Not Just The Side Character

Finale

26k Words

ACT I [Coward]

Markus POV

This was it, there's no turning back now after this. I was feeling all kinds of things right now. Like my heart is about to jump out of my chest with excitement, but I'm also extremely nervous. Not to mention guilty.

After being too much of a coward to tell the truth to Robin I just can't shake off this terrible feeling. I avoided him for so long, I've asked him such stupid questions about our friendship, all because I feel so inferior to him.

I'm such a coward, a damn coward. He still says I'm his friend even though a coward like me really doesn't deserve to be.

After this I'll tell him everything that I have pent up, I have too if I want to stop being a coward, and start being a real friend after this.

*BANG!*

Was that a gunshot?!

My head spins towards where I heard it, the direction I had just left. Robin must be over there, meaning there's no need for someone like me to interfere with his hero business.

*BANG!*

Another gunshot. I begin to hear screaming and a group of guards in their bulky armour clank by. What the hell is going on?

Is this some kind of game event for the female protagonist's story? Suddenly, a high pitch ringing fills my brain.

Oh god, my head feels like its splitting open again. Luckily I've gotten used to it by now and I'm able to hold back screams of pain.

My vision's turning purple again, I won't let you win!

Markus: "Get out of my head!" I scream out, clutching both sides of my head and keeling over.

Finally, it begins to fade away and I regain my vision. I did it again Robin, I held on, I'm not just a weak nobody ya hear?

Grinning at my own accomplishment, I begin to wonder if maybe Robin has some kind solution to this. No! Stay strong Markus, you're a protagonist, you can't just rely on your friend's help all the time. He has his own story to deal with, you shouldn't bother him.

At least, that's what I've been telling myself for the past few months after these headaches started popping up.

Shaking my head, I start to worry about Robin and the others, but still hesitate on moving to go help them. If this is part of their story then it's even more reason for me to not interfere.

Sighing at my own indecision, I start to walk away. Besides, I still need to go-

Markus: "What the fu- woah!" I scream as a hand tries to grab through the a small dark circle with electric purple electricity lining it.

N-No way...

Markus: "D-Demons?!" I exclaim as I fall backwards and the portal begins to expand.

Through it walks a small red demon with a pitch fork, an imp. The small creature walks towards me letting loose an endless amount of high pitch giggling which becomes the only thing I'm able to hear.

My body was screaming at for me to run away, but I'm frozen in terror. I'm not supposed to encounter any demons until halfway through my story, and Robin's story has an invasion so early?!

Markus: "G-Get away!" I yell at the ecstatic looking demon.

It does the exact opposite of what I say, and jumps towards me with it pitchfork raised to impale me. Robin help!

Markus: "[Blast!]" I yell as I raise my hand towards it.

Even as I thought of the word, my magic circle had already begun to form and with a target in sight, I unleash a desperate attack. Fire sprouts from my hand and bloom into a blast of flame completely engulfing the demon.

I watch in terror as it lets out an ungodly screech and burn in my flame. Once my flame dissipate not even ashes remain with me and my rapidly beating heart. I-I killed it, with a super weak spell too.

We're not even half way into the school year, which probably means this is very early into the Robin's story, err, the female protagonist's story. Which also means the enemies here should all be low level, I could fight them off.

Mustering up what little courage I have, I manage to get myself onto my two feet again. Then I freeze up once more.

Now that adrenaline wasn't blocking out my hearing I was able to fully take in the screams that were echoing around the grand hall. I could only assume that the demon have completely overrun this place, and I can't fight that many of them, not at the level I am at now.

I need to get out of here, this isn't my fight.

Then the thought of Angela being torn to shreds pops into my mind, then an image of Lucas, the female leads, all of my friends, and the most prevalent one being the disappointed blank look Robin gives me.

No, no, I can't run, all of the work I put into being someone who could leave Robin's shadow would be for naught then. After slapping some sense into me, literally, I finally steady my legs.

Markus: "D-Don't worry everyone, I-I'm coming to help." I mutter as I hold onto my stinging cheek.

I break off into a sprint and run back from where I came from, holding in my lunch when I pass by more than a few dead bodies, students and demons of the like. This is what real world is like, after this that though will be engraved in my head.

Soon I reach an open area where I see a group of demons surrounding what I assume to be students, I can tell from their screams for help. I rush over as I prepare my hands to incinerate the bastards.

Markus: "O-OVER HERE!" I yell to get their attention.

A spider, centipede, and an abnormally thin human like turn around and spot me, only to be engulfed in my flames a moment later. I have no time to recall which enemy they are or what their weakness is, I can only hope that they die to my flames.

Luckily, they do as the flames consume every inch of their demonic being. Leaving an open space where they once stood, I'm able to see the students who were being surrounded all huddled together. I don't notice anyone I know , but that didn't matter, I had to save them.

I don't let up my sprint though as I've now caught the attention of the other demons. They saw me as a threat and began to ignore the others as they moved towards me. I could feel my body tense up, but I don't let that stop me.

I ready my next attack, but halt when I see one of the students conjure up their own magic.

Student: "Die you monsters!" He screams as blades of water shoot from his hands.

A few of the others follow his lead and they all manage to effectively shoot the demons in their back. I use this chance to attack as well, trapping the demons between our magic.

They all burn, get cut, and crushed to death in a matter of moments. Once we all confirm they were dead, we turn all turn each other at the same time with nothing but our labored breathing sounding between us.

Markus: "We did it!" I exclaim to break the silence.

This creates a chain reaction and everyone begins to cheer, cry tears of relief, and hug one another.

We don't celebrate for long as another student speaks up.

Student: "We need to get out of here, I saw the guards evacuating the students at the entrance. Once we make it over there we'll be safe." She tells the group.

Student: "Alright, let's stick together and get the hell out of here." Another one suggests.

Everyone nods in agreement with a new steel in their eyes. I was in awe, after having a brush with death just moments ago they were calm enough to come up with a plan so quickly.

That's right, no one here is just a helpless NPC, we're all students of this academy and future heroes of our own story.

I chuckle at myself, that had to have been the most hero like line I had ever thought in my head.

Markus: "You guys go on ahead." I smile at them

Student: "What?! Why?" More than a few of them exclaim.

Markus: "I need to look for my friends, so I'm staying behind." I say with firmness in my voice, and before they can object to it I speak again. "Listen, if you keep your heads down and stick to the walls you should be able to make it to the entrance while avoiding the demons. Good luck, I know you can do this." I say to them all with a reassuring smile.

They were clearly afraid, but I'm happy to see that my words were able to ease them even just a little.

Student: "Thank you, for saving us." One of them say as the rest nod their heads and give me a smile.

Student: "I hope you find your friends." Another one adds.

They all give me a wave before jogging off to the direction of the exit, a determined look in all of their eyes.

I remain in place and just smile at my achievement for a few more moments. I may not be like Robin, who was probably kicking ass and saving people left and right, but just saving this people made me feel like I was finally getting closer to his level.

???: "What are you doing just standing around here for?" A snarky voice ass me.

I jolt at their voice and calm down when it's just another student, then I panic when I realize it's just another student who had left the bigger group.

Markus: "What are you still doing here?! Why didn't you go with the others?!" I exclaim as I turn to them, then I see who it is.

Tracy: "You said you were going to go find your friends, you're friends with Robin, meaning if I stick with you I can find him as well." She states bluntly.

I wasn't so sure about the first part of her statement, considering how much of a bad friend I've been to him in the past, but I smile at her words anyways.

Markus: "It's way too dangerous for you, if you run now you'l-"

Tracy: "Listen up." She growls firmly. "I'm not some weak little girl, I'm in an A-Class, I can handle myself alright? Now take me to Robin." She orders me.

Seeing the demon in front of me conjuring a menacing aura, I can only surrender and nod my head.

Tracy: "Good." She begins to smile, then hesitates on saying something. "And...thanks for saving us, I owe you one I guess." She says awkwardly.

I begin to smile again.

Markus: "No problem."

Tracy: "By the way, I don't see Angela with you, did you already escort her out of here?" She asks hopefully.

I bite my lip as unease fills my stomach.

Markus: "She's number one on my list of people to find." I say feeling ashamed of myself, if I just stuck with her and didn't run away when I was about to confess I wouldn't have this problem right now, stupid! Stupid.

Tracy: "What?! How could you leave her behind?!" She yells at me.

Markus: "Yeah, don't worry I was just scolding myself." I say with a depressed chuckle.

Suddenly I'm shoved and I fall onto my backside.

Tracy: "Quit it with that self-pitying look on your face, it's really irritating me" She says with a disgusted look on her face. "Angela and Robin could be in danger right now and you're wallowing in your own shame? Unbelievable." She rolls her eyes.

I'm not even able to say anything before she continues berating me.

Tracy: "Figure out your personal problems in your own time cause right now you don't matter, your friends do and they need you. So get your ass up and let's go find Robin and the others."

Confused and kinda shocked at her words of encouragement, if they can be called that, I sit here more baffled than anything else, just for a moment though as I realize she's right. Aren't all of my problems just in my head? Including the strange voice that refuses to leave me alone?

Tracy: "I said get up dammit!" She exclaims, kicking in the leg. "How much more time are you going to waste?!"

Markus: "R-Right! Sorry." I apologize as I get back on my feet.

Tracy: "Good, now let's get going." She says with a satisfied smile, holding out a hand to help me up.

I begin to smile as I take her hand, maybe we'll be able to get through this after all. Then suddenly, I'm tossed to the side again.

Markus: "Ow, seriously what did I do thi-" My breath hitches and my vision shakes when I find another tall and thin humanoid like demon piercing it's long needle like claws through Tracy's chest.

She coughs up blood and glares at the faceless demon as it yanks out its hand out from her chest.

Tracy: "[Wa-Waterfall Cutter]" She says as her hand produces a blue magic circle and dozens of water like blades rain down on the demon, cutting it into pieces.

Tracy drops to the ground with a hole in her chest and a pool of blood begins to form underneath her. Snapping myself out of my shock I rush to her side.

Markus: "Tracy! Tracy!" I yell in a panic as I slide to her side and prop up her head on my lap as I try covering the wound.

When I look at her face she seemed detached from the world, her eyes were hazy and unfocused while she was just barely breathing. Unsure of what to do, I sit there helplessly as she bleeds in my arms.

Then I notice that more of the same demon begin surrounding me, appearing from all sides. I glare at them angrily as fire ignites both in my hand and heart, my hatred directed at them and myself. If I just set off with her to search for the others right away this wouldn't have happened, this is all my fault.

Tracy: "I really...wanted to show Robin...my dress." She says weakly, as tears slowly fall from her eyes.

Markus: "J-Just hold on Tracy, y-you'll get to see Robin soon." I say shakily, barely able to hear the hope in my voice. "[H-Heat Shield!]" I yell to summon a thin dome of fire around us.

Once the demons reach us they begin slashing at the dome, burning themselves in the process. Not that that stops them from continuously striking at my dome, slowly whittling it down.

Unable to do anything but watch the demons break into the dome, I hold onto Tracy wishing I was Robin.

Then a series of loud bangs go off and the demons surrounding get picked off one by one by some kind of beam. I start feeling hope again and grin wildly after realizing there's only one person who knows how to use a magic gun.

I let down my shield to get a better look at what was happening outside and watch as a teal scarf wraps around one of the demon's hand, snaps it off with a disgusting crunch, and decapitates the demon with its own hand.

The demons are quickly dispatched and I see Robin running towards me, with eyes colder than I've ever seen before. Robin's eyes widen as he stops in front of us and sees Tracy in my arms, a large hole in her chest, smiling weakly at him while reaching her hand out towards him.

Tracy: "Ro...bin..." She says happily, her final breath leaving her body.

Tracy's body goes limp in my arms, and her outstretched hand dropping right before Robin's feet, her now empty eyes staring up at Robin.

Markus: "T-Tracy?" I call out to her, my voice barely a whisper. "W-Wake up, R-Robin's finally here." I say shaking her a little bit, but her glassy lifeless eyes don't make a move.

*CLICK*

Robin: "You monster, what have you done." He says in a low, deathly cold voice filled with hatred.

No words come out of my mouth, as I find myself staring down the barrel of Robin's gun. My mouth opens and closes uttering no words as I try to figure out what to say.

Markus: "I-I'm sorry." I finally say, tears welling up in my own eyes. "I'm so sorry for always letting you down." My voice cracks as I shut my eyes and turn my head downwards, unable to look at his hate filled eyes.

Nothing but silence from Robin, only his slightly unsteady breathing.

And then...

*BANG!*

Grace POV

Grace: "Hey, you, grab my hand." I say to a cowering student who was crouched into a ball holding onto both sides of their head trying to cover their ears.

They look up at me with terror filled eyes only shaking in place. Already in an irritated mood I roll my eyes and forcibly grab their hand, teleporting us to the entrance of the grand hall. There, a plethora of guards, teachers, and student quickly organized by Robert stand protecting the entrance and escorting students out of the building by forming a wall to hold back and approaching demons.

Grace: "Go on now, unless you actually want to stick around." I say sarcastically as I gesture to the demons that were barely visible above the wall of people.

The student whimpers as they run towards the exit where another group of students were ready to do a quick check up on them and make sure they were okay.

Grace: "Tch, how rude, not even a thank you for saving your menial life." I mutter as I shake my head.

Then a teacher comes up to me with a tired but grateful expression.

Teacher: "Thank you once again Miss Astley, for everything you've done here." They bow.

I merely look at them with disinterest.

Grace: "If you're tired then go to the relief squad, then leave or come back to support the wall. Do not waste my time." I say coldly.

They reel back a little in fear and shock but quickly follow in the footsteps of the student I saved. I watch them scurry away still feeling a lingering irritation within me.

This is the worst night ever.

I've been waiting for this night for so long now, so very excited to slow dance in my dear servant's arms, just to have it interrupted by a demon invasion! What's worse is that now my proposal will have to be postponed!

I think about the ring in my [Spatial Storage] and how now it's going to be left collecting dust until I get the perfect chance to propose again, leaving me more annoyed than ever before.

I would obviously prefer if he were to propose to me first, but I know how he is. Not only is it too soon for him to be considering this stuff, but he'd probably propose to everyone at once just like he did to make us his girlfriends.

Admittedly, even I think I myself am being too impulsive in trying to propose to him, but when I really want something I will get it at all costs. An old mindset that I've yet to get rid of, but what can one expect from the villainess.

Now instead of a majestic night where I dance with the one I love, I'm stuck running around and saving students where I can. I would have preferred to have stuck together with Robin but he insisted for me to stay behind where it's safe.

