Nothing But Requiem

Chapter Six: [The Pieces of the World] #4

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Seeing the powerful magic circle, Leila's eyes widened. As someone who also wielded a magical armament, what was coming was painfully clear to Leila. The magical mechanics of Ario's gun had a powerful and ruthless destructive power with which Leila's dagger could not compare. Leila's face contorted in despair in the face of what was coming.

"I'll tell you the weapon I use is the magic gun, 'Blutgang,'" said Ario. "It was forged by liquefying the sword belonging to a hero of ages past. The magic in this gun is powered not by spirit energy, but from life itself..." The light of the magic circle around the barrel of the gun grew stronger.

Leila let out a small scream and swung her dagger recklessly in one last desperate attempt at landing a hit. Her attack was delivered, but unlike the slashes that were so far accurate, it did not come close to striking Ario.

"Leila. The one you should be pointing that dagger at... It's not me." 

With a whisper Ario pulled the trigger. A flash of light emitted from the muzzle's magic circle pierced Leila in a straight line through the chest. Her body fluttered in the air momentarily before it fell to the ground. 

Ario walked over to Leila's body and looked down at the figure that no longer sang.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Ario looked up towards the sound of the applause.

Don Nicolas rose from his seat on the balcony and began walking down the stairs. "Do you feel sorry for her?" he asked as he clapped softly.

"No. Leila should have resisted you. But because there were other people involved...she felt like she couldn't."

"Indeed. While it's true that I kept Leila in a vulnerable position where she was unable to confront me, I have no use for sympathy either." Don Nicolas looked completely unmoved. If anything, it looked as if he agreed with Ario, which made his response all the more infuriating. "Well... At least her music wasn't as worthless as her fighting."

Ario pointed Blutgang at Don Nicolas. He looked back at Ario with a bemused expression. "I was told that you have someone else with you. Another...lovely young lady." Don Nicolas's eyes now focused on where Aria was standing next to Ario.

"You can see my sister, can't you? Then you are definitely the owner of a piece of the world!" The intensity of her gaze burned even more fiercely as she held the gun aimed at him.

Don Nicolas let out a burst of maniacal laughter. "What a lovely expression you're making... So entrancing! I must add you to my collection of property!" 

Don Nicolas took the Jade Skull from his ear and crushed it between his thumb and forefinger. The small green shards glittered and dazzled, and Don Nicolas was clad in armor constructed by a magic circle.

"The Magic armor 'Aegis' and the magic axe 'Labrys...' If you are the owner of the piece of the world symbolizing despair, then I am the owner of the pieces of the world symbolizing greed. Now..." Don Nicolas spread his arms wide, prompting Ario to attack. "Let's see what expression you make the moment before I kill you!"

Without a word, Ario unleashed a flash of gunfire towards Don Nicolas. However, the shots were blocked by Aegis' magical armor. 

"Useless!" Don Nicolas cackled maniacally as he swung his axe. A huge fireball erupted from it and barreled towards Ario.

Unable to avoid it in time, the flaming ball engulfed Ario and burst through the front of the building. It shot out of Neo Casablanca and turned into a pillar of fire in the central square of Vinea. The front of the building began to crumble.

In the square, which was crowded for the music festival, there were people who had caught fire as they escaped the pillar, and the scene had turned to panic. But people were even more astonished at the sight of two girls emerging from the pillar of fire.

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Aria had built a defensive wall of magic, protecting Ario from the flames. However, the impact was tremendous, slamming them into walls and the ground, and Ario was badly hurt.

"You really did it..." Ario looked around. It was overflowing with chaos from the bystanders. If the fight between two holders of pieces of the world continued here, there would be even more victims. 

Just then...

"Ario really is a nice person after all, huh? You're always thinking about other people." 

Seere's voice came from overhead. Ario looked up and saw the beautiful demon boy flapping his wings and laughing in the sky above. "But that's the Ario I love," Seere said with a smile and snapped his fingers.

The twilight realm spread out and the people faded away. In this realm, there was only one being who could confront Ario; she looked at Neo Casablanca just as Don Nicolas emerged from the remains of its doorway. Don Nicolas was beaming again as he acknowledged Seere's appearance.

"So this is the twilight realm! Very nice, very nice!" 

Don Nicolas didn't skip a beat as he made his next move. He unleashed a flaming ball; at the same time, he darted across the ground with the speed of an arrow, closing the distance between him and Ario. As soon as the flaming ball landed, he swung his axe down towards Aria.

"Sister!" Ario's cry echoed through the twilight realm. Aria, who was building a magic wall to protect Ario, looked defenseless. However, Aria danced nimbly around Don Nicolas's attack. The magic axe Labrys thudded into the ground with an incredible amount of force.

"How could I miss?!" Once confident of victory, Don Nicolas's eyes widened. Just as he hurriedly tried to regain his posture, Ario's voice came from behind him.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on my sister!" Ario spat out the words, holding Blutgang in her right hand and aiming it forward. Aria was also standing right next to Ario, with a gun drawn in her left hand. Aria's gun was a Blutgang of a different color.

"Thank you so much, sister." The two pistols lined up to catch Don Nicolas. A huge magic circle appeared in front of Ario and Aria, the size of which far surpassed any that had appeared before.

"Goodbye," said Ario, and both girls pulled the trigger. The flash of light released mixed and spiraled, piercing Don Nicolas's armor. The magic circle cracked, and the magic armor Aegis dissipated instantly. The magic axe Labrys also disappeared from Don Nicolas's hand.

In the aftermath lay a dying Don Nicolas. Blood spurted out of the gaping hole in his chest. Even with fresh blood flowing from his mouth, Don Nicolas was still laughing. 

Ario looked down at him where he lay an inch away from death. "Just like my mother said... I took everything and lived as purely as I wanted. I have no regrets."

"...Begone."

Three gunshots drowned out the dying words. Don Nicolas's head was left unrecognizable.