Chereads / IABAN: To Be A Hero / Chapter 1 - Chapter 1:

IABAN: To Be A Hero

Deku_Scrub_1903
  • --
    chs / week
  • --
    NOT RATINGS
  • 15.4k
    Views
Synopsis

Chapter 1 - Chapter 1:

I am tired.

.

.

.

I killed the monster that my sword touched, the guts of the monsters stained my sword as I walked forward stepping on the spongy wet floor soaked in blood over some dead bodies. After 10 years of war, I had become numb to it.

I am strong but, I am tired; tired of holding a sword, tired of slashing my way through enemies day after day, every moment I wake.

I am tired. I am sick of this.

I want to stop.

.

.

.

With one more slashing motion, as if gliding through the air like a falling leaf, the sword struck another ogre who was swiftly decapitated. I am strong but not the strongest. I have friends, who truly love me, and I love them too but...I want to run away. I keep holding onto this sword, but I have become tired of it all. I just want to give up now.

As the last of the monsters fell, the war between demons and humans came to its climax. Humanity was on its last legs but so were the demons. The seven commanders of the demons, humanities greatest, we, we picked each one slowly ridding the world of their existence, now all but one dead. Humanity's greatest, our saint, our captain, we still had our strongest force, yet the demons still managed to be a thorn in our side. With their final act, their final plan they managed to make half of the world unlivable, they killed hundreds of thousands, irreparable damage to the planet.

They need to die, this war needs to end.

As I watched over the battlefield, stood over hundreds, thousands, millions of dead bodies of demons and humans, I looked at the sun slowly setting into the horizon and started to clean my blade. The sun would be setting soon, marking the unfortunate 10 year anniversary of long and arduous war. I stood over a mountain of dead bodies which had accumulated throughout the war, unable to decompose.

As far as I could see, I saw death and destruction brought upon by those filthy demons.

I looked at my sword; the sword had a golden hilt and was ordained with a decorative dragon piece. Looking at the decorations brought back many memories but, I resisted them. With the guts and blood cleaned, I saw my reflection. Green irises looked back at me as I took off my torn metal helmet and threw it on the ground. The burnt orange hair that I had tied down came down dirtied by the blood of monsters and demons.

It had been a while since I had cut my hair. It was a bit too long again.

I took my blade and brought it near my nape and cut of my hair somewhat clumsily. The hair which would've covered my back now came just above my shoulder.

Looking at the setting sun, the corpses of demons, and the souls of the humans unable to transcend the mortal realm, I felt lonely. Sadness built up inside me, rage fired my heart, I couldn't save them.

I wish I had tried harder.

"If I had a blessed body, would I have been able to protect the people I love better?"

My voice was weak, it had been months since I slept, and even then I realized that it was a worthless thought. Many memories came to mind, and even more excuses.

"I wish…I…"

My words stopped, I knew I couldn't justify myself. I knew excuses were worthless now. I stopped my thoughts.

I wanted this madness to stop.

Towards the north, I saw the castle which stood over all those dead, the demon castle.

Looking at the castle, towering over the world as if looking at ants, a brief memory came to my mind. The memory about my comrades, the only remaining hope of this world, my reason for existence, and their memory brought me warmth.

"We'll be fine. Just protect those behind us, okay? Good luck!" I remembered those words, the words of her princess, left behind to me 6 months ago before venturing into the demon castle.

There hadn't been another message in those 6 months and all I could do was heed those words, "Protect."

Those words, I couldn't keep them, I tried…but maybe I didn't try hard enough and now I… I was lost. Almost everyone was dead, and I, who was supposed to protect them, didn't; now I was losing hope. But, I knew I couldn't do so, I needed to do this, to overcome this challenge one last time. To hold onto the sword I was sick of holding, to kill those monsters, to protect those who were alive, then...I could finally let go. Let go of my sword and live a normal life as I hoped, after losing my way. Live normally, and unburdened.

I could live again.

I did not even remember my dreams before all of this, but now…I couldn't care less. I just wanted out.

I didn't want to drown in my thoughts in the middle of the battle field but, it seemed the thought of this war coming to an end overtook my initial worries.

"Who am I?"

There was no answer because there was no one else to be listening to my mindless blabbering but, it didn't matter. I just answered for myself.

"The second strongest human, a sword master with unparalleled strength, and the guardian of the princess, someone who could be trusted. That is who I am", I steeled my mind.

