Osian stood still in place. It felt as if time had stopped. If he hadn't seen wrong, what had fallen there bleeding was Lorraine.
Her ivory hair was scattered on the ground. Blood was flowing from her abdomen, which she was trying to hold back with her hands. The gushing blood showed no signs of stopping. To anyone's eyes, it was a fatal wound.
Around Lorraine were her comrades, and right beside her, Seren was kneeling with a devastated expression.
"What the hell is this supposed to be?"
Anger seeped into Osian's voice. The people gathered here were people with crisis management capabilities. There was no way they would just leave Lorraine to die like this.
"Why aren't you using a potion or some other emergency treatment right now!"
It was then that Seren's bowed head turned toward Osian. Her eyes were filled with tears. Overflowing tears streamed down her cheeks.
"It's no use. Even if we try to use them, it doesn't work."
"What does that mean?"
It was Cromwell who answered instead. He too carefully chose his words in this solemn atmosphere.
"This wound was caused by the ancient Ferocious Wolf. The Ferocious Wolf 's cutting power remains in the wound and continues to tear it open. Even if we try to seal the wound with a potion, it opens again. It's a phenomenon that wasn't observed at the time, but it appears to be a newly manifested power as it became stronger than before."
That's why even though they kept pouring potions on Lorraine, her wound wasn't healing. They were merely postponing her death as much as possible.
"It seems we should prepare ourselves mentally."
Osian ignored Cromwell's words and approached Lorraine. Lorraine's hollow eyes, which had been staring into space, turned toward Osian.
"Ah. Junior, you're here?"
"Why on earth did this happen?"
Osian had to ask. Lorraine was a rear-support sniper. For her to be injured like this was strange no matter how he looked at it.
Moreover, even if she had been ambushed, Lorraine could respond adequately. She wasn't just a simple gunslinger. Her reflexes and situational awareness were outstanding compared to anyone.
"It's because of me."
Seren answered instead.
"I pushed myself too hard."
The fight with Delford, who had released his power, was arduous. But as her comrades joined forces, they were able to push Delford back. In the end, Delford made a final desperate struggle. It was an attack that covered the entire surrounding area with countless slashing attacks.
If it had been the others, they could have resisted sufficiently. But uniquely among those present, Cromwell couldn't. Unfortunately, Cromwell fell within the range of the attack, and Seren threw herself to save Cromwell.
"Lorraine tried to protect me..."
When Lorraine tried to save Seren, who was about to be caught in the storm of slashing attacks, she was unintentionally wounded.
"Ahaha. What are you saying? I just wanted to help, that's all."
Osian looked down at Lorraine. When Seren was in danger, she must have thrown herself in her place. Lorraine tried to say she was fine, but she had a painful past. She had lost her precious squad comrades, and one of them she had to kill with her own hands.
Throwing herself into that storm of slashing attacks must have been solely because of her will to not lose anyone precious again.
"Cough. Still, I'm glad everyone survived."
Lorraine smiled brightly. Unlike the foolish appearance she usually showed, it was a sincere smile. The life force was slowly fading from her body. At this rate, Lorraine would die.
Osian pondered. What should he do? If he cauterized the wound with the flames of the Sun Ring?
'No. It's already too late. Lorraine's body is like a glass on the verge of shattering right now. If I cauterize the wound with Sun Ring’s power, even if I can stop the bleeding, she's already so exhausted she could die from shock.'
There was no telling what would happen if he tried to apply a power as strong as the Sun Ring to a human body. It would have been different if Rose Melody, who had healing powers, had been here. But Rose wasn't here. Even if he tried to take Lorraine to where Rose was, she would die on the way.
No method came to mind.
He was good at cutting and killing things, but saving injured people wasn't a knight's job. For the first time, Osian realized there was something he couldn't do. That there were things beyond his reach.
As everyone was despairing like that. Seren spoke.
"No. I can't let it end like this."
