No Promises Will Be Broken

~ "Tim! Hey! What the hell are you doing?! Don't just lie down there! Did you forget?! You said you'll kick Byron's ass! So, what the hell are you doing down there, slacking off! Byron is still here, so get a move on and beat him!"

"Are you listening?! Tim! Don't play around; get up! I know that you're still alive! Stop messing around, I know you can hear me! Remember that promise you made? You swore that people like Jawjack and Byron don't have the legal right to impose countries! I'm sure you remember, so get up!"

"Please hurry up and do it! Only you have the ability to defeat him! Byron will sell Tomomi if you don't hurry up! Please, just pay attention to me! Do you really want your friends to die?! Please, you're our only hope! Fight! Fight! Fight! Tim! We need you!"

"Tim! Please!!!"

"I BEG YOU!!!"

"WAKE UP!!!" ~

-

-

-

Their only chance to defeat Byron had vanished. Everyone was on the edge of quitting up after Tim's failure. There was little purpose in prolonging the struggle when only Byron, Joseph, Natan, Ellie, Kou, Karisa, and Ireene, together with the Sand Shark Surfers, were still fighting. The allies' abilities had significantly weakened, and those who were still fighting were stuck as a doll, too far away, or had succumbed to tiredness to match Byron's might.

Byron's enthusiasm for victory was at an all-time high, and he was holding a high-price spirit that he planned to offer to the world government as an ideal money prize. Kou had given up all hope and had given in to despair. Ireene and Karisa remained still in front of the pile of shattered ceilings while he knelt on the four limbs, unable to move. Ireene's faith in Tim had eroded, and the terror of Byron's continued dominance was the only thought that ran through her head.

Just like Kou, she collapsed onto her limbs.

She began to cry silently with her tears splashing on the floor. Even if King Artemis was saved, she understood that nobody had enough power to defeat Byron. Not even Ellie and Natan, who had been opposed by Joseph on the Southern area of the kingdom.

They seemed to struggle in the battle against him and couldn't come up with a perfect solution to winning.

Everything that they once hoped for was lost...

"It's over... Despite your captain's assistance, we were defeated by Byron. I still want to believe in Tim, but no matter how hard I try, I can't... He isn't moving an inch, and everyone else is either severely injured or still fighting. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought you into this hopeless fight. Everything is my fault. There would be no reason for any of you to be concerned about saving the kingdom. If I had only remained silent, no one would have been wounded."

Karisa stood immobile. She was looking down at Ireene with her eyes a bit shivery. She quickly crouched and grabbed Ireene's shoulder with a smile. She began her solemn speech that was important for her to say it.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You are not to blame. We made the decision to assist you on our own. We could have declined at any time, but in the end, we never did. After all, who said we've lost? Tim may be out for the count, but there are still many more who can fight. I can fight, and I'm confident that others who are still fighting will come to our aid! We haven't been defeated. Tim's promise was heard. Whatever happens, we'll make certain that Byron is ultimately laid to rest. Don't give up on us; we're still here, and that's all that matters."

Kou smiled, then noticed Ireene raising her head and looked into her eyes. Ireene seemed to have had wet eyes and still felt terrible to have put everybody through the chaos. She couldn't forgive herself, no matter how hard she tried or what Karisa said.

"But-!"

"There's no buts. Don't think we've lost for a second, because it the end, we'll prevail no matter what."

Karisa got up and walked over to the window. She climbed to the top and immediately grabbed the window frame. She looked to have concentrated her stare on Tim's lifeless body, expressing proper determination and seriousness.

"Tim, isn't that right? You didn't actually lose, did you?! You didn't, I'm sure. If you've lost, there's no way you could have been selected as the captain! Even though I've only known you for a few weeks due to our travel across the Vast Expanse, I know you haven't lost! Those wounds on your body must be terrible, yet injuries of such magnitude can't stop you, can they?! Of course they can't, so get up and do something! Do you hear other people shouting your name? You don't want to let them down, do you? I know you'd never forgive yourself if that happened! So take a deep breath and stand up!"

Somehow, Tim's ears managed to detect their voices. His fingers gripped the sand and they shivered, while the rest of his body continued to be immobile.

