FIRSTLY. I'M SORRY ONCE AGAIN FOR NOT UPDATING AT THE RIGHT TIME. I FEEL TERRIBLE. TT-TT School has finally gotten to my time to write. I will do my best to try and update, as I keep saying. So please bear with me on this one.

We're in the 40's everyoneee! :D Soon this story will finally finish. :) And this fantasic tale will come to an end. I hope you are all ready for this.

Be emotionally, mentally, and physically ready for what comes in the next few chapters as your feels spiral out of control.

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Chapter 40: It All Ends

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Nova's POV

I couldn't feel any pain anymore. It was as if I had lost my sense of touch everywhere on my body. It was because of this thing inside of me isn't it? If if were only gone, would I be able to have the possibility of not dying. Even though I couldn't feel anything, I knew that my body would be beyond repair if I continued down this path of destruction.

As soon as we came into mere contact with the Earl, he took both of our blows without flinching, black blood dripping from his wounds. His frightening golden eyes met my own, sparking something inside of me. It felt as if something had broken out of its cage. Frozen because of it, a high pitched ringing filled my ears as I saw black electrical sparks flow up my arms. It appeared out of the hilt of my scythe, pulsing inside me. When I was suddenly lifted into the air, I saw that the Earl had broken free of the shadowed strips and had thrown Allen to the side, all in the length of seconds. He had me by the throat, but I couldn't feel his grip around it. All I saw was his rage filled gaze.

"I'm going to kill you here and everyone else in this room. It's about time the Krest lineage ended." He growled as his sword floated into the air and aimed straight for me. Not even knowing if I was doing it, I lifted my scythe just as the sword moved towards me. Making it just in time, the sword's blade clashed against my scythe, emnating sparks.

Suddenly, my sense of touch returned as the Earl slammed me into the ground. Ignoring the ringing in my ears, I rolled out of the way as a black ball of doom crashed into the spot I was just in. Steadying myself on to my feet, I clutched my chest as I breathed in strangled gasps. The sparks rolling up my arms increased to a loud static in my ears. My head felt like it was gonna blow any second.

"Nova!" Allen cried out, startling me out of my pained daze. I glanced up to see the Earl's sword flying towards me. Barely having enough time, I moved my head to the side, the blade of the sword slashing my shoulder. What surprised me was the black blood that spurted out. I gripped the shoulder wound tightly as I watched Allen attack the Earl.

Holding the Final Form of my scythe in my hand, I glanced down at it, watching its flames lick the blade. We're going to finish this.

I ripped my hand away from my wound and clenched the hilt of my scythe tightly before exploding off of the ground to come rushing at the Earl. Making several hits, I fell into a defensive stance as his sword came at me. Dodging his hits, I flipped out of the way to let Allen in. Clashing with each other, black shadows appeared under the Earl as Allen and him exchanged attack after attack.

Going in for another round, I came into close quarters with the Millennium Earl and manipulated the shadows under him as we danced to the song of our blades. I balled a fist and let the shadows under him explode into a flurry, encircling him into a cyclone. My vision blurred in front of me for a second as Allen came up beside me, a determined look in his gaze.

"Let's go!" He exclaimed as we both lunged forward and slashed our weapons into the cyclone of shadows. A flash of white light hit both of us as an insane, piercing howl filled the air. Flinching against the sound, I didn't expect to feel something hard sink into my chest. Stiffening upon contact, my entire world blurred in front of me as I heard a voice inside of my head.

"Even if you save everyone else, you won't be able to save yourself from me, Nova Krest. I will kill you. Even if it involves taking something valuable to you."

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Kanda's POV

"No! This can't be right! Earl-sama!" Lulubell cried out as her entire form began to fade away into crisp black pieces. Lavi and I stopped fighting her as soon as she began deteriorating. I glanced over to Lenalee and General Klaud to see the same thing happening to Road. I exchanged glances with Lavi, an unspoken conversation between us.

"Ergh, we will return exorcists...we will...this...will not be...the last time..." Lulubell's voice faded away as her body disappeared from the Earth. A silence remained between Lavi and I until it was shattered with Allen's cry.

"Nova!" All heads turned to see the silver haired boy kneeling down next to the brunette, a panicked look in his eyes. Instantly, we started sprinting towards the pair, an unsettling aura filling the air.

Please be alright...I thought as I bent down next to her, clenching my jaw in an effort to not let my worry flow out in waves. I took her into my arms, looking at her shut eyes. She had a couple of bad wounds, but nothing that seemed serious on the outside. But what of the inside of her? What was the condition of that black stuff that was in her blood?