At her voice, which even carried a sense of determination, everyone present looked at her. Seren Gracia was about to do something. Everyone intuited it.
"Seren unnie."
Lorraine looked at Seren with hazy vision. Seren, seeing Lorraine like that, shed tears while smiling with her mouth.
"You never did it when I told you to call me unnie."
Perhaps that's why. Her mind was made up. Seren closed her eyes and concentrated. Her body became hazy and disappeared, isolated from the world.
When Seren opened her eyes again, what she saw was a world filled with strange flows.
A world where tangible forces transformed into various colors, forming torrents and whirlpools. It was like looking at a world where oils floating on water were complexly mixed. The dimensional gap that appeared when you crossed one layer of dimension. It was a place full of danger where, if you touched the wrong spot, you might fall into a distant space.
If it had been the usual Seren, she would have quietly hidden until her ability stabilized. But not now.
Seren stared at one spot. She saw a place twisted far more massively than other torrents.
Kuuuuuuuuu! It was a giant black whirlpool. The power of that place was so immense that even the surrounding torrents couldn't approach it and became relatively calm.
If it had been her in the past, she wouldn't have even glanced at that place. She would have avoided it as much as possible. But now it was different.
Seren approached the black whirlpool. Stepping on the colorful hues around it that had calmed due to the massive energy, she finally stood before it.
And without hesitation, she threw herself into it.
'Remember that sensation.'
When she saw the future through spacetime interference. Though unintentional, it imprinted a certain sensation on Seren. Only the first time is difficult; once you get the sensation, it becomes much easier.
Of course, what Seren was trying to do was far more improbable and dangerous than that. Dying without pain would rather be a good death. There was a high possibility she would meet a far more terrible end than that.
Then why take such a risk? She didn't know either. She just didn't want to let that fool die. That was the only reason.
Seren felt the pressure on her body in the torrent. Considering that her ability allowed her to move perfectly fine even in such spacetime torrents, the power of the black whirlpool was absurd.
Even in it, Seren gritted her teeth and tried not to lose consciousness. The moment she lost consciousness here, she would be swept away by the flow and fall into some unknown world.
That must not happen. What did she come all the way here for? She recalled the scene at Violet Fox, where everyone was laughing and chatting. It didn't matter if she couldn't join them. Just watching was enough.
Even in the pain of feeling like her entire body would be crushed, Seren struggled to find something within it.
'Found it.'
In the pitch-black darkness, Seren saw one flow. The giant torrent took the form of countless white lines flowing against a pitch-black background. Within it, Seren discovered a heterogeneous flow. Unlike the other lines, it was a flow rotating in the opposite direction.
'That's it.'
If she could go toward the future timeline in the flow of spacetime. Conversely, couldn't she also go to the past timeline?
'Of course, the probability is low.'
This was a gamble. She couldn't be certain that the line rotating in the opposite direction necessarily meant going back in time. But there was no reason not to try. Seren desperately moved through the flow and finally grasped the line she wanted.
Immediately after, her body was sucked in as if drawn by something.
It was a flow so massive that it made even the pitch-black torrent seem trivial.
Seren didn't resist the flow. Everything she was looking at began to reverse like rewinding a tape. Seren observed the outside situation from within the flow. Everything flowed backward.
The flowing blood returned, the collapsed debris was restored to its original state, the slashing attacks that had burst out returned to Delford.
The time that had been rewinding began to flow in the original direction again. The slashing attacks spread, she threw herself to protect Cromwell. The moment Lorraine moved to save her.
Seren, who had been in the flow of spacetime, moved.
What she did wasn't much. She simply pushed Lorraine's back, which had become defenseless while protecting her, to a safe place.
That was enough.
"Ah."
Lorraine, sensing danger, looked back as her back was suddenly pushed. She saw Seren in a translucent form and opened her eyes wide. In one place, there were two of the same person.
