We had left the world behind. Even the sky faded away above us. Here it was silent, except for us. Here it was dark, except for our faintly glowing forms. I couldn't tell if we were still falling, or if we had stopped. We simply existed within the nothingness.

「Did you have fun here?」 Alice asked me.

"No, I hated it here." I held my gun tightly still.

Those words boiled my blood as I spat them out. In these games I had been hurt so many times. I was scared, so many times. All around me, people died. Saber. Saber.

Saber.

"I hated most of it," I said. "Some parts were good. But I hated most of it."

Alice looked at me and tilted her head. Her chestnut-brown hair billowed weightlessly, framing her face.

「What would have made it more tolerable?」

"If no one had to die."

「Everyone has to die.」

Those words angered me, because I had no immediate retort.

「Death spares no one. You cannot save a person from death. All you can do is save them from their life. Perhaps you wish to save others from a short life. A truncated life. What I want is to save them from a life without significance.」

"I guess I was significant here," I muttered. I lowered my gaze, my head weighed down by my hat. "I've probably done more important things here than I would've back home."

「And everyone here has been granted powers far beyond mortals. They've lived in a fantasy world. Things that humans had long dreamed of, and would even give their lives for.」

I remembered firing my first Frost Missile, against the wolves on the mountain. How exhilarating it was. The first Frost Missile was magical, and powerful, and it was wholly mine. I had made it spin to impart stability. I was proud of what I did. And I had been so determined to save myself and save Hei. I wanted to win so, so bad. And I won.

Across the void, Alice faced me, waiting.

"...I want Saber back," I told her.

「I cannot return her. But don't be dismayed. Did you know that she was happier here?」

"Shut up," I whispered.

「She was happy to have fought by your side. To have the chance to be your friend.」

My arms shook. My throat felt tight.

No matter what words came from her mouth, she couldn't change the pain I had endured. I hated this world. I didn't need a philosophical, moral reason to. I hated this world because it hurt me. It hurt me, and it hurt the ones I cared about.

Today, I'd bring it all down.

Alice still hadn't made a move yet. And I doubted she could. Gray-glowing frost still covered her sword and body. Hei had sealed away much of her offensive output. But the ice was thawing. She was content to delay our inevitable fight. But so was I; I had mere minutes left before I could use a Deuterium Fuel Cell again.

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Let us fight at full power, then.

「What will you do if you win?」 Alice asked me after a moment of silence.

"I'll try to make things happier around here, I suppose."

The slightest line creased her brows. And then she returned a half nod.

「You can certainly try.」

She shook the last remaining flakes of frost off her sword. It began glowing red hot.

I took out my second Deuterium Fuel Cell and inserted it into Jurmugandr. The ring-shaped plasma chamber began to hum as a pure, white glow overtook it from within.

Droplets of water, sparkling like diamonds, materialized out of the void. They coalesced into streams, and the streams started circling my hand in complex, weightless orbitals. The streams grew into surging tides that enveloped my arm, then spread across my whole body. Sheets of torrential water enveloped my limbs. Intricate bands coursed around my hands and feet. A swirling, singular maelstrom was my chestplate.

"Ascended spell," I declared, "Vortex Shield."

Alice sliced her sword through the air, and flames burst from its edge. A wave of fire struck my liquid armor. The armor ejected a blast of steam, blowing the flames away.

"Leidenfrost Effect," I explained. "Your flames are useless here."

Like my usual Vortex Shield, this full-body version granted me a shield that protected my HP. Except instead of shielding for a couple hundred damage, it shielded me for a couple hundred thousand.

"Can you still use your Proclamation to kill me, if you only manage to damage my shield? I wonder."

Alice gave no reply. Instead, a faint ripple of flames expanded from under her. She dashed at me, upon the formless void as though it were solid ground, each step accompanied by a burst of fire beneath her feet. Despite my defenses, I had no reason to let her engage me in melee. I forced twin jets of water to spout out of my back. Propelled by the recoil, I rocketed away from her. And just as quickly, she stepped upon the immaterial void, climbing towards me on a trail of fire.

I shot Frost Missiles and bolts of arcane force. Her trajectory twisted and weaved through the projectiles, and she deflected them with the flat of her blade.

「I am a hundred meters forward.」

She warped beside me. With a forceful swing, she sank her glowing blade into my armor. The currents of water deflected her strike, and vapor consumed the blade's heat. I stretched out my unoccupied hand. The waters covering my arm accelerated, from steady streams to a furious and destructive funnel, revolving thousands of circles per second and faster than any weapon.

"Vortex Shield, launch."

The water on my arm shot forth. It drilled at Alice's flank, repelling her away.

She bled.

I couldn't just play defensive. My normal Vortex Shield lasted 3 seconds. This version lasted much longer, but only at three minutes. I had to defeat Alice before time ran out, even if it meant sacrificing my defenses. Each piece of armor was individually launchable and dealt a thousand damage.

Before she could reach me again, I sped away upon my jets. We tore through the void, ever accelerating. The trails we etched, one of water and one of flames, interwove and crossed and collided in grand arcs and lines. Crescents of fire lit the void, and barrages of spells volleyed back with matching ferocity.

I launched away the armor on both my arms. Both my legs. My helmet. The armament around my hips. Little by little, I wore Alice down. Soon, she had just under 700 HP left, and I had expended all but my last piece of armor, my chestplate.

I fired that too.

Perhaps she had finally caught on to the rhythm of my maneuvers. This time, she stepped aside just in time to avoid my attack.

Without my chestplate, my Vortex Shield had ended. I no longer had the water jets to propel myself with. I no longer had a shield to take damage for me. Smoke seeped out of Jormungandr as the plasma chamber dimmed. It had overheated; the buff had worn off.

Alice knew, and she closed in, as swift as ever. She delivered a horizontal slash across my abdomen. And just as quickly, she uttered a proclamation.

「Red team has slain an enemy.」

I let loose a soft exhale.

So this was what it came down to.

In her haste, Alice must've missed it. Her slash had left no wound on me. And without a wound, her Proclamation did nothing.

The tiny, golden sword on my necklace glowed with a warm light.

[DEFENSE OF THE ANCIENTS MK. II

You gain 50% movement speed and take 100% reduced damage. 10 second duration. 15 minute cooldown.]

I aimed my gun at her, point blank, and unleashed my final round of spells.