1 hour earlier

"Find that lever" she kept encouraging herself forward. Every man and woman outside that tower depend solely on her next choices. To fail is to lose what's left of her past. Of Endora.

She finally reached the top of the stairs and on her right she saw her objective. That lever was right there...but there was something unreal.

"Where are the guards?". She thought. Could it be that all of them are fighting the rebellion that they forgot to protect the front door of thier fortress?

"Why do I even think about this, they need me down there!". She scolded herself and she mindlessly ran towards the lever. However,...

She was not alone at that room and she learnt that the hard way.

The tip of her eyes saw a large object fly towards her. It was too fast. She couldn't have time to to identify that object properly. It was a tall but lethal tool on impact. Whoever threw it was- unlike Diana- patiently waiting.

She felt the blade travel with the speed of light right ahead of her eye pupils and get stuck at the wall. It wasn't how close the blade was about to pierce her head that surprised the girl, it was simply the power that the spear was throwing with. Its momentum was insanely out of this world.

She was nailed in her place as she tilted her head to face her camping and dangerous foe.

"Missed by that much," he said with unusual energy and with a creepy chuckle under his dark black eyes.

The girl faced her attacker with fright. As he slowly emerged from the shadows, she immediately recognized the person beforehand. He was always by the commander's side. To be more specific he was his second-in-command. He was the one who issued orders directly to both soldiers and prisoners every day.

Prisoners knew him by "Lieutenant Biao"

He wasn't that different from his master. He had the same arrogant and offensive mouth. His inhuman actions which don't include the word 'mercy' speak for his character. Despite that, his age was young, more like in the mid-30s or so.

"Looks like the old man began to get rusty for you to run past him without a scratch," he said. Fists on his hip. He was referring to the commander.

The girl pulled the spear from the wall. When it got out, she immediately noticed how massively heavy it was.

She barely took a stance with her 2-hands weapon facing the Lieutenant.

"And what about you? You look energetic enough to face a little girl" Diana teased her opponent.

"OH! You have no idea how much I missed the battleground away from this cursed castle. Too bad you won't survive me to see the end of your scummy coup outside" He finished his word by drawing a big, curved sword with a strange hilt looking. Taking a position halt, preparing for the battle.

With her long weapon along with her dagger. Diana was determined to finish her fight quickly before the main battle shifted in the favour of the wrong side.

She scanned her target. Nothing special was about him, physically. He was young and thin. His light amour covers most of his body. Not strongly built as the commander. Yet, his skills were far from being tested.

She narrowed her eyes, skeptical of how her small dagger would help vs that sword.

Then a strategic idea came to her.

She raised the spear and tried to throw it at him. The spear embarrassingly missed by far, landing away from the target . As her foe just stared with much amusement to the spear rolling to his right, trying his best to conceal his laughter.

The girl smiled cunningly, she had him where she just wanted.

"You should really work on your aimi- Arghhhhh !!" he was taken by surprise.

A very nasty one. flying to the air. The dagger of Diana found his way straight to his shoulder. Half of the dagger was between the shoulder bones while the hilt was hanging outside causing massive pain through his whole right arm of his. The girl herself was taken back by how her plan beautifully pushed through. Literally.

Such tactic was self learned by herself during the month of training at Tagia. It was time to harvest her hard work.

The man was struck back with a painful gasp, cursing how he undervalued his foe. That's when Diana rushed to grab the spear again.

She grabbed it but before she tried to raise it from the ground. The Lieutenant stomped on the spear.

"Out of the way!" She said angrily. Dashing her right shoulder to bump to his armoured body. Strangely, the power of her Dash was so powerful that she was about to knock the man down and he didn't use his sword against her just yet.

However, little she knows what the other side felt. The dagger was stuck in his shoulder, limiting his attacks with the sword. And to make it worse, that Brute dash twisted the dagger deeper in his shoulder. Making it more sophisticating to pull it out. her smart attack made his whole right arm utterly useless, thus. the sword can not possess a threat anymore.

Diana raised the spear. And lunged at the man with questionable courage...

