The.... few minutes after the "battle" was won, was one of the greatest instances of ignorance that Arthur had ever seen.
Everyone, mortal, Fae Master or otherwise, came out of their homes and shelters, ignoring the slightly pouring rains. The presence of these afternoon showers seemed to flush away all the hatred and sadness that covered the battlefield, as men, women and children of all ages came out to celebrate their heroes.
The rain was also useful in flushing away most of the blood and poison that had infected sections of the Village. With the sole exception of where the severed leg was planted, as well as the blood poison pool in the centre of the Village, pretty much everywhere else had the corruption washed away.
Families gathered together, and celebrated their survival.
Others mourned, while looking for their dead.
The existence of the beast tide was practically forgotten, now that they had won, while the aftermath of such a thing, remained present in every single one of their minds.
Most had seen, or at least felt the Clan Leader destroy the Noxious Venom Spider Beast King in the centre of the Village. They also knew that he made the decision to kill it there, rather than move it to a potentially safer place.
Most knew the people who died, or had been crushed underneath the Beast King and the Clan Leader, but deep in their hearts, they were thankful that it was somebody else, and not them.
Arthur could be seen off to the side, getting pats on the back by mortals, Fae Masters and his brothers as they smiled while carting off another spirit beast corpse.
It was mainly the mortals job to do this, but Arthur wanted to take some of the flesh from the spirit beasts, considering that it would serve another purpose shortly.
Ratimir, Aline and Borik didn't participate in the battle, and neither did Andrea or most of the girls in their generation.
Only Arthur, Randolf and Zoya were the ones they knew participated. All of them gazing towards the three of them, while noticing some faces missing amongst the crowd.
They knew.... but the only thing they could do was sigh.
It was unlikely that they could even given them a proper burial. So the only thing they could do was give a small prayer and remember their names.
That was the only thing most of them could do.
The chances of finding a complete corpse in the middle of such a battle.... was extremely low.
Randolf stood a small distance away from Arthur, trying his best not to reveal any sort of expression as he spoke.
"You.... saved that girl".
His tone, despite his expressionlessness, was surprised, if not a little curious.
Arthur nodded.
"I did. I saved quite a number of people today, including Zoya and most of his friends".
Arthur's tone was slightly sombre and his eyes glanced towards his remaining "classmates".
"If I only got there a little sooner, then perhaps they would still be.....".
His voice trailed off at the end there as his attention turned back towards a green haired girl coming his way. Her grass coloured hair and eyes seemed to light up Arthur's entire world as he pulled her into his embrace.
He had some splotches of blood on his clothes, but in comparison to some of the wounds that the other Fae Masters received, it was nothing.
Most of it, was just tiny droplet sized wounds from the venom spiders. Not nearly enough to kill him, but enough to cause bleeding.
Arthur patted her head gently, as she gazed up and down his figure.
"You're bleeding! Quickly! Come with me to the medical tent! I'm sure someone there will be able to heal-".
She tried to pull at his wrist, but he stayed his ground and pulled her back into his arms, ignoring the looks he received from Randolf and the rest.
Arthur's smile, which most of them had never seen before, or hadn't seen in an extremely long time seemed to cause numerous young girls to go red in the face, and multiple young men to raise an eyebrow at the usually cold young master.
Despite tiny wounds on his body, it only seemed to add to his attractiveness, making him seem more manly than what his usual demeanour gave off.
The gentle rain, seemed to wash away any sort of worry or sadness that Andrea felt as she returned his hug with an embrace of her own.
All over the Kovacs Clan, countless young men and women did the same thing, all thankful for the survival of their partner. However-.
"Why! Why did she have to die! Answer me!".
A Rank 2 Fae Master grabbed the shirt of another young man, who turned his head to the side as the rain veiled his trail of tears.
The two of them were in the same squad, both under the same Elder during the battle. Yet, at the critical point where one of the Baron Ranked spirit beasts broke through, he had abandoned his position and left a female Rank 2 Fae Master attacking alone against a creature more than five times her size.
She had been devoured instantly.
The Fae Master who turned to the side couldn't answer this question and only muttered the same thing over and over again.
"I'm sorry Ralph.... I'm so, so sorry....".
Their words, as well as their actions caused the mood outside the Clan to sour somewhat as the majority of people turned their focus towards the dead.
"My brother was killed when the Baron Ranked spirit beasts came through....".
"My younger sister was melted by venom spiders right in front of me....".
"I can still hear the screams that my father gave off, as he was chewed on by a group of spiders....".
"My grandfather.... he died trying to save me, and I still lost both of my legs in the process!".
The emotions from the wounded, and the grief of the grieving caused the atmosphere in Parachenko Village to change somewhat.
Yes, they had won the battle. Yes, "they" were now safe from spirit beasts, and wouldn't have to worry about being attacked in the future....
But.... at what cost did they achieve this victory.
Parachenko Village had fought against other Clans before, other Fae Masters before, and always came out on top. They had always plundered and enslaved most of their defeated opponents, and always had something to vent their frustrations out on, especially when it came to the loss of their friends and family.
But these beasts.... they couldn't vent their frustrations out on spirit beasts the same way they did to other humans. The things that they wanted to "do".... were usually only done by beasts anyway....
Without anything to focus their frustrations on, all they could do, was turn it on each other.
Hatred... Rage... Sadness... Loss.... Grief.... Despair....
The tension in the air was so thick one could cut it with a knife. All that was needed, was just a single catalyst for this powder keg to explode into a million pieces.
If Arthur wasn't exactly sure about the future of the Clan, he would undoubtably light this match. The confusion and the whirlwind of emotions would be exactly what he needed in order to "escape" with Andrea.
Fortunately for him, something else sensed these emotions as well.
Another tremble, rocked the very earth beneath their feet.
The rains grew suddenly harsher, as the droplets pushed by intense winds caused physical pain to many of the mortals present.
All living beings present, gazed up towards the distance, as well as the source of the shaking.
Niklos' as well as many of the other Elders turned from the corpse of the Noxious Venom Spider Beast King, towards the source of the tremors.
All of the colour, had completely drained from their faces.