Huh, now that I think of it, he never even told me to go out of my way to save the students, I've just been doing it myself. Has his hero side really rubbed off on me? Now I'm even more irritated, but not because of this.

You have me worried sick Robin, when will you come back? I do not want to lose you ever again, so please, come back to me.

Guard: "A student is approaching and they're carrying someone! Quickly, go out and cover him!" A man orders.

A small group from the wall breaks off and rushes out towards the student that I am unable to see. Anxiety finally breaks through what little composure I have and I rush towards the wall, hoping to see Robin running back with whomever he saved.

Grace: "Move out of my way!" I order the people blocking my way.

They're quick to listen and a pathway opens up. I rush through and finally get a clear view of the student.

It was Markus, the same one that ruined my perfect setting. Oh, and the one who summoned all these demons.

Grace: "Hold it! Do not let that boy through!" I command the group.

They're startled and confused about my order but are smart enough to simply obey my words.

Student: "W-Why are we not letting that boy through?" A brave, or foolish, boy asks me.

Grace: "And why should I answer to you?" I ask coldly.

He shrinks away from me and I move to the very front to talk to the boy, he seemed very unharmed for someone who was shot a couple dozen times.

Grace: "You must be eager to die if your approaching us like this demon." I spit the name out with venom.

Markus: "W-What are you talking about?" He asks with wide eyes, seeming despaired for whatever reason.

Grace: "Ready your magic everyone, this is the demon who ruined the ball!" I shout to all of them.

Markus stops some ways away from us looking confused. Then I hear murmurs of people hesitating behind me, that is until some other people speaks up.

Student: "She's not lying! I-I was there, he was the one who brought all this upon us!" One shouts enraged.

Student: "You killed my boyfriend!" A girl shouts.

Guard: "This is the monster, listen to Grace!" He yells.

With other people supporting my claim the team is rallied and a large influx of magic fills the air, I'd like to see this demon survive all of this. Looking shocked at everyone's hostility, the people around him reluctantly raising their weapons in fear.

Markus: "Wait! That wasn't me! R-Robin told me about it!" He yells desperately, and I raise my hand to stop everyone at the mention of Robin's name.

Grace: "Robin told you?" I ask skeptically.

Markus: "Yes! H-He saved me earlier and told me to take Tracy's body back to the exit." He tries to explain, a flash of pain and shame appearing on his face for a moment as he makes his explanation.

I take a glance at Tracy's bloody body, poor Robin, he must've been devastated to see a friend of his like that. Though I can't seem to muster any pity for the girl herself, never really liked her anyways.

Grace: "Oh really now? And just how am I supposed to believe a possible demon?" I ask next.

Markus's eyes dart around rapidly and finally land on the body's closed eyelids, then he flinches and looks away as he takes a knee. he uses his knee to prop up her body and reaches into his pocket.

Many people notice this and tense up, expecting some kind of attack. It never comes, instead he pulls out a teal fabric.

Markus: "Robin gave me this to show to you specifically as a way to show my validation. He can think up a solution for everything even during a time like this, he's amazing isn't he." He says in a defeated tone.

The group of people around us watch me carefully, awaiting some kind of order. I stare at him for a few moments and try to discern the truth of his words.

I'm not only a specialist at reading Robin's emotions and expressions, but others too. Plus Markus has always been an open book making him easier to understand the most.

I'm not sure what happened with him, Robin, and Tracy but I could easily take a guess. Because his guilt, his disappointments, his own insecurities, I can clearly see it all written on his face.

Considering how Markus always looked at Robin as an idol and someone to envy, he must have used this invasion as a chance to pursue his desire to become a hero like the naïve child he is. Seeing as how dead the girl in his arms is, I assume he had been with her before Robin appeared.

There's no way Robin let someone he cares about die in front of him, he has the strength and conviction to make sure of that. Meaning the shame and guilt on Markus's face is because he failed to save or protect her.

There's also the look of crushed dreams on his face, which must stem from being saved by Robin yet again. Both during the time earlier and this very moment where the piece of Robin's scarf is his protective charm here.

After observing his face and movements for a little while longer I come to a conclusion. Markus's emotions are too real, I think it's safe to say this is the real Markus, no matter how broken he may seem at the moment.

He's also one of Robin's best friends, and Robin wouldn't be happy with me if I just turned him away now.

Grace: "Lower your weapons." I tell everyone with a sigh.

Student: "Are you out of your mind?!" A student explodes beside me.

Guard: "Didn't you say this was the demon just now?!" Another one exclaims.

I turn to the two with a sharp glare and they instantly shrink back.

Grace: "There's traces of my lingering magic on that scarf." I lie. "That's enough for the validity of it. And if my servant is vouching for him, then I have no reason to his doubt his judgement." I explain with a level gaze at everyone around me.

A brief spark of hope sparks in Markus's eyes.

Student: "T-Then who did we see on the balcony?" Someone asks unsurely.

Grace: "The demon obviously. The demon must have taken Markus's form and to hide its true identity. They did this, not the wannabe hero in front of us." I say pointing towards the haggard boy in front of us. "Do you really think that he looks capable of surviving Robin's attacks? Let alone open up so many demonic portals."

Markus can only look down and accept my harsh words, too afraid to even try and protest against it. Everyone takes a nervous look at Markus, studying him for a while.

Some of the people finally lower their weapons still looking skeptical, while others are in need of a little more encouragement.

Grace: "Leave this matter to me if you don't want to end up like Brent and his little lackeys." I glare at them all, making sure to remember all of their faces.

Everyone, even the ones who have already lowered their weapons freeze up at my words. I'm glad everyone still remembers that small group of knights Robin defeated, and how they all 'mysteriously' disappeared.

I didn't kill any of them of course, but leave it to the imagination to fill in the blank spaces of what the feared villainess had done to the group. The guards who had come from the city may not know what I'm talking about, but they still follow the example of the students and teachers.

Sometimes a bad reputation is a good thing, I just wish Robin could see that too.

Grace: "Now get back to your posts, who knows when the next wave of demons will come at us." I order.

I get a satisfied feeling once everyone does what I say and, with reluctant glances at Markus, they finally leave. Even the one who lost they're significant other leaves, but not before giving me and Markus a death glare.

Markus: "Thank you." He mumbles as I walk towards him.

Grace: "Where did you see Robin last?" I demand from him, ignoring his thanks.

His eyes drag themselves upwards to look at me.

Markus: "He knew you'd ask that, so he told me to tell you to stay here where its safe." He replies in the same tone as Robin's voice.

I'm really starting to get annoyed with this guy and this new attitude of his.

Grace: "Fine then, hand over the body." I order impatiently.

Markus's eyes widen in surprise then settle into a confused gaze.

Markus: "W-What are you gonna do with the body? Robin wants to make sure its-"

Grace: "I can already guess what Robin wants." I interrupt him. " I'll take care of it while you go back and help him since I'm not allowed to leave." I say with the intent to follow him right after.

*SCKREEEEEEEEEEE!*

An ear piercing demonic screech rings out of from somewhere in the depths of the grand hall, shaking even me to my very core. I shake it off and focus back onto Markus, who seemed even more afraid than I was.

Markus: "N-No, I can't do that Grace." He finally mutters.

Grace: "What?! Are you joking right now?!" I yell frustratedly, what if Robin is fighting whatever just let out that screech just now?

Markus: "I-I'm sorry, b-but I can't. I-I'll only be a burden." He admits shamefully.

I'm about to yell at him again, but I realize he's already fallen into his own little hell. He's useless as he is now. I honestly thought he was better than this, being Robin's friend and all. How disappointing.

Grace: "What about Angela? Are you just gonna leave her?"

Markus remains silent for a moment.

Markus: "I-It'll be fine, Robin's out there."

I clench my fists in frustrations and stamp away in anger.

Grace: "You goddamn coward, how can you call yourself his friend." I spit venomously with the barest glance back.

I see his body tense up as his clutch around Tracy's body tightens, silently taking my words. I scoff and start walking towards the relief group to take a break, hoping I'll be able to see Robin soon.

I can't do anything now, I'm absolutely powerless in this fight.

I hate it.

Grace: "Dammit!" I yell out loud, no longer caring about appearances.

I ignore the sudden influx of gazes and spin around on my heels doing a perfect one-eighty.

You better be alright Robin when I find you, for my sake as much as the others who care for you.

ACT II [Cutscene]

Robin POV

Tracy's dead                            Tracy's dead            Tracy's dead                  Tracy's dead              Tracy's dead                                 Tracy's dead              Tracy's dead                                    Tracy's dead       Tracy's dead.

And it's all my fault. I know preventing all casualties would have been impossible, but I at least wanted to save the people close to me.

How could I have let this happen? After all of my preparations, all of the knowledge I have, all of the promises I made to myself, did all of it only amount to this?

I not only let Tracy down, but Markus too.

Markus: "We can't be friends anymore Robin." He had said in his most dull tone.

He couldn't even look at me at the time, only at the person who lied dead in his arms.

I thought I had misheard him at the time since I had just fired my gun to kill the demon sneaking behind him, but that was just my hopeful thinking.

Markus: "I'm sorry." He had said as he stood up, still holding onto Tracy's body. "I'll bring her back to the entrance, don't worry about me anymore."

Then without even giving me a chance to speak, he ran off. I wanted to run to him and ask for an explanation, but I couldn't move, my feet were embedded into the ground.

I snapped out of my shock a few moments later when Sylvia begged for me to get moving, and now I'm here.

*GRWAAARGHH-*

The head of the demon, and the arms it was using to try and grab me are cut off by my blade.

Running and slicing towards where one of Sylvia's threads had spotted the girls. I had finally made it to the storage closet where I stashed Robert's sword that he had given to me just before I boarded the ship that brought me to the school.

That feels so long ago now.

I shake away all of my unrelated thoughts and focus on the task ahead of me.

Sylvia: "Are you alright Robin?" I hear her worried voice ask me from the folds of my scarf.

Robin: "No, I'm not." I say in a flat shaky voice. "But I don't matter right now, I won't..." My voice cracks. "I can't lose another one."

I feel mini Sylvia give me a comforting hug around my neck with her tiny arms.

Sylvia: "Don't say that Robin, you matter, of course you matter. Don't be so quick to throw away your life like that, what would the girls say?" She asks softly as one end of Scarfy attacks a group of demons ahead of me.

Robin: "I'm sorry." I whisper as I quickly wipe my eyes with my sleeve, the most noncommittal response I could give.

*SCKREEEEEEEEEEE!*

An ear piercing screech rings out close by, making my legs shake a bit. I grit my teeth and start making my way through the room at an even faster pace.

A swarm of demons walk through a set of portals ahead of me. Not taking a second to slow down I summon one of my revolvers in my off hand and aim at the group. Quickly feeding mana into the gun, the cylinder begins to spin and glow.

Robin: "Get out of my way!" I yell as I pull the trigger, shooting a large beam of mana at them.

Before they even register my incoming attack, the beam swallows them whole, erasing their entire demonic existence.

Dashing through the now empty space I turn the corner and face another large dance floor. There I find a huge amount demons all converging on something in the center.

But they seem to be getting held back by various attacks coming from the center. Through the crack of wave of demons, I'm able to see few things about the people they're attacking, familiar things.

A flame, a swordsman whose movements could be mistaken for dancing, small but deadly unstable magic explosions, gusts of wind in an indoor location, a pair of large assets swinging around as much as the sword that matches its size is, and a pair of silver heads.

Robin: "It's them." I confirm flatly.

Kicking myself into gear, I rush into sea of monsters. I can't risk firing my guns since I might hit the people in the center so both hands grip onto my sword and a dozen teal arms back me up.

Feeding some of my mana into Scarfy, my body begins to feel light as I cut through the first slug-like demon in front of me. I drown out all outside noises and focus on nothing but the demons in my way, slicing through them as Scarfy rips into the ones around me.

I only come to a stop when I realize I've finally reached the center of the dance floor and where I find a group of a couple dozen frightened students.

Student: "I-Is he a demon?" One whispers to another as they look at me half in terror and half in hope.

Lisa: "R-Robin! You're alright!" Lisa exclaims as she rushes towards me, her relief so clear on her tired face. Who knows how long she's been fighting for. Luckily I manage to resist the urge to do a quick check up on her and focus on the problem at hand.

Robin: "Now's not the time for reunions!" I quickly shout as I pull out a gun in my off hand. "We have to clear out the demons!"

Lisa stops in her tracks and blinks a few times, then she nods her head with a determined expression, a second wind pushing her forward.

Yukio: "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes." She grins at me as she dodges a black spear without even looking.

She quickly sends out a wind blade in retaliation and the demon who threw the spear is diagonally cut in half.

Clarissa: "I'm so glad you're safe." She sighs in relief as she splits open a giant demon.

Robin: "Yeah, thanks. Sorry I'm late." I reply as I start firing off shots at the hoard of demons.

Rachel: "Don't be, you're right on time." She smiles at me as she pulls off a spin to dodge a swipe from a humanoid demon and decapitates it in the process.

The sword she's using looks like the one the guards had, she must have taken it from a body. I should have hid the sword I gave her somewhere like I did mine.

Melissa: "Mn! Right on time." She parrots happily, an explosion happening behind her in the form of a perfect sphere of pure white erasing everything that got caught up inside it.

Leticia: "Robin! Watch me!" She exclaims in a familiar fashion.

Suddenly over a dozen of magic circles appear above her, all aiming at the clusters of demons ahead of her.

Robin: "Leticia don-!"

I'm too late to stop her as she unleashes something akin to a final ultimate attack creating a powerful explosion of various elements clearing out a large portion of the demons. I have to cover my eyes with my arm to shield myself from the wind that's created by the force.

I'm quick to recover and I dash towards Leticia just as her legs give out. Catching her in my arms, I give her a stern look.

Leticia: "H-How was that Robin?" She asks excitedly, seeking praise like a cute dog despite the exhaustion she should be feeling.

Robin: "Inefficient." I say flatly. "You shouldn't use up all your mana at once like that, it's dangerous for situations like this. What would you have done if I wasn't here." I scold her.

Leticia's smile only widens, as if she already knows what I'm about to say next.

Robin: "But you've improved quite a lot, which I find impressive." I concede.

I had expected her to jump up and cheer after saying that, but instead she only sinks deeper into my arms and turns her head into my bosom.

Leticia: "I'm glad you made it." She says softly, closing her eyes.

Elizabeth: "I don't hate to interrupt this little moments of yours, but there are still a lot of monsters surrounding us." She says impatiently, coming from no where and eyeing Leticia with jealousy.

Robin: "She's right, I need to get back out there." I say to Leticia, nudging her to get off me.

She doesn't respond. Panic begins to rise within me but quickly settles down when I realize she's just asleep.

