“Nothing you do...is going to make a difference...” the princess muttered.
Miya was a fool. She had to have known this was the end, yet she continued fighting. Her desperate struggle and hopeful blather were disgusting and, at the same time, enviable.
“There’s no help coming... We’re going to die here...”
The princess wasn’t capable of believing in people the way Miya did. She couldn’t live clinging to hope.
“We’re all dead...”
In that moment, Leyfa found herself recalling the knight she’d kicked to the curb—Sofie. She’d been fiercely loyal but proved to be a worthless pawn in the end. The princess rarely regretted her actions, but taking in Sofie had been a complete mistake.
Leyfa only cared about her own gain, and she measured people by how much closer they could get her to the throne. She’d deemed Sofie would be useful to that end and indebted her into service. Or so she’d thought. Looking back on it now, things were less certain. Had she really extended Sofie a hand out of sentimentality? Because Sofie hailed from circumstances not unlike her mother’s? Perhaps it was all because she wanted to see Sofie lose herself the same way her mother had...or perhaps because she wanted to see her choose a different path. The princess couldn’t deny that possibility. She’d made an exception to her own rules and paid the price in the form of acquiring a worthless pawn that she’d then had to discard personally.
Leyfa didn’t inherently regret casting Sofie aside. It was an act of necessity. Having Sofie in her service now wouldn’t have prevented the Legion’s demise on floor 21. In fact, without Miya, the princess never would’ve had time to reminisce about Sofie before her end. This way, at least, the knight had been spared the same fate.
She probably resents me. Surely she’s holding a grudge over her dismissal. That’s fine. Whether she hates me or not, as long as she’s alive... I never wanted to kill anyone like I did with my mother again. Experiencing that pain once was enough.
All Leyfa could do for the pitiful knight who’d served her for half her life was pray. Pray that she’d be able to defeat the demon who killed her. That she’d be able to reach the furthest depths of the dungeon that Leyfa had failed to see.
“I can still...keep going!”
Miya evaded a slashing swing from the demon by a hair’s breadth. Any normal person would’ve been sent flying by the impact that followed, but Miya was able to weather it with Major Physical Boost.
“I can still fight...!”
She made a beeline for the boss, but was thrown up into the air. It was a sudden kick from the demon, which had so far been relying entirely on its sword. Miya never saw the attack coming and took it dead-on. She let out a wordless scream as she flew through the darkness in an arc. She’d long surpassed her physical limits, and after suffering such a mighty blow, her body was giving out in spite of her will to fight.
She slammed helplessly into the ground, and when the dust cleared, Leyfa saw her lying motionless with her eyes open. She was alive but no longer had the strength to get up. Both Miya and her opponent understood the situation. The demon ceased its brutal flurry of attacks and leisurely sauntered toward her.
It’s over...
Leyfa, too, understood what was about to come. Her final moments were passing before her like the last grains of sand falling from an hourglass. This was the end; the slaughter would now begin. The demon would go around finishing off the incapacitated Legionnaires to claim a brutal, bloody victory.
The only thing awaiting us, the defeated, is certain death.
The demon exhaled loudly as it walked toward Miya first, step by step. In a few short moments, she’d be within sword’s reach.
It’s over. It’s all over. My journey to the throne. This meaningless life. Everything.
“Sorry, Leyfa... I can’t move anymore...” Miya began sobbing. Were they tears of frustration? Or fear?
You don’t have to apologize to me for anything. We weren’t that close.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise... Even though I said I’d hold out until help came... Even though I said we’d conquer the dungeon together...”
What a fool. This isn’t her fault. It was my own doing. If only I hadn’t set my sights on dungeon conquest... If only I had prepared better for floor 21... If only the boss’s first wave of attacks hadn’t taken me out... If only I’d abandoned the throne... If only I hadn’t killed my mother... I should have died with her. That way, this story would have ended peacefully without Miya or anyone else being killed.
“Sorry...”
It was too late now. The demon’s sword came swinging down. In her final moments, Miya looked at Leyfa with her brilliant blue eyes. There was no anger or bitterness in them. Leyfa knew it wasn’t the time or place for such a thought, but they struck her as beautiful.
I won’t look away. As with my mother, I’ll burn the end of her life into me. That is the least I owe her for bringing on her death. It will be my final responsibility for my failure here...and my failure to fulfill my mother’s dream.
The sinister purple glow of the blade drew close, cleaving a deadly path. That was the end...
“Spell Shot!”
Until he appeared from the shadows in a burst of wind.