Magnum ran desperately along the dirt road, heading toward the warehouses near the entrance to the fields. As soon as the first impact happened, the three children instinctively split up toward what mattered most to each of them.
Just ten meters away, Magnum found his father injured at the edge of the plantation, his leg trapped beneath a farming vehicle. Anton could no longer feel the lower half of his body, though he was still able to move slightly.
The boy panicked instantly and, instead of crying or trying to help his father move the cabin—something impossible—he decided to run for Ethan, who was at the warehouses.
However, the first explosions originated from those very warehouses…
'Duke Ethan… please be safe!' Magnum begged in his thoughts, running despite having no breath left.
When he reached the warehouse, Magnum carefully avoided the scattered debris and the thick cloud of smoke covering the area. Coughing with burning lungs, he covered his face and continued forward.
Near the entrance, he shouted, "Duke Ethan!"
There was no response.
He kept waving the smoke away with his arm, trying to gain a clearer view, but to no avail. As he tried to move toward a wooden crate at the back, Magnum was suddenly stopped by a black bolt that shot down in front of him.
Startled, Magnum stepped back, only to be surrounded by dozens of bolts moving wildly through the ruined shed.
Gradually, a vibration spread, releasing a sharp, directionless sound—yet with a single origin. A few meters ahead of the boy, a white sphere of energy emitted black light and abruptly imploded.
Before the explosion erupted, Ethan positioned himself in front of Magnum, his left arm stretched forward and completely still. A shard of metal was lodged in the Duke's shoulder, blood flowing down to his fingertips.
With his right arm, Ethan unleashed a blast of fire that suspended the energy sphere, delayed the spread of smoke, and, within seconds, turned the warehouses to dust with a single flaming wave. Controlling the direction of the destruction, Ethan hurled the explosion skyward, dragging everything harmful with it.
A mushroom cloud rose that morning.
Momentarily drawn by the sight, Theo looked back, where the mushroom cloud emitted light and vibrations. A powerful wind struck his back and nearly carried him away. Fortunately, Ethan managed to contain the blast, keeping it isolated despite its devastating result.
Even so, Theo kept running through the devastated fields, consumed by pain.
Smoke towers dominated his vision as screams of agony and pleas for help spread across the Young Master's sight.
Yet something demanded his attention. A few meters ahead, one of those smoke pillars rose from the ground. Theo panicked, for his intuition warned him of a catastrophe…
Deviants could sense the presence of humans, even those without awakened domains through their chakras. Theo was certain about the one ahead—weak, on the verge of his last breaths, but undeniably real…
To his left, a damaged cutting bar with bent blades lay thrown into the plantation.
Theo forced himself to keep running, slipping over remnants of destruction along the way. When he reached the base of the smoke, he veered right, where the cabin of one of the machines lay overturned.
Deeper within the plantation, a metal plate was tilted over the body of a man…
A straw hat lay lost amidst the wreckage.
Theo's body froze. His eyes processed the scene, but his mind rejected it, leaving no room for intervention. He could not believe it…
The man crushed beneath the metal plate was Michel, still fighting for his life as he tried to push the massive structure away, failing for being nothing more than a human.
Carrying Liam Mason's consciousness, Theo understood what was happening. Something he should never have witnessed, yet was. His memories wavered between past and present lives.
As Theo stood there staring at Michel, the sound of a heart monitor beeped, signing the patient's death.
Liam stood before a glass window, watching doctors try to save his mother. The monitor beeped in sync with her failing heartbeat, showing that medical care and professional desperation could not save Mavie Müller's life.
Unlike Theo, that sudden death had made no sense to Liam back then. And because he now understood its meaning, Theo's body moved on its own toward Michel.
However… halfway there, the Young Master encountered the image of a man without regrets. Liam Mason stood with arms crossed, leaning against the machine crushing Michel, wearing a calm expression completely detached from the situation.
Theo ignored him and kept running toward Michel, true desperation carved into his face.
Amber eyes collided with celestial blue ones—Liam, a man without regrets and with the power to help, and Theo, a child with awareness but without the strength to even consider helping…
Slipping in the mud and falling beside Michel, Theo quickly recovered and tried to push the metal plate. He was intentionally shoved back.
