No one's POV
(DreamScape)
Ryuu had sacrificed her friends so that she could live. She had sent Alise beyond the light to her death. This was the true essence of the darkness that still dwelled deep in her heart.
After the incident, Ryuu was constantly tormented by loss and guilt. She did not return to Astrea, nor head towards the Light of Hope that was still fighting, but rather tended her wounds on the surface and then returned to the Dungeon as swiftly as possible.
The bodies of her friends no longer remained in the room where the tragedy had unfolded. She found neither their dead bodies nor their weapons. So all she could summarize was that they were eaten by monster. Again, Ryuu howled and cried.
Trembling like a baby, fighting desperately against the trauma that had been carved deep into her, she searched for the monster. She wanted to kill the beast that had murdered her friends, but in truth it was also a suicidal act. She had to bring an end to things—both to claim vengeance for her friends, and to pass judgment on herself.
But in the end, she was not able to fulfill her wish. Deep in the Dungeon, she found traces of battle and roars. What she found was the Light of Hope who was standing atop a mountain of white-crimson ash that she thought must be the Skull Reapear's remains.
Sora:...
Ryuu:...
The two could only stare at each other. The Hero stood there with the same wounded gash in his chest, mind barely functioning after a horrific battle. He had indeed killed the monster. But all that did was made her lost all hope.
Her magic had not killed the monster. Something with no connection to her had occurred. But instead, she relied on the Hero to do the job for her. There was nothing now on which her terror and raging emotions and hopes could settle. Denied even the chance to find resolution, Ryuu gripped her head in both hands and collapsed to the ground. She was a broken elf, her spirit and body alike split by a thousand cracks.
Sora: Ryuu...
Ryuu: Don't touch me!
The Hero tried to comfort her, but all she did was smack and push the Hero away. The Hero had nothing to say in respond. It was clear at her current state, she would not believe a single word he said.
Sora: There's something you should see.
And the elf did just that. She followed the Hero whom had led her to the 18th floor, a place where the Astrea Familia loved to visit. There she saw that the Hero had made a grave for them, with all their memento and the remains of their bodies. Her tears seemed as if they would never run dry. Once they had joked that if they died, they would like to be buried here in the Dungeon's paradise.
Her companions gone, her heart thrust into the depths of disappointment and despair, she stood before the weapons the Hero had driven into the ground like gravestones and she questioned herself. She was the only one left alive. The Hero had returned to the surface to tell the Goddess of Justice about what had happened. He knew that she wanted to be alone.
Ryuu: What should I do? Tell me, Alise...
If only she could vanish. She wanted to welcome death and disappear from this world. But there was little chance she would be able to end her life. How could she throw away the life that Alise and all the others had given her? That would be the same as rendering their deaths meaningless. Her mission was to live. Her most ardent wish was to die.
In the narrow space between these fiercely competing emotions, a black flame sprang up.
Ryuu: I will never forgive him!
The world distorted like melted candy. Her pent-up emotions congealed in the vengeance she had forgotten until now, and a voice so dark she hardly recognized it as her own spilled from her lips.
Ryuu(mind): Jura. Rudra Familia. Absolute evil.
They had brought on disaster and led Alise and the others to their death. They were detestable. They must not be forgiven. If only they had never existed. Ryuu's thoughts converged in this way very quickly. Her black anger burned like hellfire.
All in the name of vengeance.
Ryuu justified everything by giving herself over to anger and hatred. They must not be allowed to live. If she let them live, they might call forth another calamity. Letting them run free made no sense. Overlooking their crimes was not even an option. She decided that she would use her life to destroy evil. This was not for the sake of the city, nor for the citizens who suffered there. This was no noble mission to protect people she had never met.
It was for herself.
She would make them pay for the tragic deaths of her companions. At the time, Ryuu had been unable to think of any other way to use the life they had given her. Or rather, she pretended she was unable to think of any other way. She carried out her last act of justice. Of all the justices Alise had spoken of, this was perhaps the ugliest.
