Brother.....

　Rifa put the stake back in its original blood and put it back inside him.
　Then he sees his brother lying on the ground.

　Callus doesn't move.
　No wonder.
　No matter what kind of creature, the heart is one of the vital points.
　As long as it's crushed, it can't be alive.
　Even if it was controlled by Vice, it cannot continue its activities.

　And yet........

Ggh.....

　A groan spilled out of Carus' mouth.

　He's still alive!

　Confused, Rifa reflexively braced herself.
　Seemingly unable to put any strength into his body, Carus only moved his head and looked up at Rifa.
　And then.........smiled.

''.........Rifa.......huh.......''
Brother!

　That smile was one that Rifa knew.
　It was the smile of a kind brother who had turned it on himself over and over again.

　The idea that it might be a trap or something like that was blown away...
　Unable to resist, Rifa ran to Kalus and picked up his body.

''Brother, brother!
What's the matter.........Rifa.......?
Brother, I'm losing consciousness.

　It was impossible.
　His heart was crushed.
　He was already dead to begin with.

　But Carus was spinning his words firmly.
　As he had always done, he said kind words to his sister.

''You're getting stronger........''
Do you remember that fight...?
'I'm sorry, but ... or should I say ... while I was being manipulated, I was still ... conscious. I'm sorry........
'Noooooooooo!　It's not your brother's place to apologize!

　I don't know what's going on.
　Still, I'm sure it's my brother who is in front of me now.
　A miracle has happened, a kind brother has returned.

　Convinced of this, Rifa hugged Carus.

　Such a sister, Carus also tried to hug back........
　But his body didn't have the strength to move, and the fingers of his hand only moved slightly.

''Pathetic, nah.......I want to stroke Rifa, but I can't move my body anymore.......''
.........brother.......
I'm sorry...
'Don't apologise don't apologise!　I'm fine!

　Unable to hold back, Rifa burst into tears.
　Once you start crying, you can't stop.
　The tears flowed from one after another, one after another.

''........Rifa.......''

　It's my own fault for making my sister look like this.
　Painfully aware of this, Kalus summons the last of his strength.
　He uses up all of the little bit of soul he has left without leaving a single piece of it.

　And then.........

'Oh....'
Okay, okay.

　Carus gently stroked Rifa's head.
　There shouldn't be any strength left in him, but he should already be dead...

　He only thought about his sister and gently stroked the head of his beloved family.

''Onii........chan.......!

　Rifa couldn't stop crying.
　She wanted to stop crying for the sake of her kind brother.
　Still, the thought of him doing so much for me still boggled my mind helplessly.

　So, at least.

''........hmm....

　With tears in my eyes
　Rifa smiled at him.

　Because she always smiled, as if she was returning the favor after Carus patted her on the head.
　So I smiled back, albeit while crying.

''Ah........I knew it.......''

　Seeing her sister's smile like that, Carus looks filled.

''Finally, to........meet Rifa.......''
My brother...?
Well....

　Once again, Carus patted Rifa's head and....
　And then the strength drained from his hands.

'Brother?'

　Rifa called out to him, but there was no answer.
　Carus smiled and quietly broke things off.

''Huh........!

　Callus was already dead.
　Now that was an illusion.

　Still.

　Every word we've exchanged.
　Every heart we've ever had.
　Surely, it was here.

'Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.
　It was the wail of Rifa's soul.