The card fossil in Card zero was not exactly a real human being, although it was very intelligent and sentient, it was just about that. With a well-crafted plan, they had a chance to win.
"Already tired, Card zero? Where has your arrogance gone to?"
Kairo said, using his arms to protect his face, but as he spoke he intentionally let down the protector arms sideways. The only part of his body not protected by the durable armor, his head, was the first thing Card zero noticed.
Switching target from Nyx to him, Card zero's figure katana traced a clean circle in the void, aiming at Kairo's head not from the front but from behind.
"Got you," Kairo said inwardly. And he banished the protector armor, letting his figure fall freely inches below the swinging katana. Just as his figure ducked away the blow, Nyx's figure had already summoned the angel ascend, her golden sword stroke down like a falling Damocles. She left a trail of white light in her descent and gave all she had in that one swing.
Card zero repositioned its katana for a parry. Upon impact, the katana turned into particles of glass, sending the metallic shards flying sideways. While Card zero was forced into a crater-like bowl in the garden wet grounds.
The garden grounds shook like an earthquake about to level the place. The cracks spidered outwards in rapid succession. While Card zero's trembling figure tried to force its way out of the crater, Kairo had already sneaked in the midst of the chaos.
Just as like he had done with the others, his palm landed on Card zero's back. "It's over," he said. Channeling all his focus, Kairo gave all he had. At that moment, he became one with the world, one with his objective. Around him and Card zero, the circuitry of the void was cast out of nothingness.
The dazzling circuitry took form around them, as if being written by some sort of divine hands. The paths shone with energy that flickered left and right. Card zero's figure shook involuntarily, aggressively, waving back and forth. The pain in its voice made Kairo's heart bleed, but he kept his stance firm.
"She must have been through a real nightmare. It's over now," he told himself. As he caught Card zero's falling figure. On her chest, the card that had been anchored so deeply in her being was now gone, turned into particles of light that were absorbed into the circuitry of the void as if returning to its source.
"We did it, Kairo. You saved Kaili." Nyx smiled as she approached the crater, a wave of delight and ease crossing her features.
Kairo's smile mirrored her own. Kaili gripped onto his sleeve, forcing Kairo to look into her eyes. In them, he could see nothing more than the shadow of what she had been. She held onto his sleeve so hard her nails went into his skin. Yet Kairo didn't feel any pain, or at least it felt like nothing compared to what he saw in her own.
"It's over." Kairo lifted Kaili's figure up as he moved out of the crater towards Nyx. Danzan sat up, leaning over a broken wall in the garden. His usual nonchalance was gone. In his eyes, Kairo could see the deep care as he glanced at Kaili.
"Now the only thing left is to get to Fabian and collect chosen destiny. Danzan, we will find a secure place to leave you with Kaili for now. I'm sorry for that, but that's the only way we can do this. I can't bring you guys with me."
Kairo laid Kaili next to Danzan as he spoke. He was well aware of the other group still behind them. But as long as he got chosen destiny before them, Danzan and Kaili would have nothing to worry about. And Kairo could almost read it in Danzan's eyes. Even if he had to walk into the devil's mouth to protect her, this time he would.
Kairo tapped gently on his shoulder almost as if he was bidding farewell to a little brother. "Don't get too cocky, little boy."
"Take this time to rest, Captain Danzan. Without our crazy boss to give us a red carpet, the investigation department will never be the same." Nyx said as she placed one of her last healing boosters in his palms. Danzan pushed it backward, but Nyx closed it around his palms. "To think I would fall this high. Get out of my sight before I kick you out of my department," he waved at them as if waving at an annoying fly.
Kairo let out an amused smile. Now the expression Nyx had when Fabian left made all sense to Kairo. She had been the first in the department. She had known Danzan longer than him. How could she not care for his life? How could he be so blind? She wasn't like Mirelle, and he wasn't like his father Magnus. The mission mattered, yes, but there was more to the mission that mattered to them. "Perhaps I will never reach father's height. And that's fine. Perhaps I do not need to." Kairo felt strangely at ease with the thought. Then straightened his position. "See you later, Captain."
