'It is our prey.'
"What...?"
While Ur was momentarily stunned, Tike turned to look at Gray, revealing a bloodstained smile.
'Gray, let's take it out.'
Gray, having his name called, was surprised at first, then lowered his head slightly.
"What can I do?"
'Just imagine the scene of it being defeated,' Tike's voice echoed in Gray's mind. 'Isn't that what Maker Magic is? Magic that brings the thoughts in your heart to life.'
As he spoke, he extended his clenched right fist.
Gray stared at the boy before him. Through that almost sickly pale face, he read a kind of pure sincerity.
"You're just like Ur..." Gray choked up. "Why are you so good to me?"
'Because when Big Sister came back, you were happy for her.'
As Tike spoke, another trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, but that smile appeared even warmer.
"..."
Moved by these sincere words, a wave of indescribable emotion surged in Gray's heart.
He slowly extended his scarred palm and gently touched Tike's bloodstained fist.
A magic circle unfolded between their touching hands, then rapidly expanded to cover more than half of the city, dyeing the sky a grayish-blue.
"Ice-Make: Divine Purification!"
With Gray's roar full of power, a holy sword of ice large enough to blot out the sky condensed within the magic circle.
The giant sword glittered with a cold light like stars throughout its body. Like a judgment sent down by the gods, it slashed straight at Deliora's colossal form!
BOOM!
Under everyone's breathless gaze, Deliora was cleaved in two by this massive holy sword of ice!
In an instant, the great sword shattered with a loud crash. Countless tiny ice crystal fragments danced in the air, slowly dissipating into mid-air along with Deliora, which had turned into black particles.
"Did it work...?"
Gray looked at his palm, trembling slightly. Immediately after, a relieved smile appeared on his face, and he began to cheer loudly:
"Dad! Mom! I avenged you!"
As Gray laughed, tears slid uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes, dripping silently down his cheeks. He covered his face, burying it deep in his palms. His shoulders shook slightly, and the long-suppressed sobs finally burst out like a flood breaking a dam.
Tike stood silently aside, clearly sensing Gray's emotions at this moment.
Although there was still some residual sadness in the scent Gray was emitting now, it was mostly a sense of relief. The haze that had pressed on his heart for so long had finally dispersed, no longer as gloomy and heavy as before.
(This is the end... right?)
While Tike was thinking to himself, Ultear and Ur surrounded him on either side, their faces filled with concern.
Ultear was especially nervous. Her small hand gently stroked Tike's cheek, seeming to want to feel the changes in his body through this touch.
"How do you feel now? Does it hurt anywhere?"
"It's fine. I told you, I can recover on my own."
This time, it wasn't a voice echoing directly in their minds, but words spoken by Tike himself, carrying a hint of childishness and crispness, meant to be soothing.
Despite this, Ur still couldn't be completely reassured. Frowning slightly, she gently patted Tike's head and said softly, "Good boy, open your mouth and let Mom take a look."
Tike obediently did as told, opening his mouth wide with an "Ahhh—".
Ur squatted down halfway, carefully examining the child's mouth.
There wasn't a trace of a wound inside, only some bright red blood and tiny bits of flesh still staining his teeth.
(Just like that time, it's already healed.)
Even with this conclusion, Ur's eyes dimmed slightly, carrying a distinct worry.
She was still concerned that Tike's body might have issues because of that magic, leaving behind hidden dangers difficult to detect.
It might not look like anything was wrong on the surface, but she would have to find a reliable doctor to check him thoroughly later.
At this moment, Tike slowly lowered his eyelids because of the sad scent still floating in the air.
Even though the culprit, Deliora, had been destroyed, the deep grief it brought didn't disappear completely. Instead, like a lingering disease, it still existed in every corner of this land, lingering in everyone's heart, refusing to disperse.
Tike realized this clearly for the first time, and his young heart felt an unprecedented confusion and bewilderment.
When he wiped out all those foul-smelling adults last time, this depressing and painful scent of sadness became very, very faint. Why wasn't it enough to dispel this heavy sadness this time?
What exactly should he do to make this sad and suffocating scent disappear completely?
Tike pursed his lips tightly, and he soon had an answer.
