Lively Eden wasn’t losing here. She still had so much to do! She wanted to live her life to the fullest; there were so many loose ends she needed to wrap up. What the heck was up with Yuuto? What was he talking about? Why did he do that? And more importantly… Juuzou. He shared the same feelings that Ayu did. He loved her just as much as she loved him! Under ordinary circumstances, this should have been the start of their happy love story. But it wasn’t. They couldn’t be together in peace. Not as long as Ayu was Lively Eden. There was nothing more she wished for than to have this relationship with her childhood friend, who she had loved for so long. They’d been through so much together. That time with Juuzou—and the time they would have together side-by-side as lovers in the future—meant everything to her. She didn’t want to keep secrets from him. But she couldn’t love Juuzou the way she wanted to so long as Naturae kept her tethered. She wouldn’t drag him into the proxy war. She wouldn’t let him get hurt. In order to love Juuzou with all her heart—the way he deserved—Lively Eden had to vanish.
The ice shattered and flung into the air as if shot from a catapult. Lively Eden tackled Death Frost, balling his jacket into her fists. Her toes clenched in her sneakers as she bent her knees. Frost yelled as his feet left the ground. Eden winced as the wind nipped at the wounds in her sides. He kicked her in the gut and she coughed, letting go. He glanced at the street below, now at least fifteen meters away. Frost’s face contorted into a snarl. He turned back to Eden, only to blink as she jetted several more meters up into the air. She sucked a deep breath into her lungs, filling them with the thin oxygen found so high up. The blood trickling from her lower belly numbed from the cold atmosphere; Eden couldn’t feel the pain anymore. She raised her knee.
Death Frost balked as Lively Eden’s foot collided in the middle of his stomach. Spit and blood erupted from between his lips as his vision nearly whited out. Frost’s ribs cracked from the force; the weight bearing beneath Eden’s shoe was as intense as a meteor. She shot down to earth like a shooting star; a straight line like a rocket piercing the atmosphere. The street rumbled from the impact; chunks of asphalt broke free and somersaulted through the air. A giant crater accompanied the crash alongside a ring of pure pink light and a billowing of rosy wind. It swirled around the epicenter like an inverse tornado, dissipating alongside the clearing smoke.
Lively Eden panted; her head pounded from the sudden descent. She pressed down on Death Frost’s chest and he grunted. He was prone to running away; this time, she wouldn’t let him. If she wore him out enough, he might de-transform and reveal his identity to her. She was so close! She wouldn’t let this opportunity slip past her.
Eden flinched. Frost’s fingers curled around her ankle. His eyes pulsed as he ground his teeth together. Eden’s eyes widened as a layer of ice crystallized over her calf from where Frost grabbed her. She kicked his hand away and jumped back. She landed just outside of the crater. Eden glanced nervously back at Death Frost. He planted his boot into the ground and rose to one knee. He swayed like a frozen leaf fluttering in the wind, but he refused to fall down. He coughed and vomited more blood, grabbing his chest as pain radiated across it. Frost slowly rose to his feet, nearly stumbling and falling but catching himself at the last minute.
He wasn’t going down. He wasn’t running away. He was so close; he wasn’t giving up now. He was either gonna do his damn best or fail trying. And even if he failed, he’d get back up on his feet to try again. Death Frost wiped his mouth and glared at Lively Eden. He finally found a person who wanted him. Who needed him. Who loved him. He never thought he’d find a future for himself; a place to exist in this fucked-up world that rejected him. A relationship with Ayu was something Juuzou wanted with every fiber of his being. He loved her from the bottom of his heart. And unbelievably enough, she returned his feelings. Ayu loved a fucked-up guy like him? It was almost too good to be true. But it was reality. But in that same reality, Juuzou was Death Frost, Thade’s Agent of Hatred. He couldn’t be together with Ayu so long as Frost put her in danger. He didn’t want her to know anything about Thade but he didn’t want to keep secrets from her. In order to love Ayu and have this relationship—this bright, shining future—with her, Death Frost had to disappear.
Frost took a step forward. Eden’s body tensed. Their gazes met in midair. Frost brought his fist back. A frost mist crystallized around his hand. A light breeze swirled around Eden’s feet. They rushed forward at the same time. A hurricane whipped over the street, straining the buildings as their foundations creaked from the pressure. Shards of ice flung through the winds and pelted the windows, rattling the glass. Eden winced as the blizzard ripped into her skin; the snow and hail greedily bit into her skin and howled with glee as blood spattered over her clothes. Frost squinted through the rosy gales. He couldn’t see anything through this blasted typhoon. Eden was a fuzzy figure in the distance, intent on knocking him down with her storm. A gale sliced open his cheek and he grimaced. The wind sang as if taunting him.