In truth, it probably was not justice at all. This was the end of the elf who wailed tirelessly, her body broken and her wings rotted away. Black flames consumed Ryuu's sword and wings of justice, burning them till nothing remained.
(Timeskip)
After she decided to walk the path of destruction, Ryuu pushed both Astrea and Sora away. Given over completely to her raging emotions, she could no longer see herself clearly. Unable to grasp her own heart, she did not want to be seen through by a deity nor her last friend. More than that, though, she did not want to be prevented from exacting revenge.
Ryuu: I'm begging you two!
Sora: W-Wait! Please think this over! A-Alise wouldn't want yo—
But the Hero never got to finished his sentence. The elven warrior had attack him in the neck, when he was at his lowest of guard. She knew that the Hero would stop her like right now.
Sora: R-Ryuu...
Astrea:...
She did not know what Astrea thought of her when she came to her begging desperately, scraping her forehead on the ground and refusing to meet the deity's eyes. Or what her thoughts when she saw the elven warrior attacking her own friend. Perhaps she was exhausted by the endless chain of tragedy and hatred, or perhaps she was disappointed by the children's inability to stop fighting. She could also feel the desperate voice in the boy as he lay motionless on the ground before slowly losing consciousness.
Ryuu could not remember the expression on both Sora and Astrea's face that day. Her own eyes had been clouded by anger, sorrow, hatred, and resentment.
Astrea: Okay then.
Before her goddess left with the Hero on her arms, she had spoken with sadness in her voice.
Astrea: Ryuu...please forget about justice.
(Timeskip)
Ryuu exacted her revenge swiftly. First she targeted people, then buildings, and finally whole facilities. She did not give the familias that sided with her enemy time to intervene. She struck at night, using surprise attacks and traps. She snuffed out those associated with evil using methods unbefitting an elf.
There was no technique she would not resort to. She struck those who were evil along with those who were suspicious. It didn't matter if they were shopkeepers or Guild employees. These were reprisals carried too far, but also a judgment passed on herself.
Chloe: If you were going to kill your enemies, you should have been smarter about it.
Not long after all this happened, Chloe had said those words to her. Ryuu had no response. Instead, the depths of her heart smiled mockingly. Of course she couldn't tell the catgirl she wanted to die from the start. She could not forgive Jura and his cronies for bringing on disaster. She would not forgive herself for letting her friends die. It was a dark and reckless time for Ryuu.
She sincerely sought death.
Revenge had nearly run its course. Ryuu was preparing to attack Rudra Familia's hideout. Many familia members still remained there. Jura, too, was there, tormented by fear.
Ryuu remembered those events only dimly. She remembered roaring like an animal and slashing again and again at the tamer. She had cast off coolness and followed the commands of her raging emotions as she sliced off his arm and then his ear, her dagger flashing countless times.
She didn't leave a single member of the familia alive. After she killed their leader, she used her magic to burn their hideout to the ground with all their corpses still inside.
Immediately after it ended, as the smoke was still rising from the ruins, the deity Rudra appeared before Ryuu from wherever he had been hiding. Even at that point in her life Ryuu could not bring herself to kill a deity. But no one remained to protect him, and after Ryuu left, the Guild decided to capture and expel him. This dropout of the mortal realm stood before Ryuu encircled by raging red flames and roared with laughter. And then he spoke to Ryuu.
Rudra: When I saw you just now, I wanted to invite you into our familia.
The face reflected in his eyes was that of a well-worn demon of revenge.
(Timeskip)
Ryuu destroyed twenty-seven organizations, including businesses and bands of outlaw mercenaries. Ryuu's actions led to four sacred columns piercing the heavens. Ryuu's dark impulses drew in many others along with her. Ironically, they triggered the end of the city's dark days. But contrary to her wishes, Ryuu herself survived.
When her revenge was complete, she had finished everything she wanted to do. What she attained by crushing those who stole her friends and those who sided with them was not a feeling of accomplishment, but instead a terrible emptiness. She could remember neither the smiles of her friends nor their wretched faces as they met their ends. The tears that had overflowed from her eyes and the wails that had erupted from her throat vanished. She made her way to a back alley where no one ever set foot. Empty and drained of all energy, Ryuu waited for death.
