Content Warning: Depictions of violence
◇ Rinka’s POV ◇
After Yuuki-kun healed the fatal wound that bastard had given me with healing magic, he said,
「I’ll protect you no matter what. I’ll make sure you get back to everyone…」
With those words, he kept fighting, cutting down the monsters that came at us without end.
By now, he must have slain well over a thousand. But even so, the monsters kept pouring out from deeper inside, seemingly without limit.
(If only his weapon hadn’t been destroyed…)
I swung the short sword Yuuki-kun had given me for self-defense with all I had, thinking to myself.
Goblins, being low-level monsters, were still manageable. But there were also lizardmen with tough, scale-covered hides that dulled the sword, and orcs with thick layers of fat that made even fatal blows ineffective. Even gelatinous slimes had slipped into the horde.
Despite being able to heal, the upper left half of my body had been badly burned by a slime. Elsewhere, I bore claw marks from lizardmen and goblins alike.
I swung my sword with all I had, carving through life, deflecting claws, and striking with my twisted, broken left hand.
The amount of blood I’d lost was pushing my limit. I’d been staggering for a while now.
(Even though I resented him so much because of my ugly feelings… Even though he was thinking of helping me and my family… Even though I spat venomous words at that kindness… he still treated me gently…)
For him, maybe this is all just part of his ordinary life. Maybe this is just who he is at his core.
Even so, he said he’d protect me. Someone like me, a bitter, unpleasant woman, he could’ve fought so much more easily if he’d just left me behind.
(And now, only now, I finally realize it… I’ve liked him all along, probably since the beginning. I admired the girls who got to stay by his side…
God, it’s pathetic…)
He’s the one who changed my world.
The one who helped someone like me, who had no talent.
The one who made it possible for me to face my family again.
And I, who had been moved by that kind of person, rejected those feelings and pushed them onto him.
That version of myself feels so pathetic, and… so shameful.
And now, at last, he drops to one knee. He’s reached his limit.
I break into a run toward him, determined to keep him standing to the very end, so he can return to the people he loves.
And more than anything… I want to apologize.
For the cruel things I said. For the jealousy I felt.
And above all, I don’t want the person I love to die.
To save his life, even if it’s just for a little longer, I’ll buy him some time.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
No good… I’m at my limit. I can’t even speak anymore.
Maybe it’s the blood loss.
Maybe it’s the strain from constantly circulating enhancement and healing magic through my body.
Whatever the reason, my vision is starting to blur.
Then it happens, an orc’s blow lands, and my spine snaps. I drop to my knees.
In that instant, three goblins swarm me.
My left eye is crushed, and my sword is wrenched from my hand.
Without a weapon, there’s no chance I’ll survive.
I grab one goblin by the head and slam it into the ground.
Another, I grab with my broken left hand and snap its neck.
As I reach for the goblin that took my sword…
A flash of crimson bursts into view.
In that moment, the heads of both the goblin and the orc are sent flying, and I’m caught in someone’s arms.
「I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…」
Kagurazaka-san holds me as she cries.
I pat her trembling back, and she gently lays me down.
Then, gripping the short sword I gave her and the reclaimed sword in both hands, she charges into battle.
Her movements are incredible, and beautiful.
Like a dance, she weaves through the enemy, and wherever she passes, blossoms of blood bloom.
It’s all blood spray, and yet… it’s almost ethereal.
The twin swords catch the light as they draw dazzling arcs through the air.
Blood flurries, steel, and her crimson hair, the battlefield becomes a stage painted in vivid motion.
She fells goblins in a single stroke.
Lizardmen have their bellies opened at the softest spot, intestines spilling out.
Even massive orcs are beheaded in a streak of light that seems to leap like a star through the sky.
Both the monsters and I are captivated by the sheer beauty of it.
But it can’t last.
She’s already lost too much blood.
Healing magic can’t generate that much blood.
Eventually, her body will give out, her feet will stop.
And just like that, as if it had been waiting for that moment, a minotaur at the far end of the corridor hurls a boulder.
Kagurazaka-san is struck and thrown hard into the wall.
She isn’t killed instantly, but half her body is crushed.
I run to her, trying to cast Perfect Heal, but her eyes are unfocused.
All I can hear from her mouth is the faint rasp of her breath.
「Rinka! Rinka!」
At my voice, her vacant eyes finally find me.
「O wounded one before me, I shall heal you with my pow…」
「Wait…」
「It’s no use anymore. I can’t feel anything below my waist… and my body, it’s getting colder…」
「You’ll be okay! I’ll save you, I swear!」
「More importantly… listen to me…」
She struggled to speak, her breath ragged and shallow.
「I’m sorry… for all the terrible things… I said… I’m so sorry…」
Her voice was growing fainter and fainter.
「And… finally………」
I leaned in closer to catch her fading words.
In that moment, Kagurazaka-san’s hand reached up and wrapped around my neck, bringing our faces inches apart.
「I’m… glad… I fell in love… with you…………」
And with that, the strength left her body.
From deep within me, power surged.
At Kagurazaka-san’s final moment, the ability 【Brave Prefer Romance】 activated.
It was just a brief instant, but my wounds were healed and my magic power fully restored.
I wanted to scream in rage at how small this power-up felt compared to losing someone who loved me.
But instead, my mind went cold, as if a tide had pulled all the heat from it.
「O waves, O waves, O mother sea, With your harshness and life-consuming fury, Use all of it to devour my foes, Bloodstorm of the Great Sea.」
I called forth a mass of water with my magic power.
It filled the chamber, rising until it became a swirling tempest.
The raging storm tore into the dungeon’s walls, swallowing monsters in its path.
Clutching Kagurazaka-san’s lifeless body, I endured it behind a wall of wind.
The sea consumed everything, turning red and black with blood as it surged through the depths of the dungeon, leaving not even a shadow of a monster behind.
The debris that had blocked the passage to the stairs above had been swept away by the great spell, and the way forward was open.
Holding Kagurazaka-san’s body close, I walked down the corridor.
My magic power was completely drained, and every step was unsteady.
「Thank god this dungeon has a safe zone…」
Just as I finally climbed the stairs to the next floor, something flashed.
A light impact.
My vision dropped, the world tilted.
The last thing I saw… was Hisazumi, who was supposed to have escaped, smiling.
And the words that made my blood boil.
「That won’t do… You’re supposed to be dead.」
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