"Is it over...?"
Lorne slowly activated his Spirit Vision and carefully surveyed the devastated battlefield around him.
After the fierce battle, the spirituality here was still in utter turmoil. Fortunately, though, he could no longer sense any spiritual traces of Steve and his companions nearby.
They... were probably dead for good.
"It's over."
A cool voice sounded behind him. Lorne turned to find Sharron floating quietly there. A rare trace of unmistakable exhaustion crossed her exquisite, normally unchanging face.
"Phew..."
With that confirmation, Lorne finally let out a long breath, and his nerves, stretched to their limit, relaxed completely.
He was exhausted. After using so many Mystical Items in succession, even the Monster pathway's spirituality, which far surpassed that of others at the same Sequence, had barely been enough to sustain him. Besides, the terrifying ravings from those two "concerts" had taken something of a toll on his own Spirit Body.
Most importantly, the out-of-control Maric had landed a vicious blow to his abdomen.
That was what left him most speechless. The worst injury he had suffered tonight had come not from an enemy, but from an "ally." The sheer absurdity of it filled his mind.
"Are you... all right?" Suppressing his churning thoughts, Lorne turned toward Sharron and asked hoarsely. He remembered that she had also taken Steve's attacks and poison head-on.
"Nothing too serious..." Sharron replied softly. She had sustained considerable injuries, but they were not severe. At least, she was in much better shape than Lorne.
"We need to leave at once." Sharron raised her eyes and scanned their surroundings. "It won't be long before the official Beyonders-"
"I'm glad you're all right, but..."
Lorne interrupted her before she could finish.
"I'm not..."
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Lorne's legs suddenly buckled, and his