>WHOOOOOSSSSHHHH<


    Jerry raced forward, clenching his fists with resolve, as he pushed his speed to the limit.


    Sure, he had suffered a severe blow from Legris, but he swiftly got up to attack. If he failed, the chances of being killed was high.


    ? However, there was one whose life he wanted to preserve even more.


    ''You will not be hurting Ciara!'' His thoughts echoed as his white mes burned through everything around him.


    Being a bit experienced in Martial Arts, Jerry utilized the techniques he knew to bnce the power gap that existed between him and his opponent.


    Bing a blur and swiftly escaping Legris Damien''s hits were very difficult—as each blow sent shockwaves flying around—but he managed regardless.


    The problem, however, wasnding a hit himself.


    ''How am I supposed to hit him if I''m on the defensive!''


    "Not bad." Legris grinned excitedly, steadily engaging in a dance with the more desperate Jerry.


    "Shut it!"


    Jerry was boiling with rage… as well as impatience. Time was running out for him, and he couldn''t manifest his power for much longer.


    "Rarrggghhh!!!"


    >BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM<


    Jerry''s blow sent debris of scorched rocks flying everywhere, and thendscape was further ruined.


    The dark night brightened due to his brilliant explosion, and loud echoes reverberated through the whole vicinity.


    This level of destruction far exceeded what he could aplish in the past—enough for even Ciara to marvel at.


    "Haaa… haaa…" Jerry''s strained breath leaked out.


    His glowing body suddenly lost all its luster, and he returned to his mediocre state. Sweat broke out of his skin, and his heavy panting echoed throughout the vicinity.


    If it wasn''t clear enough to anyone, the situation was pretty obvious to him.


    ''I''m spent!''


    He trembled, struggling to move away from the site of destruction that seemed to spread for miles.


    Having wreaked more havoc than he had expected to, Jerry found himself a little proud of his achievement. However, he was vulnerable in his current state.


    The thick smoke and heated floors would inadvertently damage him if he wasn''t careful. Thus, he had to step away.


    ''Haa… did I do it, though?'' Jerry wondered as he moved.


    His chest tightened when he saw Ciara at a distance. She was giving him an expression he hadn''t expected.


    ''C-Ciara…?''


    He had just given it his all to defeat the enemy. It had taken everything he''d had, but he''d seeded, hadn''t he?


    ''I won. You don''t… you don''t have to be scared anymore.''


    Despite Jerry''s thoughts, though, Ciara didn''t seem to be getting any happier.


    Her expression soured, and her eyes bulged in surprise. He couldn''t understand it. He had just won, yet why wasn''t she giving him a smile.


    "W-why…?"


    That was when Jerry realized it—something he had failed to notice until he carefully observed Ciara''s eyes. They weren''t directed at him—no.


    Her eyes gazed at something beyond the tired boy. It was—


    "Jerry, watch out!!!"


    —Somethinging from behind him!


    >SQUELCH<


    Blood spurted out of his pierced body.


    The red liquid oozed to the ground, forming a small pool underneath the fatally wounded person, while also dripping onto the person who was beneath the injured body.


    "N-no…" Jerry''s eyes widened as he saw someone bleeding above him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    She was radiantly beautiful, even as blood dripped from her lips. Her body waspletely shrouded in her favorite transformation—Mage Mode.


    "… Ciara!!!" Jerry screamed, watching the wounded girl smile even though she was pierced by dark tentacle spikes in several areas.


    "A-are you alright… Jerry?" Her voice was barely audible, and it contained so much pain that it was heartbreaking to hear.


    "I… I…" Jerry''s eyes were rapidly filled with tears—so much tears that his vision blurred.


    He had failed woefully! He''d tried his hardest, and yet he had failed to defeat the enemy. And now, even the girl he had sought to protect was in a terrible state.


    He felt extremely frustrated. Yet… even as his heart ached, he couldn''t bring himself to look away from the girl who sacrificed herself for him.


    It should have been him, yet—


    "W-why…?" Tears streamed from Jerry''s eyes as he whispered.


    Why did she do it? She should have lived! She was more powerful than him anyway. She was the one in possession of the Arcana. She shouldn''t have died for him.


    How could she—!!!


    "Because… I like you a little bit, Jerry." She smiled at him.


    The way her blue eyes captured his own, and how her glossy lips curled up at that statement, moved the boy''s heart.


    For the first time ever, he felt it race uncontrobly.


    His face became hot, and he found himself staring at thedy in front of him with disbelief. For the first time ever… his eyes saw a different Ciara.


    "I-I''m so… I''m so…"


    Overwhelmed by the new feelings swirling within him, Ciara''s injured state, and how exhausted his body already was; Jerry found everything too much to bear.


    And as a result, he fainted.


    *


    *


    *


    "Eh…?" Ciara''s eyes widened slightly upon seeing the boy she protected faint.


    It was a little surprising, since this wasn''t what she was expecting at all. Even after her self sacrifice and how she had perfectly executed her lines, this wasn''t what was meant to happen next!


    "Uh? He''s unconscious already? For real?" She was dazed beyond words.


    "How surprising. You seem fine even after taking all of those attacks." A voice emanated from the rubble.


    It belonged to none other than Legris Damien, who emerged with his strange dark energy swirling around him.


    "It''s just a clone. I''m not stupid enough to run into danger." Ciara''s wounded self smiled, before vanishing like smoke.


    The blood that stained the boy and the ground also dissipated, leaving an unconscious Jerry in the hands of apletely healthy Ciara.


    Legris stood at a distance, hands in his pocket, as he gave a quizzical expression.


    "Don''t look so surprised. I only did what I had to do." Ciara muttered, ncing slightly at her unconscious partner.


    "Oh? And what''s that?"


    The girl smiled.


    She carried Jerry and ced him in a safe corner—using Magic to serve as a protective barrier.


    Once she was fine, Ciara approached Legris with an expression that betrayed the ones she had disyed prior to this very moment.


    "Jerry''s chivalry was appreciated. I love how he wanted to protect me, and he did everything he could to achieve that goal."  Her lips curled up, widening her smile even more.


    "However… in the end, he''s still too weak to protect me."


    Legris chuckled slightly, shaking his head in both disbelief and amusement. He was amazed by the expression his opponent was making.


    Ciara''s blushing face contained a daring smile, and her stance showed that she was ready for battle.


    "The one who will protect Jerry is me!"