Forbidden love (MGE harem fanfic)

Chapter 64: Her last breath (sad, again)

One day later...
After watching Mako disappear into the water I had this itch, not one that can be scratched, rather one that can be soothed by vengeance. Now killing wasn't a large part of what monsters do, this is why i feel like the order has lasted so long.
This was not the first time the order attacked the castle, but whether it was through victory or defeat this would be their last attempt. The first time was a stalemate and the second they retreated with those they captured after not locating me. This time I planned to either capture or kill every soldier that dared fire at us. I'm not about to let anyone else die, especially my daughter and Ruth, both monsters out of the many who had no way of defending themselves or evening preventing them from getting in.
Talks with the dark elf were short and one sided, she knows that it was a mistake not telling me about the attack sooner. Mako had been lying immobile for a day before I made it to her, the moisture and cold air is what managed to keep her from drying out but after a certain point only extended her suffering.
After a long day of planning I found myself sitting against a wall with my head against my knees as I tried to forget about what has happened and what is about to happen.
"Master, are you alright?" A sweet voice asked.
I looked to my side to find that Ruth was sitting next to me.
"Y-Yeah..." I answered.
"Put your head on my lap."
"W-what?" I asked.
"Let me take care of you master." She said.
I did as I was asked and felt as she began to stroke my hair.
"You're so tense... here..." She observed before positioning me further back so that my head was now on her chest.
She moved her hands along my chest, gently massaging me and tickling me with her feathered wrists.
"Are you sure that you're alright... you don't have to keep anything from me... as long as this building stands no one can kill me... anything you tell me will never leave my mouth." She assured me.
I took a deep breathe before telling her about what had happened and the possibility of what was going to happen next. A normal person would've showed a sign of stress after being told that they might not be alive the day after tomorrow, but not Ruth. She continued what she was doing, in fact she put more passion into her movements. This is the part where most monsters would've tried to initiate something sexual, but she had nothing but care in her eyes as her movements aimed to comfort me rather than turn me on.
"I'm so sorry that that happened... I hope you know that there was nothing that could be done."
I suddenly took a deep breathe as her words caused something inside me to drop.
"Master? Are you alright... you started to tremble..." Ruth said with worry in her voice.
"How much would it take for this place to no longer be considered a home... what would they have to do to actually... kill you?" I asked.
Ruth shrugged. "Don't worry about it... they won't get that far."
Those words didn't make me feel any better.
"I'll take you to my room... come on." She whispered softly.
She helped me to my feet and let me put my head on her shoulder as she led me to her room.
Once inside she laid down next to me, the top of my head was just under her chin and she stroked my hair. This position changed depending on what she was doing; kissing, whispering, and massaging me.
"Please don't ever leave me, Ruth." I whispered.
"Don't worry, master, I won't." She said.
There was something special about Ruth, she wasn't like normal monsters who hungered for sex, perhaps she was a legendary monster who gained energy from just physical contact, maybe I radiated enough for her to survive, but those are just guesses, I still don't know how she could come from somewhere as evil as the order and emerge as the most caring and gentle being I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. It was like cuddling with an angel, and as a result I fell asleep rather quickly.

The next day...