Kairo and Nyx rushed towards the center of the island. The final and last obstacle before Slayer came into their view. A series of steps leading to the top. With every step they took on those steps, Kairo had the unease in his heart grow. Almost as if every card was screaming at him to turn back and descend that path.
He glanced sideways and Nyx's expression showed the exact same worry. However, their movement never slowed even in a single instant. The card mage police would survive with the pact made with Sam. But even the two groups combined would not be able to stop Selis for long; they had to hurry. With Card zero technically dead, he had fulfilled his promise to Sam.
Kairo had prayed this pact would be enough to buy time for him to end their mission before all the others arrived. Whether it would prove right or wrong, he had no idea. But one thing was sure. Kairo stopped in front of the broken walls that spread in front of him. "The castle of Slayer."
He was going to get chosen destiny.
"This would be the most daring plan we ever dared, Kairo," Nyx said. A firm grip on her trembling shoulders as trying to calm them down.
"I know." Kairo took the first step inside, going through the broken archway. A vast circular hall came into view, mimicking the vastness of a colosseum. With every step they took, their footsteps echoed. The faint rays of light that seeped through the broken holes showed that the walls all converged into one spot.
Kairo first noticed Fabian, not moving, not breathing, almost as if his soul had been taken from its body, and next to him, another familiar figure: Felix.
The grade four criminal was exactly like Fabian, frozen in space as if time had stopped to have meaning for both of them. And beyond those two figures, as Kairo looked even further in the hall, now he could see him.
Seated on an almost broken throne. The pitch black figure leaned leisurely on one hand, observing with the detachment of a monarch over his subjects. Despite his being made entirely of black, Kairo felt nothing looking at Slayer. Neither fear, neither worry. Almost as if all the worry he had moments ago had evaporated. Slayer's eyes looked almost benevolent, that of someone whose love and care for their kind had transcended his form.
"You should be the one who activated the circuitry of the void," Slayer said. "You are a century too late, mortal. The card chosen of destiny cannot come in contact with the other cards. Mao has taken it away the moment you stepped into that garden."
"Gone…" Kairo repeated almost mechanically. The weight of Slayer's words hit him with a clarity he had never seen before. The card fossil they had met in the abyss with Selis, he was the one who had chosen destiny. Not only had he left, he had done it with the most prized treasure they had all risked their lives for.
"That's not possible, this is a lie. You want to trick us into panic. I refuse to believe that Mao had chosen destiny. All this time it's impossible; in the abyss we were right all along, we would have noticed it."
"Listen to him, Kairo. It's over. Thanks to your heroic deed, chosen destiny has left. Satisfied?" Fabian shook his head as he turned his back to Slayer, his back to Slayer, his shoulders slumped, the fire in his eyes gone. There was no point in any fighting on this island anymore.
"Without the serpent monster, there is no way we would have been able to know the location of chosen destiny. Now that it has disappeared, it was a total waste of time to sneak through the firewall." Felix scattered his hairs into spikes of angry needles.
This can't be true, Kairo kept repeating to himself. This can't be true. They had reached the castle first. They were supposed to collect chosen destiny. However, Slayer had been a tad faster than them. The moment Card zero was defeated, he asked Mao to bring the card away and stayed. With his strength, he didn't believe anyone could threaten his life on this island; he had stayed to laugh at their miserable failure.
And it was all his fault. Without Card Zero's disappearance, Slayer would have never known they were so close to the castle. That was why Fabian had left earlier. Not out of total disregard for his friend, but because he understood something this simple.
"No, no, no, it can't end like this. We risked our lives." Kairo's voice rose. "My friend almost died here. My mother was put in danger. Nyx almost got abducted. So many card mages died for us to reach here, and you tell me the treasure is simply gone?" Kairo slapped his own face. "Gone, gone, gone."
"Calm down, Kairo." Nyx tried to get closer.
Kairo crumbled to his knees, coiling in a ball on the cold ground. The courage, the pride, all evaporated in front of the sound of his spectacular failures. Those he had confidently only semi-sentient had outsmarted him.