Chapter 95: Resolve to Save Others

After Nadia pushed Callum and Seraphine out of harm’s way, she quickly braced for impact by raising her left arm.

Once the ball of debris crashed into her, it gave the impression that she was hit by a car!

"... Ngh—!"

"N-nadia!"

She let out a pained groan before being swept away by it, leaving the two behind. Although barely, she was able to make out the sound of Seraphine calling out to her. But it was difficult to process it, as the pain that assaulted her was insurmountable in comparison to what she had faced in this exam.

The ball soon came to a stop once it hit the ground, exploding and crumbling apart like a snowball. Unfortunately, Nadia didn’t come to a stop, as she had hoped. Instead, she continued to roll and rebound off the ground.

The strewn debris on the ground scratched against her body, leaving cuts in her clothes. Eventually, though, she did come to a stop, but the condition she was in was both harrowing and hazardous.

Lying on her back, Nadia began to cough out a copious amount of blood. The bones in her left arm were shattered, and her side was deeply bruised. But that was all.

Despite having used little to no Vitality to reinforce her body, she still managed to come out with her life intact.

If it had been any other average Vitalist in her place, they would’ve lost their life — her surviving was nothing short of a miracle.

Nadia stared up at the sky with a dazed, hazy look in her blue eyes. She then reflected thoughtfully, ’My body always had been sturdier than most... even when I was younger...’

She then glanced at her mangled arm.

It was deeply swollen and horrifically bruised. Its appearance was completely tragic and would no doubt cause anyone to wince or even flinch at the mere sight of it.

’It hurts...’

In her life, falls, accidents, or even harsh training that would’ve left someone deeply injured had less of an impact on her. No matter how clumsily she moved, or how careless she was, she would at most leave with a deep cut or appalling bruise — never a cracked or broken bone.

So to experience what it was like to have a broken limb... left her by surprise. And it was an experience like no other.

Nadia gritted her teeth as her mind was split between two reactions.

"How... uncomfortable..."

’It hurts... extremely bad...’

With rapid breaths, Nadia forced herself to flip onto her chest, which caused her to let out a sharp, pained yelp. "Aghk—...!"

Once she was on her chest, she tried to force herself onto her knees, but found herself unable to. ’Not enough... strength...’ She groaned internally.

Her Vitality was just about tapped out. And her body was already at its limits. If she had to compare her current state, it was similar to what she was like yesterday, when she resorted to needing Hilda’s help to carry her.

Nadia gave up on trying to get back on her legs and weakly looked toward where everyone was at — concerned for their condition. And when she did, she found them to be moderately fine. That brought her a deep sense of relief.

After letting out a relieved sigh, she looked in the direction everyone was intently facing. There, she found the Soldier in an intense struggle against seven Scoundrels, each forcing it toward the sea, followed by a sudden streak of electricity that struck it in the face.

Nadia widened her eyes in shock before making them half-closed. ’So, that’s the plan... by forcing it into the sea, we can then jump in and take it out when it’s powerless...’

Having quickly deduced the essence of Ross’ plan, Nadia relaxed her body upon seeing how close the Soldier was to the edge. It was clear that in a few seconds, it would be their victory.

’It’s almost over...’ The corners of Nadia’s lips rose into a gentle and relieved smile.

And as she waited in anticipation, something unexpected happened.

The heavy downpour had begun to lighten, and the once-dark clouds had begun to break away, allowing the luminous moonlight to penetrate through — creating a spotlight for the Soldier to begin ripping through the Scoundrels that impeded its movements.

And when that happened, everyone dropped to their knees with dread.

"N-no way..."

"We were so close..."

"Does God not... want us to win...?"

After such a hard-fought battle, with dozens of them perishing, the wave of despair they felt from this turn of events was much greater than it should have been.

Nadia was no different; she also felt the same way.

And yet...

She didn’t let that feeling corrupt her.

Because this wasn’t it, this wasn’t the end!

With all the strength her battered body could offer, Nadia began to attempt to push herself up with one arm. She refused to lie down, while everyone’s lives were still at risk!

’Stand up... Stand up, stand up, stand up, stand up...!’

Was she not a Vitalist?

Was she not strong?

Was she not someone who had awakened a power capable of saving those who couldn’t save themselves?! As long as she was still conscious, she refused to let this be the end — the end where everybody dies!

Why? Because she could still fight!

