My Servant Is An Elf Knight From Another World

Too easily, and maybe also a little too humiliatingly, Amanda whittled down Terestra's HP bar to zero.

For what it was, I enjoyed the show. There's just something so indescribably satisfying about seeing something or someone so unbeatable be reduced to nothing more than a punching bag due to the undefiable quirks of video game design.

Mom didn't seem as fond of it as I was, but I think she's just biased.

Another cutscene played. And unlike what the gameplay had established so far, Terestra apparently has had the upper hand all along—not even a scrape on her; while the heroes were keeled over on battered knees and bones, depleted of all strength.

Only Leonardo remained standing. Hunched, heaving, but definitely still standing. All around, the engulfing blackness grew deeper, darker; his feet submerged in its infinite depths like a slowly filling pool of ink. Then he stumbled, the heft of his blade nearly falling from his loosening grip.

"Nothingness," Terestra said, spreading her arms to the void of a room. "This is what this is, that is what you're feeling. In your bones, in your soul—slowing into nothingness. Your strength, nothing. Your magic, nothing. Your purpose, your companions, your life, your world… need I go on? All will soon return to nothing. As it all should be. Despite all you've done, you couldn't stop it, stop me."

She began walking towards Leonardo, and the darkness surrounding all rippled and flowed with her movements.

Still, you did try. Tried oh so very hard, yes you did," Terestra continued, her cold, callous tone smothered suddenly in faint echoes of admiration. She stretched her hand out, reaching, her fingers inches from his cheek. "And if nothing else, Leonardo. I suppose I can commend you wholeheartedly for that."

But Leonardo immediately backed away from her touch, regaining his balance, and facing her once more with a glare as sharp as the raised tip of his sword. And as if on cue, one by one, his companions got up to their feet, rounding back to his side with their weapons aimed just as resolutely.

"I'm still alive, demon," He said hoarsely. "It's not over yet."

"Looks that way," Terestra dropped her arm, the icy glaze returning to her gaze. "But it will be soon."

Gameplay then resumed for phase two, replenishing Terestra with a fresh bar of health while Leonardo and company simply had to make do with what they still had to spare. This time, any accidental ledges were swallowed up by the darkness, and Amanda had to actually play the game for once.

But even with that tiny setback, she's been through this whole song-and-dance enough times to know exactly when to dodge and when to swing; not a single attack came close to hitting her. Yet in spite of all that skill and finesse, Leonardo was still steadily losing health.

His health bar wasn't just being drained, it was also shrinking. Weapon skills that activate instantly at just a press of a button would now only send Leonardo stumbling against the floor. Eventually, even basic attacks took an eternity to play out.

"Oh, you're losing," Mom said, pointing out the obvious. "Aren't you supposed to be winning?"

"Are you sure this is the best ending?" Dad asked, looking just a little dubious watching his other self inch closer to the brink of death. "I don't remember—"

"Yes, we're locked in already," Amanda cut him off, too focused on the chaos on screen to even realize that she did. "I've done all the requirements. Give it a while."

"Requirements," Dad repeated. "What do you mean?"

"To get the best ending, you need to beat all the secret trials of the Divines," she explained, her unblinking gaze shimmering with all sorts of colorful lights. "There's seven of them. Obviously. And they're very tedious. After that, you must keep your Faith Level at 80 or higher by the end of the game. So no senseless killings, no questioning your duties, and most importantly of all, you mustn't let Terestra sway your beliefs. So pick the correct dialogue choices. Do all that, and you're all set."

"Sway my beliefs…"

They locked eyes. Mom and Dad. Amanda was far too preoccupied to pay them any mind, while also lasting for just a brief enough moment to make it seem like it was nothing. But I know what I saw.

Or did I?

The way he looked at her, how she looked at him… seeing was one thing, but knowing? understanding?

"Cutscene!" Amanda blurted out, antsy with hype and still none the wiser. "Watch—this is my favorite part."

Once again, it was just Leonardo left barely standing. All his companions lay limp, sprawled across the empty chamber, slowly receding, sinking into the rising darkness. And with a clatter of his sword, a bent knee sending him to a fall, it seemed any moment now that the hero was about to join them.

"You're dying," Terestra hovered over, the slight sink of her gaze at him ever so morose. "You didn't have to be. Honestly, if it was possible… even after all we've said and done… I would have truly liked getting to know you more."

Everything shook. Out of nowhere, a violent tremor in the darkness rippled throughout the chamber. Concern flashed across the face of the Demon Queen. She stepped back, scouring the vast emptiness, and instantly she understood; shooting Leonardo a harsh scowl befitting her moniker.

"You really are a blind puppet," she snarled at him. "From the very start, the perfect slave. Wasted faith. No wonder they chose you."

From one part of the room, like a piece of a canvas being ripped apart, the darkness was suddenly dispelled in a sudden flash of blinding light; one of the statues—the first—began glowing brightly. Then another, another canvas torn, another shade vanquished, and another statue shone.

