Back on the Licorne, Livia and Angie had collapsed to the floor, all their energy spent. Livia had drawn on the full extent of her powers, bringing the Licorne itself to its very limits. Its bridge controls had overloaded and were discharging electricity.
“Hurry, everyone! Throw yourselves on the Sacred Tree!” Cleare ordered. “There’s an escape hatch built beneath it!” That was why they’d purposely transplanted the sapling to that spot—so they could eject the Sacred Tree if the need arose.
Noelle lifted Livia onto her back, Yumeria and Carla teamed up to carry Angie, and Kyle busied himself readying the apparatus that would eject them from the ship. Marie was the only one not proactively doing something. She stood unmoving, staring out the window in a daze. That was how she saw the red-black energy ball forming and knew Arcadia was powering up his main cannon to fire it again. The Licorne had managed to pick up the full conversation between Leon, Luxion, Mia, and Arcadia, so they knew exactly where this was headed.
“Rie, hurry and get your butt over here!” Noelle hollered coarsely, cheeks streaked with tears. She was shaken because Leon had collapsed, heavily injured, on Arcadia’s deck. Still, she tried her best to keep it together.
Marie smiled back at Noelle—a woman she considered a friend. She slowly strode toward the Sacred Tree. Kyle and Carla stretched their hands out to welcome her.
“Hurry, Mistress!” said Kyle.
“Yes,” Carla chimed in. “We need to get out of here, Lady Marie!”
Both were on the verge of tears themselves.
Marie dropped her staff to grab their extended hands. She squeezed them tight. “Thank you both for everything. Words can’t express how grateful I am that you followed and believed in someone like me! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I only had as much fun as I did because you two were part of my life.”
Kyle and Carla were too taken aback to respond. Marie released their hands, and a thick barrier as transparent as glass sprang up between her and them, separating the Sacred Tree and everyone near it from the rest of the ship. The two collected themselves quickly and started banging the glass with their fists. Their lips moved, but Marie couldn’t hear anything they said, since the barrier was completely soundproof.
Marie’s gaze darted to Cleare. She was linking herself to the Licorne’s communication system, so hers was the only voice audible to Marie.
“Are you sure about this?” Cleare asked.
Marie knelt and picked her staff up again. Leaning it on her shoulder, she stood tall and grinned. “It’s the least I can do now, at the end, to clean up my brother’s mess. It’ll make for good blackmail material next time I see him, so hurry up and get out of here. Rescue him.”
“You really are the best sister a brother could ask for,” Cleare replied, understanding exactly what Marie intended to do. “Vent the pod.” Together with the Sacred Tree, she and the others began to sink downward.
Noelle gaped at Marie in shock. Yumeria sobbed. Kyle and Carla were both wailing, screaming something at her.
Marie smiled at them and waved. Once they were gone, and she was left all alone, she muttered, “Stupid brother. You really screwed this up.”
When she turned back toward Arcadia, its main cannon looked ready to fire at any moment.
“Licorne, you’re going to help me in this fight,” said Marie.
“Switching master to Marie,” a robotic voice answered. “Awaiting orders.”
Marie grasped her staff in both hands and slammed its butt hard against the floor. Her body began emanating faint light that ruffled her hair. The brighter she shone, the more mana filled the air around her. The radiance of her holy magic was no less magnificent than Livia’s.
“We’re going to block the enemy’s attack. Move in front of the fortress!”
“As you command,” the Licorne answered. The vessel shuddered and shook as it took position.
Marie’s hands clenched the staff. “Please,” she whispered to it, “give me your strength. Let me protect everyone.”
The staff, necklace, and bracelet emitted light in response to her plea. Three enormous magic circles formed in the air around the Licorne, creating a three-layer barrier to withstand the cannon.
Marie had hardly finished preparing these defenses when Arcadia unleashed a blast aimed for Holfort Kingdom’s main landmass, which lay just behind her.
Red-black light wrapped around Marie, blotting out her vision. The first barrier shattered all too easily. The Licorne shook violently, its metal plating screaming and creaking on all sides. Marie’s hands clutched desperately at her staff as she braced herself, feet spread wide so she wouldn’t be knocked to the ground.
“Don’t…underestimate meeee!”
As Marie poured energy into the magic circles, they shone brightly, but the cannon’s powerful blast burst through the second shield as well.
Marie’s thoughts turned to the events that led her to this point. I really am hopeless, aren’t I? By reincarnating here, she’d gotten a second chance at life. She’d fallen back into her old ways, though—always leaning on Leon for support, always causing him trouble.
Yet despite her bad habit of letting him coddle her, he’d consistently protected her. He’d sure pissed her off countless times, but looking back now, she was proud to be his sister. Marie loved him dearly, although she was too embarrassed to ever say as much to his face.
A crack formed in the final shield. All the strain on the Licorne caused fires to erupt throughout the ship. The control panel burst, and smoke filled the air around her.
Marie ignored the destruction. Tears streaked her cheeks, but she kept her eyes focused straight ahead. “Since I ruined your life last time, it’s my turn to protect you. You’ll have to live a full enough life for the both of us, Big Bro.”