Three days later after the Mt. Eirene rescue mission.
The clouds were thick and dark, and the rain was pouring heavily. Despite this, thousands of people were still walking around a certain part of Sera City.
They all wore something black on their clothes. Some even went as far as cutting a plain black shirt into pieces just to distribute it evenly with others, all to show their utmost respect to the dead.
The setting was gloomy, and their clothes looked gloomy. In a sense, it was perfect.
Everyone marched quietly.
Montis Leroux was pushing a wheelchair using his right hand. His other hand was used to carry an umbrella to shelter both him and the person sitting on the wheelchair from the rain. Though he looked extremely pale. He was supposed to be recovering, but he went out of his way to attend the event.
"You know, I could personally deliver you home," Montis Leroux said. He didn't bother toning his voice down because he knew that the people around him were also part of the Academy. To be exact, they were the ones that Aeon had saved, and they surrounded Devon Morgan to show their gratitude.
After all, that was the best they could do since they couldn't thank the person who had saved them personally. Not anymore.
"Alright," Devon Morgan said cheerfully, completely in contrast with the current mood. "But I have come to love the Florentine, actually. I'm thinking about staying for a month, maybe. Three months tops."
Montis Leroux stared at the Marshall. Although he acted naturally, Montis could see through his façade. His shoulders drooped a bit too low and his back looked extremely lonely.
His son's life in exchange for his freedom.
Was it worth it?
Of course, the answer was no.
Out of the 21 people that proceeded with the rescue mission, eight had died including Aeon.
With similar stories, each survivor told the tale of how Aeon Morgan had saved the Department Head, Montis Leroux, literally from the clutch of a Greater Demonic Beast.
Albeit a bit exaggerated, Montis wanted to believe it to be true and he engraved it on his heart.
….
They said that when Montis Leroux was caught by the beast in human form, his abdomen pierced by a single strike, Aeon shot forward like a meteor, straight towards the creature's heart. The beast was caught off guard and was hit, stumbling.
The attack had not pierced but the flurry of attacks that rained down afterward forced the beast to back down. Several cuts appeared on its thick skin and blood painted the earth below.
While the beast was panting heavily, Aeon snatched Montis from its grasp. After he landed, the young man poured a Recovery Potion on the Department Head's mouth which the latter subconsciously swallowed.
Then, Aeon tossed Montis towards the others with nigh imaginable strength.
As the others ran to escape, Aeon took the opposite way.
In order to lure the Demonic Beast.
….
True, the stories that spread amongst the researchers were exaggerated. But they had proof that it happened—the gaping hole on Montis' abdomen that was still healing even after they reached the bottom of the mountain. They had to let him take four more healing potions just to stabilize the large wound.
Also, their hero was gone.
Montis found himself daydreaming. He didn't even realize that they finally stopped moving, having reached the cemetery.
They only surrounded a small area, because they were only able to retrieve a few bodies anyway. Most of them were inside the bellies of the magical beasts. The few caskets were laid down and were slowly buried.
After everyone paid their respects, the people started leaving one by one.
Montis Leroux decided to stay a bit longer together with Marshall Devon Morgan.
Unexpectedly, they were not the only ones who thought that way. There were eight others who also remained, two Academy staff members and six students.
Montis Leroux realized that he knew all of them.
Suri, Korona, Levi, Selena, Samuel, and Mark. Then, Dan and Merell.
Except for Korona who seemed mediocre, the other students were all extraordinary and Montis considered them to be the top of the current batch. A Department Head such as himself would never overlook their presence. Dan and Merell, on the other hand, were the staff who had spent most of the time with Aeon's group of friends according to Klaus.
Devon Morgan waved towards the group of students with a smile. The students then looked at each other awkwardly as they debated whether they should come over or not.
Ultimately, they decided to go.
Since Aeon's old man was smiling, they forced themselves to smile too. They exchanged greetings and proceeded with the formalities of students paying respect to a high-ranking person such as the Marshall.
Reluctantly, Devon Morgan accepted their respects. Though when it came to one person, in particular, it became quite awkward.
