Return

He was talking with her, trying to reassure her small heart. And the instant she heard that voice, she was clinging to Itsuki's leg like a cat that had found its mother after being chased by a pack of dogs.

Seeing that girl in such a state, he was like a father holding his small child, setting her on his lap with a smile. Itsuki began patting her head as he said, "It's all right, it's all right. It must have been hard on you, wasn't it? But there's no need to worry."

Lina hummed in agreement to him, so Itsuki began carrying her in his arms. He looked towards Hiroshi, who had been watching from afar with an empty look on his face, then said to him, "I apologise for the mess. I worked hard to reach it. And yet I can't accept seeing a wrong in front of me and going along with it. I have other words to say to you, but this isn't the right place for that."

Itsuki got down from the platform and headed towards Stella, who was standing in the middle of the road. "It's been a long time since the last time..."

Stella was losing her composure with every step Itsuki advanced. "I haven't forgotten anything..."

"So that's it. That's unfortunate for both of us, then. I appreciate you welcoming me like this."

Stella stayed frozen in that stance of hers until Itsuki passed her by.

After a few minutes of collective shock, and while Yol was trying to gather his thoughts, the Jinn king's soldiers, who were in a state of fear and turmoil, began to stir. So Yol drew his sword and headed quickly towards their commander, Akihiro, passing a Jinn soldier and cutting the neck of another, pinning one of their weapons to the ground with his foot and leaping from over his back to pounce towards Akihiro, who received him with a smile on his face. And as a welcome, without using the ability of his shield, he drew his sword to block his attack. "It seems our meeting didn't take much time."

All sorts of matters were turning in his mind, to the point that he didn't hear a single word Akihiro said to him. "Let each of you take up his weapon at once. Do you want them to burn this city down over your heads? As it stands, we're back to the beginning."

Though the gap in strength was wide, the matter wasn't of much importance. And despite the difficulty of the situation, the ranks of the knights held, faces set as they fought. That speech wasn't anything moving.

And on both sides, Hiroshi clashed with the First Commander, and the Second Commander, Hugo, with his Jinn rival. And in the middle, amid the fierce exchange of sword blows between them, Yol then said to him, "You. Last night, when you saw Itsuki, did you know he was the White Crow?"

Akihiro answered then with a little confusion. "Of course I knew."

That answer made Yol more irritated, as though the matter cut into his chest. "Wait a moment, didn't you recognise him the instant you saw him? Don't tell me you knew him from before."

When Yol contented himself with silence, Akihiro burst out laughing loudly, saying, "I can't believe a thing like this could happen."

Yol then increased the ferocity of his charge, ignoring the idea of defence. And though he struck her with his full strength, Yol's sword couldn't even scratch Akihiro's skin. Akihiro lowered his sword then and said to him in a mocking tone, "Do you know that your ability being simple doesn't mean its use is limited?"

When Yol focused on his neck, he saw that thin, transparent wall surrounding it. There was no time for Yol to retreat at the right moment before Akihiro drove his fist into his stomach and threw him far off.

"It seems time has run out. We'll meet again sooner than you expect."

Though the fighting between the two sides was fierce, the Jinn commander gave the signal to withdraw. And with the army pulling back and the danger clearing, Yol didn't move from his place on the ground. He stayed there looking towards his sword, while his thoughts were entirely in disarray.

At that time, Aki was standing where she was, watching matters without moving. And Hiro, caught in the struggles of that battle, had finally reached the road down which Itsuki had fled, carrying in his heart tons of worries and questions he wanted answered, stumbling along without awareness of his steps. He said at the top of his voice, "Let me go... I need to catch up with..."

Sweat pouring from him, a sorrowful look with intense fear forming on his face. "Don't do this."

"But... but I want to know. Am I to stay in this state? I... "

When worry took hold of him he choked on his words, so he sank to his knees then, trembling like a small child about to burst into tears. "That person you were telling me about..."

With no reply from him, Stella felt a little sorrow at his state. She couldn't say anything to him. And yet she couldn't move away from him either, for there was no place for her to take shelter in, she too. So she took a spot beside him and sat near him, watching the atrocities Itsuki had left behind him.

After hours of time, he saw ash burned by the flames flying in the air. The saint's stone statue was burning fiercely with vivid green flames. That scene was enough to make Yol feel a great emptiness in his chest. He stayed there lost in thought until he heard Aki's voice calling his name, which brought him back to his senses. Then he said, "Aki..."

"Yes?"

"Do you believe that? Trying to defend yourself, or even, only, acting according to your nature."

While Yol stood broken in that way beneath the sunlight, she contented herself with answering him with those words. "Yes."

"He wasn't trying to deceive us, or even to win our favour. It was as though it were the ordinary thing for him. Do you believe that? That we can't do anything but see a boy our own age smiling at us while he guides us towards the right path. Do you believe that?"

They were no more than obvious words to anyone in his position. Was he broken? Was that weeping of his over himself, or over another person? No one would know.

A few minutes later, Aki headed towards both Hiro and Stella, while Yol followed her with steady steps, until they reached them. She said, "Hiro, are you all right?"

Hiro gave no response to anything around him, until Yol stood by him and said to him, "If not for that day, would we have reached this point? The matter is laughable. In the end, there was nothing worth it. Do you feel that too?"

Yol then lifted his head a little, while his eyes looked downward, and said, "That's completely wrong. The whole matter is that we're weak to that degree..."

"You may be right about that."

Seeing them in that state, Aki said then, "The fact that you're children who don't have enough awareness to make decisions for yourselves doesn't mean it's your fault. It's all right, you don't have to worry too much. Every child is fated in the end to grow up and become a man who relies on himself. Being helpless isn't something to be ashamed of..."

In the middle of that conversation, one of the soldiers arrived, worn out from running. So Yol answered him, "What is it!! What do you want from..."

The soldier answered him after taking a deep breath. "The Highest Minister, Hiroshi, sent me to tell you that the First Commander of the King's army, Traydor, was found dead in his room a little while ago."

That news made Aki turn towards the soldier, that sharp look on her face, while Yol was stunned where he stood at that news. "What are you saying...?"

ذThen, with a broader look at the Saint's Square, which had been reduced to ruins, she said.

"I think there's no way around it then.

...

The clouds returned once again.This may be the last snow to fall on this world..."

End of volume...