When Death Beckoned
"Commander... sir..."
".........."
Cerise, unlike her usual bold and commanding self, gazed at Venice lying weakly on the bed and wept. She called out to him as she always did, but of course, no answer came.
A single day had passed since she rushed him straight to the treatment center in Leria Village.
"His body is remarkably resilient. His recovery will be faster than most. He should wake up soon."
That was what the healer had told her while she clung to Venice, sobbing uncontrollably. The wounds would have been instantly fatal to an ordinary person, but his exceptional physique had allowed him to survive. To Cerise, who had been wasting away in despair, it was like rain after a long drought. It meant her commander could rise again.
"....Sniff."
Still, she could not hold back her tears. It was because of her that he had been injured so gravely.
Cerise recalled the battle against the 4-star monster, Nepenthes. Everything had gone smoothly at first—even against a calamity-class creature. Her blade sliced through its stems with ease, and she dodged its counterattacks without trouble. Strangely, the longer the fight dragged on, the stronger she felt. The 4-star monster that had once terrified her no longer seemed frightening at all. With every stem she severed, her strikes grew sharper, and her body grew tougher with each violent movement. She could feel herself cutting through them more effortlessly than before.
Perhaps that was why. Seeing her own growth so clearly, and watching the calamity-ranked Nepenthes curl inward as if surrendering, she let her guard down. She had been certain she could finish it. She had convinced herself it had no more ways to attack.
"Damn it! Everyone, fall back! Get away from the Nepenthes...!"
By the time she heard her commander shout and saw the monster unfold from its crouched posture, her body was already paralyzed.
"Kuhk..."
Her limbs refused to obey. She could not even twitch a finger, and her mind began to spin. Slowly—
"Let... go...!"
She could only watch helplessly as the Nepenthes's stem coiled around her and lifted her into the air.
Crunch...!
"Kuh... huk..."
When the crushing pressure made her feel as though her entire body was about to shatter, Cerise prayed. She begged to be saved. She did not want to die here—not when she had finally found someone she wanted to confess her feelings to.
"Commander... sir..."
Only when death loomed did she finally understand her true heart. She loved him. She wanted to spend her life with him. She wanted to entrust her back to him...
Crunch—!
Even those thoughts faded as the stems tightened, stealing her breath.
Commander.
The commander who had saved her. The commander who had become her light. And the commander she loved...
In the final moments of her life, Cerise could only see her savior. She kept repeating the feelings she would never be able to express.
"Kuh... aaaagh—!"
That was when it happened. The ever-composed commander raised his voice.
Thud—!
...Commander?
Through her blurring vision, she saw him stab himself with his own sword to overcome the paralysis through pain, then charge straight at the Nepenthes.
Slash—!
With a single, all-out strike, he severed the bundle of stems rushing toward her. In that moment, he looked exactly like the hero from the fairy tales her father used to read to her.
Cerise could only stare in a daze.
Whoosh—!
The hero leapt into the air with the same dignified grace, as if he intended to cleave the massive flower monster from crown to root. There was no fear, not even a hint of hesitation in his posture.
At that instant, Cerise spotted a hidden stem the Nepenthes had kept in reserve, preparing to strike from behind Venice.
"Commander...! Cough. Behind you...!"
The pressure around her had weakened enough for her to scream with everything she had, pouring every ounce of desperate hope into the cry.
Whoosh— Thud!
"Kuhp....."
"Ah... no..."
But the speed was far beyond human reaction. The commander had no choice but to take the blow. The steel-hard, stake-like stem drove deep into the left side of his abdomen.
"Kuhk. Kuhk..."
Watching blood pour from his mouth and wound, Cerise despaired. The monster would tear the defenseless commander apart, then devour her and the rest of the mercenaries as well. She hated herself for acting on her own and dooming everyone. The thought of watching the man she loved be ripped apart before her eyes felt like a curse.
I'm sorry, Commander... and everyone in the company...
They were supposed to write a new legend together. Because of her, that future would never come. She was truly sorry. She would pay for this sin even if it meant dying and going to hell.
Convinced that even their trusted commander could not survive such a wound, Cerise's eyes went dead as she prepared to give up on life.
Creak... creak—!
Pop...?!
Slash—!
".....Huh?"
