Amid a sea of flames, Yukina Himeragi gripped Sekkarou and moved through the passage toward the bottom of the Keystone Gate. From time to time, retreating guards hurried past her.
Just moments earlier, a dazzling blue light had spread as if it covered the entire world. The guards inside the Keystone Gate who had been knocked down by Rudolf found their wounds instantly healed the moment the blue light touched them.
They had barely stood up before panic set in. The Keystone Gate had begun collapsing, and the guards quickly fled instead of stopping to marvel at what looked like a miracle.
Before the blue light spread across the Keystone Gate, magma and violent tremors had been striking the ground, battering the structure buried deep underground.
Deep beneath the Keystone Gate, the soil surrounding its foundation had begun to loosen like mist, causing the base to shake.
Then a stream of mercury-like liquid reached the surface of the Keystone Gate and began corroding the very thing that had kept it standing despite all those attacks.
The golden Magical Power Shadow had left behind before departing.
The moment the mercury-like liquid touched the golden Magical Power, large portions of it evaporated instantly, releasing a strange-smelling white mist.
But the golden Magical Power Shadow left behind was too little.
Under the continuous assault of the mercury-like liquid, it was quickly exhausted.
At the same time the golden Magical Power disappeared, the mercury-like liquid also stopped flowing, completely evaporated by that final resistance.
However, once the golden Magical Power that reinforced the entire Keystone Gate vanished, the structure could no longer suppress the damage it had already suffered from all those attacks.
The Keystone Gate began to collapse.
"Huff... Where is she? Huff... Where is she...?"
Yukina Himeragi cut apart another falling boulder with Sekkarou and gasped for breath.
She slapped her cheeks to force herself awake and squeezed out a trace of Spiritual Energy just to keep walking.
The blue light could heal injuries, but it could not restore stamina or Spiritual Energy.
For someone who had already fought several intense battles, saying she could not take even one step would be exaggerated.
But feeling her entire body ache with every step was completely accurate.
Each step felt like it used the last bit of strength she had left. Even knowing the building around her could collapse at any moment, she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and fall asleep on the spot.
"Don't sleep... Don't sleep..."
She muttered to herself. Even though she believed she could keep going, her eyelids kept growing heavier, and darkness slowly crept into her vision.
Just as the last bit of sight was about to fade, a sudden tug pulled on the collar of her clothes from behind.
The force dragged her a step backward and jolted her fading consciousness awake.
Her hand tightened around Sekkarou again. The instincts drilled into her by the Lion King Organization made her instantly turn, ready to thrust her spear at the person behind her.
But the smooth motion stopped the moment she saw who it was.
Yukina Himeragi forced herself to halt.
Stopping so abruptly while her mind was still foggy made her lose her balance, and she fell toward the person who had grabbed her.
"Boom!"
A massive rock crashed down from above and slammed into the spot where she had been standing moments earlier.
Yukina Himeragi saw it happen, but she no longer had the strength to thank Cid for pulling her away in time.
"S-Senpai... why are you here...?"
Leaning against Cid's chest, Yukina Himeragi struggled against the overwhelming exhaustion in her body as she asked the question in broken breaths.
Maybe it was just because she was so weak, but when he heard her question, Cid's face seemed to freeze for a brief moment.
But after a single blink, his expression turned into one filled with worry and tension.
"What do you mean why? You told me not to worry, but with a commotion this big how could I stay calm?
I have no idea what you were thinking. This place is about to collapse, the guards are all running for their lives, and you're still heading toward the bottom floor.
Stop talking. I'm taking you back up."
Cid grabbed Yukina Himeragi's hand and turned, intending to pull her toward the upper levels.
But she pulled her hand free.
Clang.
Sekkarou stabbed into the ground with a sharp metallic sound.
Using the spear to support herself, Yukina Himeragi shook her head at Cid.
"Senpai... you go up first. I have to rescue someone. There might still be someone down there."
"Yukina! If you go down there now, you'll only get yourself killed too. What could possibly be more important than your own life? Listen to me. I'll take you up first, then I'll inform the guards and let them handle the rescue."
Cid tried to persuade her.
"Will the guards really save her, Senpai?"
Yukina Himeragi asked in return.
Right.
Was that even possible?
If they went down to rescue that person now, there might still be a ten percent chance of survival.
But once they reached the surface, that person's chance of surviving would drop to zero.
Because by then the Keystone Gate would most likely have already collapsed.
And even if it had not, the guards would never risk their lives entering a structure that could cave in at any moment.
"Senpai, I'm really grateful you came to save me. But she saved my life, so I have to save her. Please go up first, Senpai. I'll catch up soon."
After taking two breaths, Yukina Himeragi spoke with a tone that was firm yet slightly confused. The moment she finished, she turned and prepared to continue heading toward the lower levels.
She completely failed to notice the brief look of sudden realization that flashed across Cid's face when he heard her words.
"What does she look like?"
"Huh?!"
Yukina Himeragi let out a confused sound when Cid grabbed her shoulders and asked the question.
"What do you mean 'huh'? Get on. Do you even realize what condition you're in right now? If you go alone, you'll only end up throwing your life away. Tell me what she looks like. I'll go save her with you."
Under Cid's firm insistence, Yukina Himeragi instinctively obeyed. She climbed onto his back and let him carry her.
"Blue hair. A girl about this tall... around my chest."
She quietly described Astarte's appearance and pressed her lips together. As Cid started running, she spoke again.