Had the bell to end recess rang yet? Who knew. They were so far away from Nishigaoka High School; away from the paltry concerns of human society. This street now belonged to the gods: deities who reigned over life and death, creation and destruction. Through their Agents, they battled for dominance to see who reigned supreme. Naturae laughed in Thade’s face as Lively Eden flung the Agent of Hatred into the eye of her storm. Thade remained calm, sure in Death Frost’s retaliation; he blasted a frigid beam of ice down the center of the winds. Naturae balked as Lively Eden howled from the cold. The winds faltered but she thrust her hands back. Frost conjured a shell of ice to defend against Eden’s Heaven’s Gale. The carapace crumbled upon crashing back into the ground. Frost flicked his wrist. The chunks of ice jammed back together, forming a wrecking ball.
Lively Eden twirled through the sky to dodge out of the mace’s way. She shrieked as the bludgeon exploded; the shrapnel of ice bombarded her and shot her back down to the ground. She coughed as the ice buried her beneath their cold, squeezing her organs and her bones against the asphalt. Eden stuck her hand out, coughing down blood, and squeezed her fingers into a fist. Frost yelled as a sudden gust of wind crashed him into the nearby building. He winced as the glass shattered at his back and nipped into his skin. Another Heaven’s Gale rammed him through the thick walls and various items of furniture. Frost’s head slammed into a stone countertop, rattling his brain down to his spinal cord. His vision blurred but he leaped back to his feet despite his lack of vision.
The back of Death Frost’s skull throbbed as he stepped out into the sunshine. The chunks of ice trapping Lively Eden blew apart with a forceful gust of wind. Blood seeped down her back and pooled at the nape of her skull. Her clothes were torn and her curly pink hair had fallen loose from its high ponytail. Lively Eden bit her lip as she stared at Death Frost. He narrowed his eyes as he glowered back. His hair had also fallen loose and was strewn with blood and dirt as it cascaded over his shoulders. Holes and debris littered his long coat. He spat out a wad of saliva and blood. Lively Eden’s and Death Frost’s gazes met in midair once again.
Their toes scrunched in their shoes. Their knees bent. Their fingers curled into fists. They sprinted forward.
Their breaths hitched in their throats. They sputtered as their bodies failed them and they collapsed. Naturae provided Lively Eden with infinite energy but when her human stamina ran dry, there was nothing more the deity could grant its Agent of Sky. Thade allowed Death Frost to steal energy to fuel his powers but did nothing for his human body; this was the extent of its blessing for its Agent of Hatred. Lively Eden and Death Frost fell to their knees. The air shimmered around them as their glamor faded, reverting her pink hair and his timberwolf gray cloak to short auburn and a black gakuran. They glanced up, panicking with their secret exposed. They blinked. Their eyes widened in horror.
“J-Juuzou…?”
“Ayu…?”
She gaped at the blood running down Juuzou’s forehead. She did that. She hurt him. Why did this happen? How did it ever come to this!? It was a situation far past Ayu’s worst nightmares. She never even imagined… She swore she would protect him. She wanted to keep Juuzou away from the proxy war! She didn’t want him to get involved. She wanted him to be safe. But… He was the one she had been searching for. He’d been right in front of her this whole time. Juuzou was Death Frost.
Juuzou’s eyes widened in horror at the blood staining Ayu’s face. No, no, no… Oh, God, no. This wasn’t what he wanted. This wasn’t supposed to happen! He was supposed to protect Ayu from the proxy war. He swore she would never get hurt because of him. Ayu shuddered and Juuzou’s throat grew dry. He did that. All that blood on her face; that was his doing. This whole time, he’d been looking so hard for the Lively Trio, only for her to be right in front of him all along. Ayu was Lively Eden.
Ayu’s eyes welled up with tears. She stood up abruptly. She shook her head as she stumbled backwards. Water streamed down her face. Ayu choked as sobs wracked her chest. She turned on her heel.
“Wait, Ayu—”
Juuzou chased after her, but she rounded the corner of the street before he could reach her. She was gone. He couldn’t get another word in. Juuzou lowered his outstretched hand and fell to his knees. All his strength had left him. And now, Ayu might have just left him for good too.