FAREWELL, AZARNIUN

"The Generals are here!"

Everyone shouted like barbarians filled with rejoicing as they saw the 5th and 4th General arrive at the East Medical Facility. But their joy had vanished when a figure of Lucien stood carrying a gravely injured man on his back. The man's eyes were shut while his whole body was charred with burns and deep scars. His arm hangs loosely in the 5th General's shoulder as it was tinged in blood.

Algard's body suffered from a degree of burns, his skin became uneven and other parts of it were starting to peel. The warmth in his physique is growing to fade and the pumping on his chest halted. Yet, the two Generals had forced themselves to believe that there was still a chance to save him.

Nurses brought a stretcher, rushing to their aid and carefully taking the patient to lay him on the sheets. Their expression was plastered with panic gazing at Algard. People surrounding them murmured something to one another while others were terrified and frozen on their feet, mumbling the words 'we're all gonna die'

"Move," Said Fuyumi. The crowd cleared their path—turning their heads to the other side as their expressions changed while looking at the state of the 6th General. He's already dead, and they can't do anything about it. Yet, Fuyumi was still in a rush, almost crashing into everyone they encountered.

Everyone had immediately given them a way inside the institute. The nurses remained in taking the stretcher to emergency as Fuyumi and Lucien had stopped at a counter. "Take us to Errapel," Fuyumi said.

The medical officer noticed her presence which made him immediately stand up. "General Kazahana! we can't-"

"Don't make me repeat myself"

The man started sweating and his hands shook in nervousness. His head hesitantly surveyed his surroundings and once he had confirmed that everything was clear, he nodded at the two Generals—turning his heels to go out of the counter in guiding them through a certain direction. Lucien had told the nurses who brought Algard to the emergency to bring him to where they were going. And the medical officials had taken his orders, moving the patient to a different way from the halls.

The man from the counter took the lead as their footsteps made a noise throughout the facility, almost running to avoid wasting any time. Every person that they pass would lower their head at the Generals.

They turned into a corner, stopping into an isolated room that said 'No person unattended allowed'. Its oak door was marked by silver glowing symbols floating in front. The man from the counter glanced at General Kazahana as the woman's eyes remained on the door.

"General Kazahana and Voigt, are you sure of this?" The man asked, both of his hands were kept behind his back, gripping each other in nervousness.

Fuyumi darted him a sharp gaze, "Were there any mistakes to my order that you needed to-"

"Please," Lucien told the man.

The man nodded, heaving a sigh. He placed his right palm on the door, closing his eyes. His whole body oozed in gray energy as his white scrub moved to its pressure. His aura increased slowly and his mouth moved in short whispers unheard by the two Generals.

Symbols on the oak door vanished completely and a ringing sound was heard when the door opened for them. The entrance slid to each side, inside was a small space as if an elevator with its controls and buttons at the corner.

"Marcus," Said Fuyumi, glancing at the man's nameplate. She stepped carefully into the elevator, facing them. "In time, I assure the Kazahana family's assistance with your whereabouts."

The man flushed at the General's words. Unable to make his words properly, "T-thank you Fourth General! And uhm,!" He exclaimed, rummaging through his pockets and finally taking a hold of a silver card.

Lucien walked inside and Marcus followed–he used the card towards the controls sliding it through the side of the control buttons.

For the rest of the trip, the room drowned in silence. To be in a room with two Generals is really world trembling for Marcus. His fingers were kept on fidgeting at the ends of his shirt. Though on the Generals side, Fuyumi and Lucien had known that their actions won't guarantee anything. Still, they had gambled on risking for the sake of Algard.

It had taken them more than a minute to reach the deepest floor of the facility. The lights inside the elevator started to flicker upon the ringing sound of its doors opening. Lucien and Fuyumi stepped outside while Marcus was left inside to get back on his work at the counter.

The underground was filled with almost dying lights, they blinked repeatedly creating a gloom inside. On the left side of the elevator, there was a concrete tunnel, and the rest of the area was filled with water pipes hanging on the walls. A Pile of metal pieces lay beside a white door, 'Errapel Kamiyama' was hanged in front and it was the only part of the area that was enlightened properly as if the place were already abandoned and images of horror would start to play tricks onto their eyes.

