In the middle of the broken hall stood a figure, basking in a cloud of white smoke spanning as far as the eye could see.
The Wolf had been paralyzed under numerous huge debris that had fallen, although it wasn't dead. Its red eyes still gleamed with murderous intention, reminding them that the moment it was free, they would all be dead.
"Kairo!" Nyx said out loud.
The entire group fell silent, so surprised that no one reacted to Kairo's state. Barely standing on his two feet, Kairo had numerous scars on his body. And even worse was his now dangling arm—the one he had used to catch the Judgment Sword.
"You're alive." Unlike the others, Leli rushed up to his level, almost pushing him down with her forceful hug. Kairo grimaced in pain. It wasn't that he didn't want to reciprocate, but he simply could not..
"Leli, you're safe. Thank you all for understanding my message." Kairo was clear that without their arrival, he would have never escaped this place in his wounded state.
While hugging Leli, Kairo's eyes fell on Nyx, rooted on the side. Despite her relief, she had no apparent reaction to seeing him alive.
'Am I the only one happy to see her? Might be I'm making films in my head,' he thought. Given how close he thought they were, he expected a little more enthusiasm from her. Still, Kairo brought his focus back to the situation at hand.
"Where is Jed? Where is the Surgeon?" The initial shock gone, Jeder returned to the important questions.
"I defeated the Surgeon. He won't pose any threat anymore. And as for Jed, he…" Kairo turned to glance at the Wolf. At first, he didn't get it when the Surgeon said it was freed. But now it made all sense. He was talking about Jed's inner self. That was why, even when defeated, he had that mocking smile. He didn't get Kairo—but he did get Jed.
"That is Jed—or at least what's left of him now… I can't explain, but it is his inner self who has taken control of him. If you kill him, it will be over. We won't be able to save him. That's why I came here," Kairo explained.
Glancing back and forth, he could hear the echoes of the fight intensifying. He had seen another team of officers handling the modified humans, but was still worried. Rellion asked him to leave this place..
"I met Rellion… I know it sounds crazy, Nyx, but I will explain later. He said the Sky Tears are coming. I don't know what it is, but we have to leave now. All of us—including the Wolf."
"Okay, Kairo, I trust you. What about the children? Are they safe?" This was what everyone waited for. Kairo nodded. After leaving, he met Danzan. With his speed, taking the children out of this place was a piece of cake—leaving Kairo time to find Jed before they decapitated him.
"Then everything is settled. Let's leave the cathedral. I don't like that name, Sky Tear. It could mean anything—but something good for us?" Celia urged, looking slightly pale after taking out the Judgment Sword. Still, she stood straight. Used to fatigue and pain, this was nothing for her—her expression seemed to say so.
"His inner self? You mean we could save everyone except my brother?" Jeder's face darkened, with veins drawing fine lines across his jaw. The Gemstone Dominance shone so brightly it appeared like two lights in place of his eyes.
Jeder moved toward Kairo, his fist cracking with a clear, ominous sound. Nyx and Leli stood in his way, trying to reason with him.
"Calm down, Jeder. This is not the moment for this," Nyx tried to reason. But Jeder was unreasonable. Pushing them aside, he lifted Kairo off the ground with a single hand—like he barely weighed anything.
Kaior felt a pang of guilt wash over him. All of this was entirely his fault. If he had not asked Jed to arrange that meeting in his state, he would have never been captured.
He wasn't defending himself, for inwardly he had that strange certainty that Jeder would not harm him.Not even now that he was blindly angry.
Kairo after looking at the surgeon's eyes for so long, came to recognize the dead in people's eyes. That was why he was so flustered glancing at Rellion's eyes. Maybe it was related to the Eye of Truth or what the surgeon said about the innerself, but he was clear: Jeder was not a murderer.
"Let's leave this place," Jeder shoved him to the side and walked away, disregarding the wolf broken under the debris. That's not my brother jus actions seemed to say.
Kairo and his group sprang into action. Nyx used Sifa to bind the wolf while Leli used her Miracle Sword to impede its movement.
Although they would be slow, they were not abandoning Jed here. At least Kairo would not.
Dragging the wolf with his wounded body, Kairo took the lead out. .
'All he wanted was the truth about the Deck of Origin, and look at how he ended up. What is the truth behind that deck? Is it real? Was it worth his humanity?'
Kairo could not answer this question, but he knew after today his father owed him a serious conversation. He was the head of the Card Mage Police—there was no way he couldn't know about it.
Kairo and his group arduously moved towards the exit. They had been almost at the fourth floor when Kaior met them, meaning they still had a long way to go. As they moved, Celia stopped at the rear and called out to the group.
"Hey guys, we have a problem," she said.
Kairo's face darkened. What could be worse than all that had happened today? Getting closer, they all glanced at the tablet. It was relaying what was going on outside the cathedral thanks to the general eye of Fabian. To be more precise—what was falling on them.
On the tablet, there was a single order: "Mission aborted. Abandon all incomplete objectives and leave the cathedral now!"
The sky had turned ember red, as if a blood moon was about to be formed. But it wasn't blood. Sliding down the void like tears, a dense and viscous substance fell—a mixture of red ember and darkish matter.
It connected with the ceiling of the cathedral and the next thing they knew, the entire building was crumbling. A massive hole appeared in between.
"Damn lava," Jeder cursed, escaping the droplets blocking their path.
....
Outside...
"Secure a perimeter and evacuate all the civilians out of this place. Don't ask questions and move, Fabian. Contact all the other officers to join us through the portals now. We need as much help as we can muster." Mirelle's expression had turned serious for the very first time since the beginning of the operation.
"Kairo and the others have still not returned. Should we not try to save them?" Fabian warned.
"I… we don't have time, Fabian. If these things touch the ground before we evacuate the civilians, it will be a carnage. I can't activate the Last Stand in seconds. This card requires some time to be operational," Mirelle said with a somber voice.
The Last Stand was exactly like the Sky Tears—these were cards that required some activation time for massive offensive or defensive abilities. That was why they didn't activate the Sky Tears immediately after they detected the Card Mage Police.
Fabian's eyes blinked in surprise. "But it is your—"
"Fabian, execute the orders or you will pay the price for all the lives lost here today. Danazan, I will need your speed to evacuate the most wounded officers," Mirelle continued giving orders.
While everyone was retreating away from the lava, she dove towards it. From her wrist gadget, a card was ejected, which she masterfully caught between her fingers.
"Last Stand."
The circuitry of the void responded to her command, and from the ground they rose—scrambling towards each other like living particles. Two flowery hands rose from the ground.
With each passing second, they grew and grew, like they were going to touch the sky. The Sky Tears were unstoppable—each droplet causing an entire building to crumble under its might. Tears and cries filled the air, while all the officers stared in awe at Mirelle Dorothy in the lava.
Around her, the lava was slowly getting closer, but comparatively slowly. Despite the heat, her expression never changed, and she kept her ground. Time was drawn into an eternity. The media had risen to the sky, with helicopters filming the scene in real time—with absolutely no fear of the danger it posed. The entire world was staring at her in the lava.
'That's why she is so respected. She doesn't hesitate to take matters into her hands so others don't have to face it,' Fabian smiled and began moving, setting the evacuation plan in motion. Card magic of this level was not to be underestimated.
"Get those ignorant fools out of the range of the Sky Tears," Fabian cursed at the journalists in the sky.