Kai's footsteps muffled due to the grass beneath him, his thoughts coming down on him like heavy rain. He felt the weight of his worries shifting between his shoulder blades— too strong and heavy to ignore.
The fray's cave expedition had gone well— at least, by any objective measure. He had secured what they needed, ensuring they got an additional ally in their battle against the beasts. Yet, a gnawing unease clung to him, making it feel like no preparation would ever be enough.
His expression must have betrayed him. The guerrilla team who had returned with him gave him a wide berth, whispering to each other but leaving him in silence. No one dared ask questions.
Entering the castle, Kai wasted no time. His body ached for rest, but his mind demanded solitude more. As he strode down the hallway, the flickering torches lining the walls barely registered in his peripheral vision. Then, he heard rushed footsteps.
"Lord Arzan!" Killian's voice rang out. He wasn't alone. Claire shadowed him. But it was the knight who spoke. "Lord Arzan, a moment?"
Kai paused, turning toward them and giving him a nod despite wanting nothing more than to talk about it later.
"A group of barbarians arrived— Ragnar and a few others. They're asking for you, want to know everything about the beast wave—"
Killian's words trailed off, his eyes narrowing. Kai was sure that the man noticed the way his jaw clenched and the shadows under his eyes. It wasn't like him to look this… strained.
Kai exhaled heavily, his voice low. "Take care of it for me. If you're busy, ask Francis."
"Of course, but..." Killian hesitated, concern flickering across his face. "Is everything alright? You said you were going to get beasts to fight for us, right?"
Kai gave a nod, almost mechanical. "That part went as planned. But there's something else." His eyes darkened, the worry etched deeper than before. "Call a meeting in the evening… No, in one hour. Everyone is important— scouts, mercenaries, guerrilla team heads, the whole lot. We have something urgent to discuss. Tell the scouts to report if they have found any signs of rot and decay in parts of the forest or the beasts."
Killian straightened, sensing the gravity of his tone and the look in his eyes. "Understood."
"And for now… Just give me some space."
Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel, disappearing deeper into the castle, where the growing storm in his mind raged unseen.
Kai drifted through the hallway, each step a blur. He wasn't even sure when he'd reached his room, but the moment he entered, he collapsed onto the bed without hesitation. The cool fabric beneath him did little to ease the turmoil in his mind.
Faces of the spiders flashed behind his eyelids. Their dark mana swirling, stronger than anything he had anticipated. The stench of corrupted mana— the movements of the spiders. There had been no time to adapt, no chance to form a new plan.
With the necromancer back in the Vasper Forest, he had thought of it as a one-off event, but then Actra had turned into a demonic creature and now the beast wave that was allegedly perpetrated by his brother had a mana fiend leading the charge. It couldn't just be a coincidence. He had gotten clues before, but he had never been able to piece it together.
He could say that he never had the time to do so and he indeed has tried, but all of it felt like excuses. If things continued like this, Kai was bound to fail— again, that piece of information was… suffocating. And that made him feel helpless amidst the thousands of people waiting and looking up to him as their saviour—
A gentle shake snapped him out of his spiralling thoughts. His eyes flew open, focusing on Claire standing by his bedside. He blinked, realising with some embarrassment that he hadn't even noticed her coming in.
"Claire?" His voice was rough, strained from the mental exhaustion. "What are you doing here?"
Her eyes softened.
"Lord Arzan. I came because… well, it looked like something was eating away at you. As your personal maid, I couldn't just ignore it. And though this might be overstepping my bounds…" She hesitated for a moment but pressed on. "You can always talk to me."
Kai stared at her.
There was no judgment in her gaze, just quiet concern. For a brief moment, the storm inside him stilled.
Kai smiled faintly at Claire's words, a small break in the storm raging within him. With a sigh, he sat up, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared at the ground.
"It's just…" He hesitated, then let the words flow. "No matter how much I try, something always comes up to ruin everything. It feels like the world's stacked against me. With the beast wave, I prepared everything, made sure no stone was left unturned, because... I have the responsibility of everyone here. But now, I'm not sure. It feels like I'm walking into a battle I can't win."
He paused, clenching his fists, trying to hold back the emotions threatening to spill over. "The worst part is... I can't show this to anyone. If the soldiers see me like this, it'll crush their morale. If the people see me like this, they'll lose hope— the same hope I gave them every day by leading the preparations. "
Claire stood in silence, absorbing his words.
A silence descended between them as she looked down upon him and finally, her lips parted.
"I don't understand all your troubles, Lord Arzan. I follow you everywhere, but I've never felt the weight you do. I do know you've done incredible things in the past, even if it came with pressure. You've always succeeded in the things you do. My mother used to say… we can't control everything in our lives, but we can grab onto what we can to make things better."
Kai glanced at her, letting her continue.
"I've never cared for a whole city like you, but I have looked after my brothers," she said. "They depend on me. And there have been many times I felt like I wasn't able to do enough for them. But I just kept moving forward. New paths always opened up, even when I didn't expect them to. It wasn't always pleasant. It wasn't like the paths gave me no new difficulties, but I had no way of turning back. I thought of it as the purpose of my life to care for my family."