I let myself drown in my thoughts; I got glimpses of my friends. The princess who I loved dearly, someone I protected for most of my life. She was the one with golden blonde hair and golden dazzling eyes; she was more dazzling than the sun. Daring, smart, kind, she was the light of my day. She cared for me when no one else did. She was my reason for living, the strength for my perseverance. She was my everything.

My captain, the princess' fiancé, and the strongest human. He was the one with the blue hair and blue eyes, he who stood next to my princess. He was incredibly charismatic, someone who could handle the situation when no one else could, extremely reliable to the point one couldn't help but rely on him.

I contemplated my life, more faces came to mind; the crazy alchemist, the obsessed mage, the war-crazed barbarian. They're my beloved friends. However, at some point I just wanted to be a normal person. Just to be a normal person with normal friends who didn't have to do much, have normal worries. I just wanted to live without any worries.

I just want-

.

.

BOOM!

.

.

A loud bang came from behind me; it was the sound of someone who landed a few hundred meters behind me, at the center of the valley encased by the hills of bodies. I moved away from the top of the hill of copses, to the lake of blood which had formed near the basin of the hill, which came up to my ankles. I walked over chopped up limbs of those corpses, over the spongy blood and mana soaked floor.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The sound of water being kicked around echoed throughout the area as I walked towards my next and final opponent. This was the fated end.

The upper soil was spongy, but just 2 inch under, the soil was harder than steel. This was the effect of mana, and demonic energy on soil and because of this many cities, even countries fell to famine as the soil itself became useless.

This was going to be the final battle of the war; I cannot... and will not hold back. I had to win. I looked forward towards the one who had landed before me.

***

Lilith, the right hand being of the demon lord, the seductress, had landed in the valley of corpses.

Words couldn't describe her beauty but if they could the proverb 'beautiful yet deadly' would fit her the most. With black hair and red eyes, which would put most human beauties to shame and her long finger nails as sharp as an aura blade, she was truly the living definition of a 'femme fatale'.

"I commend you, human, for being able to survive this long. Out of all the worlds we have subdued, this one has put up the most fight. So, I have a proposition, why don't you become one of us and fight with us, FOR US. Let's take over all the realms."

She chuckled after her monologue as if to mock the sword master, before speaking up again, "If you reject...well...at the very least you won't be alone in the afterlife, your friends will join you soon enough. The demon king has begun his battle with those insects, and soon they will all be dead, so let's stop this hopeless fighting and join us. Join us so, you may live among the victors and not be part of the filthy soil you came from."

"It's an interesting proposition but I will have to decline. I do not like working for those who are weaker than Me.", the sword master pointed her blade towards Lilith. "Besides, your demon king should be the one afraid; he is going against my captain after all." She said lowering her stance and leaning forward slightly.

Her sword started to glow a dim green color as she braced herself from the impending battle.

"Such arrogance! You will pay for this disrespect." Lilith shouted as she leapt at the sword master. With an explosive outburst of energy, in the split of a second, hundreds of meters were covered in an instant.

At that very instant, the sword master also jumped towards her, bringing her sword near her chest as she parried Lilith's strike. Without skipping a beat, she slashed upwards which made contact with Lilith's chest. The sound of flesh tearing reached the sword master's ears but, Lilith paid no mind to it, demons could regenerate through anything as her flesh began to mend itself, slowly. She spun around and attempted a round house kick aimed towards the master's neck.

The kick made contact with the master, but it wasn't the neck, it was her hand. The force behind the kick was enormous but, her hand only moved far enough to lessen the impact. Yet, the master felt the bones of her wrist crack; it didn't matter though, as she lifted Lilith off the ground and slammed her to the ground like a big human sized hammer.

SPLASH!

The blood on the battle field splashed, the force of the impact cleared all the blood at the area of contact, and created a big wave as Lilith was directly struck on the ground. As the blood returned to the cleared spot and stabilized, bubbles could be seen on top of the blood as the lower ground cracked. Lilith momentarily lost consciousness as head splattered all over the ground slowly regenerating after the impact. Once again, the master rotated her torso and put all her strength on her shoulders as she swung Lilith from the ground back in the air. Lilith, who had managed to regenerate her head, struggled, rotated her body, and twisted off her foot mid swing, as she was thrown away a few hundred meters away. Lilith landed on her feet which had regenerated, but as she did, she stumbled, and became off balance for just a moment.

Seeing that Lilith had lost her balance, the master's sword started to glow a deep green color as she drew a line in the air diagonally towards Lilith. Immediately a green aura slash was sent towards Lilith's direction. Lilith saw the aura blast but she had no time to dodge and decided to take the hit. The aura blast made a deep cut on Lilith as her ribs were sliced apart and even her hands were cut off as she instinctively brought them up to block the attack.

