With a thunderous bang, Maguston's body shattered into countless flecks of blood.
As soon as his body broke apart, everyone fixed their eyes on the Mystic Fruit. By their reckoning, it should have reached its critical point.
Would Maguston's death be the key to pushing it past that point?
The seconds ticked by.
Confusion crept into their eyes. The "ripening" they had imagined did not come; the fruit still seemed short of its limit... Stranger still, its pull had not grown stronger. It had weakened.
While they were still puzzled, a roar suddenly came from behind them.
Angel looked back and saw that a wizard had blown himself up.
Without warning, a wizard in a faded gray robe had exploded into pieces.
"What's going on?" Confusion filled Angel's eyes. Had the Mystic Fruit's power evolved? Could it devour flesh and blood from such a distance?
As he tried to make sense of it, a streak of light shot from where the wizard had exploded.
It was headed for... the Light-Chasing Speaker.
The streak was no attack. The Light-Chasing Speaker caught it easily, then slowly opened his hand. As a wisp of smoke dispersed, everyone saw what lay within.
It was a pure white bone ring.
"What is that?" Liwita asked, eyeing the ring.
The Light-Chasing Speaker had understood everything the moment he caught it. He had not intended to answer Liwita, but when he looked up, he found the red-haired, golden-eyed young man in the distance watching the ring with curiosity too.
His thoughts shifted. The words he had meant to swallow rose to his lips again. "It's Sea Bone's spatial ring."
Before Liwita could ask more, the Light-Chasing Speaker told them the truth. "Something happened to the Mystic Fruit, and its pull weakened slightly. Sea Bone finally regained a