Losing was sothing she found so dreadful, and also the most terrifying. Because if she failed, it would go against her ultimate goal in life, she would be nothing but an utter failure. And if she failed, her life might as well be pointless. She would be unworthy. As her back lay on the ground, her thoughts moved rapidly, a mont felt like many. That was how terrible it felt to her, losing might just kill her. And that was why she absolutely could not lose.
As she stared up at the stars, she recalled the person she was doing this all for.
Once, both of them stared up at the sky. It was a stressful day, and the princess wanted to get so fresh air and enjoy watching the stars. So they ca over to an open yard. It was a beautiful, clear sky, every twinkling star was visible to the eye.
“You know, stars are among the most magical things one could ever see,” the princess said as she lay down on the grass, a smile played on her lips.
ra, who was standing next to her, gazed up at the sky as well. “Well, it is a wonder how they shine at all.”
In a way, because of that, it was magical. A magical mystery. No one could fully explain how they worked.
The princess briefly giggled. “Yes. But not only that. How far away they are is almost incomprehensible. Their number. The possibilities that could be happening, endless. And because of that, it is beautiful.”
“Beautiful…”
“Do you love the stars, ra?”
“... I like them.” She couldn’t really say she liked them very much.
“Stars are wonderful. You could look up at the sky, and they’re all the sa for many years. At least it’s a sense of familiarity. No matter where you are in the world, you’re always looking at the sa night sky.”
“...” Thinking about it, she was right. In an unknown place, whether you were lost or not, you’ll always find sothing familiar.
“Whether we’re in different places, even far away from each other in the world, ra, know that we’re looking at the sa stars.”
And now ra was looking at those sa stars.
Are you looking up at them as well, Princess? They’re beautiful, aren’t they?
As she took a closer look, they were indeed beautiful.
ra clenched her hand, catching up the dirt on the soil along with it. She poured more mana into her wound, slowing the bleeding. She slowly stood up as Vernon was about to rush to her. But ra held out her hand, stopping him.
“I can do this,” ra breathed heavily as she stood on her feet. “This… this is nothing.”
Vernon saw her determination, and he left her to her own, and continued on to fight off the other enemies. This will be over soon.
As the adventurers one by one fell, their blood splattering to the soil, a sword dropping nearby, ra took a deep breath as she glared at her opponent.
“Really willing to die here and now, newbie?” The adventurer flourished his spear.
“You’re the one that’s going to die.” ra poured a trendous amount of mana all over her body. More than she had ever done before, and it actually started to feel a bit painful and uncomfortable. But that was fine by her. Pain was nothing compared to winning. For she had sothing to prove.
Realizing what she was doing, the adventurer quickly swung his spear in the air, sending multiple slashes of light subsequently. “No you fucking won’t.”
ra charged at him, faster and stronger than before, her footsteps leaving small craters as she moved. She punched each and every magical attack that ca her way, destroying them at every impact. It felt so strange to be so filled with power, she felt smooth as the wind. Getting rid of the slashes caused only a little bit of recoil.
When she got close to the adventurer, the latter frantically dashed back and thrust his spear, sending a piercing magic. ra tid it right and swung her hand, using the back of her palm to deflect the attack.
“What the fuck?!” the adventurer exclaid.
ra took a wide step, about to engage the enemy directly. However, as she did, parts of her limbs suddenly burst out with blood. She grimaced in pain. She had put more mana into her muscles than her body could handle. It was still early for her to use this much, but she forced herself. Which caused her flesh to burst. Fortunately, they were not sothing severe just yet. She could still move.
I can still go!
She pushed herself to her limits.
She got close to her opponent. The adventurer swung the spear, sending a slash of light at close range. ra held out her arm forward and blocked the magic. She continued her barrage of attacks, the enemy parrying her fist with his tal spear, keeping ra away from him.
I need to slow him down.
It was then that ra recalled the ti when her lady fought off the empire’s infiltrators at the palace. Her fist wouldn’t do well in trying to quickly slow down the opponent quickly. Therefore, she’d need sothing else.
She took a step forward, parried the enemy’s spear with her left hand, then with the right, she quickly pulled out her dagger. At the sa ti, she thrust it towards the enemy’s hand and struck him in the wrist.
“Agh! You bitch!” He withdrew his hand.
That should loosen his grip. However, it would seem it was not that easy to neutralize him. He switched to using one hand in swinging his spear, his other hand dangling as it bled. But ra was not done yet. The adventurer violently swung the spear at her, and ra blocked the attack and what followed. It surprised her that even with one hand, his attacks were still quite powerful. He must be pushing himself to the limit as well.
