Shizuku remained above the bugs hovering in the sky. Her gaze was focused on the bugs, her breathing rapid as she fed on the fear of her victims. An overwhelming and wild excitement enveloped her spirit as she was indulges the ecstasy of nourishing her victims. Just below her, she felt more fear coming from two individuals. When she recognized Saki and Abigail, she managed to snap out of her own trance and let out a sigh of disbelief at losing herself to her own ability again.
Down there, Saki and Abigail continue to exchange fearful gazes, whispering all sorts of negative emotions. Shizuku lowered herself to talk to them. "Miss Nisshin... My lady..." She whispered gently, and in the blink of an eye, Saki and Abigail snapped out of the trance. Saki felt her heartbeat increasing as it struggled to make sense of the abnormality in her body. She caught herself from the ground and looked around. "What... What's going on...?" Her gaze turns to Abigail, who is holding her chest, seemingly to calm her racing heart down.
"Miss Nisshin... You must finish this" Shizuku's words caused her to dart around. She saw Shizuku with an almost ghostly appearance, spared by her familiar clothes. Her words came through Saki's mind as a gentle, nurturing voice in contrast to the intense darkness that she felt just a moment ago. "Finish this and let peace rule our home once more" Her voice continues to soothe her racing heart and mind. She stood up carefully, maintaining her balance as she fought the pain in her body. She looked down on her legs, and saw that she had both of her legs the entire time. It was only an illusion that she had a decapitated leg.
"Pick up your sword, Miss Nisshin. End this terror" Saki listened to her words and looked to her side. Her sword was under a bug that was no longer moving. She walked and picked up her sword, sending the lifeless bug to the ground. With the sword in her hand, she slowly limped her way toward the giant bug in the center.
The battle interface boots up with flickering lights and static noises, and once finished, it displays the status of the fight once more. 'Saki' '6/50 hp' 'Beetle leader' '1/100 hp' Saki glanced at her own health points, a small fear came through, but her determination to finish the battle won her spirit over. Finally, she stopped before the giant bug, who was oblivious of her presence, busy with fearing something. She walks below the bug and looks up.
She felt a stinging pain in her shoulder as she readied her sword, causing her to almost lose her legs to the pain. Using the sword as a support, she pulls herself back up and readies her sword once more. Fighting through the pain, Saki pointed the tip of her sword above and thrust it into the bug's skin. The giant bug let out a weak cry before slumping down on her sword. 'Beetle Leader has been defeated!' 'Saki's party won the battle!'
Saki pushed her sword aside to carry the giant bug's lifeless body to the side. When the bug falls to the side, Saki loses her strength and falls along with the bug, the sword clanging loudly on the ground. Seeing the giant bug perish, Shizuku was finally relieved to remove her spell around the village. Their surroundings returned to their vibrant colors, and the results of a large battle came into sight. The remaining bugs, which just felt great fear from Shizuku's spell and the sight of their dead leader, scurried away from the village until there were only the dead bugs and dead guards around them.
Shizuku steps down on the ground, her ghostly appearance slowly fading into her human form. She looked at Abigail who was making her way towards Saki. When Abigail reached her, she sat down and carried Saki's head. Saki opened her eyes enough to see the blurry image of Abigail. "Is it over...?" Her voice came out in a faint whisper. Abigail nods and smiles, a tear dropping from her eye. She hugged Saki and held her tight. "Yes... It's over" She sniffed and caressed Saki's hair, then placed her forehead on hers and closed her eyes. "O divine grace... Mend the soul of the warrior..." She gently whispered and a light engulfed both of them.
Saki let out a long contented sigh and closed her eyes as she felt her vitals steadying, a warmth of comfort surging in her chest, the pain in her body fading away before the light, all while Abigail was keeping her in her embrace. When the light dissipated, Saki whispered. "I need to rest..." And Abigail nods. Saki felt her head moving to nod. "Yes, you can rest now" Abigail whispered back. As if being allowed to, Saki finally let herself succumb to her fatigue and went into a deep sleep, her body went limp on Abigail's arms. Abigail looked down to see her face, which was in pure contentment and comfort. A smile forms on her lips as she watches her friend in a peaceful slumber.
She then proceeds to carry her body carefully. Once she stood, she faced Shizuku who was watching them. "I will... bring her back to her family" She gave Shizuku a small smile before turning to walk toward Saki's house. Shizuku watched her silently on her way to the house, then turned to look around her with a solemn expression. Multiple lifeless guards and bugs lay dead on the ground everywhere, the grim and silent aftermath of the dangerous invasion that the village ever faced.
Abigail stands in front of the door of Saki's house. And as if sensing her presence, the door opens to her parents with worried expressions on their faces. Finally realizing it, Saki's mother walked forward with both of her hands on her mouth. "Oh... Saki...!" She began to tear, her husband came to comfort her. Abigail watches with a bitter smile then speaks in a gentle tone. "Saki saved the village..." She then looks at her unconscious figure. "She stood up valiantly against a bigger threat that no one else here would be brave enough to do so" She said with a small smile.
Saki's mother then steps forward and extends her arms. Abigail then carries Saki to her mother's arms. Once in her arms, her mother gently rubs her cheek on Saki's, sniffing quietly. "Oh, you silly girl..." The father rubs her back as a comfort. After a few seconds, the mother looks up to Abigail. "Thank you, Abigail... You're a good friend to her" She showed a grateful smile, which Abigail appreciated and nodded in response. With that, Saki's parents went to her room while carrying her. Abigail slowly closed the door and walked away.
The villagers around are starting to show up, their figures appearing from the doors and windows as they check the situation around, some come out cautiously. They all saw the chief standing in the middle of the large amount of the deceased scattered around the village. Abigail approached her, causing her to snap back from her thoughts. They exchanged stares and then nodded silently.
They looked around, processing the idea of how to move on and clean up after the mess that just happened. Surely enough, more and more people came out of their houses to gather around the chief, and there, she reassured them that the village was finally safe, thanks to the effort of the fallen guards, Abigail, and of course, Saki. Some of them are whispering about Saki, clearing their doubts about her and replacing them with fascination and their faith in her wish to become Shigure's first adventurer.
After a brief reassurance, Shizuku instructed her people to help clean up the dead bodies, as her guards were no longer around to help return the village back to its functioning state. Slowly, but surely, Shigure is returning to its usual liveliness for the days to come.