-Out of the cruelest of times, bright lights emerged, illuminating the night like fireflies, to usher a new era along with their people. With the aid of their weapons, these were to create unbelievable spectacles of heroes and villains.-
Following the successful rescue, Leo and the others had to move quickly. Most of the victims suffered from wounds and starvation. There was no way they could provide food for all of them on their own. To ensure their survival, Leo contacted Altaria and Carleen, who ended up lending him a hand. The town itself lacked enough places to accommodate almost 200 additional people. However, this wasn't Leo's plan, as keeping them here would only cause commotion among the townspeople. Once everyone was supplied with rations, Leo wanted to continue his journey with the group. A lot of the dark elves wondered about their home and about returning.
"The provisions should be enough for a few days. Although their wounds have been healed, no one can erase the scars...except you, apparently. Assuming what you' ve told is true, then you are the one who should be taking the most care of yourself. Luckily for you, you have good friends to support you. Nevertheless, you are the biggest fool I have ever met. I guess the Leo who wanted to live only for himself was just a fake. It's one thing to put your life on the line for others but not simply for the sake of strangers. At worst, you'd be a part of that atrocity now."
Over the past few days, Leo had grown unusually calm. Keeping a cool head, he took decisions alongside others. Suddenly, the opinions of others mattered to him.
"It's true, I nearly died there if it hadn't been for those two. I used to be a squad leader just like you, but I couldn't really see far into the future. I was given this responsibility by force but I had to deal with it. Haha, the time back then was probably not enough to teach me all I needed to know. I'm grateful to you, no, we're grateful to you, to Lucy, and to the whole town for saving us."
" That was merely the start of their new lives. Still, I wouldn't go along with their wishes that easily Leo. For who knows if their home still exists? Lots of them have been trapped there for months, unaware of the outside world. You' ve seen for yourself just how far the elves have gone. In your place, the first thing I would do is to inform Lynia."
"And then what? I don't think she will have the space to accommodate such a crowd. Therefore, I will at least try to bring them back to their villages. Should even one of them exist, at least we have a chance to give them some peace. And the more of them that are safe, the better."
"You don't really believe in safety or peace do you? Get real, there's no such things as that for them here. For decades there are wars between elves and dark elves, if they have been hunted there once then it won't be the last time. You are too attached to them, their memories. Good intentions can lead to the worst results. Right now they are free, so don't waste their freedom on such naiveté!"
" It' s easy to say all this. I am aware that it won't be an easy task, but we have little choice. There needs to be protection as soon as possible, and not only for them. Her fortress will soon be overcrowded an then what? There' s no ideal solution, no flawless plan. Nevertheless, we have to do something..."
Neither of them had an idea that covered all the problems. Leo was frustrated with himself, he didn't know a way out of their situation. Eventually, his only option was to go back to the fortress.
"If you are really going to leave it will be time soon unless you want to go in the dark. Rations are distributed and stocked up, I have everything ready to go."
"Thanks Carleen, I owe you one. I'll figure out a way to return the favor."
"Ha, first of all you have to find a path out for your situation. Watch out for each other, from here on out you' re going to have to work as a team."
Within the next hour, the march back to Lynia commenced. The command to go there was accepted with mixed opinions. Ultimately, Leo gave them no choice unless they wanted to be abandoned. After another night's rest, they arrived around noon at their destination.
" No hiding and no lying Leo. Starting now, you will face your responsibilities upright without any tricks. You heard Carleen, we will be working together from now on."
" Please listen to Ryu, one more solo effort like that and you'll really meet your death!"
"Haha, alright you two. Even if I wanted to, I'm unlikely to make good decisions on my own right now. This isn't going to be a smooth ride now."
Upon arriving at the gate, the guards realized just what kind of group it was. The gate opened without a word and the freed dark elves stepped into the small town. Initially, their fellow folk were frightened, yet in the next moment they offered their help to everyone. However, it wasn't the end of the story, as there were more surprises in store for them.
" It is going to be more difficult than ever from now on. To get them integrated here will take days if not weeks."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that. Death hasn't overtaken all of their loved ones."
Loud voices rang out from the crowd. Soon their despair was turned to happiness and optimism. As Leo anticipated, not everybody had been captured from the villages. Precisely these fugitives could hardly believe their eyes upon seeing their family members alive again. The euphoria of returning and newly found hope circulated throughout the crowd.
"You knew something like this was going to happen... that makes everything a lot easier. You' re carrying more value than you think if not to yourself."
" Perhaps you're right. These kinds of views don't feel bad at all, really."
Over time, the thousands of memories vanished from his mind, nevertheless, these scenes brought a part of them back to life. He unwillingly empathized with them and a tear even escaped his eyes.
"Ha, it seems there really is no limit to this curse."
" Well, right now it doesn't really look like a curse. Time to report back."
Leo hadn't even thought about how Connor and Ryu ended up coming to him. Should they have tried it on their own, surely their punishment wouldn't be easy. Without even having to look for Lynia, she stepped before the crowd and checked out the situation. Then she ordered Ryu, Connor and Leo to come over and talk to them. Leo expected an angry reaction from her but it was quite different than he had suspected.
"She actually supplied you guys with the rations. Plus you guys managed to get that idiot back...well done."
"Wait a minute, you ordered them to trade with Carleen? So how did you guys find me?"
"Because Carleen told us what you were up to. We didn't take long before we saw this camp from afar."
"Haha, well what did I expect... kinda serves me right..."
"Wait, what camp are you talking about? Did all those dark elves actually stay in one of those camps?"