Syr: Are you okay?
After that, it was as Sora told Bell. Ryuu was taken from the rainy back alley by Syr, saved against her will. She pulled her back onto the path of the living.
Syr: Thank you for fighting for us.
When Syr said those words to her, she felt as if she'd been forgiven. At the same time, she felt she had to live—to live for Alise and her other companions. All this was thanks to Syr and The Hostess of Fertility. But she was not able to wipe the old feelings from the depths of her heart. The thirst to be sentenced for her sins continued to smolder.
She did not confess her crimes to Syr or the others. The pain and loss from losing her irreplaceable friends could never heal. Even if the wounds had closed, they would suddenly begin to throb when she least expected it, invoking a terrible loneliness. The blame that never disappeared hounded her heart for having chosen the path of life. It always had, and it still did.
But was this the Full Story of what really happened?
(Timeskip)
Ryuu stepped out of the forest of reminiscence and stood perfectly still in the darkness. Suddenly, there was a blinding light, and she turned toward it. It was the same scene she had witnessed many times before.
Ryuu: You guys...!
Beyond the white light, her friends were standing with their backs to her.
Ryuu: Kaguya! Lyra! Say something!
Kaguya and Lyra:...
Ryuu: Neze! Maryu! Take me with you!
Neze and Maryu:...
Ryuu: Ryana! Asta! Noin! Iska! Celty!
Ryana, Asta, Noin, Iska, and Celty:...
Among them was the girl with the red hair.
Ryuu: Alise! Please don't leave me all alone!
Alise:...
They were on the far shore of the light, where Ryuu had driven them. The far shore, where the dead are. She could call them till she went hoarse and yearn for them from the bottom of her heart, but they would never look back toward her.
As if to say, This is your punishment.
Only when she reached their sides and was welcomed into their fold would she truly be forgiven. Ryuu believed that, and she was sad that once again she had failed to reach them. As that sadness washed over her, the white light blotted out the world and swallowed her up.
(Reality)
Consciousness returned. But Ryuu did not know if she was in reality or in a continuation of her dream. She was aware only of a darkness like a swamp. Her other senses were not working properly. Her ability to interpret her surroundings stolen by vestiges of the past, her eyelids fluttered. She opened her eyes-and saw a pair of bloodshot eyes right in front of her own.
Ryuu: !
Astonishment brought her instantly back to her senses. The owner of the eyes was writhing in the darkness. She heard a scraping sound coming from all around her. It took a moment for her to realize that someone was digging her out of a pile of rubble. And another to recognize that the bloodshot eyes were the color of azure sky.
Eventually, a cool draft blew over her wound-covered skin, and a pair of bloody hands grabbed her. Without allowing her a word in the matter, the hands pulled her body onto a thin back.
Ryuu:......So...ra...?
Sora:...Yes. Thank goodness...
The voice of the Hero who had returned for her was so faint and mixed with exhaled breath that it almost disappeared. Suddenly everything came back to Ryuu in a rush, and she looked around at her surroundings with wide eyes.
Ryuu: Where are we...?
The straight path ahead had become a mountain of dirt and rubble. The path was completely blocked off behind them, leaving only the option of moving forward. She looked up and saw that the bedrock was repairing itself. The holes were nearly closed already. For a brief moment, she saw the vast darkness that veiled the ceiling and unfurled through the Colosseum.
Ryuu(mind): Did the floor of the Colosseum collapse...and I fell through with Sora?
As if to confirm her guess, the body parts of dead monsters were sticking up here and there from the mountain of rubble. There was a lizardman crushed by rock, a loup-garou with a broken neck, and a dismembered spartoi. They must have been swept up in the collapsing floor. Corpses lay everywhere. Like the Water Capital, the thirty-seventh floor had a multilayered structure.
The power of Sora's fully charged bomb had caused the floor to fall, plunging Ryuu, Sora, and the monsters into a passageway that apparently existed directly below.
Ryuu(mind): There was a passage like this beneath the Colosseum...? Anyway, I need to focus on other things right now...
