The Arks

Tomoe sighed as he realized he had come so near to death before at that moment.

"Bryan."

The Slayer turned his head to look at Mavislin once more.

"Breathe."

With that being said, Bryan instantly started coughing and wheezing. Mavislin sighed as she smoothed the Slayer's back. Tomoe tilted his head to his left as he looked at Bryan desperately trying to get air.

"Because Mavislin stopped his strike, he couldn't exhale properly. And with the sudden appearance and words by all of us, Bryan forgot to release that breath fully," explained Baldwin.

"I forgot humans needed more air than us," replied Tomoe, sheathing his blade.

Luckily, Bryan took only a few minutes of coughing and wheezing and he was back to normal. And once he was composed, Bryan drew to his full height just in time to catch a falling Valkyrie.

"Boss!" shouted Bryan, embracing Mavislin.

With Mavislin slumped against his ċhėst, Bryan could not help but fall backward as her weight overpowered his balance. Luckily, Z was there to catch both of them. ASS he did, Mavislin reverted to her child form, landing snuggly in Bryan's arms.

"She's fallen back to sleep?!" exclaimed Tomoe, confused at the Valkyrie.

"Most likely so. She hasn't fully recovered her strength yet," said Z, gently ruffling the child's hair.

"I've got to hand it to her... She was depleted of her strength and woke up just to stop Tomoe from dying... It goes to show how much she cares for you, Tomoe. Despite your infamy with us," commented Baldwin, looking at Tomoe.

"Come to think of it... Why does she have to recover her strength? She didn't participate in the final battle... It was Rina and I who were the prominent fighters. She was standing by the sidelines," asked Bryan, puzzled at the little Valkyrie.

"She was active when you both were fighting. Frankly speaking, you were using most of her power. Just by that little emblem imprinted on the back of your left hand," explained a familiar voice.

Ysabeau walked towards the mess of a group as she shook her head in dismay. Tomoe bowed out of respect to Ysabeau and pushed Bryan's head down.

"Show some respect for your higher up," whispered Tomoe, glaring at Bryan.

The Slayer clicked his tongue at the Kitsune and wriggled out of his palm. Tomoe was beginning to think that Bryan did not like to be on the same grounds as Ysabeau. Well, that was to be expected since their first proper meeting was by fighting each other with no restraints.

Bryan then faced Ysabeau, his eyes demanding an explanation.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Bryan.

"That emblem is not just for show. She channels most of her Elemental Energy into you via that imprint. It protected you from the Poison Element during the final battle and again when you were suċkėd into the Final Dance," replied Ysabeau, glaring at the Slayer.

"That was the main reason why Rina could perform the Final Dance as well. She would have lost both her eyes and the battle without Mavislin's power surging through her. And you would've died the moment you stepped into the final area."

Bryan looked down at his sword and then shifted to Mavislin. She gently ruffled her hair, remembering how Z constantly does that to her. He whispered his gratitude to the girl as he drew Mavislin closer to his ċhėst.

"Funny man..." murmured Mavislin.

"I guess I'm not that powerful as I am... It wasn't a fair match then, Tomoe," said Bryan, looking at Tomoe.

"The channeling of power only works when Mavislin is active. She wasn't active when the two of you were dueling. So rest ȧssured, that battle was fair and square. Except for that last part," said Ysabeau.

"How would you know? She could have been watching us..."

"I was watching over you both from her bedroom window. When you two left, you left the window wide open and it brought about winds. They are bad for a sleeping child so I went in to close it. And there was a show on the ground floor, I couldn't miss that."

"But Mavislin came to my rescue... That would mean that she was awake by then, right?" asked Tomoe.

"Nope, she was still fast asleep when you missed that slash. She acted out based on pure instinct alone. That meant she could hear you in trouble despite not being conscious," clarified Ysabeau.

"And now that I have recalled, she went berserk on the enemy, right?" asked Bryan, looking at Ysabeau for confirmation.

Z and Baldwin froze in their positions and turned their heads to look at the Slayer. Tomoe was the only one who was still looking at little Mavislin sleeping soundly. How he wished the Valkyrie would have fallen into his arms instead....