Her piercing emerald eyes studied him with keen curiosity.
"And you…" she mused while tilting her head.
She was even more intimidating up close.
"You're not supposed to be here, are you?"
Victor fumbled for words.
How was he supposed to explain this?
Before he could come up with a convincing lie—
Cecilia's comms earpiece crackled.
A transmission came through.
She narrowed her eyes and turned away while touching her earpiece as she began speaking into it.
Victor let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Because none of them noticed it.
Behind them, the fallen body of the Drakenar leader… twitched.
Its vision was blackened.
Its organs were failing.
But it still had a little life left.
And its last thoughts were of revenge.
'That stupid brat… he is to blame for this.'
If it was going to die, it would make sure to scar him forever.
It raised a trembling arm.
A magma spear materialized in its palm, pulsating with intense heat.
It locked onto its target.
With its last bit of strength, it flung the spear at its target.
A searing streak of molten energy shot forward, cutting through the air like a lightning bolt.
Victor's eyes snapped to the side.
His breath hitched as time seemed to slow down at this moment.
The spear was headed straight for his father's back.
The others were distracted.
The Legendary Mage was still on comms.
The blue-robed Mage was securing the battlefield.
He pushed himself forward with Wind Dash causing his body to blur.
He reached out to grab the spear—
But he wasn't fast enough.
The burning projectile, slipped through his fingers before he could close them on time and...
The spear pierced through his father's back, burning his heart instantly.
Victor skidded to a halt with a look of disbelief on his face.
For a moment, he didn't react.
His hands clutched at the burning hole in his chest.
Then he turned to Victor and smiled before collapsing.
Cecilia felt it before she even turned her head.
She had heard that kind of scream before.
A scream that meant someone had lost something irreplaceable.
She whipped around, scanning the battlefield.
Her emerald eyes locked onto the sight.
Victor was on his knees, cradling his father in his arms.
His face was buried in his father's chest, and his shoulders trembled violently.
Tears streamed freely down his face, dripping onto his father's burnt shirt.
His father's arms hung limply by his sides as his lifeless eyes stared at the sky motionless.
Cecilia's face contorted.
Her gaze snapped to the Drakenar leader who was barely standing. It wobbled in place with molten blood pouring from its wounds.
A creature on the brink of death.
It had no right to still be breathing.
Cecilia's fingers curled into a fist.
She activated a silent incantation.
Mana flared violently around her, distorting the air.
She snapped her fingers.
A force invisible to the naked eye crushed down on the Drakenar leader's skull causing its head to instantly implode.
Its twisted, steaming corpse collapsed onto the ground.
This time, it was truly dead.
But it didn't matter.
Because so was Mr. Revenant.
Victor's voice cracked as he yelled at the healer.
The healer knelt beside him, placing glowing hands on Mr. Revenant's body.
A gentle and warm light enveloped the lifeless man.
Victor held his breath as he watched while his heart pounded intensely in his chest.
His father would wake up, right?
The healer's face darkened.
The glow around his hands flickered.
He swallowed hard and shook his head.
"…Healing spells don't work on the dead."
He stared at the healer, unblinking.
As if the words hadn't registered.
"No… no, you're lying. Do it again."
The healer winced. "Victor—"
The healer sighed before pressing his hands against Mr. Revenant's chest. He complied with Victor's wishes and tried again.
The light flared up once more.
Victor's finger trembled as he waited...
...But nothing happened.
The healer's shoulders sagged.
He shook his head again.
Victor's breath hitched.
He grabbed his father's face and shook him.
"Dad… come on. Wake up."
His father's face remained still.
Victor's voice cracked.
His father didn't move.
His hands gripped his father's shirt, bunching the fabric.
He shook his head violently, refusing to believe it.
A choked sob tore out of Victor's throat.
He pressed his forehead against his father's chest as his vision blurred completely.
Tears kept pouring out of his eyes uncontrollably.
A hand pressed onto his shoulder.
The surviving miners that surrounded him had sympathetic looks on their faces.
Some of them had tears in their eyes while others wore solemn expressions.
Even the toughest among them looked broken.
Mr. Revenant saved them.
Victor's fingers dug into the blood-stained fabric of his father's clothes.
His heart felt like it was being ripped in half.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
He had come here to save his dad.
But he still lost him.
Cecilia stood a few feet away, unmoving.
She watched the scene unfold with a straight expression.
She had seen many, many deaths.
Comrades. Students. Friends. Lovers.
At some point, she had grown numb to it.
It was a reality of battle.
She had accepted that.
Something about watching a child cry over their parent's corpse…
Somewhere deep inside, something ached.
She exhaled quietly, closing her eyes for a moment.
She turned toward her comms officer.
"We're done here. Wrap it up."
The cleanup would begin soon.
A city far away watched the aftermath.
New Avalon City's emergency protocols were finally deactivated.
The city's sealing barriers dissolved, one after another.
People poured back into the streets in confusion, fear, and panic.
They gathered around screens, phones, and holographic displays.
The news drones circled over the battlefield, sending back live footage.
Numerous Drakenar corpses mixed with human corpses.
The entire city saw him.
A schoolboy in uniform.
The reporters zoomed in.
Mothers covered their mouths.
Students at Victor's school stared at their phones with widened eyes.
They had all been worried about him.
He never answered their messages.
Author's Note: End of Volume One!
For everyone that has gotten this far, I thank you all. Things are just getting started. Volume Two begins in the and I hope you guys are ready because it's going to be a roller coaster.