Sivina could see the man in front of her, though the smoke billowing from the uncountable charred corpses made it difficult to see in the distance. She did not want to praise an enemy, but he was majestic, his upright posture showed that he was a true king

King Yu Zao of Mora was pointing his sword at Sivina, waiting for her to stand up.

“Yu...”

Standing in front of a man intent on killing her, Yu was her first thought.

Sivina was usually brave, there were few times when she was afraid of anything, but now Yu's disappearance frightened her so much that she trembled.

The uncertainty of Yu's condition made Sivina's heart flutter like a little sparrow, but this sparrow had broken wings. Sivina's beating heart was exhausting her.

She had dropped her sword, so she scanned the ground with reddened eyes, looking for a sword she could use. When she found an ordinary one, she reached for it, picked it up and stood up.

“Just because Yu isn't here now doesn't mean he's dead. I thought he was dead when he fell into the lake but he survived. He can survive again, he can surprise me again. Yu is not someone who can die.”

When she stood up, she thought about what she should do. Should she attack like an ordinary enemy? She shook her head to herself, treating Yu Zao as an ordinary enemy would be an insult to his warrior character.

“Sivina Ecues, Knight of Virgo,” she said.

Yu Zao was a king and if she was going to duel a king, she had to do it by the book. So she gave him her name.

“Virgo Knight, hmm?” Yu Zao looked at Sivina in a concerned manner. Then his face fell a little. “I'm sorry for the death of your friend, and for his sake, I did what I had to do.”

“My friend...” There was only one Virgo Knight besides Sivina.

“Link Yachi Long,” Yu Zao said. “I gave him the chance to surrender because he's my blood, and even though I did it to him because he's my blood, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't make the same offer to you, who's in the same position as him. So...”

“I refuse.”

Sivina's answer was definite. Yu Zao was stunned for a moment, then smiled. “Your loyalty is admirable. I wish you were on my side.”

If Sivina had surrendered and sided with him, she would not have had the loyalty Yu Zao appreciated.

“Link and I have different loyalties...” she said in a low voice. Her intention was not to make her voice heard by Yu Zao.

Link was a good man and she was sad about his death, but she couldn't think anything but Yu.

Yet when she stopped and compared herself to Link, she could tell that Link was loyal to the Virgo Cathedral and she was loyal to Yu.

Her loyalty, unlike Link's, was not born out of a sense of duty, but out of love. Sivina would never be loyal to anyone the way she was loyal to Yu.

And she would never fall in love with anyone else. Whether she got him or not, Yu would be the first and the last, in every sense.

“So...” Yu Zao sighed. “King Yu Zao.”

He introduced herself in an incomplete way, but Sivina didn't want to waste time on details. She had to get past Yu Zao and find Yu as soon as possible.

She rushed forward.

She brought his sword to Yu Zao's chest like a bolt of lightning. She intended to plunge the sword into his heart, to finish him off in one stroke.

Of course, his opponent was not going to die so easily.

Yu Zao used the sword in his hand to defend himself. His sword was heavier than the sword Sivina found on the ground and Yu Zao was stronger than Sivina. So when he struck Sivina's sword with force, Sivina dropped her sword.

“How?” she said, staring at her fallen sword in amazement.

Yu Zao thrust his sword forward into Sivina's chest, just like Sivina had just done.

“RHAE!”

The sound of a little girl tearing herself apart reached Sivina's ears with the howl of a wind.

The storm that ripped through the smoke, stirring up dust and soil, had a specific target - Yu Zao Long.

“Whoa!”

Before Yu Zao's sword could plunge into Sivina's chest, the storm slammed into him and the majestic king let out a pained cry and disappeared into the smoke billowing from the other charred bodies.

“Y-Yurine? Yu?”

If it was a wind spell, Yurine must have cast it. Ana could also cast wind magic, but she was sure that the voice she heard was Yurine's.

