▪︎Petal of salvation "12th Lunaria "2:35pm (The Attack On Griown)
Everything was quiet once more. Ryo stared at Koki's seemingly lifeless body, unable to speak, his breath caught somewhere deep in his chest. Akari's screams pierced the silence as she called for help. At first, it seemed like a futile effort, but then the man locked in combat with Sir Briar glanced over, noticing the unfolding tragedy. He let out an exasperated "Tch."
Perhaps he realized he had made a grave mistake driven by a baseless obsession. His battle with Briar wasn't advancing; he hadn't even managed to provoke the man into speaking or moving from his spot. The right choice would have been to assist The Lilies, who were bravely fighting for survival while protecting civilians hidden away from the chaos.
"I've messed up big time. Let's just end this," he said, releasing a heavy sigh. "This one's on me. I shouldn't have fixated on this one guy."
Finally, Sir Briar moved again, flinging Cosmos into a portal before standing still as if granting them a moment, a chilling gesture that hinted at his intentions.
"What's he planning? No, it doesn't matter anymore—I need to get to those kids. If I move, will he react? No need to hesitate; I'm going."
With that thought firmly in mind, the man charged toward Ryo and the others, swiftly dispatching Kardia-beasts in his path.
---
What do you do when you've lost something you never realized you had? Do you break down completely, channel your rage into something productive, or immerse yourself in an activity to distract from the pain? How does one cope with feelings emerging from the unexpected? I never really knew Koki; in fact, I found him rather annoying. He didn't strike me as someone who warranted special treatment.
He spoke of me as though I were some sort of hero, but in truth, he was little more than background noise in my life back in the real world. Even here, I hadn't made much effort to get to know him—or most people, for that matter. Instead, I had been force-fed information about them through our peculiar encounters.
Regardless of how I viewed it, the feelings surging within me at this moment defied logic. Yet here I was, feeling as if a part of me was slipping away, drawn to that warm smile that persisted even in the cold face of death.
I could only ask myself questions and assign blame. Why did I let this happen? Why did I make the mistake of revealing my trump card? Why didn't I think before diving headfirst into combat like a fool?
The feeling of self-hate isn't new to me. Not at all. But the reasoning behind it, the experience, the agony—it's different this time. This isn't how I usually feel, and I loathe it. I despise the fact that I'm the one responsible for this situation. It gnaws at me that I let it happen. I hate that I feel weak, that no one stepped forward to help us. I resent the man who ignored our desperate plea for assistance and instead handed us weapons we weren't trained to use. The people, this city, the emotional turmoil I'm drowning in—every bit of it fills me with a deep, visceral hatred. I hate it all.
"Not looking too good, are you, you little sh*theads?"
A woman's voice pierced through Ryo's panic, pulling Him back to reality. She had vibrant ginger-red hair and stood confidently atop a nearby building.
"Wow, that's a lot of raging beasts!" she exclaimed. "Looks like this will be the feast of the century, doesn't it?" Her voice was bold and husky, radiating authority. After taking a deep breath, she shouted, "Oh, Ginger!"
Suddenly, a massive feline creature appeared, its enormous head looming over the rooftops. It had four cat-like eyes and was so large that its head alone towered at least 40 meters high. The other beasts seemed no bigger than pebbles in comparison. With a swift motion, the creature opened its mouth and devoured every one of the beasts, including the Pendulum Kings, before looking thoroughly satisfied and vanishing from sight.
"Well, that's that," the woman said, letting out a chuckle. Her eyes landed on Sir Briar, who stood before her with a blank, faceless gaze. "Honey, it looks like you've forgotten something right over there," she teased, pointing at his lack of features.
"You sure you should be out here doing whatever it is you think you're doing instead of searching for a way to fix… that?" she probed, but Sir Briar remained silent.
"Sheesh! You're quite the man of many words," she scoffed. "Not that I care." Changing tactics, she readied herself for an attack when she was suddenly interrupted.
"Hey, Roxane! Are you out of your mind? Your oversized pet nearly ate me!" shouted Steve, his frustration palpable as he maneuvered around the beasts.
"How dare you insult Ginger! He saved your life, and you should be grateful, you prick! This is nothing but plain disrespect!" Roxane snapped back.
"You know, Steve, I thought I might give you a shot, but clearly that's over now. You're just too stupid and thick-headed for me."
"Thank the heavens; I wouldn't want to endure your kind of crazy, you narcissistic Bitch," Steve shot back aggressively.
"And what were you doing while I was out there? I see those kids battered and bruised—one of them might even be dead, and you decided to show up here first, didn't you? You've forgotten your priorities again, haven't you?" Roxane's words landed with a stinging blow, striking deep.
"Well, you see…" Steve stammered, trying to defend himself.
"And instead of thanking me for the help, you're whining! The nerve of you! When are you going to figure out that this isn't just a game?" Roxane's voice grew stronger, leaving Steve silent and sulking.
To an outsider, it might have looked like a toxic couple squabbling back and forth.
Finally, Sir Briar, no longer patient, spoke up. "Our objective is nearly complete. We will take the boy and leave."
"Can you just shut the fuck up?" both Roxane and Steve retorted in unison.
"You think you can create this chaos and just walk away? We're Gardeners, in case you weren't aware. We clean up weeds like you daily, and you will pay dearly for this," Roxane spat fiercely.
Ryo, overwhelmed and confused, tried to grasp the situation. Who were these mysterious figures? The others shared his bewilderment.
"I guess they are the so-called Gardeners," Tadashi replied, disoriented by their unusual behavior.
"Does that mean help has arrived?" Akari's voice carried a note of relief.
Just then, a man with green hair and a flowing white robe approached, adjusting his monocle. "Um, you must be the Lilies, correct? I apologize for my disheveled appearance; I was in the sauna moments ago, and now I'm here in a hurry."
