Chapter 37

"Why did you lie to me, Kenshin?"

Hearing that question is a shock. Kenshin did not expect that Hanabi's memories would return at such crucial time. It would be harder to execute his plan now but still, he has to keep her by his side.

"If we're in a safe place, I will answer everything," he replies, "I promise."

Unable to stay awake for being inside the soul reap portal for too long, Hanabi slowly closes her eyes—weak and unable to keep awake.

"I..."

With a soft whisper, she continues, "I trust you, then."

Meanwhile, Grock comes running after their leader, making mini-earthquakes as he stomps his feet one after the other. But a boulder like him could not keep up with someone like Gusion who trained for combat and speed. Thus, he has another way to stop their leader from further running. Grock stops for a while and with both hands holding his purple weapon, he crushes the earth with all his might that shakes the ground, creating a loud break. Not only a gigantic wall appears before Gusion, halting him, but also a huge crack on the ground from behind.

With his stealth, he immediately jumps away from the cliff that is made by his colleague before he could fall into it.

"Grock!" he yells, "What is the matter?! Nephila has been taken away and I need to take her back!"

Grock did not want to receive his anger but it is only him whom he could ask help on. Lowering his head and slumping his rocky shoulders, he replies, "Harley needs help. He lost too much blood and Vespid could not stop the bleeding. Grock is begging you to save him!"

Torn between his two members on who shall he save first, Gusion is in a state of chaos. Yet, he calms himself before he could lose his rational mind and tries to sort things out. Letting out an exhale and keeping his posture straight, Gusion gives out his orders as he faces Grock.

"Go and look after Harley. Tell Vespid to search for Hanabi but should not engage in battle, it is too risky for her. I will get someone to heal Octopus," he instructs before parting ways with Monitor Lizard.

Gusion looks beyond the horizon and sees the translucent barrier that the mages of Magical City are maintaining to protect their land. A smirk suddenly forms on the edge of his lips when an idea hits him.

"It will be fun to do so," he says before heading towards the city.

"He's heading to the city!" Lolita exclaims but instead of going after him, Lesley runs towards the direction where Grock has run to.

"Lesley!" Lolita calls her out but only gets ignored so she has no choice but to go after her. If something happens to her, then their mission will be a failure. Nevertheless, her first priority is her safety. "The Vance siblings are such unpredictable manias!"

Running after her, she, then, realizes that Lesley is after her younger brother. But she somehow feels that the sniper is forcing herself to show no reaction at all when it involves Gusion.

"Kagura!" Lesley calls out as they run towards their direction. She sees Hayabusa struggling with the furious heat of magic. "Lolita, do escort Kagura and Hayabusa back to the city. Look for Mr. Vance, he knows how to counteract the magic of Harley."

But Lolita is against such idea. She promised to the princess that she would not leave Lesley's side.

"I needed to guard you," she states but Lesley pleads with her eyes reflecting much desperation.

"I do not want to fight, so please help them get back before Hayabusa gets in real trouble."

Heaving a sigh, Lolita gives in and goes with the two. It's now up to Lylia and Lesley to deal with Grock and Harley. And with the mage being injured is a great chance to talk with him and let them both take the serum.

"Grock is here to protect you," Grock says. His eyes could not focus on Harley because it pains him to see him like that. If only he is stronger, if only he stayed by his side, he could have protected him from harm. And he is also afraid that Lesley would get mad at him for letting Harley be injured.

"Don't..." Harley barely spoke with an audible voice. He is losing much blood that even his magic could not do anything to heal him or even relieve the pain. "Don't be sorry for me."

"Did you have fun doing all these?"

That feminine and somewhat scary voice is familiar and even without looking at her direction, Harley knows that it is his sister whom he did not listen to. A smirk slowly forms at the edge of his lips as he covers his teary eyes with his arm.

"Yes," he replies and with gritted teeth, he adds, "I had fun."

Seeing his quivering shoulders, Lesley knows that he is crying. She looks at Grock who immediately looks away from her and stares at the ground—his shoulders slumping forward.

She is about to get near Harley but Lylia stops her, tugging at her trench coat. Gripping at her wand tightly and her eyes filled with tears, she says, "Harley must have a reason."

A simple nod is Lesley's response. She does know that but it has gone out of hand for Harley's adventurous side did not only bring himself to trouble but the city is involved as well. She gets down on her knees and brought out the serum.

"It's time to go back," she states, "everyone is waiting."

She injects the serum on his arm as Harley's sobs echo around her. It pains her to see him like this but afterwards, he needs to face the consequences of his actions. She pats him by the shoulder before facing Grock who immediately sits as if Lesley is an angry teacher. He voluntarily stretches his scaly arm towards the sniper, his eyes still not meeting hers.

"Thank you for staying by my brother's side, Grock," she states with a smile as she injects the serum. The giant Monitor Lizard finally lifts his head and smiles at her with a small nod.

"Grock is sorry," he states which earns him a gentle and sweet smile from Lesley. She turns back her attention on her still crying brother and removes his armor so she could wrap some cloth on his chest to stop the bleeding.

"I have one request, Grock," she says, "please, take Harley with you and go back to the city."

"I don't want to," Harley insists, "I want to fight."

He gets up with a groan and meets the glare of his sister. Yet he does not want to change his mind. He has started already and he wants to finish the war with the magic cube at his hands. He is about to cast a spell so he could escape but nothing happens. He waves his wand over and over again while being watched by Lylia and Lesley.

"The serum is working," Lesley states despite being unsure if it truly is the serum's effect. It is not told to her that the serum could cancel any kind of magic but if Harley believes that he os deprived of using it, then that is much better. It would be easier to take him back. Before Harley could fight back, Lesley hits him at the back of his neck, making him lose his consciousness.

"Lylia, can you guide them?" Lesley asks.

"But I cannot leave you all alone," the black magician replies, "especially that Gusion is still out there."

However, Lesley insists that it is okay for her to be alone. She states that Lolita will be back for her in no time and there should be no longer minutes to waste. And if Gusion gets to know what happens to Harley and Grock, he might be enraged. The Monitor Lizard carries Harley who lost his consciousness and Lylia accompanies them back to the city.

As for Lesley, she scans the vicinity to search for Gusion's whereabout. But the moment she turns her head to the city which should be protected by a barrier, her eyes widen in shock. The barrier is no longer there and just above the city skies, Alice appears.

Before she could take a step forward, the SABER squad rushes towards the city at incredible speed. Not only Alice and the SABER squad are meant to be dealt with but also with Gusion who is on a rampage—killing mages even his kinsmen.

"This world is so messed up," Sivir states while watching from afar, "they are going against each other instead of fighting together."

"Ain't that a good thing? It would be easier to defeat them," Kenshin responds as he removes his hood—letting his silver hair flow with the direction of the wind— after letting Hanabi lie down just beside him.

"But it would be boring to fight them if they're not that strong. I know you think like that as well, Talon," says the warrior princess, making Kenshin shrug as a response. She shakes her head before walking towards the unconscious body of Hanabi. Looking at her from head to toe, a smile is drawn on her lips.

Sivir sits beside her and caressed her hair, "Rest for a while, my precious daughter."