Until the commander, bearing that horrific wound she had thought would end any further attacks, moved once more and severed the Nepenthes's core.
Pop... g...
Thud.
The living legend—the 4-star monster known as the Paradise of Flowers and the Manifestation of Calamity—breathed its last, vanishing as though it had never existed.
"Kuhk... kuhk... Vice-Commander Cerise..."
"C-Commander!!"
Cerise, momentarily stunned by the incomprehensible scene, rushed to the commander who was once again coughing up blood and staining the ground crimson. Though she herself was not unscathed, the pain was nothing compared to her resolve.
"Kuhk... Didn't I tell you...? We can do this..."
"Please don't speak...! Your wounds will open further...!"
Like someone trying to leave behind final words, the commander continued quietly, painfully.
"....Don't cry. No one's dying here..."
No. Please don't say things like that... Please don't leave me. I still haven't told you... the savior who became my light and my hero... how I truly feel...
"I think I'll... rest for a bit..."
"No...! Please, stay awake, Commander!!"
No no no no no— Please... don't go...
Despite Cerise's screams, Venice closed his eyes as though he could no longer hear, drifting into sleep like someone preparing to depart.
"Aaaaaah!!"
Cerise could only scream and weep. Because of her, the hero—her light, her savior—might die. She simply held his body and let her tears fall.
Thump... thump...
"....?! C-Commander!!"
Yet the commander she had thought dead was still alive. His breathing was faint, but unmistakably present.
"I-Is it true? The commander is alive?!"
Hans, tears streaming down his face like the others, burst forward from among the mercenaries.
"Yes! The commander is still with us...! There's still a chance...!"
They could still save him. They could still witness his glory up close. She still had time to confess her feelings. She still had time to atone.
Wh-What do I do? How can I get back quickly...? Ah!
Amid her spinning thoughts, Cerise remembered the return scrolls she had carefully kept in her pocket.
"...Just in case, I brought two of them. I hope we won't have to use them, though..."
They were the precious scrolls—each worth dozens of gold—that the commander had entrusted to her before this request.
"H-Hans!"
"...Yes, Vice-Commander!"
"From now on, you're acting commander. Clean up the situation quickly, collect the spoils, and return to Leria Village!"
"What?! Then what about you, Vice-Commander?"
"The commander and I will return immediately using these scrolls."
"Understood! Please go ahead!"
When she showed him the scrolls from her pocket, Hans quickly agreed. After a brief nod of thanks, Cerise began activating them at once.
One for me. One for the commander... Done!
Hum—!
When she pressed the scrolls marked with Leria Village's coordinates against them, mana resonated and the space around them began to tremble.
"Commander... I'll definitely save you...!"
Flash—!
At the same time, her vision inverted. When she came to, she and the commander had appeared in the middle of Leria Village.
—What the— Isn't that the commander and vice-commander of the Ska Mercenary Group?
—Did they just come back from a war or something...?
—Those wounds... isn't he already dead?
Carry the commander and run to the treatment center!
The murmurs around her no longer reached Cerise's ears. Her only goal now was to save her commander.
"...Ngh."
When she stood up with him on her back, her entire body throbbed and creaked. But she refused to let something so trivial kill him—not when he had saved her despite suffering far worse pain himself.
Cerise's superhuman body and unyielding will carried them to the treatment center in an instant.
"Hah... Please... We have a patient... Please save him...!"
"....This way!"
Fortunately, they managed to save him. From the moment treatment began until now, a full day later, Cerise had never once left his side. She simply endured her exhaustion and pain, waiting.
"Thank you, Commander..."
She had spent the entire night crying and giving thanks. For not leaving her side. For allowing her to remain by his.
Commander... I think I may be in love with you after all.
How could she not harbor such feelings for the one who had given her a purpose and guided her through life? If she could simply stay by your side, she would overcome any hardship, just as you had done for her.
Swish—!
Staring at the commander's peacefully sleeping face, Cerise slowly leaned toward his lips.
I will tell you how I feel...
If he were awake and looking at her, she would be far too embarrassed to do it.
Three handspans. Two. One.
The distance closed until they were near enough to feel each other's breath—
Flash—
"Vice-Commander Cerise...?"
"H-Huh! C-Commander...!"
Venice's eyes opened, and Cerise's attempt to confess ended in failure.