A thousand knights had left Zaphias, headed to Mt. Temza. Among them were fifty members of the Canary Brigade. But now, after the monsters had attacked so viciously, so purposefully, led by that thing floating above them, all but two had fallen. The last remaining knights were Lieutenant Damuron Atomais and his captain, Canary.

That thing—Damuron didn't know what it was, but it was too powerful and too intelligent to be called a mere monster—was still following them, as they fled through the desert on the last remaining mount. If they could just get to the ocean, to the boats, they could escape... They could bring Hermes' research notes back to Zaphias, as well as the mementos of the knights... They were almost there, they just had to reach the–

No. After crossing the last of the dunes, the beach was in sight, but there was no solace to be found there. The boats were destroyed; the crews vanished, presumably dead. Damuron didn't know when he'd started crying.

The thing dove after them, misshapen fangs bared. Damuron grabbed Canary and pulled her off the mount, hearing its dying screams just moments later. The two pulled themselves to their feet, facing the beast head-on.

"It can't expect us to lie down peacefully, now can it?" Sure, they were almost certainly about to die, but at the same time, they had little left to lose. The only thing left to do was last as long as they could...

"Thank you, Damuron." Somehow, Canary managed a genuine smile. The sight of her gave him strength he didn't know he had left. "The man who stands beside me in my final hour... the man you are now... I love you."

Knowing her mysterious boyfriend had to be among the recent casualties, he couldn't tell if she was genuinely confessing to him, or just trying to boost his morale. He couldn't bring himself to care. His reply, at least, was genuine, and both of them knew it.

"I love you too, Canary." And I'm sorry, Canary's boyfriend, luckiest of men. Guess I'll get to meet you in the afterlife...

The thing lunged forward with a flurry of attacks, and they struggled to get out of the way, finding it hard to manoeuvre with the sand sliding beneath their feet. When it launched a barrage of fireballs at Damuron, he was almost unable to dodge. The assault blew him backwards. His eyes focused on Canary as he slowly, painstakingly pulled himself to his feet... She'd jumped in front of him, guarding him as he recovered. She deflected the dark lances the thing launched at him, not even reacting when one sliced her arm. He could only stare at the bloody gash it had left, registering that her blood had splashed onto his face. He tried to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

I should be the one protecting her... With a flick of her wrist, Canary transformed her weapon from a sword to a bow. She and the thing both readied their next attacks; Canary glowed green as she charged her Vajra arte, while it spat embers, readying a large burst of flame. No... That arte drains her energy! Is she trying to sacrifice herself? Canary... Don't do this!

It felt like his body was moving on its own. Just before either party could fire, Damuron ran at Canary and pushed her to the side. The glow around her vanished as she lost her concentration. She looked back at him and opened her mouth to say something—scold him, maybe?—but before she could speak, the thing fired its blast, still aimed at the spot where Canary was standing just moments ago... A spot not too far from where Damuron now stood...

The force of the blast knocked him away, back among the remains of the earlier projectiles. He fell hard, whacking his head against something...

And Damuron was never heard from again.

Canary barely kept herself from falling over when Damuron pushed her, and from falling to her knees when she saw what had happened. She'd already had to leave everyone else in her brigade to their deaths, and now even Damuron, her right-hand man, had given his life for her in vain...

She couldn't keep running.

In a last, desperate, thoughtless attempt, she snapped her bow back into sword form and charged forward, not even bothering to defend herself. In seconds, one of the beast's dark lances pierced right through her chest. She stopped and stared down at the wound, already lightheaded from the earlier blood loss. The enemy quickly lost interest in her, focusing its attention on the sky.

The sky...? She looked up as she fell backwards onto the sand. There was something flying up there, with white and golden wings. Her vision was fading, but she thought she could make out a person on its back. Duke? You... tried to warn us...

That was the last thing Canary saw before her death.