Elir held Nier in his arms, tears were streaming down his face, and screamed hysterically:
"What do I do now... Why wouldn't you let me have just one good thing... Why wouldn't you let me live in peace with him..."
Nier's smiling face danced before his eyes as he looked at Nier's lifeless features... All of this... His entire life... Was to protect Nier...
A volley of flaming meteors rose in the sky above Elir and Nier… They blanketed the blue sky, gleaming in a majestic crimson color...
From a distance, Rin was screaming, calling out and begging Elir:
"Please, Elir... Get away...!"
Elir didn't move. Rin tried to run to him, but Berko and Ayk held him back with difficulty, dragging him into the ruins of some house for shelter. Rin was still trying to wrench free of their hold on his clothes!!
Berko yelled at him, "What are you doing?! Have you gone mad?!"
Rin wept, shouting with all his might toward Elir, "Elir! Move away!! Let me go!!"
Valwa lowered his hand... The flaming meteors sparkled in the eyes of Rin, Berko, and Ayk... They watched them descend upon Elir and Nier's bodies...
Most of the meteors crashed to the ground all around them... But... those positioned right above Nier and Elir... fell with full force, penetrating Elir's body...
The sound of the fiery meteors colliding with Elir's body drowned out Rin's screaming. The meteors tore through Elir, gradually setting him on fire... But Elir didn't move. He was still looking at Nier's body...
Even as his own strength began to fail, he braced one hand against the ground to support his body, and supporting Nier's head in his lap with the other hand... He refused to look away from Nier's face...
But... no matter how hard he looked... Nier wouldn't wake up... No matter how much he called him... he wouldn't wake...
Then… he saw the meteors… as they gradually pierced Nier's body... one after another... Nier's body convulsed beneath them…
Elir clutched his own head, overwhelmed by terrible pain... Involuntarily, he let go of Nier's head... Yet... it was as if he had lost control of his body... The meteors were still raining down... piercing Nier's head...
He screamed as he tried to move closer to protect Nier, but... that pain... Elir had never felt anything like it… Elir let out a horrible, choked scream… like the cry of a wounded animal…
He collapsed to the ground, still writhing, as everyone watched in fear, eyes wide… Rin mumbled his name… He heard Elir's screams… and couldn't save him... He couldn't do anything…
It was as though the pain of each flaming meteor struck Elir all at once… No… even worse than that…
Valwa approached to finish the job… He didn't know whether he did so to complete his mission, or out of pity for this young man...
But… before he drew near, Valwa froze in place... Terror gripped his heart… What was this… what was this feeling…
The fiery meteors halted… Valwa backed away, watching… Elir… his body twisted… until enormous black bones emerged from his back… A black skin spread over the bones as they rose into the sky…
Valwa could see it clearly now… they were… wings…
Valwa's eyes widened in horror. He watched a halo of eyes gathering at Elir's head… 10 Eyes opened around Elir's body… all of them… weeping…
Valwa collapsed to the ground, terror spreading through his limbs as he watched. He raised his hand weakly, letting loose a torrent of fire, but it all shattered against Elir's body the moment it touched him…
There was no doubt… no doubt at all…
Berko said in horror, crawling backward and screaming, "What is that… Is that… a Light?!"
Rin's eyes grew wide with dread as he looked at Elir, with wings and eyes all over his body… His legs moved on their own, carrying him toward Elir… He could still feel that… even in that state, Elir needed help…
Valwa lifted his arm upward, his voice on the verge of tears, "Divine punishment… a storm of fire…"
Dark clouds cloaked the sky, wrapping the ruins of Bial in a shroud of blackness… The clouds roared, preparing to pour down…
Ayk yanked Rin, who was about to step out from their hiding place, and screamed, "What are you doing man?! Don't you see those clouds… They're about to rain fire, for God's sake!"
The clouds began to unleash a torrent of flames… turning what remained of Bial into a mound of ash…
The fiery rain fell heavily over Elir's body… but… it disintegrated as soon as it touched him… without leaving a single scratch!
Berko cried out in astonishment as he watched, "We must get out of here!!"
Rin said, "We can't leave Nier!"
Berko shouted in panic, "What!!"
Rin answered, "Don't you think he'll want a proper goodbye?!"
Berko said, "What are you talking about? Why does it matter what that monster wants now?!"
Berko screamed, "Don't you see?! He's a Light!!"
And as he said those words, he finally understood… Elir… was a Light…
Ayk spoke as he rose, "Maybe you see him as a monster because you don't see us as humans…"
Ayk fought back the tears in his eyes as he continued, "I'll bring back his Nier's body! Not just for Elir, but for Nier too."
Rin stood, leaning on his wounded leg, and said to Berko with a faint smile, "What's wrong, Berko… We have done everything together, are you going to let me now?!"
But… the Berko standing before him… he wasn't the friend Rin knew. That terror… that panic… had changed his familiar features. Rin's smile vanished as he muttered in surprise, "Berko…"
Berko screamed, clutching his head, thrashing it side to side, "No… This isn't happening… This isn't happening…"
Ayk said, "Leave him be. He's no help to us like this." Then he turned to Rin and said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
Rin nodded firmly!
Ayk continued, glancing at Elir, "His wings are huge… We can move underneath them quickly so the flames won't hit us."
Someone… from behind… was watching them… He moved closer with slow steps… raising his weapon… before saying, "You're not going anywhere!"
Rin and Ayk turned in surprise… to find one of the red-robed men… lifting his sword. Terror marked his face… his eyes darted between Ayk, Rin… and… that Light…
The robed man muttered, "Valwa… What is this?! You never told us anything like this!!"
