"I will use my original spell to transform my whole body into fairy dust. You've got thirty minutes to keep the people safe until I detonated myself."
Her eyes widened on her stiffened face.
The fear she's feeling towards Alvino vanished with just those words.
"What are you saying?" she said.
"If I transform my body into fairy dust I can create a strong explosion. And since I conserve my mana, the explosion might be able to destroy the capital and the whole area around it."
"That's not it! Why are you gonna do that?!"
"By doing this, the humans will be saved and their fear for Maurelle and Aznai will be reduced because of their father's heroic deeds. Which will result to strengthening the trust between humans and fairies. All of this will happen if I sacrifice myself now. This situation was so convenient."
"This isn't the time to play some jokes—"
Odette was keep on persisting but Alvino cut her statement.
"Don't you resent me? After everything I did. Do you still want to follow my order after everything you've heard?"
"R- Right from the moment I entered the Eight Rays I'm ready to say goodbye to my comrades."
She forcibly close her eyes and said those words.
"Earlier when you saw that the squads had been wiped out, you were glaring at me. When you heard what the dragon said, you feared me weren't you."
"I'm sorry for doubting you but that doesn't mean that I resent you!"
Odette was so agitated but Alvino was so calm and like he didn't have any worries at all.
Odette with the same expression, stare at him for a moment.
"Don't tell me you're really serious about what you're planning?!"
Alvino stay quiet while looking at her.
"What about Aria? You loved her right! You shouldn't leave her behind!"
But Alvino just smile.
"Come on if we worked together there's no way that dragon can beat us! Look it's head blasted with just your punch..."
Odette persisted. But Alvino raised his cut arms that he sacrificed earlier.
"Right. I'm sorry I forgot!" she said.
She approached Alvino.
"After I heal you,we're going to show that lizard what'strue horror is."
Odette smile and said that.
She was trying to heal Alvino, but he keeps on moving his arms.
"Stop that. You shouldn't waste your mana on me. I'm not joking. I'm dead serious." Alvino finally said.
Alvino pointed his finger to the direction of the castle.
"Instead of me conserve your mana to help your soldiers. Commander Odette."
The tears in her eyes finally fell. She gritted her teeth.
"Don't do this! There's no way that we can reach our dreams without you! The Rays need you!"
She said while the tears continued on falling.
"You shouldn't doubt yourself. With your intelligence you can be a better commander than me. My death was nothing to cry for as it will be the way for the Rays to be stronger."
Odette was still not moving. As he sees this. Alvino sighed.
"Sorry for doing this. For making you take all the responsibilities to yourself. Even after I rejected your feelings you still here by my side.
I'm so happy that you're my friend." He said as he patted Odette's forest green hair.
Every words he said was only adding the pain on her heart.
He slide his hands into her shoulders and pushed Odette away.As he did that, the dragon who finally recovered, bite his sides.
Even after biting him, Alvino's eyes was still connecting with Odette's.
"Its time for me to give my life."
The sides that the dragon bite exploded and Alvino's body was slowly changing into fairy dust.
Odette closed her eyes and swallow her screams.
Her tears was leaving a trail as she fly away from Alvino.
**********
The light faded, and the trees around them fall down. The forest that they're walking earlier vanished. There's no trees to be seen aside from the trees that cages them earlier.
The capital was nothing but a huge crater. The whole vicinity was just an open space.
The humans who witnessed this was speechless, they can't even command their bodies to move.
Meanwhile the fairies was just looking in the huge crater of the capital. Odette was still shedding her tears for the loss of their beloved commander.
The fairies including the rays somehow get what's going on. Instead of questioning Odette focus on mourning on their own.
"Damn it! What now huh! Your just going to leave all of this to us! Are you saying that the lives of our fallen comrades was all meaningless! You damn commander! They trust their lives on you and now you just ditch us with your responsibilities! If only I know that you're going to do this! I should have killed you a long time ago!"
Fiery who was so pissed off blow up some steam.
Fiery despises Alvino, but he also know the ability of their commander as a leader, so in order for the lives of his comrades. He followed Alvino.
"I don't know that we'll experience this in our very first mission."
"Brook, Warren, if only you haven't been slacking off during training this wouldn't have happen."