Ryuu returned her eyes with a start to the Hero who was still carrying her on his back. Sora was on the verge of death. His breathing was so ragged it was peculiar he was still able to move. His irregular gasps made Ryuu want to cover her ears. He sounded like a broken instrument or a dying animal. Little red bubbles foamed from the edges of his mouth, and then, as if remembering to do something, he spit up a red glob.
Sora: Let's keep moving... We need to meet up with Bell and Slyphid...
His body was riddled with holes. Droplets of his life were draining away at this very moment. Warm red liquid dampened Ryuu's chest as it pressed against his back. It's hard to believe someone as powerful as him could be this injured.
He must have shielded her as the massive charge reverberated and their footing caved in. His entire body was stained with blood, and the protective gear he had gotten from the dead adventurers was deformed beyond recognition. Most of the nails on the fingers gripping Ryuu were either cracked or missing. At this current state, even a Level 3 fighter like Lefiya could easily kill him.
Ryuu: You idiot...you idiot!!
Ryuu screamed at him as he carried her swaying on his back.
Ryuu: Sora, why did you save me?! Why didn't you desert me?!
She was so angry at him for coming back to the Colosseum. The hair right in front of her nose—that hair gray as virgin snow that she had so loved to gaze at from afar—was now a dirty bloodred. As she looked at it, she felt her eyes brim with illogical tears.
Ryuu: Answer me!
Sora:...Oh come on... I thought after fighting side by side for 7 years, you should know me by now.
Ryuu's eyes were squeezed shut as she barked at him. He barely managed to squeeze out a few words in response between his shallow breaths.
Sora: No matter what... I never go back on my words...
Ryuu was at a loss for words.
Sora: And I said that we're all going back to the surface together... So that's the only outcome I'm going... I will save the girl who would have done the same if she was in my position...
Her lips trembled at the certainty in the Hero's voice, the conviction that she would take the same risk in his place.
Ryuu:...No I wouldn't. I wouldn't...save you!
Sora:...You know you're a terrible liar.
Sora rejected the words that she spit out with such sorrow and pain. She could tell from his voice that his lips were curled slightly. In a smile. Ryuu hated lies. Ryuu was an elf who would not stand for lies. Sora was smiling because this lie-hating elf had lied for his sake. Ryuu's face distorted like a baby about to wail.
Ryuu: Enough! Put me down at once...!
Sora:...Never.
Sora flatly refused.
Sora: I won't let you die...
Ryuu: You will die yourself!
Sora: I'm not dying here either... We're all going back to the surface...
She replied to his whisper with a shriek. She willed herself to break free of his hold. But she could not make herself do it. That was because she knew who he was struggling so long and hard for—the same person Alise and the others had fought to save. There was no strength in the two legs that walked forward. He stumbled many times, until Ryuu was not even sure he was still conscious.
Nevertheless, Sora continued to walk forward with Ryuu on his back as if he was possessed. Sora was struggling for Ryuu. He was burning up his life for her.
Ryuu: Please stop...! Stop. Stop! Why do you have to save me like Alise and the others did? I'm not worth it! I wasn't able to save anyone! Let me die here with them!
Sora:...Again, never... I'm not letting you join Alise and the others just yet...
Lacking the strength to scream anymore, Ryuu laid her face limply against Sora's neck. She was like a living corpse that had lost hope and everything else.
Ryuu: I...let my Familia die before my eyes... You saw it...
Sora: Then... I also let my Familia die... During my fight with the OEBD...
Ryuu: I killed Alise with these two hands...
Sora: Then... I killed my Mother with my own two hands too...
Ryuu:...
Ryuu whispered her confession into Sora's ear. She did it so he would abandon her. But the boy also counter with an experienced that he too feel. He was neither upset nor angry with her. Instead, he gave her a dose of reality just how much the two of them are alike. If Ryuu let the Astrea Familia die because of the Skull Reaper, then Sora let the Zeus and Hera Familia die when he was fighting the One Eyed Black Dragon. If Ryuu thought she killed Alise, then Sora also killed Alfia with his own two hands.
