Blades clashed under the scorching sun yet not a single drop of blood was spilled as Olivia desperately fought against two of the three Auristers. "What are you two doing?" the leader asked while hanging back to watch. "Stop playing around."

"It's…harder than it looks, Captain!" one of the knights complained as he deflected a thrust from Olivia and tried to counter her only to have his blade parried. "She's actually trying to kill us!" The Aurister's aura sparked as Olivia's blade made contact and was deflected off.

"Tch," Olivia clicked her tongue in annoyance and continued her assault against the two shadow knights. Her speed was noticeably lacking without her aura to boost her abilities, and any attack she did manage to land was deflected by the Auristers concentrating their aura into armor. Another thrust to one of the knight's stomachs led to another deflection, but Olivia's eyes caught the knight lurching back from the blow.

"Settle down, Lady!" The second Aurister complained as he went to use the pommel of his sword to bash Olivia's head and potentially knock her out. "We're trying to help-!?" Olivia spun her body to dodge the strike and used the opening to test a theory that crept into her mind. She knew the attack would be deflected, but when she struck the man's elbow she watched his arm recoil from the strike despite not being cut.

"Right… Flexible armor," Olivia mumbled to herself as she suddenly backed off from the fight and kept her distance from the Auristers. The tip of her blade was aimed at the men as she started sizing up her opponents.

"Had enough?" The first knight she was facing was still in good condition and had a relaxed posture.

"Stop wasting time." The leader was hanging back and in perfect health.

"Right, Captain." The second knight she was facing was subtly panting and kept his ready stance since he was the one Olivia had attacked the most. At a glance, he was the easiest target to execute her plan against, but Olivia had a different idea.

"Again?" the first knight muttered as Olivia charged him. "All your doing is delaying your-" He blocked Olivia's strike and watched, confused, as Olivia dropped her sword. "Wha-?" Olivia suddenly grabbed the man's shoulder and started wrestling him. Since he was so relaxed against her, Olivia could exploit his lowered guard while leaving the tired one for later. "Hey! Get off me!" He swung his arm to bash her off but Olivia used the swinging arm to bring her body around to the man's back. Once behind him, Olivia wrapped her legs around his stomach to keep her balance and stop him from throwing her off. "Get her off!" he yelled to his partner as he started elbowing Olivia's sides. "Get her-" Olivia reached across the knight's face with her right hand and dug her fingers into his left cheek and jaw while her left hand reached across the knight's chest and firmly grabbed his right shoulder. Despite being locked in a room for weeks, Olivia still held deceptively strong muscles from training for endless hours to pass and keep track of time. With a sickening cracking and popping sound, Olivia broke the shadow knight's neck.

"…" Olivia released her hold on the corpse as it limply fell to the ground.

"…Huh?" The two remaining shadow knights took a moment to register what Olivia had done. When Auristers solidified their aura into armor, they were still able to move their body completely unimpeded since nothing was physically restraining them. This freedom, as Olivia discovered, was a liability if the Aurister's opponent didn't try to attack with a weapon. Freedom of movement meant the freedom to bend limbs the wrong way, and the freedom to snap the neck. "…You!?"

"…" Olivia knew this trick would only work once and she watched the two remaining knights fully raise their guard against her. One was still showing fatigue, but now the leader was getting involved, and he was still fresh. Olivia picked up her dropped sword and readied herself for the tough battle ahead.

"Don't blame us for no longer showing restraint, Lady Olivia!" the Captain spat and charged Olivia. Their blades clashed and Olivia's knees almost buckled under the force of the leader's aura-infused strike. Even if she could out-rank him in raw strength, aura could close and surpass any gaps in physical prowess.

"…?" Olivia's eyes shifted as the second shadow knight moved behind her with his sword raised to slash her back. Shifting her weight, Olivia deflected the Captain's sword down her blade and into the dirt, spun around with the deflection, and fell into the second knight's legs.

"Agh!" the knight screamed as Olivia intentionally fell in a way to put all the weight of her fall onto the man's knee. Olivia grabbed the man's ankle, pressed forward, and hyperextended the man's knee to bend the leg in the wrong direction.

"Damn it!" the Captain shouted as he yanked Olivia off his subordinate and finally delivered a swift punch to the side of Olivia's head. However, in his anger, the man's aura was infused into the punch and Olivia was sent flying across the yard.

"???" Olivia tasted dirt but swore she was looking at the sky, and a high-pitched ringing sound ripped through her ears that blocked out the world. She tried to get up but had no strength in her arms that uselessly flopped against the ground. The vision in her left eye was blurry beyond comprehension and the vision from her right was spinning and made her want to vomit. Her sword was still clutched in her hand via a death grip that refused to let go.

"Damn, can you get up?" the Captain's voice sounded further away than it should but Olivia couldn't turn her head to check.

