Why would they heal us?
Juliana stared at the skeletons, completely dumbfounded. The energy they emanated caused their cloak to flap against their body.
A wide smile that couldn't remotely be described as cheerful painted their face. The entire sight was foreboding and caused her skin to crawl, though she didn't know why. She just knew that this was wrong–very wrong.
But if they were reviving the only ones who could help her kill the rest of these monsters, it didn't matter all that much, did it? If the sinister deckhead wanted to show its face sometime down the line, she'd just zap its a$$.
Still, it was an unsettling sight to look at. Unable to maintain a watchful gaze, Juliana looked back at the ash pile that was once a group of dwarves.
That was another weird occurrence. She shouldn't have been strong enough to annihilate them, even if she was upset. Just like how her muscles had become toned, even her magic seemed to have grown stronger.
Was it the work of those skeletons? Or maybe... well, when she had almost died at first, they were fighting Fallen. Now, dwarves had randomly appeared. It was likely there had been other monsters beforehand, and even if they eventually killed Nick he would have killed some of them.
Even if he was an idiot, he did have some battle sense.
So, yeah he probably did kill a few monsters. And then because a Valkyrie grew stronger alongside their king, she grew as he leveled up.
A parting gift.
'What the fuck? Why did you let yourself get hit, you worthless...'
Juliana closed her eyes as she fought back a tear she didn't feel she deserved to have. Some voice inside, different from the voice, resurfaced in her mind like an old lesson from a previous life.
A woman like you must always be perfect, must always be able to serve your man. Otherwise, you will forever be nothing.
Juliana let out a cry of anguish as she felt her life had become worthless. Then she turned back to the skeletons who were almost done killing themselves again to revive Amelia and Yck.
There were still monsters left. The entire reason they joined this raid was to kill monsters and level up. That plan was botched the second they entered, but still.
Nick's strongest desire was to become stronger, even if it meant taking unimaginable pain. He died pursuing such a noble goal. She knew that he would want her to continue fighting, to grow strong enough so that not even other Progenitors could hurt her.
And besides, she wanted to let her grief loose somewhere.
Scanning the battlefield one last time, she saw a formidable dragon soaring overhead, watching the battle with interest. Just looking into his aura caused her knees to buckle.
Lowering her gaze to the ground, she saw 3 of those skeleton things surrounding another giant skeleton. Their power was unfathomable, but at least she could stand against it.
That's where she needed to go to become stronger–
Juliana, come on. Don't be so crass. You know that's not where you're supposed to go. Look at your arm, my dear. Tell me if suicide is the answer.
'My arm?' Juliana looked down and gasped. Her brand was still there?! But... what could that mean?
She saw the small tattered remains of Nick's corpse...
Why, we are behaving stupid today aren't we, little one? First you let down your guard, and now you completely lose yourself. Nick isn't dead, sweetie. He's simply lost in the waters, and he needs you to save him.
He's not dead?
"HE'S NOT DEAD?!"
That is what I said, sweetie. So please, kindly stop being a silly little girl.
Ok...
Even with the adrenaline she felt knowing that her king was fine, she still walked tentatively to the water. Some lost memory or part of her identity caused her to fear it that much...
'But I'll persevere. I have to.'
When she finally reached the water, all she saw was herself. Her perfectly jaded skin, her fiery passionate eyes, her beautiful flowing scarlet hair.
Water lies. What was underneath it was an endless depth of strife and pain and her failure as a Valkyrie.
Somewhere under the water, she knew Nick was falling, drowning.
She took a deep breath and then another, bracing herself to enter the sea. Her fingers dug into her hands as she steeled herself.
Then she took one last breath and closed her eyes.
...
[Amelia's PoV]
"AHH!!!"
She screamed as something crumbled on top of her. It felt so similar...
Opening her eyes, she saw 2 empty sockets and, behind them, an empty skull.
"AHH!!! DON'T HURT ME!" She screamed as she shook from fear, remembering all too well the feeling of skeletons tearing her apart.
To her surprise, this one was truly dead though. All she did was shake for a few seconds and the bones crumbled into fine dust.
The skull fell off her face and to the side, revealing a bright, vibrant sun. She gasped once unbelievingly before equipping her battle armor.
Once she left the dungeon, she was never going to go into battle again. Until then, she was going to completely focus on keeping this armor on, the one that completely covered her body.
Next, she was going to find Fynn. He always protected her, even if everyone else seemed to be offended by her or something. War veterans were weird like that.
Smiling at the beautiful sky and already regaining her confidence, Amelia pushed herself onto her feet.
"What the heck is this!!!"
Yck's shrill voice caught her attention immediately. He was very annoying, but he also said he was a good leader and Fynn didn't seem to mind him.
Just like her, he was covered in crumbled bones. For some reason, he couldn't just push them off like she had. Maybe they were heavier?
Shrugging her shoulders, she walked slowly to his location, and with her hands across her chest she kicked the bones off him. A groan instantly escaped his lips and she cowered, thinking she had hurt him somehow.
"Sorry! I- I didn't mean to hurt you!"
"Then stop talking."
"Ok! I mean, ok! Shoot. Sorry!" Every time she failed to remain quiet, her voice rose as her cheeks turned pink. Yck simultaneously groaned before stretching.
Then he took a look around, probably assessing danger.
He jumped to his feet, stretching his arms out in front of him as he moved behind Amelia. Her stomach sank as she whispered, "E-everything ok?"
His eyes grew wide as he furiously dropped his head to one side, clearly flabbergasted. "Ok? Don't you see that big skeleton over there?"
She turned to where he had looked and felt even more lightheaded. He was right. There was a huge skeleton, at least 30 feet tall, with 3 smaller skeletons in front of it. Then, to add to that, a huge dragon was flying through the air as well.
'But then... w-where's Fynn?'
"Hey, we need you in that other armor."
Her gaze was so focused on the new enemies that she hadn't noticed Yck move behind her until he spoke. But what did he mean? She- she couldn't use that armor, not now. Nit without Fynn's protection.
They had to find him first.
"Y-Yck. W-we nee-ed to f-find–"
"Speak dammit!!! Or better yet, just use that other armor already!"
Defeated, she was about to follow his request until she realized he was looking in the completely opposite way, as if trying to escape. Before, he had always told her that the horse armor ensured them victory in battle.
She basically had viewed it as a good luck charm, and knew that when he asked her to use it, even if monsters started attacking her they would win the battle. Now, she wasn't so sure.
Because, judging by his demeanor, Yck had no intentions of finding Fynn. He only wanted to run, leaving her and Fynn behind to die.
"We need to find Fynn," Amelia said clearly, distinctly. Her request was so assertive that for a second even Yck was shocked.
Then he simply chuckled and pointed at the ground, saying, "What, don't your eyes work? The veteran got himself killed. His head is right there."
'He's lying...'
He's lying!
But when she looked down, she saw nothing but the truth. A bunch of meat ribbons, the only part of her mentor that was still identifiable was his head.
Tears formed in her eyes as she fell to her knees, knowing her friend, the only thing that could protect her, was gone.
The more they fell, the more she felt like she was drowning. She was sinking into an endless pit of despair, and the only person who ever understood her could do nothing to save her.
Her heavy armor dissipated into the other armor as she became defenseless.
She heard loud thunderous steps behind her–Yck escaping. Fynn would want her to as well, but she couldn't force herself to move.
To her right, the water roared as Juliana shrieked and the Mizukai infiltrated the land of the dead, lowering their veils in the process.