Ryuu: Please... Stop... I'm not the pure elf you think I am... I'm a criminal, soiled beyond belief...
She laid bare her true feelings. These were the dregs at the bottom of her soul. This was the mark of failure branded into her heart.
Ryuu: The elf you are trying to rescue...is not worth saving...
That was the true content of Ryuu's heart. If she closed her eyes, she could see it. Her friends' dying moments. Her miserable self. Alise, killed by these very hands. The endless sorrow and despair she had seen in her dream was eating away at her.
Ryuu: I have no right to speak of justice...justice has been lost for me...
Ryuu realized that she was muttering deliriously. She thought of the commandments of the familia that had meant everything to her, and the ties to the friends who could never be replaced. For the five years since that day, there had been a hollow place inside Ryuu. The hole could not be filled by all of Syr's comforting words or by the welcoming embrace of The Hostess of Fertility. This was the loss at her very core that she had tried so hard to keep hidden.
Even now, the "blessing" of justice carved into her back throbbed like a curse.
Astrea: You have no right to carry the burden of justice.
Her delusional mind spoke to her in the voice of Astrea. Ryuu's face was blank. In its place, her frozen heart cried quietly. She looked down as she spoke her next words.
Ryuu: For me...justice no longer exists.
Her dejected words echoed in the darkness. Sora's steps became sluggish. The strength drained from the hands supporting Ryuu, as if they had reached their limit. He coughed up a few drops of blood, which fell onto Ryuu's limp arm.
Sora: Ryuu... Your words doesn't contradict your actions...
Sora(mind): I mean...
Sora: Look at what you have given me ever since the day we met...
His nearly broken legs stepped once more onto the ground. His quivering arms did not let go of Ryuu. He clenched his teeth inside his bloodstained mouth.
Sora: So...
He spoke as if to prove Ryuu's existence—as if to sweep the darkness from her.
Sora: You will always have Justice...
Ryuu:—
Ryuu's eyes opened wide.
Sora: You've saved other adventurers.
That was on the eighteenth floor. The elf had thrown herself before the Goliath and saved many lives.
Sora: You saved my deity...and Bell, and Rin, and Lili, and Welf...
That was in the war games. Ryuu had run to their aid in the face of Apollo's absurd Will.
Sora: You saved me...!
That was in so many tight spots he couldn't count. Ryuu's hands had led Sora forward so many times when he was hurt or lost or frozen. Ryuu's advice, her words, had always given him courage.
Sora: You too deserve the title of a Hero...always right, always on the side of justice...!
Sora's simple words shook Ryuu deeply. Her sky-blue eyes wavered and grew hot. His honest, unvarnished voice pierced her heart, just like Alise's words had.
Ryuu: No...you're wrong! I was wrong! I lost my hold on justice...!
She could not allow him to offer affirmation to the self that had abandoned Alise and the others in their time of need, and so she desperately contradicted him. But...
Sora: You, wrong? I won't let anyone deny your worth...!
Ryuu: !
Sora: Not even you...!
Sora contradicted Ryuu's contradiction. Drops of red liquid were pooling at their feet. Despite that, Sora's steps were growing more forceful and his words more impassioned.
Sora:...After all...
His words evoked the elf possessed by flames of vengeance. All the same, he argued that justice still dwelled in her.
Sora:...I know you better than anyone in this world...
Sora's Ideal had never changed. As Ryuu had sensed several times before, he had grown beyond recognition. He was meet by a hard crushing reality all his life. But his Ideal remains the same. Meeting the Xenos had changed him. Foolishness and hypocrisy. Good and bad. Caught between these poles, he had suffered wounds and mental anguish. Now he was trying to teach Ryuu something. He was trying to give something back to the elf who had saved him so many times.
Ryuu: Ah...
Ryuu understood already. There were three people whom she had allowed to take her hand. Three people whom her heart had accepted and respected as righteous.
-Alise had led her.
-Syr had healed her.
-And Sora—
Sora: Justice...is alive within you.
