That unbearable loneliness…

The fate of Lune would be decided with this last clash.

As the skystorm neared lune, strengthened by the Formulae Magic inside the sanctum, its presence brought forth violent winds that tear and break. Whether Lune’s many residents: civilians; sword worshippers; and Freya’s allies, could survive this destructive storm would depend on the outcome of this clash.

If nothing was done about the Formulae Magic, then that would be the end for Lune.

Yet, despite the size of the stake, in this exact moment, Freya was only thinking about the opponent in front of her.

You’re lonely, aren’t you? she thought, staring into Lea’s pitch-black eyes.

In this fight, they had traded many exchanges with one another, and she could understand her more and more. Those attacks her opponent had unleashed were filled with frustration and rage but, ultimately, they were all—hollow…

As the kunai traveled ever so nearer, Freya couldn’t get rid of her thoughts. That, though hers was different, she could… relate to her opponent’s loneliness…

I can’t imagine the pain of being left behind but…

She knew what loneliness felt like. She had woken up in a body that didn’t belong to her, without having an identity which she could claim as her own, then forced to carry on with the understanding that relationships she forged as Freya wasn’t truly hers. In a sense, she too was lonely, but…

… I wouldn’t think to sacrifice people’s lives in hopes of curing my loneliness like you.

She kept swinging Lupine toward Lea.

She had no memories she could willingly recall before being awake as Freya, but as she continued this journey, she knew that often some things felt right, felt—familiar.

Like the time when she first fought and won, like the time when she chose the sword, like the time when she developed her fighting style, like the time when she dreamed of her memories, like the time when she summoned Lupine, and—like the time when… she knew the immortal’s true name…

I used to know you.

After having attained the Stormpiercer, she could have set off to Malegonia. Yet, here she was, inside the sanctum, all because she heard a faint voice carried by the wind, a whisper that begged for death.

I must have failed to kill you.

This fight was an unresolved past—one she could not recollect—which caught up to her.

Lune’s fate had vanished from her mind.

Right here, right now, in this instant, only one thing mattered: Fulfilling her responsibility.

I’ll fulfill what I… promised you…

In this moment, Freya’s swing—which would have never caught up to Lea’s—gained speed.

‘!’ Lea didn’t expect this shift.

This acceleration had nothing to do with determination or willpower or spirit. Faced with the limitations of the body, the mind couldn’t miraculously give Freya a boost of strength to speed up her swing. Nor did Lupine had any hidden tricks that she could exploit. Rather…

This was the last move that Freya had.

Anything less than a 4 would never hit Lea, not in normal situations; hence, Freya had to bring forth an abnormal situation that could allow victory.

Her preemptive attacks were—at a glance—2s intended to miss, executed to defend and stall, but that wasn’t all. Freya had thrown those preemptive attacks to get Lea comfortable with her 2s.

Carrying damage from her previous fight, it was impossible for her to perform a 4, more so a 5. Thus far, with patience and perseverance, she had only thrown 2s; and, pressured by time and stamina restraints, had finally chosen this moment to bait her opponent’s dash with a 1.

All whilst concealing the fact that she could still throw a 3.

This was the only way she could win:

Lowering and concealing her true current best speed, luring her opponent into a false sense of security.

Lea never realized.

She had gone in because she thought Lupine would never reach her. Lea would have been right—if not for the falseness that Freya had implanted about her true current best speed.

Freya couldn’t sense her right hand, but it could brush her left hand, and she knew that both hands were gripping the hilt of the sword. Freya planted her feet on the ground, rotated her torso; bringing the weight of her body into the momentum, and—giving the blade her sharpest—she swung Lupine.

Lea had fallen for her trap.

As the sword traveled faster than the kunai, Freya could see a hint of a smile in Lea’s face, one that accepted the lethality of the blade.

Zrash!!

A curtain of blood rose into the air. Lea received the slash in full.