If Yurine was here, Yu had to be here. Yurine wouldn't have let Yu get hurt. She must have protected him and brought him safely to Sivina.

“It's me,” Yu said. He was still wearing his helmet and walking right next to Yurine.

Sivina had just been about to die, but now she had forgotten that. She smiled to see Yu safe and sound. Earlier she had been crying because she was worried about Yu, but now her tears were tears of happiness.

Hearing his voice gave Sivina strength. With that strength she could fight, and for Yu, she had the power to do so. The strength she was looking for was there.

“Are you okay?” Yu asked.

“Yes.”

Sivina's response was one of unconditional surrender. She had never before experienced any emotion as sincere as the feelings she poured into her voice.

“Good.”

But unlike Sivina's voice, which was full of emotion, Yu's voice was cold and there was no trace of the happiness in his eyes that Sivina carried.

“Where are the roarons? Where's Keichi?” Yu asked as he drew his black sword that once belonged to a demon. “Is there no one else?”

Yu's black sword seemed to absorb light. The world around the sword was colorless, lifeless.

“I don't know. I looked up and saw Yu Zao first,” Sivina said. She picked up the sword she had dropped. When she saw that Yu was carrying a shield, she looked down and found one too.

“Keichi... Fucking fake bastard...” Yu muttered. Sivina could barely hear his voice as he approached her.

“Do you really consider him your friend?”

As Sivina asked the question, she turned to face where Yu Zao was flying. Yu put his back to her and looked in the opposite direction. Yu Zao didn't look like the type to run away, it was only a matter of time before he reappeared and attacked.

“Of course...” Yu said. Even though his back was turned, she could tell he was gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Sivina didn't know why he lied so persistently. Was she trying to convince himself that he was friends too? Couldn't he at least tell the truth when Keichi wasn't around?

“FÂ!”

Sivina saw a glowing silhouette ahead, then a wave of flames broke through the smoke and moved directly towards her. As the flames suddenly collided with the wall of wind that surrounded them, Sivina felt the heat hit her face.

The flames Yu Zao sent out surrounded the dome-shaped wind wall, turning it red for a moment, but soon disappeared.

Yurine turned to face Yu Zao, who was running towards them. “Yu, that man has a sword fairy.”

“Fuck him.”

When Yu Zao jumped on them, his sword burst into flames, its size seemed larger than Sivina had first seen, and the flames were brighter.

The sword was aimed at Yurine, who was standing in the middle of Sivina and Yu. To protect Yurine, Sivina and Yu simultaneously raised their shields and overlapped them, preventing the sword from coming down.

“Motherfucker, are you targeting a child?”

Without a word Yu Zao put his strength into his sword, which was burning in flames and getting heavier and heavier. Sivina was sweating from the heat and couldn't keep her eyes open.

“Yurine!” & “Fâ!”

Yu and Yu Zao shouted at the same time, and the wind from Yurine and the flames from Yu Zao's sword collided. The colliding spells created an explosion and all four of them were thrown to separate places.

Now they were all lost in the smoke again.

“Don't say something horrible like I want to kill a child. I'm only targeting a half-immortal sword fairy.”

Yu Zao responded to Yu's insulting words in a very calm tone. His voice did not come from one place, but from all four sides.

“Yu! Where are you?!”

And this voice was also coming from all four directions. It belonged to Yurine, but Sivina couldn't see her anywhere.

“What kind of magic is this?”

Her heart leapt when she heard the sound of the two steels clashing. Amidst the sounds of swords coming from all directions were Yu's curses.

“YU!” Sivina shouted as she began to hear hoofbeats. It was getting louder and louder.

Trusting her instincts, she took a step towards where she thought Yu would be, and the animal, whose hooves she had heard, rushed at her. Sivina threw herself back, expecting a sword blow, but there was no rider for the horse that passed her by.

“Yu!” Yurine shouted again. Sivina could still hear the sound of swords.

“Agh! Bastard!”