Like a mirror, he reflected back the justice she had given him. If Sora was just, then Ryuu, who had given him so much, must be just as well.
Sora: Yes...! There is justice! Within you!
A tear fell from Ryuu's eye. It was a vestige of the justice that remained inside her, which Sora had shown her. Ryuu had stepped off the path once. That was certain. The flames of vengeance had charred her body and soul. Still, within the burned-up sword and wings, the ashes of justice remained.
Sora: We all make mistakes in the past... Both you and me... But that's what we mortals do... We make mistakes... There isn't a single adventurer in the world that hadn't lost anything or anyone...
This was the starting point for the Ryuu who had not turned her back on all those people, but instead had saved them.
Sora: But I know Lion will make the right choices.
Sora had said the same thing that Alise did 5 years ago. Sora and many others could attest to the same thing. If she looked back, she should be able to see it. Many smiles blossomed in the tracks she left behind. This was Ryuu's accomplishment. This was the accomplishment of justice that had continued to exist even as ash.
The ash at the bottom of her heart swirled up to fill the hole inside her. Her elven heart was empty no more. Tears spilled endlessly from the eyes that had been wavering like pools of water.
Ryuu: I...I...!
Unable to deny the truth any longer, unable even to wipe her tears away, Ryuu grasped for words. She did not know what this feeling overflowing her heart was. She had no idea what the Hero, who was looking straight ahead, his warm body so close to her own, was trying to give her.
Sora: For me right now, justice is...returning alive with you.
There was no good or bad in the Dungeon. There was only life and death, only the strong devouring the weak. If justice existed in the Dungeon, then, it was to return alive. Returning alive from this infinite maze was the adventurer's royal road, and their justice.
Sora: Returning to the surface...to where the deities are, to where Syr and our other friends are...!
Let us talk of justice.
Let us do what is just.
The only justice that existed for them, and for them alone at this moment.
Sora: So...I will never let you go!
Like dew falling from a leaf struck by rain, a droplet fell from Ryuu's once-dry heart, spreading ripples through it. In all likelihood, these horrendous lower levels would not let them go free. Ryuu knew that. But she wanted to live—if only a little, if only for a few seconds more. She wanted to return alive with Sora to Syr and all the others. She couldn't help it.
???: Uuu...!
And then, as if to squash that feeling—a black form appeared before them, jeering at their hopes.
Sora:...?! A barbarian...!
Both Sora and Ryuu were stunned to find a panting, snorting large-category monster blocking their way forward. The barbarian was injured. Most likely it had survived the fall from the Colosseum, like Sora and Ryuu. Flakes of stone stuck out of the bulging muscles on its shoulders and arms like scales. One corner of its head was bent in as well. Rage colored the blood-drenched monster's eyes as it glared at the adventurers with something resembling vengeance.
Sora: Uh-oh...!
They were standing in a straight, narrow passage. There was no place to run. The barbarian's eyes flashed viscously at Sora as he stood rooted to the ground.
Barbarian: GAAAAA!
Sora: Ah!
The massive form raised its cudgel and charged toward them. Sora had no way to parry the attack. He threw Ryuu aside an instant before the earth-crushing blow launched him backward like a piece of paper.
Ryuu: Oof...! Sora!
As Ryuu hit the ground, Sora flew through the air, bounced off the ground, rolled a meder or two, and came to a halt. He lay completely still. Not a drop of strength remained in his battered arms and legs. The shadow of his bangs hid his eyes, and Ryuu couldn't even see his chest rising and falling with breath. Sorrow spread over her face as she once again stood on the brink of despair.
Ryuu: —Sora! Please get up!
She screamed. She tried to summon the strength to stand up, but her body would not budge. Her wounded right leg slipped repeatedly, bringing her back down. She could not peel herself from the ground. Ignoring this elf shorn of her wings, the barbarian turned toward Sora.
Ryuu: Sora... Sora!! Answer me!
Ryuu did not notice the change in her voice as she called him. She did not notice how upset she was. She simply continued to call his name, having jettisoned her usual cool composure. But Sora, who lay facedown on the ground, did not answer. The monster strode slowly but mercilessly toward him, intent on delivering the final blow.
