“Fuu… fuu… fuu…”
Alice panted for air. She was basically completely covered in blood. The blood on her body and ripped clothes dripped onto the ground, thereby creating a pool of blood. I struggled to turn over. If I kept lying on the ground, I was bound to die by drowning in the blood.
I turned onto my side and saw Alice dripping with blood. It was no longer clear if the blood dripping off her was her own or the blood of others. All that was certain was that she was surrounded by dismembered corpses and the fat ass’ included. Castor’s Regent’s shocked face was in front of me staring at me. As a matter of fact, she was lying in the same posture as I was except that I had no idea where everything below her neck was.
“It’s over now, right…? It should be over now, right…?”
Alice looked upwards and laughed similarly to a manic. She wasn’t burdened by all of the blood on her. To the contrary, it was as if it was a drug that drove her mad. I watched her stand among the corpses. She resembled a wild animal in battle as she ripped apart the bodies as if she was ripping leaves or something. She loudly ripped the corpses apart. Alice isn’t a technical fighter. She doesn’t fight with technique as Nier does; but despite that, her wild fighting method was very practical. Nobody could close in on her.
She turned her head around and blinked her eyes as though the blood affected her sight, too. She walked over to me. I watched Alice, who was nothing short of a demon from hell, approach me. I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t scared right now, because all of my emotions were overridden with a single emotion, and that was rage.
‘I want to kill the person in front of me. I not scared to die killing her. I just want to bloody kill the woman in front of me. I’ll kick her to death if I don’t have my arms. Snap my legs and I’ll use my teeth. I’ll tackle and head butt her to death if that’s what I have to resort to!’
‘I want my Luna!! I just want my Luna! She killed my Luna, so I’m going to murder her!!’
She stood before me and reached out to choke me by my neck, causing every inch of my neck bones to scream. I stopped getting any oxygen, and my blood flow got cut off. I desperately lowered my head and kicked Alice’s legs, but she just silently let me kick her.
She was great at controlling herself. She wasn’t trying to kill me in one go. Her aim was to make me suffocate to death.
‘If this is my end, I have nothing to say.’
‘I’ve charged through countless obstacles and returned from situations where I thought I was doomed by relying on those around me. I relied on Lucia, Nier and my moms. Luna is dead now, though, and I can’t escape. I let Luna’s efforts be in vain. I let her loyalty be in vain.’
‘I’m so sorry, Luna. I couldn’t avenge you. I couldn’t protect you. I can’t even avenge you this time. Sorry, Luna, sorry… If I could choose again, I would definitely choose to leave you on the elven side. I always bring misfortune to those around me. I caused your death. It’s my fault you had to die that way.’
‘I shouldn’t have let Luna stay with me that time. I should’ve been more resolute and had her stay in the elven lands. If Luna was there, she wouldn’t have died. She’d be dancing happily in the sea of flowers, take naps in there at noon and have a more beautiful and blissful life. She’d have someone better than me love her. It’s my fault she met with this fate. It’s my fault I kept her at my side…’
‘I caused her death.’
‘I was the one who caused her death…’
‘I’m sorry, Luna…’
‘If I was able to make you happy at my side, then I feel a little better. It’s all right, Luna. I’m going to you now. Maybe I’ll be able to catch up to you, since you’re injured and can’t walk fast. I’ll be able to continue taking care of you when I get there, even if it’s hell we’re heading to.’
*Fwoooosh!!*
I suddenly heard several sharp sounds whistle by my ear. The cold air entered my lungs again. Alice let go of my hand, and I desperately gasped for air. I blankly looked at Alice, who staggered a few steps backwards. She grabbed the arrow in her shoulder and violently stared behind me.
“I won’t let you hurt my husband!”
“Lucia?!”
I turned my head around to look. I was in no mood for romantic stuff. I shouted, “Lucia! Run! You can’t beat her!!”
“Damn elf!”
Alice roared at her, and then rushed at her. A mellow sound of bodies colliding and the sound of a sword stabbing into flesh came from behind. As I shouted, I struggled to turn my body onto an angle. To my surprise, I saw Nier stab Alice right through her shoulder. She stood in front of Lucia and used all her might to stop Alice’s tackle. The two of them got knocked back by Alice’s tackle. If Nier didn’t manage to land her stab through Alice’s shoulder, then the two of them would probably have got knocked flying.
Nier used all her might to rip the sword out horizontally thereby lopping off one of Alice’s arms. At the same instant she lopped her arm off, she threw a kick to Alice’s lower abdomen, consequently putting space between them.
“Nier!!”
With one hand pressed onto where blood was pouring out of her now missing arm, she shouted at Nier. Nier huffed and puffed. If she was still the Nier of the past, she would be fine right now. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in a condition to fight a prolonged fight now. Lucia tossed her bow and arrows aside, drew her long sword at her waist and vigilantly watched the monster in front of her.
Nier adjusted her breathing and explained, “Alice, I won’t allow you to put my husband and the man I am tasked with protecting in danger. I won’t allow you to, both as the Princess and a Valkyrie.”
“Get lost, Nier. You carry Her Majesty’s blood in your body right now, so I won’t hurt you, but I’m going to kill that elf behind you now!”
Nier stood in front of Lucia and blocked her off. She fearlessly replied, “I won’t let you hurt Lucia, either! I don’t like Lucia, either, but she’s my husband‘s woman. I won’t let anything that would upset my husband to happen. If you want to hurt any of them, you’ll have to step over my dead body.”
Alice coldly glared at Nier similarly to a wild beast staring at its prey. Nier didn’t say another word. Instead, she looked at me and gave me a little smile.
‘I didn’t know if Nier has a chance against Alice, but I was oddly reassured. It felt as nobody could threaten me as long as Nier was next to me.’
Alice stepped forward so swiftly that she created a whistling sound. Nier stood her ground. Lucia picked up the bow and arrow next to her feet and loaded up her bow.
“Stop!!”
Ice picks came down from the sky, blocking off Alice’s path, while a rain of ice-picks came down back and front similarly to an iron maiden, firmly pinning Alice to the ground.
Elizabeth looked at Alice, who was completely immobilised on the ground by ice-picks, and shouted at Vyvyan, who was next to her, “Vyvyan!!”
Vyvyan looked at everything before her eyes with a cold look and exclaimed, “I told you, I’ll kill anyone who puts my son in danger no matter who they are!”
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