Only 1 HP left. Haseo had the chance to finally defeat Ovan, to save the Unreturners, to save Shino. Aina was quietly sitting on the rocking chair, her PC slowly deteriorating over time. Haseo ignored the sleeping girl, and placed the blade of his scythe against Ovan's neck. Ovan didn't bother paying attention to the wrathful boy. He quietly glanced at his darling sister, waiting for her to wake up.
"Ovan…" Haseo said, looking straight into Ovan's eyes, "Why did you leave us like that?"
Ovan didn't answer, and was yet to return eye contact to Haseo, uninterested in his childish hostility. "Don't give me that!" Haseo interrupted, placing his scythe closer to the other PC's neck.
The AIDA-infected user simply smirked. He ignored Haseo's threat, and proceeded to walk toward his sister's PC. Ovan brushed his fingers through her fading blue hair, some of it fading away. Finally, Ovan glanced back at Haseo.
"If you risked your life every day to save the only person in your life, but then found out she'd be taken away, how would that make you feel? And when you actually get the chance to see her again, she doesn't remember much about you and could die at any second? Do you plan to do the final strike now?" He asked, knowing what Haseo was going to obviously say next.
"Innocent users suffered because of you!" Haseo shouted in anger, "Why should I wait?!"
"Pretend you were going at a running pace. But then, someone tripped you. How do you start over? Do you run again, or simply go at a walking pace?" As the AIDA temporarily took over Ovan's PC, he gripped his hands around Aina's thin neck. "Because her mind is trapped in this game, I could kill her right now. Do you slowly approach or immediately attack?"
"Let go of her!"
"See? You're at a running pace. People like you end up falling, and then going back up and running again. Because of your ignorance, you stay in a cycle of running and falling. At the end, I'll win and you'll lose."
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"I'll stay at a walking pace…" Haseo said to himself, finally realizing what the AIDA meant.
Shino turned to Haseo, confused by what he meant. "Walking pace?"
"The AIDA possessing Ovan…it told me that if I keep on rushing, then I won't get anywhere. That's why it's better to go at a walking pace."
In return, Shino simply smiled.
A/N: I wrote this, mainly because the Japanese title of Volume 3, "At a Walking Pace" intrigued me. I know it's sorta weird how it suddenly zooms to Shino and Haseo, but I really wanted to show that people realize certain things later in life.