The girl sucked in a deep breath. This was beyond any of their prior opponents. This was beyond anything she had seen before. She could feel the power rippling through the air, washing over her body like an ocean's waves. Even more than the battle at sea, it felt like she was going to be plunged down and dragged under. For an instant, a mere instant, her heart was frozen. For that single instant, she couldn't help but feel fear surge through her very being. She had been picked up by chance by a deserter, and it had lead her here. What if her destiny was not as a grand hero? What if mere chance had gotten her this far, and now it was by mere chance that she would die? What if what if what if what if The phrase ran itself through her mind over and over again as the muscles in her legs seemed to lock in place, her grip on her spada shaking. Her heart threatened to rip its way free from her chest with its incessant hammering. what if--- ... That was just it, wasn't it? Her mind went hurtling backwards in time. Back to old tales. What could he have done, then? It's so frightening. It was something that had played out in her mind ages ago. When a legendary hero was faced with a monstrous, insurmountable beast. A creature that exceeded all his former foes, one who could destroy him in an instant. It was scary. What hope was there to stop it? And yet he stood bravely. Even if he was terrified, even if he felt like it could be the end, he still stepped forward and gave it everything he could. Even if it was by pure chance that he survived, even if it was by nothing but the thinnest possibility that he pulled through and succeeded, he still strove for that tiny, thin margin of possibility. That was part of being a hero, wasn't it? "... What are you doing, Robin Fey?" The voice she heard was her own, speaking to herself aloud over the din of battle. In the few moments she had spent locked in place from fear, her allies had already stepped forward and given their all to stop Leviathan's attack. "They're about to leave you behind. You can't let yourself be shown up." ---That was right. What was she doing? Locking up on the spot, freezing in place from fear alone. She could still move, couldn't she? She was still breathing. What kind of hero let their fear overcome them like that? Her father wasn't who she thought he was all these years. And maybe it was by pure chance that she'd came to this place. But that chance still existed. That chance had still let her reach this place, still given her an opportunity to change this world and do good. And that chance was now in the form of the slim opportunity they retained to stop this attack. Robin stepped forward. She'd never used this technique in battle before. Could she even pull it off? Maybe, maybe not. But heroes performed daring acts that could just as easily fail all the time. She raised her spada, its luminescent blade glinting not only from its brilliant edge but from the energy that now surged along it. Leviathan's attack wouldn't succeed. "'O blossom, flower at the edge of my sword---" Robin stepped forward. The world blurred around her. She was at the very edge of Leviathan's barrier, now. The first thrust was easy. She'd performed plenty of thrusts before, after all. It was what came after that would be the most difficult part. Her right arm blurred. A single second, a single fraction of a second, a single infinitesimal moment--- Not one passed between the first and second blow. The technique was one that seemed unreachable, impossible. For most of her life, she couldn't wrap her head around how someone could ever strike four times at once. But impossibilities were a given when one was a hero, weren't they? The third came easier. Her blade danced in her hand, surging with brilliant light. The fourth followed naturally. She could see the miniscule gap between each thrust. It was as if the world had come to a halt, for her. But outside, it appeared the span of time between the impact of her first blow and her last simply did not exist. Robin had struck four times in a single instant, each blow leaving behind a trail of golden light. "Bloom resplendently---" She twisted her body, dragging her blade across the barrier, biting at her opponent in her final strike. "---Flash Rose!" The light burst. The flower opened. For a scant few moments it lingered, a rose of golden light. And then it was gone.