*Saeroyi Nanaka POV*
"!!!" I suddenly felt immense pressure in both of my feet. It's like I'm being tied up tightly to the ground.
Hah~ this was probably an invisible shackle spell done by some intelligent monster.
Thankfully, I can still move my upper body. This magic...right! She can solve this!
I started searching for a girl with brown hair in every direction within this bloodstained battlefield.
But when I looked to my left, I saw her lying on the ground with blood all over her body.
No...no...no, no no!
"Ack!" I wanted to scream her name, but my throat was scorching in pain. I wanted to go closer to her, yet I couldn't do anything but stand still and cry while looking at those monsters ravaging all over her body.
Move, move! Why can't I move?!
Tears streamed down my eyes, not because the only person who could dispel the shackle spell had died, but because my close friend had died; she died like that.
Why did it become like this...where did things go wrong...
My mind was going blank.
"Empress Nanaka!" I heard Sanami screaming my name. "It's currently far away, but a large beam will come in your direction!"
I knew that Sanami was somewhere behind me deflecting those monsters, so how does she know what's coming in my direction? How could she even sense it if it was still so far?
But who cares, I can't move anyway, and there's no stopping these endless waves of deformed monsters. My parents, my friends, my people, the future of our empire...they are already gone...
"Don't lose hope, Empress! I'm still here! I'll protect you no matter what!" Sanami screamed again. I took a glance at her and saw blood splurging in between her mouth. Yet despite that she was still capable of screaming so loud that she got all of the monsters back in her attention.
"You have to live, Empress! No matter what!"
Sanami...Live no matter what? That was what Mamoru and Kanae also said to me earlier...
Really...they really want me to survive...
Hah~ If that's what they want, then I need to survive for their sake!
I got the resolve to look at the front.
There was a ray of purple light that was approaching my position.
Although it was still so far away, I am certain that it was dark energy!
The beam seemed to get bigger as time passed. At that rate, it would be the largest beam I would ever see in my entire life. And of course, no enemy could produce something like that except for that demonic being; the Voidmancer.
With all the strength that remained, I raised my left hand, aiming toward the approaching surge of dark energy, the same power that killed my people.
My mind was tired, and my left arm wanted to rest like the right one. But through it all, I tried my best to convert some of the surrounding mana into light energy.
A spherical source of white light was forming within my palm, but it was faint.
It was faint-it was weak. It hurts...It hurts that I'm so weak! Why must I be this weak?!
Unbelievable, I can't even protect my people, much more myself!
This magic power of mine could never be compared to the one approaching me right now.
I'm trying my best to stay alive because my people want me alive, but is this all that I can give?!
I kept saying that I would survive, yet my knees were trembling with fear.
I looked at Sanami, and all I saw was the small body of a young white-haired girl spinning around the battlefield with a large blade covered with blue fire. She made it so easy to use that huge weapon of hers, slashing monsters in groups.
It was supposed to be a magnificent sight that would give humanity hope for survival...only if there weren't more monsters lunging towards her.
Sanami looked back at me, and suddenly her face went terrifyingly pale.
"Move, Empress! It's coming!" She screamed, deflecting claws and bites with brute force while trying her best to look at me and keeping her pace at the same time.
I tried but I still couldn't move. All I could do was look at the beam and Sanami again and again while I kept my arm aiming toward the front, equipped with a faint white light.
"Then I will come to you instead, Empress!" Sanami screamed as she stopped spinning her blade around the area and instead came dashing towards me.
However, the speed she was showing was not enough to escape the quick lunges of countless monsters. In a matter of seconds, she was surrounded again.
Sanami had always managed to keep the monsters' attention on her. Not a single one was aiming at me when they could just kill me with no difficulties.
Looking at Sanami's situation, she needs help immediately. Since I'm the only person who could help her, then I need to help her.
I really need to help her...
Hah~ how could I even think of being a help? I can't even escape this shackle magic of some monster...and I'm a burden to her just by being alive.
I'm the problem...
Something was quite strange, to be honest. Many times my people could have just run away and left me alone on this battlefield, yet they sacrificed themselves to protect me, despite having no strength left within them as well.
Why must they want me alive? I was never even supposed to be the Empress. It was my sister who...
Hah~ why must I think about those things right now? Well, maybe it's because I'm going to die in a matter of seconds, and this is just a gesture of appreciation for the experiences that I had.
Still, I fear I cannot live up to your desires, my dear people...but I will try my best to live!
Despite the weak magic of light, my arm never wavered.
I stood with resolve as I awaited for the nearing beam of dark energy.
I closed my eyes but instead of staring into blackness, I was seeing purple darkness.
The loud shrieking of monsters can be heard, but through it all, I faintly hear Sanami's wailing.
I will die, I know. But at least I will die trying to live.
Goodbye, Land of Eden.
....
..
....The purple darkness was suddenly gone. It came back to black.
I found the new situation quite strange...and pleasing?
"Ah..." I tried talking as my throat was now clear.
All the pain was gone. All the noise was gone. This is probably the afterlife.
I'm scared to open my eyes.
"E-Empress Nanaka, it's...okay. You can open your eyes now." I can hear Sanami's quivering voice and sniffles.
So she's here as well? And I just heard her wailing not long ago, but now she seemed to be calm already.
"I'm sorry, Sanami. It's because of me that you have died like thi-"
"-No, Empress. We are alive. Please open your eyes." Sanami then laughed as she held my hand tightly.
It's hard to believe what she said, yet I've always trusted her since we were kids. There's nothing to lose as well, anyway.
I opened my eyes, and suddenly winds blew straight to my face.
"There must be no winds in the afterlife, right?"
But this was not the afterlife. This was a different world.
It's the world of the Zenith.