~.~.~

Title: Maoh, A Day Late

Summary: The end. Or is it?

Notes: I don't know. And I don't care anymore. Whatever, guys. Just... whatever.

~.~.~

Part VI, Chapter 8 [Final]

One day

~.~.~

In this world, there are four objects that must never be touched. Should their dark power be unleashed, betrayal, despair and death will cover the world. The skies will darken, the earth will rend, and all shall be drowned in a sea of tears.

That is how the Forbidden Boxes were described to the children of the Demon Tribe - the legend of their ancestors' triumph and their descendants' duty.

When Adalbert had been told the story, he had just snorted and rolled his eyes.

He had believed it to be just a fairytale. He had sneered at Small Cimaron's quest to obtain a Box and a Key, though he had still followed through with their request. Even after witnessing the devastation wrought by the Box in Caloria, he hadn't fully given credence to the old stories.

The most powerful weapons in existence, perhaps, but capable of ending the world itself?

Now… he understood.

Adalbert had almost reached the capital when the first signs appeared. His horse - and all the others as well - had bucked suddenly, as flocks of birds took to the air, crying in panic. He had felt a shiver go down his spine, together with a directionless sense of danger.

Instinctively, he had turned his horse around. It wasn't the capital city he needed to reach. It was the Tomb.

That sensation of almost mindless terror, pressing down on him relentlessly, had grown stronger and stronger as he approached the white stone fortress of the Great One's final resting place. And then…

A shockwave ripped outward. The earth trembled, the wind howled. Adalbert and his horse were both knocked down completely. The animal recovered first, climbing to its feet and running desperately, even as the ground continued to shake.

Adalbert didn't spare it even a glance. He gaze was fixed on the Tomb - on the pillar of darkness spiraling up from it. It wasn't smoke, but something more like tangible shadow. It rose to the sky and began to spread like falling night. A moment later, the same shadows surged across the earth, making Adalbert stumble as they tangled his legs.

Snarling, he gripped his sword. It glowed with the esoteric stones' light, cutting easily through the shadows. But the moment after, the darkness reformed, its wounds closing off as if it had never been cut in the first place.

Barely keeping on his feet as the earth roiled and the wind continued to howl, Adalbert broke into a run. The Tomb was just ahead. That was the source of it all.

"What the hell did you do?" he wondered, anger and terror twisting into a single heavy weight.

It really felt like the world was ending.

~.~.~

Wolfram, Conrart, Gwendal - or even the strangers who had taken their places - had disappeared as the darkness swept through Yuri's mindscape. He reached for them futilely, but his hand passed through the remnants of the apparitions, reminding him that his friends had never really been there.

"...I heard the Great One," Yuri muttered to himself, drawing back. "So he got free after all. That's good. But, he said… Was the seal on the Originators really undone? He wouldn't have, right?"

But, placing a hand over his heart, Yuri knew that the seal was gone. He had felt it - something had been... untied in his soul, some binding he had never even noticed had been released.

"That terrible darkness has been released into the world again," Yuri whispered. He swallowed heavily, trying to hold back a sob. "...It's all my fault. Because I rushed off alone…"

'That was foolish, but you meant well.'

The same voice that had spoken before echoed through Yuri's mind. But now…

He spun around, feeling a presence at his back.

A man's figure greeted him. Like the others, he wore clothing that looked like something straight out of a history book. Something about his presence was almost painfully familiar. Yuri knew him.

He - like those three - had helped the Great One seal the four Forbidden Boxes. He was Julia's ancestor, the first Lord Von Wincott.

"Earhart," Yuri murmured, his wide eyes meeting the man's calm, deep blue. A reserved but kind smile spread across the apparition's face.

'You made the same mistake as the Great One, thinking you had to do everything alone,' Earhart said, looking down at Yuri with something almost like fondness. 'And both of you did something foolhardy out of kindness. Both of you... are such fools. Always causing trouble to those around you, for your loyal vassals... your friends.'

