Time was fast running out, and I was yet to make my mind.
However, at that moment of hesitation, my thoughts suddenly echoed within me, causing my body to move on instinct.
'What in the world am I doing, thinking this long?'
Right now, there seemed to be only one answer, an it involved not letting Legris get away with what he had done.
Once that sank in, I tightened my fist and echoed out the Spell.
"[Soul Destruction]"
Instantly, the stubborn barrier that denied me access to Legris' soul was broken down, and my pure energy invaded his inner self, like an unstoppable flood.
It eroded everything within, alongside the Soul I was painstakingly trying to capture.
Until…
~VWUUUUUUUUUSSSSSHHHHHHH!!!~
… Legris' body broke down the moment his soul experienced destruction.
The black energy ceased, along with all of his functions in an instant. Right there and then, I killed the man I had painstakingly hunted down for so long.
'By destroying his Soul, it's possible that I might have destroyed the root problem, but I suspect that isn't the case.'
If that was all it took to get rid of Legris, then Neron would have done so at some point.
'He's probably still out there somewhere…'
If only I had gotten access to his Soul, which was the plan all along, I would have been able to track his other Souls and destroy all of them at once through a complicated, but effective process.
'It seems Legris realizes the danger in that, so he made sure I wouldn't be able to capture his Soul.'
As always, he was one step ahead this whole time.
"At least, we were able to save the people he would have otherwise killed." I sighed to myself, staring into the empty expanse of space.
There was just one more thing that bothered me. It had been worrying me since I first laid eyes on it and felt my senses distorted in its presence.
'That black energy… what is it?'
It didn't feel like Aether or Nether, or even both. It was just… a strange mix of power that I could not completely place.
It disgusted but intruiged me at the same time.
"If that is the source of Legris' power, I'll have to learn more about it when next we… hold on…"
My eyes began to widen the more I tried to complete my sentence, and a realization suddenly dawned on me.
"No… no way…" I had completely messed things up.
I was so blinded by my strategy of bringing down Legris and settling for a decisive battle, while resorting to the destruction of his Soul at the last minute, that I didn't consider the big-picture plan I had concocted at the start of this mission.
"We used [The World's Resonance] to track down Legris to this place, and I killed the one we were tracking. So…"
Clenching my fist, I had to come face to face with my fatal error.
"... The trail ends here."
That's right! Due to my incompence, we couldn't track Legris beyond this point.
"Damnit! Did he bait me back then? Was he the one truly in control throughout our fight?"
I didn't want to believe it, but… had I gotten played?
At this point, a cloud of both disappointment and frustration coursed through my insides, causing me to clench my teeth, harden my fist, and squueze my face.
I was honestly disappointed in myself.
'I should return to the others…' I returned my gaze to the planet I just left, sighing heavily.
There was nothing more I could do now.
*******
Once I returned to the group, I found everyone in a golden energy field built by Kuzon.
It was probably built to replace the dissipating one that we found around them when we arrived. Kuzon made the sensible choice of replicating it in order to protect the civilians from the clash I had with Legris, though I was already intent on leaving them out of it.
Once I landed within the force field, everyone was gathered around one old man. It seemed they were asking him some questions before my arrival, however, once I arrived, everyone turned in my direction.
"How did it go? What happened to Legris?" Serah asked first.
A tight feeling enveloped my chest, but I chose to speak anyway. I had the responsibility to inform my team members of my mistake.
"I killed him because there seemed to be no other alternative at the time. I couldn't even capture his Soul due to the interference of a strange energy he was using."
The expressions of my allies didn't change all that much. They hadn't realized the implications of that, so I had to tell them.
"The trail ends here. I can't track Legris any further since I already ended him. I'm so sorry, everyone."
If I had enlisted their help, then perhaps we could have figured something out together.
'It's unlikely anyone else could have had a better solution to the problem, but if I had Lemi and Ana, we could have come up with something together…'
But due to my hubris and undeniable rage, I went at it alone.
"You'll find another way, Jared." I suddenly felt two hands on my respective shoulders, and a voice so soothing it felt like music to my ears.
I had bowed my head due to how humiliated I felt by my mistakes, but the voice forced me to raise my face.
The first person I saw was Maria.
Her smile as she looked at me felt so genuine, and her eyes glittered with such pride that I wondered how she could have so much faith in me.
"You discovered a way to track him down despite the odds. You can find another alternative." This time, it was Kuzon who spoke.
I glanced in his direction and found him smiling at me.
"I agree. Just take this as a challenge, my rival." Ana spoke next, smiling sweetly.
"If it's you, Jared, I'm sure you'll find an answer!" Edward's voice echoed as he raised his teo fists into the air.
One by one, my allies echoed their hopeful words at me, suddenly raising me from my state of frustration to that of hope.
Before I realized it, a smile was already forming on my face in response to all that was being said.
And then I remembered Neron's last words to me.
~After all, with Magic… you can do anything.~
"You're right." I said to all of them.
Why did I need to despair when there were several other theories that were yet to be explored?
This was an opportunity.
The chance to learn more about how the world operated through Magic.
Now wasn't the time for despair at all!
"Maybe we can help a little in your next alternative." Once again, Kuzon's words echoed through the air, causing me to look in his direction.
"What do you mean?"
"While you were off fighting Legris, we were interviewing the villagers, particularly the Elder."
Hearing that made me even more curious, especially because Kuzon had a certain twinkle in his eyes as he spoke.
"We know what Legris is after."
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[A/N]
Always nice to write wholesome moments.
Let's see what has been uncovered, shall we? Hopefully it's good.