Elizabeth: "Mana exhaustion, I told her to not push herself to much." She sighs, then she holds out her arms. "Quickly now, I'll take care of her while you fight."

I nod and hand Leticia in Elizabeth's arms. I lock eyes with Elizabeth for a moment, and she suddenly lunges at me, giving me a quick kiss on the lips without care for the situation or who's watching.

Elizabeth: "Be safe Robin." She says with worry lining her eyes.

I blink a few times before giving her a nod.

Lisa: "I saw that!" She shouts.

Clarissa: "Now's not the time for this!" She yells sternly. "We can do this stuff later." She adds looking at me shyly.

Robin: "Aren't you guys a bit too relaxed right now?" I ask flatly, unsure how they're able to act like this.

Rachel: "We have every right to be now that you're here." She smiles at me before [Blinking] towards a demon and cutting it into five with what looks like one strike.

Yukio: "Yeah! We've got nothing to worry about now that you're here to keep us safe." She grins.

Melissa: "Mn! Keep us safe." She parrots happily again, more controlled unstable magic explosions happening around her as she smiles with a childlike glee.

I sigh.

Robin: "I'm glad you all think so highly of me." I say appreciatively.

But would you still say the same if you knew I already failed someone?

I continue to mow down the demons surrounding the group of people and I finally get a chance to see how strong the female leads and protagonist have become. Despite this hopeless seeming situation, they're still able to keep their cool and defend the helpless.

They've become strong too, something that makes me more proud than anything.

Robin: "Keep going! We have them on the ropes!" I call out.

The hoard of demons has been reduced to a mere handful of miscellaneous monsters, making me hopeful that we're really gonna get through this.

*SCKREEEEEEEEEEE!*

The same screech from before makes me freeze for a moment, and my eyes are instantly attracted to a portal that's much larger than the others, one made for some giant creature.

I spoke too soon it seems.

Yukio: "Holy shit." She says under her breath.

Clarissa: "W-We need to get everyone out of here." She says with a slight tremble in her voice.

Rachel: "Everyone! We've cleared out most of the demons, we need you all to leave when there's an opportunity." She yells to the students.

Student: "But its safer here with you all!" A student exclaims.

Student: "Can't we wait a little longer for the teachers and guards?!" Another one yells.

Lisa: "Are you all idiots?! Do you not see the giant portal?!" She yells back.

Student: "There's nothing coming out of it!" One points out.

Student: "What if we get attacked while we run away? None you will be protecting us."

Yukio: "You're fucking joking right?" She laughs in disbelief. "You're all students of the academy, some of you are in much higher years than us, and you're all relying on us first years? Use your own damn powers!" She yells at them angrily.

This doesn't provoke a response but instead shuts everyone up. They don't seem to be planning on moving anytime soon. All of them are too afraid to leave, they're barely able to stand straight and some are curled up in a ball or not even listening to the argument.

I can't tell if they're all just entitled brats not wanting to do anything themselves or just too truly afraid to do anything. Either way, I needed to get their attention.

I walk towards the crowd and make a beeline towards Elizabeth, but I do a double take when I see a few familiar faces.

Robin: "Angela!" I exclaim as I rush towards her.

The students instantly make way for me, out of fear or simply out of courtesy I wouldn't know. Nor did I care, because I was more focused on Lucas who was laying next to her with his eyes closed and a bloody gash on his head.

Angela: "I was wondering when you would say hi." She says with a weak smile. "And Lucas isn't dead, just hurt as you can see."

I breathe a sigh of relief at her words.

Angela: "Robin, is Markus alright?" She asks worriedly.

My chest tightens.

Robin: "He is..." I say unable to look into her eyes.

Angela: "Why do I feel like a 'but' is about to follow?" She asks nervously.

Robin: "Tracy is...I'm sorry." I say clenching my fists in anger at myself.

Angela seems to be able to fill in the blanks and her heart broken face is something I'm unable to look at.

Angela: "Tracy...n-no, but w-we had a pact." She mumbles, her voice breaking down.

I want to hug her, do anything I can to comfort her. But I don't have time, I need to get everyone out of here.

Being inside of the crowd gives me better insight on how everyone is doing, and they aren't doing good. Most of them are crying too, most likely due to either fear or because of grief.

No matter why, all of them were in disarray.

I crouch down and grab Angela's shoulders. I catch her attention and she looks at me with tear stained eyes.

Robin: "I need you to stay strong for a little while longer alright? I know it's a lot to ask, but soon you need to be ready to move with Lucas." I say firmly.

She just stares at me for a short while before wiping her eyes and giving me a nod. I squeeze her shoulders gratefully and stand up.

Angela: "Can I ask you one thing?" She asks in a low unfamiliar voice.

I turn back to her.

Robin: "Make it quick." I say flatly.

Her red eyes seem to steady for a moment as she looks at me in spite, a very unfamiliar look coming from her.

Angela: "How are you so calm? Did you know this was gonna happen?" She asks, as if she's searching for someone to blame.

My eyes slightly widen in surprise but I quickly compose myself. She's probably suspicious because of what I had said to her before.

Robin: "All of this?" I ask gesturing around me, thinking about Tracy. "No, and I'm not calm, I'm just as afraid as you are."

If not more so.

Angela only nods at my response but doesn't say another word.

Seeing as how the conversation is over, I start making my way to my original target. Soon I brush past a random person and find myself standing in front of Elizabeth, who was sitting on her knees allowing Leticia to rest in her lap.

Elizabeth: "Robin? Shouldn't you be out there with them?" She asks as I approach.

Robin: "I should be out there, but right now I need to be here."

She smiles with a slight blush and giggle.

Elizabeth: "Robin, now's not the time to be flirting." She says coyly.

Robin: "You're right again, that's why I need you to help me with something." I say quickly.

Elizabeth: "Oh? And what can will someone like me be able to help you with?" She asks seeming a bit confused.

I take a deep breath.

Robin: "I need you to lead these people to the exit." I say flatly.

Elizabeth: "I refuse." She replies without missing a beat.

Robin: "Why?!" I ask raising my voice, we're already short on time here.

Elizabeth: "Why should I? These people haven't done anything for me, and I'd just be risking myself. Don't you care about you're girlfriend?" She asks with puppy dog eyes.

Now's not the time for those!

Robin: "I do care about you, which is why I want you out of here. Look, everyone here is too afraid of me to listen and the girls are busy risking their lives out there. You're the only one here with the composure to lead and a mind that knows where the exit is. I need you Liz." I say with all the seriousness I can muster.

She scoffs and crosses her arms and stares at me with crossed arms.

Elizabeth: "I couldn't care less for any of these people." She says with an annoyed glance towards some of the group that were cowering or watching the girls protect them.

My brows crease slightly, I sorta knew this might be her answer. Which is why I'm already thinking of a backup plan. Or in the worst case scenario, how to convince the girls to leave all these people behind and flee.

Elizabeth: "But I do care about you." She finally sighs, letting her arms drop to her sides.

My eyes widen slightly in surprise.

Robin: "So you'll help?" I ask quickly.

Elizabeth: "Yes yes, I will. Just tell me what to do." She says as she gets up, gently laying Leticia to the side.

Not wasting another second I lean over and whisper the plan in her ear.

Elizabeth: "I might have to ask you to whisper in my ear again later, your breaths make me feel all tingly." She smirks with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Robin: "Time and place Liz." I say leaning away from her, managing to repress a blush only because of our situation.

She giggles as Scarfy begins to slither around her legs.

Elizabeth: "Oh, woah!" She exclaims as she's lifted into the air.

I sheathe my sword and take aim with my guns, preparing to shoot any flying demons that gets close to her.

Elizabeth: "Listen up everybody!" She shouts, waving her hands creating a shimmering spotlight that's shines directly at her.

Most of the main group look up at her, suddenly entranced by the girl above them.

Elizabeth: "You all have two choices! Run! Or die!" She yells down at everybody. "Pretty soon a large creature that'll be too much for the people here to handle will emerge, and the girls and boy protecting you will run away to save their own lives, leaving us to die." She declares.

Several gasps and murmurs spring from the group, some even shouting how Liz is just lying.

Elizabeth: "Believe what you want, but neither I nor the demons out there will care whether you live or die. Not even the villainess's servant down there will bat an eye if you're all torn to shreds, take a look if you don't believe me." She says with a hidden smirk directed at me.

I feel their heads crane to me and ignore their screams, as I point my guns to the sky and obliterate a demon that was heading towards Elizabeth. The body of the bony creature hits the ground close to the group, shocking them all.

For added effect, I don't even acknowledge the people around me. Not on purpose though, I'm just too busy protecting Elizabeth. But from the corner of my eye I notice that they're even more fearful of me.

They're looking at me the same way they look at Grace, like I'm the villain here.

Elizabeth: "But Mr. Robin Cross down there does care about me, since I'm his master's sister." She says throwing me a wink. "So he's agreed to personally escort me to the exit." She smiles smugly.

Everyone knows who Elizabeth is, mainly because they all know my master, the villainess. But mentioning my name then her sister is enough to paint a picture in everyone's mind, and they all suddenly turn to me.

Student: "What?! You're just gonna leave us here."

Student: "W-What about those other girls?! Are you just gonna leave them too?!"

Student: "Y-You bastard!"

I'm appreciative of Elizabeth's choice of words because now everyone's pinning the blame of their future deaths on me, and not the other girls. But now desperate yells and pleas for help fill my ears like buzzing flies, making me fire my guns again to shut them all up, on purpose this time.

Elizabeth: "You all have one chance, follow behind us, or die." She says firmly, smiling at the end and giving the group a bow. "You've got some time to think about it, but don't take too long, the villainess's servant isn't a very patient man." She giggles looking down at me.

I wonder what gave her that impression.

Elizabeth has always been one for the spotlight and getting people's attention, it's what makes her a good actor. If I didn't ask her to convince them all to leave, I might have believed in her words too.

Robin: "Good acting, they all seem to believe your lies." I say to Elizabeth as I bring her back down.

Elizabeth: "Hmm? What lies?" She asks innocently.

I ignore her comment and straighten up so that everyone can see me.

Robin: "You heard her everyone!" I yell in my flat voice. "Stick with me, or you'll die here. Do what you want." I say coldly, playing into the role of villain in order to get them to listen and let me save them.

Eyes filled with doubt and fear eye me warily. Currently I was both their biggest fear, and only hope.

Leticia: "Are we going?" A slowly rising Leticia asks.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

Robin: "Thank god you're okay." I say softly. "Can you walk?" I ask her.

Leticia: "My legs are a little shaky, but I'll be fine." She smiles at me.

Elizabeth shifts beside her, grabbing her arm to support her.

Elizabeth: "Don't push yourself Leti, let me help you." She says worriedly.

Robin: "Will you two be able to run like that?" I ask just as worried.

Leticia: "Don't worry." She reassures me, gentle green particles beginning to surround her, her body suddenly seeming light.

Robin: "That just making me more worried." I say flatly. "You're gonna overdo yourself again."

Leticia: "I've got this." She says confidently. "Are you alright?" She asks after a moment of studying my face.

Robin: "Yes. Liz" I say turning to her. "Keep each other safe."

Elizabeth: "Yep, got it." She nods.

I nod to the both of them and pick up my sword as I stow away a gun, turning around to lead the charge thinking a certain thought.

Why is it I don't recognize you at times?

Suddenly I feel a gust of air beside me. Turning to face it, I'm met with Yukio wearing a tired grin.

Yukio: "Sup Robin, planning on going somewhere?"

Robin: "I'm gonna lead these people to the exit where Robert's group will take care of them." I explain quickly.

Yukio: "And what about that thing over there?" She asks pointing to the giant portal.

Robin: "I'll deal with it right after." I assure her with a nod.

Yukio: "And if it arrives before you get back?"

I can only glance away without an immediate answer.

Robin: "It won't matter if no one's here, I want all of you to come with us."

Yukio chuckles.

Yukio: "Come on, we both know how you think. You need someone to cover your flank, someone needs to stay behind and it can't be you. Cause you need to make sure everyone is safe yourself right?" She smirks confidently, nudging her head to the other girls behind her.

I sigh, she must have already conveyed some kind of plan to the others.

Robin: "Please stay safe, tell them I'll be right back." I say moving towards the front of the group.

Yukio: "Got it, and don't worry about us, you trained us after all." She grins.

I give her a wave and walk with a firm determination, not turning back to see who waves back.

Walking past the few dozen students, I spot Angela holding onto Lucas, amber mana particles surrounding her body, her face showing a grim expression. She'll be fine, she had the look of someone who was dead set on surviving.

Robin: "We're leaving!" I shout to the group, causing a good chunk of them to flinch. "And remember, no rush'in, stick behind me and don't stray from the group!" I command as I pull out my sword. "Let's go!" I shout one last time.

I hear the shuffling of feet behind me and feel the magic in the air shift. When push comes to shove, will they help and fight as well? I can only hope. With one last deep breath, I break off into a battle ready sprint.

Hearing the rhythmic thumping of shoes behind me I feel slightly more reassured than before.

At the very least, it sounds like most of them followed me.

Sprinting across the grand hall the bodies of students, teachers, guards, and demons lay all over the place. I hear gasps and quicks sobs whenever we pass by a dead student's body, which I assume means they knew the deceased.

Everyone here has a story, and the so many of them have reached an abrupt ending.

I can only hope I don't end up like them.

*BANG BANG BANG*

I fire off some rounds ahead of us and take out a small cluster of demons, quickly flicking my head behind me to make sure everyone's still behind me. Sure enough, a small sea of haggard faces follow behind me.

Then glancing upwards I spot a group of demonic creatures hanging from the ceiling directly above the center of the group, and my eyes widen when they let go of the roof.

Acting quickly I jump high up into the air aiming towards the demons blasting them out of the air. I almost don't get them all, but Scarfy manages to slice any that get past my shots.

I land in an open area of the group using Scarfy to catch all of the following bodies so that they don't land on the students. Being in the center of the crowd I'm able to see everyone's terror filled eyes.

Robin: "Keep moving!" I shout, snapping them out of their gaze.

They do as I say and I move quickly to get back to the front. Then I bump into someone who was running backwards.

Robin: "What are you doing?" I ask coldly.

Student: "T-There are demons in front of us!" They shout back.

Robin: "Dammit, I'll deal with them." I say pushing past the student.

Student: "They're catching up behind us!" Someone from the back shouts.

My head spins around to the back of the group that was desperately trying to push forwards.

I begin to hesitate trying to figure out what to deal with first.

Student: "T-There's more! W-Where are they coming from?!" Another screams out.