The wheels of the stretcher creaked coming from the tunnel as the nurses stopped beside Fuyumi and Lucien. The two Generals took another step near the door while the flickering of the lights made the nurses mutter their silent prayers.

"I didn't give anyone an invitation for a tea party" The nurses yelped at the stranger's voice and one of them had almost crawled over the stretcher to take the sheets in hiding.

A silver-haired man walked from the shadows taking a glance at them. A tobacco pipe rested on his mouth as his face was seen clearly when he had stood in front of the white door. Visible lines were seen through his ivory complexion.

"Errapel, we need your power-"

He stopped Fuyumi's words, raising his hand in front of her. "I'm not a god to bring back the dead"

Lucien and Fuyumi glanced at each other, their eyes reflected remorse and grief. It's the only thing that they could give as a response, mere words can't even hold from the ends of their tongue. And since Errapel's words struck them, they can't make themselves accept the fact.

The man gave a deep breath looking at the two Generals. He took his smoking pipe and blew the final smoke. "Take him inside. And you two shall remain on the frontlines. Leave him to me" Errapel took the door to open it as the nurses hesitantly moved the stretcher inside. Loosening his tie and unbuttoning his sleeves, he gave them a serious glance. "By the time you come back here again, he might still be dead. So don't expect too much"

The door was shut in front of them. But their hopes had been restored.

Nurses had started to prepare the necessary things needed for the treatment. Clanks of objects rang inside the room filled with medical necessities.

There was a spot for paperwork at the corner. On the other side, a white curtain reached the grounds covering two hospital beds where Algard was placed. And a towering bookshelf and lined cabinets lingered in the room making it far from what it's like outside.

Errapel stared at the wall clock hanging near his office area. "If only, you were here. This won't happen, First General..." His eyes softened in silence. He heaved a sigh, as he began to approach the patient.

Hiro and Mitsuka continued surveying the medical facility. They volunteered to help in running errands, knowing that joining the frontlines won't do them any good as they might be a casualty. Their hands carried certain boxes and bags, walking them inside the stockroom.

"Are these complete?" Mitsuka said, glancing over the package that had almost reached the top of her head.

"Yes, and we just need to get a new supply" Hiro answered, placing the boxes down to wipe the sweat on his forehead. "Let's hurry"

Glass bottles inside the cartons were clinking against each other as the two worked together in placing them on the shelves. Hiro climbed the shelf's ladder and Mitsuka gave him the boxes from the ground.

They were careful not to drop any since the packages contained fragile glasses of antibiotics and medication. When there were enough rows of it on the shelf's third floor, Hiro went down the ladder and they continued placing the remaining boxes beside the cabinet to pile the last three. There are five towering shelves in the room and each contains sealed packages and jars. The two went over the last shelf, reading the labels carefully and gently reaching new boxes for them to deliver to the nurses and doctors outside.

Hiro ushered in carrying three packages as Mitsuka had no choice but to handle the remaining two. Their heads were tilted to the side to avoid crashing with someone in front of them.

They walked carefully to the door, Mitsuka pushed it slightly with her feet and Hiro followed her outside. She pushed the door on her elbow and the two ventured through the halls once again.

The corridors were filled with footsteps and staff were busy rushing to one room and another, everyone had their eyes straight on their patients muttering and nodding with kindness that some didn't have the time to look for themselves. Their faces were plastered with exhaustion and someone who had not eaten proper meals.

Other patients who suffered in the battle remained in the corners, they were bandaged and their backs laid on a blanket from the cold ground. Over a thousand injured soldiers and civilians were brought inside the facility and they don't have enough rooms to accommodate everyone.

Hiro stopped in his tracks; his eyes widened as his hands started to grow cold. He had wanted to turn back and lie to Mitsuka that he had forgotten something, but the pinch of nervousness had made him speechless. He saw a figure of a woman standing not far from them and beside the lady was the 5th General. The traces of the crown from her zero zone had faded a long way back and her long blond hair was half braided as if resembling another tiara, there was a small ice-blue flower clipped on it. And the rest of her hair reached below the waist.

