I forced myself back up to my feet. It was extremely difficult, and Alysia only looked on sadly as I worked my way to my feet. Her expression seemed to fall as she saw me get back up again and again.
“You’re still alive.” She responded bitterly. “You are… a Hero then? It is because of my reluctance that you have suffered so much. I am sorry I am not a stronger person.”
“I’m sorry too…” I said, my voice shaking. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you left me no choice.”
My clothing was in tatters, exposing the majority of my body. I was covered in dust and dirt. My hair was tattered. Innumerable bruises covered my body. Meanwhile, she looked about the same as when we started. The fact that I was speaking this way would cause most people to laugh in disdain. To Alysia, it only made her expression more bitter. The harder I clung to life, the less she wanted to end my life. I could see the reluctance in her eyes. Had she wanted to kill me, she’d have done it in an instant.
I’d like to say I put up a great fight and that I gave my teammates a ton of time to escape. That wasn’t the truth, though. It had been less than three minutes since we started battle before I was in this state. The girls were still fleeing, and once she took care of me, Alysia would go after them. I really had no other options left. Since Alysia chose not to kill me instantly, then it would be the source of her undoing.
She took a step forward, but I immediately slammed my fists together and accessed my dungeon point store. All the tattoos on my body which were covered in dust glowed, causing my body to lighten up. It was a scene my girls had grown used to, but to Alysia, she stopped immediately, her eyes widening.
“Wh-what are those… dungeon… blessings?” Her eyes widened even more until they were practically teacups. “More than one?”
I selected my choice and lifted my hand up into the air. “Meteor!”
4th Tier spell, 25 dungeon points, usable only once a day, Meteor. The spell took ten seconds to cast, but by catching her off guard with the blessings, she gave me those ten seconds. As soon as it finished casting, I wanted to jump for joy, but I was way too sore for that. Alysia had braced herself but was confused when I finished and nothing happened. She looked around, trying to understand what spell I had cast. After another thirty seconds passed with nothing, she could only shake her head sadly.
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I was just as confused as she was. I cast the spell. It should have worked. Did it mean something else? Had I completely misunderstood what the name meant? I felt like crying. Was this how it would end? The failure and disappointment showed on my face, and she looked at me with pity.
“You are an incredible man. In any other circumstance, I would bring you to my side.” She finally recovered from the shock. “Since you have fought so gallantly, then I will allow you one strike on me. I will take this as my penance for failing as your mentor. Use your strongest weapon and take your strike.”
She put her sword away and held out her hands. She did this for a simple reason. She knew that the strongest I had still wasn’t enough to defeat her. She wouldn’t attack me unless I attacked her. Once I struck her, she’d use that to give me my final blow and send me to death. It was as simple as that.
I could barely move, and I had used up everything at my disposal. All 27 points were used up. Worse… they were used for good. No Reset. I had truly bet everything on this. Unless I earned more DP, I’d never be able to change my abilities again.
I had to… I had to give it my best. Picking up my sword, I realized the last strike had melted the blade. I tossed it aside. Then, I took a step toward her. Then another. One step at a time, I approached her. Another. Another. It was truly pathetic, but it was the last march I had. It was a march to death. It was anyone’s guess what I would do when I got there. I hoped the girls would get away and get by without me.
“I love you… all of you…I’m sorry…” I sent my last communication but didn’t listen for their replies.
I started to run at her. At that exact moment, I heard a roaring sound overhead. The smoke had obscured the sky above, but it looked like there was a massive fireball growing larger with every second. No, it was Meteor. Alysa’s mouth fell open, and she lifted her hand to the sky as she squinted through the dust. Suddenly afraid she’d counter it, I realized I’d need to distract her. I needed just a few seconds!
Using the last bit of my strength, I leapt up at her and attacked with the only weapon at my disposal. Our lips touched, and my arms wrapped around her neck. Her eyes that had been looking up suddenly snapped back down. Her focus was no longer on the meteor, but her lips below. Somehow, despite her strength, my body seemed to push her. It was like she had absolutely no strength, and as my arms wrapped around her, she fell back to the ground.
The roaring grew louder, and the heat grew more intense by the second. I pulled my lips away from hers, a stream of saliva connecting our mouths as we stared into each other’s eyes. She was looking up at me with a shocked expression on her face. I could see the fireball above me burning and growing closer in the pupils of her wide eyes.
“I’m sorry, but some things are worth dying for,” I whispered in her ear.
If she had a response, it was completely lost in the roaring noise above. She didn’t move, resist, or even retaliate. She just lay there with me on top of her as the world exploded.
I died again.