The silence after the battle brought an uneasy peace.
Half the city had been destroyed.
Flames still burned among the ruins, tinted blue by the excess mana saturating the air. The corpses of the creatures lay among the rubble, mixed with the bodies of soldiers and civilians.
The survivors moved from place to place.
Searching for names.
Searching for family members.
Searching for bodies.
Anything that would tell them who had survived.
Emily stood in the center of the square, breathing heavily.
The divine blessing still glowed around her body, but its intensity was gradually fading. It would not last much longer.
She placed one hand on her radiant sword.
Her legs were trembling.
She made sure no one noticed.
The battle had been far more exhausting than she had imagined.
A child emerged from the rubble.
He staggered forward, clutching a bloodied hand between his own.
"Miss…"
Emily immediately crouched down.
"What's wrong?"
The boy looked up.
"My mom won't wake up."
Emily felt something crack inside her.
Even so, she smiled.
She placed a hand on his head.
"Everything will be all right."
The boy shook his head.
"No…"
"You have to be strong."
She hugged him.
"She needs you to be strong."
Behind them, Alejandro moved through the rubble.
The golden flames that had covered his body were beginning to fade. His divine Arcanum still pulsed with unstable energy.
Leonardo walked around the square, checking on the wounded.
His face remained expressionless.
But his eyes told a different story.
Every body he found seemed to feed a rage that had been building inside him for a long time.
Kara, meanwhile, silently observed the corpses of the monsters.
Calculating.
Number of creatures.
Levels.
Wounds.
Direction of the tracks.
Something didn't add up.
"We can't stay here," Alejandro said.
His voice broke the silence.
"The horde is still active to the north. If we don't move, they'll come back."
Emily raised her eyes.
"First, we need to tend to the survivors."
"There are already soldiers taking care of that."
"It's not enough."
Alejandro clenched his teeth.
"Every second we waste could mean more deaths."
"And if we leave now, we'll abandon the people we just saved."
Alejandro opened his mouth to respond.
Leonardo intervened.
"Emily is right about one thing."
They all looked at him.
"We need to stabilize the city."
His gaze turned north.
"But we also need to find the source of this horde. As long as the mana remains unstable, this will happen again."
Kara crossed her arms.
"We need to rest before making another decision."
Alejandro turned toward her.
"Rest?"
A small flame appeared over his fist.
"The city is burning!"
Several civilians turned toward them.
A nearby child stepped back when he saw the flames.
Emily stood up.
"Alejandro."
He was breathing heavily.
"We can't just stand around."
"No one is saying we should stand around."
Emily approached him.
"But we also can't rush into another battle without knowing what we're up against."
Alejandro looked away.
They had been friends since childhood. For years, Emily had been one of the most important people in his life.
But everything changed when he saw her kiss Lusian.
Since then, their relationship had become distant and tense. He couldn't accept that Emily had chosen a Douglas, of all people—the family responsible for the deaths of his entire family.
And now, standing before a city destroyed by a horde coming from Douglas territory, that old wound was opening again.
The four heroes had fought together, but that didn't mean they trusted one another.
Ever since receiving their divine blessings, their differences had begun to grow.
Power had also changed the way they saw themselves.
They had gone from being young people chosen by the gods to becoming symbols.
Thousands of people shouted their names.
The churches spoke about them.
Nobles welcomed them as saviors.
Every victory fed their confidence.
And for some, that confidence was beginning to turn into something more dangerous.
Alejandro no longer saw himself as an ordinary human.
He had been born to be a hero.
Neither did Leonardo.
He was a prince.
A chosen one.
And, in his mind, someone destined to stand above men like Lusian Douglas.
Then a voice came from behind them.
"With all their power…"
A priest stared at the ruins.
His face was covered in ash.
"…and yet the city was destroyed."
Alejandro slowly turned.
"What did you say?"
The priest swallowed.
"I didn't mean to offend you, Lord Hero."
"Then speak clearly."
"I'm only saying…"
The priest looked at the corpses.
"What will happen when the mana continues to increase? Who will answer for the cities we cannot save?"
Alejandro took a step toward him.
Flames appeared over his fist again.
"Do you think we didn't give everything we had?"
"Alejandro!"
Emily stepped between them.
Leonardo, however, did not defend the priest.