Panic begins to break out when people start to realize we're being surrounded. The demons are summoning much quicker than I anticipated, is this the power of SS-Level difficulty? I shake my head and get ready to raise my voice as I clutch my weapons tightly.

Then I feel a sudden magical force.

Robin: "Everyone get down!" I yell, pushing the head of the closest student to me down.

Most of the students listen to me and dive down just as a large gust of wind blows by, almost making me lose my footing.

When I look up I find that the large group of demons ahead of us have all been separated from their top half, the cut so clean that it had to have been from a single sword strike.

That's when I hear it, a voice that makes me so relieved to hear.

Robert: "Secure the students and kill every single one of these demonic bastards!" His booming voice commands as a large group of armoured men rush forwards.

He catches my eye from within the crowd and gives me a singular nod. I nod back and start sprinting to the back to deal with the demons there, I was the closest person there, Robert wanted me to deal with them until his group clears the surrounding demons.

Just as I'm about to reach the back I spot a faceless, lanky demon reaching out towards the poor student at the very back. Feeding my mana into Scarfy and my body suddenly turns light. I grip my sword tightly and dash forwards.

Student: "G-Get away!" They scream, shielding themselves with their arms.

Then the arm of the demon goes flying.

Robin: "Hang on for a little while longer, the calvary is here." I reassure them as Scarfy finishes off the demon.

With adrenaline coursing through my veins I press my attack and start slicing through all of the demons in my way. I attack, dodge, shoot, slice, dodge, parry, counter, over and over again almost automatically as I try to hold off the demons.

I cut through dozens while even more die a horrible death to Scarfy. I'm not sure if anyone's watching me, but I know they would be afraid of what they saw. An emotionless killing machine in the body of a student, but that's what I've been training to become right?

No, I'm sure the girls would call me something else, something that makes me sound like a person and not a monster. But thinking about what people think of me is pointless, I'll just have to deal with them after we make it through this alive.

I hear a footstep close behind me and I immediately spin around and swing. Just for it to be blocked, that was my strong swing too.

Robert: "Woah kid, friendly fire." He chuckles, holding his great sword with one hand blocking my attack with ease it seems.

My eyes widen in surprise and I quickly retract my blade.

Robin: "Sorry, but you know better than to sneak up behind me." I say flatly, he probably did that on purpose.

Robert: "Yeah, but-"

Robin: "Talk later, fight now." I say spinning back around to face the demons again.

I hear Robert chuckle behind me.

Robert: "It's just you and me kid, just like old times." He says as he moves up beside me.

Robin: "Our old times didn't include fighting demons." I say shaking my head.

Robert: "Demons, monsters, dragons, they're all the same to me." He shrugs. "Let's give em hell kid." He grins with his sword held in front of him.

Robin: "Just like old times." I say flatly, indulging him.

His grin widens as we both spring into action, cutting through the first demons in front of us. Fighting is noticeably easier with Robert by my side, I even start feeling comfortable despite the situation. Probably because me and Robert have fought together for years now, we've both built up an unbreakable trust on the battle field.

Robert: "Whoo! You're on fire kid!" He shouts encouragingly, slicing through a dozen demons in one swing.

Robin: "Focus on the battle!" I shout back, knowing full well that Robert would never let go of his flippant nature even during a fight.

Robert: "Oh yeah, where are your girls? Are they safe?" He asks dropping the joking tone for a moment.

Slightly surprised at his worried tone I falter for a split second, then decapitate the ugly bastard in front of me.

Robin: "They stayed back to cover our escape, but-"

*SCKREEEEEEEEEEE!*

I pause for a moment.

Robin: "They might already be fighting whatever made that noise." I say nervously, this is the third time that screech has been let out.

And bad things always happen on the third occurrence.

Robert: "Then what are you waiting for?! Go play the hero!" He exclaims with a laugh and grin, masking the unease he feels after giving me the suggestion.

I bite the inside of my lip as I glance back at the still retreating group of students and guards, people I care about are still here.

Robert: "Don't worry about them, I'll make sure they all make it back." He says confidently, a large wave of mana suddenly condensing around his body.

My eyes widen, I've never seen Robert use magic before, but the fact that he seems so serious is even more surprising.

Robin: "Thank you, Robert."

Robert: "No problem kid, stay safe." He says with an honest smile.

Then the grip on his sword tightens, and his magic begins to center around it, the color of the particles being a pretty iridescent rainbow color. Pure mana, since when was Robert the same as me?

Robert: "Release!" He yells as he swings his sword, a rainbow arc emerging from his blade and into the cluster of demons blocking our path.

The moment it connects with its target, a gust of wind from his blade almost pushes me back. This was the same magical force from earlier, I shouldn't be surprised.

Robert: "Now go!" He yells, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

I give him a nod and start sprinting forwards, leaping across of the falling demon corpses that have been cut in half. Behind me I can almost sense something follow me, but I don't let my focus stray from my current objective.

On the way back I meet little resistance, only a few demons here and there, but the closer I get to where I last saw the girls the more tremors I feel. They must be fighting something big, I need to hurry.

Picking up the pace, I finally turn a corner and arrive at the dance floor, where a giant terror awaits me. A fat twenty meter tall purple creature with what seems to be a few hundred arms and a large gaping mouth where its stomach should be, and a pink haired girl struggling in one of the arms slowly being dragged towards the mouth.

In that moment, nothing but Lisa filled my vision.

Robin: "Lisa!" I scream.

Then I notice the other girls with desperate looks on their faces fighting off another swarm of demons, trying and failing to get to Lisa.

I jump into action by leaping towards the giant creature, aiming at the arm holding onto Lisa. Instantly, its other arms start blocking my way trying to grab me. I slice through them, getting scratched a few times and almost getting grabbed.

Robin: "Hold on Lisa!" I yell as my body goes into overdrive, pure mana running through both my own body and Scarfy's.

But my desperate attempt just isn't enough, the arms just keep coming and I'm even faced with a thicker inner layer of arm. So in a last ditch effort, I pull out one of my guns and take aim at the arm holding onto Lisa, that was almost at the mouth of the creature.

Despite being swarmed by the arms, Lisa catches my eye through a small gap.

Lisa: "Robin!" She screams out to me, a single free hand reaching out to me.

Pouring as much mana as I can into my gun in a single second, I pull the trigger.

Right as an arm swats at my hand, throwing off my aim. My stomach drops as Lisa's tear ridden face disappears behind the wave of arms threatening to swallow me whole.

I feel a liquid drip down my cheeks, a combination of my blood and tears. I failed to save yet another person I care about, someone I was talking to not long ago, someone I left behind, someone I loved.

Sylvia: "Robin! I-I know you're hurt right now, but you need to remember the other girls!" Mini Sylvia exclaims from the scarf.

Her words bring me back to my senses and with a pained scream, I cut through the arms surrounding me and drop to the ground sprinting towards the demons that were attacking the other girls.

Fueled by rage and sorrow, I blast and cut through all of them all while screaming in my head that Lisa was dead. My ears are ringing and my breathing is ragged by the time I've slaughtered the last of the demons.

I failed again, this isn't how things were supposed to go.

Clarissa: "Robin! You're back!" She exclaims happily, running towards me with a smile.

Even the others start running towards me, all with smiles despite being covered in blood.

Melissa: "Right on time again!" She smiles brightly at me.

Yukio: "Where's Lisa?" She asks looking around at the group.

Rachel: "We got split up when the wave of demons rushed out of the portals, I haven't seen her since then."

Clarissa: "Robin? Are you alright?" She asks me worriedly.

My breath hitches as my mouth opens, unable to find the words to say. Then someone else's voice cuts in.

Grace: "You are a very hard man to follow Robin, it was hard to keep up with you even with my spatial magic." Her naturally charming voice says behind me.

I spin around to find Grace, and...

Grace: "Oh, I found this one too." She smiles, nudging the girl beside her forwards.

Lisa: "I was totally fine by the way, I was just about to conjure u-"

Dropping my weapons, I cut her off by dashing up to her and wrapping her up in my arms with broken breaths and teary eyes.

Robin: "You're alive." I say breathlessly, tightening the hug as if I might lose her if I didn't hold on to her.

Gingerly, Lisa places her hands on my back.

Lisa: "Y-Yes, I am." She says softly, standing on her tippy toes to rest her chin on my shoulder, letting out a barely audible happy hum.

Grace: "So, am I forgiven yet?" She asks behind me, probably right in front of Lisa's face.

Lisa: "Hmph, maybe we're a little even now." She says reluctantly.

Mini Sylvia wipes my bloodied tears with a piece of Scarfy and I steady my breathing.

Yukio: "Erm, I'm not sure what's going on right now but we've got a big problem we still need to deal with." She points out.

Feeling much better than earlier, I release Lisa and turn to the group.

Robin: "I'm sorry about that, and just leave that thing to me." I say quickly snatching up my weapons.

Then I feel a hand on my shoulder.

Clarissa: "That would be a bad idea, look at yourself." She says frowning.

I look down and find my suit with many cuts on it, at least there's no wounds since Scarfy has been acting as my skin tight armour. But I also taste blood in my mouth, I probably have a wound on my head or something.

Robin: "Then heal me, we need to deal with that thing quickly." I say as I notice that more demons are walking through portals.

Rachel: "Sit this one out Robin, we can handle that thing." She smiles.

I frown.

Robin: "What? You can't, Lisa almost..." I trail off. "I'm not gonna let you." I say firmly, daring anyone to challenge me.

Unfortunately, my glare isn't enough.

Lisa: "That was only because we got blindsided by those demons, I won't be careless again." She says staring directly into my eyes.

Clarissa: "We can't be babied by you all the time Robin, we can handle ourselves." She adds.

Melissa: "Mn! We're not little girls." She says standing up straighter in an attempt to make up for her childlike height.

Yukio: "Just trust us, you ain't seen nothing yet." She grins.

I open my mouth to oppose them, but I get interrupted by the honeyed voice of the villainess.

Grace: "Come now, have some faith my dear, you can always sit on standby and get ready to save them if things go south." She smiles sweetly.

My gaze falters up against the six of them and I glance at the giant monster. Its immobile, but its army of arms are going to be hard to get past. Can they really do it? Not even I could get past those arms.

When I glance back at the girls I find that they're all battle ready, I sigh.

Robin: "Still, heal me. I need to be ready if things go south." I say to Clarissa.

Clarissa: "Don't worry Robin, we'll make you proud." She smiles confidently, her glowing hands being held up to me.

Immediately I feel how tired I really am, but at the same time I feel all of my fatigue fade away. She removes her hands and summon her sword in her hand, it still surprises me when I see how easily she wields the giant thing.

Yukio: "Alright girls, huddle around, I've got a plan." She says, waving everyone over.

The girls give all give me a reassuring smile before moving to hear Yukio's plan. Once all together, Yukio starts whispering the plan to all the girls.

Well, almost all of the girls.

Robin: "Thank you for saving Lisa." I say to the girl standing beside me.

Grace: "Oh? And here I am surprised that you're not mad at me for not listening to what you told me." She giggles.

Robin: "I am a little annoyed, but if you did listen to me then Lisa would have..." I frown when I look at the pink haired girl. "Thank you." I say again.

I feel her rest her head on my shoulder, still smiling.

Grace: "You're welcome, and I'm sorry." She says in a soft tone. "I met Markus earlier, he made it with...her, in one piece."

I feel my chest tighten and only continue to vigilantly scan the area to make sure no demons are around, yet still managing to find comfort in Grace's silent company. We stand here in silence with the other girl's back turned to us, only Grace can see my weakened state here, which I'm grateful for.

I don't want to ruin the image they have of me.

Just as the girl's begin to move from their huddle, Grace stands up straight and takes half a step away from me.

Clarissa: "Watch this Robin, we'll show you our true power." She grins, the others standing behind her with matching smiles.

I engrave the image into my head, afraid that this might be the last time I see them. Then they start stepping towards the boss like enemy.

I take an involuntary step forward too, but Grace holds out a hand to stop me. Feeling the unease start to well inside me, I watch oddly curious as to what the girls will do.

Standing a small distance away from the monster, its arms springs to life. My panic heightens when I see them just standing still, then I feel a large amount of mana begin to circle around Rachel who moves into a crouched position, her hand resting on her sheathed blade.

Suddenly, the first arm to reach them is cut in half, and Rachel is now standing a few meters ahead of the group her sword now drawn. She was making herself a target, while Lisa and Melissa begin chanting some kind of spell.

I can't her their words, but seeing the mana particles being collected around them I assume they must be preparing something big.

The army of arms continue to swarm and attack Rachel, but from here I can see her step, spin, jump, and flip around their attacks, she looks so graceful and magnetic, almost as if she was dancing.

She's not just dancing either, she retaliates against her attackers as well by incorporating her attacks into her movements. Each one of them quick and precise, almost difficult to track.

Yukio: "Rachel we're ready!" She yells out.

And in that same moment Rachel bursts through the sea of arms, standing in front of the others while at least a hundred arms tail her relentlessly. Then she spins around to face the arms crouching down, holding her sword in front of her with an air of confidence around her.

She closes her eyes, and mana particles close in around her, the brooch I gave her glowing brightly on her chest.

Rachel: "[Rapid Blink!]" She yells out, though I'm not sure why, she's never had to yell out her regular [Blink] attack before and what I see before me isn't much different than it.

But instead of a single unseeable strike, its a flurry of them cutting down every arm that gets close to Rachel. I've seen her use her regular [Blink] attack before, she's used it on me many times before, but this is the first I've seen her do a steady stream of them.

She must be using a great deal of mana to retain a speed that's impossible to see with an untrained eye, I'm very impressed.

But I know she can't be doing that for very long, and I'm proven correct when she drops onto one knee once the last arm is cut. The fallen arms in front of her begin to disappear, clearing up the path in front of them.

Suddenly, Lisa bursts into flames and her bright pink hair turns red as wings made of a pure crimson flames sprout from her back. The ring on her finger begins to glow as she starts flying up into the air using her wings.

Her entire body is on fire and her wings are still growing. She stops a few meters in the air and faces the giant demon. I can feel her heat from here as each flap of her wings send a wave of heat at me.

Then she spreads out her arms, her wings extending fully, and speaks out in a booming voice.

Lisa: "[Great Phoenix's Flame!]" She shouts as her wings flap towards the demon releasing a giant wave of fire, already beginning her slow descent to the ground.

Tearing my eyes off of the beautiful flames, I see Clarissa and Yukio start running directly towards the demon while Melissa hangs back, a mesh of four unstable elements condensing into a small ball the size of her glowing earrings at her finger tip.

All of the demon's arms rush forwards to block the flame, quickly getting incinerated and turning into ash. But the numbers win out and stall the flame long enough for it to dissipate, though the demon lost its entire outer layer of arms the inner ones still remain.

