Merri collapsed to the ground, the blood pooling, and her breath fading. Edwin dropped down by her side, his face and body covered in cuts from the battle prior.
Corrin fell to his knees. A form of smoke began to flow out of his scar; cuts on his face ran with blood. His muscles were torn and in excruciating pain.
Corrin looked at his hands.
"My hands… are smoking…"
His hands have a light, steam-like stream running away from them. He was dizzy from the blood loss. Yet still, somehow, the Queen was laughing.
"I haven't had to fight like that in decades!"
The Queen looks over at her arm. The blood gushed out of it.
"I guess I'll just have to give it my all, won't I?"
Corrin didn't even get a chance to react, and how could he? His body was in too much pain to move. He felt a burst of pain flow through his body from his left side.
He flew to the right, the Queen's leg bruised from the power behind the kick.
The walls crashed open, and Corrin could see the outside. Below was the city, and a deadly drop.
Corrin pushed his sword into the ground, trying to stop his momentum, but it was too late. Corrin flew out of sight. Edwin looked up.
"Corrin!!"
Edwin looked at the Queen. Her body seemed to be quickly losing its strength as the blood loss became more severe.
Merri turned her head slightly to look towards the Queen, the blood flowing out like a stream.
"No…"
Edwin grabbed his katana and forced himself up.
"I won't let you win… I'll kill you here and now!"
The Queen smiles slightly, but her body doesn't want to put in the effort to make it full.
"Just try to…"
In the corner of their eyes, however, a light began to shine. They instinctively turned their heads and looked towards the light. Corrin was climbing back up.
As he stood, it became clear something was different. His scar was now a diamond-shaped rhombus diagonally across his cheek. Tears were flowing down his face, and blood was dried on his clothes.
"I found…"
Corrin walked forward with his sword in hand. The light was bubbling around him.
"...that despite the exhaustion I feel…"
Corrin looked up at the Queen.
"...if I transfer the pain I feel into more energy…"
Corrin brought his sword up, facing the queen in an offensive stance.
"...I'll have just enough energy to kill you."
The Queen smiled and laughed weakly.
"Go ahead, Corrin. Kill me then."
Corrin gritted his teeth, and he dashed forward. Edwin jumped in as well, and the Queen got ready to defend from two places.
"Power!"
The metal sparks, and the Queen's blade slightly chips.
"Steady as the Stream!"
A dozen slashes whip through the air. The wind follows the Queen away from the attack. Corrin turns his body towards her.
"Twirling Serpent!"
Corrin spins around, the light following from behind him. The Queen jumps up, and Corrin flies under her.
"Upward Wind!"
The wind gusts upward, the slash hitting the Queen's foot. Corrin was already getting more tired.
"Mirage!"
Corrin's body forms afterimages as he attacks quickly; the metal screeches.
Edwin jumps above the queen, readying his sword.
"Downward Wind!"
Edwin slashes downward, and a hint of golden energy flecks off his blade.
"Steady as the Stream!"
Edwin attacks a dozen times precisely, forcing the Queen to turn her attention to him. Corrin jumps and kicks her in her side just as she had done to him before.
She flies away from them and toward the other side of the room. She coughs up blood. She lifts her head to Corrin and Edwin.
During the fall earlier, Corrin suddenly had some kind of revelation. What if he channeled the pain he felt into adrenaline? Corrin had stabbed the side of the building and climbed up despite his injuries.
He knew that his body moving in this state was dangerous. He could lose the ability to move his limbs at any moment. If he were to go limp now, it would be all over.
Corrin knew that he needed an opening to attack quickly. The Queen's bloodied mouth smiled weakly. She catches herself from toppling over. The only way she could win by now was to wait for them to tire themselves.
"You can't keep this up forever… you'll falter eventually…"
The Queen coughs blood on the ground. She hears a familiar voice from behind her and turns reflexively, her eyes showing shock.
"I could say the same for you."
Merri explodes forward, her sword pointed directly at the Queen's chest.
"Power!!"
The blade explodes through the Queen's chest. The Queen's clothes rip and wave; blood spurs. She replaced her footing, trying desperately to find sturdy ground.
"Seems… you forgot about me, huh?"
The Queen turns her bodyweight right, barely. She readies and slashes towards Merri, but it wouldn't have been enough strength to harm her even if the attack did hit.
The Queen knew that this was it. She had turned her back to the two most powerful people in the room. No amount of moving could stop what was coming.
"It was a good run, Corris."
Corrin jumped the Queen's right flank and Edwin to her left. They both darted forward, the ground around them crumbling. They used the last of their power to deliver one final blow to the Queen.
They raised their katanas.
"Power!!"
"Power!!"
Both of their swords glowed a golden color and connected at the Queen's neck. They both screamed, hoping that their voice would somehow push their blades forward. The Queen's neck began to collapse.
The moment seemed to slow.
Corrin pushed his blade further into her neck. Edwin did the same, until both of their blades connected in the middle of her neck. The Queen's head flew upward.
Corrin and Edwin fell to the ground on opposite sides of the Queen. Edwin instantly went unconscious. Corrin fell and tumbled into the hole in the wall.
Corrin couldn't catch his breath. He was panting, and panting, and panting. His entire body hurt more than he could ever have imagined. He tried to move slightly, but a wave of pain shot through him at that moment, so he stayed put.
He began to scream and cry, the weight of those few minutes finally dropping onto Corrin all at once. Smoke began to rise from Corrin's body; his hands felt burned and hurt whenever anything touched them.
His new diamond-rhombus-shaped scar reverted to its usual look, though bloodied due to the Queen's previous swipe at it. He inched his head upward and looked at Edwin and Merri. He could see both of them lying still. Merri's body was limp and in a pool of blood. She was most certainly dead.
Corrin's cheeks were already raw from the tears, and the salt from them stung the wounds on his face. Corrin looked at Edwin. Edwin was lying on his side, his katana a few feet ahead of him. Blood dripped slowly from his face and body.
He had endured the same bloodied frenzy Corrin had, and he seemed to have fewer wounds. That wasn't to say Corrin had it worse by any means; both of them had pushed themselves beyond their limits.
The sight of Merri and Edwin led him to think of the others. Lenn had died just like that. Corrin hadn't known Lenn very well, but he still felt saddened. Lenn had been a good teacher to Corrin.
Forrest was another strange case. At first, Corrin wasn't sure if the pain he felt for Forrest's death was real or if he felt obligated. He wasn't sure until he began to wail out loud over Forrest's death. Corrin had known Forrest for a year.
They didn't often have colloquial conversations with just them, but that didn't matter to Corrin. Forrest had saved his life from Tenor Village after it had burned down.
Corrin's thoughts soon turned to Tenor Village. But that's when he heard a chirp from behind him. He turned his head slowly and just quick enough to see a cardinal resting on the side of the wall. Corrin looked out and saw a battle raging below.
Vrebathian soldiers had gotten through the wall. Corrin smiled faintly, knowing that he would likely be saved by the soldiers when they arrived at the palace. Corrin's eyes closed slowly as power drained from him, removing his energy from his body.
Then, he felt an energy surge through his head for a moment before everything went dark.