The Black Serpent Knights did not seek victory; they only sought to ensure the Hilichurls could escape.
They charged at the Traveler not because their "threat" had failed, but to buy time for the Hilichurls behind them to flee.
From the very beginning, they were fighting to the death!
The readers fell silent. Earlier, they had felt satisfaction seeing the Black Serpent Knights, but now they were on the verge of tears for them. The shift was too sudden, wasn't it?
Just moments ago, they were saying to give them a couple of slaps, and now they'd have to get up at night to slap themselves twice.
Strictly speaking, they were enemies with Khaenri'ah, but in the face of a respectable foe, everyone was willing to offer some respect.
How did that saying go? "It is not a gentleman's fault to be born in a small nation."
Faced with the Hilichurls protected by the Black Serpent Knights, the Traveler naturally wouldn't act against them. She let them quietly await their end. After this, they might become mere monsters.
The remaining rooms were also filled with Hilichurls, but they were no longer guarded by Black Serpent Knights. Halfdan had likely called them away earlier.
The Traveler didn't disturb these Hilichurls and continued toward the room at the center of the ruins.
In this central room, there was a pool of water, also inverted, yet no droplets fell.
This pool had a kind of "purification" ability, capable of alleviating the curse on the Khaenri'ahns, which was why those Hilichurls gathered in the nearby rooms.
Although the pool had this "purification" ability, it couldn't eradicate the curse. The curse of Khaenri'ah was like a part of the person themselves. Eradicating the curse was akin to burning away a part of their body, making survival nearly impossible in the end.
Halfdan arrived. He didn't speak but turned and left, clearly indicating for the Traveler and the others to follow.
Halfdan led the Traveler and her companions to a Hilichurl camp, where the Hilichurls had already lost their lives.
All that remained was a campfire and a single flower.
At the end of their lives, Hilichurls feared light, which was one reason they hid in the Chasm. So why was there a campfire here? Weren't they afraid of light?
[Paimon: "Could it be that, at the very end, they still wanted to feel a bit of light and warmth?"]
Paimon's guess hit the readers hard. Who knew you were so insightful? Since when did you start doing reading comprehension?
As for the flower left behind, Lucian drew a close-up of it, and the readers recognized it immediately—it was the flower Lumine wore in her hair.
Having journeyed with Lumine for so long, the readers had seen this flower countless times but never knew what it was. Now, Dainsleif told them.
["It is Khaenri'ah's national flower—'Inteyvat.'"]
["If plucked and taken away from Khaenri'ah's soil, its petals cease to grow and become extremely hard."]
["Only when it returns to its homeland do the petals soften again, ultimately dissolving into dust…"]
["Thus, Inteyvat also symbolizes 'wanderers,' signifying 'the tenderness of home.'"]
This was the first time everyone learned the flower's name.
In the story, Lumine reached out to touch the Inteyvat, and in an instant, memories flooded her mind.
Lucian depicted this scene in manga form, showing a conversation between Aether and an Abyss Herald.
[Aether: "Focusing too much on the grand cause of opposing 'Celestia' has caused us to neglect the mission of 'restoring our nation.'"]
It turned out Aether had already prepared a device, seemingly intending to use it to purify the curse from the Hilichurls.
Aether knew the success rate of this operation was minuscule, but he still wanted to try.
[Aether: "For 'them,' it's better to return to 'the cycle' sooner than to live without dignity."]
["Don't let 'them' continue to bear… those baseless sins."]
Aether wanted to restore the nation, and to restore the nation, he needed citizens. Purifying the curse from the Hilichurls would make them the foundation for Khaenri'ah's revival.
Dainsleif scoffed at Aether's idea, stating that the plan didn't even have a one percent chance of success.
He said he had lived with the curse for five hundred years—no one understood the curse better than he did.
Removing the curse wouldn't succeed. It would only bring the Hilichurls unspeakable pain, leading to their deaths in agony.
This time, Lumine also chose to stand against her brother, because these Hilichurls had already chosen their fate, and her brother shouldn't make decisions for other lives.
"Lumine…" Aether sighed.
Other readers naturally felt Lumine's choice was correct.
Though they couldn't empathize with the Hilichurls or sympathize with Khaenri'ah, Lumine was right—these Hilichurls were already awaiting their end. Why make them die in pain?
Lumine decided to stop Aether, and Halfdan's goal was achieved. He had deliberately led Lumine here to see this and stop it.
Once again, he protected the Hilichurls.
When the Traveler in the story left the Hilichurl camp, she encountered the Water Abyss Herald again. This time, he faced the Traveler and Dainsleif head-on, not fleeing.
He used his life to buy time for his companions, giving them a chance to activate the device.
By the time the Traveler and Dainsleif arrived, a Thunder Abyss Chanter had already started the device.
The device amplified the pool's effect, exponentially increasing its "purification" ability, spreading its influence to the surrounding area.
The Hilichurls were in extreme pain, and even the Black Serpent Knights struggled to stand.
Under this assault of pain, even Dainsleif was unsteady, his steps faltering as he cried out in agony.
[Dainsleif, in pain: "Ugh—Is it too late?"]
["Must they all… end their lives in such extreme pain?"]
Dainsleif clutched his forehead, his gaze unfocused as he looked at the device, his mind entirely focused on resisting this force.
Lumine, standing nearby, drew her sword, intending to destroy the device and stop it. But before she could act, she froze in place.
What did she see? Lucian depicted what she saw as an illustration.
It was the back of a Black Serpent Knight, moving forward with great difficulty, his weapon already fallen to the ground.
But he didn't stop. He was approaching the pain-inducing device step by step.
The closer he got, the stronger the device's effect became, and the slower the Black Serpent Knight's steps grew. Yet he never stopped.
The Black Serpent Knight named Halfdan roared, charging toward the pain-inducing device. In that moment, his will overcame the pain.
[Dainsleif: "Halfdan! If you do this, you'll…!"]
If he did this, Halfdan would surely die. Yet Halfdan didn't stop. In the illustration, he roared and ran.
Leaping toward the device, he pinned it beneath him. In the instant before he reached it, he regained some of his "human" memories.
It was a promise—a "man's" promise.