She heard a short groan followed by another short curse. The voices belonged to Yu, of course. Yet they did not come from one direction, so Sivina could not understand where he was, and stood in the middle of the square.

“YU!” Yurine screamed when she saw the flames glowing in the smoke.

Although the direction of her scream was unclear, the source of the flames was clear. Sivina started running towards the two silhouettes in the flames. The larger of the two silhouettes brought his sword down one after the other, while the smaller silhouette hid behind a shield.

The sound of the sword striking the shield and the flames that flashed as the sword struck the shield increased the fear in Sivina's heart.

Before the next sword stroke landed on the shield, Sivina brought her own sword forward. This time she managed to stop Yu Zao's sword. She tried to hit him with her shield, but Yu Zao countered with the steel on his shoulder.

As Sivina launched another attack, Yu was not idle, he raised his shield and supported Sivina's sword. Together they pushed up Yu Zao's arm holding the sword and Yu tried to thrust his black sword into Yu Zao's leg.

Unfortunately, this move was also unsuccessful. Yu Zao used his knee to deflect the sword. The steel armor was so solid that the sharp point of Yu's sword could only remove the black paint on the armor.

“DOWN!”

At the sound of the little girl's voice, both Sivina and Yu threw themselves away from Yu Zao and lay down on the ground.

Yurine had cast a wind spell. It was a stronger spell than the first one and the winds whipped up the brushwood on the ground and threw it around. Some of the leaves were blown around by the force of the wind and hit Sivina in the face. She had protected her eyes, but her nose and chin were bleeding.

As the wind moved wildly towards Yu Zao, Yu Zao stood still and repeated the word again. “Fâ.”

The flames were spreading not only from the sword, but all around Yu Zao. When the red flames met the wind, Sivina thought the wind would swallow the flames and hit Yu Zao, but it did not. The flames stopped the wind.

“How the fuck did you stop the wind with a flame?”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The same question was on Sivina's mind. When she stood up from where she had thrown herself and locked eyes with Yu, she saw that Yu's face was glistening with sweat and he was taking deep breaths.

“Because he's no ordinary mage,” Yurine interrupted. She had asserted herself and approached Yu directly. “He stopped it with mana, not flame.”

“Even I don't know the intricacies of Fâlyn's magic.” Yu Zao spoke as he faced his three opponents. “But at least I can do it.”

Yu ripped off the cloak still on his back and threw it aside. It was a move Sivina did not approve of, but once he had done so, he also removed his helmet. His brown hair was wet with sweat and sticky. It was the second time he had seen his hair this messy.

“Yurine,” he said as he exchanged deep breath. “It's coming... We have to finish this now.”

“Is it coming at this very moment?” Yurine clenched his fists. “This is the worst moment to have a seizure!”

“It's just, I feel it.”

She was aware of Yu's illness, of course, and she knew that he had occasional seizures. The last one, though, had been in Andromedia.

Sweat dripped down Yu's nose and chin. His breaths were getting deeper and deeper and his face was constantly grimacing.

“I thought my first opponent would be someone at my level.”

“Our first opponent,” Yurine said. “You are fighting alongside a sword fairy.”

Yurine held out her hand to Yu and a white light hit Yu's head. Was it a healing spell? Sivina didn't know what it was, but after the light hit Yu, Yu closed his eyes and took one last deep breath.

“Attack.”

At Yu's command, Yurine directed the winds swirling around her body at Yu Zao. After Yu Zao defended himself with the flames, both sides began to run at each other.

Sivina and Yu were in front and Yurine was standing behind. Yu Zao attacked with his magic sword, the sword fairy.

This time he chose Yu as his target. Yu raised his shield and shielded his chest. When Yu Zao's sword struck the shield, Yu dragged one foot backwards for support and held his ground.

Sivina then swung her own sword at Yu Zao's neck.

