Speck of Light

Sarah looked back, witnessing more than a thousand monsters running, roaring loudly, expressing their thirst for slaughter.

As she turned her gaze towards Zent, who was kneeling up there, accompanied by Celine with a sword in her grasp, Sarah stomped once again on the Mech beneath her, pressing it deeper into the ground and leaping.

Not far above, Celine caught a glimpse of purple light passing by before finally exploding behind. The monsters were thrown into the air, crashing into buildings, splattering dark purplish blood everywhere.

In the midst of the horde of monsters, which somehow avoided her, Sarah extended her hand, conjuring numerous sharp purple thorns.

The thorns shot forward, piercing the bodies of each monster, leaving behind large holes before exploding upon touching the ground, sending so much gray-skinned purple flesh into the air. Torn apart, no longer recognizable.

Seeing this, Celine naturally wanted to help. However, Zent suddenly falling to his knees, trembling, made her worried.

The last time she saw him like this was when he accidentally killed Rengar.

"Zent..." she called softly.

"I did it again, Celine. I killed innocent people... Again."

"What do you mean? It wasn't you who made them-"

"IT WAS ME! I AM THE CAUSE!"

Celine flinched slightly, shaking her head to dispel the uncomfortable feelings in her heart, moving closer to Zent and resting his head against her body. "I don't know what happened, but I believe you didn't mean to do it."

Unable to hold back, tears were already streaming down her cheeks. With each comforting touch, once again, it broke through every defense I had set up in my heart, destroying every wall and revealing my true self...

The self I despised.

I shouldn't be crying, not like this, not now.

I have to take responsibility; I have to fix everything.

But...

It's heavy.

It's too heavy.

Just lifting my body feels like carrying a burden.

What should I do? Glory can't fix this.

I wish I could turn back time and fix everything.

However, I don't know if I can do it, if I will still be alive after going back two months earlier. When even slowing down time for just two seconds leaves me exhausted.

Again I'm... I have to play in the palm of his hand again.

There's nothing I can do, nothing I can fix!

EVERYTHING REPEATS!!

WHY!?

WHY ME!?

Celine hugged him tighter, allowing Zent to cry and pour out his heart completely. There, she could feel how heavy the burden Zent carried.

"Once again, he bears such a heavy burden. What has actually happened to you, Zent? Why won't you tell me?" she wondered in her heart.

Sarah looked back, feeling a sudden discomfort in her chest. She found Zent crying loudly now.

She wished she could go there, offering him comfort just as Celine was doing now. But there were so many monsters she had to face to ensure they didn't harm either of them. She wouldn't let them even touch a single strand of Zent's hair.

"They are the reason for Zent's current state,".

She floated high, clasping her hands together, forming a purple energy ball that slowly grew larger as she drew in more energy. Once it had become the size of a house, Sarah lifted the energy ball high and used her right hand to slam it down.

An energy explosion occurred, quickly spreading through the main road and small alleys without touching any buildings, eradicating the monsters and turning them into a pile of ash, which was then carried away by the wind.

Sarah extended her right hand forward, absorbing the dark energy from the bodies of the monsters and using it to strengthen herself.

Unfortunately, the attack couldn't cover the entire kingdom, so many monsters were still left. If she used her full power, Sarah was worried that Zent would be affected and it might endanger his soul.

Suddenly, from behind, a large hand gripped her body. It was so tight, so strong that it felt suffocating.

The hand pulled her back swiftly, slamming her body as it merged back into the arm.

Sarah looked to the side, finding the Mech standing once again.

As she tried to break free, Sarah screamed in agony, feeling not just her strength but also her soul being sucked into the Mech's body.

Sarah fought hard to endure, trying to protect her soul from being sucked in or it would be difficult for Zent and the others to stop it. She had already experienced much worse pain than this, so this was nothing; she just needed to hold on for a while and find a way out.

But her screams could still be heard, so heartbreaking and reminding Zent of something that happened long ago.

The memory was blurry, too vague for him to understand fully.

But the feelings he was experiencing now were just like in the memory.

Zent stood up, surprising Celine, who wanted to ask if he was okay.

However, before she could say anything, the vehicle Zent had been driving suddenly appeared on the main road, speeding along. Inside it, four people were now cheering enthusiastically.

Zent looked over there, finding his four teammates looking so alive, so happy. Witnessing their wide smiles brought a glimmer of light to his heart, which was currently filled with darkness.

Z folded his arms, grinning happily. "It seems like your decision to form that crazy group wasn't all that bad."

The car sped fast, passing through every debris of buildings with a agility that should be possessed only by professionals. But William could do it so effortlessly, as if he was born for this.

When a debris of a building fell, Zent intended to save them. However, he hesitated when he saw William drifting around the debris, jumping through the raised road, and landing safely.

Her smile slowly expanded, as if she was witnessing her students, whom she had trained for a long time, now showcasing their abilities.

Zent ran to the edge of the building, intending to observe them more closely.

William took a turn, choosing a path with high mounds of soil.

The engines roared loudly, filled with enthusiasm, carrying them towards a higher goal, a life they never imagined they would experience.

The car leaped, soaring through the air, where the sunlight shone upon them, illuminating their eyes that now sparkled with excitement.

The door opened, and they jumped out, simultaneously with the right headlight coming off, as if depicting the car's final tear before it continued its journey to reach their dreams.

They watched it, observing how the car was ready to collide with the giant Mech like David against Goliath. Its black color shimmered under the sunlight, ready to defeat the dark black on the Mech's body.

Just before hitting it, Zent created numerous laser-edged discs of various sizes in front, slicing into the Mech's body and penetrating through before finally coming out from behind.

The car arrived safely, spinning and accidentally drifting as it hit a rock, as if it were truly alive.

Thanks to that, Sarah managed to get out, harnessing the chaotic flow of energy from the Mech. She pulled its arm until it detached from the body and threw it far across the city.

Seeing that, I descended along with Celine, asking her to give me the shield spell again, which I quickly used in front of the four of them. Debris from the buildings, unintentionally affected by Sarah, slammed into the shield, rolling over and falling not far in front of us, accompanied by a thick cloud of dust.

I turned back to them, finding the four already enthusiastic, eager to do more crazy things. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine-"

"ARE YOU KIDDING!? IT'S THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED!" Armon exclaimed passionately, cutting off William.

"Much better than crashing planes, right?" he asked.

Armon nodded eagerly. "Of course! In the plane, we still relied on Zent's help! But now, we do everything on our own!"

"Technically, Zent is still helping us by creating those weird saws in front of the vehicle earlier," Heather replied, causing Armon's grin to fade and be replaced by annoyance.

"Can't you all see me happy for once?"

Celine nudged my arm gently, asking, "Who are they?"

I leaned closer and whispered, "Members of my crew."

Celine's eyes widened, as I knew she must be eager to join them. But unfortunately, our attention was once again drawn to the fight happening behind us.

If that Mech were a human, they would probably be severely beaten by now, enduring so many blows and slashes from Sarah, who was raging, causing her body to be enveloped in a dark purple aura.

"Should we stop her?" William asked fearfully.

I looked over, observing the significant damage done to the Mech, which could no longer fight back, and shrugged, saying, "Meh. We might end up getting hit by stray attacks."