Burtu 1 had ascended back towards them, his body already fully healed. He exposed teeth that matched the moon's stark white as clouds drifted across it.
"Huh…" He lowered his head towards Burtu 2's blistering body, which had devolved into a shapeless mass of flesh.
"I'm not hearing his voice…" He nodded to confirm, then shook his head as if dislodging something from his ear.
"My mind doesn't feel open anymore…" A slow smirk spread across his face.
"Is this a taste of the freedom you promised me, Caes?!" He gripped his head with his hands, wriggling his body before spreading his arms wide, his pupils shifting.
"Even the pain I still feel on my body…"
"It doesn't hurt anymore!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, then broke into maniacal laughter.
"No… No… Just what is this?" Acis lowered her head in defeat, nodding.
"It isn't over yet…" Kacis groaned, panting heavily.
"The other one doesn't seem like he's coming back…"
"So what must have caused it…"
"A kick to the gut?" Kacis wondered, then watched Burtu 2's flesh heap dissolve into dust. He looked back at Burtu 1, who was still celebrating, his body unnaturally contorted.
"Now…" Burtu gasped, reaching his hand forward.
"Nothing is between me and my freedom." He stumbled as he walked, slowly regaining his original posture as he drew closer to Kacis.
Fear held Kacis and the others rigid. Kacis was the only one moving, slowly retreating from Burtu. The pursuit continued. Burtu then shrugged his shoulders and grunted, appearing on the verge of bursting open.
He gestured with his hands, and Kacis and the others felt solid, wall-like formations appear to their sides and behind them, leaving the front open for Burtu to attack.
As they tried to back away further, the invisible wall behind them vanished, causing Kacis to momentarily lose his balance mid-flight. Burtu rushed in, instantly closing the distance. But as his hands neared them, everything from his elbows to his fingertips began to blister and writhe, swelling visibly. He held his hands before his face, confusion etched on his features.
BLOP!
His hands burst, spraying black blood. His body instinctively recoiled, thrusting him far back from Kacis and the invisible walls he had created.
What is this?
He thought, his hands regenerating.
Just when I'm so close?!
Then he was overcome by an acute headache, feeling as if it attacked the middle of his brain.
Burtu squealed and grunted in pain, supporting his head with his hands.
Leave them!
The familiar mixed voices of Caes and Lezschill screamed within his mind.
"Why?!" Burtu groaned.
Just go back!
You absolutely cannot go further than this…
Or else you'll truly die!
The voice whined in his head as black liquid bled from Burtu's eyes.
"No, this isn't fair!" Burtu faced Kacis.
"When…"
"I'm…"
"So…"
"Close…" He panted, feeling exhausted for the first time since he entered the half-lit zone.
Kacis and Acis could only watch as Burtu appeared to fight within himself, thrashing around and struggling to get closer to them. Burtu walked towards them, resisting every primal instinct that rejected him from stepping forward.
He reached the invisible wall constructs, but as soon as he passed them, his whole body erupted in the same unnatural flame that had consumed the other Burtu. His skin immediately developed blisters, and blood oozed from every pore. He then felt a culmination of every pain he'd ever experienced rushing through him as he glared at Kacis and the others.
"Marichi…!" He slurred.
Wha...
…He sounds so…Weakened…
Marichi thought.
"Answer me, damn it!" He shouted. Marichi barely heard him and couldn't reply, even if he wanted to.
"....Argh!" Burtu twisted his body.
"Jorel…!"
"I can still hear your heartbeat…" He pointed his finger.
"Both of you!"
"So Speak!" He groaned.
"You're the cause of all my pain… Bringing me here…!" His voice sounded as if his throat were melting as he spoke.
"You both should die, so I can live!"
"It's the least you can do!"
Then, clenching his fingers together, trapping them, he walked all the way to them. The flames receded, vanishing from his body as if they had never been there. Burtu then stood there, still pointing his finger, faint trails of black dust floating off his body.
Hehe…
Burtu's mind suddenly felt at weird still ease, no longer hearing voices or experiencing hallucinations.
He widened his eyes and smiled faintly, part of the hate leaving his body along with the black dust, while confusion set in.
"The pain…"
"It's all gone…?" His voice sounded as it once did. He closed his eyes as a single tear traced a path down his left cheek.
His whole body then completely faded away, blowing off in the wind, erasing his very existence as if he had never been there.
Blutsatchel exhaled sharply. She lowered her hand and rested her head on Kacis's shoulder.
"I-Is it over?" She asked, an expression of confusion on her face, while Acis was also left speechless.
Kacis just blinked, slightly moving his head around, trying to process what had just happened. Marichi's mouth slightly hung open, trying to speak, but he had lost that energy long ago.
"L-Let's just use this opportunity and get to Tanten first, shall we?" Acis shuddered.
"Who knows whether he'll just come back…"
"I-I don't know what to expect anymore." The rush of adrenaline faded from Acis, and from everyone else.
The cool night breeze gently blew. The remaining leaves on the spiked trees danced, and the moon illuminated the exposed ground below, making it radiate like a mildly white sea.
"Y-Yeah…" Kacis nodded, then turned around, floating away, but still checking over his shoulder just in case, before flying off completely.
It's actually over…
From what I could hear…
He was right in front of us…until he wasn't?
Marichi tried to move his neck, but couldn't, restricted by his weakness and Acis's threads.
But sounds like we're all going now, no hiccups?
Shouldn't speak too soon, don't know what to expect…
Marichi thought, a faint smile of relief quickly fading.
He gently closed his eyes, but they betrayed his will, drifting off into a light slumber.
…
Exactly one day later, in Tanten, a town with jagged stone streets mixed with dirt and manure, dotted with buildings that had slightly cleaned windows and simple, moderately stained walls and decor. Birds that once flew above the people now rested on rooftops.
The people, appearing weary, dragged their feet. Some picked up scattered belongings off the street, others cleaned blood from in front of their shops as the wind carried light skirmishes of paper and groups of women talking within their cliques.
Now the birds rested their weary wings on the rooftop of a building that had a peculiar sign on it. The sign bore a black star-like shape with various tiny, sharp edges around its circular body, with a small scribble off to the side reading:
×Children Of The Lamb×
In a handwriting that looked either childlike or made by an adult in a hurry.
---The end of chapter 48---