"He's right about one thing."
Alejandro looked at him.
"About what?"
Leonardo stared at the ruins.
"We saved the city."
His voice was cold.
"But we didn't prevent the tragedy."
Silence fell again.
Then someone approached.
The Baron of Valther.
His armor was covered in blood and dust. Part of his cloak was missing, and a wound ran across his forehead.
Even so, he walked upright.
He stopped in front of the heroes.
His gaze passed over each of them.
"The scouts have confirmed that the horde appeared from the north."
No one answered.
The baron swallowed.
"From the direction of the Duchy of Douglas."
Alejandro slowly raised his head.
His expression changed.
"Douglas…"
The name alone was enough.
The memory of his murdered family returned to his mind.
The flames around his body intensified.
Emily noticed immediately.
"Alejandro."
He did not respond.
Leonardo was not indifferent either.
Douglas.
The same name belonging to the man who had Isabella in his service.
The woman who had been reduced to a servant after the death of her brother.
His jaw tightened.
The baron continued carefully.
"It is not my place to question the decisions of His Excellency, Duke Douglas."
He paused.
"But if the horde was diverted toward Valther…"
He did not finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Alejandro stepped forward.
"Then it was him."
Emily turned toward him.
"You don't know that."
"Don't I?"
Alejandro let out a bitter laugh.
"Where do you think it came from?"
"That doesn't mean Lusian sent it here."
"I don't need him to have sent it."
His eyes burned.
"If he made a decision that caused this, he's still responsible."
Emily clenched her fists.
"Lusian wouldn't do something like that."
Alejandro looked at her.
For a moment, his expression softened.
Only for a moment.
Then it hardened again.
"You know him better than we do."
Emily held his gaze.
"Yes."
"Then ask yourself whether you really know every decision he makes."
Leonardo intervened.
"It doesn't matter what his intentions were."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"The result is right in front of us."
Emily turned toward him.
"Leonardo…"
"Thousands of people paid the price for a decision made in another territory."
The second prince looked at the ruins.
"That must have consequences."
Emily felt a knot tighten in her chest.
It wasn't just an accusation.
Leonardo had been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time.
And Alejandro didn't need a reason either.
They both hated Lusian.
For different reasons.
And now they had a destroyed city standing before them.
Then Kara raised her gaze.
"It's coming."
Everyone turned toward her.
The baron frowned.
"What is coming?"
Kara didn't answer.
The ground began to vibrate.
This time, it wasn't the chaotic movement of the monsters.
It was rhythmic.
Heavy.
Thousands of footsteps.
The soldiers of Valther instinctively raised their weapons.
Then the first black banners appeared.
Two wolves.
Douglas.
The formation advanced through the smoke with perfect discipline.
They didn't run.
They didn't shout.
They didn't need to.
Three gigantic creatures walked at the front.
Thunder left blue lightning crackling across the stones.
Umber seemed to absorb the light around him.
And Larriet advanced with such physical pressure that the ground trembled beneath her.
All three were above level ninety.
Some soldiers instinctively stepped back.
Not because they had been ordered to.
Simply because they knew what it meant to have those three beasts standing before them.
Then Sofia Douglas appeared.
The duchess walked with absolute calm.
She wasn't wearing heavy armor.
She didn't need it.
Her gaze swept across the ruins and stopped on the corpses.
Then Lusian appeared.
The Baron of Valther immediately lowered his head.
"Your Excellency."
The other soldiers did the same.
Even some of the nobles present fell silent.
No one wanted to provoke the Douglases.
No one needed to issue a threat.
Everyone knew their reputation.
If the Douglases decided to unleash their power, the city could disappear before anyone had time to regret it.
Lusian dismounted and handed the reins to one of his men.
He did not acknowledge the greeting.
He walked through the rubble.
He looked at the civilians.
The soldiers.
The corpses.
The destroyed houses.
His expression remained impassive.
But inside, something broke.
He had never seen so many corpses.
He had read about wars. He had seen images of disasters. But nothing could have prepared him to walk among dead people knowing that, in some way, he had contributed to what had happened.
He stopped.
He looked north.
Then toward the remains of the wall.
He had followed the horde from Douglas.
He had tried to stop it.
And he had failed.
One mistake.