No matter how much it hurt. No matter how tired she was. And no matter how much her body refused to. She needed to stand up right this instant! She mustn’t let this opportunity pass. No matter the cost!

’... Stand up, stand up, stand up, stand up... Stand up right now!’

After chanting those phrases inside her head, Nadia managed to push herself onto her knees. Then, with the help of her sword, she pushed herself onto her feet.

Her vision was blurry from fatigue, her mind hazy from pain, and her breathing ragged from overexertion. And yet... her Heart felt clear and set, and her eyes burned with unshakeable resolution!

At this moment, when everyone’s Heart was corrupted with despair and hopelessness... a change also occurred deep within Nadia’s Heart.

A subtle change, but one... that brought about great effects.

Nadia willed all of the Vitality she had left in her body into her legs and sprinted forward, moving at a speed that managed to surpass her healthy self!

At this moment, Nadia’s Heart had corrupted. Not with negativity, but with something else... something bright and warm!

What had bloomed inside her Heart was none other than resolve! The resolve to charge in for the sake of others! The resolve to stake everything on one act!

The resolve to save others...

Even at the cost of oneself!

Upon reaching the Predicament, Nadia lunged forward without self-regard and pierced her sword straight through the centre of its chest — pushing not only it, but also herself, into the sea!

SPLASH!

The two sank instantly, going below the surface and down further. The Predicament, which only now processed its situation, quickly began to struggle and wrestle with her under the water.

Nadia, who only had one arm, was at a clear disadvantage against the Soldier, who had two — even if it was heavily weakened by the sea.

The Soldier slammed a fist against her side, causing her mouth to spill both blood and oxygen. With only a single arm required to keep a firm hold on her sword, it was impossible for her to fend off its attacks.

She had spent most of her Vitality just to push it into the sea and was now using the rest of what she had left to barely keep on going.

She was rapidly running out of breath and strength. If nothing changed, it was clear she wasn’t going to last long.

’I need to drown it—can it even be drowned!?’ Nadia panicked, trying to figure out a way to finish it off quickly, but couldn’t find an effective solution, except for one....

’The only possible way I can kill it quickly is if I concentrate all of my Vitality into my arm and sword, and slice it in half...!’ Right now, the Soldier’s defences were at an all-time low and were much easier to slice through.

But to do that, she would need...

’Help...’

At that moment, something inside her Heart shook.

She needed help. And as if someone answered her calling... help arrived.

"Come on!"

"We can’t let her face it alone!"

Everyone who had gathered at the edge of the quayside began to jump into the sea, diving into the cold water with their weapon in hand.

The scene of how Nadia confronted the Predicaments after the warehouse’s collapse was still fresh in their mind. And because they refused to sit idly by once again, refusing to let the person who rallied them together die alone!

Soon, over a hundred Vitalists had surrounded the Soldier and begun to tear apart its flesh. And due to the sea’s overpowering effect, the Predicament was unable to regenerate or even fight back against the mass.

No matter how deep they sank, the Vitalists continued to chase after the Soldier, who could only watch as it was being torn apart. And soon... that ended.

With gritted teeth and a single arm, Nadia sawed her sword up through its flesh, her blade shining with deadly brilliance.

Eventually, from the centre of its chest, she split its head in two before spinning and slicing through its neck — beheading it.

The moment the Soldier’s head drifted away from its body, the life in its eyes quickly faded.

... It was dead. They’ve done it...!

They’ve won!

After everyone swam up and climbed back onto land, they immediately broke out into a celebration!

"WE’VE DONE IT!"

"T-the Predicaments...! T-they’re all gone, and for good!"

"WE’RE ALL VICTORIOUS!"

Everyone collapsed onto their backs, joyful and jubilant to be alive — ignoring how soaking wet they all were.

Nadia, who was eventually pulled out of the water, looked around with eyes expressing more relief than anyone here. ’It’s finally over...’

Seeing everyone celebrating so happily, Nadia’s nonchalant facade soon cracked as she revealed a happy expression. But that quickly changed when she observed the landscape and remembered the people who died.

Although it wasn’t the most ideal outcome...

She had to accept that this outcome was still ideal, nonetheless. Everyone did the best they could, including her. Each and every one of them fought with all their might and lived because of it.

Her relieved smile then turned into a sad one as she looked over at the ruin. She wasn’t sure why, but after this fight... something changed inside her Heart — something monumental.

’You all haven’t died in vain...’

...