He seemed timid and chatty, appearing to be in his thirties, his jade eyes glancing at Koki's unconscious form beneath Ryo.
"Hey, you're a Gardener, right? You can save him!" Ryo's voice quivered as he looked imploringly at the man.
"You don't look so good yourself. Let's see…" The Gardener checked Koki's breathing, noting the serious wound in his stomach. The prospects of survival seemed grim.
"Ah, yes, he's barely alive. He isn't breathing well—just unconscious. It's a precarious situation, but his heart still has a faint pulse. He's definitely fighting," the man said, reigniting a glimmer of hope in Ryo and Akari's eyes.
"He's not completely dead? So you can help him, right?" Ryo urged.
"Not quite. It all depends on how much he's clinging to life." The man closed his eyes and placed a hand over Koki, casting a healing spell.
Koki's wounds healed, but he showed no signs of waking. "He's breathing and alive now, but this is tricky. He should be awake, yet it seems he won't be for a while. It looks like his body has absorbed poison. If it were standard poison, I could eliminate it, but this one is woven into his Kardia-magia."
Ryo's face fell, but the fact that Koki was alive filled him with a flicker of hope. "Is there a way to remove the poison from his Kardia-magia?"
"Filtering it out would take considerable time—I can't give you an exact timeframe. Given the current skills in Griown, it might take a few years."
"Wait, what do you mean? He's going to be like this for an uncertain number of years?"
Ryo couldn't bear to look up. Yes, Koki was alive now, but the question of when, or if he would ever wake up hung heavy in the air.
"Indeed," the man replied, a hint of resignation in his voice. "Unless there's a special filtering technique somewhere—perhaps in the Shimar and Valenglory Kingdoms to the East, or Tegard, the fortress city in the North. Elyria, the melting pot nation in the Southern plains, might have it too. There could be others, but those are the most likely options I know of."
A thought struck Ryo. Lyra had brought Kenzo back from his fallen state; perhaps she possessed a technique that could save Koki.
"I know someone in the desert of Zhrak'nar," Ryo said, his heart quickening with hope. "She managed to bring my friend back from a state called falling. Maybe she could help with Koki."
The man adjusted his monocle with a violent jerk. "Preposterous! There's no record of a settlement in that wasteland to the west. Perhaps a deranged traveler, but even so, there's no known way to cure the fallen—at least, not to my knowledge. I've never heard of anything like it."
Ryo's frustration escalated. "But we did see it! In fact, we stayed in a village there—a settlement inhabited by lizard-scaled humans called Aridians. One of them saved my friend!"
The man's expression shifted to curiosity. "Ah, a demi-newman settlement comprising reptilian-like humans. I've heard of this species, but they are supposed to be rare and mostly found across the world in the Florakai Forest. A few could possibly be in Elyria, but why would an entire settlement be in a dangerous place like Zhrak'nar?"
Lost in thought, he seemed intrigued by this newfound knowledge.
"Hmm," he mused, "were you not recently summoned? How is it you possess this information? What took you across the treacherous desert of Zhrak'nar? Better still, how are you even alive?"
"It's complicated," Ryo replied, not ready to delve into the details.
"Very well," the man said, a glint of professionalism returning. "I'm Soren Evergreen, by the way. I apologize for the late introduction. I will now hand the boy over to the medics who have just arrived."
He stood and dusted off his robe, signaling to men in strange, mask-like attire, similar to those worn by the maids on the isle—to lift Koki and place him on a stretcher. They carefully took him away.
"I'm Ryo Kobayashi, uh... thank you, Mr. Evergreen."
†
"Are you guys alright?"
Svetlana's voice reached their ears, prompting them to turn and see her and Todd approaching.
"Hey, princess, you don't look so good," Todd remarked, eyeing Akari's disheveled appearance.
"You're one to talk," Akari retorted, her own dejection evident. Ryo rose from the ground, stained with Koki's blood.
With a long sigh, Akari resolved to shake off her mood. "Forget about it. So, what's up? Where are Tsukiko, Hitomi, and Mei?"
"They've been taken back to the isles by some medics. They faced repercussions for using their scenario Apexes," Svetlana said, her gaze shifting away from Akari.
"I see. It got that bad, did it?" Akari's annoyance flared, fists clenching at her sides.
"That's our situation, but what about you guys? He looks completely out of breath." Svetlana gestured at Tadashi, who knelt with labored breathing, sweat-soaked and exhausted.
"We're not doing too well, as you can see. Koki is practically half dead, and this guy has been carrying the whole group for a while. You can see the look in Ryo's eyes. Meanwhile, I'm just useless," Akari's voice wavered, anger cracking her facade. Before she could finish, Svetlana enveloped her in a comforting embrace.
Svetlana understood Akari's sense of powerlessness more than anyone. "It's going to be alright. Everything will be fine; I'm sure of it," she said softly, still holding her tightly.
"I hope so. I really need to rest," Akari replied.
Ryo wiped his cheeks, refusing to face the others, his profile betraying a flicker of shame.
"Um… if help was supposed to come for you guys, why are you here now?" Ryo asked, his gaze distant.
"We wanted to help in case you ran into trouble, but I guess there's no need now."
Sofia, Svetlana, and Todd had left to assist Ryo's group, wary of further threats from the Other of Thorns. When Sofia spotted Ginger being summoned, she directed the others toward that location, noticing a Gardener slacking off on duty.
"Hey, what happened to the kid—the one he took captive?" Ryo posed the question they had all hoped to avoid.
Their expressions revealed what words could not.
"Of course," Ryo muttered, crouching to hide his face as a hollow laugh escaped him—a mix of self-mockery and sorrow, a painful realization manifesting in soft, rugged cackles.