Yuri ducked his head, blushing helplessly. Murata had said the same thing, hadn't he? But he had still always supported Yuri. And now... Yuri had let him down, at the most crucial moment.

'It's alright,' Earhart told him, reaching up to ruffle Yuri's hair. His touch was faint and ghostly, but also strangely warm. 'Just like your friends have supported you, we never stopped supporting the Great One. We have always wanted him to be able to depend on us. The things he couldn't do, the things he didn't think of, we did instead.'

He leaned down, his face level with Yuri's, as his hand slid to rest in the middle of Yuri's chest. Julia's pendant was cupped in the center of his palm, its faint glow visible somehow even through the fabric of Yuri's black jacket.

'He took upon himself a great burden,' Earhart continued. 'But this is where we do our part. To find the path he couldn't find alone.'

No, Yuri realized, it was Earhart's pendant, passed down in his family for four thousand years. The most powerful Demon Stone, capable of holding even all the feelings of a living heart.

'This is the answer I devised.'

And what were the Originators, but parasites borne of the darkest feelings of a heart?

'That, which will take the sacrifice's place. A glass heart, to be shattered without regrets.'

Standing so close to Earhart, Yuri understood everything - his anger and regret when he found out what the Great One had done, without telling any of them, his lifelong search for some way to save his king, without rendering all their struggles meaningless, and finally the method he came up with and entrusted to his descendants.

"I see," Yuri said quietly, as Earhart stepped back. "I really am lucky, aren't I? There's always someone to help me, to give me the answer I need. Okay! I'll do it! You can leave it to me!" He looked up, his expression filling with determination.

Nodding in approval, the Wincott ancestor backed away, his form fading into the shadows until all that remained was a final glimpse of his smile.

However, even though Yuri had said that, he knew that carrying through with this plan would not be easy. He would need to force the Originators into the demon stone, and before that, he would need to force them from his body.

Could he really do it?

"What am I thinking?" Yuri wondered. "That doesn't matter! I have to try! Whether I can or I can't, I won't give up without even trying!"

'I won't let it end like this. I'll keep on fighting,' he repeated to himself over and over again.

Drawing in on himself, Yuri focused on all the reasons he had to keep fighting. The world that would be engulfed in darkness if he just gave up, the people who would be put in danger - Heathcrife and his cute daughter, somewhere in Cavalcade, who had supported his attempts at peace, Antoine and Layla, in Francia, who had found strength to fight, Flynn and Alford, in Caloria, who were rebuilding despite the devastation.

The Demon Kingdom, which he had become ruler of. The Demon Tribe who had accepted him as one of theirs. Miss Celi, with her brother and Raven, who had entrusted the kingdom to him. Miss Anissina, with her inventions and determination, who tried to help in her own way. Gunter, at the castle, always covering for Yuri's weaknesses and believing in him for all that he lacked.

Gwendal, Wolfram and Conrart, who had supported him through all his crazy, stupid schemes.

Murata, who had put his faith in Yuri and held back, believing in him.

(Shori, his parents, who had done their best for him even knowing that they would have to say goodbye one day...)

For all of them, and for all the people that had come before them, creating the world where they had lived, he would do this.

He wouldn't fail.

~.~.~

The force of the Four Boxes being unsealed was enough to blast open the roof of the chamber. The unleashed darkness roared upward, into the open sky.

The moment the seal released, the Originator lost interest in Conrart and Wolfram. Yuri's body drew away from them, releasing both from the dark power that bound them. A small, bright light dropped out of Yuri's hand like a forgotten marble. It glimmered, hovering, then shot toward Gwendal, letting his left eye blink open again.

To all three of them, it seemed like a poor trade for what had been unleashed instead.

"It's over," Ulrike murmured, helpless tears gathering in her eyes. "The Originators have been unleashed once more…"

"No," Murata said quietly after a moment, his voice strained, "there's still a chance."

The others turned to him with hope in their eyes, but Murata appeared almost stricken. As he hesitated, the Great One's ghostly form closed its eyes and bowed its head.

