A chilling unease emanated from Lisa.
"The mission... it isn't finished, is it?" Lisa whispered, avoiding my eyes.
Rising, she stood before the sofa.
"For you, perhaps it's not yet finished. But for me... it's over. The quest, the knighthood, my life... everything." The words, repeated in a monotone sorrow, hung heavy in the air.
"Lisa, wait—"
Before I could react, she lunged, seizing the dagger and pressing it to her throat.
Her body trembled, her grip irregular.
A slight pressure, and the dagger tore a bit into her flesh.
"Lisa! What are you doing?!" I roared.
She flinched, yet her hold on the dagger remained tenacious.
Tears streamed down her face as she looked at me, a hollow smile twisting her lips.
Her eyes reflected a soul devoid of hope.
"Alstair... I'm sorry... I can't bear this any longer. I'm done," she choked out, her voice a fractured whisper.
"Wait! Don't move that dagger! What utter nonsense are you spouting about being 'done'? The health potion I gave you worked! Why are you throwing your life away so senselessly?!" My voice cracked with desperation as I pleaded with her.
"I'm so sorry... you wasted such a precious remedy on a worthless knight like me... As I said, my fight is finished. I can't continue this battle. I... I pray you success on defeating the remaining monstrosity, Alstair."
Her forced smile was a heartbreaking mask, her tears an evidence to her anguish.
Lisa, an A-rank Knight Healer, a status few humans can attain, slumped before me.
"Stand tall!" I urged, my voice sharp. "The fight isn't finished!"
But her anguish was different perspective on her.
"A healer who survives while her comrades fall? My skills failed! They died before my eyes! I'm a failure! My A-rank status is a mockery! I should have perished with them, Alstair! My continued existence is an unbearable disgrace!" Her cry tore through the silence.
I grasped the depth of her despair, yet her self-condemnation was unacceptable.
"Lisa, don't obliterate yourself! Your family... they yearn for your safe return. Don't inflict this agony upon them. Please, I beg you, find your strength."
Her response was a torrent of grief. "Family? They're gone, brutally slaughtered by those monsters! My hands are stained with the blood of my comrades, victims of my inadequacy! How can I face their families? It's hopeless, meaningless!"
The Knight's life is fraught with peril, yes, but this… this was different.
This was agonizing.
Then, a twist of fate.
The System issued a new quest, a stark counterpoint to the devastation surrounding us.
An improbable mission—saving Lisa—lay before me.
It wasn't just a quest; it was a rare, sacred undertaking.
Regardless, a quest it remained, and I resolved to execute it with unwavering resolve. "Lisa," I cautioned, my voice steady, "vent your despair, your guilt, unleash it all. But do not, I beg you, choose such oblivion so carelessly. Any movement towards that dagger, however slight it is, and I will intervene."
"You cannot fully understand this crushing weight, Alstair! I died long ago. It's over for me! I am unworthy! I will end it here…"
The instant Lisa raised the dagger, I reacted.
A lightning bolt spell, precisely aimed, paralyzed her hand, rendering it numb and powerless. Empowered by my Gaia Endowment, I surged towards her, seizing both her wrists.
"Let go! Release me! My life is finished! There's no point!" she sobbed, her despair a torrent.
"There is a point, Lisa! Find it! It isn't over!" I insisted, my voice a firm counterpoint to her anguish.
But her resolve remained unshaken.
"Just let me die! You don't understand!"
"No, I don't understand your loss. But I refuse to watch you extinguish your life before my eyes. If you need a reason to live, Lisa, let me be that reason," I declared, my voice resonating with conviction.
A flicker of astonishment, then…hope.
A fragile spark, but enough to ignite my efforts.
I shifted, lowering myself until our faces were inches apart.
My words were a gentle whisper.
"One final boss monster stands between us and Dawn City's liberation. Be my healer, Lisa. I know you possess the strength."
