Rian ignored the warning, continuing to hold up the spell as Sovereign’s Tempest tore through Leviathan, stripping away enormous portions of its watery body—just so Alicia could have a better chance.
Yet inside the Disaster Spirit, Alicia could feel her Young Master’s control was weakening every second.
The current surrounding her broom had once moved with unmistakable purpose, guiding her between Leviathan’s defenses and pulling her closer to Felix.
Now, it was swaying back and forth, like it was drunk and didn’t know where to go. Even the wind sword beside her lost its shape, with cracks spreading from its tip to its hilt.
"Young Master?"
CRASH—!
The sword shattered, causing all wind inside the passage to vanish with it. Without Rian’s current reinforcing the broom, the surrounding water crashed upon Alicia from every direction.
She stumbled backward while the broom spiraled away into the darkness. Its glow grew fainter until a violent current swallowed it completely.
Alicia was now alone.
The walls of Leviathan’s body closed around her, erasing the tunnel Rian had created. Countless currents twisted in every direction, deliberately disorienting her so she couldn’t get closer.
Still, Alicia forced herself to remain calm.
She stared forward, knowing that Felix was still ahead. Alicia could barely make out his silhouette through the dark water—his motionless body suspended.
’Only a bit...away...!’
She kicked toward him, finding more success with her Knight constitution than Rian ever did. Still, her waterlogged clothes as well as constant running back and forth had caused her to become exhausted.
The pressure intensified as Leviathan recognized her position, as tendrils struck her from the side, forcing Alicia away from Felix whenever she got even slightly closer.
Her chest began to ache, as Alicia hadn’t had the time to take a proper breath. Whatever air remained inside her lungs was already beginning to run out.
Dark water tried wrapping around her ankle, but Alicia slashed downward with her dagger, causing the tendril to separate. Yet, three more replaced it instantly, curling around her waist and trying to pull her down.
〈Blind Shade〉
Her body briefly dissolved into darkness, causing the tendrils to pass right through her incorporeal form, allowing Alicia to reappear several yards closer to Felix.
But doing so consumed what little air she had left, causing her lungs to contract and her throat to open instinctively.
Alicia forced the freezing water back out, but the damage had already been done. Her arms became heavier, and the edges of her vision began fading.
Felix was so close, just a few meters more...
The dagger slipped within her fingers.
Alicia wondered whether she had reached her limit. The thought felt strangely familiar, as years ago, before she had become a maid of House Rosenheim...
She had known nothing except limits.
How many wounds could she endure without crying out?
How many days could she survive without food?
How many lives could she take without shedding a single tear?
It was all preparation for her to become a tool, and a useful tool did not require a name.
Nor did it require comfort, affection, or a reason to continue living beyond its next assignment.
Until someone gave her one.
She remembered kneeling before a pale, bedridden boy inside the Rosenheim side manor—her age, not that far off from his.
"What is your name?" he asked in between breaths.
"I do not possess one."
Rian stared at her as though she had said something completely unreasonable. "Then how about...Alicia."
"...?"
"In an old Eidelgard dialect, it means the beginning of a noble and kinder life," he explained. "It might be presumptuous, but I think it suits you."
That was the day she began living as a person.
And now, the young master who had given her that life was somewhere outside, burning away the last hours of his own life to hold open a path for her...
Trusting her with every part of his being.
How could she possibly stop there?
Her body was failing. Her lungs were filled with water, and darkness encroached upon her vision. Her eyelids were so...heavy.
"ALICIA—!"
She heard someone calling her name. The voice was muffled by water, distorted until it could easily have been another fading memory.
But she knew it wasn’t.
And just a second later...a single point of green light appeared within the darkness behind her.
At first, it looked no larger than a distant star. Then, it grew brighter, approaching at an impossible speed while the dark water recoiled around it.
Countless tendrils tried converging upon the light, weaving together into walls meant to crush whatever was coming.
Yet, the comet never seemed to slow down, as dozens of wind blades pierced through all obstacles to get to Alicia.
It was Rian.
His crown had lost several of its rings. Only two wings remained intact, and blood streamed from his glowing right eye.
Still, he continued forward without fear.
"Young...Master..."
Rian managed to reach her and wrapped one arm around Alicia’s waist. The final current surrounding him finally dispersed.
Alicia could barely keep her eyes open. Rian pressed his forehead against hers.
His remaining wings folded around them both, trapping a small pocket of air between their bodies.
"Breathe."
Wind pressed against Alicia’s mouth. Her body convulsed as she coughed water from her lungs. She dragged in one breath, then another, each one burning more painfully than the last.
Strength gradually returned to her arms. And when her vision cleared, Rian was still holding her.
"You came inside..."
"Obviously."
"You were supposed to maintain the opening."
"You were supposed to reach Felix."
"My broom—"
"I saw."
His voice was soft, but Alicia could feel his heart pounding. The arm around her was frighteningly thin. Even through his soaked clothes and skin, Alicia could feel bone underneath.
"Young Master, you’re dying—"
"A problem for later."
Alicia rested her forehead against his, listening to his weakening heartbeat. She could barely hear it, but even so...
"When this is over, allow me to save you, too."
Rian’s remaining wings wrapped around them as he smiled.
"I was counting on it."
She tightened her grip around her dagger before Rian placed his hand over hers. Without saying another word, they made the same promise:
Neither would leave the other behind again.
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