The slime monster screeched as Nola and Taveer charged.
The air around them quaked from the sheer presence of their activated Wills.
Nola's violet energy shimmered like fireflies caught in moonlight, while Taveer's crimson mist trailed behind him like a curtain of smoke.
But they were out of sync.
Taveer lunged first, his stake slashing through the air with brutal precision. The creature twisted, its gelatinous body absorbing the blow before whipping a skeletal arm toward him.
He ducked, but the force grazed his shoulder. He grunted, stumbling back.
"Too slow," he muttered, blood trailing down his arm.
Nola sprinted in next, her katana slicing across the monster's side in a golden arc. It sizzled, the creature shrieking as smoke rose where the blade had cut, but the wound sealed almost instantly.
"This thing's regenerating," she gasped. "It's like fighting tar!"
They moved again, but not together. Nola dodged a swipe that nearly took her off her feet. Taveer jumped high but landed off-balance, giving the creature a second to counter. Its claws caught the edge of his coat, ripping through it.
"Left!" Nola called.
Taveer spun right.
They crashed into each other and fell hard.
Nola's breathing came in ragged bursts. Her sword was still humming, but her arms ached. Sweat trickled down her face, stinging her eyes.
They weren't enough.
Not like this.
Taveer looked at her, their backs pressed together.
"We're doing it wrong," he panted.
"I noticed," she muttered.
"We're not matching."
"You're too heavy-handed," she shot back.
He smiled despite himself. "Let's meet in the middle, then."
She nodded once.
Taveer blocked the next attack, catching one skeletal arm with his stake, parrying it aside.
Nola dashed forward, her blade flashing like lightning, carving into the slime's exposed center.
This time, the cut stuck.
A roar erupted from the creature, and it stumbled back, limbs flailing.
Nola didn't let up.
She flowed around its attacks, sword a blur of violet and gold, dancing in perfect response to Taveer's slow, punishing strikes. He hit hard, she hit fast. He guarded, she pierced.
One rhythm.
One fight.
Brielle remained trapped within, her body now lower inside the monster's core. Her chest was still rising and falling, but weakly.
"I see her!" Nola shouted.
"Go!" Taveer yelled back. "I'll keep it busy!"
She ran, blade cleaving a path through the goo as she reached in—felt her hands burn—but didn't stop. Her fingers wrapped around Brielle's arm and pulled.
Hard.
The slime resisted.
Nola screamed, power surging through her arms as Tsuna's voice echoed again-
"Strength is knowing when not to let go."
With one final cry, she yanked Brielle free. The girl fell limp in her arms, barely conscious.
Behind her, the monster turned.
It raised both claws.
And Taveer was already moving.
He leapt high, high enough to meet the creature's core.
His stake burst into red flame.
"I'm done with this," he said quietly.
Then he drove the stake through the monster's center with everything he had.
The impact exploded outward as dark mist and green slime scattered like blood in water.
The creature convulsed, let out a soundless scream and collapsed.
Its body dissolved into smoke and sludge, evaporating into the air like it had never existed
Only the sound of their breathing remained.
Nola lowered Brielle gently to the floor. Taveer dropped to one knee, blood dripping from his nose.
Maika rushed in moments later, bruised but upright, half-carrying the wounded Moon soldier.
"Holy crap," Maika breathed, staring at the aftermath. "You two…"
Taveer waved a shaky hand. "We're… not doing that again."
Nola gave a breathless laugh. "No argument here.
Nola dropped to her knees beside Brielle, her entire body trembling with the last remnants of her strength.
Alive but barely.
And that was enough to make Nola relax with something close to relief.
She was too tired to cry. Too numb to feel anything fully.
Behind her, Taveer knelt on the ground, one arm bracing himself, the other still clutching the burnt stake. His hair had dulled to a soft grey now, his eyes dimmed from the crimson they had been moments before. Blood dripped steadily from his nose and shoulder.
"Is it dead?" Maika's voice was small, breathless, and afraid.
"Yeah," Nola said, her voice hoarse. "We got it."
Taveer coughed once, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and let out a dry, bitter laugh. "That was the most fun I ever had."
Nola didn't have the energy to laugh, but she smiled. It was broken, and crooked, and a little blood was in her teeth. She felt her blush a bit.
Maika helped the wounded Moon soldier closer. The woman was barely on her feet, her claymore dragging along the floor, but she gave Nola and Taveer a nod. It was heavy with meaning. Respect. Gratitude. Guilt.
"You two saved us," she rasped. "I am sorry. I should have protected you."
Nola looked at her hands. They didn't feel like hers anymore.
She'd pulled a girl out of a monster's chest. Fought a creature born of a realm that shouldn't exist.
And she didn't know if she could ever go back.
"I didn't even know I could do that," she whispered. "I didn't want this."
Taveer looked over at her, exhausted. "Me neither."
Their eyes met.
And in that moment, there was something fragile between them. Not romance, not even friendship.
Recognition.
Of pain. Of survival.
"I thought," Nola started, her voice cracking, "I thought we'd done it. I thought we won."
"You did," the Moon soldier said, barely standing now. "You fought like full legionnaires
The world answered back.
The air changed.
It wasn't another explosion.
It was worse.
The crack in the air was soundless but deep. Like something essential had split down the middle.
And reality tore.
A rift opened in front of them, wide and black, a jagged mouth yawning through the air.
Nola felt it before she saw it.
A pull.
Like her soul recognized it. Like it wanted to run and hide in a place too far to reach.
And from the rift… they came.
Twisted things.
Dozens of them.
Limbs bent the wrong way, torsos that pulsed with lightless veins, skulls wrapped in shadows and stretched flesh. They didn't breathe like creatures. They existed like a wrong answer.
Taveer rose slowly
His legs shook.
Maika whimpered.
The Moon soldier dropped to her knees, one hand bracing herself.
Nola stood.
She had nothing left to give. Not really. Her sword felt heavier now. Her limbs felt full of stone. Her hair hung limp and sweat-matted, her heart pounding like it wanted to run without her.
But she stood.
Because what else could she do?
The rift widened.
Nola reached behind her, gripping her sword.
Taveer moved to her side, limping slightly, breathing hard. He didn't look brave.
He looked like he was just trying not to fall.
"We can't do this," Nola said quietly.
"I know," he replied.
They stared down the endless dark. The monsters stepped closer.
And for the first time in her life Nola was certain she was going to die.
Not because she wasn't strong. Not because she hadn't grown.
But because sometimes, you fight your hardest… and it's still not enough.
She looked over at Taveer.
He didn't say anything.
But he stayed beside her.
That was enough.
For now.
Even if the world was about to end.