A Fiend's roar was something that would shake most people to their cores. Just the sight of such an enemy would reduce most regular human beings to quivering, cowardly messes.
As Enverna faced off against yet another one of these grotesque opponents, however, all she could do was wonder about the next fight.
Winning this one was a given, after all. Winning the next one? Not so much.
"Aaaeegh!" The obscene lump of flesh in front of Enverna writhed aggressively, its tentacles protruding from the top of its head flailing as it slowly slid toward her.
Enverna put her spear in front of her and activated her Instinct, an ability that was completely unique to her.
This Instinct coated the tip of her spear in mystical water, increasing her damage output.
[Agh,] Enverna kept herself from grimacing. A massive amount of pain flared up from the hole in her abdomen, from which blood freely slid down her body. [Just push through it. Just... push through it...]
The Fiend's tentacles shot out.
Enverna leaned out of the way, feeling that pain intensify, and then dashed forward.
Faster than the Fiend could react, Enverna thrust her spear inside of its body. If anyone else had done that, this wouldn't have been too damaging a blow.
But, Enverna was powerful. The most powerful of all humans, even before most of them had been wiped out. So, her impaling the Fiend like this produced an explosion of flesh and monstrous guts.
Just like that, this fight was over and Enverna turned to look for her next opponent.
Only for her legs to give out and for her to fall face-first into the dirt.
In the year 241 of the second era, the world ended.
Mostly, anyway. Within the field that hosted the final battle against the dark forces that had so drastically reduced humanity's numbers, Enverna was the only one that still had a beating heart.
She tried to push herself up, but her arms faltered.
Her bloodstained weapon, Storm, the spear she'd used to slice through countless Fiends' bodies over the last couple of years, remained on the floor as her hands gave out.
"Ah... ha... ha..." She breathed in and out slowly, praying that this would inject some strength into her muscles. Her hands dug into the dirt. Enverna took slow, labored breaths as she scanned the battlefield from where she was.
All around her were two types of bodies. The bodies of humans and the bodies of the nightmarish Fiends they'd been fighting. Abominations that varied wildly from one to the other, their forms were virtually unrecognizable after the damage Enverna had done to them.
But, after that kill, she felt she couldn't fight anymore. Her strength was just about spent. She did manage to get up, though, so at least she wasn't dying just yet.
Pushing her frosty, blue-white hair away from her silver eyes, Enverna tried to find someone. Anyone who was still alive, and still on her side. Maybe, she could get some help.
Corpse after corpse littered the wasteland. A giant, bloodshot eye peered at Enverna from the dark, orange sky, taunting her.
She couldn't find anyone. Maybe she was all that was left.
Some metallic clanking to her right made Enverna turn her head to check and make sure.
"Agh, damn..." She heard a lady grumble.
A single woman. Throughout the entirety of this battlefield, that was the only other living human Enverna could see. She was making an effort to stand up, pushing herself off the ground, but it didn't seem like she'd be able to.
Using what little life she had left, Enverna paced slowly toward her and grabbed her by the arms, pulling her to her feet.
As she looked into the woman's eyes, she realized she didn't know her.
That was odd, given that not many Players came to this field, to stop the world from ending. Not many were left. And yet, this lady, a woman with bright, blood-red hair and whose eyes carried the same crimson hues, wearing simple, cheap armor made of leather with bits of iron here and there, looked back at her.
"Uh... Hi," the woman greeted her, raising a hand somewhat awkwardly.
Enverna blinked.
"Hello."
"So... You got a plan or something?"
... It was far too casual a conversation for the end of the world, but Enverna couldn't be happier to have some company.
For a moment, Enverna did not care about the slowly approaching Fiendish reinforcements from the north, or the gaping wound in her abdomen, from the pincer that had pierced her white armor. All she cared about was asking...
"Um, first things first, who are you?"
The woman considered the question and then simply shook her head.
"... I don't think that really matters, does it?" The girl carried quite a sad smile.
Enverna laughed silently.
"Seeing as we're set to take the last breaths of humanity, it matters to me," Enverna responded.
The woman was surprised to hear that. With a look that was quite a bit warmer, she said:
"In that case, I'll introduce myself. My name's Lianna."
"Lianna," Enverna got a feel for speaking it. "That's a beautiful name."
"Not quite as pretty as Enverna, though. Stands to reason, I guess. The prettiest women should have the prettiest names."
Enverna was taken aback, but only for a moment. It didn't come as any surprise that Lianna would know who she was. After everything Enverna had done, she'd earned a bit of fame. No, what shocked her was the flirtatious tone Lianna had taken. It didn't fit the situation at all.
"Anyway, the enemies coming in," Lianna continued, pointing ahead, "they're all A-tier on average. I could distract them, give you some more time to-"
That bit of information that Lianna provided so casually clued Enverna in as to who exactly was sharing the field with her.
Enverna's heart just about stopped.
"Wait, YOU'RE the one who has been feeding us information about the Fiends!?"
Enverna had never found out who was behind that.
