The silence after the battle was not peace. It was fracture.
Flames still burned among the ruins, tinted with a bluish hue by the excess mana hanging in the air. The fallen creatures continued to evaporate like corrupted mist. Citizens walked through the wreckage, searching for names, searching for bodies… searching for hope.
Emily remained standing in the center of the square, breathing with difficulty. The divine blessing had stabilized the mana for a few minutes… and now she felt it returning with the weight of an ocean. She leaned on her radiant sword, hiding behind an appearance of calm. Though no one noticed, the relic seemed to resonate with her pulse, as if it recognized its rightful bearer.
A child staggered toward her.
"Miss… my mom won't wake up…" he murmured, holding a blood-stained hand.
Emily knelt, even as every movement made her tremble.
"I promise you," she whispered, resting a hand on his head. "No one else will fall today."
Behind her, Alejandro walked through the rubble like a fading comet. The fire that had stopped the Omega beast dimmed with every step, and the aura of his sword—the divine Arcanum still burning—echoed with his fury, leaving trails of light in the air. Leonardo moved among the wounded with a cold expression, though guilt weighed heavily in his eyes. Kara watched the dead creatures… as if measuring how many blows they had been short of.
"We can't stay here," Alejandro said through clenched teeth. "The horde is still active in the north. If we don't go to the Douglas Duchy, these monsters will return… and they'll come back stronger."
Emily shook her head, her hand resting on her sword like an anchor.
"We must tend to the survivors first. The city needs stabilization, and the wounded can't wait. That's our priority."
Leonardo crossed his arms, his voice as cold as steel.
"Emily is right to care for the civilians. But if we don't eliminate the source, this massacre will happen again. Nothing will change while the duchy allows the mana to spiral out of control."
Kara, who had remained silent, finally spoke—barely more than a whisper.
"We should rest, assess the damage… and plan with a clear head."
The comment ignited Alejandro. His fist sparked with a small flare of mana, enough to make a child in the distance avert his gaze.
"Rest?" he roared. "After the city burns and people die? I can't sit and wait while they remain in danger."
Emily placed a hand on his arm, stopping his momentum.
"Alejandro… this isn't about what you want right now."
The air thickened with tension. For the first time after their victory, the heroes doubted one another. For the first time, their paths were not aligned. The citizens watched them like saviors, unaware of the conflict simmering between them.
And then it happened.
"With all their power… and still the city was lost," a priest said quietly, believing the heroes could not hear him. "What will happen when the mana keeps growing? Who will answer for this?"
Emily turned, but Alejandro was faster.
"Answer for it? Do you think we haven't given everything?" he roared, his fist igniting again.
"Alejandro!" Emily intervened immediately.
Leonardo frowned.
"She's right," he said without looking at them. "We stopped the catastrophe… but we didn't prevent the tragedy."
The tension tightened further.
The temple officials approached. The Baron of Valther, his face still streaked with blood, spoke harshly:
"The horde came from the north. From the Douglas Duchy. Are we to understand they were driven out… without foreseeing the consequences?"
Alejandro looked at Emily.
Emily lowered her gaze.
Leonardo spoke first.
"If that's true… the duchy must assume direct responsibility."
Kara lifted her eyes to the sky.
"He's arriving."
"Who?" the baron asked.
Before anyone could answer, the ground began to tremble. Not like before, from terror… but from order.
Columns of earth cracked as black banners bearing two wolves appeared in the distance. Thousands of soldiers marched in perfect formation, their rune-etched armor reinforced by the new surge of mana.
At the front, three enormous creatures towered above the rest: Thunder, an electric warhorse crackling with lightning at every step; Umber, a black wolf that seemed to absorb the light around it; and Larriet, an imposing lion radiating pure physical power, capable of devastating any enemy with its claws.
All three were above level ninety.
And behind them, riding with a presence as majestic as it was relentless…
Sofía Douglas.
At her flank—Lusian.
Emily took a step back. Alejandro clenched his teeth. Leonardo looked away. Kara simply watched.
Lusian dismounted, walking through the rubble. His gaze moved across the wounded civilians… the heroes… the ruins.
His eyes reflected something between guilt and resolve.
He stopped in the center of the square.
"What happened here," Lusian said in a low voice, "was not an inevitable tragedy… but a consequence."
Alejandro stepped forward, fists smoking.
"A consequence? You were in charge! These deaths could have been avoided if you had acted responsibly!"
Leonardo joined him, relentless.
"Thousands died. And everything points to decisions you didn't make… or made far too late."
Emily stepped forward.
"That's not fair. You're blaming him as if he had been sitting idle. He was chasing the horde from his own territory! No one could have stopped something like that."
Alejandro growled, his boot shifting over broken stone.
"Emily, we're not saying he's a coward. We're saying he failed. And his failure cost lives."
Leonardo tilted his head with calculated coldness.
"I'm not questioning his honor. I'm questioning his decisions."
Emily clenched her fists.It hurt more than she let show.
Kara moved between them in a nearly imperceptible motion, firm but calm.
"That's enough," she said without raising her voice. "We're not in a position to judge anything yet. He was chasing the horde—you saw him arrive with Thunder, Umber, Larriet, and his army." She looked at Alejandro, then at Leonardo. "We can point fingers later… when there aren't wounded people dying a few meters from us."
Alejandro drew a deep breath but did not lower his gaze. Leonardo didn't either.
Emily, her chest burning, turned toward Lusian.
He did not say a word.He didn't need to.
His arrival had spoken for him.
A faint glow surrounded the heroes' armor and the weapons they carried, a subtle reminder of their divine origin. No one mentioned it.
They didn't need to. Everyone could feel it.