"All of this is just the Originator's power, not part of its being. Its will is still within one vessel," he finally said, forcing the words out. "If we destroy it now, the Originator will be gone forever…"

They glanced at the Originator, which still stood in front of the altar, Yuri's arms raised to the sky amongst the flow of its power.

As if feeling their gaze, it turned Yuri's head to look at them. The expression on Yuri's face was dismissive as one arm lowered and swung outward lazily.

Dark power surged, far stronger than it had been before. Reflexively, they ducked, even knowing it would do them little good.

However, the wave of shadows never reached them, parting instead against a golden barrier that appeared as the Great One raised one spectral arm. The two auras clashed before nullifying each other and fading away.

The Originator smirked, looking at the Great One disdainfully. "Don't need you. Useless. Got a body," it told him, patting Yuri's chest and chuckling unevenly.

The Great One's expression hardened, pained but unyielding. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, his ethereal voice echoing through their minds. "I am truly sorry. You were not meant to be the one sacrificed. But there is no other choice."

His arm rose, his golden power gathering again, as the Originator simply smirked and mirrored him.

"Wait!" Wolfram darted forward, reaching out to stop the Great One. His hand passed through the first king's spectral arm, but Wolfram moved instead to stand between the Great One and the Originator. "The vessel the Originator is inside, the one you're going to destroy - that's Yuri?! You can't do that!"

His eyes darted to Murata, looking for some sign, anything to help him. But the Great Wiseman averted his gaze, his glasses catching the light of the Great One's aura.

Gritting his teeth, Wolfram refused to give up. "Are you really going to sacrifice Yuri, just like that?" he demanded, glaring at the Great One, into the face so similar to his own. Founder of their nation or not, Wolfram wouldn't accept that.

"Please wait," Conrart spoke up, joining Wolfram. "Yuri hasn't given up yet, I'm sure of it. So please, don't give up on him!"

The Great One hesitated, sadness, regret, and self-loathing playing across his face. He didn't want to do it either. He wanted to believe in Yuri, wanted there to be some other path. But neither he nor his Wiseman had seen any way out, any way around it.

Caught up in their struggle, they had turned their back on the real threat. The Originator's dark power slammed into them, lashing out so quickly it caught them all completely off guard.

"Pointless. Fools," the Originator chided, shaking Yuri's head jeeringly. "No one's here."

It raised one hand, shadows surging again. The Great One hastily threw up another barrier, but the Originator's power had grown, and with the seal now gone, it quickly began to overwhelm him.

Suddenly, magic leapt past the party, running along the ground to explode at Yuri's feet, catching the Originator off guard. Pillars of earth burst up, knocking the Originator back and forming a temporary wall between it and the Demon Tribesmen.

For an instance, Wolfram thought that Gwendal had been the one to act, but as he turned, his eye fell on an expected figure crouched in the doorway. Grunting, Adalbert rose to his feet and let his gaze sweep over their group.

"A fine mess you've made," he muttered. "So that kid got himself made into a puppet? Should've known he was all talk."

"Shut up!" Wolfram snapped. "Yuri's still there! He'll turn it around! You can't just... just sacrifice him like that!" He had turned to the Great One, still blocking his way, for all the good it would do.

Again, the Great One hesitated, glancing at Wolfram with the same strained expression.

Adalbert snorted derisively. "Whyever not? Sacrificing people is what our great founder does," he said, his voice full of old, cutting bitterness. "Are you backing down now? What happened to your grand plan? Was Julia's sacrifice meaningless?"

"...I had no wish to..."

But the Great One's whispered admission seemed to only infuriate Adalbert.

"And yet you did!" Adalbert yelled. "Julia… Julia was sacrificed! It was for this, wasn't it? So why are you hesitating now? What's one more sacrifice?!"

"I never intended to sacrifice anyone!" The Great One's voice rang through the chamber. "I was supposed to be the one who would carry that weight! But... She couldn't. Her heart and soul were both so strong, but her body was too weak. From birth... even if her magic was strong, she wouldn't have been able to wield Morgif!"