He raised his hand and pointed to the messy ruins ahead.
"There are still a lot of people there." He paused, then added, "They all have that sad smell on them."
Saying this, he made a fist with one hand and an open palm with the other, gently placing them together.
Listening to his somewhat strange words and seeing him assume the familiar Maker Magic stance, a sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Ur's heart.
"What are you going to do?"
"Cleaning up the smell."
As soon as his voice fell, a small dragon condensed from water elements rushed out from the magic circle between Tike's hands with the sound of splashing water. It wrapped tightly around his small body, then shot straight up into the clouds high in the sky like an arrow leaving the bow string.
"Wait...?"
Ur didn't even have time to stop him. Her hand, prepared to cast Maker Magic, froze in mid-air. She looked up with her daughter Ultear, eyes wide, trying desperately to find Tike's trace in the thick clouds.
Drip.
Then, in this world that should have been ice and snow, it began to rain gold without warning.
One drop, two drops. Bathed in this incredible golden rain, Ur not only felt no discomfort but felt an indescribable sense of relief. The warm feeling from when Tike healed her before surged in her heart again.
She wasn't the only one feeling this. Her daughter Ultear beside her, and all the survivors in the city ruins—men, women, old, and young, regardless of the severity of their injuries—were gently wrapped and healed by this golden rain containing magical power.
"Is... is this a miracle? My wounds... they're healing!"
"Thank the heavens! It's a divine miracle! God heard our prayers and sent down a miracle to save us!"
"Mom, it doesn't hurt anymore... it doesn't hurt at all!"
"Boo hoo... we're saved, we're saved!"
All kinds of voices echoed over the ruins, dispelling the gloom and sadness shrouding this land.
"Tike, you child, really..."
Ur looked up at the sky where golden raindrops kept falling.
To cast such a large-scale healing magic that covered almost the entire city—could Tike's small body really withstand such a massive consumption of magic power?
This unease and anxiety persisted until the golden rain gradually stopped. The small dragon condensed from water elements descended from the sky. The water molecules forming the dragon's body dissipated as if their mission was complete, revealing the small boy inside.
Tike breathed in the refreshed air around him gently. The scent of suffocating sadness, pain, and despair that had originally filled the air had now become incredibly faint, replaced by a fresh scent full of hope and vitality. This made a satisfied smile appear on his tender little face.
"The smell... is much better now."
Then, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his body began to teeter.
(So sleepy, I really want to sleep. Sleepier than any time before... but I don't want to sleep on the cold ground this time...)
Holding onto his last bit of strength, Tike looked up at Ur not far away and tried hard to open his arms to her.
Seeing this, Ur's heart tightened. She was about to step forward and take Tike into her arms, but Ultear beside her rushed to Tike faster, hugging his tottering body tightly.
Tike couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed weakly into Ultear's warm and soft embrace.
"Big Sis... this time... I might sleep a bit longer... get up a bit later..."
"Sleep, have a good sleep." Ultear gently stroked his hair, which carried a hint of coolness, her eyes full of pity and tenderness. "I'll be waiting for you right here, waiting for you to wake up. No matter how long, I'll wait for you."
"When I wake up... I want to eat lots of delicious food... make up for everything I haven't eaten during this time..."
Tike's voice became weaker and weaker, intermittent, carrying a trace of childish stubbornness and anticipation.
"Mm, lots of delicious food. Whatever you want to eat, I'll make it all for you."
Tike closed his heavy eyelids with satisfaction, a sweet smile on his lips.
Just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep, a very familiar voice suddenly rang in his mind.
'Do you like humans that much too?'
Accompanied by this meaningful sentence, a beam of warm sunlight pierced through the thick clouds and shone on Tike, plating him with a layer of golden brilliance.
Immediately after, Ultear felt her hands empty. The small, warm body she had been holding tightly in her arms vanished into thin air before her eyes like a bubble, leaving no trace behind, as if he had never existed.
Ultear stared at her empty palms in shock, her body frozen on the spot as if petrified. It took several seconds before she finally reacted, letting out a heart-wrenching cry that echoed over the entire ruins.
"TIKE—!"