I will not die a Villainess's death

Elysia looked back at the facility that had become her home for the past year. It held a lot of memories for her and she felt sad at the thought of leaving it behind.

But the compulsion to go back home was much stronger than her desire to stay here.

"Were you going to leave without even saying goodbye? Who gave you that right, Elysia?"

Elysia's heart jumped up in her throat as she heard Serina's voice coming from behind her back. She was standing on the side of the roof and she felt herself slip down in shock.

Thankfully, Serina caught her hand in time, and Elysia's descent into the void was halted. She would live to see another day.

"Serina, what are you doing here? You should be out on the streets, helping people. Before that, are you even well enough to be out here?"

Elysia had a lot of concerns but Serina only smiled calmly after hearing her ask all those questions. She did not even seem to mind Elysia's questioning nature.

"I am alright now. I will be heading out in a few minutes as well. I just had a feeling that I should meet you before I head out in the field."

Serina had a calm but hidden smile on her face. And Elysia could not help but think of it as a bitter smile.

Although Serina was smiling, she was not truly happy to hear the news. And Elysia felt guilty for such a thing. It felt like her fault that Serina was troubled.

"I…well, I don't know why you would be feeling like meeting me all of a sudden."

Elysia pretended like she had no idea. But Serina's expression caused her to drop her facade and show her real face.

She could only sigh as if she was tired and Serina looked at her like she understood.

"That dimension that this portal points to is your home, right? You want to go back home?"

Serina asked with a pained voice. And Elysia found herself agreeing with her in a heartbeat. While it was not confirmed that the dimension on the other side of the sky portal was her home, Elysia was more than sure that it was.

These monsters that had begun to appear in front of her were familiar. They were the species she had fought when she had been training.

"I'm sorry that I have to leave you but I cannot stay here any longer. My presence in this dimension might be causing that sky rift so I should close it as well."

Elysia needed to take responsibility for her actions. And what better way there was to do that than to make sure the rift closes?

Serina's expression said that she did not agree with Elysia but she was too tired to argue with her as well.

"Fine. If you feel like you have no other choice then head into the portal. But before that, take this. It is a spiritual ribbon our family had in their possession for some time now. It might save you in the future."

Serina passed a pink ribbon to Elysia and she hesitated to take it.

She had heard that the heirlooms passed by certain families were very powerful and unique. And for a noble family, these heirlooms were even akin to centuries worth of money collected.

The mere fact that Serina had offered Elysia this ribbon was enough for her. There were a lot of heavy feelings associated with this gesture.

And as such, Elysia also knew that she could not take this ribbon. It would not be right.

"No need to gift me something this precious. You can have it back."

Elysia tried to push the ribbon back in Serina's hands but the girl refused to take it back. She walked back until her foot all but slipped past the building edge.

"Don't you dare give that ribbon back or lose it? It's a gesture of my feelings for you. Think of it as a curse that will not let you forget my exitance."

With those final words, Serina jumped down the building. Her core helped her gain strength and Elysia watched as Serina changed directions mid-flight.

It was a wonderful performance by the younger woman but Elysia could not admire it in its entirety.

The ribbon in her hand felt heavy. It was a burden that was difficult for Elysia to carry or to forget.

"What a clever way to confess her feelings. What am I supposed to do with this now?"

Elysia could not get rid of the ribbon now. So she tied it around her hair for the time being.

The sky portal was getting closer and closer by the second. Elysia needed to enter it and close it before it managed to reach the top of the highest building.

She abandoned her core for the time being and decided to deploy her magic. It helped her take giant leaps toward the portal.

The gravitational force was getting stronger and stronger as Elysia headed closer toward the portal. The land and buildings were getting smaller the further she went.

It would not be wrong to say that she was the only one in this world who was capable of making this leap of faith since she was the only one who had magic at her disposal.

"ELYSIA, DON'T GO~"

Lexus's voice was a distant yell in Elysia's ears. It was so faint that he could not even tell if she had truly spoken anything or not.

But Elysia did not linger long on it. She only turned around and whispered a soft 'sorry' which her magic carried over.

Maybe she and Lexus will meet again, maybe they would not. Only time will tell what would happen.

Elysia's body was finally enclosed by the dark space the above mentions and she let her magic run wild inside the hole.

Threads of magic and core energy spitted out of Elysia's body and clutched the corners of that hole. It was trying to pull it shut.

'I wanted to see them the last time. Lexus, Serina, the other people who made my time in this dimension bearable.'

Elysia did want all that but it was not a possibility at this point. The portal was closing behind her and Elysia would likely never be able to come back.

There was another stronger gravitational pull inside the opening and Elysia combated the gravity that was pulling her downwards.

She could not afford to fail now and her body was trying to gather enough energy to save everyone.

'You can let go now. Do these people deserve your help? They will abandon you in a heartbeat if they discovered that it was your fault in the first place. Even Lexus would not stand on your side.'

Elysia's thoughts were her biggest weakness. They were weakening her resolve to help but Elysia could not afford to give an inch in.

She forced her body beyond its limits and expanded her magic as much as she was willing to. It finally managed to snap the fabric shut and Elysia was out of energy. Her body began falling down the crack.

It might have seemed like she was going up at first but she was actually falling all this while. The ground was within reach on the other side and Elysia would end up crashing into it hard.

But she was truly fortunate that she had gotten Serina's gift. The ribbon in her hair extended and managed to form a net beneath her. In that way, Elysia managed to save her life from ending.

The only thing that was strained was her shoulder. It was throbbing in pain but Elysia managed to pick herself up properly.

She looked around but the garden she was in looked familiar. It was very much like the garden of the royal palace back home.

"I'm back. I managed to return at last. I never thought I would see this world again." Elysia was happy but also confused.

But most importantly, she was finally back home.

______________________

People watched as the huge black hole in the sky was being forced close. The flash of colors in the sky could be seen flashing from behind the portal.

No one had seen a scene like this before. It would be one that would go down into the history books as a legendary day when the sky was splashed with colors.

Not only did the world was seeing a new scene, but the people were also seeing a new type of technique they had never seen before.

However, not everyone watched this scene with awe. Both Lexus and Serina had bitter smiles on their face as they watched the sky flash and they hold close. They knew the truth and they hated it as well.

This miracle had taken a very important person away from their lives but they promised that this was not the last time they will meet Elysia.

One day, they will be able to travel across to her home dimension and meet her again.