"Don't screw with me! You're telling me to run away after I've been humiliated like this!?"
Zaraki snarled in protest, but Koumaru ignored him and summoned a shikigami.
The shikigami, shaped like a pair of massive, spreading wings, expanded in size. Koumaru boarded the construct and snatched up Zaraki—who was covered in wounds and unable to move properly—before taking flight.
"Koumaru is escaping! Form a pursuit unit and after him!!"
"There are too many casualties! Get a relief unit here immediately!!"
As the shouts of the Security Force echoed through the area, the others squeezed out the last of their strength to reach Yugo. He was in even worse shape than Zaraki.
Ryuga, who had been the furthest away, rushed to his side. As he stood before him, his eyes wide with shock, Yugo pitched forward, his strength finally crumbling away.
"Managed to... pull through, I guess... But I couldn't save Raiha..."
"Brother! Hang in there!!"
"Relief unit! Get over here now! He's critically injured!!"
Ryuga instinctively caught Yugo as he fell, hearing his faint murmur over the frantic shouts of their comrades.
Gazing at Yugo’s battered form—his injuries far deeper than he had imagined—Ryuga spoke through a mask of agony.
"Why, Yugo... Why did you go so far to save me!?"
Yugo's body should have reached its breaking point the moment he was caught in the Gigantrose's explosion. Between that and the injuries he had sustained earlier at the hospital, he certainly hadn't been in any condition to fight.
And yet, Yugo had stood up to save him from certain death. He had used a suicidal trump card to force a double knockout against Zaraki.
Faced with Ryuga’s desperate question—why he would do something so reckless when he knew the price would be his own life—the broken Yugo managed his usual cheerful smile.
"Ryuga... don't ask questions when you already know the answer. You understand why, don't you?"
"...!!"
As he spoke, Yugo gripped Ryuga's arm with surprising strength.
His body had moved simply because a life was about to be snuffed out before his eyes—because his precious partner was in trouble. It was as simple as that.
Ryuga let out a sharp breath as he felt the weight of Yugo's resolve.
"Sorry... looks like I'm gonna have to rest for a bit," Yugo whispered. "I'm leaving Raiha to the rest of you..."
"Stop talking, Yugo! Please, no more—!!"
Melt desperately channeled recovery magic, but Yugo’s wounds were too severe for her spells to mend. He gave her a small, weak shake of his head.
Having reached the absolute limit of his physical form, Yugo gathered every remaining drop of willpower to look back at Ryuga.
"Ryuga, what we talked about last night... you haven't forgotten, have you?"
"No, I remember. I haven't forgotten a single word...!"
"I see... Then it'll be fine..."
Yugo clenched his fist and weakly tapped Ryuga’s chest, right over his heart.
Ryuga choked back a sob. In that faint smile and the touch of that trembling fist, he felt the absolute depth of the trust Yugo placed in him.
Yugo’s voice was barely a breath as he spoke his final words.
"I believe in you, partner. If it's you, I know you'll—"
"Yugo...?"
Yugo's arm, which had been pressed against Ryuga's chest, suddenly went limp and fell away.
He had squeezed out every last bit of life to speak those final words. Now, his body was perfectly still. Ryuga groaned, pulling the unresponsive boy into a tight embrace.
"Brother? Brother! BROTHER!!"
Fee’s tear-soaked scream tore through the air, leaving the comrades and the gathered onlookers in a state of breathless, horrified silence.