It was a costly victory.

Nobody cheered.

For the remainder of the day, Deklan and a handful of the able-bodied dug a single, yawning grave right outside the hamlet's edge. The work was slow, grim, and silent as the people stayed behind to watch the grave being dug, whimpering and sobbing all around.

All the grieving combined into a haunting melody that chilled the soul.

By the time the last body was laid to rest and the final shovelful of dirt patted down, the night was deep and absolute around them.

As if the world was mocking them, the air was chilling tonight.

And soon, it started to rain—the sky cried alongside them.

Marsha helped the people go back home and took shelter from the downpour lest they get sick.

She was clearly struggling with her emotions, but the people needed her support more.

Like always, she put others' needs above hers.

Even until she brought away the last one, Marsha didn't say a single word to Deklan.

Heck, she didn't even glance at him.

She's naive, but she's not stupid. She probably blamed me.

Deklan chuckled a little, shaking his head as he looked skyward—allowing the rain to fall directly onto his face. He was drenched under the downpour, but somehow, it felt more refreshing as this, at the very least, helped him forget everything.

Freeze his mind even if it's only for a fleeting moment.

An hour passed.

Since it was pleasant being under the rain like this, Deklan fell asleep.

He was only woken up by a deafening crack of thunder as the sky flashed with a single bolt of lightning.

Deklan sat up and dragged his hand across his face, wiping the water before he looked around.

No one was there except for him.

He grumblingly stood up and walked away.

A minute later, he stood right outside the window, looking into the living room.

Inside, he found Marsha. She sat slumped at the table—face buried in the cradle of her arms. The storm's downpour still glistened on her clothes, and from how her shoulders were shaking violently, it was clear that she was crying.

Still grieving the dead.

Deklan stared with his shoulders slumped.

He reached his hand towards the window, deliberating whether he should comfort her or not.

But in the end, he turned away, deciding to let her have some space.

I'm sure I'm the last person she wanted to see. Let's not disturb her. I'm only going to be a nuisance.

Feeling a stare—a presence, Marsha raised her head and looked out the window.

She wiped her tears to look properly, but there was nobody there.

Meanwhile, Deklan went to the spot where the blue tower was supposed to be.

A patch of dug land on the other side of the hamlet.

Even though he felt like shit right now, there are still things that he must do, and completing the Origin Quest is one of those things. It would not only give him rewards to get stronger—but also summon the barrier that would protect the hamlet for good.

After what happened, this was top-priority.

Deklan took out the red tower from the inventory.

Splash!

It fell to the ground with a heavy, steely thud, splashing water everywhere.

Seeing this, Deklan cracked his neck and then squatted down, pushing his fingers underneath the heavy construct. He instantly put it into the inventory earlier, so he didn't realize how extremely heavy the tower was, even for someone like him.

"Hrrggh…!"

Deklan's muscles bulged as he tried to lift it up.

He exerted everything he had, but all he could muster was a few inches off the ground before it slipped.

Splash!

It fell back down again.

Deklan fell to his knees, his face was strained from holding back pain as he held his fingers.

His fingers were clipped by the tower, and that was extremely painful.

But even so, he wasn't going to give up.

Once again, he went down and lifted it, gritting his teeth so hard to push past his limit.

Even though his muscles were straining from doing this, and his entire body was complaining for him to stop, Deklan kept going as this helped him vent out the anger and frustration in him. And eventually, with great struggle, he managed to lodge the tower in place.

"Haah… Haah…"

Deklan panted heavily, bending forward with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Just then, the entire tower began to thrum into life, sucking in the mana in the air greedily. All the runic patterns and symbols along its length began to glow with a bluish light, showcasing that it was coming back to life.

Seeing this, Deklan stepped back to take in the view.

A strong pulse of air exploded when the blue gem glowed brilliantly.

Deklan waited for a few seconds more, anticipating the completion of his Origin Quest.

But the system was silent.

"System, what's wrong? I already put the tower back."

Before the system could answer, Deklan was startled when three levers suddenly dropped down from each side of the tower. Below each level was a path marked by a blue glowing line with starkly different patterns.

It was clear that Deklan needed to pull these levers along their paths to activate something.

[Hint acquired: Pull all the levers to connect the blue tower to the red tower! Only a Ghost can pull all three levers and fully activate the blue tower.]

