His ears were not mistaken.

That had to be Jolene's voice.

Liohime Kitagami's mind had switched to the location in the distance, and a bad feeling began to stirr up within him.

This isn't good.

There was so much currently going on right now, but this issue was most likely the scariest one, as he had no knowledge on what was happening.

This entire time, after several minutes passed, Jolene had not returned to him, unable to confirm that she had indeed managed to secure the Magical Beast egg. Therefore, it was right to assume that she had run into lots of trouble.

His sweat and trickles of blood mixed as he wiped his forehead with anxiety.

Just what was going on over there?

His legs instinctively began to move towards where she had gone to but-

"URRGGGH!!! THAT HURTS!!"

A sharp pain struck him from the inside, and he collapsed to his knees instantly.

He held his breath, coughing and wincing from the sudden feeling that tore him apart, and he gritted his teeth in frustration as he came to the realization that he was in no condition to move.

He was in a badly injured state, having suffered relentless beatings from Melty and others who he had to fight off in order to survive and create room to escape. His entire body felt numb, and as he felt a struggling sensation to breathe, he wondered if the sharp pain that he was currently feeling was either from his ribs, lungs, or stomach.

Nevertheless…

Bear it, Liohime! Just….bear it!!

He grunted with trembling lips as he forced himself to stand back up, and took a few steps forward slowly, enduring the massive hurt that persevered with intensity.

Please, everyone…please be okay, he prayed, as he was about to make the risky move of abandoning his other peers.

What is the right thing to do at this moment? Sure. After all, the main goal was to ensure that the Magical Beast egg was secured. Therefore, he had to discard his want to protect everyone else and make sure that he backed Jolene up immediately.

Was it a good thing to do? Not to him, it wasn't. Harvey was most likely losing blood, Leah was completely trapped, Ophiel and Bica were struggling to survive as they fought on, Shihon's rampage would most likely end soon with her mana capacity being burned out, and the other Shinigami Soldiers were also dealing with problems of their own.

In all honesty, he wanted to step in, but…

…Something within him just begged him to meet Jolene.

…Something that he was not even sure that it existed until now.

Thus, even if it hurt him, he would surely meet up with the sleek assassin.

Just…wait for me….Jolene!

***

"Jolene…? My baby girl, please wake up."

Everything was fuzzy to her as she slowly opened her eyes, and she took a few seconds to wait for her vision to refocus, and when it finally did, she found herself lying down in the hazy view of a winter snow field.

She could see the snowflakes falling, but she sensed no coldness.

Then, she felt a soft hand that was gently placed on her own left arm, and her gaze went upwards, spotting the older woman that gave her a look of regret and concern.

And as if recognizing her instantly, Jolene faintly spoke.

".....Mom?"

"I'm sorry, baby," came the reply, "But…"

The woman hesitated before continuing.

"Time's up."

***

Jolene opened her eyes, finding herself at the perimeter of the Magical Beast egg's close proximity.

She groaned as the thoughts in her mind were jumbled up and the dizziness in her head caused her to remain motionless for a few seconds.

She tried to remember what had happened, and then the realization finally hit her.

The wet sensation that trickled down her head caused her to lightly tap her cheek with her index finger and inspect it.

Ah, I bleeding really fucking bad.

Jolene Aurora had been pummeled through rock, and briefly lost consciousness, and now that she had come to in mere seconds, she eyed her adversary who slowly began to walk towards her with the powerful taser in her right hand and the sword in her left.

Ah, that's right. The last thing I remember was feeling a terrible shock.

Side-eyeing her katana that lay a few feet away from her, Jolene clicked her tongue in frustration.

My legs and hands can barely move. My fatigue is at an all time high. Even if I continue to try to fight, the delay of my strikes will be clear as my body won't respond well to my brain, and I'll just be killed.

She chuckled.

So this is it, huh? In any case…

She had to ensure that the mission was complete even if the situation that she feared would most likely come to pass.

…Not yet, mom. Not yet.

Jolene finally began to speak, and she criticized her opponent with a loud voice.

"Seriously…? A taser? You're getting desperate, aren't you?"

"Tch, me? Desperate? I'm not the one who's getting folded like a fucking cardboard box," replied Kaza with a sneer. "I truly am disappointed in you, Jolene. You're nothing like a true fighter. Still, maybe if I keep pushing you towards the brink of death like this, you'll still have a chance to surprise me. People do crazy things when the door of death opens, after all."

"....You really are weird."

With only a glimmer of strength remaining in her body, he used that to hoist herself up and grab her weapon.

If this was truly it, she had to use everything that she had with this one final series of attacks.

Her body was weak, but her mind remained firm, and the two female figures stared each other down for what could be the final clash.

Jolene raised her katana and gripped it tightly, breathing heavily as her face was littered with fresh blood, narrowing her eyes.

This is it, Jolene.

Everything that you trained for, fought for, lived for…

This is it…

…So do it.

--Jolene Aurora's last stand was made, just as Liohime Kitagami had arrived on the scene.

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