"But…I don't want…to see more people die…because of…"
"Rise, Lisa! Support me! Prove to yourself—to me—that you can overcome this!" I cut through her wavering cries, my voice a forceful affirmation.
Lisa's sobs wracked her body, a torrent of anguish stemming from her voiceless captivity.
She clung to me, her tears a deluge against my chest, a silent testament to her torment.
Time dissolved into the abyss of her emotional distress; I knew this crippling depression wouldn't gone overnight.
At least, the immediate threat of self-harm had been stopped.
Gradually, her weeping subsided, leaving an unsettling quietude.
But the stillness held a sinister undercurrent, a noticeable sense of malice.
My instincts screamed a warning; a glimpse of azure light, high above in the lobby, revealed the Dreadspires, its bow aimed on us.
The luminescent crystal projectile was unmistakable.
Instantly, I yanked Lisa behind me, shielding her from the impending attack while simultaneously summoning Zephyr, my wind warriors.
Three spectral blades flashed into existence, their swords a blur as they met the Dreadspires' strikes.
The clash of steel shattered the silence, jolting Lisa from her despair into a state of heightened awareness.
The weakened Crescent Moonlight Curse proved a fatal flaw; my warriors couldn't deflect every blow.
Two searing bolts slammed into my shoulder, agony ripping through me.
I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists against the excruciating pain.
The system's stark warning echoed the grim reality of my treacherous situation.
>Health Power: 25%
>Warning! You infected by Crystal Poison: Health Power Halved!
Shit!
A guttural curse escaped my lips.
The vile Crystal Poison was intensifying, debilitating me!
Even standing was a Herculean effort!
Lisa's anguished gaze, etched with profound worry and brimming tears, pierced me.
"Alstair, are you alright?" she whispered.
Moments ago I'd been struggling to lift her; now, I trembled on the edge of oblivion.
The crisis deepened!
Two of my Wind Warriors fell, their skulls shattered by Dreadspire's crystalline projectiles!
This infernal poison shackled me, rendering me incapable of even fleeing, let alone casting the vital Gaia Endowment spell.
Desperation clawed at me.
Time was a dwindling resource.
Frantically, I accessed my System's inventory, retrieving a crucial escape mechanism from Dreadspire's lethal onslaught.
I embraced Lisa, shielding her as my remaining Wind Warrior perished under the monster's relentless assault.
With Dreadspire's menacing gaze fixed upon us, I activated the Talisman of Invisibility, our only hope for survival.
>Utilized Talisman: The Invisible One!
>You and your surrounding become invisible in one hour!
Time seemed to grind to a halt.
Lisa and I remained visible, but Dreadspires and his undead horde were plunged into an unnerving blindness.
His aim, once fixed on us, wavered, then dissolved entirely.
He was hopelessly disoriented, his senses failing to register our presence.
Minutes stretched into an eternity.
The undead archers, under Dreadspires' command, flooded the lobby, their bows amied at our surrounding… yet oblivious to our stark, undeniable proximity.
Lisa's voice, a barely audible tremor, broke the silence.
"What's happening?"
My own breath hitched.
"We're… unseen," I whispered back, "Stay close. Separation will expose us." My voice was strained. "But this invisibility is temporary. We must find safe place quickly."
I struggled to my feet, my legs trembling, and Lisa's steady hand gave me support.
We moved through the bewildered archers, our footsteps audible, yet unheard.
Their reliance on sight rendered them helpless, their leader's confusion mirroring the chaos of their own aimless scrutiny.
The Talisman of Invisibility—my desperate gambit—had worked, albeit at a terrible cost.
An agonizing hour crawled by before I collapsed into a secluded restroom on the second floor's eastern wing, far enough from the lobby's mayhem to hopefully offer rest.
Lisa gently guided me to a bed.
I lay down, fever burning, drenched in sweat, a searing agony gripping my muscles, radiating from the crystal projectiles that put a scar in my shoulder.
A healing potion proved useless against this complicated situation on my body.
Geez, this damn pressure is annoying!
What the heck I must do now?