And the two girls are still rushing towards the demon.

The demon seems to start getting desperate as it creates a thick wall made of its own arms in front of it in an attempt to buy time and regrow its arms. Then Melissa makes her move.

The small girl holds out a finger gun and points slightly above Clarissa and Yukio.

Melissa: "[Annihilation Beam!]" She shouts, just as a giant beam of pure white shoots out her finger.

The beam is blocked by the wall of arms, but quickly eats through them creating a large hole in the wall. The back blast of her attack creates a giant gust of wind and I have to hold onto Grace to prevent her from falling back.

Grace: "How gentlemanly of you." She smiles, holding my hand that was holding onto her waist. "Eep!" She yelps when I pinch her side.

I let go of her and ignore her pout as I watch the rest of the battle play out. As the two girls get closer to the wall, I notice the hole already start to quickly close up. When I realize they aren't going to stop running, I getting worried and prepare to rush into the fray.

But any move I make now will be to late, as Clarissa jumps high into the air and looks to be about to crash into the wall of arms. Then she somehow stops midair to start floating upwards.

Yukio: "[Gale!]" She shouts, thrusting her hands upwards propelling Clarissa towards the hole in the wall with a powerful blast of wind as her bracelet lets out a green flash.

Just as the wall closes up, Clarissa manages to fly into it at an alarming speed. My throat tightens and I take a step forward knowing full well that if she was really grabbed then I have no hope in saving her.

Then my eyes widen as I see Clarissa reappear past the wall and extremely high up in the air directly above the demon. The wall begins to disassemble and the arms redirect to the target who managed to get past their defense, allowing a clear view of the female protagonist in the spot light of the window behind her.

Clarissa holds her sword high above her and does a few flips while still ascending in the air. The moment she stops, the necklace I gave her begins to shine a bright blue and the sword I left for her begins to shift forms.

Clarissa: "[Mountain Cutter!]" I hear her yell from a far distance away, right as her sword grows to more than twenty times her size.

She swings the gigantic sword downwards as she descends, the remaining arms of the demon attempting to stop her.

But it's no use, her momentum and sheer power cut through them all, and I watch the moment her sword connects to the head of the demon. For a moment it seems like the sword won't cut through it, but in that same split second, Clarissa pushes her sword downwards, cutting through the head, and pushing through the entire length of the demon.

Her distant figure starts travelling down the demon as it lets out another ear piercing shriek.

*SCKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!*

I'm forced to cover my ears as I watch the other girls do the same, then a giant gust of wind hits me when Clarissa reaches the ground and creates a giant cloud of dust.

I start sprinting towards where she should have landed, passing by the exhausted faces of the other girls.

Robin: "Clarissa!" I call out, running past the limp arms of the creature and into the thick cloud of dust.

Then I see it, the silhouette of a limping girl with large breasts.

Clarissa: "D-Did you see that Robin?" The grinning face of Clarissa emerges from the dust, using her normal sized sword as a crutch.

Just as I did with Lisa, I rush forwards and embrace her in a hug.

Robin: "I did, and you almost scared me to death." I say in a slightly broken voice.

Clarissa lets her sword clatter onto the floor and puts her arms around my body, snuggling into my chest and suddenly dropping. I fall with her, both of us still holding onto each other.

Clarissa: "S-Sorry, my body's a little numb." She chuckles a bit. "Kyaa!" She exclaims in surprise when I lift her in my arms.

Robin: "Don't worry, you've done your part already." I say as I start to walk her back.

From the corner of my eye I see Clarissa begin to blush, as she slowly pulls her arms around my neck.

Clarissa: "T-Thank you." She mumbles as she nestles herself into my chest.

The dust begins to settle and I see the others all running towards us, relief on their faces to see Clarissa alright. And maybe there's a splash of jealousy in some of their eyes, but only a little.

Yukio: "You see that Robin?! I told you we had this." She grins.

I eye Yukio suspiciously.

Robin: "That plan was too well thought out for you, what magic did you use to do all that?" I ask her.

Yukio: "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" She frowns. before breaking into a grin. "Well, maybe I had a little help from the wind." She says emphasizing the little part.

I let her have her win and move onto a different question.

Robin: "I've never seen any of you use those moves before, how come?" I ask curiously.

Lisa: "We have to keep some secrets from you Robin, how else were we supposed to impress you? You are impressed right?"

Robin: "Very." I nod in approval.

Those spells and moves they used weren't the like the ultimate moves they had in the game, they seemed much more grand.

Clarissa: "We made them up ourselves actually, and we got to name them. Well, except Yukio, she just used a normal wind spell." She smirks at Yukio.

Yukio: "Hey, I used the wind to pick out a future where we win." She defends herself.

Robin: "Did you see a future where we lost?" I ask worriedly.

Yukio: "I asked for a future where we win, why would I want to see one where we lose?" She chuckles. "Besides, naming your own moves is dumb and childish." She scoffs.

Clarissa: "What?! No they're not, they're cool! Right guys?" She asks the others a little nervous.

Melissa: "Childish?" She pouts quietly.

Rachel: "I mean, yelling out sword skills isn't the best idea in a duel. It just gives the opponent a warning of your attack." She says reluctantly, glancing at me who taught her that. "I only did it because our enemy was a monster who don't understand them." She explains to me.

I give her a nod which seems to relax her.

Lisa: "I wanted you to focus more on the style than the name itself." She says to me. "How'd I look out there?"

Clarissa: "Guys!" She whines. "They're cool!" She exclaims again.

Everyone lets out a small laugh, I can tell that they're beginning to relax. But I'm still as tense as before.

Grace: "Is that...a person?" She asks, facing towards the giant demons that's been split in half.

All of us turn towards the corpse, where the two halves are leaning away from each other. On the right side of the demon stands a familiar figure on the very top, their booming claps loud enough to be heard from where we are.

?Markus?: "Well well well, color me impressed, you managed to kill this big guy without a single loss." He claps.

Clarissa: "Is that...Markus?" She asks.

Robin: "No, just an imposter." I say coldly.

?Markus?: "But what else should I expect from the hero!" He exclaims. "You saved a lot of folks too, and preparing all those guards made the show much more entertaining. The hunt is more fun when the prey fights back you know?"

Yukio: "Erm, are we missing something here?" She asks.

Grace: "That right there is the demon who summoned all these portals, and ruined my perfect plan." She glares at the fake Markus.

Lisa: "Woah woah woah, did you say demon?!" She exclaims, fear seeping into her eyes.

I'm not surprised she's the only one so afraid, only the most powerful demons are capable of speech and she's the only one that would know this. Aside from me of course.

We're suddenly barraged by a large gust of wind. Once it passes by we find Markus now a small distance away from us and a small crater at his feet.

?Markus?: "And you! Robin Cross, are by far the most entertaining human I've observed." He smiles at me.

I push Clarissa into Rachel's arms and step in front of the girls. They're all suffering from mana exhaustion, I can tell with just a glance no matter how hard they were trying to act tough.

I draw my sword and preemptively start feeding mana into Scarfy and my body.

?Markus?: "So I do hope you don't disappoint me." He smirks and reveals his knife like teeth and fangs. "Let's have some fun shall we?"

I ready my sword and glance nervously towards the girls, they're in no fighting state so I can only hope to distract the demon while they run. I won't be able to kill them, I know, but I should be able to buy a little time.

Robin: "Wait!" I yell at him.

?Markus?: "Oh? Trying to talk to a demon? This should be interesting." He says to himself. "I haven't held a proper conversation with a human that isn't groveling at my feet since well over a dozen years ago with that one man. So go on then, what would you like to say?" He asks me, politely retracting his claws and teeth.

I warn the girls to stay back with my eyes and face the demon, gulping down the lump in my throat. I steel my nerves and open my mouth to ask a question I already know the answer to.

Robin: "Your name." I say flatly.

?Markus?: "My name?" He parrots.

Robin: "Yes, what is your name?" I ask him, sensing a growing magical force.

?Markus?: "Oh my, where are my manners, I haven't properly introduced myself yet." He giggles. "Well then human, I don't normally give out my name as a request but I'll make you the exception." He smiles sweetly.

Robin: "I'm flattered." I say coldly.

?Markus?: "Engrave this into your puny heart little human, for this Archdemon's name is-"

???: "ASMODEUS!" A sudden booming yell screams out as yet another gust of wind blocks our eyes.

When I open my eyes I find the demon known as Asmodeus locked in a clash, his claws blocking Robert's glowing great sword.

Asmodeus: "Robert!" He exclaims happily. "Its been so long."

Robert: "Shut up demon!" He barks, his muscles bulging as he wins their clash and sends Asmodeus flying into the wall.

Robert quickly turns to us, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

Robert: "You kids need to get out of here! This is not someone you can deal with." He says quickly, readjusting his stance.

Yukio: "No way! We can hel-"

Robin: "No you can't!" I shout, startling everyone. "You all need to leave, NOW!"

With hurt looks on their shocked faces, I bite my bottom lip.

Robin: "We'll all die here if you stay, Robert can buy us time." I say glancing to Robert who gives me a solemn nod.

Lisa: "Y-You'll come with us too, r-right?" She asks me with her shock turning into worry.

I stay silent. The girls all start making a move to shout their protests, but Robert cuts in first.

Robert: "Kid, you need to leave with them. I can fight Asmodeus off-"

Robin: "You and I both know you can't kill that demon." I say looking at him with dead serious eyes.

He can only hold my stare, and I see that the eyes of a man ready to die.

Robert: "I can at least buy enough time to-"

Robin: "But I do."

Robert: "What?" He asks in surprise.

I turn to the girls.

Robin: "Grace, teleport everyone to the exit, please." I say in a soft tone that's too tired to argue with. "But leave Clarissa here."

The Girls: "What?" They say in unison.

Robin: "You all know that Clarissa is special, please, just trust me." I practically beg.

They all look at me trying to figure out what to say, Clarissa especially having a hard time wrapping her head around the situation.

Robert: "You guys need to hurry up, Asmodeus won't be down forever." He warns us.

With one last passing moment, Clarissa frees herself from Rachel's grasp.

Clarissa: "Alright, I'll stay. I trust you Robin." She says to me with a shaky smile, barely able to stand on her own two feet.

Robin: "Thank you." I say flatly, then I turn to the rest.

Lisa: "D-Don't do anything stupid out there." She warns me, struggling to keep herself from breaking down in tears.

Rachel: "I believe in you Robin." She says with a scared smile.

Melissa: *Sniff* *Sniff* "I-I don't want to leave you again." She says teary eyed.

I walk towards her and give her a gentle hug.

Robin: "Me neither, but I promise this will be the last time you'll have to leave me yourself." I say softly.

Melissa: "Fweeeeh!" She cries into my shoulder, hugging me tight.

Yukio: "Oi, you owe us later alright?" She smirks, her shoulders so clearly trembling.

Robin: "Of course, I'll do whatever you want once we're out of here."

Then Grace gently pry's Melissa off of me, gently patting her back as Melissa starts hugging onto her legs instead of me.

Grace: "I order you not to die, you got that?" She orders me sternly.

Robin: "Of course." I say as I stand back up.

Grace: "And once we're back outside, I've got something to ask you." She says uncharacteristically bashful.

If we weren't already dating, I'd assume she wanted to make a proposal to ask me out. But now I can only guess.

Robin: "Alright, once we're outside." I confirm.

Then in a flash, she leans forwards and plants a quick kiss on my lips, a teardrop falling to the ground.

Grace: "I love you, lets watch the sunrise together later alright?" She asks with a pure smile as she takes a step back, revealing her tear dripping smiling face.

Lisa: "Hey wai-"

Grace lifts her hands up as the other girls start moving towards me, and in the next moment they're all gone, leaving me unable to answer her question.

I stare at the empty space for a few more moments before turning to Robert and Clarissa who seemed more focus on an approaching figure

Asmodeus struts in with a new form.

Asmodeus: "They all gone? Can we have a proper battle now?" She asks in what I assume to be her true demon form.

Purple skinned woman with highly revealing clothes and a whip like tail with a spade at the end, one can only assume that she's the demon of lust with her appearance.

And that's exactly what she is, in the game at least.

Robin: "Robert, just buy us sometime." I say quickly.

Robert: "No need to tell me twice." He says as he lifts his sword.

Robin: "One more thing." I quickly add.

Robert: "Yeah?" He asks, giving me a glance.

Robin: "Please don't die."

His eyes widen for a moment before he starts to grin.

Robert: "I haven't attended your wedding or graduation yet, how can I die now?"

And with his final words said, he disappears from his spot and I hear a loud clash in the distance.

Asmodeus: "That's right Robby boy! Don't die too quickly now!" She exclaims manically.

They begin trading blows and create a small shockwave with each strike. While a battle between the kingdom's greatest knight and demon hunter and an archdemon is a sight to see, I turn to Clarissa who was also enthralled by the battle.

Clarissa: "I-I didn't realize Robert was so strong." She mutters.

Robin: "He's always been holding back against us, even if he says he's not then it just means he's trying slightly harder than normal." I shake my head. "That doesn't matter right now, I need you to focus Clare." I say grabbing her shoulders.

She startles and quickly bobs her head up and down.

Robin: "You, and only you have the ability to kill highest ranking demon in this world."

Hearing my words Clarissa freezes up and her eyes go as wide as saucers.

Clarissa: "M-Me?!" She exclaims.

Robin: "Yes, you. Haven't you noticed that you're the only person in the entire academy that can use healing magic?" I ask quickly.

Clarissa: "Yeah, Grace told me I had something called holy magic in my blood." She speaks quickly.

Robin: "She did? Of course she did, how much did she tell you about it?"

Before Clarissa can speak I dash forwards and cover her in my arms as Robert is hurled towards us. I use Scarfy and just barely manage to catch him in my fabric in time.

Robert: "Thanks kid." He nods, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Robert wasn't looking so good, his armour was heavily damaged as well. It's barely been a few minutes, I need to hurry this up.

Asmodeus: "How're the wife and kids Robert?" She asks as she waltzes towards us in the distance.

I feel a sudden killing intent from Robert that makes me shudder.

Asmodeus: "Oh that's right, I killed them!" She laughs with glee.

A gust of wind hits us as Robert dashes towards Asmodeus once more, the most blood thirsty face I've ever seen him make.

Robert: "Keep their names out of your mouth!" He yells furiously, punching the demon across their face and sending them into the wall far behind them.

Clarissa: "Not much, only the name of the magic." She continues where she was cut off.

Robin: "Alright, do you remember exactly what happened when you first used any of the spells from that magic class? Like what your thoughts were or how you were feeling?" I ask as I continue to hold onto her.