Seeing the Status of another person was something one could not do without special machinery. There had been rumors for a while, though, about there being someone who could do so without the use of any items. Someone who could even see the Statuses of Fiends.
It was a well-kept secret, though, as having such a power was enough to put a target on your back. A secret kept so tightly guarded that even Enverna herself, the strongest of all humans, was never told about it.
No, it may have been the case that precisely because Enverna was strong, Lianna hadn't wanted her to know.
[I... I finally found out about that. A decent consolation prize for failing to prevent the world's end, I suppose.]
"Guilty," Lianna said with a shrug, sticking her tongue out light-heartedly. She then pointed at the Fiends again. "Anyway, those guys over there are a bit stronger. If you fight them, you-"
Enverna, however, gently held her by the wrist and lowered her arm, shaking her head.
"If I even try to use my spear again, I fear my arm will fall off."
Lianna got the message, but her smile didn't leave her face.
"... Crap. So, this is it, then?" Lianna asked quietly. "Damn."
She didn't sound too sad, or too angry, about that. The acceptance was surprisingly quick.
Enverna did not let go of the girl's arm. She held on, seeking even the smallest amount of comfort that she could in what would be the last minutes of her life.
"Honestly, with stats like mine, I guess it's a miracle I made it this far," Lianna continued. "Plus, I get to die alongside the most beautiful woman in the world, so, there's that."
"That's debatable."
"Not anymore. I mean, the only other option is me, so, yeah. You win that award by defau-"
Lianna coughed up blood, falling to her knees.
Enverna hadn't noticed it, but, like her, she was also heavily wounded.
"... With any luck, we'll bleed out before the Fiends arrive," she said with a grave tone.
Enverna could tell she was halfway there already, as she fell on top of Lianna, her head landing on Lianna's lap.
The two of them just breathed, for a while. As Enverna had said, these were likely to be the last breaths of this civilization of theirs. Knowing that she made sure to focus. To really listen to every individual inhalation and exhalation.
"Are we the same age?" Enverna asked softly. Lianna's eyes remained on the approaching Fiends.
"I don't know. How old are you?"
"19."
"I'm 20," Lianna countered.
Enverna made an effort to look up at her, then, curious about something.
The girl had a two-headed dragon symbol on her chest. The same as Enverna's.
"Wait, but... You're with the Watchful."
"I am."
"Did we ever meet?"
"Probably not. I'm guessing you were part of the Search and Destroy division, right?"
"I was."
"I was in Search and Rescue," Lianna stated, some blood dripping from her chin onto the side of Enverna's face.
"But, still, we were at the facility at the same time."
"... We were."
Lianna's eyes met hers. They shone as brilliantly as the sun.
[How come I don't remember her? I would absolutely recall eyes like that.]
"I... I wish we would have met," Enverna said. "You seem quite nice."
"You say that but, you probably would have hated me if you met me back there. I would have just hit on you all day."
Enverna giggled. That alone made pain surge through her body.
Lianna looked over at her. There was a certain fondness in her eyes that Enverna had seen only a few times before.
One of which was when she'd been proposed to.
It felt strange having Lianna look at her that way.
"Can I say-" Lianna began a question, but stopped herself. "No, no... Never mind."
Enverna let that go.
"So, you would have hit on me a lot? Maybe that would have been good for me." Enverna closed her eyes, remembering her time with the Watchful. "I spent the last two years denying that I... heh, even now it is quite difficult to say out loud. Eh, maybe you would have made life hell for me."
So many moments played back, right in front of her, where Enverna could see herself dealing with a frustration that she could only laugh at now.
"Do you think-" Enverna began to ask quietly, but she stopped herself once she made an unfortunate realization.
The woman she'd been speaking to had already died, on her knees. As if she had simply been waiting for Enverna to realize this, Lianna fell back, lifeless.
[Oh.]
The rumbling of massive, monstrous footsteps became louder in the distance.
Enverna watched the Fiends approach feeling regretful about many different things, but, mainly...
[No one ever cared about who you were, huh?] Enverna asked the woman who'd passed away. [I wish I could have met you back then. Maybe I would have. Maybe... Maybe that could have changed something. Anything.]
It became harder to breathe.
The eye floating in the sky disappeared, knowing its enemies were defeated.
[Oh well...]
Then, thankfully, Enverna fainted before the Fiends arrived.
She hadn't seen it, but just as this happened, a message appeared.
It read:
{A Constellation has heard your wish}
{Your wish shall be granted}
Constellations. The godlike beings that could grant Players the strength and power to change the course of history, on a whim. The beings whose rivalries ultimately led to this moment, with humanity's defeat being cemented.
All of this began with them. One of those enigmatic beings, however, had not taken part in the events that led up to the end of the world. One had remained completely neutral, taking the role of a spectator.
Until that girl's final thoughts reached it. Her thoughts, seasoned with regret and desire, compelled that Constellation's heart.
And, because of that, finally, The Lover, the neutral Constellation, got involved.