After what felt like an eternity to Samael, the battle finally came to an end.
They had been the four longest hours of his life.
At some point, he had been forced to unsummon his two Fallen Echoes.
His Essence had reached its limit.
He no longer had enough to maintain his combat Aspect.
For the first time since the Nightmare began, Samael genuinely felt that he was going to die.
Again.
Now, he was sprawled across the floor of a government building alongside the rest of Unit 27.
Everyone was scattered across the room.
They looked like corpses.
No one had enough strength to even stand up.
—I survived... —Nero murmured.
Her voice was so weak that it barely seemed to belong to the same woman who had slaughtered Nightmare Creatures just a few hours earlier.
Then she looked at Samael.
—Hey, Samael.
—Hm?
He answered purely out of reflex.
Even speaking was a challenge.
His throat hurt, and his entire body felt as though it had been crushed.
—Will you marry me?
Samael remained silent for a few seconds.
Nero was just as exhausted and injured as he was.
—If you survive all seven nights, I'll marry you.
—Is that a promise?
—It's a promise.
Nero smiled.
On the brink of death, she had chosen the most suitable person in the unit to marry.
Noah was too young.
Cyrene was a woman.
So...
That left only one option.
—Okay. It's a promise —Samael confirmed.
He knew Nero was merely an existence created by the Spell.
If the real Nero were alive, she would probably never even hear about that promise.
Even so...
Samael decided to make it.
—See, Noah? I managed to get married. You said I would die alone.
Nero spoke with a pride that, under normal circumstances, would probably have been much greater.
But she didn't even have the strength to celebrate properly.
Noah let out a weak laugh.
—Samael is starting to sound like me. A liar.
The few people in the room laughed.
After that, they remained like that for another three hours.
Resting.
Recovering as much as they could.
They had only a few hours before they would have to return to the battlefield.
During that time, they chatted a little.
They talked about their Aspects.
Their abilities.
Ordinary things from their daily lives.
For a few moments, they almost seemed like normal people.
Until Nero learned about Samael's Flaw.
She fell silent for a few seconds.
Then her eyes widened.
—So, if I marry you, I'll get a husband and a wife at the same time?
—Basically.
Samael shrugged.
—That's a great deal, don't you think?
Nero burst out laughing.
The others joined her.
And for a few minutes, they managed to forget that they were about to return to a killing field.
Finally, the time came.
Everyone stood up.
Or at least, they tried.
Then they began walking toward the walls once again.
Back to the battlefield.
—Hey, Samael.
Noah called out as they walked.
Samael looked at him.
The boy was serious.
Much more serious than usual.
—If I die...
Noah paused.
—Turn me into a Memory.
Samael frowned.
—I believe you can carry us out of here. Even if it's only as Memories.
Noah kept walking.
—After all, they're called Memories for a reason, aren't they? Maybe they're meant to represent those who fell along the way.
His smile faded.
—And your Aspect is the ultimate expression of that.
Noah looked at Samael.
—If you turn us into Memories, it'll be like a promise that you'll carry us out of here.
Samael remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he replied:
—You promised me you wouldn't die.
He started walking again.
—So don't die. After all, I don't need useless Memories.
Noah fell behind for a moment.
Samael continued walking.
Then, in a low voice, he murmured:
—I promise.
Noah heard him.
And replied in the same tone:
—Just kidding.
He smiled sadly.
But that sentence was ambiguous.
What was a joke?
The idea of turning his companions into Memories?
Or the promise that he would survive?
Only Noah knew.
Finally, they crossed the enormous gates once again.
It hadn't been long since they had passed through them for the first time.
But Unit 27 wasn't the only one heading out that night.
At another point in the city, another gate also began to open.
Unit 4 advanced.
Enkidu.
Bel.
Liu.
Elizabeth.
A cold blade pierced through the Nightmare Creatures.
Liu was so terrifying on that battlefield that she seemed like a natural disaster.
An intense cold radiated from her body.
Her physical attributes kept increasing.
And every wound she received froze the instant it appeared.
If Samael could see her at that moment, he would probably be impressed.
She was fighting without her usual blindfold.
Her crimson eyes gleamed.
There was something lonely and desperate in them.
As if she were trying to force herself to draw out a strength she didn't possess.
"Shit... I'm too weak."
Liu cut a Nightmare Creature in half.
"I can't be this weak."
Another creature lunged at her.
She destroyed it.
"How am I supposed to protect them?"
Liu was already so terrifying that, in terms of raw strength, she was surpassed only by those with truly divine Aspects.
And even so...
It wasn't enough.
Not in America.
"I don't want to be alone again."
She gritted her teeth.
"Give me strength, Mara."
Her Flaw was cruel.
Madness-inducing.
But at least it gave her the strength she needed.
If the price was her sanity...
That was a small price to pay.
If she had to go insane to never feel that cold again...
It would be worth it.
If she had to hear those chains once more...
It would still be a small price.
Even praying against her own principles would be too little to ask in exchange for never being alone again.
A pair of lavender eyes watched all that destruction.
Elizabeth.
And it only strengthened her resolve.
While Liu could face several Awakened Creatures and even a few Fallen ones at the same time, Elizabeth still had to fight carefully.
She drew her bowstring.
Took aim.
Fired.
The arrow pierced through one creature.
Then another.
And another.
"There's no point in feeling sorry for myself."
Elizabeth drew another arrow.
"I can't keep feeling sorry for myself."
She aimed again.
"I need to think about how to change this."
That was what she had learned by observing her own actions over the past few days.
She couldn't change the past.
But she could change the future.
And every arrow she fired seemed like a small step in that direction.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Bel used her vibrations to slice through the flesh of the Nightmare Creatures.
Her defense was probably the strongest among all the Awakened present.
But her mind wasn't entirely focused on the battle.
It was on Liu.
She seemed to be walking toward her own destruction.
Fighting like that was practically begging to die.
Desperate.
Indifferent to her own injuries.
As if she were saying:
"Kill me."
—Stop...
Bel gritted her teeth.
"I can't focus on her."
A moment of distraction was all it took.
A creature struck her shoulder.
Bel staggered backward.
Then she felt it.
That sensation.
Something inside her body was already beginning to slip out of her control.
One of her fingers moved on its own.
Her Flaw.
A sign that it was beginning to take control.
Soon, it would dominate her body.
—Please...
Bel took a deep breath.
—Not this time.
On that battlefield, they weren't the only ones fighting.
Every Awakened carried their own traumas.
Their dreams.
Their fears.
Their hopes.
But the Nightmare Creatures didn't care about any of that.
They didn't care about their dreams.
They didn't care about their wounds.
They didn't care about the people they loved.
They kept advancing.
Hordes of horrors extinguishing lives one after another.
A place where dreams were destroyed...
And eyes closed forever.