The wounds were healing but, it was visibly slower. But still, her arms healed instantly as she focused her regeneration on the ribs. She lowered her stance and took a defensive position.

The sword master did not stop as she slashed the air a couple of times charging still with the intent to slam herself into her opponent. Lilith, who had taken a defensive stance, was unable to dodge the aura slashes and unable to overpower her opponent as she was tackled into the pool of blood.

SPLASH!

Lilith was submerged into the pool of blood, as she was punched with the full force of the sword master, unable to block her attacks. The sword master who had to been punching her opponent with one arm and restraining with the sword on the other arm suddenly threw the sword behind her, as if she wanted her opponent to feel the maximum amount of pain. Lilith who had been repeatedly bashed couldn't take this brief opportunity to counter attack as she was busy regenerating her body each time she was hit.

The sword landed a few meters back. The sword master continued her beating, as a small coating of aura began to appear on her fists. It seems all she saw was red.

SPLASH!!! SPLASH!!! SPLASH!!!

Each time the sword master's fists and Lilith's unfortunate face met; there would be massive waves in the pool of blood, as the blood would be cleared in a circle each time there was impact.

Each time Lilith was hit on the face, she felt her brain explode, her skull shattered by the sword master's fist. Each time she would regenerate to meet the same fate again, and again. Each time the sword masters fists landed, she could feel her soul itself tremble, each time her vision would blur, and each time she would feel excruciating pain. But, at the same time she could feel it, the sword master's wrists, they were slowly cracking.

Lilith felt it. A few more strikes and she would be able to counter attack.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

And, before the sword master could land a fourth blow, Lilith caught her by the neck and rolled sideways.

SPLASH!!!

Her finger nails swiftly grew in size as she pressed down her enemy as she had done before into the pool of blood. She pulled her shoulders back, torso slightly rotated, and her hand in the air; she brought her blade down at her opponent.

SPLASH!!!

The sword master punched her into her solar plexus with her left hand, and grabbed one of Lilith's hearts. Her muscles twitched and she put all her strength into crushing it. Black blood spilled out of Lilith's chest, as she flung the master away, slashing at her in the motion.

It wasn't just Lilith who had taken major damage. The sword master's right eye was cut and a major part of the sword master's chest armor and her right shoulder was severely damaged, not to mention her wrist, and knuckles which were on the verge of fracturing.

The sword master wasted no time and began running towards the sword which was a few meters away. Lilith also didn't miss the moment as she began slashing the air and sending demonic slashes at the master. The sword master jumped over a few, and landed on the pool of blood making a wave near her blade, as she blocked a few slashes with her which had been aura coated, and managed to reach her sword.

The reunion with her sword was short lived as Lilith who had been charging at the sword master also reached her and kicked her on the sword master's abdomen. The sword master could only do so much to defend against this incredibly fast kick as her chest plate had a sizeable dent on it.

The master flung about 15 meters away as her body skipped like a rock on the blood surface. She immediately stood up and regained her balance, and once again charged at her opponent. She was not going to stop. As she charged at Lilith, she tightened her grip of the sword and readied her aura blast again.

Lilith was angry, very angry. Her arms glowed purple as the blood around her began to bubble, and as the ground shook, ripples could be seen forming around her. As the sword master was running towards Lilith. They were moment from clashing head on again, but the sword master suddenly kicked and something was launched towards her opponent. Lilith was surprised as the ground around her rose and created a pillar in front of her. It was a dismembered arm which was hidden below the surface of the pool. The dismembered arm, which had been launched at Lilith cracked the pillar and splattered on impact, bloodying the already bloody pillar.

SLICE!

The pillar was cut by the master as Lilith swiftly dodged the attack and moved backwards. And the aura blast followed soon but, Lilith spun around and splashed blood on her opponent's eyes, kicking her temple while dodging. The sword master tried to block the kick but, it was a bit too strong as she momentarily lost her balance. Lilith took this opportunity to retaliate as she kicked the sword master vertically upwards, launching her several kilometers in the air.

The sword master barely managed to block the kick using aura as her chest plate was now severely damaged. She felt 3 of her ribs crack at that instant, but she could not stop. She had been launched several kilo-meters up in the air, while she began to seal her wounds with her aura, and reinforce her body. She took off the chest plate when she stopped gaining height and began falling downwards. She positioned her body as she dived downwards, when-

SWISH!!!