"They have. Why do you think they look so exhausted and miserable?"
"If Carleen hadn't helped us, I'm sure half of them would have succumbed to their injuries."
"Where exactly was the camp?! Are there more of them?! How come I didn't know about it?!"
Leo realized that Carleen had kept this information a secret from Lynia. As soon as she would have known about this camp, she would have gone there to rescue them due to her nature. However, Carleen completely misjudged this camp, as she never thought that it had grown to such a size. Regardless of what choices Lynia would have made, casualties would have resulted. So Carleen steered Lynia towards the better choices. If she had really undertaken a rescue mission, they would have perished in the battle that ensued. The number of casualties would have been far greater than it is now. Because of his changing nature as well as Ryu's response, Leo had no choice other than to tell her the whole truth.
" It was only this one camp, Carleen saw a group of elves going east, so she suspected that their numbers were larger. Still, no one would have guessed the extent of this place."
"It's almost beyond belief. That camp wasn't even hidden or heavily guarded, they just could be up to their mischief that close to the city...those bastards..."
Lynia was getting angrier and angrier, her personal experiences meant she never wanted to see even one of her kind tortured in these places again.
"Hey, before you completely lose it now, hear me out. So long as you promise me you'll stay calm I'll tell you everything I've seen. You better brace yourself to hear this stuff, even you haven't witnessed anything like this before."
"I'm not promising anything here! Just go ahead and tell me everything you know, you bastard!"
"Hold on Lynia, quit acting like this. Leo is not responsible for their captivity, if it wasn't for him we would never have been able to discover it, let alone wipe it out. Thanks to him we were able to free not only himself but also all these people. In other words, drop your blind rage right now and start thinking a bit! He has done more for them than anyone else could have. Leo, you' re going to tell her about everything is that clear?!"
Ryu was unexpectedly annoyed and upset by Lynia's reaction. There was no use wasting her energy on blind rage without hearing answers.
"Tsk, he knows me well enough to handle this. This is something personal."
The atmosphere grew more serious until Lynia finally calmed down. As the residents attended to the victims, their long conversation unfolded. She could hardly believe what she was hearing, considering such cruel things to be impossible. She became especially alert and attentive at one point.
" Their supervisor was the Dollmaker?! How is that possible, I thought he was already dead?!"
"What do you mean? How do you know that name?"
"Everyone who has ever been captured recognizes that name. Word is that he was the fucking evil itself throwing everyone into a deep hell. This fucker is something of a legend among that people. He is said to have commanded hundreds of these torture places to the very end. A few months ago the news was spread that a group of our warriors managed to destroy one of the camps along with him. So it was all a lie about the heroic sacrifices of their brethren as well as their escape...I can' believe it..."
Leo felt sorry for Lynia. She was deceived by fleeing scared warriors trying to save their own asses.
" This time you can be sure that he met his end. He used a spell to control his victims and easily tame them. This is probably why he became one of the most feared supervisors. To be sure that everything is over, we incinerated his body and burned everything down. So now there won't be any trace of him."
"Are these all the victims you were able to save? Tell me, how many have there been in this camp?"
Leo gritted his teeth while looking mournfully into Lynia's eyes.
"The camp itself was active for 2 years...We were able to save just about 200 of them. Unfortunately...unfortunately the remaining roughly 300 perished in that place. This is the number of bodies as well as the numbers of names in the lists. That' s all I know about it, I'm sorry."
"Y-you're lying, aren't you? There were 500 of us if not more tortured there and 300 killed? H-how can something like this happen... will our suffering never end?"
Before she sank into despairing thoughts, Leo shook her awake.
"Hey. You need to stop looking back and focus on the present. Remember, 200 have managed to return. You' ve seen their faces as they were able to reunite with their brothers and their sisters who were thought dead. In this way, they were able to release some of their pain. The time has come to protect them and to recover them. Rather than walking corpses, they are genuine dark elves who now find themselves living their lives. And you have, no, we all have the responsibility to protect these people and stop this war. All I can tell you is what has been drilled into my head: You' re not alone, teamwork is required from now on... if I am allowed back to stay....
Surrounding her, she had three loyal comrades-in-arms standing by her side. Slowly but surely her self-confidence and iron will came back.
"Ha, usually I hate such kind of dramatic speeches. Really, there's a lot to do from now on. As for you idiot... so long as you can make your stupid temper disappear, then you can stay here."
" Regarding the idea...there is a way, but it comes with a risk. All of us know that sooner or later the stock of rations will run out and that space here is already very small. As more refugees come here the supplies will become harder to come by..."
" I don't like your face at all...what are you planning to pull?"
"Well, I already discussed it with Connor and Ryu on the way. It won't be an easy job by any means but this way we will always be ready for both attack and defense. In exchange for that protection, we'll have to forfeit another part. Remember that there are a lot of resources south of the fortress and that more area is needed..."
As Lynia looked into Ryu's and Connor's eyes, both nervously averted their gaze. This idea was more or less a emergency solution. Still, this solution was good enough for them to suggest it to Lynia.
"Uh, so it's like this. We were planning on maybe..."
Leo mumbled to himself in a way that Lynia couldn't understand.
"Come on dumbass, what's your suggestion?"
"Hmm, how about we tear down the wall in the south and expand the city?"
" You sure you didn't go insane in that camp? You want to weaken the fortress making it vulnerable so you can create more space?"
"Hey, it's not like I'm alone in this opinion. These two fools have agreed. Plus, I've already pre-planned the steps..."
"Oh man, the surprises never cease today..."
This plan was very risky, however, many miracles in this world have been born out of desperation.