That was all it had taken for hundreds of people to die.
Lusian slowly clenched his fists.
"What happened here?"
Alejandro stepped forward.
"You should know."
Emily immediately turned.
"Alejandro."
But he did not take his eyes off Lusian.
"The horde came from your territory."
Lusian watched him in silence.
"Yes."
That answer seemed to catch him off guard.
"Yes?"
"Yes. It appeared inside the Duchy of Douglas."
Lusian looked north.
"I tried to stop it before it reached any settlement."
Alejandro let out a bitter laugh.
"And you failed."
"Yes."
There was no excuse.
No attempt to justify himself.
Just an answer.
Alejandro clenched his teeth.
"So at least you admit it."
"What do you want me to admit?"
Lusian looked at him again.
"That I failed?"
A pause.
"I already did."
Alejandro took another step.
Flames began to envelop his arms.
Several Douglas soldiers subtly moved their hands toward their weapons.
They did not draw them.
There was no need.
Sofia simply raised her eyes.
That was enough.
The soldiers became still again.
Alejandro noticed the movement as well.
But his hatred outweighed his caution.
"My family died because of the Douglases."
Lusian did not respond.
"And now a horde comes from your lands, destroys a city, and kills hundreds."
The flames intensified.
"Do you expect me to believe all of this is a coincidence?"
Emily stepped between them.
"You can't blame him without proof."
Alejandro looked at her.
"I don't need you to defend him."
"Then stop trying to turn a suspicion into a verdict."
"A suspicion?"
Alejandro pointed toward the ruins.
"Look at it!"
His voice echoed between the destroyed buildings.
"All of this happened after the horde came out of Douglas territory!"
No one answered.
Because, despite his obvious hatred, the fact remained true.
Leonardo stepped forward.
"Alejandro is right about one thing."
Emily turned toward him.
"Leonardo…"
The second prince looked at Lusian.
"We don't know whether you ordered the attack."
A pause.
"But we do know it happened within your borders."
Lusian held his gaze.
"And that's why I came."
Leonardo frowned.
"What?"
Lusian pointed toward his troops.
"I could have remained in the duchy."
He looked at the wounded.
"Instead, I followed the horde here."
Then he pointed toward the medics beginning to advance.
"I didn't come here to argue about who is to blame."
His voice hardened.
"I came to prevent more people from dying."
Kara had remained silent until then.
She watched Lusian.
Then she looked at Thunder, Umber, and Larriet.
Finally, at the Douglas army.
"They really were pursuing it."
Everyone looked at her.
Alejandro clenched his teeth.
"That doesn't prove anything."
"No."
Kara looked at him.
"But it doesn't prove that Lusian is responsible either."
Alejandro did not respond.
Kara turned her gaze toward the ruins.
"And we have a bigger problem."
She pointed toward the corpses of the monsters.
"The horde was fleeing."
Lusian nodded.
"From the Omega."
Kara narrowed her eyes.
"We saw it too."
"Yes," Lusian replied.
"The monsters fled in every direction. We tried to contain them, but some managed to escape."
Kara studied the tracks disappearing among the rubble.
"Then they weren't attacking Valther."
"No."
Lusian shook his head.
"They were trying to escape from it."
Leonardo frowned.
"And why was that Omega chasing them?"
Lusian remained silent for a few seconds.
"They were looking for food. The mana phenomenon altered their habitats and reduced their food sources, forcing many species to abandon their territories."
Kara looked at the monster's corpse.
"But we do know one thing."
Everyone looked at her.
"The Omega appeared here. It was the one that caused the most damage."
A pause.
Lusian turned toward his men.
"But we can't solve that right now."
He pointed toward the wounded.
"Medics to the front."
The soldiers began moving.
"Evacuate the unstable sectors."
"Yes, my lord."
"The mages must stabilize the mana before we recover the bodies."
Orders began spreading through the ranks.
Sofia remained silent, watching her son.
She didn't need to intervene.
Lusian was already acting as duke.
Emily watched him in silence.
Alejandro continued staring at him with hatred.
Leonardo with suspicion.
As Valther began burying its dead, an accusation was already beginning to take shape.
The monsters had come from the Duchy of Douglas.
For Alejandro, that was enough.
For everyone else, it wasn't.