A spear made of rock and blood flew past her. Her left cheek was cut, but she now had a reliable shield. She had originally wanted to use the chest plate as a distraction but, now it was going to make a pretty good shield. She dove downwards free falling as she dodged many spears of blood and rock, but they seemed to be tracking her down as they followed her even after dodging.

A few spears would hit her shield and pierce it, but it wasn't enough to make her throw the shield away even though it severely crippled her visibility.

She kept dodging and diving when suddenly instead of a spear, a huge boulder was in front of her. She rotated her body and barely managed to dodge the boulder, the other spears struck the boulder too. The blood spears would splatter everywhere while the rock ones would crumble away.

But, that wasn't the end of it; even more spears were right in front of her face. There was no chance to dodge them, in that split second; the sword master struck another bounder she had just dodged with her shield, pushing her away from danger. The boulder was crushed into pieces, as even more spears came her way. Her sword glowed green again as she rotated her body, swinging her blade and releasing her aura blast, destroying them. After that no more spears seem to come her way as she had dove a few more kilometers down when she saw Lilith.

Lilith had opened her bat-like wings and was also making her way up to the sword master at high speeds, but the master was quicker. The sword master dove straight at Lilith, reducing the kilometer of a distance between them in seconds and moments before they could clash, the world seemed to stop.

The sword master's right hand coated with a deep green color like the endless forest; it shone in the moon-lit sky, brighter than anything around her. Then they clashed-

.

.

.

BOOM!!!

.

.

.

The sword master struck Lilith with an unimaginable amount of force, as she stopped falling all together. The sword master's right hand was shattered even after being reinforced by her aura. Lilith was hit with such force that she hit the ground which was a few kilo-meters away in a matter of seconds. The force created a crater in the ground as the blood waves hit the corpse hills with lots of force, which seemed to push the valley further back.

The sword master, whose clash seemed to stop her dive, descended slowly as she lowered her position again. The fight was still not over. Lilith and the sword master were extremely wounded however; they were both healing slowly using their own means. The sword master controlled her aura to her eye, and attempted to do the same with her right hand too but, it wasn't perfect. Similarly, Lilith had a multitude of big wounds all over her body, she focused on regeneration only and only then did they begin to heal a bit faster. They were in a stand-off, as they both regained a bit their stamina.

"Such strength! Such skill! It is really a shame you were born a human. You would be perfect as a demon, even your personality, that sadistic want for domination. If only, if only-",Lilith retorted.

"Ugh, you're still talking. Next time I will destroy your vocal cords so that I don't have to hear your disgusting voice ever again.", the sword master said in a sarcastic tone clearly a bit unknown to it, not wanting her hear her opponent.

As soon as she said that, Lilith's neck was cut. But it was too shallow, Lilith had moved back just a bit to avoid the attack. Just when she was about to counter back, the sword master was in front of her, so she instinctively put her arms up to defend but she was kneed on her abdomen while her wrists were cut off before being launched back a hundred meters. They both had fire in their eyes as they immediately rushed each at other without missing a beat.

As they approached each other, the ground itself began to shake. Lilith hopped right before they clashed, rotating her body and throwing a kick aimed right at the sword master head. The sword master in turn lowered her body, dodging the attack and slashed vertically upward. Lilith barely dodged the blade as she was flung away rolling away on the ground. She got right back, when the sword master tried to attack her while regaining her posture. The sword barely grazed her skin, but it made a deep cut on Lilith's neck, Lilith took the opportunity to counter attack, and slashed the right side of the sword master.

This attack was met directly with the blade. Their clash sent shockwaves through the air as both of them shifted their own weapons slightly to gain the upper hand in the clash. Lilith lightly healed her neck during the clash losing her focus just a bit, as the master took notice of it. The sword master kicked Lilith away and she immediately followed with a vertical downwards slashing motion aimed at her chest. Lilith quickly regained her balance and shifted to the right, punching the sword master away.

Both of them got back at it again and began their onslaught of attacks when suddenly a huge shockwave came over the battle field, clearing all the corpses sending them off to the distance, the wave of blood washed over the ground.

The sword master dug her worn out sword into the ground to make sure she wouldn't be lifted off her feet during the massive shockwave, even reinforcing herself to make her stay put. Lilith made a dome of the ground around her which was being degraded as it protected her from the shockwave.

Both of them took the opportunity to back away and regain their posture. The valley created by the corpses was no more; the blood pooled on the ground was no more. It was now a flat wasteland.