Her back was turned towards them; she was speaking to Lucien who had noticed their presence. The 5th General gave them a look, "You two are safe, that's good" He said.

Fuyumi turned her head in their direction.

Hiro was met with cyan eyes as the anxiety he had felt a while back was starting to take over him. The figure of his sister was like mirroring a female version of himself. Their resemblance was undeniable, both of their features were almost identical and it was easy to determine their relation to each other.

"Thank you, sir, ma'am," Mitsuka managed not to stutter. She was the one who broke the silence, taking a short glance at the young man beside her. But Hiro didn't move nor utter his greetings when he would always be the first one to speak formalities to people—especially these kinds of people.

Lucien gave her a small smile as a response, while the 4th General didn't speak to them.

"Let's go" Averting her eyes from the two, Fuyumi started to walk ahead of them. Lucien gave Hiro and Mitsuka a final glance, following her.

Hiro wanted to speak to the 4th General. The only conversation they ever had is when a meeting was held with the family—to talk about certain matters. He had never casually spoken to her, and if there was a time his mouth would accidentally call her "sister" he would always rephrase it to "General Kazahana".

"Hiro?" Mitsuka said.

"Yes?" Hiro asked, beginning to restore his composure.

"Is everything all right?" Mitsuka was quite hesitant.

Hiro met her eyes, as he gave her a gentle smile. "Yes, thank you for asking," He uttered.

---

With thunders that nearly shook the ground, Raijin continued to lay his fists towards the giant Surtr. And it continued to match his counters. Not caring about anything at the current moment, he landed an enormous strike of lightning, rapidly electrifying the creature who summoned flames that clashed with his power.

Fire crackles and explosions echoed everywhere, debris and rocks falling out of the mountains had come flying their way. But before it could hit him, there was a straight flash of lightning that came rushing to destroy them.

Every movement of Raijin was like a snap of a finger. Even he had no idea how the bluish light of his powers and the chushin had suddenly grown into a violet light. It made him almost stand out on the battlefield; the violet lightning emerged threatening energy that continuously flashed beams colliding with the charges of flames.

He was flashing through the air as if teleporting in blinks of violet light. In a second, Raijin would strike a charge at Surtr's back and appear at the creature's front and sides again. He was filled with hatred, focused solely on killing.

This was the first time that he had the urge of blood lust. During his fight with Kato, he had felt as if his body were being pulled to something that he had the strength to strangle Kato to death. But right now, there was no uncanny sensation.

His eyes were lifeless. He peered at the creature; his hair was blown by the wind as his palms were raised in front of the giant's face. The creature stopped from its growls and was frozen. It sensed the outrage of the young man's energy mixed with the sinister blood lust of his aura.

"Die," Raijin said. Four circles that carried unfamiliar symbols emerged from the skies. It glowed in a violet light as the markings encircled around to reposition themselves on the circle's rim.

There was a gleam of violet strike directed to Surtr, the dominant power of it made the heavens roar in thunders that shook the earth. Followed by an immediate thud in the skies that had startled everyone. Raijin didn't give the fire giant a time to breathe.

Strike after strike, there were no pauses made. Surtr was covered in the entirety of lightning. The power that came from the four circles had put him into torture and destruction. Enormous streaks of lightning came so vigorously that the creature's cry was covered in thunder.

The Generals took a second to notice that the young man's figure from above was almost like someone who's bestowing punishment on a sinner. They wanted him to stop raising madness outside because the force might break the spheres of the 2nd General. Yet defeating Fajra before them comes first.

It was out of count on how many times Surtr made a cry. And this time, with his last growl—there was a sound of flesh slicing apart. A third eye had emerged on the fire giant's forehead. His flame sword blocked the strikes from the sky, but it was useless. Even the blade itself had given up, turning into dust. Though it had caused the tension of Surtr's energy to spike up, letting out his remaining power.

There was a straight beam of hot liquid and magma that came out of the eye, burning a straight path on the ground following Raijin's direction on air. He had quickly dodged it, discharging the last lightning from the circles after it disappeared completely. As it faded away, Raijin felt an amount of exhaustion hitting his body and the toll he had received in battling. He's at his limits.

