Point of view of Julio Timal:
A small sense of calm and peace comes over my body when I finally manage to capture Aaron. At last, I can breathe peacefully again.
I volunteered to arrest him and rescue all the students. Many other factions also sent volunteers. It caused a small scandal, and in the end the decision fell to the emperor and Susan. Neither of them hesitated in choosing me.
They know I have no bad intentions; I only want to help. Most of the other volunteers were sent by their noble houses, guilds, or groups in order to gain some favor from the emperor and the kings.
Their plans were frustrated when I stepped forward. My selection was almost certain.
A small anger still lives in my stomach. Just seeing this bastard in front of me makes me want to squeeze him until his body explodes in different directions.
I let out a sigh to keep calm. I cannot annihilate the only possible evidence we have to discover who orchestrated this attack. This simple man would never have been able to bypass such high security on his own, not even in a thousand years. Someone—or something—must have sponsored him.
I take out a prison crystal for Aaron. The crystal flies toward the position of his core, and chains appear, binding his entire body.
This object is one of the most effective prisons available. Even a Diamond rank would have trouble breaking it in optimal condition. This bastard has already fallen into a deep sleep until we can explore his mind.
I walk toward where Maki is. He managed to endure the attacks until the very end. I remove the remaining constructs embedded in his body. It would take him a long time to erase all the remaining mana and Imra from the wounds on his own.
Maki raises his head. His eyes are almost closed. He can’t even force the muscles of his face to smile. He remains floating in the air purely out of stubbornness.
His mana well is almost empty. His brain must be a complete mess, and I can feel that his cube is quite injured.
“It’s over. You can rest now.” I speak to him while smiling.
Maki tries to return the smile, but he can’t. His consciousness abandons him. His eyes turn white and his body almost collapses toward the ground.
I catch him gently with wind mana and descend together with him and the prisoner. I can already sense several people waiting for me below.
“Uncle Julio, is Maki okay?” Areci is the first to ask me.
“He’s not in danger of dying. He should recover fully soon.” My answer is sincere. His body is naturally absorbing mana and healing slowly, most likely with help from Glia. The physical wounds will heal faster with assistance from the doctors once we leave.
What worries me slightly is the condition of his cube. According to him, he has already experienced even worse situations and managed to overcome them. I have no doubt that this little demon will do something similar again.
“Marquis Timal, has everything ended? Have we managed to capture everyone involved? Was there any more damage?” Charles bombards me with questions.
I always tell him he can treat me more casually like Maki or Areci do, but he remains stubborn about addressing me like a noble.
“Prince Charles, for the moment everything has ended. The only person involved so far has been captured.” I point behind me, and I can see his eyebrows tighten slightly.
“There was no external damage, only direct damage to this dungeon system.” According to estimates, it should take about a week to restore everything, perhaps even improve the defenses.
The prince still looks somewhat doubtful. He believes my words; it’s just difficult to accept that only one person could be responsible for something this large. We all share the same feeling, but for now we have no proof.
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“Ready to return? There’s a lot to do.” The three of them look at me for a moment and nod subtly.
“You too. You need to come back with us.” I turn toward one of the trees a few hundred meters away. My wind mana shoots toward the person hiding there, revealing him.
The gazes of the other three immediately focus in that direction, and their eyes widen. Another person had freed himself during the battle but never made any attempt to help. He simply waited for some special moment—or perhaps he simply didn’t care.
Jefran Vallac.
That boy made absolutely no effort to help. He stayed on the sidelines watching everything that happened. He didn’t move a finger even when Maki was in such a desperate situation. He didn’t react when Areci nearly died. He simply stood aside the entire time.
The other two special students had some kind of protection against altered spaces. They obtained good items from their masters and managed to avoid this entire inconvenience. They will probably ask for some form of compensation later, which is not my concern.
Areci, Charles, and Salvaj show different reactions on their faces—doubt, anger, confusion. For the moment none of them has said anything. I already warned them through my Imra not to say or do anything until we return.
Jefran approaches, avoiding their gazes. His eyes remain focused on the destruction surrounding us.
We walk quickly toward the temple. When everyone gathers within the active circle of light, I activate the object to return.
Spatial mana envelops us immediately. I don’t feel anything different. It’s the same frequency used when entering a dungeon. Everything appears to be resolved.
That is one of the other reasons I was chosen. My mastery over spatial mana is far greater than that of other Obsidian ranks. My knowledge in identifying potential threats during entry or exit is extremely valuable.
I don’t feel anything unusual, so I let the mana flow until the process completes. The sensation of returning brushes over my body. I feel nothing strange in the final motes of spatial mana around me.
Everything seems to have returned to normal. Many people are waiting. The coliseum has already been emptied, the cameras turned off, and an enormous number of people are guarding the surroundings in search of any suspicious individuals.
“Daughter.” Susan’s voice is the first thing to reach my ears. My teacher embraces her Areci tightly.
The emperor approaches his son with a large, formal smile. “You did splendid work. I’m proud of you.”
He doesn’t show much affection, but his words are sincere. Many eyes are watching, so he fulfills both his role as emperor and father at the same time, maintaining the balance between the two.
“Thank you, Father.” Charles answers like a proper prince.
Salvaj reunites with his own master as well, an Obsidian rank who chose to live far away from everything in a small hidden village near a port city.
Several medics are already surrounding Maki. Susan and the emperor continue speaking with their children, though they don’t pay direct attention to the boy who kept them alive. Still, I can sense small threads of concern in their mana.
They must have understood Maki’s situation as well. His external wounds will close soon.
The only potential issue is the recovery of his cube, but neither of them will spare any expense to help him if Maki asks for it.
Brendu is waiting at a distance. She understands the situation perfectly. I can feel her nervousness and eagerness even from here. I look into her eyes, and she notices my gaze. I signal her with my hand, and she approaches as quickly as she can toward where Maki is.
Brendu gently takes Maki’s hand. She examines him carefully with both her eyes and her Imra. She must know Maki’s Imra perfectly by now. She will immediately notice if there is any problem. I see her smile with relief, and her eyes show a tenderness worthy of envy…
I’m happy for both of them, but I wish Arisa were in her place. At least I’ll have a reason to tease her about it later.
Everyone involved undergoes a more thorough examination in a more private location. Even Maki has already woken up.
At first he was very disoriented and released a large amount of energy. He probably didn’t remember whether the fight had ended. Fortunately, I was paying attention and managed to contain it without causing any damage.
“You showed off.” I nudge him with my elbow.
“I didn’t manage to defeat him… If you hadn’t arrived, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He looks somewhat sad.
“You did well. Two ranks and a Jurisdiction are not easy to overcome. You should be proud of your actions.”
He shouldn’t be stubborn and diminish the value of what he did. What he accomplished is something only people destined for greatness manage to achieve.
“Uncle Julio is right. Lift your head and be proud.” Brendu squeezes Maki’s hand.
It was a surprise when I told Brendu to call me uncle and she accepted immediately. She said it made her feel closer to Sol, Arisa, and Marga.
I love my niece very much, but her actions and reasoning are far from Brendu’s. Sometimes I wish she would dedicate more time to being a noble rather than fighting.
Maki looks at both of us. He slowly releases the air he had been holding, finally giving in. “I’ll take your words. Thank you for the support.” Brendu simply smiles at his response and rests her head on his shoulder.
“See you later.” I say goodbye to them.
Maki passed the external medical check without problems. In a few hours he will have to come speak with us and explain his experience. I teleport to a place where spatial magic is allowed and head toward the room where they are waiting for me.