Everyone ventured deeper into the land to find the bodies of both conscious and unconscious people. The sight was both depressing and relieving. Depressed to see people they once knew dead, and relieved to see the people who were unconscious to still be alive.

Nadia was helped to sit nearby. Having overexerted herself enough, she decided it would be best if she didn’t move for a while.

The Heroine scanned the crowd for a particular woman. And when she finished scanning around, she widened her eyes. ’Even after all of that... Hilda still isn’t here?’

The sound of this battle should’ve undoubtedly attracted her attention, and yet...

’Could something bad have happened to her? Something worse than this...?’ Nadia shivered.

As she was about to start moving around to look, Seraphine suddenly came to her.

Nadia smiled slightly. "Seraphine, it’s good to see that you’re alright—"

"We gotta go."

"... Huh?"

Seraphine had an intense, panicked expression on her face.

"We have to go, like, right now! All of us! We all have to run away from this place!" She shouted, pulling against Nadia’s arm — hoping to drag her back onto her feet.

Nadia was stunned. While resisting Seraphine’s attempt to get her back on her feet, she said, "W-wait, calm down... Go where? And why? Why do we have to run?"

She couldn’t understand what Seraphine was saying. They had all just finished a battle of their lives, and now they all had to run? Right now, she could barely move, much less run...

"Because they’re coming!" Seraphine freaked out. "The rest of them! If we don’t run away right now, they’re gonna—"

Before Seraphine could finish, a horrified scream rang out from the distance.

"P-PREDICAMENTS!"

At the sound of that, everyone immediately snapped their heads in the direction of the scream. And when they did, all of their eyes widened.

Crawling over the ruined terrain were 10 Scoundrels, seeking out corpses to feast on. Everyone was shook when they saw this and immediately began to tremble.

"W-why are there more...?"

"Why can we never catch a break!?"

"Oh god, why are you doing this to us?!"

Even Nadia was shaken. ’This wasn’t the last of them? No way...’

At this point, everyone was in no condition to fight. So, to face off against 10 Predicaments and win would be impossible! In fact, maybe a single Predicament was enough to wipe them all out!

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself up to her feet with Seraphine’s help. Then shouted:

"Everyone! Quickly get into the water! They won’t be able to get us in there!"

Although they were now a considerable distance away from the sea, that was the only way they were going to make it through this!

Everyone quickly did as she said and sprinted in the direction of the sea. Unfortunately, that proved impossible as their bodies soon collapsed from major fatigue. It was clear this was everyone’s limit.

Nadia’s eyes shook.

Summoning her sword, she hastily moved to try to assist them, but found herself collapsing as well — startling Seraphine.

"Nadia!"

"Ugh..."

Nadia tried to get back on her feet, but only managed to get up to her knees. ’This can’t be...’

When she looked up from the ground, she noticed a Scoundrel in the distance seemed to lock eyes with her — its ears twitching.

Before Nadia realised it, the Scoundrel had already begun to move in her direction.

Seraphine froze in place from fear, but was quickly woken up.

"Run... away!" Nadia groaned. "You can still move... so run away!"

"B-but I can’t leave you here—"

"Just go!"

Unfortunately, by the time they finished their back-and-forth, the Predicament was already at a distance impossible for her to run from.

Nadia, who quickly realised this, half-closed her eyes with regret. ’I guess I just wasn’t strong enough after all...’

She then began to wonder. If she had tried to get to know Hilda better last night, would that have changed anything? If she had done that and gone against her own principles... would that have saved everyone here?

The moment she thought that, she bit her bottom lip as a thin layer of tears wetted her eyes — an uncomfortable sensation spreading inside her chest. ’Damnit, Hilda...’

Right as the Predicament was about to attack them, Nadia flinched away and closed her eyes as she waited, with Seraphine doing the same.

But then...

SWIIIP!

A sharp, whistling sound sliced through the air — followed by a blunt and almost wet sound in front of them.

Nadia then suddenly felt something drip onto her face. Something warm and also thick... what was that?

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes and found the Predicament that was about to attack them had collapsed to the ground with a strange, black metal object through the side of its skull.

’Why does that look so familiar?’ Nadia sat up in shock before covering her noise. ’This smell—!’

She didn’t know why, but a strong metallic smell suddenly permeated the air. It was definitely the smell of blood, but why did it feel like it was a multitude stronger? Even the other 9 Predicaments froze at the smell.

"Cough! Cough!" Nadia coughed at the burning smell of blood, and before she realised it, there was a silhouette of a person standing over her.