Rin pleaded, "Please!! Just let us take his friend's body! Then do whatever you want!!"
The man stammered, unsettled and afraid, "I said you're not going anywhere!"
Rin stood helplessly, looking at him… Then his legs carried him out of the hiding place as he shouted, "I'm sorry, Ayk—I'm leaving him to you!!"
Ayk called anxiously, "Commander Rin!! Be careful!!!"
Ayk clenched his teeth, "Will that human boy really survive under this downpour of flames?"
He had no time to think further—because the red-cloaked man immediately rushed to catch Rin… Ayk stood in his way, brandishing his weapon, "I'm your opponent here!"
He furrowed his brows, a serious look on his face covered with bruises and burns, and continued in a grim voice, "You will not move from this spot as long as I'm alive!!"
Rin wove through the rubble, sheltering from the fire every couple of seconds in a nearby building remains, edging closer to Nier's body… He looked at Nier… that deep hole in his torso… The meteors had burned most of his body and a thunder-like strike on his face… A painful pang struck Rin's heart…
He looked at Elir, who was fanning his wings left and right… If he could just get beneath them…
Rin observed Elir's seemingly random wing movements… Wait….. it wasn't random… He was protecting Nier's body. That's why he wasn't fighting Valwa…
Rin thought to himself, "Don't worry, Elir… I'll take Nier and leave you free to fight."
He sprinted on his wounded leg under the fiery rain pelting his clothes, his face contorting in pain. He reached Nier… He hurriedly tried to lift him, sheltered by Elir's wing… But suddenly… Nier's body felt far too light… Rin felt something hot falling onto his feet…
He looked down in horror… to see Nier's intestines spilling from his body, colliding with Rin's shoes. He could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears… His breathing grew ragged… He almost dropped Nier… but forced himself to keep going…
With trembling hands… Rin rested Nier on the ground… gathered his scattered remains… and tore off his shirt, wrapping Nier's torso in it… Rin sobbed in short, choking gasps and turned his face away from Nier every few moments… but he kept looking back… The drips of fire slipping through Elir's wings mixed with his tears…
Nier… He had wanted to enjoy the festival so badly… If only they'd let him enjoy it…
Rin wiped his tears on his shoulder and stood. Elir's left wing moved to cover him… Carrying Nier, Rin said, "Come on, Nier… lend me your strength for Elir's sake… We'll get you back safely!"
He ran toward the hiding place, his wounded leg feeling like a jolt of electricity every time he stepped on it. But he trusted Elir's protection—Elir's left wing moved swiftly, creating a whirlwind around them, repelling the flames until they were safe.
Rin saw the red-cloaked man's body sprawled on the ground… and Ayk in front of him, leaning weakly against a wall, panting, "You're not so strong without your flames, are you…"
The man muttered to himself in anger, "That's right… Valwa took all of Exlazira's power…" He ground his teeth, unable to stand, and said in anger, "Damn it… is this really how it ends… How humiliating… We didn't just fail… We… all died… for nothing…" He looked toward Valwa, who seemed drained… Valwa was struggling with all his might to unleash fire from his body, but it looked desperate… Nothing… Nothing affected Elir at all…
But… something changed… Elir… he had confirmed Nier's safety now… They all covered their ears from the furious sound… and looked at Elir's eyes, which began to gather orbs of light…
Valwa staggered back in terror, saying, "No…"
It seemed like a ray of light burst forth from Elir's eyes… Valwa couldn't move… He was rooted in place…
"This is the power of… God's soldiers…"
A beam of light shot from Elir's eyes, striking a building near Valwa… That terrifying noise sounded again, light flashing in Elir's eyes…
Valwa shouted, "He can't control his powers! I can still win here!!"
Valwa raised his arms and screamed, "The wrath of the god Vihara!! Eternal hell!!"
The ground beneath Elir split open, and his body quaked as the earth shattered… Angry, red flames seeped through the cracks… threatening to emerge and consume everything…
Ayk screamed, "That bastard… He's summoning the flames of hell??!"
Rin stared at Elir, terror gnawing at his heart… He shouted, "Elir!! That's enough!! Nier is safe!! Don't die! Don't die before you get to say goodbye to him!!"
Maybe Elir heard him… or maybe he didn't, over the roar of flames and rubble… Still, Elir's body continued thrashing among the wreckage… until the raging fires swallowed the entire ground… surging up toward the sky… devouring everything in their path…
Everything around them froze… Their eyes locked on Elir's body… now engulfed by flames… Valwa lowered his arms in exhaustion, "It's over…"
A strange gust of wind brushed Valwa's face… cooling him from the fire's heat for a few seconds… He slowly lifted his head… seeing those colossal black wings… blotting out the sun… soaring above the fires of hell…
Each beat of those wings… subdued the flames with every sweep… Valwa's eyes went wide in terror, and he said, "Impossible…" He raised his arms to unleash more fire, but nothing emerged. A voice from within him said, "No…"
Valwa cried out in panic, "Exlazira! What are you doing?! I need your power…"
That inner voice replied, "Fire can never defeat Light… Hellfire cannot contain him… You are dead…"
Valwa looked in horror as Elir drew nearer… just hovering above him struck terror into his heart… This… is one of God's soldiers…
Valwa stared at Elir's eyes, from which a brilliant light radiated… Valwa's body struck the ground… Then his head, burnt to a crisp, hit the ground. Then at last, Elir fell, too…