***

…

Kokuri fell toward the ground. Her strength to stand was cut by the slash, and her immortality couldn’t regenerate this wound. The pain… The piercing sting followed by the searing blood gushing out, it hurt. More so when her back crashed onto the ground.

Vwam!

Sharp on the front, blunt on the back.

It hurts so much… Hey eyes welled with tears.

She might be immortal, but she never grew used to pain. If anything, pain felt worse as she continued living.

It wouldn’t have hurt if…

The swordswoman, eyes covered by her violet hair, took a step forward and approached Kokuri.

… if you’ve…

‘Kill…’ Kokuri coughed blood, ‘me…’

This opponent who had downed her had the capability to kill her; her cut not regenerating was proof of that. She raised her sword—her amethyst eyes met her pitch-black eyes—and swung it down.

Stab!

Lupine—missed.

Kokuri had remained still, but the blade had instead stabbed the ground right beside Kokuri’s head. The swordswoman then—having exerted her strength—leaned onto the sword to remain standing.

As I thought. You can’t kill me.

You’re the same…

Kokuri closed her eyes.

The details escaped her, but the same thing had happened in her past. In that darkness she let herself fall into, she could see a shrouded figure, someone who had the capability to kill her, but wouldn’t. All because of a ridiculous reason. And she ended up having to continue living.

Ever since, she learned to hedge her bets. In this fight, whether she won or lost, a path to her death would remain open. The swordswoman wouldn’t kill her, but the unsealed Monster Queen would.

With this, I…

The wind and the rain made a silencing loudness, but a voice—warm—pierced through, and Kokuri could hear it clearly.

‘…’ she said.

Kokuri opened her eyes wide, surprised.

The swordswoman lost her strength, then fell to the ground with her front, landing right beside Kokuri. Vwam.

She didn’t hear her wrong.

‘That’s… unfair!’ she screamed. ‘Unfair! Unfair!!’

Tears coursed down her cheeks.

‘It’s not fair!!’

***

The fight is finished.

Ori, the sole spectator, had witnessed the fight from start to finish. To say who triumphed was a difficult matter, as the outcome was far from being straightforward. Her counterpart had struck the final blow, but had overexerted herself and lost consciousness; meanwhile, the immortal—Lea, had received the slash in full, but retained consciousness.

… A draw? Ori was not amused.

A draw in this fight meant that the battle was lost. The Formulae Magic would continue, and the skystorm would claim all the lives residing in Lune.

Fighting against destiny amounts to nothing…

Surprisingly, however, the curtain of this battle had yet to close.

Lea, having heard Freya’s words, turned her body, exposing her cut torso to the ground, then dragged her own self toward the Formulae Magic.

Ori couldn’t help but wince upon imagining the immeasurable pain that Lea was going through as she dragged herself forward. She left behind a trail of endless blood as she progressed, repeating the word “unfair” countless times.

Was that… promise… so important to you? Ori was amused. So much that you would endure this pain?

Having arrived near the Formulae Magic, Lea used her blood to alter what had been written. A few strokes of crimson were all it took to change it, and a strong pulse radiated from the Formulae Magic once done. Then, the rumbling outside seemed to cease.

…

Ori glanced down toward her counterpart. She hardly accepted this outcome but had a hint of a smile in her expression, for the result was irrefutable.

You’ve won.

‘I suppose,’ Ori said, ‘I’ll try fighting destiny too.’

In that moment, Freya’s body radiated a white light, which grew and enveloped the whole of Lune like a kind sun.

***

Kokuri had done it.

She had foolishly cancelled the strengthening of the skystorm. Now, the unsealing the Monster Queen would be an uncertainty that she couldn’t predict.

All because of a ridiculous promise.

‘The same…’ she muttered as she stared at the unconscious violet-haired swordswoman. ‘Unfair…’

***

‘I’ve decided.’ She smiled. ‘I’ll… break your curse, so you can live a normal life. I promise.’