Slowly, Adalbert shook his head, trying to deny what the Great One was saying. Julia had always been so full of life, always in motion despite her blindness, that it was easy to forget that she had been born with a weak body. Her constitution had remained delicate, even as she insisted on joining the army as a healer.

He could still remember how light and fragile she felt in his arms.

Julia... Julia was strong. But she could never have held a sword.

"That?! That is the reason Julia died?! I can't accept that!" Adalbert raged. That she could not fight? That she could not lift a sword? No, that wasn't enough. It could never be enough. Julia was so much more than any of that.

"There wasn't enough time," the Great One said, every word pleading and strangled. "I couldn't... I wished she could live out her life, but I was out of time. It had gotten too close, I couldn't wait another lifetime. She knew and... she gave up the rest of her time to her successor, so he could grow up to be the king our country needed."

He lowered his head as an uneasy silence filled the chamber, his voice only in their hearts and minds.

"But now, he's..."

Behind the stone wall Adalbert had erected, the Originator had paused. It studied at the rock formation with a detached curiosity, or perhaps simply bemusement. Adalbert's ability to mix both esoteric and spirit-based magic was unique and almost unnatural, since the two were close to diametrically opposed. Reaching out with Yuri's hand, the Originator laid a palm against the stone.

Finally losing interest, it gathered its power.

The rock formation exploded, clouds of dust and shards of stone sent flying across the chamber, forcing the Demon Tribesmen to duck.

Only the Great One remained motionless, his insubstantial form unaffected by the debris or the gusts of displaced air. His silhouette wavered, appearing to shudder.

"But he's the same - sacrificing himself to cover for my failings," the Great One said quietly. "There's no choice... For the sake of the Demon Kingdom, the Demon Tribe, the entire world..."

The darkness had deepened all around them, the sky completely swallowed by shadow, even the walls of the chamber no longer visible. The only light was the Great One's golden glow, flickering faintly. They were out of time.

Languidly, the Originator had begun to move toward them again. When the Great One looked up, his clear eyes meeting Yuri's with pained determination, it only regarded him mockingly, completely unafraid.

"Wait!" Adalbert tried to call out, but his voice was swallowed by the heavy, thick air.

"I call you now, overcome all limitations to return to the Demon King's side and fulfill your vow," the Great One proclaimed, his voice quiet but strong, "my faithful servant, Willem Dussollier Eli D'Morgif."

Even the Originator recognized that name. It hissed, the memory of the burning sword cutting it apart strong within it. Cutting, burning, forcing it out - its entire being shuddered, one hand clawing at the black jacket over Yuri's chest.

A beam of golden light burst through the dark clouds, straight onto the Originator. Like a bolt from the blue, the Demon Sword descended in a flash and a peal of thunder.

~.~.~

The shockwave of Morgif's impact sent the Demon Tribesmen flying. The walls of the Great One's sanctuary trembled, already damaged by the seal's release.

Morgif had plunged deep into the ground, a crater and spiderweb of thick cracks spreading out from the point where its blade was half-sheathed in the stone. Its shape had changed from the plain sword Yuri and Conrart had recovered on Van Da Via, becoming a massive, jagged thing of black and gold.

The face, previously almost comical in appearance, had become a truly demonic visage. Its fanged maw opened to release a chilling, deep growl.

But... Yuri's form was crouched on the other side of the Demon Sword. His shoulders heaved, his jacket and shirt wrenched open, his hands pressed tightly to his chest - but unharmed.

"...Did it miss?" Adalbert wondered quietly, his shoulders slumping with unwilling relief.

"No, that can't be..." Murata muttered, staring in confusion at Morgif. "It changed course of its own will?"

"...Are you saying that I no longer have the right to be called the Demon King?" the Great One mused, a defeated acceptance creeping into his voice. "That you won't turn on your true master? The true Demon King is..."

