As I reached the gate, some soldiers from atop the wall saluted. I saluted back and continued to enter the gate.
There were no more monsters left. Well, at least not any monsters that were above A rank.
As I looked up, the cloudy skies were gone, and the kingdom was painted a light orange.
"Is the sun already setting?".
Ruined buildings, shattered houses, and burned buildings stretched everywhere I went. The scent of smoke was heavy, and the eerie silence made me uncomfortable.
I thought it would be easy to live in this world, but the sight of all the destruction changed my mind.
"I guess living peacefully in a fantasy world is hard when it's filled with monsters.".
I felt mana coming from the distance, a powerful energy emanting from the heart of the kingdom where the mage tower was standing.
As I gazed at the source, I could feel the energy coming from atop the mage tower.
And then a change began to unfold. A faint, transparent barrier, like a shimmering veil, started to spread across the kingdom from the mage tower.
"They fixed the barrier.".
Didn't they say that the crystal was smashed to pieces?
Well, at least it's fixed now.
As I continued further down the kingdom, I soon saw countless carriages.
On top of the carriages were countless bodies covered in a white cloth.
"Put the known deceased people here, and put the unidentified bodies in that carriage." A middle-aged man in white cloth with two flaming circles pointed towards two different carriages.
A young person with one flaming circle approached the middle-aged man.
In his hands was a cutoff foot: "Where should I put this? Does this count as a corpse?".
His face darkened. "Is there nothing else?".
The young person shook his head and said, "This was the only thing I found.".
The middle-aged man's face hardened. "If someone asks for a person who hasn't appeared since the battle, then say that he is still missing.".
"Place it in the carriage with the unidentified bodies.".
"Yes, sir". He placed it carefully on the carriage and made a small prayer.
I continued to walk forward towards the portals.
And before long, I saw a huge crowd of people gather at one spot.
And as I approached closer, I saw a faint figure.
"Your highness, you need to rest!".
"With those injuries, you can't move just yet.".
A bunch of people in servant outfits were talking to one person.
He was missing an arm, and a bandage was covering his right eye. At the same time, on his cape, the logo of a griffin could be seen.
It was the commander that I saw at the start when I was teleported here.
'Your highness? Was he the king of this kingdom?'.
He stood up and asked, How can I rest when my people are dying?".
He pushed the servants out of his way, saying, "I won't rest until each monster has died.".
Me and him locked eyes for a moment, and he approached me.
"Rylan, how many monsters are left?". He asked with a worried look in his eyes.
"Every S-rank monster should be dead now.".
He nodded his head and said, "Good, at least the strong monsters have been killed, but we still need to kill the remaining monsters.".
As he said that, a loud horn sounded out, and in the distance, numerous faint figures could be seen.
From above, countless giant eagles flew and landed next to us.
A man in armor dismounted from the eagle and kneeled on the ground.
"Your highness, all the monsters have been killed."
The faint figures finally became visible, and countless soldiers on horses and people on foot were at the front.
From the way back, giant golems were carrying carriages filled with corpses.
"Good job; you can rest now and put the eagle in their stables."
As I looked closer, I saw a familiar person. Her long silver hair fluttered in the wind; it was the SS-rank monster slayer Emilia Graceheart that I met at the north.
Next to her was an Asian person with a frown on his face. They talked to each other, but I was too far away to hear.
The Asian person turned around and locked eyes with me, and his frown turned to slight anger.
"I am happy that they killed all the remaining monsters, but they should have left some for me."
"Old man, you are still alive?"
I heard a friendly tone come from behind, and as I turned around, I saw a woman in her 30s with the logo of three flaming circles on her back.
The king turned around, and as he noticed who it was, he smiled.
"Of course I am still alive; it's going to take more than a few monsters to kill me, Sarah." He laughed as he went closer to hug her.
Because he was missing an arm, it looked a little awkward when he hugged her.
"Where is your father?". The king asked.
The woman rolled her eyes and said, "He is doing paperwork as always. The nobles these days are not donating enough money, so he is going to complain to the emperor.".
She looked at where his left arm would have been.
"But where is your arm, so I can place it back and heal you?".
The smile disappeared from the king's face.
"That purple SS rank monster destroyed it completely. He disintegrated it to dust, so there is no way to get it back." He said it with an annoyed tone.
The woman patted his back.
"Well, at least it was your left arm and not your right.".
The king made a small smile.
"I guess you are right about that."
"Show me your eye; at least I can fix that." She said.
The king removed the bandage, and the woman covered his eye with her hand.
A green aura started to envelop her hand, and after 30 seconds, she let go.
The king's eye, which had been cut off, had been completely restored.
He touched his eye and laughed. "I think you even fixed my nearsightedness.".
She made a money gesture with her fingers.
"Well, I didn't do it for free."
The king avoided her stare and turned around.
"Your father owed me a favor, so let's just say we are even."
The king spoke faintly as he disappeared into the distance.
"Stingy old man." She said this, but as she turned around to look at me, her eyes widened.