Eren kept running as Malrik craned his neck, trying to pierce the dark; his eyes, now bloodshot and stinging, watched the moment the radio in Eren's pocket came back to life.

Eren, without slowing, took it out and pressed the button. "I'm listening."

The radio went dead for a second. Static flooded the channel, then a voice broke through again. "Captain Eren, rescue complete. We've secured the three VIPs. Please confirm a meeting point. "

Hearing that, Eren stopped abruptly, which left Malrik confused.

"What happened?" He asked, curious and tense.

He didn't understand the language coming from the monster and the black box, so he tried to guess, but even that was difficult and left him in the dark.

Eren noticed the small man's worry and answered him first. "My friends saved the girls. You can relax." Then he spoke into the radio: "I'm returning to the point where you dropped me off. If Commander Rhys approves, we can meet there."

From the start, his mission was to assist the 2 researchers, so he was not hesitant to show himself to the Velari locals. However, revealing technology that did not belong to this world—like a hoverjet—was a question he could not answer on his own, so he asked his superior to decide.

The radio filled with static again for a while, as if the signal were weak or something was interfering, until Rhys's calm voice returned. "Let's meet at the excavation site. We will hold at a high altitude until you arrive."

With that decision, Rhys Graves made it clear there was no need to hide their presence, at least from the Velari, since he and the others already regarded this region as Adyr's own headquarters, taken by his own hand.

At the same time, being an old wolf, Rhys clearly had a plan in mind, and he added through the crackling channel, "We can use this moment to make our grand entrance and elevate our image in the eyes of the natives. You understand what I mean, I suppose?"

"I understand," Eren replied in an even tone, fully grasping what the STF commander had in mind. He slipped the radio back into his pocket, turned around, and started running toward the excavation site.

—

"My precious daughter is gone." Orven Draven was on his knees, his white garment caked with dust and mud, his eyes fixed on the countless corpses of knights before him as he murmured.

"Orven, do not let yourself fall yet. She can still be alive." Behind him, King Vale Von Velaris, equally stained in a red garment now as dirty and muddy as Orven's, placed a hand on his shoulder to console him.

Yet the consolation did not seem to take hold, as even the king's own face was deeply furrowed.

Not only were the royal knights and Vesha gone, but the 2 researchers, who were Adyr's friends, were also missing, and the king responsible was left without any explanation to offer.

On top of that, as if all this were not enough, their precious Practitioner, Malrik Azven, had been kidnapped by a monster, making the situation even worse.

"Those hateful Umbraens are breaking the rules by attacking civilians like this," another household lord in the back said, his voice filled with anger.

Across the region, there was an unwritten rule: regardless of race or Path, Practitioners must never harm mortals. Yet the Umbraens, as always, had broken that rule.

The worst part was that there was nothing they could do in the face of it. Even if they informed Liora, the kingdom's protector, they knew the greatest outcome would be financial compensation, and that would not bring the dead back.

King Vale drew a steadying breath, pressing down sorrow and anger, knowing those emotions would not help him now, and then he turned and looked over the gathered faces.

Other lords stood there with knights and hundreds of Velari civilians holding torches, their expressions as full of rage and sorrow as his own.

"Let us collect the bodies of our kin," King Vale ordered in a melancholy voice. "It is the most meaningful thing we can do now, so their heroic, courageous bodies do not lie on the cold earth."

However, the answer he received from the crowd was not what he had hoped for.

"The only thing we can do?" An elderly man lifted his torch, eyes brimming with tears, and shouted over the king's words. "They come into our lands, they kill our brothers, children, and friends, they kidnap our precious women, and the only thing we can do is collect corpses?"

It was only the beginning of a larger outcry as other voices joined the old man's.

"While we Velari, respect life and try to live in peace with everyone, why are we the ones always being trampled? Why should I show respect to Practitioners who come and hurt us like this?"

They began, one by one, to question their culture. They questioned the Astra Church's teaching: Serve, obey, sacrifice.

They had no problem following those teachings for their own Practitioners like Liora and Malrik, since both deserved every measure of respect and reverence.

But Practitioners from the Umbraen and Nether Paths, however, were another matter.

Then a single sentence rose from the crowd, burning with rage, swelling with each new voice that joined.

"We want revenge."

King Vale, looking at the angry mass, could not find the right words. He would have preferred to fight and honor their fallen kin by pursuing revenge, yet that was not a path a wise king could follow, especially when the enemy across from them was far stronger.

That was not a decision mortals like them could make.

Even as the feeling rose inside him, King Vale calmed himself and opened his mouth to try to cool the heat in their hearts and draw them back toward rational thought, only to be interrupted by a familiar voice from the back.

"Cool your hearts, people of Velari. Your revenge has already been taken."

At the sound of the voice, the entire crowd turned in surprise and saw the kingdom's Practitioner, Malrik, looking at them with a pale yet steady expression.

"Lord Malrik."

Recognizing him, the crowd nearly fell to their knees all at once, but a strangeness in the sight before them made them hesitate.

Malrik was still perched on top of Eren's gigantic body, sitting there in an awkward position that put the civilians in a small conflict about how to react.

"Ehm…" Malrik, finally realizing how odd he looked, cleared his throat. "Lord Eren, could you put me down if I ask?"

"Sure." Eren, hearing the faint embarrassment in his voice, let out a small laugh, dipped his head, and helped him get down.

Malrik stumbled a little when his feet touched the ground, but he quickly steadied himself, straightened his clothing, and turned back to the crowd that was watching him with patient curiosity, waiting for him to speak.

"Hmm, as I said, we…" He paused for a heartbeat and corrected himself, this time gesturing to Eren's massive figure standing behind him. "Thanks to this lord and his friends, we managed to kill every Umbraen attacker and saved our kingdom's lovely Vesha and our precious Guests they tried to kidnap."

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