The young man, the tallest and bulkiest person among the group, suddenly burst down in tears. He let go of his own umbrella and kneeled on the ground fully with his forehead against the floor.
"Sir! I… I'm really sorry. It's my fault Aeon died!" Suri Samo said between sobs. "It was me who told Aeon to go back ahead of time."
Korona scrambled to get beside Suri. She continuously yanked on the person trying to get him to stand up, but her weak physique limited her from doing so.
"Yo, hold on!" Devon Morgan placed both of his hands in front of him. He seemed like he wanted to pat Suri so that the latter could stand up, but he couldn't do it because he was on a wheelchair. He would fall off if he bent over too much. "It's not your fault, really. Aeon is just like that."
Even after what the Marshall had said, Suri remained on the ground. Korona was trying to shield her from the rain, but the wet ground still soaked his sleeves and pants.
Devon Morgan sighed as he placed both his hands back on his armrest. "I raised my son in a way that when he grows up, he could make his own decisions. Although I deeply disapprove of his act of saving another person's life in exchange for his, I do not have a choice but to accept it. It is his decision and I will respect it until my own death comes."
Hearing this, Suri looked up, his face full of snot and tears. He used his wet sleeve to wipe them off, but it only made him look more haggard.
"PUHAHAHA!" Instead of feeling gloomy, Devon Morgan laughed at how Suri looked.
The others also began to laugh. Even Suri was infected by their joyful laughter.
To laugh in the face of sorrow, Devon Morgan was truly an extraordinary person.
Montis stared off into space, an activity he had been fond of doing since recently. Pondering, for him, became something of a necessity, and it allowed him to have a greater view of the world.
I should retire. Maybe write books. And marry someone.
The Department Head smiled crookedly. He laughed at himself for having such a silly dream.
Suddenly, they all heard something equally as devastating as the deaths of more than 200,000 people.
The sound that reverberated throughout the broken city sounded so ghastly that no one was able to believe it was true. It had to be an illusion.
Sadly, it was not.
Ding! Ding!
The emergency bell that signaled the attacks of magical beasts continuously rang. This time, it came from the western side of Sera City, the side facing Mt. Eirene.
The people at the cemetery began to panic! They were not ready to defend against magical beasts attacks at the moment. And how was this even possible?!
"Go! Head directly towards the eastern side of the city!" Montis Leroux instructed. As he moved forward, he suddenly felt his abdomen ache. He groaned in pain as he knelt on the ground.
Seeing this, the students who were just about to leave immediately went back to assist Montis. Suri also took it upon himself to take responsibility for Devon Morgan. He pushed the Marshall while Dan and Merell assisted Montis from walking.
The students thought that they had enough time to escape when they suddenly saw something streaking through the sky.
It was a blazing ball of fire as big as a house and it was heading straight towards them!
Dan, without a weapon, enchanted his glove and punched forward. Merell who was a Remoran sent a quick Wind Blast. Purple flames surged forward together with the compressed ball of air. The two spells connected with the meteorite and blew it into hundreds of pieces. Merell immediately put up an air shield around everybody, tearing apart any debris that fell upon them.
Magic attacks! They were under siege using magic! Were they up against humans instead of magical beasts?
They had no way of knowing! All they could do was to continue running away and escape.
Magic continued to rain down all over the rubble of the old homes.
From afar, they could see the spells of their own people collide with the rogue magic. Walls made of Earth and Ice were immediately erected around the mages as a primary defense against the ranged assault.
The magical lights reflected on Devon Morgan's eyes. He appeared to be in a daze. Before he even realized it, he said, "Take me there. We can help."
The people who had heard his words immediately ground to a halt. They had confused looks, but they were in no position to tell the Marshall that he was useless.
"But Sir, we need to escape," Korona finally found the guts to tell him to stand down.
"It's alright," Devon Morgan said with a smile, "just take me there and I can take care of myself."
Suri looked at Korona with begging eyes. His decision was already set. He would accept the Marshall's request.
