Chapter 198: The Fallen
Aaron beat his head against the ground, wailing in despair again.
Gabrant was stunned. He staggered toward the center of the barren land, toward the heart of the radial destruction. Down here... Dominic is down here...
He dropped to his knees and began clawing at the ground with his hands. The soil was rough, mixed with stones, but he dug and dug, desperately trying to reach Dominic buried beneath. He kept clawing, tearing the earth away, because there was nothing else he could do.
"Gabrant!"
A voice called out behind him—Ashe’s voice. He thought it must be an illusion, but he didn’t stop digging.
"Gabrant!"
A warm weight pressed down on his back.
Ashe. Yes, she had said she was coming to the capital. Was it today?
Her soft white hands closed over his, halting his frantic digging. His hands were caked in mud, nails cracked and bleeding, but he felt no pain.
"Gabrant... with you here, how could this happen?" Ashe whispered.
She knelt on the ground beside him, not caring that her fresh green dress was smeared with mud.
He caught a glimpse of her feet—one was bare, the other still wore a delicate shoe with the heel broken off.
She must have run across the rubble-strewn, dangerous ground to reach him.
"I am sorry... I could not protect Dominic. Dominic is..." Gabrant’s voice broke as the words left him.
Yes, that was right.
Ashe had come all the way from her lands because she wished, even from afar, to see Dominic and Shiao Yi.
It was the first time since then.
25 long years had passed since she had last tried to catch a glimpse of their child.
"Yes... yes, I know. Dominic was noble. He fulfilled his duty as a knight. He defended the capital."
Her golden hair shimmered in Gabrant’s tear-filled eyes.
At last his blurred vision focused and he saw Ashe’s face wet with tears.
"Gabrant. Our son achieved something extraordinary. We must be proud of him."
Ashe held him against her chest as he crouched, broken. Her arms wrapped around him, her hand stroking his hair with gentleness. And within her embrace, Gabrant wept.
It had been so long since his last tears—perhaps not since he was a child.
He had not forgotten how to cry, after all.
...
When Quintus arrived with the Second Division, the violent surge of magic had already ended.
Only the vast, destroyed wasteland remained and an empty scar large enough to make one imagine the terrible event that must have happened there.
But he had no time to dwell on it.
From that very place poured out a horde of magic beasts, throwing themselves into attack.
Fortunately, it had been the Fourth Division’s turn to patrol the capital’s defenses and a detachment had noticed the disturbance quickly.
Their fast arrival prevented the monsters from breaking into the capital itself.
The Second Division immediately joined the fight and later the army units who arrived with some delay added their strength.
In the end, every magic beast was slain.
That much was a relief.
Only then did the examination of the incident begin.
The group of magicians led by the elder master, along with knights, scoured the ruined land, searching the debris and traces.
Aaron who is nearly in a state of madness had been carried away by physicians.
A thorough questioning would have to wait until he calmed down.
From what they gathered, it became clear that before the situation could spiral into the worst possible disaster, Dominic and Shiao Yi had joined their powers to suppress it. And together, they had been swallowed into the earth.
Despite the vast magical force and the massive ruined site, the damage to the surroundings was less than expected.
That was thanks to Aaron’s precise orders and the desperate strength of his barrier.
Quintus turned his eyes toward the center of the ruined land, where the entrance to the demon world had been.
There stood Gabrant with his shoulders hanging in defeat.
The figure of the once-proud great general was nowhere to be seen. But Ashe was by his side.
There was nothing Quintus could do but entrust him to her.
...
The king seated at the center of the long tablewhile the Prime Minister sat at the upper left and Quintus at the upper right.
Around them were gathered the ministers, the heads of key administrative offices, the commander of the knights and other officials involved in the recent incident.
Only one seat was empty—the one belonging to the great general, Gabrant. He was in mourning and no one dared to question his absence.
The meeting began with a report from Aaron.
He explained that he had discovered fragments of ancient ruins and begun collecting them, then attempted to restore and connect the patterns etched into them.
Through his efforts, it had been revealed that those patterns formed a complex magical system that was layered with multiple magic circles and ancient spells.
He confessed that he had not foreseen that the moment it was completed, it would activate on its own.
Aaron spoke in a calm, exhausted tone. The usual spark in his voice was gone; so was his confident arrogance. He looked like a man completely drained, almost unrecognizable.
Although Aaron had triggered a grave crisis, the incident was ultimately judged to be an accident. His quick decisions during the chaos had shown both competence and concern for others.
First, thanks to his immediate commands, the knights had been able to respond swiftly to the surge of monsters.
Second, his timely report allowed nearby citizens to evacuate early, preventing major casualties.
Third, his decision to stay behind and sustain the magical barrier with every ounce of his strength had stopped the disaster from spreading further.
Because of these achievements, his punishment was limited to a formal reprimand. Even so, Aaron was deeply remorseful, unable to recover from the weight of what had happened.
"But because of this, we have gained crucial knowledge!" declared Mr. Vundo, his excitement barely contained.