Regardless, Seren smiled at the fact that she had finally done it.
The slashing attacks devoured the surroundings. Sweeping like a storm, the ceiling was sliced off and debris poured down. The massive wolf escaped through the gaping hole.
In the devastation left behind. Miraculously, no one died or was injured.
"Wha, what was that?"
Lorraine was bewildered. She had clearly thrown herself at risk to save Seren, yet she was unharmed. It wasn't because of luck.
'Someone definitely pushed me.'
She saw that face, but suddenly couldn't remember it. Whatever it was, wasn't it a good thing that she was unharmed and fine? Lorraine thought so and smiled.
In the distance, she saw Osian running over.
"Hey! Junior!"
He must have finished fighting and returned too. But seeing him come so urgently, he must have been secretly worried about this side, right? As Lorraine giggled inwardly, thinking of teasing Osian playfully, she became puzzled seeing that his expression after removing his helmet was somehow serious.
"What. Why that expression? Did some problem happen?"
"Seren. Seren Gracia, where is she?"
"Huh? Of course she's right here..."
Lorraine tried to point to Seren, whom she had saved, but opened her eyes wide seeing that no one was there.
"Whe, where did she go?"
It seemed the others hadn't noticed Seren's disappearance either.
"Don't tell me she used her ability and disappeared?"
"That can't be."
Disappearing without a trace was her ability. But using her ability in a situation like this was somehow strange. Especially Osian's expression. That expression, as if he had intuited that something bad had happened, was telling them that something had occurred.
Osian quickly looked around. Brilliant starlight formed in his eyes. Soon Osian stared at a certain spot. It was empty air.
However, Osian could see it. Faint but the trace of a sealed dimension engraved in the air. And beyond it, Seren's figure watching this side with an expression both joyful and sad.
Their gazes met. Seren opened her eyes wide in surprise, then waved her hand toward Osian.
The wistful smile and that gesture were saying farewell. She wanted to say something. Though her appearance was visible, her voice didn't reach. But from seeing the shape of her mouth as she spoke, he could sufficiently infer what she wanted to say.
'Thank you. Take care.'
With those words, Seren's figure disappeared. She had vanished into such depths of the dimension that even Osian's eyes couldn't catch her.
Ability runaway. Seren had ultimately been consumed by her own power.
"......"
The other comrades seemed to sense the gravity of the situation, as they couldn't say anything. Then, Cromwell stood up and said.
"The thing we feared has finally happened. Her ability ran out of control. She seems to have fallen into a dimensional gap now."
As expected, Cromwell quickly realized what had happened to Seren. He didn't know the cause. But from the result alone, there was enough to infer.
"The method? Tell me the method to bring Seren back."
"I don't know of such a method either. Didn't I tell you? The ability she possesses is literally an unexpected result, serendipity."
However, Cromwell continued.
"The power she possesses is an ancient power. Though I lumped it together, ultimately the texture of that power might be connected to yours."
"My power? Are you talking about Starlight?"
"Of course, research is lacking, so it's just a hypothesis. I called it an ancient power, but I don't know how different they are from each other. What errors might occur due to that difference..."
"That's enough."
Osian immediately gripped his sword. Starlight blazed from the sword's tip.
"You..."
Everyone, including Cromwell, was surprised. Because it was the first time they had seen Osian's expression so serious.
Osian even released his armor and concentrated solely on the sword.
Starlight blazed at the sword's tip, and above it, the blue energy of Moon Scar intertwined. And at the end, even the bright yellow power of Sun Ring was imbued.
Sun-Moon-Star, the power of celestial bodies was imbued in one sword.
The longsword that Eldin had created with all her might trembled with a hum. It was such intense energy that even an Elven Sword couldn't endure it. If it hadn't been reinforced, the sword would have melted, unable to withstand it.
Osian finally thrust the gathered power of Sun-Moon-Star toward the crack where he had seen Seren's figure.