Although Sivina was fast, Yu Zao was fast too. In a swift move he drew his sword back and defended himself against Sivina. Immediately afterwards Yu tried to thrust his own sword into Yu Zao's armpit because it was not protected by armor.

But Yu Zao dodged this move too. He immediately pushed Sivina's sword back, turned his body sideways and elbowed Yu in the jaw as his sword went through the gap. As Yu fell to the ground, Sivina tried to strike Yu Zao's head with her shield, Yu Zao ducked and drove the hilt of his sword into Sivina's stomach.

“There is no kuendo against this man...”

Yu Zao was fast like Sivina and much stronger than Sivina. The skill he had mastered was not the kind that would work against her opponent, and because she had taught Yu only that, Yu was also weak.

Still, she had no choice. Yu crawled on his back and backed up a little to Yurine's side, while Sivina moved in front of him and took up a position.

The sword in her hand was not as thin and graceful as her original sword, so she found it difficult to adapt.

When she locked eyes with Yu Zao, she threw her shield at his head. When Yu Zao ducked and avoided the shield, Sivina thrust her sword forward. Yu Zao met it again with his own sword, but Sivina did not stand still. She spun around so that her sword would not fly out of her hand and tried to get behind Yu Zao.

If he succeeded, she would thrust the sword into the back of Yu Zao's knee, but she didn't, the flames rose from Yu Zao's body and Sivina was forced to retreat.

When Sivina stepped back, Yu, who had stood up, stepped forward. He raised his sword up and tried to bring it down on Yu Zao's head. Yu Zao put his sword under Yu's sword. As the two swords clashed, Yu Zao raised his sword, twirled it and brought Yu's sword under his own.

Just as he was about to shoulder Yu, Yu leapt aside and Yurine attacked with the wind. Unfortunately, this attack was also lost in the flames that formed around Yu Zao in an instant.

But they weren't about to give up. Sivina attacked again. She spun around, gaining speed and strength, and swiftly swung her sword at Yu Zao's wrist.

“Uh-”

Still, she couldn't even get close enough to Yu Zao. Yu Zao stomped his foot and Sivina fell to the ground, crashing into the earthen pillar rising in front of her. She gasped and began to cough.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

She heard Yu shouting and then saw the glow of the flames. She immediately stood up and walked around the pillar and tried to get into the fight.

Yu and Yu Zao clashed swords, Yu defending Yu Zao's heavy attacks with his shield.

When Yu Zao brought his sword down on Yu again, Yu again defended himself with his shield. This time he took support from his right hand and tilted the shield to the side. Now Yu Zao's sword was below his shield and unlike Yu Zao, Yu did not fail to throw his shoulder. Despite the flames, he drove his shoulder into Yu Zao's chest and forced him to retreat.

She saw the tip of Yu's hair catch fire, she shouted as Yu threw himself into a puddle on the ground.

“Yurine!”

Sivina thought Yu was shouting for help, but Yurine must not have thought the same because she did something different. She raised both hands and in an instant the bright yellow light emanating from her palms illuminated the world as if the sun had risen.

When the light illuminated the world for a few seconds and then went out again, Sivina saw Yu's silhouette. He was on his feet, lunging at Yu Zao.

“DIE BASTARD!”

He had not expected Yu's voice to be so loud. If he had a shield when he fell to the ground, he didn't have one now, and his tightly gripped sword darkened his surroundings as if it had sucked the light Yurine had just created.

Yu brought his sword down to cut Yu Zao's neck, but his game with Yurine hadn't worked. Yu Zao stopped Yu with his sword.

"---"

When Yu Zao and Yu's sword collided, a thin, moan-like sound echoed in Sivina's ears and she shivered, feeling a strange coldness in her arms.

“Fâlyn?” Yu Zao surprised, but he wasn't calling out to one of his fighters. “Good.”

Yu's sword was still on top of Yu Zao's sword. Yu's reddened face showed that Yu was using all his strength, but Yu Zao was only using a fraction of his strength.

