Editing City Series:Volume3b Chapter 8 (section)

===Part 6===

Genius realized Gunmal’s fighting style was different from before.

He was releasing his own Live to Bust.

And instead of using the Over Up that J-Gun used, he used a more unique method. It was the same method he had shown her at the very end of their last fight.

It was a pure shout.

“Ah!”

He would raise his voice in a way much like his Live and use that to Bust.

The attacks were heavy and sharp and they had the same destructive power as J-Gun’s full power strikes.

…''I can see why J-Gun praised him.

She smiled bitterly when she remembered that.

“Who am I even jealous of?”

She released her light.

A spear of light flew in a straight line, but Gunmal’s Wild König struck it head-on and it burst.

Gunmal could not possibly move faster than light, so the light had to be moving just as he expected it to.

The Lives of the space around him were working for him.

That was made possible by his shouts and he could freely control those Lives so long as the reverberation of those shouts lingered around him. This was not like the Over Up, which was a contract that immediately came to an end.

Seeing him reminded Genius what Double Lee had said before.

…''Do you know the difference between normal people and those known as talented or prodigies?

She now knew the answer.

…''There is no difference.

The talented and prodigies needed some kind of method or standard. In Tuning and Busting, that would be the Over Up or Wind Up.

But Gunmal was not bound by such things. He did not use an established Up and produced great power fighting only by the definitions of Busting.

J-Gun, on the other hand, used the Over Up to produce his power.

They both used the best method for themselves.

Currently, their fight shook the wharf.

The battle had moved to the edge of the wharf and into the tourist beach that was perfect for walking.

Genius watched as J-Gun launched a horizontal slash.

“Oh.”

He sent out his Live which had a crimson Word Color and sounded like a low rumble.

It flew toward Gunmal as a giant scythe of light.

“Ah.”

Meanwhile, Gunmal received the Live attack head-on.

He instantly swung Wild König down from above.

The steel-colored pressure struck the ground while also splitting the scythe.

The broken scythe burst and sliced through the thick streetlights of the tourist road behind him.

The sound of slicing metal was followed by the streetlights hitting the ground and breaking.

After one, two, three, four such sounds, Gunmal made his move.

“You’re not the ones I really want to dance with!”

His shout immediately became his Live.

His eyes were directed toward J-Gun in front of him and Genius further back.

He had just swung down Wild König, so he used his entire body to swing it back up and let out a monosyllabic roar.

“Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!”

The emitted Live had a heavy metal Word Color and a Tempo that rumbled in the earth.

This was not a slash or strike like before.

It was a powerful blast.

A pillar of light two hundred meters long and fifty meters wide shot out toward Genius and J-Gun.

Genius had no way to protect herself, but J-Gun took action.

He stood in front of her, prepared his Device at his waist, and shouted a different Live from before.

“Kohhhhhhhhhhah!”

A moment later, an intense blast of light raced from J-Gun’s Device.

The white blast was made from pure solidified light.

It was the same as the light Genius fired.

…''He’s using my Live!?

The Live of anyone who used Tuning or Busting was affected by the Live of anyone they had a relationship with.

She had seen something similar when fighting Akira and Gunmal before.

But unlike then, the Live that J-Gun was firing now was strongly mixed with his own Live.

He used the double attack power of light and destruction to intercept Gunmal’s Live.

The pure white light collided with the steel-colored light.

The produced sound was powerful, high, and clear. It sounded both like a metallic sound and like an electronic sound.

Afterwards, their Lives burst and scattered through the air.

The dense mist of light spread out before Genius’s eyes and briefly robbed her of her vision.

She closed her eyes for just a moment.

When she reopened them, the enemy stood in the blind spot right next to J-Gun.

In the light, Gunmal held his Device at the ready.

…''When did he get there!?

Her surprise produced a reflexive shout.

“J-Gun!”

J-Gun faithfully responded to her voice.

Without turning her way, he made an accurate strike with his Device.

An even deeper crimson Live gouged into the gap in the light.

His attack scored a direct hit and the color red scattered.

Gunmal wobbled with his Device at the ready.

And his body burst.

He was not cut or broken. His entire body fell apart as if a thread had unraveled.

“!?”

The scattering Lives were the blue, refreshing Lives of the gently blowing wind. These were not the Lives of a person.

Genius’s eyes widened and she heard a voice from the opposite direction.

“Sorry! I kind of plagiarized that method!”

Before she realized it was Gunmal’s voice, she noticed something different about J-Gun.

A giant blade was stabbed into his back.

Gunmal’s Device grew from J-Gun’s back at an odd angle.

“…”

Without speaking a word, J-Gun’s knees gave out and his body bent forward a little.

Gunmal came into view beyond him.

“I don’t believe it…”

Genius took a step back and Gunmal responded without smiling.

“Just like my brother could use your power, I can use a little of Akira’s power.”

“…”

Genius was dumbfounded, but Gunmal frowned.

He looked to J-Gun who had been skewered by Wild König.

“Stop.”

As Gunmal spoke that word, J-Gun moved.

His head was still lowered, but his legs trembled as he tried to stand up.

Gunmal frowned a little.

“Stop it, J-Gun.”

He could not stop his brother from moving.

J-Gun took a deep breath that was meaningless for a dead body and raised his Device once more.

“Please stop this already, J-Gun!” shouted Gunmal.

But J-Gun gently spread his arms and legs with Wild König still stabbed into him. His stance almost seemed meant to hide Genius from Gunmal.

The Device in his right hand was gently lifted overhead.

Gunmal’s expression crumbled and he opened his mouth to give a shout.

But in that instant, someone stopped the brothers.

It was Genius.

She embraced J-Gun from behind and that was enough to stop him.

The stillness brought silence and they all simply stood there for a moment.

It was a blank moment.

J-Gun was the first to move afterwards.

He slowly stepped back with Genius still leaning against his back.

He took one, two, and three steps before Wild König fell from his slender body.

As if that had been a trigger, he slowly collapsed backwards.

“!”

Genius crouched down to support him.

She rested his upturned head on her shoulder.

…''J-Gun!

She gave a silent cry and he turned his head to look at her.

And he spoke one quiet word.

“Sorry.”

That truly was his final moment.

Immediately afterwards, his Live broke down, leaving only his clothes behind.

“…!”

Genius sat on the ground embracing the remaining clothes.

J-Gun’s Device made a dry clank as it hit the concrete ground.

“What just happened?” she asked. “Why would he apologize to me!?”

To bring back the dead via necromancy, one needed a condition based on something the dead regretted during life.

Genius realized what condition Double Lee had presented to J-Gun’s soul.

“You don’t mean…!?”