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"Nephren!!!"
Willem, battered and barely able to stand, stumbled out through the hatch and saw Nephren about to fall from the airship.
Panic instantly filled his voice.
By the time Nephren's strength finally gave out, her body had already been thrown clear of the ship.
Without any regard for his own safety, Willem lunged forward and caught her hand.
Nephren's fading consciousness returned slightly.
Covered in blood, she looked up at him.
"Willem...?"
"Nephren, you're okay! Thank goodness!"
"I... I thought I wouldn't be able to save anyone again."
"Hold on! I'll pull you up!"
Seeing her regain consciousness, Willem's face filled with relief.
"Willem..."
"Don't talk!"
"I... used too much Venenum, so..."
"There's always a way!!!"
Ignoring her words, Willem desperately tried to pull her back up.
"I'm afraid the gate is about to open... and when it does, this airship will..."
"There's always a way!!!"
Nephren's bloodshot eyes remained calm despite the gradual collapse of her personality.
Looking at Willem's desperate expression, she spoke softly.
"Willem, helping others is our duty as Fairy Soldiers..."
"Nephren, what are you talking about?!"
Willem immediately understood what she meant.
For a moment, he found himself unable to respond.
"Besides, Willem... you and Kaito have already saved us."
"It's just a shame I won't get to see Kaito one last time."
"So it's okay now..."
For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Nephren's usually expressionless face.
Then she gently twisted her wrist.
Her hand slipped from Willem's grasp.
Willem stared blankly as Nephren's body continued falling toward the earth below.
Countless memories flashed through his mind.
The daughters he failed to save five hundred years ago.
The unconscious Chtholly.
Kaito buried beneath the collapsed cavern.
And now Nephren.
"What kind of joke is this!!!"
Without hesitation, Willem released his own grip and threw himself after her.
As Willem and Nephren plummeted toward the ground, another scene unfolded aboard the airship.
Lying in a pool of blood, Nopht struggled to remain conscious.
"This is really bad..."
"I can't move at all."
"It's kind of funny."
"Why can't I die?"
"I should've died a long time ago."
She failed to notice the faint golden light that continuously enveloped her body.
At that moment, a blood-red figure picked up the weapon lying beside her.
"Hey, idiot... you're awake?"
"Hurry up and find somewhere to hide... Chtholly!"
Nopht weakly called out to Chtholly as she walked toward the damaged hatch.
Hearing her voice, Chtholly glanced back briefly before continuing forward.
Then she saw it.
Through a crack in the damaged hull, she saw Willem holding Nephren while falling toward the earth below.
"There's really no helping you."
Watching Chtholly continue forward, Nopht struggled to crawl after her.
"Stop, Chtholly!"
"Don't go!"
"We'll fight your share too!"
"So if you don't have to fight anymore, then don't!"
"If you can find happiness, go grab it!"
"Otherwise, we won't be able to accept it!"
By the end of her plea, tears were already streaming down Nopht's face.
Chtholly quietly gazed toward the distant sunset.
"Sorry."
"I can never be happy again."
Then a brilliant smile appeared on her face.
"Because I realized something..."
"I've already been very, very happy."
With those final words, she leaped forward.
Her crimson figure shot toward Willem and Nephren like a streak of light.
Within the depths of Chtholly's consciousness, Elq raised both tiny fists and shouted loudly.
"Burning books... shattered silver moon... princesses killing each other... lies spoken by the dead... trembling great bell!"
"Milk pillars falling from the sky... ribbons dancing through the air... Chtholly!"
"Go for it!!!"
As though responding to Elq's encouragement, Chtholly spread her wings.
Like a crimson meteor, she rushed toward the two falling figures.
Meanwhile, Willem held Nephren tightly and looked at the rapidly approaching ground.
"At least save her..."
Boom!!!
A deafening impact shook the earth.
Dust erupted into the sky.
As the cloud gradually dispersed, an enormous crater appeared where they had landed.
Willem and Nephren remained completely unharmed.
Chtholly's wings had wrapped around them, shielding them from the impact.
Nephren regained a sliver of consciousness and weakly turned her head.
"Chtholly..."
Chtholly gently waved her hand.
The crimson color in Nephren's eyes slowly faded away.
Moments later, she lost consciousness again.
After confirming Nephren was safe, Chtholly turned toward the unconscious Willem.
Her eyes were devoid of life.
Then she tightened her grip on her weapon.
Facing the sunset, she charged alone toward the endless swarm of Beasts.
One Beast after another fell.
At the same time, more and more wounds appeared across her body.
Eventually, Willem slowly regained consciousness.
The moment he saw Chtholly fighting alone, agony filled his eyes.
"Chtholly..."
Her strength was rapidly fading.
Finally, Chtholly unleashed her final attack.
She opened the Fairy Gate.
A colossal mushroom cloud erupted before Willem's eyes.
The cloud was an eerie grayish-white color.
Its rounded top resembled a gigantic mushroom stretching into the heavens.
Willem stared at it in disbelief.
"Chtholly..."
Time passed.
The mushroom cloud gradually dissipated.
The countless Beasts that had once covered the battlefield were gone.
Only a bottomless crater remained.
The chaotic battlefield fell completely silent.
Dragging her broken body forward, Chtholly slowly approached the Willem lying on the ground.
Tears glistened in her eyes.
Yet she still smiled.
"Willem... thank you..."
Hearing her words, despair filled Willem's eyes.
Even so, he forced out a smile.
"You idiot..."
As soon as Willem finished speaking, Chtholly seemed to finally let go of everything.
Still wearing a blissful smile, she slowly closed her eyes.
Then her body fell sideways.
"Chtholly... Heh... heh..."
"So it still ended up like this..."
"I really am a useless guy."
"Hey, that's actually a pretty accurate self-assessment!"
Just as Willem sat there drowning in grief beside Chtholly, an unexpected voice suddenly rang out.
Willem froze.
Then he slowly turned toward the source of the sound.
There, sitting cross-legged nearby, was someone he thought had already died.
Kaito grinned and waved.
"Yo! Willem, surprised to see me?"