Ryuu: Sora, Sora! ...Please...answer me...
Her voice grew weak. In Sora's prostrate body, she saw the forms of her bygone friends.
Ryuu(mind): No, no. I don't want to lose any more.
She did not want to let go of the feeling in her heart.
Ryuu(mind): Please... Not him... Anyone except him.
She could lose anything...anything except him. How ironic that this should happen just as something inside her had been about to change. Her wishes were in vain, however. The barbarian stopped above Sora. It probably intended to bite right into him. It grabbed his head in one hand and lifted him up.
Ryuu: No, don't, wait...
She shook her head sluggishly, tears pooling in her eyes, and stretched out her shaking hands. Mocked by despair, Gale Wind's mask cracked and fell away. Ryuu's true self was laid bare. This was not the feared elf Gale Wind. This was a weak girl who cried as someone important was about to be stolen from her. This was the real Ryuu who had been hidden beneath the adventurer's armor and mask. Forgetting her usual way of speaking, she pleaded vainly in the words of a powerless little girl.
Ryuu: Please...stop...
Sora's body swayed limply as it hung suspended above the ground. The monster jaws opened wide, revealing its hideous teeth.
Ryuu: Soraaaaaaaaaa!!
Just as the tears began to spill from her eyes—
Ryuu:—!!
The azure blue eyes veiled by his bangs sprang open and he drew the sword at his hip. He drove Unity Fox's sparkling white blade into the monster's chest.
Barbarian: GAAA?!
Stabbed at close range, its magic stone pierced, the barbarian's astonished grunt became its final utterance. Sora dropped to the ground amid a thick swirl of ash. For Ryuu, time stood still.
Ryuu: Huh...?
Beyond the swirling ash and scant wisp of smoke, she saw the Hero rise shakily. Before she could comprehend what had happened, he walked slowly toward her.
Sora: I'm sorry Ryuu...I had to draw the monster to me...
Ryuu: Ah...
At those words, Ryuu understood. It had all been a strategy to kill the monster. Without the energy left to raise his arm, Sora had waited for the barbarian to come to him. To land a blow on its chest, he had played the role of helpless prey. It was literally his final gamble.
Sora: I heard you, but...I'm sorry.
He kneeled in front of her and pulled her up. She sat in a daze at eye level with him...blushing far redder than the circumstances merited. He'd heard her pleading like a little girl. He'd heard that pitiful voice. Sora looked somewhat uncomfortable. Helped by her embarrassment, Ryuu forced her teary eyes to glare fiercely and raised her hand. Sora closed his eyes, and she was about to slap his cheek...but in the end, she lowered her hand without doing anything.
Giving in to relief, she buried her face in Sora's chest as if she was about to dissolve into tears.
Ryuu: I'm begging you...never do that again...
She muttered, pressing her forehead to his chest.
Sora:...I'm sorry.
Sora's apology for making Ryuu worry fell onto her hair. The heartbeat that reached her ear told her he really was alive, and because of that, she forgave everything. After a few moments, Sora lifted Ryuu onto his back. They started down the dim passage. Sora's steps were as unreliable as a boat made of sand, but to her they were fantastically reassuring—even if they were the extension of a mission that might cost them their lives.
Ryuu(mind):...I don't sense any monsters. Aren't there any around here...?
Although the dimly lit passage was littered with rubble and monster corpses, no eyes peered at them and no bloodthirsty animosity lurked in the shadows. The barbarian from a few minutes earlier had come from the Colosseum. Ryuu's exhausted mind concluded it must be sheer luck that monsters were not spawning nearby.
Sora: Ryuu, look.
Just then, Sora paused. In the dusky darkness ahead of them, the passage turned. A faint blue light spilled from around the corner. In the Dungeon, changes in scenery signaled danger. Not that turning back was an option, of course. The path behind them was blocked by rubble. Sora and Ryuu continued nervously toward the turn.
Ryuu:—!!
Ryuu gasped at the scene that was suddenly revealed. Although the passage remained the same width, water was running down the center.