A horn sounded, it was just before sunrise and I had overslept. There was a noise in the distance followed by a loud explosion. It was either a cannon or a mortar. Ruth was awoken by this however when she screamed it wasn't a startled cry, rather it sounded like she was in pain. I was about to say something when she looked me in the eye and whispered, "This will only get worse if you don't get out there." I nodded in response. Ruth sat up as I turned to leave and she blew me a kiss, there was a look in her eyes that worried me though, almost like they were full of sadness that they themselves didn't know they possessed. However I pushed this thought from my mind and ran into the hallway where various monsters and humans were already prepped and ready.
Within minutes we were outside and as soon as we saw the enemy it was obvious something was different. Their armor was as dark as the night, their weapons shot out flames, their visors were red, and they focused on pure destruction instead of our ranks. The forest was burning, the ground was scorched, and their cannons just fired again and again at our home.
"This is why I waited to tell you about the attack on oasis, just one of these soldiers is a major challenge. All of the normal ones are either dead or have been taken, all that remains are... these." Said the dark elf from behind me.  "Order your forces to retreat... they won't follow us if they think we're weak."
"If I do that Ruth will die." I argued.
"Ruth and so many others will die if you don't order the retreat. You know where her thoughts lie, she wouldn't want you to sacrifice the greatest chance monsters had for her."
I watched as a soldier ran at one of these monsters and was cut down as if he was just another piece of the environment.
I looked into my palm and a red orb appeared there. I threw it upwards and it fired like a flare. This was the signal to retreat. I watched as soldiers fell back and people in the castle left through secret paths but I walked to the entrance and stood there. A sword appeared in my hand and I stared down the nearest enemy soldier. He fired his weapon and I sliced the bullet in two. He ran at me and through pure spite I broke through his armor and killed the coward within. I fought as hard as I could but soldiers ran past me while I was occupied. When I found an opening I ran inside. The second I was inside the sound of explosions echoed across the demon realm.

When I finally came to I was covered in rubble. I heard the sound of someone calling my name that was slightly drowned out by crying next to me. I did my best to sit up and through the gaps I created I could see someone covered in burns with half of his armor destroyed. The explosions came from the black armor, the order sent these people on a suicide mission without even telling them what the sacrifice was. I watched that soldier die with the same amount of fear that half of his victims most likely felt.
Minutes passes and I felt as the rubble was lifted off of me. A familiar purple cat looked down at me with tears in her eyes. She pulled me into her arms and began to cry.
"They took our daughter... I thought they killed you." She cried.
I was unable to comprehend what she just said but an intense feeling of fear filled me.
Sarah was shaking, covered in blood, her skin was littered in burns, and her clothes were in tatters. She collapsed on top of me and shivered as if she were freezing.
"They took my baby away from me..." she whispered. "I tried to fight them... I figured they were normal soldiers so it shouldn't be hard... they beat me... before I blacked out I saw Ruth with a kitchen knife and then she grabbed her and ran... I couldn't find Loki or Ruth... I awoke alone." Sarah broke down and started to cry again.
There was movement to our side and Artemis entered my field of vision.
"I'll take the queen to the chosen fallback point, Ruth is not far from here, y-you need to see her... alone." She said.
"Queen?" I asked making sure I heard Artemis right.
"I didn't stutter. She's the only one left."
The zombie dragon picked up Sarah and I stood up. Walking after this emotional beat down felt like I was on the bottom of the ocean. I heard a whimper and turned to see Ruth half covered in rubble with a knife lying at her side. Multiple soldiers lie dead at her side, one of them even had the remains of black armor.
I pulled her from the rubble and held her in my arms.
"Master..." she whispered.
"I'm here." I said.
"Thank you..."
"Ruth..." I said pulling her closer.
she didn't respond. She took long painful breaths that ended in whimpers.
"I'm glad... that I'm dying here... instead of suffering... with th-them..."
I squeezed her and pressed my head against hers as tears streamed down my face.
"No... please... fight..."
Ruth smiled weakly. "I'm sorry master... I'm unable to follow that order."
"Please... we promised we would stay together, side by side until the end of time... please don't die." I cried.
"I love you... master..." she trailed off.
She stopped breathing and the warmth left her body. I laid her down and closed her green eyes. I stroked her hair one last time and kissed her. I stood up and turned back in last time.
"I love you too, Ruth." I whispered.
I walked out of the remains of our home. I fell to the ground unable to contain my emotions any longer and just screamed.
Someone wrapped their arms around me from behind and I felt as was turned around. It was Fang and out of the corner of my eye I saw that it was a full moon... fucking great.
"Ignore the moon, Y/N, I'm just here to make sure you're safe... I saw that encounter with... y-you've been through enough today." She said.
She then proceeded to hold me with a gentle nature that I didn't know Fang had. It felt nice... heaven compared to the past day. Part of me knew that we weren't done... this only ignited a larger blaze. I smiled a little at this thought.
"Thank you, Fang." I said.
"You're welcome, little human."