By the time Latios arrived, the scene before him was one of fierce combat.
Elias and a silver-haired woman were locked in a deadly struggle, both wielding blades.
At first glance, it seemed Elias had the upper hand.
The silver-haired woman was already pinned beneath him, her knife barely holding back his strike, forced into a desperate defense.
But something about the situation unsettled Latios.
Elias seemed to be at his limit.
After making his way through the burning forest and transferring a massive amount of energy to Latios, he had little strength left to secure a decisive victory.
Latios grew anxious. He wanted nothing more than to charge in and help.
But unfortunately…
In his current spirit form, no matter how hard he tried, he would simply pass through them—unable to affect anything.
At the same time, everything Latios saw was transmitted through their shared vision, reaching Latias.
"J?!"
The moment she saw who Elias was fighting, Latias trembled.
She almost couldn't believe her eyes.
Wasn't that Elias's girlfriend—
…Wait!
Her thoughts stuttered to a halt.
Only now did she realize she had made a critical mistake.
Elias had never once confirmed J's identity.
Everything had been her own assumptions, pieced together from what had seemed like logical conclusions.
Sure, each step of her reasoning had been airtight—
But… what if she had been wrong?
Staring at the battle unfolding in her vision, Latias felt the color drain from her face.
If she had been mistaken, then bringing J into the forest had been a grave error.
Her heart skipped a beat at the thought.
Following the path Latios had provided, she pushed forward at full speed, using shared vision to navigate.
But no matter how fast she flew, the forest was vast and treacherous.
There was no way she could reach them immediately.
"Brother, please… help Elias."
Seeing that Latios was still observing from a distance, Latias silently pleaded.
The only thing keeping her from completely losing her mind was the fact that Elias still had the advantage—
At least, for now.
---
[The prolonged stalemate has given J renewed confidence.]
[She has realized you can't kill her quickly.]
[And she's right—at least, not before her Ariados arrives.]
[But you don't feel frustrated or discouraged. After all, this was never about your failing body—]
[It was about the fact that you never intended to leave here alive.]
"Elias, just hold on a little longer!"
"Latias is almost here!"
Latios hovered nearby, calling out to encourage him.
Even now, he still believed the situation could be turned around.
Elias glanced at him, somewhat amused.
He suddenly realized—Latias wasn't the only idiot in the family.
If Latias made it here, then so would J's Ariados.
Not to mention—J had buried a ridiculous number of explosives in the area.
Calling Latias here would be exactly what J wanted.
But Latios had reminded him of something.
If he wanted to settle this before Latias arrived—
Then it was time to end this now.
His gaze darkened, his pupils swallowing the light.
J didn't miss the shift in his expression.
A terrible sense of unease crept up her spine.
Before she could question him—
She saw it.
Elias was smiling.
"...What the hell are you smiling at?"
J frowned, suddenly uneasy.
She was sure Elias shouldn't be able to kill her.
But something about his smile sent panic shooting through her veins.
"J, there's something you should remember—"
"In the presence of a psychic, traps are nothing more than decorations."
"And unfortunately for you—"
"You won't have a chance to learn that lesson in your next life."
His voice was eerily calm.
Before J could process his words, a faint click reached her ears.
A quiet sound—
But to J, it was the whisper of death itself.
Because that sound had come from the device on her wrist.
Her countdown timer.
"You… You activated the explosives?!"
J's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.
Her gaze snapped to her wrist, staring at the timer as the numbers began their relentless countdown.
Her pupils trembled.
The explosives buried beneath them were supposed to be her last-resort threat, meant to pressure Elias into surrendering.
She had even set a delay timer to give herself enough time to escape if needed.
But never—never—had she expected that Elias would trigger them.
Did he not understand the consequences?
What was the point of a threat if it wasn't a threat?!
"You… psychopath!"
J cursed, fury and panic twisting her expression.
For the first time, she regretted ever provoking him.
Forget capturing him.
She just wanted to get the hell out of here before the explosion!
But before she could even struggle—
Elias pressed down, increasing the force behind his blade.
In that instant, J had no choice but to focus all her energy on stopping the blade from reaching her throat.
She had no strength left to spare for anything else.
"Are you really willing to die here with me?!"
"What do you even gain from killing me?!"
With no other option, J locked eyes with Elias, desperately trying to reason with him.
But Elias only smiled.
A cold, distant smile.
He didn't answer—because there was no answer needed.
He had every reason to end her.
The beeping of the countdown timer echoed across the clearing.
It wasn't just J who was terrified.
Latios had also gone completely still.
He stared at Elias, mouth slightly open, struggling to form words.
But when he finally tried to speak—
The words caught in his throat, unable to come out.
---
[Your actions have sent shockwaves through everyone.]
[Latios doesn't understand what you're doing yet.]
[Maybe… he'll only truly understand when he regains his physical form.]
---
T/N: REGAINS??? IS HE SACRIFICING HIMSELF FOR LATIOS??? GFHADIOHIOAS I DONT KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN ANYMORE
...
Huh. You really stuck it out all the way to the end.
Didn't think you had the patience. Guess I was wrong.
WiseTL's the one who actually made all this come together. I'm just here putting a bow on it… or, well, shoving it in a backpack and calling it a day. Same thing.
If you had fun, you know what to do:
👉 [patreon.com/WiseTL]
Heads up—Patreon's 50% off for all tiers during May. So if you were on the fence? Now's the time.
And if you're the social type, there's a Discord too. Pretty decent spot to hang out—no battles required.
👉 [discord.gg/wisetl]
Alright. That's enough standing around. Go on—before you make it weird.
—Leaf