The slime didn't think twice. It shot off Greg's shoulder like a cannonball, and its soft body stretched as it dove toward the falling weapon.

The little creature grabbed the hammer's handle with its pseudopods and wrapped around it to protect it. Then it started bouncing back toward Greg with determined chirps.

It seemed like everything was happening in slow motion. Hammy was bouncing through the air while holding a hammer in his hand.

Greg reached out with his prosthetic arm, which was longer than it should have been. The Calamity that was holding him began to pull back, trying to get away from the pull of the collapsing core.

And from below, another limb shot up, moving faster than thought. The appendage caught Hammy in the middle of a bounce.

"NO!" Greg's scream was raw and primal, like the sound of someone seeing their worst fear come true.

The Calamity's arm wrapped around the slime and squeezed it. Greg heard Hammy's chirp turn into a scream of pain. Then the core's implosion reached a point where it couldn't be stopped, and the appendage pulled Hammy down with it.

Greg was horrified to see his friend, the loyal slime who had been with him since that winter mining trip and had protected the First Hammer for who knows how long, disappear into the collapsing purple void.

This slime had saved Greg's life by providing him with access to that ancient power. The hammer, that legendary weapon, was also destroyed in the implosion, and Greg felt something inside himself break that had nothing to do with getting hurt.

"HAMMY...!" He fought against the Calamity's grip, his prosthetic arm glowing with desperate power as he tried to break free and dive after the slime. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO HELP HIM!"

But the Calamity was already on the move, leaving the room as the implosion reached its peak. Greg saw Agatha one last time, her broken body breaking apart into particles of light, her peaceful smile still on her face, before everything disappeared in a flash of purple light.

The implosion turned into an explosion that ripped through the inside of the Calamity. Greg felt like he was being thrown as the blast wave hit, and the thing that was holding him lost its grip.

He fell through twisted hallways, bouncing off walls made of flesh and metal, not knowing which way was up or down. Pain spread through his whole body.

His mouth was full of blood, and a loud ringing sound filled his ears. But the worst part was knowing that Hammy was gone. He had given up dverything to save him.

Then he fell through the air, and the room gave way to the ruined city below. Greg hit the ground hard.

His prosthetic arm took most of the impact, but the shock still shook his whole body. He couldn't get any air and couldn't get up. All he could do was only lie there in the rubble and look up at the sky.

The three Calamities were falling apart. Giant pieces of broken metal started to fall around him like meteors.

The main Calamity, where he had just been, was falling apart from the inside out because the core that held it together was no longer there. The two smaller structures were doing the same thing.

They had lost their coordination and their purpose. Some of them were as big as houses, while others were no bigger than a person's hand. They fell like the world's most destructive hailstorm on Meridian.

A falling blade the size of a carriage nearly crushed Greg as he rolled onto his side. He could hear people shouting and running, and his family calling his name all around him, but he couldn't say anything.

He couldn't do anything but watch as the nightmare that had taken over Agatha's life finally ended, taking her, Hammy, and thousands of other souls with it to whatever comes next. The last part of the main Calamity, which could have been Agatha's chest or just the last bits of her mind, fell with terrible finality.

It hit the ground a hundred yards away, making a crater, and then it didn't move. Quiet. Empty. Not alive. That was it. The Calamities were gone. They let the souls that were trapped go. Agatha was dead.

Greg had won the battle, but he had lost something that could never be replaced. He was lying in the rubble with his prosthetic arm flickering, his real arm bleeding, and his chest heaving with sobs that wouldn't come.

Hammy was no longer there. That joyfully, loyal little slime who had been more like family than a pet. Not here anymore.

Marina got to him first. She knelt down next to him and pulled his head into her lap.

"Greg...! Greg, thank God you're still alive!"

"We saw the Calamities fall, and we thought..." Her tears fell on his face, mixing with the blood and dirt.

Greg's voice was broken when he said, "Hammy... Hammy's gone! I couldn't... "I couldn't save..."

"I know," Marina said, and she hugged him tighter. "I know, but you saved everyone else."

"You saved the town! You saved us all! You did it, Greg. You really did it!"

The Brotherhood was gathering around them. Lylia had her sword drawn and was ready to fight, even though there was nothing left.

Tunner carried Seraphine, who was unconscious, because the mage had used up all her energy in the last battle. Despite their injuries, Felix and Donetta assisted each other. Bork is hurt but alive.

Elwen is crying out loud. Mira flickered in and out of sight, her spirit form becoming unstable.

Veldway stood apart and looked at the fallen Calamities with an expression that Greg couldn't quite understand. And Rosalina, hurt and bleeding but standing tall, looked at the souls that had been freed and were rising from the rubble like fireflies. They were finally going to whatever came next.

"It's over," Lylia said, and she sounded as if she didn't believe it. "We won... we really did win this time!"

But as Greg lay in Marina's arms, his prosthetic arm finally going dark because it had run out of power, he stared at the spot where Hammy had disappeared.

It didn't feel like victory other than feeling like staying alive after all the terrible things happening. He was learning that survival always came at a price.

The city lay in ruins. Agatha was gone. Thousands had perished.

The little slime, who had protected an old hammer, happily bounced on people's shoulders, and chirped with innocent joy at the simple pleasure of being alive, was gone.

Greg shut his eyes and finally let the tears flow. He was sad not only for Hammy but also for everything this battle had cost.

All innocence was gone. Those were the people who would never return home. All the price spent on peace that still seemed impossible to reach.

The sun was setting over Meridian, turning the ruins gold and red. The Brotherhood stood together in the fading light. Beaten. Damaged. But still alive.

And in the wreckage, among the pieces of a Calamity's death, a small, jelly-like shape moved weakly, holding on to a legendary hammer with its pseudopods and refusing to let go, even though every instinct told it to rest. Not giving up. Not yet.

There was still someone out there who needed help.

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