Even if they ignore the difference in mana, the physical difference between them was enough to put Yu in a bad situation.

As Sivina ran towards Yu Zao again, Yu was kicked in the stomach and flew behind Yurine. Before Sivina could make her attack, Yurine used the wind again and cast her spell to tear Yu Zao apart, but the flames rose again and blocked it.

When the flames disappeared, Yu Zao met Sivina's sword. Sivina aimed for Yu Zao's neck again. When Yu Zao defended it with his sword, Sivina spun around and tried to hit the other side of Yu Zao's neck.

This was met by Yu Zao, who pushed Sivina's sword away with his sword and made his own attack. Yu Zao swung his sword directly at Sivina's chest.

If anyone else had made this move, Sivina knew that the armor on her chest would protect her, but with Yu Zao, she thought it would shatter. She rubbed her sword against Yu Zao's sword and deflected it a little.

Now the sword was coming down on her shoulder, but she managed to avoid it by stepping aside.

When Yu Zao's sword was under Sivina's sword, he drew his sword back. The friction of the two steels against each other created an eye-catching spark. When Yu Zao recovered his sword, he attacked again. He was aiming for Sivina's neck.

Sivina brought her sword in front of her neck and the swords clashed and sparked again. Yu Zao drew his sword back and Sivina did the same. Their swords clashed in the air as they both spun around and aimed at each other's chest, and flames spread from Yu Zao's sword.

Sivina had to retreat again because of the flames. She too was having trouble breathing now, the heat was oppressive and like Yu she wanted to take off her helmet.

But if she did that, it would expose her long hair and it was very prone to burning. It would also be very unpleasant if Yu Zao catch her hair.

When she stepped back, Yu stepped forward. This time Yu Zao hesitated to meet Yu's sword, stepped aside, watched the sword hit the ground and hit Yu in the face with the back of his hand.

When Yu fell to the ground, he raised his sword and brought it down on him.

“YU!” & “YU!”

Sivina and Yurine shouted at the same time. Sivina swung her sword at Yu Zao's head and Yurine used her wind spell.

Yu Zao struck Sivina's face with the elbow of his left arm, the sword in his right hand descended on Yu, and flames appeared to meet Yurine's wind spell.

But Yurine's wind was aimed at Yu, not Yu Zao. So the flames met the void, and the wind hit Yu and threw him forward before Yu Zao could lower his sword. So Yu Zao's sword hit the ground.

“AaaaAAA!”

Enraged, Sivina lunged at Yu Zao with a war cry that grew louder and louder. Yu Zao met this move more swiftly than before. Instead of defending Sivina's sword with his own, he ducked and dug his fist into his helmet.

The steel helmet shook and throbbed in Sivina's brain. Losing her balance and her vision darkening, Sivina felt a sharp, hot pain in her abdomen. Then, with the pressure in her chest, she flew backwards, fell to the ground and tumbled into a puddle.

Her head felt like it was going to crack, blood was coming out of her nose and mouth. She had difficulty breathing and the deep and long cut in her abdomen continued to burn even in the water.

Yet it was in her love for Yu that she found the strength to lift her head and drift towards Yu Zao.

Yurine was standing next to Yu and Yu's sword was under Yu Zao's feet. Yu Zao lifted the sword with his foot and threw it far away. Sivina could not see them clearly because of the smoke, but she could see the movement.

“Yu, this bastard is too strong! Let's run!”

“Where to?”

Yurine remained silent in the face of Yu's question. They were on the battlefield and there were likely to be enemies fighting far away from where they were. So even if they fled, they would encounter others.

“And how?”

And was Yu Zao going to let his enemies escape? Yu Zao was fast, he was strong and Yurine couldn't do anything against him with magic. They couldn't run away from him.

Yu bent down and picked up the sword of one of the dead men on the ground. Yu Zao raised his own sword and pointed it at Yu.

