Kota shook his head, desperation clawing at him. "Yuri, no!"
But the magic overrode his pleas.
A cold, flaring energy spread through her, a flicker of green shimmering across her flushed skin. She gasped one last time, her voice splitting into a soft, broken wail.
"No… more…"
Then—silence.
Yuri collapsed into Kota's arms, her body no longer soft but hard, unyielding, like shards of glass.
Her skin glinted, crystalline and cold, her warmth drained in an instant.
Kota froze, his hands trembling as he held her, her weight wrong, lifeless.
Miki and Reina wept openly.
Miki pressed her sleeve to her mouth, hiccupping, her body shaking as she stared at Yuri's form.
Reina sank to her knees, unmoving, her hands covering her face, her sobs muffled but raw.
Aika rose in a blur, her voice quiet but fierce.
"No—this wasn't supposed to happen." Her glasses slipped, her tears falling freely, her hands clenched into fists as she fought her grief.