"What happened?" Cross demanded from behind, his voice gruff.

"I-I don't know! We made our attack against the Earl and then this white light hit us. We couldn't see anything! Then when it was over, Nova was lying on the ground unconscious!" Allen stuttered out, his voice filled with concern and worry.

I bent down and tried searching for a pulse, listening for any signs of her being alive; her breath, her heart, anything. After moments of searching and feeling her pulse, I leaned down to her heart again and jolted in surprise when I heard a faint pulse. A sigh of relief escaped me, unbeknownst to myself.

"We have to get her back to the Order." I stated as I proceeded to carry her on my back. The others in the group quickly nodded in unison, already turning back to get Sam and Victoria.

"She'll be alright," General Klaud softly said into the air, possibly trying to comfort herself as well as the others. Lavi took Victoria into his arms as Allen helped a barely conscious Sam up to his feet.

"Is...the...fight...over?" Sam muttered under his breath, his eyelids fluttering.

"...yes, we need to head back as quickly as we can." I replied as we began walking back the way we came. The fact that Nova had a faint pulse worried me.

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Komui's POV

"Just...what did you do, Nova?" I muttered to myself as I gazed down at her unconscious body as it lay on the hospital bed. Different types of cords were attached to her, checking her blood, her heart rate; everything. I lifted my head and caught the two other healing bodies in the slightly repaired infirmary room. Victoria and Sam. They had finally been brought back as well. I let out a sigh of exhaustion as I lifted my head back and let it hang there for a moment before bringing my hand up to my face. I closed my eyes as images of what happened only a few hours earlier.

The doors that had been planted into the Order burst open as Kanda stalked in, Nova on his back. I was right there, waiting for them, hoping they needed some medical attention. I didn't think that any of them would return from basically the pits of Hell. Kanda immediately demanded for Nova to be looked after, an utterly concerned look in his dark eyes. The same for Victoria and Sam. The three of them, Nova, Victoria and Sam seemed to all be in a much worse condition than any of them may have ever imagined. Especially Nova.

After hearing what had been planted inside of her, based off of what Cross had said, I immediately began looking for signs of it resurfacing in her system. But when I ran several tests on her, I was surprised to see that there was no trace of the black substance inside of her. Which was strange. The other Generals thought it peculiar as well. They had all seen that had been close to dying when she was fighting the Earl. So why was it mysteriously gone from her system now?

Just what exactly happened in there? I found out as soon as I ran an Innocence test.

Currently, no visitors were allowed to see the three of them since they were still recovering. From what I have gathered from the others, it seems that they would not be waking up for a while as they replenished their energy. The entire experience with the Shigai and the Earl seemed to have sapped all of their remaining energy from them.

Perhaps it would be better if they got some well deserved rest. Nova had finally finished the long war with the Earl.

Smiling softly to myself, I glanced down at the three of my patients all unconscious and tied up to dozens of cords and machines. I pushed my glasses up to the bridge of my nose as I headed towards the door of the infirmary. Pulling it open, I blinked in surprise to see Kanda, Allen, Lavi, General Cross, General Klaud, and the entire staff of the Order waiting outside, piled in the halls. I smiled to myself as I met all of their stares.

"Lemme guess, you want to see them?"

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Nova's POV

I couldn't open my eyes. Not yet.

I was still dreaming. About the things I missed. Those I loved. Mom and Patrick. I kept seeing their smiling faces as they slowly disappeared into the white light. I kept missing them, wanting to be with them. But that can't happen: because they're gone. I got what I wanted. I destroyed the Earl in order to avenge their deaths but that didn't make me feel better. I still missed them.

Memories upon memories kept returning to me. Making me want to just go back into the past and change that I had never found the note that the Millennium Earl left for me. That way I could've had my brother back. He wouldn't have had to die. I wouldn't have had to go through all this pain.

"I love you, sweetheart." My mother's honey like voice reached my ears. Tears appeared under my eyes, threatening to fall. "No matter what, you and your brother are the best things that have ever happened to me. Don't forget that."

"Life is a very precious thing, Annabeth." She was using my real name. The tears rolled down the sides of my eyes. "Don't waste it. Meet new people and have a good life. That's one thing that I want you to believe in."

"Hey sucker, what're you doing?" Patrick. He was playing with me when we were still young. I giggled brightly as he grabbed me by the waist and lifted me into the air. "You're adorable, you know that?" He nuzzled my forehead with his own as he grinned.

