatus' position, he would be unable to act with such decisiveness. Even when he gave the order to shoot at Wander, he did hesitate.
" Captain?" A fellow hunter came up to him, apparently still shocked by what transpired." The target has been neutralized."
Veritas nodded. He observed the surrounding. Hiatus was carrying Aria away towards him. Fulish had stopped fighting against Tetrax, pointing to her where Wander had fallen. The summoners, as speechless as his subordinates.
" Captain, if that turn is indeed Samundo, then we won." A hunter said.
He had always known that was a big "if", but only now did he feel anxious. If he was wrong... But still, Wander was a turn, and what Veritas did was not of ill judgment. He told himself.
" Send in people to collect his body. Those two students, prepare to take them back to New York."
Tetrax was standing still, staring at the water. After a while, she looked over to Veritas, her expression could not be seen. She turned away, ready to vanish. But then she stopped.
" Cap..Captain." His subordinate pointed at the water, where green blood was spreading, and Demex overflew.
A colossal demon rose from the water. It was covered in blood, spikes sticking out from its body. On one of its hand, Maria. Above her, the body of Wander floating inside a bubble.
" Hello, world." She said, with her hands behind her." It's been quite a while."