She shifted her weight, suddenly looking a little sheepish. "I know I'm not much help in all this, but... I believe in you, Lord Arzan. You're doing your best, and I'm sure a path will show itself for you too."
Kai stared out the window for a long moment, her words sinking in. Maybe it wasn't the solution he was looking for, but talking to Claire— just letting his emotions out— had released some of the tension gripping his chest.
He felt lighter, even if only a little. Maybe, just maybe, he didn't need to have all the answers right now. He looked back at Claire, who stood quietly, waiting, her presence a calming reassurance.
"Your mother was wise," he said quietly. Then, after a pause, he replied. "I do have a path... but it might harm me. Not now, but eventually. And I don't know if there's anything else that can save us."
He glanced down at his hands, flexing his fingers.
"I've been wondering whether I should take it or not. But... maybe this is the path fate has decided for me."
Another sigh escaped him, the burden still pressing down. Shaking his head slightly, he pushed it aside for now.
"Claire," he said, looking up at her. "Get me some fresh clothes. I can't show up to the meeting like this." He gestured to the streaks of dried blood on his robe from the spiders he fought before.
Claire's eyes briefly grazed over his clothes, taking in the stains with a silent nod. "Right away, Lord Arzan."
As she left the room, Kai ran a hand through his hair, feeling the tension return. He had a meeting to face— a gathering of Enforcers, scouts, and Mages looking to him for answers. And all he could think about was the choice he had to make. A choice that might save them from the beast wave but was he ready to pay such a cost?
He didn't know, but it was the path he chose.
***
The room was filled with a lot of people, tension gripping everyone as they glanced at each other while waiting for the meeting to start.
The Blackwood men alongside Knight Darian sat in the middle, their indifferent expressions betraying no emotion. The Mages stood near the corner, quietly discussing among themselves, while Balen, the massive minotaur blacksmith, leaned against the far wall, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes alert.
Orion sat straight-backed, his hands resting on the table in front of him, representing the alchemists. Francis and Killian were seated together alongside the other Enforcers, while the red-haired mercenary, Kellen, representing the hired forces, fiddled with a dagger. The scouts, lean and sharp-eyed, sat at the very back.
Kai entered, clean robes replacing the bloodied garments he had worn earlier.
His presence instantly commanded attention as the room quietened, all eyes turning toward him. He stood at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over those gathered.
"Let's start the meeting," he said, looking over everyone before stopping at the scouts. "What do you have for me?"
Phillips, the hunter who had been one of the founding members of the scouting team spoke up. "Lord Arzan, we've scouted the beasts' territories as ordered. No sign of anything unusual other than the things we have already reported. All the beasts we encountered were… normal. No signs of decay or any change in them. Typical for this time of year."
"And the deeper areas? Near the brood mother's territory?"
The scout shook his head. "We didn't venture far enough to face the spiders. Our orders were to observe, not engage. And it's too dangerous to venture that deep even with the Mages from the guerrilla team. But from what we've seen, there's no sign of corruption in the beasts we've come across."
Kai absorbed this, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "So, it's safe to assume not everything in the beast wave has been corrupted by dead mana. For now, it seems to be limited to the spiders, but if we don't stop the wave, it could spread to all the species."
A murmur rippled through the room, some of the men exchanging uneasy glances.
"Dead mana? What exactly does that mean? And are you saying these beasts are turning into mana fiends? I haven't come across such creatures before." Darian asked the question while leaning forward. His eyes darted around the table but fixated on Kai at the end.
Kai took a deep breath, steadying himself before explaining further. "Dead mana," he began, "is exactly what it sounds like— mana that has lost its natural properties and gained a corruptive force. You can think of it as the mana used by necromancers and weavers. It's the most destructive type of mana, even stronger than elemental flames. It can increase the strength of any creature that comes into contact with it, but... it also robs them of their minds."
He let his words hang in the air for a moment, seeing the unease ripple through the room.
"Higher-level beasts," he continued, "are less likely to lose themselves completely. But they still become more aggressive. Their instincts, their hunger— they all become sharper, deadlier."
Klan, representing the Archine Tower Mages, shifted nervously before speaking up. "So... you're saying the spiders are going to be even more powerful than they were before?"
Kai's expression darkened, and he gave a slow nod. "I confirmed it myself. The normal spiders have already risen a grade in strength. They're far more dangerous than when I first encountered them. Normally, corrupted fiends go through physical changes, even developing new abilities or attacks. But there hasn't been enough time to study them thoroughly. For now, we can only expect them to be much stronger."
A murmur spread through the room once again. Their eyes widened in alertness. Some sighed and shared their worries with the person next to them. Kai silently watched how they reacted to this piece of information.
Kellen, leaning forward, narrowed his eyes and questioned, halting the whispers of the room. "And how are we supposed to deal with that? If the spiders have grown that much stronger, what's the plan?"
"We're going through with the plan as usual. There's no time to change anything now. We've already laid out our defences, set up our response teams, and prepared for the worst. We have a sizable force, and we're ready to hold the line."
"But the brood mother?" Feroy asked, his voice filled with concern. "How do we stop her?"
Kai's jaw tightened. "I have a way," he said slowly, "but the chances of it working are slim."
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