But the weight of the spear took its toll once more on the girl's short arms, and Diana missed by a screaming margin.

The tide of the battle was all one-sided all the time. The girl was on the offensive with the looted spear while the lieutenant was injured in his arm, as the dagger was laying still between his joints making it drastically painful every time he moved his arm to try to use his own blade.

Time worked against her. If the battle period extended for so long. The revolt fire outside will soon be extinguished.

With the pressure of knowing that, Diana swung wide with the spear. yet, because the spear was too heavy for her to carry it, her swing was too slow that the man "Biao" halted the attack with his bare hand.

He clutched the spear and delivered a hilt jab to the girl's face. She felt it as if her face was slammed by a hammer.

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She steadied herself while covering her injured face with her right hand. She looked at her hand feeling aching all over her face.

Blood, he broke my nose! she realized with panic as she stared at the palm of her bloody hand. The man tried to extract the dagger, however, the consequences of doing that were unbearable. It would take surgery for it to come out safely from the spot.

"You are getting slow, lieutenant. You don't want your men to hear thier boss got slapped by a woman, ain't you?"

"Slow? Ha...Those bold words come from a girl who can't get a hold of a simple spear! Allow me to show you how it is used!"

Biao used his leg to lift the spear to his arms.

Unlike Diana, his sweeps were too fast that the spear left a hurricane of wind upon every miss. That said, He was enduring his crying arm and was crossing to his maximum limits.

On the other hand, her agile speed just bought her sometime to think of a new plan. Her dagger wasn't in hand. So she needs to find another weapon...and fast

She looked around and saw an opportunity right behind the man's back.

A torch. A stick which was burning to provide light.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, YOU LITTLE BRAT!?" he shouted. The girl turned a tail and ran towards the lever controlling the gate.

The man ran after her. The girl was expecting that and so with a swift move, she twisted her ankle and ran to the opposite angle. Bypassing him. Seeking a new target. Striking the man's with confusion about her unstudied moves.

She ran and took it from its holder. The heat sourcing from the stick was about to catch with her hair. Happy with her new weapon she turned around to face Biao.

The lieutenant charged with a cry. the spear tip...this time, Stabbed the girl right to the middle of her soft unarmoured belly.

She was taken by the surprisingly fast attack that her brain went into chaos between enduring the pain and realizing that she had a spear in her belly.

Time slows...she gasped heavily spitting blood. Her brain stopped working properly. Her vision began to blur as she gazed upon the sight of her precious blood streaming over the wooden spear.

Terrorized. Her hold of the torch weakened and her fingers were barely in control over the flamed wooden stick in her hand

Because of the shock, her brain began to relieve many dark thoughts, storming her mind. While the poor girl that once was cunningly playing with her enemy. Now, tears clouded her red eyes.

"Is this really it..."

"Is that my end of the line..."

"Those men out there risking their lives to gain their freedom..."

"But they were all counting on me...What should they do now after my death..."

"How would they succumb again at their slavers feet, all because of my failure..."

"They can't return to this stone fortress... not after they had a great hope of breaking free at long last..."

The time passes normally again.

"A torch, Really?! And I thought I was facing a professional".He gasped. "What a disappointment you are"

She couldn't ignore the harsh words but couldn't react to them either. She forced her tearing eyes towards his right sight of him. She wasn't looking at Biao, her eyes were focusing on his right side for some reason. She was watching someone. A figure that was slowly approaching peacefully.

In that era, There was a strange myth. An agreement between life and death, where they both harmonize allowing a small exchange between them. Life allows the person approaching death's arms to see a very close but passed soul right next to him/her so they walk together with her/his soul to the afterlife realm.

Biao smirked. "I won't fall for your tricks twice, I look to my side and you attack me, No chance"

However, That wasn't the case here. There weren't any funny tricks or cunning moves. Diana's glanced at a real figure coming from a dark corner. Approaching with wandering step.

The figure came closer to the light making Diana's eyes widen a bit. It was a woman. She was dressed in a white dress. She was walking with bare feet. Her face was as clean as the snow and her smile was the same as coming from angels.

"Mother..."