Yuri straightened, tipping his head back and taking a deep, relieved breath. "Aah... I made it," he sighed.

His eyes opened, and his clear gaze focused on the Demon Sword and the people on the other side of it - Wolfram, Conrart and Gwendal, Murata, Ulrike and the Great One, and even Adalbert, all staring at him in shock and slowly dawning hope.

He smiled.

"Hey, guys. Sorry to make you wait," Yuri greeted them, his expression fond, determined. "You even got Morgif back here. Everything's ready, huh? Well, let's finish this."

His hands, clasped together as if in prayer, shook as dark energy began to leak from between his fingers. When he parted them, the pendant in his palms pulsed with dark power, its clear blue color now completely black. Already, small cracks were spreading along its surface.

"That's... Earhart's..." the Great One murmured. "He... he really... until the end..."

Yuri didn't wait for the Originator to understand what had happened or give it a chance to begin to break free.

Drawing his arm back, he threw the demon stone into the air. It shone like an inverse star, arching up and beginning its descent as Yuri's hands wrapped around the hilt of the Demon Sword. The Originator's power roared outward, waves of shadow ripping across the ruined chamber, but it was already too late.

"This is it!" Yuri yelled, Morgif light and almost familiar in his grasp as he hefted the sword up. "I'm keeping our promise! Disappear from this world, once and for all!"

The Demon Sword's blade howled as it swung through the air to meet the dark falling star of the possessed demon stone. The Originator's power parted against it, and the pendant was cut cleanly in two. In the next moment, it shattered into shining dust.

A wave of shadow was let loose, sweeping outward, across the chamber, through the abandoned Tomb and beyond.

But as it passed, the sky above cleared of dark clouds and the shadows that had slithered along the ground dissipated into nothing. It felt as if the entire world took a breath of relief.

~.~.~

Trembling, Yuri dropped to his knees. "We did it," he mumbled, not quite able to believe it himself. "Right? We did it?"

"You did it," Murata agreed, his voice distant and shocked. "It's really gone, I can feel it..."

Slowly, the Great One nodded. Stunned and uncertain, he titled his face up, toward the sunlight that had begun to shine through the broken ceiling. The beams of light passed through his translucent form, blurring his features. But Murata thought he saw something slide down his cheeks.

"Yuri! Yuri!" Wolfram burst out, scrambling to his feet and running to his friend's side. Crashing into the other boy, he wrapped his arms tightly around him. "Idiot! Stupid wimp! I thought... I thought you were...!"

Conrart followed after him, kneeling beside the pair with a soft, relieved smile. Reaching out, Wolfram pulled him down as well, into their embrace. His tearful laughter was joined by Yuri's voice.

"We did it! We really did it!"

Watching them, Gwendal didn't try to hide his own smile. "Unbelievable," he huffed, content to remain nearby as they rejoiced. Movement from the corner of his eyes - his left eye, now seeing again - drew his attention, and he saw Adalbert, silently backing away from the spectacle of joy.

Their eyes met, and for a moment Adalbert seemed caught between too many conflicting emotions. Finally, he smiled crookedly, without any real joy. But there was a particular kind of relief there.

It was over.

Murata moved to stand close to Yuri and the other two, just outside their small circle, but Ulrike had remained at the Great One's side. She thought he smiled down at her, his expression becoming harder to distinguish as the bright sunlight blended with his own golden glow.

"Yuri," the Great One called out quietly. It was enough to make Yuri pulled away and look toward him. "Thank you. You did it. You found a way that I could not even believe existed. You saved everyone... even me."

Yuri shook his head. "All I did was swing the sword. Everything else - all the things we needed to make this work - was thanks to everyone! To all of you, and to them... the ones who entrusted their hopes to us."

Smiling faintly, the Great One nodded. "Everyone had a part, didn't they? But you did more than you think. You never gave up. So I ask you this - what do you wish for?"

Yuri stared at him in surprise. "Wish for?" he repeated.

