who told you what was down here

I'll drown eventually so don't save me

Unlike in her argument with Danta, the steady calm in face of her heated arguments actually reached past her ire. Something troubled came into her eyes, though she quickly shook her head against the doubt Asta was sowing in her mind. "I don't play games," she retorted, slightly less heated. "I don't know how, and even if I did I'm not sure that I would. You think I don't know it was dangerous? That's not the point. It's about doing the right thing, despite it being dangerous. If no one ever faced threats at the risk to their lives, the Grounds would still be covered in a barrier, and I'd be dead three times over." The memory of the attack against the Spire Demon was clear as a painting in her mind. The fierce battle, the brave sacrifices, and the path that had been opened that would eventually lead them all out - it had lived in her mind for all these years as a shining beacon that showed her what an alternative to resignation might look like.

"I won't mind dying if it serves a purpose," she shot back, probably more honestly than intended. "And if I thought there was a plan I would follow it. But so far all I've seen from our illustrious leaders is a bunch of nothing, and I Will. Not. Do. Nothing." Could not, because that was the same as giving up and going back to the weak, powerless cripple she'd been born as. She couldn't imagine a worse way to spend the rest of her existence. It would be no different from swallowing poison - just as sure to kill her, only slower and more unsightly.

Maea