Astoria glanced around desperately.
On all sides, she could only see the gruesome sights of battle. Enemies and allies alike were turned into bloody messes that decorated the cold ground, and the air of insanity that wafted along with the scent of blood was revolting.
She didn't want to see any more of this.
It didn't matter how many times this scene showed itself before her, she never got used to it.
"Sister, cover me!" She yelled.
Hedrick wasn't her only remaining sibling.
The First Prince was still off-world, his location unknown, while the first and second princesses remained in the Golden Dragon Estate, helping it stabilize after the prior conflict.
The 2nd princess, Tessia Golden, was in the Golden Dragon Estate until the last time she was seen.
With the currently unfolding events, her fate was unknown.
However, Elizabeth Golden was on the front lines with her brother and sister, fighting to protect her home.
After being useless in the last invasion, she refused to face such tragedy again and trained to become a combatant, and so far, she'd shown promising results.
When she heard Astoria's call, she finished off the enemies in front of her and retreated rapidly so she could pay attention to her sister's situation.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Astoria was a great fighter. She wasn't able to use space offensively, but the power she gained from its support allowed her to wield fate in ways none thought possible.
Flashes of golden light followed her every movement, incinerating the Nox she passed and attacked.
"Cover for you? Are you planning to do something stupid?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.
With what just happened, none of them were in the right state of mind, but they couldn't fall prey to that weakness. The second they did, the enemy would seize that opening and end them all!
However, Astoria was just as aware of this as her sister.
"I have no plans to act recklessly," she responded solemnly.
"But I want to change this. I can't let this go on."
Elizabeth frowned in worry.
"Do you have a plan?"
Astoria shook her head, dodging and weaving her enemies and continuing her assault.
"I don't, but I'm sure I will find one if I have the time to try."
It was hard to trust words like those, ones that sounded like they sprouted from idealism, but Elizabeth couldn't be so certain in this moment.
Because Astoria's power made her ideals attainable through impossible means.
If she actually could wield that power like she did back then, if she could alter Fate itself to their benefit…
"How long do you need?"
"I can't say."
Elizabeth spread her awareness to take account of the situation.
"Hedrick won't be able to move for a long time. If we are lacking your strength, I can at most buy 10 minutes. Are you confident?"
"…"
Astoria didn't immediately respond.
"10 minutes…I'm not sure if I can do it, but…"
She didn't have a choice.
"If 10 minutes is all I have, I'll make it work in 10 minutes."
Elizabeth nodded.
"Very well. I'll trust you then."
She turned her attention back to the battle.
'I can no longer hold back.'
If she wanted to control the situation, she had to burst forth with all her power even if it meant leaving her defenseless once her mana ran out.
She looked up at Astoria, who had turned into a golden light trail in the sky, and smiled wryly.
'I hope you can truly accomplish something with the time you have. Otherwise…'
Otherwise, perhaps her legacy would end here.
Golden mana ran wild in the surroundings.
The Golden Dragon Clan's First Princess.
With such a title, she couldn't lose to her younger sister, right?
"Come!"
Her voice boomed through the atmosphere.
10 minutes…
From now on, she would do everything she possibly could to buy that time.
Even if that meant sacrificing her life.
***
The tears didn't stop.
Astoria was firm now, her will unshakeable, but the tears didn't stop.
Because she knew what the consequences of failure were.
In the time since the Black Dragon invasion, Astoria's status in the clan went from "devil princess" to "greatest hope."
She understood what her sister was doing.
If it meant Astoria could live on and continue the legacy of the Golden Dragon Clan, the rest of its members didn't care if they died.
They would do so happily for her.
'I can't…'
She couldn't let it happen.
She refused!
Her body tore through the stratosphere. As she stood above the world, she concentrated her power and formed a golden ball of light around her.
What was she to do from here?
When it came to Fate, it wasn't something she could control just because she wanted to.
The only thing she could do was earnestly plead for change and hope her prayers would be answered.
She dug into her heart and found her connection with the world, with the Fate Star.
Her eyes shone with a golden hue as a strange symbol formed itself on her forehead, a scale of light.
'Please…' she prayed.
'Please help us!'
Fate was a cruel mistress.
She watched the world with indifferent eyes and guided its flow uncaring of those she harmed or helped.
Her job was to be an observer, not a player.
However, Astoria was the one who held power over her existence.
Astoria's trait, enhanced by the Void, had the power to change the play with the strings she held.
She didn't know what she wanted.
All she wished for was salvation.
But what form it would come in…?
She couldn't predict it, nor did she know if it would even come.
But she diligently prayed.
As her comrades made sure nothing could affect her, she prayed and deepened her connection with Fate, using everything in her power to will something to change.
It was nothing more than a desperate cry for help.
However…
When the one crying was a lone princess to her Mother Empress, the chance of her cries being answered was far greater than anyone else.
One minute passed, then two, then three.
Five minutes passed without anything changing.
The situation on the ground only became worse.
Elizabeth did everything she could.
She pushed her mana to its limits and slaughtered dozens of thousands of Nox beings every second, but they kept coming like an unending wave.
She didn't have much time left.
But she didn't give up.
She swung her sword until her arms could no longer move, then she swung her sword some more.
"AGH!"
She cried out in pain as a blade pierced her stomach, but at the same time, she used that opportunity to slash the head of the one who impaled her.
Her arms were covered in cuts and gashes, but every single one represented an enemy she felled.
Blood pooled in her mouth and on the ground below her, yet she kept moving forward without hesitation.
'Astoria…you must…survive…!'
8 minutes passed.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth was reaching the limits of her mana.
'I'm afraid…10 minutes…won't be possible.'
She didn't stop attacking, but the wry smile on her face represented her thoughts.
She knew she was going to die here.
There was no possibility of survival.
Shik!
A spear dug into her chest, just barely missing her heart. Impaled on its tip, she lost her movement capability and became a sitting target.
"ELIZABETH!"
Hedrick's roar filled the air.
Elizabeth looked up at her brother, who could hardly spare enough attention to pay attention to her while battling the strongest of the attacking enemies.
And a smile lit up her face.
"Live…on…"
"SISTER, YOU CAN'T!"
Hedrick was desperate to help, but he could do nothing.
There was already a blade rushing towards her neck.
And unless the Supreme he faced decided to stop fighting this instant, he couldn't save her.
9 minutes passed.
Everyone watched their own battlegrounds with a variety of expressions.
Families were being separated. Men watched their closest brothers die before them, women watched their husbands and children slaughtered to protect them, while others stood alone and sacrificed their lives to protect these families from harm.
The brutality, nobody saw it clearer than Astoria.
And that moment, when the blade made contact with her sister's neck, engraved itself in her mind.
"NO!"
She screamed out.
Everything in her being roared.
And…
A barely noticeable pulse of light emanated from the world.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Smoke covered the training area.
"Something" dropped from the sky.
And when the clouds finally cleared…
"Again?"
A man's voice rang out.
"These annoying Nox bastards. Why do they have to keep pulling bullshit like this?"
With the sword edge of a Nox being gripped in his left hand and Elizabeth Golden in his right, he scanned his gaze around the battlefield.
With his fiery red hair flapping in the wind, he sighed.
"I guess you never learn, huh."
He stomped his foot on the ground,
BOOOOOOOOM!
A shockwave spread that instant, decimating the enemies in his vicinity.
"This universe…is not yours to swallow."