[Only when the blue tower is activated fully will the Twin Towers of Darnina be successfully activated.]

"Outstanding…" Deklan smiled acutely.

Based on the hint, the system was basically saying that he's the only one who could pull the levers.

Deklan did exactly that, thinking that as long as the one who pulled the levers is a Ghost, then everything will be fine. But he was strong. In order to pull the levers, he needed to endure having his mana being sucked by the tower while pulling.

It's not a small amount either.

Swish—!

Once he touched the lever, he flinched as mana was rapidly being drained from his body.

As a result, the path glowed brighter, showcasing clearly how far he could push the lever.

Deklan grunted, pulling on the lever as hard as possible.

But barely a minute later, his mana was exhausted, and he only managed to pull a fifth of the way.

"Guess trying to finish it in one day is pushing it," Deklan shook his head, realizing that it would take him a few days to completely activate the blue tower. But then again, there was no hurry as there were no imminent threats to the hamlet anymore.

Deklan turned and walked away.

He walked out of the entrance; his drenched under the rain and soon swallowed by the night.

Naturally, he was heading back to the hut instead of his house in the hamlet.

In the next couple of days, Deklan started a new routine.

Early in the morning, he would be exercising to clear his mind and further develop his physique. Then, he went straight to the hamlet to continue activating the blue tower. Once he exhausted his mana as well as his stamina, he went to the Shadowed Town to check.

Other than wanting to see the expansion development, he also wanted to get closer to the Ghosts.

Unlike Sasaki, they were not bound to the Ward, so he had doubts.

Surprisingly enough, the Ghosts there bear no hostility towards him at all—instead, they were treating him like he was their leader. Even when he told them to do random stuff like running laps around the Null Zones, or even fight against each other.

All of them obeyed without complaints.

This also includes the Shadow Knights that are stronger than the Shadowlings.

Once the sun was down and his mana was recharged, Deklan exited the Shadowed Town and went to find where Kaelyn's group was. He hadn't found them yet—but he reckoned they were still somewhere inside the forest.

No shot they left, even after what happened.

Deklan eventually found them, still living in their carriages about half a mile away from the hamlet.

He would find a time to talk with Kaelyn later.

Just as he finished everything he needed to do throughout the day, he returned to the hamlet—and started the second session of activating the blue tower. Only then would he return to the hut to sleep—or if he couldn't, then he'd meditate.

Marsha hadn't said a single word or come to meet him in these past few days.

It created a wedge between them.

And this also further solidified Deklan's assumption that she blamed him for what happened.

Even the people didn't greet him anymore.

One night, Kaelyn stepped out of the main carriage and saw Deklan sitting alone near the bonfire, staring emptily at the swaying flames. She closed the door behind her and approached, taking a wooden cup of water.

"Have a drink," She handed Deklan the cup as she sat down beside him.

Deklan accepted the cup and sipped on it, still not saying a word.

She stole a glance at Deklan, trying to read his mind, and then turned to the bonfire again.

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing much. Just feeling like shit."

"Did you… Blame yourself for what happened?"

Hearing this, Deklan cast a glance at her and then raised his brow.

She was asking something that should be obvious.

"What do you think?"

"It's not your fault, you know. At least, it's not entirely your fault."

"How is it not entirely my fault? I basically made the grudge—and that's why that bastard attacked the hamlet."

Kaelyn folded her legs and hugged them, resting her chin on her knees—as she stared helplessly at the bonfire. "We'd been running for days before we reached this forest. Zayne led the scouting group, while I stayed behind to protect the carriages. For the last three days before arriving, none of us had slept."

She turned her head toward Deklan; her cheek pressed against her knees as her lips curled into a helpless smile. "Everyone was exhausted and stressed. I kept pushing them because I could still go on. But not everyone can endure what I can. So, what do you think?"

For a brief moment there, Deklan held his eyes.

Earlier, when he arrived, she already explained to him what exactly happened to Zayne.

And from her explanation, he learned that Zayne was already turning into a Zombie, but nobody realized it until it was already too late. The Zombification happened because of many factors, and some of them are exhaustion and stress.

Noticing the realization blooming on Deklan's face, Kaelyn smiled sheepishly.

He now understood that it wasn't entirely his fault.

"Who's really more at fault here? You, or me?"

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