“Lilieth Lasvenn. I hereby order you to die.”

  Lilieth’s mouth was agape. She couldn’t understand the words she just heard. Verlaine’s face was grave. Serious. That gentle smile of his, that smile that she had committed to memory, and recalled many, many times, was nowhere to be seen.

  There was a sound of a blade being removed from its sheath. A figure stepped in front of Lilieth, sword at the ready, glaring at Verlaine.

  “What is this?” Talgerda asked, her voice a shaking whisper.

  Unlike Lilieth and the others, she didn’t let herself be paralyzed by confusion. She understood the meaning behind Verlaine’s actions, and immediately stood in front of Lilieth. But judging by the tone of her voice, though she understood that Verlaine intended to harm Lilieth, that shaking ... that anger in her voice. Talgerda couldn’t understand why.

  “Explain, Olivier,” Talgerda asked again, her tone now carrying a cold threat.

  “As we speak, that thing is rampaging at the surface, and exponentially growing in size,” Verlaine said. “Each second, it grows more powerful than it was when we fought it. There are no other hero parties stationed nearby, and we are too close to the capital. Hundreds of thousands will die if we let it rampage for too long, but even if all of us were in our top conditions, we stand no chance of even stopping that thing in its tracks. Our only hope is if we can use those blades.”

  “Lilieth can use them just fine,” Talgerda replied.

  “It won’t be enough,” Sevens interjected. “An attack from one blade is powerful yes, but as you saw, it wasn’t enough to completely obliterate that creature. And now, it’s larger and more powerful than before. The only chance we have is if we surrounded the creature, and used multiple blades at once. None of us have mana at the moment, but that thing seems to absorb all mana from the environment. The attack’s range is pretty significant, from what I could tell, so we could space ourselves evenly so we wouldn’t be taking mana from the same areas.”

  “Lilieth alone wouldn’t be able to achieve that.” Verlaine said. “The only way to transfer the blades’ ownerships is if the original owner dies. Am I correct, Sevens?”

  Lilieth’s spine froze over. If she dies? Were they ... were they really planning to kill her?

  “Right now, we do not have much in the way of options,” Sevens said.

  “We can’t let this be one of them!” Talgerda shouted. “Olivier, you can’t seriously be considering this. What’s wrong with you? What’s going on here?”

  Instead of responding to her, Verlaine instead turned to the rest of the party, who all watched with shocked expressions.

  “At this moment, Zusa—no, all of Krysanth is in danger. That creature is devouring every single tree and animal it can find to strengthen itself. What would happen if it devoured the entire capital? A capital filled with people, all of whom bear mana in their bodies? Imagine how powerful it would become. It may even reach the strength of an archdemon if we leave it alone for too long ... if it hasn’t already. We need the strength those swords will grant us.”

  Everyone had their own individual reactions.

  “Are you being serious right now...?” Roald Isenholt said, his face strained.

  “Huh,” Left Rivers, leaning against a boulder, was in deep thought.

  The Titan was silently standing there, not having much of a reaction.

  Rodei Libra also said nothing, though he was staring at the eleven swords with a hand on his chin.

  Mirena Ljutomira was sweating heavily, her brow furrowed. “I understand, sir. I understand what you’re saying, but ... but we can’t just...” Her words trailed off.

  Nahia Belasko had a horrified look on her face as she covered her mouth with her hands.

  Alice was enjoying the situation. Far from the boredom she displayed earlier, this time she seemed enraptured by everything going on.

  Sevens, for some reason, was touching Titan’s arm, her head down. She was ... whispering something to him? Lilieth couldn’t hear.

  Yupanai Nomari had his arms crossed as he considered what Verlaine said. His eyes were cold and calculating.

  And none of them, save Talgerda, had immediately pushed back Verlaine’s words.

  “You’re insane...” Talgerda said. “You’re all considering this?”

  “Verlaine has a point, La Logia,” Yupanai said. “If we don’t deal with that creature now, the consequences could be dire. Even if Zusa deployed its entire army, they’d all get wiped out. Worse, they’d just end up feeding the damn thing. Making it stronger.”

  “And?!” Talgerda shouted. “Jumel’s heavens, you guys, we can’t use that to justify killing her!”

  “You can’t just think about yourself, La Logia. That monster isn’t the only thing we have to worry about. What about the archdemon? How are we supposed to fight it without mana? Are you telling us to let Zusa fall, to let the demonic front fall?”

  “What’s ... what’s going on...?” Lilieth finally found her voice, though it came out in a whimper. “Why are you all...”

  “Stay behind me, Lili,” Talgerda whispered to her.

  The half-elf raised her blade defensively, keeping her eyes out. That’s when Lilieth noticed. Some of the members were trying to circle around Talgerda. Roald, Alice, and Rodei were trying to encircle them. No one made any rash moves yet, but the tension was building very, very quickly.