The sky itself cried as rainclouds appeared over the battle field and began to wash away the blood off the fighters. The sky was full and the only thing illuminating the sky was the moon, ever so beautiful. Then a blinding the light came, the dim light of the moon out-shone by God's holy light from the north. Almost as if it was day again, the light illuminated the battle field.

The two combatants now in their standoff became unbothered by these sudden events. They looked at each other.

There the sword master saw it, the red irises of Lilith which held those unknown sadness. Those eyes seemed to peer into the sword master's soul. For some reason, the sword master the eternal enemy of the demons had empathy for one. She felt disgusted at her new feeling.

She steeled herself once more; this was the end after all. It seems being blinded by the end now meant that her mind became sloppier.

Like a lie, the bright light from the north disappeared. And, in the dark battle field, the two pair's eyes remained. The moon once again was illuminating the, now flat, wasteland.

THE DEMON KING HAD DIED.

Lilith was now the only one left. When she died, the long 10 year war would be over. Now, both Lilith and the sword master faced each other again. They clashed once more since the end had now arrived.

Their battle continued.

***

Combatants were heavily wounded, the sword master had several fractures on her body, and her right hand was in a severely bad shape. She had many cuts all over her body, and she was focusing on sealing the wounds with aura. She had reinforced her entire body in aura throughout the entire fight yet, she was still injured this much.

The same was true for Lilith, even though demons had unparalleled regeneration, she was in excruciating pain because, her healing was being hindered and actively tampered by the sword master's aura. Her head was destroyed several times, her arms had been cut off so many times that her regeneration was slowly losing its effectiveness on her hands, and her two hearts, and three brains had been severely damaged.

The bat shaped wings which had been torn off multiple times in the course of the battle reappeared on Lilith's back, as the demon levitated up a few hundred meters. She stood on the air, blocking the moon, looking down at the sword master as if she was an ant. She tried to speak but like the sword master had said, her vocal cords were completely destroyed. She focused her regeneration to her neck and they regenerated slowly. She was fatigued.

The sword master also regained her balance. She had cuts all over her, and her sword seemed to be reaching its limit. She had been fighting for months without any rest. She was fatigued.

Once again the two of them found themselves in a standoff. But, this time they were both too tired to get back into fighting. That didn't mean that the two of them weren't paying attention to each other. Even while regaining their posture, they would shift their positions slightly. They both stared at each other, both of them had this inconceivable hatred for each other, and the fire in their eyes reflected that thought. Yet, they still had boundless respect for each other. In spite of their mutual hatred, they both couldn't seem to downplay each other's achievements.

"You are definitely the most formidable opponent among the humans. The other human is extremely strong but he lacks something, something that makes him great. You have many things that hold you back, but in my opinion you're much better than him." Lilith stopped for a moment looking at the fierce eyes of her opponent before continuing.

"So, I, Lilith Yezidi, the right hand man of the late demon lord, the conqueror of worlds, would like to know your name human as a formidable opponent." Lilith spoke in a strangely dignified voice.

There was an unknown sadness in her voice, was it because of the death of her lord or was it because this battle was coming to an end. No one would be able to decipher those emotions on her face.

"Rebecca Anderson, the supreme commander of the united army, Legion of light, the unparalleled grand sword master, and the second strongest human only behind my captain, and the one who is going to end you. I shall accept this final clash without any deception. Let us rejoice in the final moments of this war, and bear no grudges regardless of the outcome of this battle." Rebecca spoke back.

Although, she did not enjoy talking to that thing, she couldn't refute her words as Lilith had really been a formidable opponent.

"Well said."

As both opponents readied their final attacks, the environment itself began to distort. The blood infused in the ground itself began to evaporate away, and then the dirt around Rebecca began cracking as it began to protrude upwards violently, and the ground which was as hard as steel after being soaked with mana and demonic energy began to fracture.

In the sky, the air around Lilith started to swirl around and the sky formed thunders. Then, in a flash both of them unleashed their final attacks.

The two of them jumped at each other, clashing at the middle-

.

.

.

.

Sword slash: Type 0

[DIMENSION BREAK]

.

Secret demon arts: 1st form

[FINAL RAPTURE]

.

.

.

.

Like the sea which stirred eerily before the storm, it became quiet all of a sudden. As if the entire world came to a standstill, nothing moved. Then suddenly-

The bright flash covered the entire battle field. Like a lie the flash disappeared, like it never existed. Tons of dirt displaced, as the shockwave began.