Black mist leaked from the collapsing core, sending an eerie sensation through Theo's heart. The boy coughed up blood…
"No…" Michel pleaded with his last strength.
Ignoring the elder's plea, Theo tried to pull the metal plate with all his might, but he could not even grip it properly. The heat prevented the Young Master from touching the metal without burning himself.
Instantly, Ethan appeared beside his son and tried to lift the plate. However, with one arm severely injured and his movements limited, the Duke could do nothing more than struggle.
Michel placed his hand on Ethan's arm and, with his final drop of strength, firmly grasped the Duke's wrist. He understood the message…
The pain in Michel's eyes was indescribable. That was why Theo was fighting. Yet Ethan realized that such pain would not allow the old man to live any longer.
His son's life was worth more.
A dull vibration escaped from the energy core beneath the plate, creating reverberations and indescribable thermal sensations.
Regret lodged itself in Ethan's throat, his selfishness becoming the source of his confusion.
Sensing the impure presence he could not ignore, Ethan grabbed Theo by the waist and leapt away from the machine. However… the core sustaining the engine exploded, releasing all its energy and causing a massive impact.
Unable to react or run fast enough, Ethan and Theo were hurled away by the force of the blast.
Moments later, all nearby machines resonated with the released energy from the exploding cores, resulting in the mass destruction of every machine near the plantation.
The fields of Midian were consumed by constant explosions, vibrations, and the bitter taste of the unknown… above all, the pain of mourning.
☽✪☾
"Duke Lawrence!" an officer exclaimed, jumping down from a carriage in haste.
Ethan sat by the roadside, where Theo was being treated by paramedics. The boy lay stretched out on a stretcher, repeatedly immobilized and checked to ensure he had no trouble breathing.
In the yard of what remained of the warehouses, countless injured people sought aid as more wounded emerged from the fields.
"Officer Hart…" Ethan said, his left arm bandaged.
"My apologies for the delay!" Hart panted from his run to reach the Duke. "All machines powered by energy cores were destroyed in the capital. We had to secure the area there first…"
"Ah… so it wasn't just here."
"…Yes. Forgive me, but did I hear disappointment in your voice?"
Ethan remained serious, reflecting on the situation. His eyes slowly swept across the scene, watching people crawl with injured limbs, stained by their own blood, writhing in agony.
"When I sensed an external resonance in the warehouses, I quickly assumed it was a malfunctioning machine. When I arrived, I found the core in total collapse, unable to withstand its own energy… It exploded first. Then the other machines detonated one after another, leaving no trace of the cause…"
Hart staggered back in disbelief.
Meanwhile, the Duke placed his right hand over his solar plexus and groaned silently, feeling a pain like needles.
"Do you believe… this was the work of a terrorist attack?!"
Ethan nodded.
"Organize the troops and tend to the wounded. If this was an attack, not only the capital and Midian, but the entire territory may need aid," Ethan ordered. "Work to prevent further deaths."
"Yes, sir! Men, send a squad to rescue anyone still in the fields! Arrange carriages to transport the injured to the nearest post! Move!"
In silence, Ethan watched his son's condition from a distance. Though Theo showed signs of life—steady breathing and fingers twitching unconsciously—the Duke remained deeply worried.
Resting his right arm over his forehead, leaving only one eye exposed to watch Theo, the Duke of Lawrence fell into lament.
As a renowned lieutenant not only in Romerian but across the entire continent, he was accustomed to such scenes. Lives being taken for some reason was exactly why he valued Loureto's security so highly.
However…
"To me, no…" he muttered. "To me, you're just idiots who learned how to use the body's energy to perform spells and grand feats. But you're not gods, heroes, saviors… I don't believe in any of those false messengers of peace."
"So I'm nothing to you?"
"No… you're a very strong man. The strongest my peasant eyes have ever seen… but you're the man who puts money in my pocket. You're not a hero to me, understand?"
"Even if… I save your life?"
"I'll be grateful, but nothing more than that."
A knife pierced Ethan's heart. Clenching his teeth, grinding them in pain and anger, he thought:
'Sorry… I didn't even earn your gratitude…'