  But ... these people were her allies, right? Lilieth’s head, still strained and dizzy from her injuries, couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

  “We can’t let Zusa fall,” Roald said, his voice quivering slightly. “We ... we have to save it. All those people.”

  “That’s correct. You have to admit, Ser Verlaine is right. Alice agrees with him on all points.”

  “Right on. In the end, we’re heroes, ain’t we? What’s wrong with doin’ what needs to be done?”

  “What kind of hero murders a child?!” Talgerda yelled. “Mira, Nahia, Left, you can’t be on board with this too, right?”

  Mirena grabbed the hem of her skirt, and turned her gaze away. “I ... I don’t want to do it either. But if Sir Verlaine has decided that this is necessary, then—”

  “Necessary?! This is madness!”

  “Sir Verlaine must have thought deeply about this! He must not want to do this either! But if this is what he has ordered, then ... then it has to be the only remaining path!” Her voice, even when raise, was unsteady and unsure.

  Mirena a lost cause, Talgerda turned her gaze towards Nahia, who was shaking all over.

  “Belasko,” Yupanai said. “You understand our duty, yes?”

  Nahia shrunk under Yupanai’s glare. Then, slowly, even as tears fell from her eyes, she nodded.

  “Things are going to get dicey now, aren’t they?” Left stretched his arms. “Yeah. I’m not too keen on child murder, to be honest with you.”

  “Is that your decision, Left?” Verlaine asked.

  Left shrugged. “Nope. It’s a shame, but I’m not about to stand with the losing side. Sorry, Lasvenn. Oh, but don’t expect me to participate in whatever you guys are about to do, though. I don’t like getting my hands wet.”

  Talgerda clicked her tongue. “Titan! We need to move, now!”

  The Titan stood there. He did not move.

  “Titan?” Talgerda said, noticing something was wrong. “Dammit, are you listening?”

  The Titan did not respond with words. Instead, he slowly drew his greatsword.

  “What are you doing? That was an order!”

  “He’s not going to follow your orders anymore,” Sevens said, patting Titan’s armor. “Let’s just say I ... convinced him, while you were all distracted.”

  Talgerda’s face warped in rage. “You...”

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  “What, didn’t think I’d notice?” Sevens said in a cheeky whisper.

  Verlaine took another step forward. Immediately, Talgerda raised her sword and pointed it at his neck. Everyone else moved, drawing their own weapons, and inching themselves closer.

  “Lilieth,” Verlaine said, unperturbed by the blade at his neck. “It’s your turn to vote.”

  “Vote...?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

  “Damnit, Olivier! Stop!”

  “Will you give your life for the cause?” he said, ignoring Talgerda. “Your death, here, can save millions. You can be remembered as a hero among heroes.”

  Lilieth tried to respond. She tried to think. But the only thing that she felt was fear, and the only thing she could do was push herself backwards with her good leg, dragging herself inch by inch. Her other leg left behind a trail of blood as it trailed uselessly behind.

  Verlaine sighed, having received his answer. “It’s settled. Ten against two.”

  The instant he said that, Talgerda swung her longsword at him. Verlaine reacted, jumping back and swinging his sword at the same time. Blood trailed behind the blade’s tip. Talgerda’s upper arm had a deep cut going through it. She dropped the sword, but turned her body and caught it with her other hand. She swung again.

  The slash was stopped in place. Titan had stepped forward and grabbed the blade with both his hands, stopping it mere inches away from Verlaine’s head. Immediately, Yupanai ducked in and slammed a fist straight into her abdomen. Talgerda let go of her blade and jumped back, then threw a kick to Lilieth’s left. The kick struck Rodei Libra in the face, knocking him back. Rodei had rushed in with a knife, trying to stab Lilieth, and she hadn’t noticed. Talgerda followed up with another attack to the other side, which an approaching Roald blocked with his arms, though he was still pushed back a fair distance.

  Blood splattered, and suddenly, an arrow was sticking out of Talgerda’s good arm. In the distance, Alice was carrying a small crossbow.

  “These are an unrefined brute’s weapons, but Alice can admit, they are quite handy when mana isn’t available,” Alice said with a sadistic smirk on her face. Talgerda grabbed the arrow and forcefully snapped it in half, leaving the other half inside her arm to lessen the bleeding.

  Footsteps. Lilieth turned to her front, where she saw Yupanai rushing towards her, wielding Talgerda’s blade. He swung down. Talgerda grabbed Lilieth’s collar and pulled her back, the blade narrowly missing the tip of her nose. As Lilieth fell to the ground, Talgerda jumped forward, tackling Yupanai with her shoulder. The two of them lost their balance, and they both fell.

