In the distance, the elves, with clasped hands, entered a religious field facing the statue, adding an ambiguous background to the astonishnt of Hope and the Cid.
"...All the n...are dead?" asked Hope.
Cid’s gaze shifted to the singing elves, a sudden realization hitting him.
Since they had set foot on this land, they had been surrounded by female elves; the warriors, the civilians, everyone here was female, but they never thought about why.
Nefertari looked absently at the sky again.
"Have you seen how the entrance to our tiny kingdom is a cliff? It’s a safety asure. A long ti ago, our kingdom was located outside, among all the other creatures. We were fighting daily, against giants, gladiators, anything. If we want to eat, we have to hunt monsters, if we sleep too deeply, we risk being attacked. We have learned to fight since we were children, and we saw children beco orphans every day, that was our daily life, but one day..."
Her gaze fell to the ground.
"The Queen appeared. Thanks to her power from another world, she managed to significantly reduce the number of our enemies. For the first ti, we had hope, we could live for weeks without fighting. It was a miracle and we were grateful to the world. ...but then God abandoned us again. To protect us from the monsters outside, our warriors went into battle against the gladiators. We had the blessing of our Queen and she continued to pray non-stop for weeks. Our warriors were strong, our faith was second to none... but we learned the hard way to never walk on the grassland."
She stood up, turning towards them with a mischievous look.
"You are strong enough, I grant you, but what about your raw power? In the grasslands lie the giants, a species of monsters with physical strength beyond anything you can imagine. With no magic to defend you, with a horde of surprisingly strong barbarians who can slay the giants. Compared to them, we were useless without our magic, and we were slaughtered to the last. Every male, old or young, all reduced to limbs and flesh for the giants. End of story."
She made an awkward bow to the two speechless boys.
At the sa ti, the singing of the elves beca louder and a few words could be heard.
’We shall not be frightened of the Gods, watching as they gaze upon our suffering, in red
Smash thy land, damn your words in the burning blaze with no tears to shed, upon the scarlet sands’
Half their faces hidden under a veil, a broad smile on their lips, their hands clasped in prayer, the won sang this anti-God song, facing the statue of the woman carrying an orb in front of the wall.
A cold sweat ran down Hope and Cid’s necks. Their trembling faces reflected in Nefertari’s erald eyes.
She laughed and sat down between them.
"You guys are funny, you’re always shocked by anything. In this world, it’s kill or be killed, if you freeze for a second..."
the tip of his dagger touched Hope’s neck.
"...Trice."
Hope, feeling a little nose to nose, lowered his head.
"...Sorry."
"...Yeah, you’re definitely the first to die. How sad for you."
She held out her arms and watched her people sing.
"If you are so weak, you will die in a very pathetic way. Think about it, you only die once, don’t you want it to be dazzling?"
"...Why does this suit you so well? Do you think it’s funny?" Hope growled.
"Is it funny? Maybe not when you have regrets, but if I could die, I would want a death so amazing that it would make people pray for like we do for our n. Ah, speaking of which, is not your sister still mourned by your people?"
Cid jumped and shook his head. Nefertari raised an eyebrow and turned to Hope who was giving her a murderous look.
"What? You said you felt guilty about her death, so she’s still on your mind, right? Everyone in your house knows her, and even I know her now. Her na will remain rembered, her legacy will live on, isn’t it amazing? My... I wish I had that too."
Silence fell over them, the elves finishing their chants in the distance. Nefertari glanced at a figure casting a shadow over her, Hope standing with her fist shaking.
"Don’t..."
"Ah? Already up for a fourth?" She smiled, Hope clenching his fist tighter in response.
His breathing grew heavier, he forced his body to speak his words.
"Don’t...talk...about her..."
"Why? Are you worried about ? Relax, she won’t co back anyway."
Cid jumped to his feet and stood in front of Hope who was about to jump on the young elf. He struggled to break free from his friend’s grip but Cid was used to handling him and knew how much power was needed.
Nefertari burst out laughing, much to Cid’s dismay.
"You guys are really fun, I understand why I can feel the Queen’s presence in you. You live a life full of regrets."
"Shut up!"
"Shut your mouth..." Cid groaned.
Nefertari stood up with her hands on her hips.
"Well, that was refreshing. I guess you can only envy sothing you’re missing, so I take it your ’friend’ is amazing. Too bad he’s not here, I’m dying to see you cry in despair."
She turned her eyes to the sky, ignoring the boy burning with rage in front of her.
"Even I...I envy you. You’re easy to kill, all you have to do is to be a great person and you’ll be rembered after you die. It’s a privilege that the Queen has taken away from us."
The boys ceased their act and turned towards the girl, who displayed a new facial expression. She lowered her gaze, revealing a smile.
"Well, things always get fun with you."
As Freya’s group departed from the temple, a sense of disappointnt hung in the air. Their expressions were somber as they gazed at the ground. Hope and Cid sensed that sothing was wrong and decided to join them, while a few scattered volunteers also ca together to see what happened.
"So? What happened? Have you seen the Queen?"
"Did sothing go wrong? Why do you look like that?"
The questions continued to pour in, causing the girls to display increasing signs of irritation on their faces. Eryl managed to quiet them down by simply raising her hand.
"We will explain everything to you, but it will be impossible if you do not know how to practice the art of silence."
The group fell silent as Eryl began recounting their encounter with Cleopatra, which ended in a troubleso outco. Tension filled the air as they exchanged worried glances, so even trembling with fear. Her comrade hushed their noise, a hint of offense in their expression.
"She will help us... if we give her..."
Their gazes shifted towards a figure standing amidst them, her lips nervously pressed together, and her head lowered in a display of vulnerability. The na that escaped their lips was none other than Liliana.
"That’s what she said. She promised to take care of the Twilight of Gods personally, but Liliana will stay in the elven kingdom and beco her possession." Freya said in a tired voice.
They exchanged worried glances, fully aware that seizing this opportunity would be the most logical course of action given their circumstances, yet, their moral compass was holding them back.
Liliana had gained imnse popularity as a prominent mber of the new Holy Knights, earning the admiration of both the common people and the emissaries. While Freya represented the nobility, Liliana had beco the symbol of the commoners, fearlessly battling against the impending darkness brought by the Twilight of Gods. Leaving her behind felt like an unbearable consequence, particularly after enduring the horrors they had faced thus far.
"...If...If it’s for the common good..."
Marie quickly interrupted the young girl’s soft voice by grabbing her wrist.
"Are you crazy?! That’s out of the question! We’re not leaving you here!"
"But...this is our best chance. We finally found a Sin who cares about humans...she wants to help..."
"And after that, she’ll keep you as a trophy? No deal!"
The emissaries were engaged in lively conversations, showing genuine interest in the matter at hand. Each of them recognized the significance of the situation, yet no one was willing to make the difficult decision to sacrifice this angel in the hell on earth.
Freya crossed her arms, wondering about the reason behind the Queen’s choice. What was so special about Liliana that she suddenly beca a bargaining chip? As their minds pondered and Marie clashed with Liliana, Eryl took a deep breath and interrupted them.
"The Queen has given us a few days to think about it, we don’t have to respond now." She said looking at Liliana. "In the anti, the elves are going to look for Iris’s group. Let’s take the ti to think about it a little, we’ll decide later when everyone is there."
After considering their limited options, they chose to follow the maid’s suggestion and wait for ti to reveal the best course of action. The Queen permitted them to stay in her realm until a decision was made. So, they remained patient until the crucial day arrived, unaware that beyond the borders of the kingdom, an extraordinary being was massacring monsters.
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