"UAAARRRGGGHHH!"
Rero screams in excruciating pain, a pain she has never experienced in her life.
Her left arm was cut off.
Cleanly.
From it, an explosion of blood.
Like a fountain, blood flows from the woman's stump.
One of the hundred swords, a replica of air and energy from Clarissa's greatsword, has finally found its mark in a fatal moment.
The world seems to tint its colors in crimson red, a macabre death filter that envelops everything.
Rero, struggling to breathe, clenches her teeth in a desperate attempt to remain conscious.
Blood flows abundantly from her wounds, marking the ground beneath her with a sinister reminder of the brutality of the confrontation. She has lost a lot of blood and continues to lose it every second that passes.
"Y-you lied... cough... cough..." she stammers, as blood pours from her mouth, the tears on her face blending with the bloody liquid, outlining the pain and despair she feels.
Blood.
Not Rero's blood.
Fierro coughs up blood.
The two siblings exchange a look laden with unspoken emotions.
Even from Fierro's mouth, blood flows, as the two siblings look into each other's eyes.
"Cough... I-I told you... Cough... I've always been inconsistent..." he chuckles despite the mortal wound.
His is a bitter smile.
Rero's sword has pierced Fierro's armor, perforating his heart, until the tip of the weapon emerges from his back.
The contract tattoo that binds Fierro to his dark fate almost burns on his neck, a symbol of an inescapable pact.
"Despite everything, my real limit was not being willing to do whatever it took to overcome it..." Fierro confesses, revealing his greatest weakness to Rero.
But there's no remorse in these words.
"That’s why… for t-that… Cough… you spared me twice..."
"Yet you, Rero, struck straight to the heart… You have surpassed me." Despite the pain from his wound, he smiles at her contentedly.
Rero, enduring the pain and exhaustion, finds the strength to reply.
"I k-know I am... just an object to him, but I'm willing to do everything for my Master…" she says through tears, her words tinged with both determination and despair.
"I'm sorry… Fierro." she whispers as her grip on reality begins to fade, in this world now entirely crimson.
Fierro raises his left hand and caresses Rero's face.
A gesture of tenderness that seems out of place on this cruel battlefield.
But now that the battle is over, he can finally do it, that impulse he has so harshly restrained, even as the tattoo on his neck catches fire.
"It’s o-okay… in reality, I d-died that day... in the dungeon… What followed was just a long dream... I'm glad I got to see you again." he confesses, with a sad but serene smile lighting up his face.
"You did well… Lil’ Silly… Cough…" The man's sentence is interrupted by violent coughing, and he vomits blood.
"I-it’s only… only because you hesitated…" she shakes her head.
"A sword fight… isn’t just about skill or stats, but… a-above all, determination… A-according to the philosophy of the sword, your determination was greater... T-that’s why you won." the brother explains one of the core concepts of his philosophy.
"I wished… there was another way…" murmurs Rero, her heart heavy with the choice she had to make.
Fierro shakes his head, his hand now colder on his sister's face.
"Survive... and take my sword, it is rightfully yours," Fierro tells her, bequeathing not just the weapon but also his school and his philosophy.
Rero wishes for more time.
Fierro does too.
There would be so much to say.
But there is no time left.
The swordsman knows he must make good use of it.
"B-be careful… of the 'Corpse Groom’... the one I couldn’t surpass... the queen’s ace…"
Fierro can’t finish his sentence, his heart has stopped, and blood no longer pumps through his body.
His brain shuts down.
His last broken words are carried away by the gentle wind, along with the sighs and regrets of the two fighters, carrying memories of a past that will not return.
The fight is over.
Fierro breathes his last.
Fierro closes his eyes for the last time, his body finally succumbing to death, still with the sword pierced through his heart.
[[ Azherie Loree'Nahil Team Player, FIERRO SANSANTI was eliminated from the Demonic Game of Death! ]]
The system notification appears in the vision of all game participants.
Rero, exhausted and wounded beyond imagination, falls to the ground beside him.
Her last words whispered to the wind before losing consciousness are a farewell to Strauss Wagner, her Master, the one she loves and for whom she is ready to sacrifice anything.
When did he become so crucial to her? Rero can hardly remember what her life was like before he completely changed it.
As the level of the contract binding them increased, she became more submissive, more in love.
The only thing she hopes for is to be useful to him.
"I'm sorry, Master… This is my limit…" she whispers before losing consciousness.
"Sansanti!" Franz Dadref shouts, rushing with Jarica to help the brunette.
"This is really bad!" Jarica Fleubert exclaims, seeing the severed arm lying next to the unconscious woman.
"We need to stop the bleeding!" the blonde declares, looking for something to make a tourniquet with.
He takes off his Silverdark chest armor and strips off the gray silk elven-style shirt he's wearing.
With it, he fashions a makeshift bandage to tie around the stump and stop the blood flow.
With another piece of the shirt, he wraps the stump to prevent further blood loss.
[[ INCOMING MESSAGE ]]
[ DO YOU ACCEPT THE COMMUNICATION? ]
[ > YES
NO ]
The system alerts Jarica that someone wants to communicate with her.
Despite being surprised by the suddenness of the event, she doesn't think too much about it and accepts the message.
{ Jarica, it's Strauss. I have important tasks for you. Listen carefully. }
The man's voice resonates in her mind as if he were there with her.
The woman startles but quickly recovers. She is aware there is no time to waste.
{ I'm listening, Strauss, } she responds without further hesitation.
"What are you doing standing there, Jarica? Help me!" Dadref distracts her.
The woman ignores him.
{ Administer a healing potion to Rero. We need to try to keep her HP above the critical threshold, } Strauss orders through thought.
The light brown-haired woman takes one of the red potions provided by Strauss from her bag.
She approaches Rero's mouth, opens it, and pours the contents of the vial directly into the unconscious woman's mouth, forcing her to swallow it.
Franz, unaware of the conversation Fleubert is having with Wagner, watches the scene perplexedly.
{ You need to transport Rero as close as possible to me. To the great temple of Grand Mother of Spiders. Within a certain range from me, I should be able to use my healing magic. }
{ I'm not sure if we'll make it in time, } the woman objects.
{ Kanna should also be able to reattach the arm and heal it. She is, after all, on her way to come near me, } the man explains an alternative.
{ Understood. We'll try, } Jarica nods.
{ You must succeed, } he commands her.
{ But most importantly, bring me the enemy's defeated bordeaux gem. Collect the gem from the corpse of the enemy Servant. }
His tone is cold devoid of emotion.
Her gaze rests on Fierro's corpse.
The gem worn as a necklace shines.
{ This is the priority, } Strauss's words leave no room for interpretation.
it was mostly talking, which is fine. leave acrobatis to animation. personally i prefer more grounded fights that resolve under five moves or so. if we remove talking then fight was around one chapter, ok. with talking this is... 3rd? i dont really remember what moves they did, recall double bind and Fierro kicking Rero and gutting Blondy at the start. bit less talk? idk, needs more opinions. i am picky one