  Roald and Rodei immediately jumped in and held Talgerda’s arms to the ground. She struggled fiercely, and the two were having a hard time keeping her still. She twisted her body, and both of them lost their balance. But before she could get up, an arrow pierced her left leg. Talgerda screamed.

  “Lady Gerda!” Lilieth cried out.

  Yupanai rushed towards Talgerda, grabbing Rodei’s fallen dagger, and swung it down faster that Lilieth’s eyes could properly track.

  Despite the sheer speed, Talgerda reacted. She pulled to the side, shifting her body forcefully. Roald lost his balance and was pulled along. Yupanai’s dagger ended up grazing Roald’s hand instead.

  Roald pulled back immediately, letting out a scream. Talgerda used her now freed arm to punch Rodei’s chest, knocking him off the platform and into the water. Yupanai tried to stab again, but Talgerda launched a kick, sweeping Yupanai off his feet.

  She stood up and placed distance between her and the others, but the others charged in. Mirena had also joined the fight now. Talgerda fought each of them off, using hand-to-hand combat to push each of them back, but it was no use. As good as she was at fighting, the others were good, too.

  Verlaine strode in, planting a powerful fist into the center of Talgerda’s chest. The impact was so powerful that Lilieth could feel the air tremble. Talgerda coughed blood, her legs unsteady. She gasped for air, wheezing and hacking. Yupanai didn’t miss that opportunity, brandishing the dagger and landing a good stab on her leg.

  Talgerda screamed. A painful, guttural scream.

  “Stop!”

  Lilieth’s body moved. She pushed herself as hard as she could with her one good leg, and tackled Yupanai. But there was little she could do with her small, weak body. Yupanai simply swung his arm, and Lilieth flew backwards, head-first into a boulder.

  Her vision blurred. She could feel something warm trail down her head, over her eye, and drip down to the ground. She slumped uselessly on the ground.

  Lilieth’s vision cleared, just enough for her to understand what she was seeing. Talgerda was on the ground, surrounded. Verlaine standing over her, sword in hand. She could hear, faintly through the ringing, their conversation.

  “Olivier! You can’t ... this isn’t who you are!”

  “...What do you know of who I am? Of this burden I carry?”

  Talgerda struggled, but her strength faded away, and she just slumped there.

  “...I thought I knew you, goddammit,” she said. Her voice ... she was crying.

  Saying nothing else, Verlaine raised his sword, and drove it down. There was the sound of piercing flesh. Verlaine pulled the sword out, its blade covered in blood. The crying stopped.

  There was a stillness in the air as the others released Talgerda’s body.

  “...?!” Verlaine’s eyes widened. “Dodge—!”

  Talgerda’s arm suddenly reached for her fallen longsword, and swung in a wide arc. Everyone had jumped back, but a few hadn’t done so in time, and had sustained deep cuts on their arms and bodies.

  Talgerda stood back up, holding her stomach, desperately keeping the blood from pouring out. She stood. Feet far apart, torso slouched, sword arm limp, and breathing clogged with blood, but she stood.

  Everyone else couldn’t help but look at her with awe and fear. They were as exhausted as Talgerda was, despite the odds being so against her.

  Seeing that figure, so close to death yet still fighting to protect, made Lilieth’s heart swirl with a hundred different emotions. Fear, joy, panic, hope, despair, love. And some part of her began to believe that she would never die. That the world would crumble and turn to ash first before she fell.

  Verlaine eyes were unsteady. Then, he closed them, and took a deep, shaky breath. And when he opened them again, all the warmth in that gaze was gone.

  He moved in. The two of them swung. Their blades slid across each other, and—

  “—Ah.”

  A hoarse voice left Lilieth’s throat as Talgerda’s arm landed in front of her, still gripping her sword.

  Blood erupted from Talgerda’s shoulder. A crossbow bolt pierced through the side of her stomach, lodging itself deep. Yupanai closed in, stabbing the dagger into her shoulder. Talgerda used her remaining arm to grab Yupanai’s robe, and pull him into a vicious headbutt. Blood spurted from both their heads, and they both staggered back.

  Verlaine strode in again, swinging. Talgerda dodged, but left herself open to an attack from Roald, who impaled a sword into her body, hilt-deep, then left it there. Another crossbow bolt pierced her. Titan swung with his greatsword. Talgerda dodged, but Titan used the momentum to deliver a powerful punch to her head with his other arm. More blood. A chunk of skin flew out. Verlaine swung his sword at her stomach. Her guts spilled out.

  It was then, and only then, that Talgerda fell to the floor, her entire body painted red. Blood pooled underneath her.

  She wasn’t moving.

  “...”

  Lilieth couldn’t say anything. Her mouth was wide open, though no words dared escape. Her eyes hadn’t blinked even once, even as they began to sting. Everything ... everything felt numb beyond belief.

  Why? Why did she not turn away or close her eyes? Why had she watched all of that? Why was she so weak that she couldn’t even do something as simple as that?

