Lovely (Ruby x Dyrroth)

twenty-seven

The next five days passed quicker than Ruby could even comprehend, and before anybody knew it, the long anticipated war was beginning.

Ruby carefully gathered her blonde hair into a low ponytail, staring out of the window of Lesley's house. None of the house's occupants seemed in the mood to talk, and she perfectly understood why. Although dawn hadn't arrived yet, none of them had gotten a wink of sleep. In a few mere hours' time, their lives would be at stake.

Ruby was more than scared. And, considering what she'd gone through the past few months, that was saying a lot. She was terrified, because for once, her friends were in danger, not just herself. The last time the Abyssal Demons had attacked, several hundreds of Moniyan citizens had died, and Ruby knew that with Moniyan's defenses still much weaker than before, there was no way there would be any less deaths this time.

In order to protect the people she loved, she would have to slaughter as many demons as possible, despite knowing deep down that some of them really weren't so bad. Selena and Moskov, for instance. They were malevolent, but Ruby had been able to tell just from talking to them that they still had a little bit of human in them. Did they really have to die just so Ruby's loved ones could be saved?

Ruby pushed herself to her feet, turning her head to her left just in time to see Lesley come down the stairs. Her friend looked grim and nervous, her shoulders unusually stiff.

'You ready?' she asked Ruby, and Ruby noticed she already had her sniper clutched tightly in both hands.

Ruby took a deep breath and picked up her scythe, which she'd left lying on the ground earlier, meeting her friend's gaze with all the bravery she could muster.

'Yep.'

---

Dawn was coming nearer and nearer, and because of that, the sky was turning a shade of dull, hardly noticeable pink that looked almost terrifyingly like blood to Ruby. There was an unbearably heavy feeling in the air even as she approached the Lightborn Squad, who were all fully armed and prepared, with Lesley by her side.

The day they'd all been dreading had arrived at last. Ruby's entire mind was so filled with distress and worry that she could hardly think straight. If Moniyan managed to fight back and the Abyssal Demons lost, that meant Dyrroth would die. But if Moniyan was defeated, Ruby would lose an unthinkable amount of people she loved, and the lives of the civilians of Moniyan would be ruined. Either way, Ruby was going to lose something incredibly important to her.

She shut her eyes briefly, tilting her head back to look at the blood-red sky.

This really sucked. Ruby wondered how she had believed she was prepared for this war. Because she wasn't. Not at all.

She wondered if Lesley and the others felt the same way. Probably not, since they'd been taught that every Abyssal Demon was a mindless monster that deserved to be slaughtered. But Ruby knew that wasn't true. She'd seen enough of them with her own eyes to know that not every one of them deserved to die.

Kagura was already there, a mirthless expression on her face as her gaze found her friends. 'Hey,' she said, sounding oddly depleted of energy for someone who was usually determined. 'You guys ready?'

Ruby saw Lesley crack a tiny smile. 'Yeah, guess so.' Ruby ever so desperately wanted to blurt out the words she was dying to say, tell them that she absolutely was not ready, but merely nodded.

Kagura seemed to notice Ruby's odd stiffness, and put a hand on her shoulder gently but firmly. 'Don't worry, Ruby,' she said in a low, determined voice. 'It'll all be over in no time.'