The room was thick with silence, the weight of Xue's confession hanging heavily in the air. His wounds were tended to by Seraphina, whose hands were gentle as she worked, but her eyes were filled with sorrow. She could feel the toll this was taking on him, but she said nothing. Xue had never been one to show weakness, and yet here he was, haunted by the ghosts of his past.
After a long, uncomfortable stillness, Mr. Royoveil broke the silence, his voice thick with bitterness and grief. "It's bitter for me," he began, his gaze sweeping over the room, "and for everyone here, except for someone"—his gaze landed on the elves—"to lose our young children. What can we do if even the strongest warrior couldn't stop it?"
Xue's eyes darkened, his heart heavy with regret. The words stung, but they were true. His resolve had failed when it mattered most. He had not been strong enough to protect them. He closed his eyes, the pain evident on his face as he whispered, barely above a breath, "I… I ask for your forgiveness."
Mrs. Aqoun, who had been visibly shaken by what Xue had revealed, stepped forward, her face softening. "I… I'm sorry for slapping you earlier, before I knew the truth of what happened."
Xue met her gaze, his expression unreadable. He let out a soft, bitter laugh, his voice weak but steady. "I deserved it. No excuses."
There was another long pause before Xue finally began to speak, his voice hollow, the burden of his words threatening to crush him. "A million demons attacked us, and we defeated them. But due to an unavoidable circumstance of betrayal, our leader—our comrade—was turned into a demonic monster." His voice caught, his sorrow evident as he relived the moment. "There were soldiers left on the battlefield, but they were struggling to even stand. And so, despite being exhausted, low on mana, and on the brink of collapse, I ordered Alissa to take them to safety. I thought… I thought we could still protect them."
Xue paused, the image of that fateful day still fresh in his mind. "But then… Iblis, Marina, and Corrine—my closest friends—tried to stop Elysia. They tried to stop her from becoming a demon, but they couldn't. And in the end, I had to make the hardest decision of my life. I had to put my sword through her heart. I failed them. I failed to save them. Before we could even attempt to save Iblis, Marina, and Corrine, they were gone." His voice broke, the grief so deep that it was nearly impossible to continue, but he forced himself. "I… I never wanted this. But the battle was lost before it even began."
The room was silent again, the faces of the elemental leaders now etched with a mixture of grief and understanding. Mr. Royoveil's anger had been tempered by the pain Xue carried. Mrs. Aqoun, though still deeply shaken, now saw Xue not as a killer, but as a man who had been forced into an impossible position.
Cerflix, who had been silently observing, finally spoke, his voice rough. "You speak of your failure as if it's the only thing that matters. But Xue, what I hear is a boy who was forced to make a decision no one should ever have to make. You didn't fail them. You did what you had to do, and it cost you everything."
Xue's eyes lifted, his gaze meeting Cerflix's. The words lingered in the air, though they didn't ease the weight on his shoulders. Still, there was a small flicker of gratitude in his heart.
The room, once full of anger and pain, had become a space of somber understanding. They could see it now—the toll Xue had paid for his decisions. The pain in his eyes was the pain of someone who had lost everything: his friends, his comrades, his innocence.
Finally, Alphin, the head of the elves, spoke, his voice steady yet filled with sorrow. "We have all lost so much. Our children, our loved ones. But this is not the end. We may never fully heal, but we must move forward. For those we have lost, and for those we still have."
Xue nodded, his shoulders heavy but his resolve still firm. "I will face whatever comes, even if it's my own destruction. I owe them that much."
Mrs. Aqoun's voice was softer now, the anger in her eyes replaced by something more complex. "Perhaps... perhaps we will never understand your pain. But we understand the cost of your choices. And for that, we will stand with you."
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