Forbidden love (MGE harem fanfic)

Chapter 62: Under the night sky

A few months later...

I walked along a path made of scorched dirt and dead plants. There was fire all around me yet I didn't care enough to acknowledge it. I walked along the path until I saw a man in dark armor. A bolt of lightning flashed and the man became a woman with pale skin and an insane smile on her face. At her feet was a Cheshire Cat whom I thought to be Sarah, it wasn't. She looked up at me with pleading eyes, but it wasn't the eyes of a wife begging to a husband, rather a daughter to a father. How was this possible? I didn't have any recollection of the past few months but I knew time had passed.
"Let her go!" I shouted.
The woman drew a sword and I instinctively slashed just over Loki and managed to block the attack. Combat began and we exchanged strikes. She was as good as I was, or was I just as good as her?
Parry, dodge, parry, parry, thrust, parry, SHIT.
She unleashed a powerful attack that seemed to faze through my weapon and knocked me off balance. She pulled a blade and I fell right on it.
"Why did you try and protect her? You know what I put in her bloodstream." The woman laughed as I hit the ground.
It was then that I really looked at my daughter for the first time.
She was pale and her eyes were dull with small tear droplets around them. She slowly crawled to me and curled up at my side. With the last of my strength I turned on my side and wrapped an arm around her. She felt cold, so cold that I couldn't feel the pain in my chest. Was this the end?
One week after the previous chapter...
I awoke covered in sweat with a racing heart. My dream felt so real, dying felt so real. The dream felt almost like a vision, a small part of my mind wanted me to forget it but I couldn't. I decided to shake the thought aside and walk around. It was still late at night so I had to look at the moon before stepping out of the safety of my room. Fang had sworn backwards and forwards not to do what she did the last time I was out this late but considering what her species is I still don't completely trust that promise.

I walked down the hall and just as I was about to exit I heard a series of small clicks and turned around to see Ruth in her nightclothes.
"Master, where are you going?" She asked.
"I needed some fresh air." I shrugged.
"I'll come with you." She said.
I nodded and she rushed to my side excitedly. There was no moon out tonight however between magic torches and the bioluminescent glow of various monsters in the lakes which were made to compliment the forest area. The demon realm looked more lively than ever as a result and I could tell that the enchanting beauty of this sight had an effect on Ruth.
"You don't take breaks to go outside, do you?" I asked with some concern.
Ruth shook her head. I gently nudged her head so that she was looking at me.
"Ruth... I can't shake the feeling that you're practically working yourself to death. The castle is large and every day I see you working from dawn till dusk and I know that you like doing that but even now I can see how tired you are. I can also tell that you've never been out here just to see the surroundings."
"You don't know... do you?" She asked in a soft voice that was almost a whisper.
"Know what?"
"Some kikimora grow attached to their dwelling as the only monster of their type to be there. These kikimora have a rare genetic trait that gives them spirit abilities. Unlike normal house spirits we have control over where we go until we decide to settle down. If the castle is destroyed or if I leave for too long I die. The gain is that I have a limitless supply of reasonable magic which I used to spend as much time with you as possible when you were... asleep." She explained.
I didn't know what to say and in the end I just wrapped my arms around her tightly.
"It's alright, master." She said, her voice quavering.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise."
Ruth nuzzled against my neck and curled up in my embrace. She hid her face against me to hide her tears.
"I'll never leave the castle, even after the war is over I refuse to leave you alone." I vowed.
Ruth looked up and seemed to stop hiding her tears.
"Y/N..."
"Yes."
"I don't know how long you'll live... but if your age wasn't augmented like that of an incubus and you grow old like a normal human..." she shivered as if the thought brought an intense cold upon her. "If that is what happens I want you to kill me before you die!" She cried before collapsing back into my embrace and wrapping her tail around my arm.
I didn't know what to say, on one hand I didn't want to kill her but on the other hand the chances of my age following my sex drive, which was a variant of incubus magic modified through extreme monster magic, it would make sense that my age was also extended. This promise would likely mean nothing in the future because I wouldn't have to worry about it coming to pass. However if it did, I would follow through, but only as a last resort.
"I promise, Ruth." I said.
"Thank you, master."
I held her tightly and stroked her hair until she fell asleep. I tried not to think about what this girl had just made me promise to do. I then remembered her past and how the only thing she wanted more than anything else was a companion. I understood why she wanted to die if it were my fate to die as well. To me it would be passing on, but to her it would be watching yet another person getting dragged out of her life while she remained imprisoned and alone. With that thought I convinced myself that if I were to die, the right choice would be to free her as well.
I still wasn't sure what would happen if I tried, I guess it's a good thing Ruth said she didn't mind sleeping in the arms of a coward.