"No," the other shadow responded with a pained gasp. "Just take the girl and go. I'll try to get out, but we have to complete our objective, Captain!"

"…Right." Olivia felt the tremors of the Captain's footsteps on the earth and once more tried to lift herself up. "You…just had to make things difficult!"

"!?!" Olivia was sent flying as an aura-infused kick slammed into her stomach.

"Captain, there's no time!"

"Damn it, I know!" the Captain shouted back as he watched Olivia's body tumble away. "I'm just…?" The Captain's words trailed off as he watched Olivia struggle to her feet. With shaky hands, she raised her sword at the Captain despite her eyes holding little focus. "You should really quit now, Lady Olivia, because I'm no longer going to treat you nicely!"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"…" Olivia stumbled as she tried to stand still and did her best to breathe despite her lungs never being satisfied with her gasps for air. The vision in her right eye was no longer spinning, but her left was still blurry and would be useless in a fight. Her mouth was dry as she tried to swallow anything to parch her throat. She knew she had no chance of winning and could feel the fractured segments of her skull from the Captain's punch, now she was just trying to piss off the Captain in an attempt to have him accidentally kill her. If Terence got a hold of her, he would most likely use her as a hostage to control Lucina and the Duke in his bid for the throne. But if Olivia died, then her father and Lucina would go on a rampage, just like the other endings. "…" It was a morbid plan that didn't seem to faze Olivia as much as she knew it should have, but she hated the alternative even more. She was already the leash around Lucina's neck for James to yank around, she refused to be the one for Terence next. Defiantly, tauntingly, Olivia raised her trembling sword to a ready position with the point aimed at the Captain.

"…You." The plan to have James' shadows kill Olivia in the raid to pit Richard against James failed. The plan to 'rescue' Olivia and whisk her away to be used as a bargaining chip with Countess Sanguine and Richard was closing in on failure. And now, one of the Captain's subordinates was dead while the other would likely die from his injury slowing him down enough for the Hellhounds to find him. Terence wanted Olivia, but he never specified she had to be all together. "Will you calm down if I cut off your legs, I wonder?"

"…" Olivia kept her sword raised and glared at the Captain. When the Captain attacked, Olivia planned to intentionally lean into the attack to maximized the damage. She readied her heart for one last attack and made an uneasy peace with her death. "Come o-…?" But as she prepared for her last stand, a semi-transparent pink square appeared in front of her vision.

(Muz's Bargain)

(Impressed by your resolve and tenacity, the Bloodied Sister wishes to offer you a boon. However, you must always remember: there is no such thing as a free lunch.)

(Challenge: Don't get hit.)

(Effect 01: The slave collar's seal on your aura will be broken by the goddess Muz. This will not remove the collar and you will still be forced to follow commands when ordered by appropriate parties.)

(Effect 02: You will immediately receive enough damage to drop your Health to '1' and will be unable to heal for the next '2' minutes.)

(Accept) (Decline)

"…" Olivia stared at the window with a bewildered expression. "…A deus ex machina?" she couldn't help but bitterly chuckle despite how much it hurt. It seemed that Lady Muz had a terrible sense of taste if she was only offering this when she knew Olivia had no other alternatives. "You couldn't…have offered sooner?" Olivia spat. Even if the second effect was terrifying and she had already resigned herself to death…she wanted to live. Olivia wanted to feel the warmth of Lucina holding her at least one more time, to be lost in a happy bliss in the arms of a lover. And the gods knew this, just like how they knew Olivia would tap the 'Accept' button. "What petty gods."

"What are you mumbling…about?" The Captain stopped in his tracks a few yards away from Olivia when a white flower petal fluttered across his vision. Then another. Then another. "What…is…?" In the blink of an eye, the front yard of the mansion was filled with white lily flowers that softly swayed in the wind. A sweet and subtle floral scent wafted through the air as the wind created a rippling wave effect in the sea of flowers. A sea of flowers that was bursting forth from being trapped in a bottle for so long.

"C-Captain?" the injured shadow knight was awestruck as he was surrounded by flowers made of white aura. White petals danced happily as freedom was once more theirs and they excitedly explored the yard.

"This is…impossible." The Captain's gaze returned to Olivia who was no longer trembling on her feet. An expression of calm was on her face as she stared up at the sky, looking at something that wasn't there. There was now a glowing crack that ran across her slave collar that the flower petals were leaking out of. Slowly, calmly, Olivia lowered her gaze to meet the Captain's. As the Captain tried to speak, blood started pouring out of Olivia's ears and out of her nose.