A third, a fourth, a fifth, sixth… until finally, all seven lit up the room; their brilliance and radiance coalescing as one singular ray of light, a prism of lustrous colors both great and divine, and the music swelling in the background only made it to affirm that fact.

Beneath the ethereal limelight, Leonardo slowly stood up again, his body enveloped in an ebb and flow of the same heavenly lights, and once more, he took up his sword. Empowered by faith and imbued with the complete divinity.

"You're still dead," Teresta said plainly, the anger plain on her face. "You let them in. Your soul, whatever was left of it, they've ravaged it. After this, you're gone for good."

"I know," Leonardo said clearly and loud, his words fragmented into several different voices echoing in several different octaves. "But so will you."

The cutscene ended, and what followed was a final clash that left both my parents empty of their usual snippets of commentary. They each were entranced in their own way.

Mom, with her fingers intertwined like she was watching several seasons' worth of payoff of her favorite rom-com. Meanwhile, Dad was rocking one leg, a hard gaze transfixed to the explosive climax of some action set piece.

Admittedly, it was quite a show. Leonardo channeling the power of all Seven Divines to fight Terestra. Add in Amanda's mastery of the combat and music that pounded deep in your chest, and I can see how this game wound up being a bestseller.

It only lasted a minute. All that energy, all that mesmerizing lights, and crunchy sound effects, gone with a final swing of a sword, a final press of a button; there was a scream, the squelch of pierced flesh… and in the subsiding chaos, the resounding quiet… Leonardo stood before Terestra, his blade running through her chest and embedded deep into the foundations of Yulia's stone statue.

It was done. She was defeated. The Demon queen has been slain.

"So, you've beaten me," Terestra huffed through pained heaves, a smirk on her face remaining unblemished. "Satisfied?"

Leonardo didn't say a word. His body retained the mystical aura surrounding it, and only continued to brighten, slowly engulfing him… in the same way the darkness did before.

"You did your part, did it well. Played the hero, saved Asteria," Terestra continued on, blood spilling, tinging the smile on her lips. "You should be happy. Are you happy?"

Again, nothing.

"I'm sure they are. Your Divines, your saviors. Their realm lives on. With all the good they've put in it. As well as all the bad too. And I'm sure there'll continue to be good things, and there'll continue to be bad things. You've seen a fair few of both… have you thought about it? Is a world like this really worth saving? Are you sure you've made the right choice?"

"Doesn't matter," Leonardo said, his voice ringing hollow, faint, as if suddenly far away and distant. "I've made my choice."

"Your choice?" She chuckled weakly, dying. "Slaves don't get to choose, you know?"

The next scene opened with Leonardo's companions slowly stirring awake again… alone in a vast deafening silence, with narrow shafts of sunrise peeking through the broken gaps scattered across the roof.

Terestra's lifeless body remained skewered against the statue of Yulia, Leonardo's blade keeping her in place… but despite their desperate calls, and frantic searching… mysteriously, Leonardo was nowhere to be found.

After that, the ending; the months and years that followed the end of the Demon Queen summarized in quick slideshows and exposition.

Sestus the Blue retired from his position as a Magus, immersing himself instead in the academics of young fledgling sorcerers… just as his sister did before him.

Hrungar returned to his tribe and resumed his position as Chieftain, seeking to unify the other Reno tribes into one unified piece after all his experience in the company of others.

Princess Riona ascended to the throne of Astra, becoming both its singular ruler and queen. She has devoted most of her days to rebuilding her once-great kingdom and helping the other regions of Asteria recover from all the damage that had been done.

Last but not least, Eshwlyn the Elf-Knight. A former ally to the Demon Queen, and as well as being a Knight with no Master, she wanders the lands in recluse… aimless and without end… doing what little she can to atone for all that she's done.

In the decades that followed, Leonardo would be regarded as the greatest hero to ever live; countless memorials and statues built in his glory. A being of equal reverence to the Divines.

Because of him, life goes on; the sun rising on every new day, flowers abloom in passing seasons, children's laughter echoing down the crossroads of kingdoms.

Leonardo saved it all.

At the vista of a setting sun, the credits began to play and Dad just simply sat there as it slowly rolled across the screen… staring down a world, a future that could have been… had he just chosen differently that day.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking, and honestly, I'm not sure I'd like to know even if I was able to.

If I were him, had I done what he did… yeah, no… I can't even imagine being in his position… the consequences, the implications… all of them were much too heavy for me to grasp.

Mom, on the other hand, held no such qualms.

"Well?" She turned to him again, throwing him that same indescribable stare from before. "Satisfied?"

Amanda took one glance at both of them and was promptly sent shrinking back on her couch, immediately realizing the same thing as I did.

Thankfully, right at that moment, a ding chimed faintly from the kitchen, and Dad shot up from his seat.

"Dinner's ready," He muttered, shuffling away. "Let's eat."