Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

LXXXIII. Night's Fall

His eyes open to reveal the cataclysmic recent turn of events. Novilunim's tar now engulfed practically all of Vino's body, numbing it, erasing all feeling. In the distance, Ballo was slowly regaining his consciousness, yet both he and the driver were much too exhausted to do anything against the threat before them... Not that there was much they could do. Novilunim's power seemed to be at its peak, as if their efforts in the skirmish were utterly in vain.

Virno: You... Your whole being is a contradiction.

Novilunim's body twitches, as Virno regains consciousness and utters those words.

Virno: Soothe pain...? How can you be so concerned with soothing one's pain, yet be capable of torture? Murder? Rape...?

Novilunim: N-no... Sleep...

The tar moves to cover Vino's head, yet his skin begins lighting up with green sigils, searing the tar and halting its advance.

Virno: Lacerbus... That was his name. His name held sway in Nox, didn't it? Yet he was capable of all of those atrocities and more. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, what your end goal really is... But your kind deserve no sympathy.

Novilunim screeched, his tentacles now wrapping around Virno's body in an attempt to restrain it... Yet it was in vain.

Virno: Ventus...

An explosion of energy emanates from Virno, blowing away all the tar that constricted his movement.

Virno: Tibi praecipio...

As more and more sigils begin covering the entirety of his skin, an ever-increasing otherworldly aura surrounded him. His skin burned and bled underneath, incapable of withstanding the power he commanded.

Virno: Destroy mine body... Shatter mine bones. Sear mine flesh!

The pain was unbearable. Virno felt as if he was being burned alive while his bones were collapsing on themselves, fracturing under immense pressure. Even still... There was something that hurt far more, deep within.

Greed: FOOL! What are you doing?!

Virno: FACT UT IMPERO!

His whole body overflowed with energy, practically radiating it. Withering underneath the blinding green light, Virno's will yet remained.

Virno: Mother... Father... I'll be with you soon. Nobody else will die because of me. And more importantly...

Greed: YOU WOULDN'T-

Virno: Nobody will get to use me as a puppet. I refuse to become someone else's weapon of mass destruction...

Novilunim's body aggressively convulsed as he witnessed Virno's sacrifice. The overwhelming pain the young man was going through, both physical and mental, was causing the creature's brain to short-circuit. Programmed to soothe pain, yet absolutely powerless to do so in the presence of an infinitely growing source of suffering... 

Novilunim: AAARRGHHH...!!

The darkness he commanded was being eroded, leaving behind a disfigured husk, a sorry vestige of something once was human.

Ballo: Virno, no...! No...

Ballo watched from the distance, laying in the vehicle's bed, severely injured. The driver held him in their arms, as they shouted angrily.

Driver: AFTER ALL THIS, YOU'RE GIVING UP?! YOU'RE A GODDAMN COWARD, VIRNO! 

Hardly anything was left of Novilunium. He had been practically reduced to a crawling, shambling skeleton, barely grasping onto life... But Virno burned still. While it was almost impossible to peer into the blinding light, at the centre of it all his withering body could be glimpsed.

Ballo: R-rotavitea...

The driver looks at Ballo, their one exposed eye opening wide.

Ballo: Stop him... You must. Do not let him kill himself...!

Rotavitea (Driver): B-ballo... You knew...?

The tone of surprise in her words made it evident she had been caught off guard... Despite her best efforts, Ballo had recognized her. 

Ballo: Hurry up, girl...

Gently resting Ballo on the vehicle's floor, Rotavitea stood up and began walking towards Virno.

Rotavitea: Oh Clavia... I'm not sure this helmet's as tough as you thought...

Taking her hands up to her helmet, she presses down two latches, causing the tight seal around her neck to be released. She removes it, taking a look at the large crack that had been left by Novilunim's attack.

Rotavitea: And... I'm really not sure I am, either.

She smiled, looking at her broken helmet. Quickly glancing over at Ballo and witnessing his weakened state, she tightly grips the helmet with both hands and pushes them together, causing a pressure based mechanism to trigger. The helmet's form began to shift as countless pieces rearranged themselves to transform it into a compact, spherical shape. Though some parts were missing, it seemed to behave largely as Rotavitea expected.

Rotavitea: But I'm not turning back now...!

Raising the device high overhead, Rotavitea pulls both arms back, charging a throw. Running towards Virno, she could feel the intensity of his magic push her away, like an unstoppable gust of wind. As soon as she felt her distance was just right, she flings the device straight towards Virno. Unlike her, it seemed entirely unaffected by his magic, its trajectory remaining true.

Novilunium: D-dad... 

In his final moments, Barr seemed to be once again in control of his body. Moments away from complete desintegration, he uttered his final words.

Barr: You'll be buying your own booze from now on... N-no more freeloading... H-heh... Heheh...!

Hearing his words, Virno couldn't help but feel an even deeper sadness within.

Virno: It didn't need to end this way...

Suddenly, something round and heavy hits him in the back. A loud whirring and thumping sound came from it, which quickly got increasingly louder and more frequent -- Rota's helmet.

Greed: Oh it won't be ending this way, von Virtus...

An all-encompassing blast surges from it, nullifying all magic in its radius. Forced to stop abrupty at the peak of his body's output, Virno's body begins shutting down almost as soon as the explosion strikes him. 

Greed: Those you're so desperate to save won't let you die so easily...

Virno crumples to his knees. The sigils in his skin disappeared and, as the bright light he emanated subsided, his meager shape was revealed underneath. He had been reduced practically to skin and bone, resembling a corpse.

Rotavitea: Oh my god...! Ballo, Virno is... H-he is-

As she turns back, much to her surprise, Ballo was already standing and making his way over to them. As he casts away his blindfold, his eyes radiated a pure white energy.

Ballo: You have done well, Rota...

He clenches his fists, as warm yet gentle white flames escape from the spaces between his fingers. Hunched back and gravely injured, it was a miracle he could move at all... Nothing short of it -- divinity itself. In that moment, to her, Ballo seemed to be channeling something almost... Godly.

Ballo: ... Step back.