The sound didn't leave her ears.
It stayed there.
Arcee stared at what remained of Cagaro's body, her thoughts spiraling so fast they stopped making sense.
Is he dead? No one survives that. No one. She had seen fatal blows before—this wasn't ambiguous.
Her chest tightened. I should've taken it.
She had went. She was fast enough. If she hadn't hesitated... if she hadn't just thought instead of committed... she would be the one on the ground.
And maybe that would've been better.
A cold, poisonous thought surfaced; they can function without me.
Henry had the mind to adapt and strategize. Blyke had the fire to confront threats. Cagaro had the presence to support during lethal situations. The gravity that drew enemies in. What was she?
Support.
Adaptable.
Replaceable.
Her fingers trembled.
Was she just the contingency? The backup piece meant to be sacrificed if needed? If she died instead, would the formation simply close the gap and move on...?
Agripha's laughter rang and Arcee felt something fracture inside her.
If Cagaro was truly gone, then she had failed twice....
How... how just a second... changed everything...
Something warm pressed lightly against the top of her head.
"Hey."
Blyke's voice.
Arcee blinked. The cathedral swam back into focus. The blood. The fragments. The horror.
"Are you okay?" he asked, crouched slightly so he could meet her eyes.
Her lips trembled. "Cagaro… he—"
"He's fine."
The words didn't register.
"What? Didn't his head explode!?"
"Huh...?" Blyke repeated, firmer now. "You probably hallucinated. You have been pushing yourself nonstop. You are probably very exhausted. Your brain filled in something that didn't happen."
Her breath hitched. "I saw it. I saw—"
"Look."
He gently turned her shoulders forward.
Across the fractured cathedral floor, Cagaro stood in the distance beside Henry.
Henry was saying something analytical, Cagaro nodding like nothing apocalyptic had just occurred.
Arcee's knees nearly gave out.
Her vision blurred... not from distortion this time, but relief. A sharp, humiliating relief.
She had been so certain.
Blyke noticed the change immediately. He didn't tease her. Didn't smirk.
"Don't feel ashame or overwhelmed." he said softly. "You are not some machine, Arcee. You are also a human, and humans are err. One will be better than another, that's the nature's way of growth. There's nothing to hate."
There was no accusation in it.
"You think too much sometimes." he added, nudging her shoulder with his own. "That is usually Henry's job."
Despite herself, a weak sound escaped her, almost a laugh.
Blyke stood and offered his hand, palm open.
"Come on. We're a team, remember? You don't need to carry everything alone."
She looked at his hand for a second longer than necessary. Then she took it.
Not because she was fragile but because partners pull each other up.
Blyke looked straight in a heroic position,
"Uhh... my head's migraining."
Caius stood swaying in the wreckage, breath dragging through his lungs like broken glass.
"Agri...pha..."
He didn't shout it. He didn't beg.
He said her name calmly but composed.
Above, Agripha tilted her head. She understood immediately. He wasn't asking for rescue. He was asking for support.
A small enhancement. A shield. Anything.
Instead, she laughed coldly.
"Useless."
Caius's jaw tightened.
"Didn't you say you loved me?" she continued mockingly, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Can't you even kill one of them?"
The words hit harder than Blyke's fists.
Caius didn't respond. His shoulders dropped from something collapsing internally.
The neurological overdrive faded; his breath trembled. For the first time since the battle began, he looked alone and helpless.
Below the shattered archway, Cagaro rolled his neck casually, a faint bruise visible along his temple. Henry stood beside him, still staring as if trying to solve an impossible equation.
"You should not be conscious." Henry muttered. "Your skull should have fragmented."
Cagaro shrugged lightly. "Yes, it almost did."
Henry's eyes narrowed.
Cagaro had seen the vector at the last microsecond. He had shifted his footing and lung capacity simultaneously, exhaling at the exact instant of impact. He angled his neck just enough to redirect force across rotational momentum instead of absorbing it linearly. The strike still connected directly but the energy dispersed through movement rather than stopping at his skull.
A suicidal calculation.
"Momentum planning." Cagaro said simply. "If I was going to get hit, I made sure it was also according to me."
Henry stared.
The cathedral doors burst open.
Heavy boots thundered against marble as the hijackers flooded in. Armed, disciplined, rifles raised in coordinated formation.
They spread along the side aisles and broken pillars, red laser dots cutting across fractured stone and shattered glass.
Agripha lifted a single finger.
"Point." she commanded.
Dozens of barrels aligned toward Henry, Blyke, Arcee and Cagaro.
"But don't shoot yet."
The silence that followed felt tighter than gunfire.
Caius didn't turn toward the guards. He didn't even seem surprised. His eyes remained on Agripha above.
"Agri...pha," he said again, voice hoarse now. "You said… if I fought them… you would... give me a hug."
It was factual. A remembered promise.
The hijackers shifted uncomfortably.
Agripha stared down at him, lips curling.
"And?"
He swallowed once. "I... did."
For a moment, there was something almost human in the space between them. Then she laughed.
"Who would hug a monster like you?"
The words sliced clean.
"You are useful when you win." she continued casually. "That's all."
Caius stood motionless. The rage that had fueled him earlier didn't return. The neurological fire was gone. His shoulders slowly lowered, as if gravity had doubled.
Behind him, rifles remained trained on the others.
But Caius looked smaller now... internally.
He had shattered marble. He had bent steel. He had accelerated his own nervous system past safe thresholds with Runic Flow.
And still he wasn't enough. Above, Agripha's smile widened.
"Stand there." she said lightly. "Maybe try again. Impress me."
Henry crouched slightly, scanning the approaching hijackers. "They're disciplined. We can't rush in blindly."
Blyke cracked his knuckles, narrowing eyes. "So… we just wait for them to shoot first?"
Arcee shook her head, feathers flaring faintly. "No. If we hesitate, Agripha will use them against us. We need control of the engagement."
Cagaro flexed his fingers along the hilt of his weapon. "Agreed. But how? They are too many and too spread out. Any wrong move, and—"
Henry interrupted, voice calm but sharp. "Then we don't fight them all at once. We split their focus. Overload them mentally before they can pull triggers."
Blyke smirked, bloodied but ready. "Sounds like my kind of chaos."
Arcee glanced at him, exhaling. "Just… don't get yourself killed before the plan starts."
Cagaro smirked. "No promises."