Blood…

  Why does it keep pouring out of my body… please stop. I’m not ready to die… I’m not ready to meet Mother… there’s still—

  “Mira, stay awake!”

  Her mind was smmed back into reality, Valoric’s voice echoing from behind the wall where he was taking cover, sounding as painful as the wound in Mira’s abdomen.

  It seemed the knight himself had suffered a gash, blood streaming down from his forehead. Several windows in the house had shattered and scattered across the wooden floor. The attacker, whose position was still unknown, was blindly trying to destroy the wall where Mira and Valoric were hiding.

  Amid the chaos, Mira tried to clear the fog inside her frantic mind while pressing down on the wound that continued to inflict relentless pain.

  “Lady Mira, we cannot approach the enemy in this condition. I suggest—”

  “Shut your mouth, old man. We are not running away or surrendering to them!”

  “But you are losing a lot of blood!”

  “I told you to shut your mouth! Old man!!”

  Valoric’s jaw clenched as he continued to be belittled by Mira even in a situation like this. His gaze occasionally drifted toward the bathroom near the kitchen, hoping Thessa and Yoei were safe.

  “Valoric, I will destroy all of them using the lightning element—”

  “Reckless fool! You cannot decide that on your own!”

  “At least listen to me first!”

  They locked eyes once more, ignoring the wreckage inside the house as the wind-based attacks unched by the Silthroat showed no sign of stopping.

  Their glued gazes finally nded together on a rge fallen shield that had crashed down with a deafening sound. It was big enough to protect Mira’s slender body.

  Quickly, Mira crawled toward it and grabbed the shield while keeping her body as low as possible to avoid unseen sshes.

  “Listen, your task is to find their location. Do it quickly before I bleed out.”

  Understanding Mira’s intent all too well, Valoric immediately searched for a safe vantage point to scout the enemy. But the Silthroat were difficult to detect amid the dense trees and thick bushes.

  At times he had to duck instantly before enemy attacks struck his head. Shards of gss were scattered everywhere, small fragments piercing into his feet, though adrenaline dulled the pain.

  Before Valoric could act further, Mira opened the front door with blood-soaked hands.

  “That’s enough. If you can’t find them, then I’ll just destroy most of the area where those throat-slitting dogs are hiding!”

  “Mira, wait!”

  Before Valoric’s panic could reach her ears, Mira had already unched herself outside the house, the shield in her right hand protecting most of her body from attacks coming from the right. Meanwhile, her left hand began releasing sparks of lightning.

  The sound of metal being struck repeatedly accompanied Mira’s reckless advance, worsening her condition. Several attacks nded on her legs, carving numerous cuts that sent blood racing out of her body.

  Just before Valoric could shout again, a bolt of lightning struck the left side of the forest, causing a massive explosion and a deafening roar. Rocks and tree branches were hurled into the air by the brutal bst.

  Before she could recover from the blinding fsh, Mira twisted her body and unleashed another merciless attack. This time it struck the right side of the forest, causing the same destruction as before and scattering even more debris from colpsing trees.

  With legs no longer able to support the pain, her body smmed into the ground. Both of her hands were burned, the shield she held had turned red, and the grass around her was scorched by the assault.

  Is this really how my life ends?… Dying in someone else’s yard without telling the others first…

  I should never have yielded to such an unstable heart, how irritating…

  And I shouldn’t be dying today, not like this, damn it damn it damn it!!

  Valoric’s shouts could still reach her ears, though only faintly. Her eyes caught the light as it began to fade, her body temperature slowly losing its warmth. The wind whispered gently, as if easing death into taking Mira’s life.

  I can’t move my body anymore, everything feels numb… oh? Is it winter today? Ahahaha… it feels as if my body is being buried under snow…

  Cold…

  Maybe it’s time…

  Farewell, this fleeting world…

  I will soon join my mother…