Sora: A river...?
Sora was right. A pure blue stream began right before their eyes. Water bubbled up like a pedestal from the bedrock and continued as far down the straight passage as they could see.
Ryuu: A spring on the thirty-seventh floor...? I've never heard of such a thing.
Sora: Neither do I...
Acquiring food and water in the White Palace made of milky white stone was extremely difficult. This was one reason why she viewed escaping the lower levels as of the utmost importance. Even Sora, who had made it all the way to the sixtieth floor with Zeus Familia, had not known that a place like this existed.
Ryuu: To think that this was here below the Colosseum... I guess it was never discovered because no one dared to go near the Colosseum...?
As Ryuu mumbled doubtfully, Sora's mind were somewhere else.
Sora(telepathy): Slyphid... Can you hear me...?
Slyphid(telepathy): Oh... Thank goodness... You're alive...
Sora(telepathy): Why wouldn't I be...? You can sense me after all.
Slyphid(telepathy): It's not the time to be joking you idiot!
The Hero could tell from Slyphid's hoarse voice that she was crying. Even though she could sense Sora's presence no matter how far they are, she was still in a panic state when she saw him and Ryuu falling down the Colosseum.
Sora(telepathy): Let's meet up here...
Slyphid(telepathy): Alright... Bell's been super worried...
Sora(telepathy): Is he alright...?
Slyphid(telepathy): He's fine. And please try to worry yourself more instead of others.
Sora(telepathy): I'm sorry.
Sora silently apologize to Slyphid before dropping the Telepathy and moved ahead. Whatever else this signified, it was the water they had been wishing for. He stepped toward the river's edge, planning to sooth his parched throat.
Ryuu:...!
Suddenly, however, his legs buckled beneath him. The strength strangely drained from his legs, he lost his balance, pitching forward into the water with Ryuu still on his back. The impact of the fall knocked his green longsword loose, and it danced through the air.
Ryuu:...S-Sora!
Ryuu planted her hands on the shore and looked up. Sora was underwater beside her, and did not answer. Through the clear water she could see that his eyes were closed as if he had been drained of his final strength. Bubbles broke the water's surface.
Fortunately, the stream was shallow. Nevertheless, Sora was bleeding, and the blue water soon turned pink. Ryuu reached toward him in a panic. Unable to stand thanks to her injured leg, she remained sitting on the streambed and wrapped her arms around his waist to pull his head out of the water.
Ryuu: I sing now of a distant forest. A familiar melody of life!
She began to chant, clinging to the gray-faced boy. This was the last of her mental strength, her last gamble. She knew full well that she might suffer a Mind Down and end up toppling into the water with him, but she activated her healing magic anyway.
Ryuu: Noa Heal...!
A warm green color enveloped Sora's body. Ryuu felt the strength draining from her fingertips as her consciousness flickered, but she bit down on her lip. The healing was very slow. His wounds would not close. Life seeped from his body second by second. It was no good. She had to stop the bleeding. She refused to let him die.
She squeezed every last drop of magic from every corner of her body, half cursing herself as she did, and funneled it toward him. The edge of the green light spread outward, carrying a warmth like sunlight filtering through the trees. Finally, the light converged. Sora's wounds were all closed.
Ryuu:...Sora.
She whispered his name so faintly her voice could have been blown out like a candle. Clinging desperately to consciousness, she scooped water in her hand and brought it to her lips. Only after confirming that it was safe to drink did she scoop some up for Sora.
Ryuu: Please drink...drink...
She whispered again, so that he could live. Supporting his head with her left hand, she brought her right hand to his mouth. The clear water cupped in her palm quivered. Her fingers touched his lips, which were glued together with blood. As if she was praying, she continued to moisten his lips. Again, and again. Although darkness enveloped them from above, the pure glittering water illuminated his face. He looked as ephemeral, silent, and noble as a statue of the pietà.
Sora: Ryuu...?
Ryuu: Sora... Thank goodness...
Only the hushed Dungeon watched over the elf in her vigil. Finally, Sora coughed and opened his eyes slightly.