"I'd risk my life in order to save yours...I love you, Nova."

The pain and the love in my heart refused to go away. It would always be there forever and ever.

With that, I snapped my eyes open.

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Cross's POV

I leaned against the side of her bed, arms crossed across my chest as I stood there, deep in thought. What Komui just told me...what will she do instead? I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard the rustle of bed sheets. Turning my head, I saw Nova slowly sit up, wincing as she held an injured part of her body. The first thing I noticed was her right eye. Looks like Komui was right.

As Nova lifted her head, her eyes met my own. Her left one was perfectly normal. But her right one was a dull black pupil that showed no signs of functioning. She had lost the sight of one of her eyes. Nova seemed to realize this as well, passing a hand over her right eye and over her left eye. A soft sigh seemed to escape her lips. No words needed to be said in a situation like this.

"Hey, how are you holding up kid?" I asked in a quiet voice as I met her gaze. She shrugged silently, turning her head to see the other two unconscious patients in the room who were still sleeping.

"Why are you in here? Aren't there no visitors allowed when someone is healing?" She retorted back, sliding her gaze back over to me with an amused smile. I let out a small scoff, a bit relieved that she could still joke around.

"How long...has it been since we got here?" Nova inquired in a more serious tone. I took a breath as I thought about it. It wasn't hard to realize.

"About a few weeks. You and the other two have been out that long." I replied as I stared down at the floor of the infirmary. Nova didn't seem surprised by the news, she was probably used to it by now.

"What about...my Innocence?" I blinked at the question I didn't want her to ask. Well, it would have to be told sooner or later. I stayed in silence for a moment, mulling about what to say when I just decided to go out with it.

"You don't have it anymore. It's gone." There was a second of tensed silence before Nova broke it with a clear of her throat.

"...what did you just say?"

"You almost died when you got here. Your heartbeat was so faint but you were alive. If you Innocence had been inside you any longer, according to Komui, it would have ruptured your heart and cause you to die instantly. But it didn't. Now, you don't have any Innocence." I explained quietly, turning my head to watch her reaction. It had shifted from disbelief to a solemn understanding.

"So...I can't fight anymore..." She trailed off, her voice giving off a hint of sadness. I shook my head in response to her statement.

"No...but-" Before I could continue, the door to the infirmary opened to Komui letting himself in. When he saw that Nova was awake, he let out a small huff, a smile appearing on his face.

"It's good you're awake, Nova." He greeted as he approached us with a clipboard in his hand. The ex-exorcist shrugged as she gave him a small smile.

"I just found out that I can't fight anymore. And I can't see out of my eye." She bluntly replied as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, bandaged hands and arms appearing from under the covers. Komui frowned slightly at her statement, seeming disappointed as well.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. And about your eye as well. But know that we won't kick you out since you no longer have any Innocence. We won't do that to you, Nova." Komui went on as he put a hand on her bandaged arm. She gazed into his eyes seriously, her silver eyes glinting with complete trust.

"So what am I gonna do instead? I can't be a finder, or a scientist, and no way can I be a General, so what? Everyone has a job here. Everyone here but me." She softly uttered as she lowered her gaze to the bed sheets. I smirked slightly at her words. Oh she'll have a job. Komui's words hummed through my head again as he spoke them out loud.

"Why don't I give you a job opportunity?" He inquired with a smile, flipping the clipboard in his hands around to face Nova. She blinked in astonishment as she met Komui's gaze before glancing at the paper on the clipboard. Reading it for a minute, a grin began creeping on to her face as she reached the bottom of the page. "You love this place, don't you?" Komui finished as he let Nova take the clipboard. She replied by nodding mutely, looking at the clipboard intently.

"Of course. With every ounce of my being." She added, lifting her gaze up to meet Komui's.

"Perfect. So what do you say? Are you in for the job?" I smirked wider as I saw that excited grin appear on Nova's lips.

"Hell yeah,"

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GUH. DOES THIS CHAPTER SEEM RUSHED? ALSO, IS THE EARL'S DEATH TOO SHORT? I'm sorry, I just haaad to finish the action as quickly as possible. However, I do feel bad for doing this to Nova, my own OC. :( She lost her Innocence and the sight of her right eye. But hey, she DID say she was ready to give up anything in order to defeat the Earl.

So, what did you think of the chapter? The story's ending soon so get ready! :)

Oh, and what kind of job do you think Nova will now have? Leave me some suggestions! I'd love to use one as her new job. :)

This is all to you faithful readers of mine. See you in the next update!

FallenWing21