Eventually, she got close, but when she thrust her dagger, her blade couldn’t reach him. Therefore, she flicked the dagger forward. With her enhanced strength, the dagger moved in a flash and pierced through the man’s armor, embedding into his stomach.
She was worried she would fail at throwing the dagger, but at very close range, the chance of failure was minuscule. And she was relieved.
The adventurer gritted his teeth in pain and flicked his spear upward, unleashing a magical wave at point-blank range. ra failed to defend, and the slash hit her, damaging her armor, and even reached her skin. She spat out blood, as she heaved her breath. The wound, plus her bleeding muscles, her body was in pain and felt heavier.
“Don’t think you can win against !” The adventurer swiftly raised his spear and did a wide downward swing, unleashing a thick and wide magical slash.
ra crossed her arms in an attempt to protect herself. Upon impact, she was flung backward. She quickly regained her footing and fell to her knees. She panted. Her fists were not enough to win this. She shifted her gaze to the side, and there was a sword on the ground, must have been from one of the slain adventurers.
Her opponent sent another magical attack. ra rolled to the side, dodging it, and picked up the sword. She dashed towards the enemy and swung the sword. The impact to the spear caused the adventurer to recoil. ra quickly moved in and slashed his hand holding the spear. ra didn’t train on the sword much, might as well see her as a child trying to attack with a sword. But the strength behind her swings was enough to sowhat compensate.
She was running out of ti, she was aware of it. Pretty soon, her body wouldn’t be able to endure the strain. She must finish this imdiately.
The adventurer’s movent slowed down. They exchanged attacks, their weapons sent sparks in the air with every clash. Until eventually, ra parried the spear with her sword, and subsequently she stepped forward and thrust her fist into the man’s chest. The adventurer was blown away, and he slid onto the ground as he landed. He beca dizzy and was wheezing from the sheer force of the bludgeoning attack.
ra promptly kicked his spear out of his weak hands. She stood before him and raised her sword, pointing down her sword on him. The adventurer looked up at her with pleading eyes.
“N-No. P-Please! S-Spare …! rcy…”
As she looked into his eyes, her hands trembled. Killing a person, a defeated person. A defenseless one. Begging for rcy. When she goes with this, there’s no coming back. She gripped the sword tightly, trembling with hesitation.
“P-Please…”
ra closed her eyes and plunged down the sword, blood splattered out, landing on her hands. However, in the pressure, she missed the vital spot, only hitting him in the belly. Therefore, he was still alive, crying in pain. ra took a sharp breath and beca frantic for a mont, it horrified her. She quickly pulled out the sword and stabbed him in the heart this ti. She maintained her hand on the sword as the adventurer writhed, placing his hands on the blade, trying to pull it out. But to no avail. And then, a mont later, he finally stopped moving, letting out his last breath.
What she did was cruel, and she slowly stepped back, trying to comprehend what she had done. She didn’t intend to make him suffer first. Her heart throbbed. She almost felt like crying.
I killed soone…
The unmoving body before her, a re adventurer, her own people, killed by her own hand. And she made him suffer for a little… She never intended such. And for so reason, it made her feel guilty.
“Haaaah…” She took a breath through her mouth, filling her lungs. She felt sick.
She kneeled down beside the corpse and reached out for her dagger. As she pulled it out, her hand beca stained with even more blood. She stared at her hands colored in red, and they trembled uncontrollably. Thinking about it, she had never imagined that a mont like this would co into her life. Killing soone. For her hands to be drenched in blood.
She was supposed to be just a maid. Nothing more. To just prepare food, clean, and serve. Never to fight, never to spill blood. This, everything, was so overwhelming it made her feel dizzy.
As tears gradually welled up in her eyes, she looked up at the stars.
Princess… Princess… I swore to do whatever is required for you… But… I never imagined it would be this… difficult. Princess, can you hear my thoughts…? I need you… I need your warm touch, I need your sweet voice, I need to see your beautiful face… I need you.
Like a girl praying to a goddess, she called. No… like a girl calling out for the person she loved.
Vernon walked up behind her. All threats eliminated. “ra.” He kneeled beside her. “Will you be alright…?” he asked gently.
“... I…” She didn’t know how to respond.
“This is what it costs to follow her. Can you still keep going?”
ra lowered her gaze and stared down at her blood-stained hands. She clenched her fists tightly. “... Yes.”
“Then stand.” He extended his hand.
ra took it and slowly stood up. However, her body felt utterly weak, and she almost fell. She ended up leaning on Vernon, as her body kept bleeding.
“You pushed yourself too much. Don’t ever do that again.”
“... I cannot promise that...”
“Then try.”
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