He asked. “Aren't you planning to use your sword fairy?”

“She is not something I can use,” Yu replied.

Meanwhile, Sivina's vision was getting darker and darker. She was hurting, but the heat in her wound had begun to cool.

“Yu Zao Long, King of Mora,” Yu Zao said. This showed that he recognized him as an opponent.

“Yu Valarfin,” Yu said.

“Yurine Valarfin,” Yurine added.

“Elaine Jie Long.”

Just as Sivina thought the three of them were about to start fighting, another voice came from where Yu Zao was standing. It was a woman's voice, and hearing it made Sivina's already cold body shiver with a different kind of cold.

The woman Sivina could vaguely make out had white hair and ice-blue armor, but she couldn't give any more details about her.

Her vision went completely black, she could not see anything. Her hands and feet were cold and her chest felt warm, but she knew it was only temporary. She was sleepy.

“Yu...”

Sivina was dying. The cold she felt, the pain she felt belonged to death.

Only Yu was on her mind as the puddle she was in turned red with her own blood.

“Don't suffer... Don't die...”

They couldn't win, Yu Zao was strong enough to kill them both on his own, and now he had someone else with him.

She didn't want Yu to die; she didn't want Yu to feel the pain she felt, the cold she felt. She was not afraid of her own death, but of Yu's.

“Why did I fall in love with you so much?”

Could it have been love that enveloped her soul?

***

“Yu, I beg you, let's run away...” Yurine still wanted to escape.

Of course she wasn't worried about her own life. Which sword fairy cared about her own life? The one she was worried about was Yu.

If Yu died, they couldn't bring her mother back, but Yurine didn't think about that. She just wanted Yu not to die, to live, to be happy.

“Do you think I wouldn't have done it if there was a chance to escape? Do you think I want you to die here? If there was a chance to escape, I would have done it already.”

The sword in Yu's hand was an ordinary silver sword. Yu Zao had thrown his black sword somewhere far away.

When that demonic sword and Yu Zao's sword fairy in sword form met, Yurine felt that Yu Zao's sword fairy was hurt. That was the reason why Yu Zao wanted to get rid of that sword.

“You take care of that woman. Elaine Jie, I think she was a witch.”

“Yu Zao-”

“I'll try.”

Sivina couldn't defeat her, there was no way Yu could defeat her. Yurine cursed herself for not being just like Yu Zao's sword fairy. If she could become a sword for Yu, maybe they could kill Yu Zao.

While Yu was approaching Yu Zao with his sword held high, Yurine was approaching Elaine Jie, concentrating on the mana in her body.

Their battle began when flames and ice flashed against Yurine's wind. The flames blocked the wind, but Yurine realized that her magic had cracked the ice that Elaine Jie had created.

Without Yu Zao's flames, Yurine could have defeated Elaine Jie.

As Yu and Yu Zao's swords clashed, Yurine sent the wind spell again.

In fact, she was undecided where she should focus her attention. Right now she wanted to look at Yu, but she couldn't take her attention away from Elaine Jie.

Instead of meeting Yurine's spell, Elaine Jie leapt in the air and sent the blades of ice she had formed at Yurine. It was scary that she had a big smile on her face as she did so.

Elaine Jie landed on the ground and started running towards her while Yurine tore the blades to pieces with the wall of wind.

“ARGHHH!”

She knew she should be concentrating on her opponent, but when the field lit up with a red glow and he heard a growl from Yu, she couldn't help turning around in a hurry.

She turned around and saw Yu rolling on the ground.

“YU!”

When she tried to forget about her opponent and run to Yu, she felt a strange combination of cold and heat in her stomach.

It was sharp, it was cold, and the cold was spreading towards Yurine's heart, but Yurine's warm blood seemed to want to melt the ice that entered her waist and left her belly.

She was kicked in the back and fell to the ground. As she fell to the ground, she could see the organs in her abdomen sticking out of her waist.