"Senpai... do you think we'll survive?
Maybe you should just put me down. Senpai, you could definitely make it out alive on your own. I don't want... I don't want to be the reason you die."
Feeling the back of his clothes becoming damp, Cid sighed.
She's still just a kid after all. Better give her a little encouragement.
With that thought, Cid spoke in a reassuring tone.
"Of course we will. We're definitely getting out of here alive."
"But this place is about to collapse..."
"Sigh, Yukina. I promise you that this building will not collapse before we reach the surface. And in the end, I'll bring you back up safely. Is that good enough? If so, could you please stop saying things like that? I want to... stay alive too."
His final words came out with a trembling voice that carried fear, perfectly fitting the image of an ordinary supporting character.
Since Yukina Himeragi was lying on his back, she could not see his face.
A face that showed none of the fear, panic, or anxiety present in his voice. Instead, it remained calm and indifferent.
But precisely because she could not see it, the chaotic emotions that had been swirling inside Yukina Himeragi since her battle with Rudolf finally settled after hearing his words.
No one knew what kind of emotions had driven Yukina Himeragi to run down here.
Not even herself.
She was grateful that Astarte had saved her life. But would she really risk her own life and rush into the lower levels just because she could not find Astarte on the surface?
She did not know.
Maybe she would have hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to come down.
Or maybe she would have abandoned the idea entirely out of fear of death.
But one thing was certain.
It would have been impossible for her to rush into the Keystone Gate, a place that could collapse at any moment, without even thinking.
Because this was a journey that could very well end in death.
She had been taken into the mountains by the Lion King Organization when she was still a child. Only recently had she been allowed to leave because of the mission to monitor the Fourth Primogenitor.
Someone who had just begun to experience the beauty of the world could not casually ignore the meaning of the word "death."
Unless she had already decided to die.
At the lowest level of the Keystone Gate, when Rudolf revealed the real purpose behind the Lion King Organization sending her to monitor the Fourth Primogenitor, she no longer knew what to do.
Yukina Himeragi had never been foolish.
There had been too many strange things about this mission. So many that if she had truly wanted to think about it, she could have figured out the truth long ago.
But she had chosen to bury her head in the sand and avoid thinking about it.
Yet once Rudolf exposed everything directly, even if she tried to avoid it, the truth became unavoidable.
The Lion King Organization that had saved her, raised her, and trained her intended to give her to Kojou Akatsuki.
She had blocked Kojou Akatsuki's attack and escaped the Keystone Gate simply because of a human instinct to survive.
But after leaving the Keystone Gate and reaching the surface, where she should have been safe, she did not know what she should do next.
Should she pretend she knew nothing and carry out the Lion King Organization's plan?
Should she allow herself to be sent to Kojou Akatsuki's bed and become his Blood Partner?
When she had not known the truth, it was one thing.
But now that she knew, the mere thought of it made her feel sick.
Then should she leave the Lion King Organization?
That seemed possible, but what would happen afterward?
Once she left the Lion King Organization, her qualification as an Attack Mage would be revoked.
Aside from the combat skills and Spiritual Energy that the Lion King Organization had trained into her since childhood, she had no other way to survive.
Join another faction?
Would any faction truly be willing to accept someone who had been raised by the Lion King Organization since childhood, only to betray them on her first mission, especially if doing so meant offending the Lion King Organization?
It was precisely because of these thoughts that when she realized Astarte had not appeared beside Rudolf and deduced that Astarte had not come up with the others, Yukina Himeragi chose to risk her life and enter the Keystone Gate.
She wanted to die.
But now, lying on Cid's back and feeling the warmth coming through his clothes, Yukina Himeragi finally remembered something.
The feeling she had sensed when Shadow healed her.
She had felt something similar before.
Back when she first fought Rudolf and was injured, when Cid arrived and healed her.
But why had she not been stunned when Cid healed her, yet she froze when Shadow healed her?
Because when Cid healed her, she had nothing troubling her mind. All she needed to do was complete the mission given by the Lion King Organization.
But when Shadow healed her, she no longer knew what she was supposed to do. The loneliness of being abandoned by the Lion King Organization surrounded her.
That was why she had frozen back then. She had clung to that warmth that embraced her, the feeling that she did not need to think about anything, that she could simply rest in it.
Even now, the exhaustion that made her entire body ache had not disappeared. Her body, forced to squeeze out the last traces of Spiritual Energy, was desperately craving strength.
Yet after hearing Cid's words, she felt as though she had been pulled into her mother's embrace.
Warm.
Safe.
A place where she did not need to think about the future.
What Cid's words gave her was peace of mind.
"Thank you, Senpai."
Hearing the sleepiness in Yukina Himeragi's voice, Cid knew that she had reached her limit, both physically and mentally.
"No need to thank me. Just think of this as the gods punishing me for being a bad guy who keeps things he finds instead of returning them."
He could not speak in a serious tone and risk waking her up again.
Not knowing what Yukina Himeragi was thinking at this moment, Cid chose to keep joking in order to help her relax.
"T-that's not true... Senpai... you're a good... good person. A really good person."
Her voice grew weaker and weaker. After forcing herself to say those words, Yukina Himeragi felt the warmth from Cid's body through his clothes and lost consciousness on his back.
If I die here together with Senpai... that might actually be a good ending for me.
That was the final thought in Yukina Himeragi's mind before she fainted.