Clarissa: "Uh, uhm, when I first used [Heal] on my dad I thought really really hard about the health potion you gave me at the time." She says quickly, then immediately freezes when she realizes her mistake.

My eyes widen at her slip up, shocked at the revelation, but encourage her to continue by nodding my head. Now's not the time for questions.

Clarissa: "Then on the first day of the winter holidays when the other girls were possessed and acting really scary I was super afraid that I lost my friends, and when I thought that I really wanted them back my hands began to glow and I freed them from the demon. Why does this matter?" She asks cluelessly.

In the game the female protagonist only acquired her abilities only when it was convenient in the game during cutscenes at crucial points in the game. But this isn't a game, and Clarissa has already unlocked some abilities so I have to gamble on force unlocking one more.

Robin: "Summon your sword." I order her.

She nods and her normal sized sword forms from thin blue lines in her hand. I walk behind her and take her hands in mine, making them grip onto her sword and press her back to my chest.

Robin: "Aim your sword at the demon and think about wanting to eliminate her, think up a name of some kind of spell that banishes demons." I say into her ear.

Clarissa: "O-Oh uhm, o-okay." She says nervously.

I can feel her shaking hands too, so I lean into her ear and try to say some comforting words.

Robin: "Listen, I know that the situation isn't ideal, but I'm here with you, don't be afraid and focus." I whisper.

Clarissa: "Y-Yes." She stammers.

I continue to hold her in place and watch Robert continue to fight the demon Asmodeus to the best of his abilities. Nothing changes as we continue to stand here.

Robin: "Clarissa?" I ask softly into her ear, hiding my growing nervousness.

She twitches, making me worried that she isn't calm at all.

Clarissa: "Y-Yeah?"

Robin: "Do you feel anything, anything at all."

Clarissa: "S-Sorry, I-I don't." She mumbles as her ear twitches again. "Only one thing." She mumbles.

Robin: "Yes? What is it?" I ask into her ear again.

Clarissa: "M-My ears are super sensitive!" She exclaims, making me lean back and see her crimson blush.

Robin: "That's it? No kind of power?" I ask with a frown.

Clarissa: "N-No, I'm sorry." She says beginning to tremble.

Robin: "It-"

*BOOOOOM!*

A loud explosion interrupts my train of thought, and I see Robert bloody and battered in a small crater. My heart begins to sink when I see his immobile body, he wasn't getting up.

Clarissa: "Mr.Spillane!" She yells.

Asmodeus: "I'm actually quite disappointed, I let him live all those years ago just to end up with this ten minute fight? Oh well, surely you'll make for some better entertainment." She turns to us.

Clarissa stiffens up in my arms and her knuckles turn white as she grips onto her sword.

Robin: "Wait!" I yell out like before.

Asmodeus: "What is it this time?" She sighs.

Gulping down the lump in my throat, I make my final gamble.

Robin: "Let us attack you once without you dodging." I say in a steady voice.

Asmodeus just stares at me for a second, then she bursts out laughing.

Asmodeus: "Now that's a new one! No one's ever asked for me to allow them to hit me before, you really are a interesting one Robin." She grins fiendishly.

I keep my mouth shut and wait for her response.

Asmodeus: "I'll allow it." She finally says with a wave of her hand.

I breathe a sigh of relief.

Robin: "Then come closer, I wouldn't want you cheating out of this and dodging the attack." I say with a level glare.

Asmodeus smirks amusedly.

Asmodeus: "Alright, just over here?" She asks as she teleports about three meters in front of us.

Robin: "Yes, right there is fine." I say giving her a nod.

Asmodeus: "Whenever your ready." She smirks, awaiting for our attack.

Robin: "So, what are you gonna name this one?" I ask quietly.

Clarissa: "W-What? But I-"

Robin: "On my mark, shoot." I whisper, glancing at the pure white that's now shining in the place of the blue lights engraved into her sword.

Clarissa: "Huh? O-Okay." She says with fear in her eyes.

I guess she hasn't even realized that her magic is already locked and loaded.

Robin: "Asmodeus! You ready?" I call to her.

Asmodeus: "I've been rea-"

Robin: "Now." I whisper into Clarissa's ear.

Hoping to catch Asmodeus off guard, I speak quietly. Unfortunately, Clarissa doesn't do the same. But things work out all the same.

Clarissa: "[Demon Banithment!] She yells, biting her tongue in the process as a giant beam similar to Melissa's shoots out the tip of her sword, except Clarissa's beam is a clear colour.

I see Asmodeus's eyes widen in fear for a split second, knowing full well she noticed the holy energy in the attack she wasn't expecting.

She has no time to teleport away as she's engulfed in the clear beam of purified mana, a special mana particle that cleanses anything it touches. And for demons, being purified is the same as being put in a vat of acid.

Because of the translucent beam of magic I can see Asmodeus shift into many human forms as she lets out the most unholy screech I've ever heard.

Her body shifts from Markus, to Clarissa, to Robert, to a woman I've never seen before, and several more people both familiar and unfamiliar as the pitch of her voice matches the body with each change.

My feet remains firmly planted on the ground and my hands holding Clare's in a death grip as the two of us are threatened by the possibility of being sent flying backwards by the spell.

After what feels like hours of listening to screech after screech we can no longer sustain the beam and it begins to dissipate. Once it does, both me and Clarissa fall backwards onto the floor.

If Asmodeus is still up and kicking, then I'm afraid we can do nothing but say our last words to each other as she slaughters us.

But as the seconds pass, I realize that Asmodeus is gone from her spot. But from the corner of my eye, I see someone the size of a five year old escape through a distant window.

Asmodeus isn't dead, but she sure as hell ain't coming back any time soon.

Clarissa: "Did...I do that?" She asks ludicrously as she stares at her sword.

Sort of would be the answer. She only activated the spell itself as I fed majority of the mana into her sword myself, since she's already exhausted most of hers. But I'm too relieved and happy to tell her that and instead wrap my arms tightly around her body as she remains in my lap.

We really did it this time.

Clarissa: "I-Is it over?" She asks staring at the empty space where Asmodeus once stood. "We did it!" She exclaims, spinning around and returning the hug.

Then my eyes widen.

Robin: "Robert!" I exclaim, standing up with Clarissa still holding onto me.

I sprint us over where Robert was last seen and find him with his eyes closed holding onto his broken sword.

Clarissa: "Is he...?" She gets off of me to cover her mouth with her hands, tears on the brink of falling down her cheeks.

I quickly place my hand on his neck, searching for a pulse.

Nothing...

Nothing...

*Timp Timp*

Robin: "He's alive!" I exclaim, pulling out a small red vile in my pocket.

I bite off the cap and I pour the contents of my emergency health potion into Robert's mouth. He's conscious enough to gulp it down on his own, much to my relief.

Robin: "He's been stabilized, but I don't think he'll be waking up any time soon." I say using Scarfy to pick him up.

As I do that, I see something fall out of his hand. His locket.

I bend down to pick it up to find it's already open. On the right side is the picture I've only caught a glimpse of before of a woman and a child, Robert's wife and kid. Then I realize the woman was someone Asmodeus shifted into for a moment to mock Robert.

I don't think about any longer as I notice another photo on the other side of the locket.

It's a photo of me, three years ago on my first birthday as Robin. I stare at it for a few moments longer, feeling a warmth in my body.

Clarissa: "Robin? What are you looking at?" She asks curiously.

I tuck the locket into Robert's pocket and face Clarissa.

Robin: "A happy memory." I say flatly.

Then the ground begins to rumble.

Clarissa: "Oh man, what now?!" She exclaims tiredly.

I say nothing and scoop her up in my scarf as well, just as all the surrounding portals begin to enlarge.

Clarissa: "R-Robin?" She looks at me worriedly.

Robin: "We're leaving for real this time." I say breaking off into a sprint, snatching up my sword that I dropped a while ago.

As I run I see every demon corpse beginning to disintegrate and the room continues to shake.

Clarissa: "W-What's going on?!" She panics in the safety of my scarf as demonic wails ring out in the grand hall.

Robin: "Don't worry, they won't be able to hurt us once we make it out of the building." I reassure her.

Clarissa: "R-Really?" She asks worriedly.

Robin: "You'll just have to trust me." I say not slowing down for even a second.

She makes some kind affirmative noise as I see from a corner of my eye her looking at all the portals anxiously. But her anxiety turns into relief when she's moonlight pouring through the large doors of the entrance to the grand hall.

Robin: "We're almost there." I say softly.

There aren't anymore people waiting on the inside of the entrance anymore but I think I can make out some silhouettes outside in the moonlight.

Robin: "Clarissa, I know we're almost there but I'm getting really tired. Can you use any of your energy to replenish my mana?" I ask flatly.

Clarissa: O-Of course." She says readily.

I can't see her behind me, but I do feel my vigor and mana beginning to renew.

Robin: "You don't need to push yourself Clare." I say as I notice the prolonged healing, she shouldn't have very much mana to spare.

Clarissa: "No no, I'm alright. You need this more than I do." She says warmly.

Robin: "Thank you." I say softly.

As we make it closer to the entrance I see the other girls already waiting for us, wide smiles on all their faces. They wave at us wildly and I see another group of medics on standby behind them.

They all begin to cheer for us as we rapidly approach, and I glance back at Clarissa.

Clarissa: "W-We made it Robin." She says teary eyed.

No more than a dozen meters away from the gigantic double doors, I nod silently.

A dozen meters quickly turns into ten, and ten quickly turns into five as the rumbling in the grand hall gets louder. Then it suddenly stops, as if quieting down just for me.

Robin: "Yes, you made it." I say to Clarissa who looks at me in confusion.

Then her eyes turn into shock, as I hurl her and Robert into the other girls.

They fall down like bowling pins and I stand just a few steps away from the outside world.

Clarissa: "R-Robin?!" She exclaims first.

The other girls are also confused and stunned by my action, as they watch completely frozen as a clear orange barrier begins to form at the entrance and extend all the way around the entirety of the grand hall.

I watch completely still as it slowly closes me off from everyone outside. The girls finally snap out of their shock and desperately clamber up onto their feet and rush towards me.

But they're too late, and only a small hole the size of my face remains just big enough for me to hear their desperate cries.

And for them to hear what I hope won't be my final words to them.

Robin: "I hope you all find your happy endings, I'm sorry, and goodbye." I say in a steady voice as the hole is finally covered and the barrier is complete.

The girls all slam into the barrier trying to reach me, but I can no longer hear their voices because of the wall that separates us. They hit the barrier over and over again to no avail, even getting ready to use some magic. But I know that these walls are unbreakable.

All I can do now is give them a wave as I turn around to face the inside of the grand hall once more.

But this time, I turn around and look at their faces one last time.

Pained, desperate, sad, and betrayed are the looks across all of their faces. It hurts my heart to abandon them yet again like this, but there's nothing I can do about it now.

And so I use Scarfy to create the words 'I love you' before turning around to walk deeper into the grand hall, unable to bear the pain of seeing them cry even harder afterwards.

As I continue to walk I start to see the every one of the portal's edge begin to grow a deep purple.

These portals will start creating an endless amount of demons until this game sequence is completed. The school would be overrun and everyone would be killed if no one completed this in game event, since the barrier doesn't rise until the event begins.

Yes, everything since the first meeting with the fake Markus, has only been a cutscene.

My character was supposed to die in this cutscene, along with way more random mobs. But I've managed to prevent a lot of deaths, which is something I'm proud of.

And in this part of the game the female protagonist must get through a tough boss level difficulty wave battle. Which is when the player is given one set of enemies to defeat then another once the wave is completed.

In the game there are only three waves, and then another cutscene saying how the female protagonist's party had fought an endless hoard of demons all the way until sunrise. But this isn't a game for me, this is real life.

Earlier, I saw that the moon was just barely poking its head out in the horizon, and in this world the moon begins to rise at eight, while the sun begins to rise at six.

Ten hours, that's how long I'm supposed to fight for. But at the very least, the barrier doesn't drop until sunrise either. Which means no matter what happens to me, the rest of the school will be safe.

Sylvia: "Robin? Are you alright? You're trembling." She frowns.

I stop in place and look down at mini Sylvia, tears beginning to form in my eyes.

Robin: "No, I'm not." I say truthfully. "I'm scared, Sylvia, I'm scared of dying. I don't want to die alo-" I begin to choke up my words.

Mini Sylvia hugs my chin yet again gently shushing me.

Sylvia: "Shhhh, there there, I'm still here with you, you're not alone." She says softly, as the ground begins to shake again. "And I'll always be with you, no matter what happens here." She continues, ignoring the tremors.

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, steadying my breathing. I open my eyes with a steady composure.

Robin: "I'm sorry for bring you into this Sylvia." I say softly.

Sylvia lets go of me and sits back down with a smile on her face.

Sylvia: "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in this moment, right here with you is where I belong." She says looking at me with warm eyes.

A wave of demonic howls come from every direction in the room, making me tremble for a moment. I clutch onto my sword tightly, trying to steady my legs.

Back then, I hadn't cared about my life or anything that I did. No motivation, no one to care about or to care for me, and absolutely no goal because I found it all so pointless. Not anymore.

I have a new goal now, and people I want to live for.

I had my Objective: Survive.

And I step forward wielding my sword, saving my mana for my guns and Scarfy, fully prepared to give this everything I've got.

Waiting me at the first dance floor is a sea of monsters, demon and non-demonic. They all let out a terrifying growl that shakes the room, but I remain steady.

And charge into the heart of darkness.

ACT III [Happiness]

*Grawarghhh!*

The monster in front of me roars, its face promptly getting a deep vertical cut. I spin around to duck underneath an arm and leap forwards to land on top of a giant spider. I don't stay there for long as a giant hammer comes crashing down onto me.

I jump off the spider and towards the hammer wielding mini giant as it crushes the giant spider and I plunge my sword right into its eye. It howls in pain as I pull my sword out and fire a round into the open wound.

It begins to fall to the ground with me still on it, letting out its dying groan. As it falls I quickly search for a way to get out of this, and my ride out of here appears before my very eyes.

A giant snake like creature called a basilisk charges at me with its mouth wide open to swallow me whole. I manage to slip by it just barely as it grazes my suit and I plunge my sword into its side allowing myself to get lifted by it.

I swing my body forward and tighten my grip on my sword as I start to travel long its body leaving a long gash as I move. It lets out a loud hiss as I continue to move and I summon one of my revolvers in one hand while the other holds onto the sword.

I let loose several shots eliminating as many monsters as I can until I finally reach the end of the snake and land on the ground. The long body of the basilisk falls to the ground as blood pours out of the cut I made that's the entire length of its body.

Noticing that I've killed most of the monsters around me, I take a breather.

