"Selene!"
Lucius's scream tore through the ruined battlefield, as his gaze locked onto her battered form. The sight of her standing, barely, sent a sharp pain through his chest, deeper than any wound he had taken.
She lifted her head.
For a brief moment, Selene met his eyes.
Despite the blood at her lips, despite the deep gash across her abdomen and the way her body trembled, she smiled softly at him. It was faint but warm with all the emotion she had for him. A smile meant to reassure him, even now.
A sign, As if to say I'm still here.
A quiet chuckle cut through the moment.
"How cute," the demon princess said, her voice dripping with amusement.
Lucius barely heard her.
His anger surged and his blood boiled in his veins. Selene was strong—stronger than most he had ever fought beside. The thought of her being brought to this state was something he had never once imagined.
He ignored the laughter behind him.
Lucius ran.
The world blurred as he crossed the distance, his heartbeat pounding louder with every step. Panic clawed at his chest as he closed in on Selene, fear threatening to drown out everything else.
He reached her just as her strength finally gave out.
Selene collapsed forward, and Lucius caught her instinctively, pulling her into his arms. His hands trembled as he held her, feeling how cold her skin was through torn fabric and blood-soaked cloth. He wanted to hold her tighter—to tell her she would be fine, that he was here.
But no words came.
Standing this close, he understood.
Selene's breathing was shallow.
Each breath trembled as if it might be her last, yet her gaze never left Lucius's face. Even through the pain, even as blood stained her lips, there was no fear in her eyes.
"Lucius…" she whispered.
He tightened his grip on her, shaking his head. "Don't speak," he said desperately. "We can still save you. Please, there has to be a way."
Selene smiled faintly.
She lifted a trembling hand and placed it against his chest. "You've always said that," she murmured. "Even when the world was burning."
Her fingers tightened weakly.
"I believe in you," she continued, voice barely holding together. "From the beginning. I never doubted that you were the one chosen to save this world… even without me."
"No," Lucius said, his voice breaking. "I won't accept that. You're still here. You're strong. You can't leave me."
Selene shook her head.
"I know my body better than anyone," she said softly. "And it's already failing me." She took a slow breath, forcing the words out. "My chances… are low. Very low."
Lucius swallowed hard.
Then Selene stepped back slightly.
Her hand slid down his arm—until her fingers wrapped gently around the one holding his sword.
Lucius froze.
Confusion flickered across his face as he looked down at her, then back into her eyes. "Selene… what are you doing?"
Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling freely now.
"My love," she whispered.
The words struck him harder than any blow.
"I wanted us to stay together forever," she said, her voice shaking. "I dreamed of it… a quiet life. A home. A family." She laughed softly, brokenly. "I even begged my mother for the Apple of Immortality—not for myself… but for you."
Lucius's breath hitched.
"I wanted to be the mother of your children," Selene continued, her voice fading in and out. "To grow old beside you. To watch them inherit your kindness… and your strength."
Her grip tightened.
"I'm sorry," she said, meeting his gaze one last time. Her eyes were full of love—deep, unwavering, and peaceful.
"But this is the only way you can win."
Before Lucius could react, Selene stepped forward.
Pain tore through him as the blade pierced her, the wound she already bore worsening instantly. He tried to pull away, panic flooding his body—but Selene held his arm tightly, refusing to let go.
"Selene—!" he cried.
She smiled at him and brought both her arms towards his face. She held his face trying to remember every detail of the person she fell in love with.
"This is it, my love," she whispered. And then her body began to glow, but she still moved forward and kissed him gently on his lips.
"I love you," she said with passion.
Light poured from her, warm and radiant, washing over Lucius as her form dissolved into countless motes of brilliance. In the next breath, she was gone—leaving only specks of light floating around Lucious throughout, the silence and the echo of her final smile.
Lucius stood frozen.
Sword still in his hand.
But his heart shattered, every fiber of his body, couldn't believe the sight in front of him. The person who believed in him the most. The one who could keep with silliness but his devotion for justice was gone.
He knew the reason for her defeat was clear the moment he felt it—the dark miasma that clinged to her body. The vial poison, that was such a cruel and insidious toxin used by the demon princess Lilith. So potent that even the divine power Goddess Celestia had bestowed upon Selene was turned against her, worsening her pain instead of healing it.
Lucius clenched his jaw.
The blade in Lucius's hand, the Blade of Celestial Judgment. A weapon bound to him for eternity and the sword granted to him since birth by his Goddess Celestia. The very instrument through which he had passed judgment upon demons and sinners alike. Its edge had been stained countless times with the blood of evil.
But now—
That same blade carried Selene's blood.
A high elf and the princess of the Elven Kingdom.
And more than that… the one who had treated him with kindness. The one who had shown him what love truly meant.
Lucius tightened his grip around the hilt of his blade. The weight of Selene's death pressed down on him, filling the silent battlefield with an unspoken heaviness.
He closed his eyes and prayed once more to his goddess, asking her to guide him—to grant him the strength to avenge the one he loved. This battle was no longer about purging demons from the world.
It had become personal.
What drove him now was not justice alone, but revenge—an attempt to quiet the pain of a heart that had been completely shattered.