“Yu...” she muttered.

Yurine had forgotten why she was here. She had come here for her mother, but she didn't think about her mother anymore. Even if she was dying like her mother, Yu was all she thought about.

“After all, killing you will kill him, and it was a mistake to fight separately.”

Elaine Jie's cold voice made Yurine shiver. Even if the two of them were to die here, it didn't mean that the death of one would trigger the other because Yurine hadn't turned into a sword for Yu.

“Aghhhh! Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

She looked at Yu lying on the floor. His right arm was missing, and the sight of this absence suddenly brought tears to Yurine's eyes.

He was screaming as he tried to crawl using his left arm. After Yu pulled himself up a little with his left arm, Yurine saw that he had no legs either.

But there was no blood flowing because the veins in his wounds were blocked by the flames of Yu Zao's sword.

“Don't suffer...”

Yurine was a failure. Yu was dying and she had no strength to do anything.

“You think of him even when you are dying... I will always be jealous of the love between you two.”

She didn't care what Elaine Jie said.

She could try to heal herself with a healing spell and reach Yu, but if she spent her mana on himself, she would not be able to keep Yu alive. So she didn't spend her mana and crawled.

“I am pathetic... I am failure...”

“AAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

As Yu's scream grew louder, Yurine's bloody tears and snot merged together and rolled down her lips. Was she going to see her beloved father die?

As she crawled towards Yu, a flash caught Yurine's eye. Yu's chest was glowing. The color of the glow was white, so white in fact that it looked as if it was not of this world.

“Th-this... What?” Yu Zao couldn’t speak properly.

“A blessing,” Elaine Jie replied.

“Chain.” Keichi Tempo's voice echoed in Yurine's mind.

That white glow, Yurine thought it was the Blessing, but the word chain kept echoing in her mind.

“Why did he say chain?”

Yurine's hands and feet began to feel cold, her eyes were glazing over and she felt a strange dissociation throughout her body.

But she wasn't thinking about it, which is strange for a sword fairy, not that she wasn't thinking about it.

The strange thing was that she wasn't thinking about Yu's suffering right now. Her mind was captured by a strange instinct.

“Chain.”

This time the voice echoing in her mind was not Keichi Tempo's. It was her own voice.

Yu's screams continued and the glow in his chest continued to increase.

And he saw Yurine. And she saw the chain coming out of that glow and reaching out to her. That chain was connecting her and Yu. She could feel the mana carried by the chain, but there was something else being carried besides the mana, the most basic need of a sword fairy, love.

This was the chain. Even though it was an artificial sword fairy, her instinct as a sword fairy told her that this was the chain she had expected to see in her three years of life.

The chain connected her and Yu.

“Yu...”

She invoked his father's name before transferring her last remaining strength into the chain and saw Yu raise his left arm as all the mana left her body.

The glow on Yu's chest glowed with the mana transferred from Yurine and turned a mixture of dark blue and yellow. The glow flickered erratically as small flashes of lightning flashed across it.

“AAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Yu let out another scream of rage, and the lightning bolts in his chest shot through his arm and into his wooden hand. As the wooden hand shattered, Yurine saw that it had been replaced by a hand of lightning.

Then the fingers of that hand reached out to Elaine Jie and lightning bolts, a mixture of dark blue and purple, shot towards Elaine Jie.

Neither Yu Zao's flames nor Elaine Jie's ice wall could stop the lightning. The time from the mana draining from her entire body to Yu's lightning bolt was at most two seconds, and the last sound Yurine heard was the thunder striking Elaine Jie's body.

Then came the darkness. The darkness that judged Yurine for her weakness, that humiliated her, that spewed hatred.

But she was only fooling herself because it was not the darkness that spewed hatred, but Yurine herself. She hated herself for not protecting Yu.

And she knew that Yu loved even this being full of hatred. Still, that would not make her forget her hatred for herself.

She died a powerless, failed sword fairy.