"What are you saying, even the seniors had been wiped out. What chance do we newbies have."
"Now that you said it. I think we'rejust lucky that's why we still alive."
The new recruits talked to each other. Their heads was down and an empty expression on their faces.
The surrounding was still dark which makes the atmosphere so heavy.
"Squad leaders. Can I ask you one question?"
One of the new recruit raised his hands. The rays look at him.
"Can you please tell me.What are we fighting for?"
It doesn't just get the attention of the rays but all of the new recruits as well.
They all looked at the rays but the three just stay quiet.
"I'm aware that I will die anytime upon entering the army. But I don't think I'm ready to die without knowing what I'm dying for." He continued.
After hearing this all of them silenced. They're all thinking the same thing. They don't want to die without knowing what they're going to die for.
"We don't have the right to tell you. But don't worry, now that we were weakened I don't think we still need to fight. We don't have a leader anymore."
Odette suddenly speak up.
Of course all of them reacted in their own way especially Fiery.
"What are you saying?! Don't tell me that we'll just abandon everything that those soldiers sacrifices for us?!"
"Yes." Odette answered.
"Huh! You can take over Commander Alvino's position and I'm sure we can recover our forces in no time!"
"That's right Odette! Just like Alvino you can lead us as well. Your power and skills was second only to Alvino after all!" Gerald said.
"Say you two, if I were the one leading you back then. Do you think we can recover the artifact?"
At first they were surprised to hear that from Odette.
"You don't have to be like him to lead us!" Fiery blurted out.
"Tell me. Was there any achievements we've got, that we can say to the soldiers families and our people, worthy of their lives?If we didn't have do you still think anyone would still want to join our ranks?"
Those words ended the argument. Considering the number of casualties this time, there's no way some one would be daring enough to enter the Rays of Light anymore.
Odette stood up and turn to face the humans.
"Well I guess the Rays won't function very well without Alvino. Why the hell did he think that things will be okay without him." Albericht said with a smile on his while looking in the same direction as Odette.
"Hey old hag, did commander said something before you leave him?" Fiery asked.
But Odette didn't answer.
"Hey—"
He look to Odette and see a surprised expression on her face while some tears falling down on it.
He look where Odette's vision is.
The sun was slowly rising in the east giving them warmth, and light to a new hope. As Fiery looked at the humans, his breath leave him.
The king, The general, the soldiers who hated them for carrying the rebels instead of their dead comrade. The parents of the soldiers who sacrifice themselves to fight the dragons. And those who hated and feared them, all of them alike was kneeling down before them to express the gratitude that they deserved.
The feeling was so overwhelming that it leave him paralysed.
The achievements of the Rays was nothing that great. But this goes to show that even just a small little step, they can produce result.
While Odette covered her mouth and dropped.
Albericht approaches Odette and stand right next to her.
"Alvino won't sacrifice himself for nothing. You should know that much. Now, even though I wanted to be the one to take over his position. Please give your orders. Eight Rays of Light Commander, Odette."
***********
When I arrived at the sibling's house, Luna was restraining Maurelle whose gone wild because her brother went missing. In their kitchen was the body of their mother who was already dead.
Together with the Enkan Forest Protectors we bring Luna and Maurelle, and Aria's dead body to the Palace.
We continue searching for the girl and Anzai's but we didn't find a single trail of them. But when the sun was about to rise I look back to their house, Anzai was there staring vacantly without even answering any of my questions.
When I take him back to the castle the only thing her sister did was to cry after seeing his brother's traumatized look. Morning comes and the Eight Rays Arrived. Their number wasn't even half of their total number before but they're just carrying two corpses.
The families of the fallen soldiers were yelling at them asking what they gain from sacrificing their comrades. Normally when they're asked that they look so down but when they get back the light in their eyes didn't vanish at all.
They reported that the humans pledge to help us fairies achieve our dreams,in exchange of the lives of the veterans and Commander Alvino.
Upon hearing this Maurelle cried while Anzai was still the same as he was before.
This time I questioned myself, was it really a victory for us?
Was being allied with the humans really worth the lives of our soldiers?
Because the only thing I saw from the past, now and probably in the future was more suffering.
Who really is the one at fault Was it the humans or our ambition?