How long has it been since I've started this gauntlet? Hours? I hope so, the longer the better since it would mean I'm closer to the end. But my arms feel numb and my legs are tired, but even so I don't ever stop swinging my sword or let Scarfy tear them apart.

A decapitated wolf there, a demon with gouged eyes here, an eviscerated one far behind me. Even my eyes tire from seeing the same scene of the dead demons.

Every time I kill one, two take its place and their bodies disappear to reemerge from a portal somewhere in the room. I can't think about it, or anything for that matter if I am to put my focus solely on surviving this nightmare.

Yet my mind still manages to drift over to the people outside waiting for me, possibly still trying to find a way inside. It's a nice thought, and I feel warm imagining them determined to try and save me.

Then I'm shaken out of my thoughts by Sylvia's panicked words.

Sylvia: "Robin look ou-!" But her warning's too late.

A large meaty arm smashes into my side and my sent flying into a wall with the air in my lungs knocked out of me. My ears ring as my vision begins to swim.

Sylvia: "Ro--n! Ar- -ou al---ht?!" Her broken voice calls out to me.

Robin: "Yeah, I'm fine." I think I say as I get back up.

My eyes open and I quickly dive to the side, onto my bad side unfortunately and I feel a stab of pain as I land. But it's better than being impaled by the crude spears that landed right where I just was.

???: "Kekekeke." A gremlin like voice cackles as it get closer.

A small squadron of goblins start creeping up towards me, reminding me of my first encounter with monsters all that time ago. I'm at least a little grateful that only a couple of small fry's are here right now, it's almost like a breather for me.

I barely give them a glance as I relax my posture and let Scarfy deal with them. Their death cry's start giving me a head ache as the ringing in my ears only gets worse. I dig into my pocket for a health potion and feel that only one remains.

I pull it out and hold it in my hand for a moment, I'm not gonna last much longer...

I push away the bad thoughts and lean back to down the vial all in one go. My vision begins to clear and the ringing in my ears die down.

Then I spot another spear aiming for my head. At the last moment I manage to tilt my head back and avoid it, but the glass vial in my hand shatters as the spear hits it in my place.

I'm able to spy every single twinkling shard as they all fly into the air, specifically the longest one as the pointy end fly's directly into my left eye.

Robin: "Gaaaaah!" I scream out in pain as my eye begins to burn and I hear the death cry of a distant goblin.

I feel bloody tears stream down my face as I stumble in the dark, unable to open my left eye. I'm still able to open my right eye, but my vision remains muddled and bloody.

Sylvia: "Robin! No no no, I'm sorry I'm sorry!" I hear her panicked voice apologize. "I-I didn't think-"

Robin: "Enough!" I shout, trying to ignore the searing pain in my eye. "I don't blame you, I got careless too. Just...Just focus on keeping me safe." I say trying to steady myself as Sylvia surrounds me in a dome of her fabric.

Using what little time I have, I focus on the glass in my eye, I need to remove it. I'm not completely blinded, meaning the glass didn't pierce all the way through.

I take a deep breath and concentrate on controlling a few strands of fabric myself. I feel it slither along my face and gently peel open my eye lid. Doing my absolute best to ignore the pain and the resisting the urge to cry out in pain, I use a few more strands to gently pull out the glass.

The feeling of having glass pulled out of my eye isn't the greatest, and it doesn't help that I'm completely awake and without any anesthesia. After ten painfully long second, the glass walls to the ground and shatters into even more pieces.

Breathing heavily, I form an eyepatch on my injured eye, as if it could cover up the searing pain. I take a few more moments to get used to moving with the sight of one eye and start hearing heavy thuds outside.

Sylvia: "There are a lot of them outside Robin, they've almost broken through." She says worriedly,

Robin: "Alright...Alright..." I mumble, feeling a little light headed. "Open up a hole just big enough for me where there are the least amount of demons." I ask her with a calm voice.

Sylvia: "Okay...I-I found it on your left, are you ready?"

Robin: "Do it." I say as my gun forms in my off hand.

The moment the hole opens I fire off a charged shot, clearing the path to my escape.

Robin: "Drop the dome!" I yell as my mana flows into the part of Scarfy that covers my legs.

Sylvia: "Got it!" She exclaims as the dome comes down.

Monsters and demons alike all cave in on my little area and I dash through my still cleared out path right as I hear a loud thud behind me.

I keep on running trying to find a good place to fight, having to kill the single monster I unfortunately run into. That's when I'm able to see the affects of losing majority of my vision.

A human sized rock creature lunges at me, quite slowly and I swing my sword to cut off its arms, but I miss.

The creature lands a heavy punch on my chest sending me a few steps back, I recover and dash towards it again, only to misplace my strike. Instead of chopping off its head, my sword embeds itself into the creature's shoulder.

I try to yank my sword out just to find that I'm too weak to do so. The creature lifts its hand up to attack me again as I continue to try and pull my sword free, my heavy breathing blocking out all noises around me.

Luckily, one of the end of Scarfy turns into a sledge hammer and smashes its head into pieces. As it crumbles into dust, my sword is freed.

Sylvia: "Robin..." She says quietly, not wanting to say the words on her mind.

Robin: "I know, Sylvia." I respond to her unsaid words, now's not the time to elaborate on them.

I swing my sword at the air a few times, even firing off a few potshots trying to adjust to having only a single eye. I don't get to practice for long, as the roars from the distant monsters grow closer.

I resume my search for an open area to fight in, feeling how sluggish my body moves. Keep fighting, it's all I can do now. Dragging myself forward, I hear a familiar screech ahead of me.

*SKREEEEEE!*

My body shakes in fury after remembering my incapability to protect Lisa, but I shouldn't be losing my cool here. Yet even after knowing exactly what I shouldn't do, my body refuses to act according to my mind.

Sylvia: "T-This isn't a good idea Robin." She frowns, looking up at me worriedly.

I let out a dry chuckle.

Robin: "I know." I say flatly.

Sylvia's eyes widen at me in surprise, and to be honest, even I'm surprised at myself. Now's not the time to be laughing, but it's also the first time I've let out any kind of laugh. How peculiar.

Dragging my feet along the blood stained fancy rugged floor, I eventually find myself at a familiar location.

Robin: "Too fat to even spawn at a new location huh?" I ask the giant bastard in front of me.

But the demon looks smaller than earlier, a little more than half its size from earlier.

Robin: "Either way, it will be satisfying for me to kill you myself." I say coldly, feeling something hot in my chest.

I let my sword hang loosely at my side, taking a deep inhale. A large amount of magic flows through my scarf and my own body, trying to copy Robert's move from earlier. My body gets hotter, and not because of the magic I don't think, as the mana redirects into my sword making it glow a little.

I drop into a low position and widen my eye, as I sprint forwards directly towards the demon with unknown energy.

Its army of hands rush towards me but for some reason they seem slower than before. The short practice I had with my one eye seems to have paid off, I'm able to dodge the arms and strike where I want to strike if need be.

My legs seem to speed up with the momentum and so does the actions of my scarf. Batting, grabbing, blocking, doing whatever she can to protect me.

Then, they all retreat at once, which could only mean one thing. The demon felt threatened enough to focus on protecting itself and was gonna start building a wall of arms. I'm proven correct after a few moments as the arms start to grab each other and form the solid wall.

Robin: "This one's for you Clare." I mumble as I raise my sword. "[Blade Beam!]" I shout the name I just came up with as I swing my mana infused sword towards the wall.

The mana leaves my sword in the form of a large arc that explodes the moment it contacts the wall, leaving a hole open that already begins to get repaired.

Taking another page out of their battle earlier, I jump up into the air and use Scarfy to propel me into the hole. As I soar through it the hands inside the wall try to grab me, only to have their fingers cut off.

The exit is right ahead of me but already almost closed off, if I get stuck here I'm sure to get ripped apart. So in a desperate attempt, I summon my gun and take aim, right as another hand springs from the wall and attacks my hand.

But this time, I'm ready and twist my body to avoid the hand, and while I'm still spinning, I fire.

The beam of mana blasts straight through the almost repaired wall and I just barely make it out only losing a bit of my momentum. The demon now in front of me doesn't have any eyes, but I could tell that it was surprised to see break through.

Pushing myself off of the wall behind me, I leap high up into the air directly above the demon just as Clare had. My sword isn't nearly as big as hers, but focusing my mana into my sword gives it a pure mana colored extension.

Robin: "And this one's for Lisa!" I shout as I come crashing down onto the creature.

The moment my sword connects with the creature I meet a heavy resistance, but I push through with all my might and start dragging my sword through the demon and it lets out an ear piercing scream of pain.

*SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*

I let out a scream of my own as I continue to cut through the demon feeling as if my arm is being torn off. Despite the pain, despite my fatigue, despite my bleak future, the feeling inside of me continues to burn and I push my blade all the way down its body.

Making me blank out for a moment.

Darkness clouds my already muddled vision and I start to feel like I'm floating. My eye is still open, I think, but laying down on the cold hard ground makes me want to close it, to allow my body to relax, I've done a lot already haven't I?

Sylvia: "--bin! St-y --th me! Don'- d-e! Pl--se!" I hear her broken voice through the ringing in my ears.

Oh that's right, I still have people waiting for me, so I've yet to do enough.

I force my eye to stay open and my vision slowly begins to clear. Once it clears enough I look down at my chest, there's Sylvia doing some kind of prayer it seems, she's glowing too. Then my head rolls towards the side, where I see Robert's sword, part of it at least.

The top half of the mythril blade lies stabbed into the ground a few meters away from me.

Oh no, I'm sorry Robert, I didn't mean to break your present for me. Then my eye drags itself to the rest of the blade, where my hand is still tightly griping the hilt, a few meters away from me.

Slightly confused and light headed, my eye follows the rest of my arm, where at the very end of it where my shoulder would have been is a bloody mess.

Ah, it seems that I've lost my arm, and I confirm it when I look at my right to see that only my shoulder still remains. It seems Sylvia had taken the time to make Scarfy wrap a torque around the stump to stop the bleeding, though it looks like I've already lost a lot of it.

My vision begins to darken again as I see the large amount of blood that pools around the stump of my former arm. At least I'm too numb to feel pain now, in fact, the only thing I can feel is satisfaction from seeing that demon has been successfully bisected.

Then I feel the fully sized Sylvia's tears fall on my face. In my blurry vision, I can still make out the teal girl's shape. I'm not alone, I feel comforted with that fact. Her mouth is still moving yet I can't hear a thing, but I do see the pin I had given her begins to glow.

Oh that's right, I originally collected that relic for a situation like this, to give me extra life in a dire situation. I feel my body engulfed in a comforting warmth as my vision slowly begins to clear.

Sylvia: "You're alive." She says breathlessly, a wide smile on her face.

My body continues to heal and my mind gets clear, as does my vision even though what I see before looks like a fake vision.

Sylvia's body is still shining, and fading into pure mana particles. It didn't take me very long to figure out what was happening to her, but that brought anything but comfort to me.

Robin: "You're...You're sacrificing your life." I say, pulling my body to sit up with her in my lap facing me.

Sylvia: "I'm not doing anything of the sort." She giggles, the 'Second Chance' relic beginning to crack. "I'm only returning what you gave to me." She continues to smile, her legs slowly fading from existence.

I grip her shoulders, frantically looking for a way to stop this.

Sylvia: "Stop Robin, there's nothing you can do to stop this anymore." She says with a soft apologetic smile.

My eye finally lands on hers holding her gaze, with no other choice other than to accept what was happening.

Robin: "But...You kept saying you would always be with me." I say softly.

Sylvia: "And I will be, in here." She points to my body. "You gave me your life to turn me into this and made these last few months the happiest time of my life, so now I will give you mine." She smiles with a content smile.

I wrap my arm around what remains of her body and pull her in close. Her slowly fading arms wraps around me too and she rests her chin on my shoulder.

Sylvia: "You're so warm Robin, I wish I could enjoy this a little longer." She says in a fading voice.

Robin: "So why leave me like this?" I ask, refusing to let myself breakdown right now.

She lets out a soft sigh.

Sylvia: "It's selfish of me I know, but I don't want to be the one to see you die. So I want to at least help prolong your life for even just a moment more." She admits guiltily.

Robin: "That's too unfair." I say quietly.

Sylvia: "I know." She says matching my tone. "But no more painful words Robin, please allow me to savor these final moments." She pleads, her voice beginning to break.

I squeeze her tighter, knowing the best thing I can do now is to oblige her request.

Robin: "Alright..." I say softly, a few tears escaping my eyes.

Although I can't see her, I know that Sylvia begins to smile.

Sylvia: "Thank you for showing me love..." Her voice fades.

Robin: "No, thank you for taking care of me all this time." I say, no longer holding anything but air.

My arms slumps to my side as I stop holding back my tears

Sylvia: "And never forget that I love you."

Tears both clear and red stain her face, or would have if it were still there.

Robin: "Why couldn't wait to let me say the same?" I ask in a voice that's barely a whisper.

I have no time to grieve as I start to hear the hisses and growls of monsters growing closer, and I realize I can no longer stay here. I pick myself back onto my feet, as my scarf slips off my neck.

I look down to see that its lost its bright teal color as if it has withered away and the four point star pin lie broken in half on top of it. I crouch down hoping to at least activate its circuits, but nothing happens when I feed it my mana.

Scarfy, also known as Sylvia, was broken. Now all that lies there is a piece of broken fabric and a equally broken pin. I reach down to grab it with my right hand, but find that it still lies severed a few meters away from me.

I still have no right arm it sees, which probably means I don't have my left eye either. I grab a small piece of my scarf/lover with my remaining arm and tuck her in my breast pocket right next to my heart.

I summon my revolver in my last remaining hand and stand back up, I won't go down without a fight., I'll use my teeth to fight if I have to. I have one hand and one gun, at least I have a half full tank of mana

And so, with a heavy heart and missing a few body parts, I start walking towards wherever my feet take me. As my feet move I start to feel like walking down memory lane how my thoughts drift to the times I shared with Sylvia.

No one except the girls knew about her but she was always hidden in her scarf form right next to me so she could converse and watch the world around her with her own two eyes. She had a lot of childlike reactions whenever she tried something new, I often found it adorable.

I'm glad she was able to experience those things as a human, and that she truly enjoyed her life beside me.

The hot feeling inside of me grows stronger as my footsteps lighten and tears continue to fall.

I hear monsters rapidly approaching me now, but not a huge horde of them. With only one eye and my non-dominant hand, shooting will be extremely difficult. So I decide to try something new yet again. I close my eye and focus on the presence of mana around me.

In total darkness, the can almost picture the footsteps behind me. Not knowing what the creature was, I blindly fire behind me.