"If you don't stand up now, then what's the point of making promises if you can't keep them! Me and Natan started to follow you for this exact reasons! You and your friends did so much for us, which gave us enough information and trust to follow you! You helped us stopping the Jawjack and his army, and you managed to defeat Clawford in the Grim Isle, and even managed to gain trust by the one and only Shadow Rider who had been known to be working alone and hunt down pirates!"

Tim's mouth continued to remain serious as his hands continued to shiver.

"Do you understand what that means?! You were able to attract and ally, someone that no one else could! I'm confident that my and his joining the crew wasn't only by chance, but rather because you have something that other people don't! Do you think I'd have joined you and your crew just to draw the maps I'd been wanting to draw for so long? I'm afraid not! Even if there weren't many, all of the moments we've had so far have been done with importance and trust in you as the captain. I'll confess that I'm not strong enough to battle Byron, but if you don't beat him now, there's no purpose in trying to return home, and there's no point in making this difficult journey to bring Ayuka here for the doctor!"

"So, one last time I'll say..."

"Stand up and kick Byron's ass!!!"

Just like Kou's voice, Karisa's reverberated through the terrain with Byron still laughing on the fifth level. Out of nowhere Tim's unconscious mouth formed into a smile and then a sudden blue and white flame started to ignite on his chest wound as well as his arm wound. They started to heal and recover his strength as others' eyes couldn't notice it.

"Right..."

He spoke quietly. The flame spread throughout his body and quickly dispersed in an instant. The wounds were healed in matter of seconds and suddenly an eruption occurred around his body. The flames burst into the air like a volcano and everyone's views instantly fixed onto Tim's body. It completely stopped Byron's laugh who looked in surprise.

Tim, who was lying on the floor, sighed and held the front of his head. "You guys have a lot of faith in me, huh? It would be straight out dumb for me to lose against someone I promised I'd kick their ass. When I make promises, I always follow through."

His arms suddenly caught fire and turned into blue and white wings that spread outward. He shot into the air at breakneck speed, then spread both of his wings and exploded into blue flames that swirled through the heat before crashing to the ground, the flames pouring down on him and being extinguished in the sand.

Tim smiled and cracked his bones in his hands and neck, then dropped his arms and looked up at Byron with confidence. He tapped the ground twice with his toes after lifting the rear of his right heel. As he carefully crouched and stretched his right leg behind him, it quickly flared with blue flames. He knelt on the floor with both palms and crouched with his left knee crossed and both eyes flaming bright blue.

"Devil's Blaze..."

Tim clenched the muscles in both of his legs and elevated his bottom while lighting blue flames in both of his arms. The floor underneath Tim suddenly cracked and a crater formed within it. It flung the sand aside as he leapt through the air, releasing blue flames from his fists that detonated in a tremendous explosion.

Tim's speed was unmatched by any he had previously used professionally, and he appeared in front of Byron with the speed of a jet, leaving a long trail of blue flames that pulsed out like a shock wave and completely engulfed the area in blue colors, and with the speed of a jet, Tim appeared in front of Byron, whose eyes shook on the spot, seeing a menacing pose of Tim's body in front.

"Infernal Pummel!"

Tim flung his flaming leg behind his back, obliquely beneath his arms, and slammed his shin into Byron's hip, twisting his torso and legs to the side. As he spit blood from the attack, the flames totally burned the side of his hip. Tim drove his leg deeper into his hip, fully shattering Byron's sternum, which spread through his ribs and completely fractured them.

Tim turned in mid-air and landed on the floor in front of Kou, Tomomi, and King Artemis after smashing Byron's body through a row of cracked sandstone walls and then crashing Byron's body into one of the distant buildings. They looked at him with terrified eyes after witnessing Tim's actual force, despite the fact that he had lost his weapon.

Tim's eyes were briefly obscured by his hair, but when his face revealed his eyes, his mouth formed a big smile. Everyone around him was hushed as he stood up straight and clutched the top of his hood.

"Now that I know your weakness, I will say this without hesitation. Byron..."

"Hehe..."

"I'm going to kick your ass!!!"

The battle continues...