Reluctantly, Dan and Merell urged the group to move forward and they followed. Korona had yet to give her disapproval so Suri Samo swerved to the left, not waiting for a response that might break his resolve. He carried the Marshall on his shoulder, left his wheelchair, and bolted towards the battlefield.
Suri jumped left and right, dodging any projectile that came their way. He realized that the magic that the enemy used were quite repetitive. In fact, they should only be E or D-ranked ones. If they were up against humans, they should have something more than that, no?
As soon as Suri and the Marshall reached the forefront, they found out that they really weren't up against mages. Instead, they were facing beasts unlike any they had ever seen before.
They looked like seven or eight animals mixed together into one, creating another. Overall, they looked more reptilian than anything else and they had scales. Though they weren't quite big. They were only about as big as a mid-sized magical beast.
The monsters spewed out fireballs, ice shards, wind blasts, and rocks as if they were Lesser Demonic Beasts. But ultimately, they were not. With a single D-ranked spell, a monster would get blown to bits.
They weren't nearly as tough as a Lesser Demonic Beast.
But what were they? How come there were about a hundred of them?
They all came completely out of nowhere.
Boom! Boom!
Spells from the beasts continued to hit the magical walls and they were slowly breaking.
As Suri moved forward, he got to see Toran Fiore fighting in the front lines together with his father. The two fought bravely and sent attacks of their own.
"Hand me a rock!" Devon Morgan suddenly said, interrupting Suri's thoughts.
"A rock?" Suri asked.
"Yes! A rock!" Devon Morgan affirmed.
Suri bent down in order to take down a couple of rocks and handed one over to the Marshall. Lightning began to envelop the man's hand as he enchanted the rock with his magic.
"Put me down and push on my back!" Devon Morgan instructed.
Suri Samo immediately nodded and knelt down. He did as he was told and stood behind the Marshall.
Devon Morgan lifted the rock, bent his body backward, then threw it with immense force.
The Marshall who was sitting slid a few inches backward even with Suri supporting him.
The rock packed full of electricity shot through the air. It didn't hit any beast in particular. It just landed somewhere wide and open, without any people near.
It seemed as though it would simply get lost in the commotion. But then...
Bzzt! Weng!
BOOOOOOM!
The piece of rock exploded. The light it produced was so bright that it temporarily blinded all of the people, just like a small sun. It devoured a two-hundred-meter wide area, and after the light dissipated, it formed a huge crater.
Toran Fiore and Solare Samo simultaneously looked towards the back. They knew about that power. That destructive white lightning that didn't worship anyone.
Somewhere in the midst of the unidentified beasts that ran amok, a person also looked straight towards the man who just annihilated about 40 of his creatures.
The man had white hair that flowed down freely all the way to his abdomen. It was smooth and straight. His skin was pale, and his eyes were blue. He was wearing a set of clothes like that of a wandering monk, completely out of fashion, though it looked quite majestic on him.
From a distance, Devon Morgan was also staring straight at this man. Needless to say, he could very much sense his presence. His disturbing presence.
He glared at the monster dressed in human clothing.
In the end, Devon Morgan smiled.
He was up for a good battle.
….
Aeon woke up, coughing.
His last memory was falling from a great height. He remembered clearly because he couldn't believe that it took really long for him to hit the ground. Then, he blacked out.
It seems like I didn't die.
Aeon propped himself up using his left hand. It was only at that time that he was able to recall that the bones in his forearms were broken. He was about to cringe in pain when he realized that he felt nothing.
His forearms were fine.
He tested them one more time and, indeed, they were alright.
Though it was really dark.
Aeon stood up. He used his boots to feel for his missing swords. After he located them, he picked them up and placed them masterfully back in their strap.
Clueless, Aeon could only turn around randomly. He was about to give up and wait for his eyes to adjust when he suddenly saw something shine like a star in the night sky.
He found himself running towards the light through the dark, his only companion was the sound of his footsteps.
After reaching the end of the line, he realized that it wasn't an exit.
By that time, his eyes had already adjusted. In front of him was a huge rock that he could barely see. By the center of its surface, staring straight back at Aeon was a single character that seemed to be glowing.
It was a rune.
Volume 1: End
….