His breathing was hard, panting continuously. Raijin covered his mouth and there was blood after he let out a cough. Yet, he disregarded it to face Surtr before him.

In a quick move, Raijin managed to create a distance between the two of them to prepare himself to launch his final blow. As if Surtr had foreseen this, he had also concentrated every inch of energy he had, charging an attack to collide with Raijin's.

"This sensation..." Fajra uttered, still exchanging blows with the Generals who didn't have a chance to catch their breath. "That boy is..." his expressions had quickly changed and a loud laugh of delight was heard once again. "That boy! He is the-"

"He is what?" Appearing behind him, General Noguchi succeeded in launching an attack. The cut created a flow of blood on the god's back, immobilizing him for a short time.

Taking this chance, Akaru proceeded in supporting Seratsuki's attack, creating a straight thread of light that pierced the god's chest. "I missed," The 2nd General said.

A sound of annoyance escaped Fajra's mouth. He did not anticipate that losing his focus for a second would result in something like this. Convincing himself that these people before him were only mortals and one of the Anshiantiae they despise, was not easy. 'If they're in the palaces they might even take someone's throne, especially these two' Fajra thought. Creating charges of flames once again to divert the Generals' attention as he started to make his way towards Surtr.

"Glacial"

Fajra was blocked with chunks of ice on his path. Fuyumi had positioned herself on the battlefield with Lucien, followed by Hermes and Nova who had just finished battling with the fiery figures.

"Sorry for making you wait," Hermes said, scratching the back of his head as a yawn escaped his mouth.

"How is Yozou?" Akaru asked.

"We don't know yet," Said Lucien.

With a glance at each other that served as a signal to execute their attacks on the god, each General had started to charge at Fajra at the same time.

Raijin's body was on the brink of falling apart from exhaustion. But he still forced his energy to heighten; fusions of violet lightning surrounded his body once more.

There was a cold drop of water that had fallen on his cheeks. His eyes ventured to the skies, as the rain began pouring. His whole body was dampened with water feeling the slightly cold breeze hitting his skin. He took a glance at the situation below, the Generals were still fighting against the god. Yet, the figure of the man he was aching to see, was nowhere there.

As soon as the rain was getting heavy, Surtr's furious gaze met him.

Raijin's whole body flashed, charging towards the giant who had a spiral of flames all over him. The rain does not seem to diffuse the fire. And two circles parted from Surtr blazed furiously, coming forth to Raijin as if to trap him inside it.

Raijin's lightning had collided with the fire and an explosion impacted the whole area. The collision had almost destroyed everything on its path. If it weren't for the spheres protecting the people, they might have been affected by the clash.

The scream of the young man as he launched his final attack on Surtr was heard. His arms suffered burns, pushing his way through the creature.

Lightning pierced through the spiral of flames and onto the giant's flesh, it created a hole on Surtr's body—erupting into pieces.

Raijin landed on the ground, and when he thought it was over, a voice reached up to him.

"Raijin, thank you..."

The expression of anger and bloodlust halted when his eyes saw the creature crumble and Kato appeared after him. His body was punctured with a hole similar to the one he had given the fire giant. Kato was almost decaying, and he struggled to keep his feet on the ground.

"H-how" Raijin's eyes were wide in shock and confusion.

Kato stumbled over. And for a moment, Raijin did not think twice but to catch Kato from the fall—helping him carefully onto the ground. Coughs of blood were all the Guardian could reply to him.

"K-kato" Raijin uttered. Even if Kato had betrayed him before and tried to kill him twice, there was still a sense of sympathy and guilt left for him.

"Keep your word. End this war" Kato's voice faltered.

Raijin was stunned, he did not expect him to say those words. But just as he could utter another phrase, Raijin felt Kato's weight on him as his consciousness vanished. "Kato?" He called him out once again, but there was no response. "Kato! Answer me!" Fear washed over Raijin as Kato's struggling breaths were nowhere to be heard.

The face of the Flame Guardian showed a final smile and his mind had wandered in silence.

I'll leave everything to you,

I can now die in peace...

Thank you, Raijin.