And hear a satisfying high pitch death cry. Seeing as how well the skill worked, I keep my eye closed and my mind drifts yet again to more curious thoughts while I attempt to run on autopilot.

Robert, what exactly is your past with Asmodeus? I heard her say that she was the one who killed your family, was it because you related to me back then you decided to help me out so much? Did I remind you of your own kid? I wonder why I never asked you back then.

It was probably because of those sad eyes you used to have back when I first met you at the harbor's hub, you seemed content spending your time with me so I guess I just didn't want to spoil it for you. The kid in your locket was really young, was I your second chance to experience fatherhood?

Oh well, I hope you'll be satisfied when you find out me and Clarissa managed to deal a heavy blow to her.

My eye opens to find myself in the middle of a circle of carnage. The trick seemed to have worked a lot better than I thought because I find myself perfectly unharmed, aside from some slight mana exhaustion.

I begin to walk past the carnage while my mind continues to wander and my body grows hotter.

I hope the girls and my friends are all fine, along with all the other students I guess, tonight must have been very traumatic for all of them. Especially Markus, I'm not sure what happened to him but I wish I knew so I could help him.

Maybe he blames himself for Tracy, poor Tracy, I wish...I wish Markus wasn't there to witness that first hand, and I wish that it could have been anyone else in his arms, someone else to take Tracy's place.

At least no one else is going to die tonight, I hope.

What of Lucas? He should be fine I hope, he's the second prince, I'm sure he had experts help him the moment he stepped out of here. If only he had bodyguards with him, but he's very stubborn when it comes to his personal space and privacy.

I remember he had told me and Markus that about him, something about people getting too close to him or something like that. My memory is a bit fuzzy right now, but I can still remember a lot of good times the three of us had.

Us three, we lived the life of a couple of highschool boys to the fullest, even though none of us knew how to do that at first. Me because I just don't remember my time as a teen, Lucas because he's the second prince and had a very different life compared to ours, and Markus because...he was always too embarrassed to say I think.

Though him constantly mentioning we were his bestest friends accompanied by the fact that I rarely ever see him with someone out of our group makes me think he doesn't have many friends. Then again, that was something similar in all of us, maybe that's why we got so close to each other.

I hope Markus doesn't cut ties with Lucas like he did to me, I wouldn't want our trio to be completely separated like that.

From the corner of my eye I see a blade like arm stick out of a portal about to cut into my neck and I manage to just barely lean away from the attack. Almost stumbling to the ground, I regain my footing and blast the insect like creature.

Brushing my neck with my knuckles, I find that I'm bleeding. The cut doesn't seem too deep, seeing as how I'm not gasping for air, but a cut is still a cut and very dangerous for me since I have no way of wrapping my neck with one arm.

All I can do is unsummon my gun and hold onto the wound, hoping I don't get ambushed again like that. As blood leaks through my hands, a memory resurfaces in my head as I continue to stumble forwards.

It was two month ago when I was helping Rachel practice her special technique. We were using real swords and I got a cut on my side. Rachel's panicked look was something that surprised me since she rarely goes without her dignified smiling face.

She's always so calm, which is why seeing her so surprised, surprised me. I tried to forgive her but she just kept apologizing, I think tears were forming in her eyes too, but I had thought it was just the sunlight.

Lisa happened to be there that day, acting as a monitor for...a reason she refused to disclose and gave Rachel an earful. All I did was watch, unable to explain the fact that Scarfy was protecting me and all she did was cut my clothes. That day ended with a date, with the both of them and me going to Robert to resume his hellish sword training course.

I was holding myself back during the training with Rachel, but me getting hit signified that the gap between our skill was closing and that I should improve myself. That training helped me survive until now.

But without a sword and arm, that training is a lot less useful now. Though it does hold some pleasant memories, so I wouldn't call it useless.

Useless...Yukio said that word a lot whenever I tried helping her study. She would say whatever we were learning was useless and holds no real value, but I think she was just frustrated at the time when she realized that Melissa had a much easier time learning than her during our time in the library.

Despite how naïve she always is, Melissa is a very diligent and quick little learner. While Yukio on the other hand would much rather crack jokes and lounge around as I tutored Melissa. Melissa would always ask for praise whenever she completed a question or solved a theory, making it seem like she didn't need any tutoring in the first place, but I still obliged her requests.

Eventually Yukio started an argument with Melissa after the small girl decided to hop from her chair and sit on my lap. I don't even remember what it was about, but I remember finding the two of them arguing very amusing. It was hard to tell who was the child between the two, though the answer was probably both of them at the time, even though they were both seventeen.

As I walk absent mindedly and fire my gun just the same, I eventually trip over something knocking me out of my thoughts. It was the body of a dead student.

Yet despite the cold gruesome sight, my body still felt hot. Which I couldn't understand since it should be growing colder as the time passes and I lose more of my blood.

I lay there for a moment, unable to find the strength to get up and close my eye for a moment.

I remember a day where I woke up and realized I had no reason to get up. No work, no school, no nothing, so I decided to sleep a little while longer.

But the next time my eyes opened, I found two silver haired girls sleeping beside me. It was Elizabeth and Leticia, though I had no clue how they got in. The two of them were on both sides of me and each had an arm on my chest holding me down.

I felt like just going back to sleep, but I realized something that got me enough strength to get up.

Robin: "Liz, you have a photoshoot today." I mumble as my eye slowly opens.

Oh, I'm still here, in this grand hall from hell. At least I'm on my feet again, but it would have been nice if this was all just a dream. Blinking away the drossiness, I continue onto destination unknown as growls and roars sound out behind me.

Step by step, breath by breath, I keep on pushing through all of my physical capabilities, waiting for the orange barrier that surrounds the entire room to drop and signify that the sun has rose and I made it.

My mind imagines a rising sun just across the horizon as I walk up the stairs of a tower. Once I reach the door I open it to find the roof of the school, and Grace sitting on the edge.

I had called to her saying it was dangerous up here, like I did every time I would find her here, and she only smiled and gestured for me to sit next to her. I'm not sure why I always obliged, but I do remember that I enjoyed the cool morning air every time I took a deep breath.

Me and Grace would just sit there together, in pure silence enjoying each other's company, away from the whole school in a small world of our own where we had no need to keep up appearances, that's how she would describe it each time with as much dramatic flair she could muster.

I let her do what she wanted and let her indulge in my attention, before she settled down and truly began to enjoy the silence. We would do this for an hour or so before leaving to make it to class, using her teleportation ability in order to make it right on time.

Though one day, out of the blue she told me why she came here every now and then. She enjoyed seeing the sun rise because for her it symbolized a new chapter in her story and the roof had the best view imaginable.

She explained that her entire life had changed in a single night and she became a new person by the time the sun rose, she smiled beautifully while telling me that and I knew what she was implicating. I didn't voice my thoughts though, I only lent her my ear which was the best gift I could give her according to her.

I'd like to see the sunrise with her again, and maybe everyone else too one day.

A sharp pain in my leg cuts off my thoughts. With a pained scream I clutch the sharp barb lodged in my leg, then let go to quickly shoot the monster that shot me with it. A monsterfied giant hornet falls to the ground with a large hole in its head and I quickly study its body type.

I let out a relived sigh to find out that it not the poisonous variation of the monster and think about how to deal with the stinging in my leg. Instead of yanking it out and provide my body a new place to leak out blood, I break off a large chunk of it and leave what's left in my leg.

Now hobbling on one leg, I continue to move forward, the heat inside me refusing to leave.

Currently I have a tenacity that rivals Clarissa, seeing as how I haven't given up yet. Like the current me, once she has her sights on something she will refuse to give up. One weekend when I went out shopping with her she a game caught her eye.

It was a Otome game much like the one we were currently in, she started hopping in place telling me about how long she's been waiting for it to release. The main reason for her excitement was a single character on the front cover.

Soon after getting back to our dorms, she invited me to watch her play. Feeling nostalgic at the time, I decided to accept. The game's setting was very similar to the world we lived in, which made me realize why the game wasn't classified as a fantasy game.

I thought that there was a slight chance that I was about to go through some déjà vu but was quickly relieved to see that the boy she liked was one of the routes.

I also took note that the route she was focusing on was the brother route, which was a good coincidence since I knew all about what an older brother would like from their little sister. I didn't know about anything past a pure sibling relationship of course, but Clarissa seemed to have had that base covered.

Though she was nervous at first about seeming weird for wanting to go the brother route. I explained that I never really saw any problems with any relationships as long as the people are all consensual.

But I made sure to add that I would never go this far with a sibling, just in case she thought I was weird for agreeing with her. Though slightly disappointed for whatever reason, we started grinding through the game.

For whatever reason, the brother route was extremely difficult and we ended up spending a few days playing that game together until she reached the true ending for the route. she decided that she wasn't gonna play that game anymore. She had done what she wanted despite the numerous failed attempts and was content with how things ended.

The brother and sister ended up finding out they were both reincarnated into the same world and that they used to be lovers in their past life. After learning about that information they decide to rekindle their flame and live a happy life together.

The plot for the route was wholly unlikely and situational since the player doesn't even find out that the female protagonist was a reincarnate unless they took that specific route but Clarissa seemed to enjoy it, so I did too.

And it seems like my route is coming to an end. Ahead of me was the exit, still blocked off by the orange barrier, and behind me was the hoard of monsters that have been chasing me this entire time.

Standing where I am, I find myself in some kind of spotlight. Then when I look straight up I find a hole in the ceiling, probably from one of my missed shots. There I feel my hope crushed, for there was the moon in all its glory, still high up in the sky.

I let out the second dry chuckle of my entire life.

Robin: "And here I thought I was almost home free." I shake my head, my shoulders beginning to tremble.

Surely at this point the player would hear some epic music for this incoming climatic battle, but there just isn't, because this isn't a game for me.

The distant growling, the clanking of crude weapons in the distance, and the sounds that emit from my own dripping blood, it's all my ears can hear.

Though somewhere in the background, I'm sure to be hearing some melancholic music. I have no way of surviving this, if I were the protagonist then perhaps things could be different.

But I'm not, I'm just a side character who is about to meet his tragic end. Even so, I refuse to let that stop me from fighting, so I pour every last bit of my mana into my gun as I stand my ground and take aim at the black sea of monsters.

*BANG BANG BANG*

During the intervals of each round flashes of familiar images and feelings appear in my head, making the heat inside of me burn brighter.

*BANG BANG BANG*

They say that moments before you're death, you begin to see your life play put in front of you. And maybe I'm already dead, and all of this, from when I first woke up as Robin was just some kind of hallucination.

*BANG BANG BANG*

But seeing these memories play out reminds me that I truly was alive, and that only makes me wish I could experience it all again.

*BANG BANG BANG*

Robert's cheeky grin...

*BANG BANG BANG*

Lucas's and Markus's friendship...

*BANG BANG BANG*

Lisa's haughty requests...

*BANG BANG BANG*

Rachel's graceful smile...

*BANG BANG BANG*

Melissa's cute antics...

*BANG BANG BANG*

Yukio's tomboyish attitude...

*BANG BANG BANG*

Elizabeth and Leticia's inseparable relationship...

*BANG BANG BANG*

Grace's true smile...

*BANG BANG BANG*

And Clarissa's energetic attitude that mirrors my sister's...

*BANG BANG BANG*

All of it which made me experience a lifetime I never could have imagined possible, and a hot feeling that has yet to leave my chest.

*BANG!*

My gun flies out of my shaking hand, clattering onto the ground somewhere behind me. I stare blankly at the endless sea of monsters still approaching me, making it seem like my final effort has done absolutely nothing.

Yet that isn't the reason why I'm feeling despaired, nor is it the moon that doesn't even seem to have moved unlike the monsters.

It is the thought of me breaking the promises I thought I would be able to keep.

I'm sorry Robert, maybe we can grab a drink another time.

As for you girls, I hope you'll be able to forgive me for being unable to keep my word, because I won't be able to be by your side in the future.

The sea of monsters slowly inch closer as I start stumbling backwards, moving back towards the blocked off exit.

I feel my back hit the magical wall as I lose all the strength in my legs. I slump to the ground, breathing heavily and struggling to keep my eyelid open. I can't tell if I'm like this because of fatigue, mana exhaustion, or blood loss, but in the end, it doesn't really matter.

I rest the back of my head on the barrier and take one last look at my impending doom, before closing my eye as I feel my blood pool beneath me.

In my head, I can only think of one thing, them. Just once, I want to see their face just one last time, I'll do anything for the chance.

I start mumbling incoherently, unable to figure what I'm saying myself. But it's probably a question along the lines of 'why do I still feel so hot?'

Then I feel a soft thumping behind me, at first I mistake it for my heartbeat, then I realize that its already much louder and faster than my dying heart. I force my eye open with an unknown energy and turn around.

There I see that my wish had come true, the girls right behind the barrier with sleep deprived eyes all punching at the barrier trying to scream something at me. Deliriously, I reach out my only hand towards the barrier, touching the thin wall that separates me from the girls I love.

They were all crying, crying for me, which made me warm, so very warm, warm enough to make me cry myself.

Then it clicks for me.

This heat inside me was a special emotion, one I didn't realize I had lost.

These tears, the longing I have to be on the other side with them, the thoughts and memories of them that are rimmed with a pink, sparkling hue, they all stemmed from one feeling...

Suddenly, my body jerks forward, and blood flows out of my mouth. Looks of horror spreads across all of the girls as they seem to let out a gasp.

I look down, to find two crude spears piercing my chest. These crude weapons are only wielded by one creature.

Goblins: "Kekekeke, GWAHAHAHA!" A distant group of laughter erupts.

Done in by the weakest creatures of the world after all this, how ironic.

I try to reach for my chest with an arm that isn't there, and keep myself propped up by using my other hand to press against the barrier.

This pain, my fears, these hopes and dreams of mine that will forever remain unfinished, all of these things are all overpowered by one, heated, feeling I get from looking at the girls in front of me...

Happiness.

To think I really found it again, and that it took me so long for me to properly realize it.

So many things are different in this life compared to the one before that. The people I've met, the things I've accomplished, the relationships I formed, the people I've lost, my experiences as Robin Cross as a whole, all of it so very different to what happened in my past life.

All of it enough to rewrite an entire life's worth of a story, enough for me to realize living wasn't all as pointless as I had once thought it to be. For me to die thinking I want to live is one of the biggest differences I can think of.

While the biggest one, the final difference, the one that shows the biggest change in me, is that in this life, I will be facing death with a smile.

And with that thought in mind, I feel my lips struggle yet fight with all its might to curve upwards and show the people who gave me everything, that I found happiness.

————

Game Over...

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