"!?!" The aura lilies turned a sickly yellowish-brown as they wilted along with their creator and the petals in the air shriveled up, turning into dust on the wind. Olivia stabbed her longsword in the dirt to use as a crutch to steady herself as she was met with the most intense pain she had ever felt in her entire life. It felt like someone was taking a blender to her organs and even her bones ached to send more pain coursing through her body. Her skin started to itch and invisible bugs crawled underneath it, making Olivia want to tear her skin off. The whites of her eyes were flooded red as her blood vessels burst, her stomach churned, her eyes shed tears of blood, and her lungs burned desperately for air."!!!" Olivia tried to scream, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was a torrent of vomit and blood. As Olivia's blood hit the ground, the wilted lilies exploded into bloom as lycoris radiatas.

"Huh?!" The shadow knights were now in a glowing scarlet sea as Olivia continued vomiting. "What's-!?!" A sharp pain ran up the side of the Captain's leg and he looked down to see that his pant leg had a perfectly clean cut through it. He felt blood trickling down his leg and he was about to panic but stopped as he watched one of the aura flowers gently brush against his leg from the wind. The flower's stamens sliced through his aura, clothing, and skin with seemingly no resistance as it idly swayed. "Don’t move!" he shouted back to his injured subordinate as realization dawned on him.

"Capta-"

"I said, don't move!" These aura flowers could cut through their aura armor just by brushing against it. "…This is bad," he cursed under his breath as he looked back to Olivia.

"…" Olivia had stopped vomiting and was now standing completely still. Her white hair fluttered in the wind yet her face remained obscured in shadow. A statue overflowing with rot.

"…" The Captain swallowed a lump in his throat as he adjusted his grip on his sword into a throwing position. He had no idea how Olivia was using her aura, if these flowers were even her aura since he'd never seen an aura affect an area as large as the entire yard, but he had a feeling that it would go away if he killed her. Doing his best to not move his legs, the Captain drew his arm back and aimed his sword at Olivia like a javelin. His heart raced in his chest as he did his best to keep it under control so he could concentrate. Olivia remained unmoving. The Captain quietly counted himself down, "Three… Two… One!" He threw his sword, point perfectly aimed at Olivia's heart, and the blade sailed through the air.

"…!" Only to be deflected by Olivia using her own sword to bat the Captain's aside. A raspy, wet sigh escaped her throat and Olivia raised her head. Completely bloodshot eyes stared at the Captain with disdain and sent a freezing chill down his spine. Remembering that powerful Auristers could create ranged attacks with their auras, Olivia raised her sword into the air and the lycoris radiata danced in kind.

"Focus your aura!" the Captain shouted to his subordinate as he concentrated his aura fully into armor. "Don't relax! Not even for a second!" Horror clawed its way onto his face as he watched red flower petals fall off the flowers to flutter up and around Olivia's raised sword.

"Die." It was a command coldly spoken with unmatched authority as Olivia brought down her sword in a vertical slash through the air. A tidal wave of red flower petals erupted from her blade and flooded across the yard.

"!!!" The Captain had no time to scream as a wall of red engulfed him. For the briefest of moments, his aura held. Or, perhaps, that was just how delayed his brain was in registering that he had died. As his life left him, the Captain swore he heard an unknown woman's laughter echo in his head.

"…" Olivia somberly watched the wave of flower petals flow out and crash against an invisible wall at the edge of the flower field; the maximum range of this ability. As the petals scattered and dissolved away, the only thing left in place of Terence's three shadow knights were three piles of unrecognizable meat. There was no trace of clothing or weapons, just a pile of red mush that nurtured the flowers. A gust of wind kicked through the yard and caused Olivia's flowers to brush against her bare legs and they harmlessly tickled her skin. Once more, the world was calm. Once more, there was peace. "…?" A semi-transparent pink square appeared in front of her.

(Achievement Unlocked!)

(True Aurister)

(After experiencing life at the brink of death, your soul resonates with the unwavering flame of defiance and grants you new wells of potential. While it is up to you to nurture and cultivate this power, know that the road to the apex of martial prowess is open before you.)

(Unlock the full potential of your aura by raising the Aura stat to rank: 'S')

"…Ha," Olivia dryly laughed at the notification. Did Muz enjoy the performance enough to leave a tip? "I'm not some…circus…monkey…" Exhaustion overcame Olivia and caused her to start stumbling forward in an attempt to stay awake. Now that the shadows were taken care of she had much to do. Were the servants truly alright? Did the Hellhounds manage to catch all the fleeing shadows, or did some manage to escape? "…" Was Lucina almost home? "…Lu…" The lycoris radiatas started dissolving away with the wind and the air was filled with red flower petals. Olivia finally dropped her sword as her hands went numb. "Lu…" Her failing mind and exhausted body tripped over itself and she started falling. Sounds were muffled as her concussion also caught up to her. Everything started to blur. Everything started to fade. "Lu…ci…na?" The silent world that was growing more and more distant rumbled as the sound of shattering glass and cracking ice tried to call to Olivia's slipping consciousness. Something soft and warm enveloped Olivia, and it no longer felt like she was falling. A voice that was impossibly far away yet right next to her echoed in her head with both love and fear.

"Olivia!?" The world went black.