She said so weakly and so quietly that the lieutenant didn't comprehend what her lips were saying. The lieutenant thought she was hallucinating because of losing blood. But the real deal was that Diana was looking at the woman she wished to see all her life.

The most person who was very near and yet so far. A relationship that she never understood.

Wanda began to advance until she was right next to Biao. She was so beautiful with black hair made into a perfect bun with a beautiful blue eye fixed with so much love emitting from it.

"I failed you...I..am....s-so sorry mum". She said with blood pouring out of her mouth.

At this moment, the lieutenant heard the mourning girl talk. His victorious smile vanished. Something snapped inside him. The joy of victory disappeared all of a sudden.

The woman kneeled while her face came closer. Her cheeks become so near to her daughter's left cheek. While the woman's lips murmured a few words in Diana's ear...

My sweet girl...you never failed to amaze even Death...

Her eyes were like pearls. They were emitting serenity towards Diana's melancholy heart...

Your time hasn't come yet, my Love...

Live for me, my child...

Those few words filled her with sentiment that was warm inside and mysterious within.

She saw her mother's smile on her elegant face just before she left as fast as she appeared.

Suddenly the pain that once permeated across her veins became half as much as earlier. Back to her senses, she could feel the torch handle in her hand. A creepy smile comes to her face as her eyes meet the enemy sight once...

"Sorry lieutenant, guess what! My time is postponed"

The man didn't understand what she meant by that. During the confusion that was spread all over his face. Diana swung the torch targeting the man's eyes. Once the torch flames were slammed to his eyeballs. The man shouted insanely, covering his eyes with his hands, leaving the spear stuck to the girl's stomach.

Shouting like crazy, the man was as good as blind. His actions also affected his injured arm where the dagger was still there.

The girl fell to the ground with the spear still linked to her body. Seeing what she had done to the man. She gathered her will along with a lot of determination. She grabbed the spear hilt and... after enduring unbelievable soreness, she successfully pushed the spear from her belly. But the escaped gasp that came out of her felt like a part of her soul stolen away from her.

She coughed as blood splashed outside her stomach.

She flinced as she barely held herself just enough to let her stand up. She was unbalanced and dizzy and fell again. So her hands seeked the spear and used as a support for her crumbling body.

Now is my chance

With shaking hands, Diana used the last bit of energy to carry that spear. Pointing it at her helpless and almost eyeless enemy.

She shouted, charging at full speed despite the pain. And...

A hit.

And a decisive one too. The spearhead pierced the man's chest, right towards the heart muscle. The man was first shocked by the blasting hit that retreated him backwards a few steps against the wall. Then and with serious agony on his face. He fell on his knees. He eyed the injured foe of his. With nothing to see but complete darkness as he was blinded by the fire attack earlier.

His lips turned to a faint smile.

"Didn't see that one coming". Those were his last spoken words before falling on his side to be lost in the abyss of his death forever.

The battle was over.

Exhausted, she scanned the body for some moments before shifting her eyes to the lever. She went on, heading towards the lever with unbalanced steps.

She was walking like a drunkard. Her stomach aches had returned with full power again. She was about to puke twice on her way, her blood spread all over the room and soaked all her clothes.

Every step forward was an ultimate test of endurance and determination until she took the last decisive step.

She forced her gaze upon the large lever fixed to the floor of the room. She grabbed it and used what was left of her depleted stamina to switch it to the other side.

She closed her eyes and listened...that was the sound of victory...that was the sound of numerous knights bashing through...that sound...was the sound of freedom.

At that very moment, every organ in her weak body gave up one by one. She turned around and fell on her base. She dragged herself to one side of the room, staining the floor with more blood as she leaned her back to one side of the wall.

She forced a smile on her tearing face. Proud of her accomplishment. She couldn't help closing her eyes to pick some rest. She deserved it. After all, that battle was her ultimate victory over the castle, no matter the cost.

If her father will enjoy his freedom at the expense of handing her life away, she will gladly comply. She closed her eyes, feeling strange relief that relaxed her body, as the girl's brain gave up as well and collapsed altogether.