  Why?

  Everyone else caught their breaths, with some even collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. Nobody said a word.

  “...Haah.”

  Verlaine let out a breath. Lilieth’s vision was starting to blur. Was it because of her head injury? Or the tears? Or the blood that had seeped into her eyes? In any case, she could no longer see his face.

  But she could see his figure, slowly approaching, red-stained sword in hand. The others followed slowly.

  In that instant, her mind cleared as she realized what was about to happen. Adrenaline rushed through her and she hurriedly propped herself up. But she couldn’t find the strength to stand, so she simply propped herself against a rock. Nearby, she saw the sword—her sword. That beautiful, green-gemmed sword. With her meager strength, she reached out and grabbed it.

  Some of them stopped in caution, but the rest continued to approach.

  Lilieth held the sword in front of her, and tried to activate it. She prayed with all her heart.

  Nothing happened. Not enough mana left in the room. The sword was now useless as a weapon, so she simply held the blade to her body, embracing it ... but it had no warmth, so it had no use to comfort her, either.

  Verlaine stopped, and looked down at her. She couldn’t see his face, still. She couldn’t see his eyes. What expression was he wearing?

  “P-please,” Lilieth croaked out.

  She heard Yupanai click his tongue, sounding out of breath. “Seriously, Lasvenn? How can you be so selfish? You’ve always been whining about your purpose in this world, your mission that your goddess gave you. Well, now that we’re here, it’s obvious, isn’t it? You’d have to be blind not to see it. This is what she wanted you to do. You’ve been asking for this!”

  “I don’t ... I didn’t—”

  “What happened to La Logia was your fault, by the way,” he continued. “Entirely your fault. Had you simply agreed, she would’ve respected your decision. But you didn’t, and so she had to try and protect you. Now look.”

  “Enough, Yupanai,” Verlaine said.

  “P-please ... someone, save me...” Lilieth cried out. “L-lord Titan ... Lady ... B-Belasko ... Lady Ljutomira...”

  No one answered. No one. The only thing greeting her was silence.

  “Don’t ... don’t leave me behind...”

  Her voice trailed off, losing their strength. And so she prayed. Not with her words, but with her heart. She prayed to Lady Eulalie. She had followed Her vision. She had been as devout as one possibly could. Now, Lady Eulalie would reward her faith by saving her. By granting her salvation. Her sword will protect her. It has to.

  “Sir, I can’t bear to listen to this anymore. Please.”

  “...You’re right. My apologies, Lilieth. I’ll make it quick.”

  She will be saved.

  “I’m truly am sorry.”

  She heard something shatter. She felt something cleave through her chest. Lilieth fell to the ground, seeing something fall in front of her.

  A sword, a green-gem in the center. Its blade, broken in half.

  “Argh, seriously? That’s a darned shame. Now we got one less blade!”

  “Finally pulled yourself out of the water, huh? Thought you drowned. Well, no matter. We still have the other eleven. Hells, with La Logia gone, we have one more than we can use.”

  “...Did we have to kill her, sir? La Logia, I mean.”

  “She wouldn’t have accepted it, no matter what. Talgerda is ... she was dangerous to have as an enemy. Better to have dealt with her now, while she was out of mana.”

  Lilieth could feel something warm seeping out of her body. A gentle pool formed beneath her, like a soft bed at the end of a long, exhausting day. She couldn’t move her body anymore. Her breathing was slowing down.

  “What should Alice do with their bodies?”

  “Leave them.”

  “Sir? But ... what if someone comes and finds them?”

  “I’d rather not have anyone discovering this place. At least, not until we understand these blades a bit more. Seal off the entrance. We can say that the creature devoured and dissolved them.”

  “Verlaine, the swords are ready. We can grab them now.”

  “Good. Everyone, make haste. Each of you, take a sword. We need to catch up to the creature before it reaches Zusa. Nahia, I want your familiars to...”

  Their voices trailed off. Was it because they were walking away, or because her ears were starting to fail? It didn’t matter. Soon, silence came.

  With every bit of strength she had left, Lilieth dragged her body forward. Towards Talgerda. Even as she felt her insides spilling out, being left behind, she continued to crawl, until her hand finally grasped hers. Lilieth tightened it, holding Talgerda’s hand, its warmth fading.

  As the deep cold came to take her, Lilieth only had one question in her heart.

  Why?

  Why did all of this happen?

  Why did Talgerda have to die?

  Why? When all she did was follow her vision?

  She wanted to ask Her. She wanted to ask Eulalie. She wanted to hear her voice explain it all to her.

  But nothing came.

  “...Hah.”

  Lilieth breathed out, realizing the truth. Even her own goddess had left her behind.

  Lilieth Lasvenn passed away. Cold. Alone.

  Abandoned.