"I... I can't... fall here..."
"My brothers... are still counting on me..."
In a broad clearing, the last surviving samurai leaned against a rock, his face pale and his breathing ragged.
He kept gasping for breath as he stared at the gruesome battlefield before him, his face filled with pain.
It was both the pain of his wounds and the anguish of losing his comrades.
"You're..."
His expression changed when he saw Ellin approaching.
"Why are you here?"
"It's dangerous here. Hurry, get out!"
"Inazuma has been engulfed by a black calamity. There are monsters everywhere, mindless things that do nothing but devour everything in a frenzy. Every trace that we humans ever existed will be swallowed whole."
Ellin remained silent. She did not leave, merely looking at the samurai with a conflicted expression.
Seeing that Ellin still would not leave, the samurai grew frantic.
"Go, now! Those monsters will come back. If you don't leave, it'll really be too late!"
"No one knows where the Shogun has gone, and Lady Kitsune Saiguu is missing too. We have no one to rely on but ourselves."
As he spoke, it was hard to tell whether he was addressing Ellin or trying to bolster his own courage.
Overcome with emotion, he gritted his teeth. "But if we give up even on hope, then we'll truly have nothing left!"
"We will protect Inazuma until the very end!"
Those few simple words laid bare the horror of that calamity, the brutality of the fighting, and the despair of the people who had lived through it...
"Don't be afraid. I'm right here!"
Just then, Ei approached.
"Y-Your Excellency!"
The moment the samurai saw Ei, delighted surprise spread across his face.
His face brimmed with joy, with trust and reverence for his goddess!
"You've returned!"
"Thank