"Yes. What is your wish? I will make it a reality. My time in this world is almost up, but I still have enough power for that much. Please, allow me to repay you even in that small way," the Great One said. "So what do you wish for, Yuri Shibuya?"

Slowly, Yuri shook his head, his expression blank and uncertain. "There's nothing, really..." he said, his voice catching.

"No? A place you want to go to? People you want to see?" The Great One's gaze was gentle but piercing, and Yuri couldn't seem to find the words to reply. "It's because of me that you were drawn into this world so soon and forced to part from your family. Do you want to see them again? I do not have the power to break the seal between our worlds, but I know how it was created. I can guide you through to the other side."

"...But then... you're going to move on, aren't you?" Yuri stammered. "Then I'll be... stuck on the other side instead..." He shook his head. "I miss my family, but... Everyone here is my family too! I'm part of the Demon Tribe of this world! I can't... say goodbye to them like that... I..."

"Just go, you stupid wimp!" Wolfram burst out, shoving Yuri sharply. "This is your chance!"

"I can't just leave you!" Yuri repeated. "You guys are important to me too!"

"Then come back! You said you'd find a way, didn't you?" Wolfram snapped.

"But..."

"Come on, Shibuya," Murata said, finally approaching his friend. He smiled, meeting his eyes. "I'll help you. It'll be a cinch."

"Just go already," Gwendal grumbled. Still, he offered his king a small smile. "Grown up a little more, and come back. We'll handle things here."

"Yuri," Conrart said quietly, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Go. We Demon Tribesmen have long lives. We'll be waiting for you, here in the Demon Kingdom, no matter how long it takes."

Quietly, Yuri sniffled. Tears began to roll down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook.

"Guys," he murmured, smiling through his sobs. "Thank you. Thank you so much, for everything! I swear... I'll see you soon. We'll meet again! It's not goodbye. See you later!"

Moving to stand beside him, Murata slipped his hand into Yuri's just in case. The others moved back as the Great One approached. His arms rose, golden power pouring forth, stronger and stronger until it became blinding.

When the light faded away, all three of them were gone.

~.~.~

"Are you sure you have everything?" Miko Shibuya fussed over her youngest. "Enough socks? Enough underwear?"

"Mom," Yuri groaned. "Enough already! I'll be fine. I'm not a kid anymore, you know."

"Oh, I guess," Miko sighed. She smoothed his bangs out of his eyes and ran her hands along his shoulders - finally finally having to reach up. "You're all grown up now, aren't you? You looked so handsome at your high school graduation! Oh, Mama is so proud!"

"We're very proud, Yu-chan," Shouma agreed. "Be careful okay? And listen to Bob. He knows what he's talking about."

Yuri hummed in agreement. Reaching up, he pulled his parents into a warm embrace. "Just in case, I want you to know, I love you, Mom, Dad," he muttered, burying his face in their shoulders.

Miko smiled, rubbing his back gently. "We love you too, Yu-chan," she said quietly. "Be a good king."

Stepping back, Yuri swallowed heavily and nodded. Tears threatened to appear again, and he spun around quickly, hurrying out the door of his family's home.

"Ready?" Shori asked, waiting for him by the gate with Murata.

"Yeah," Yuri said, reaching up to quickly rub at his eyes.

"You know, there's no rush. You could go to college," Shori said, without much fire. "See the world a bit. Get a girlfriend."

"I'm sure you know all about that," Yuri deadpanned. He smiled reassuringly at his brother. "I'm happy with the way things are. I had lots of fun the last two years. I went plenty of places, joined all kinds of clubs, met all kinds of people..."

"I dunno, getting a girlfriend does sound nice. What do you think, Shibuya?" Murata muttered, sighing wistfully.

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Forget it. Come on, we've got a lot of work ahead of us. It's time to fulfill that promise. We're going to find a way back to the Demon Kingdom."

Shori sighed, but he smiled all the same. "Of course. After all, you're the 27th Demon King."

~.~.~

His reign had just begun.

~.~.~