.

.

.

BOOOOOOOOOM!!!

.

.

.

A loud sound rang throughout the battlefield. The sky itself was torn as the clouds parted right in the middle. The ground which had hills of bodies began to disintegrate into the air. Then the force of the clash began to shatter the flat ground, the dirt which was sturdier than steel began to depress, the crater formed was a few of kilo-meters deep.

.

.

.

It took a while for the world itself to calm down. As it did, it gave the silhouette of two beings.

Beings who had transcended capabilities of mortals yet were only the second strongest of their kind.

Rebecca was barely standing up. As she tried to put her sword down on the ground for support, it broke into many pieces only leaving a small part of the blade remaining on the hilt, as a small decorative piece which had the image of a dragon fell on the ground. She fell on one of her knees as she looked forwards. Had her opponent suffered the same damage as her? Or was she fine?

Rebecca couldn't hold on any longer. Then she saw her, Lilith. For a moment, Rebecca's heart fell to her stomach. Lilith was fine; she was standing still like a statue. Rebecca inwardly cursed the demons for their excellent bodies and regeneration, but she was wrong.

Lilith was not fine. Her body was torn diagonally and her regeneration had stopped working. This was because Rebecca had cut her soul itself. Lilith looked astonished but for some reason she smiled. Thinking this was a new trick Rebecca pulled all her fighting spirit as she stood up.

"No need." Lilith spoke up in a very faint voice as she moved her hands to her chest. As her fingertips touched blood, she gave a very sad smile and looked at Rebecca. "You have won, I won't last much longer. It is my defeat."

At her words, relief came over Rebecca's body as she slightly loosened her grip on the sword.

Lilith looked at Rebecca and gave a somber expression. "I hope-" Her words trailed off, she lost all her strength at the end as Lilith fell over and began to disintegrate into the air.

Rebecca was confused, for some reason, Rebecca felt sorry for her. For some reason, she understood that thing, that demon. The moment Rebecca saw the smile Lilith gave, she connected with her. That bugged her for a moment but she continued onwards.

She looked at her sword, broken into pieces, and decided to leave it in the ground, as she only picked up the dragon decorative piece and held it tightly in her fist. She began moving. She moved outside the crater, towards the camp of the humans. The morning sun hit her body, and she suddenly felt weak.

She could finally live again.

.

.

.

THE WAR WAS OVER.

***

The once full camp was almost empty, the soldiers, healers, mages, knights, and alchemists had all died fighting in the war. This was war.

She moved onwards clearing her mind of the recent battle, the ones who lost their lives, the ones who died for her, the ones who pushed her to do her best, the ones she lived for, she remembered everyone.

The journey which would've taken an hour most times seemed to take longer.

'It must've been the fatigue from the battle', she moved onwards without much thought.

After a bit, she saw them, the five people closest to her, also the strongest ones on the human's side. The first one to catch her eyes was the one with the dazzling golden eyes and hair, a woman, the saint of humans, the princess.

She glimpsed at the others, the overly-obsessive elf magician, and then the poison king alchemist and the muscle-brained barbaric warrior. At last, her eyes landed on the black haired man, the captain and the strongest human. All of them were wounded but no one seemed to be in critical condition.

As the eyes rested on Rebecca, she expected a hug from her friends but that didn't happen instead she was met with horror on their eyes. Before she could realize what was happening, she suddenly felt weak. The princess quickly shone in golden light as she moved towards Rebecca. She could see all her other friends jumping at her with horrific expressions.

"Why are you guys acting like this?" Rebecca wanted to ask them but words did not come out of her, only her mouth seemed to open then close. She lost the feelings in her hands next.

As Rebecca's eyes closed, she saw her princess again. The one she had protected since her childhood. Her savior, the one who had picked her up from the streets and made her what she was today, was crying.

"Why are you crying princess? Is it because of captain? Don't worry I'll deal with him. I am strong now. Princess, please don't cry." Her thoughts came up.

Rebecca then fell on the ground. The huge hole on her chest bled as her dark orange hair became red dyed with her blood, and her green eyes which once brimmed with life slowly began to close. Everyone had grim looks as the princess casted divinity on Rebecca's body with no avail.

Rebecca's thoughts ran wild as she saw all her friends with grim faces. 'Don't worry', she wanted to say that right now but her voice wouldn't come out.

Rebecca clasped her fists harder as her emotions drove her crazy, and the dragon decoration in her hand broke. Then, at last a thought came to her mind.

.

.

.

I am tired.