Aric went into deep thought about what he needed to do to make himself look innocent. He couldn't take the dead bodies of the new team to the other worlds because it would bring diseases and bacteria, which he had no idea about. After his initial scare, he had been careful about what he should bring along.
He had tried it with insects, and that too only from the magical world to Echorysia, and then promptly killed the insect and later small animals like frogs. Taking dead bodies was a no-go for him. So he did what he could do best.
His enhanced strength allowed him to easily put two bodies on his shoulders and take them a distance away from the cave. After coming a bit far, he started shoveling the ground with one of the instruments he had brought.
Soon he had dug a 3-foot-deep hole and then proceeded to throw the bodies into the hole. He repeated the task for the other two bodies and then filled the plot again with the soil. The drones helped him illuminate the whole place. Of course, the light could attract attention, so he sent the other drones to work for him and make sure he would be alerted if a beast was coming for the light.
The snow around would help him cover the tracks since it had started snowing again. Three feet deeply buried bodies weren't that difficult to find and uncover, but the snow helped.
After dealing with the dead bodies of George and his group, he went back to the cave and decided to fish out the mana core of the Eclipsian Hyena. He decided to return to the city tomorrow while making a drama out of it.
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"Yawn... I want to go to sleep... It's so cold. Why do I have this shift?" one guard grumbled as he sat at the side of the gate of Distant Wind City. This wasn't the same gate that Aric had passed through.
"You have this shift because you puked after getting drunk on the leather shoes of the Captain," another guard said.
"Shut up... Don't remind me of that. I will never drink again," the first guard promised.
"You just drank the day before yesterday, and your wife had to bring you back from the pub," the second guard said.
"I drank because it was so cold and... Eh, who is that?" The first guard wanted to argue but then saw a young boy coming towards the gate, dragging a stretcher on the gravel roads covered with a bit of snow, revealing the black road beneath.
They were on alert, seeing the young man so early in the morning. Soon the boy arrived at the gate. He looked haggard and distraught, his face filled with dried tears threatening to turn into small streaks of ice. On his back, he carried a stretcher with one end on his shoulders and the other end dragging on the ground. On the stretcher was a man as pale as ice itself. One could see that the man's eyelashes and hardly visible beard had frozen. His lips had turned blue, and one could easily tell that this person was either dead or close to it.
"Can... Can anyone help this man... Can anyone... Please?" The boy said before he passed out on the street. This made the guards alert and struck a chord of empathy in their hearts. Both of the guards ran for the boy. One of them actually recognized the man on the stretcher, and it didn't take long for the guards to bring both of them to the healer's place.
The adventurer was pronounced dead by the healer almost immediately after he was brought in, and the healer praised the bravery and determination of the boy for bringing the man in such a dire situation. Though he had failed to save him, the boy succeeded in returning with sheer will.
The boy was now recuperating in the healer's hall, suffering from a bit of cold. The healer said that the boy was lucky to get away with just a cold and not frozen toes and fingers. However, his deeds spread like wildfire in the city, and even in the early morning, some people came around and left well wishes.
"Don't gather around. Let him breathe. Leave him alone. When he awakes, I will inform you," the healer shouted, and only then did many curious individuals leave, downhearted. Only the manager of the Adventure Guild was allowed to be present, and the boy's guardian was called.
Albert came running in when he heard what had happened, ready to rain hell on the manager. But thankfully, by the time Albert arrived, the boy had woken up. Yes, it was Aric who had brought the body on a stretcher. He specifically kept the body heated until he arrived at the road, which was why the healer said that Aric was brave and determined.
"Aric, you are awake. Thank God... What the hell were you thinking? What the hell happened out there?" Albert was alarmed and angry after seeing Aric in the healer's bed. Aric was embarrassed as Albert asked the question. He could see the genuine care of Albert, which made him a bit ashamed of faking his condition.
"Uncle Albert, I am well. You don't have to worry," Aric said.
"Nonsense. Tell me what happened," Albert demanded, and the manager, who was sitting nearby, was also curious to know how he was able to come back while there were no news of the others. Aric looked at the manager and then nodded.
He then decided to say how there was mutual destruction between the Eclipsian Hyena and their team. The healer, who was nearby, also confirmed the scars of sharp nails on the body of Roderic.
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