As night fell, with Keders’ team retreating for a rest, Malin also activated the teleportation channel and led his own team back to Copenhagen.
The group of young people in the team didn’t share their usual laughter because, over the entire afternoon, Chaos had launched a total of seven assaults. Keders’ team had nearly lost half of its personnel—as the old man had said, Malin couldn’t save everyone, because mortals can never block out the sky with one hand.
Yet Malin also witnessed the courage of mortals; these young people from the western provinces of the Northern Kingdom faced Chaos and leaped out of the trenches time and again, whether against fallen humans like the Chaotic Believers or the purest embodiment of Chaos, the Plague Messengers, they never retreated.
The first three units that counter-charged were unable to find any survivors after the sixth offensive, not just them. Nearly seven units suffered such losses. Even if Malin’s spell formation buried thousands of Chaos, the endless tide-like waves seemed impossible to extinguish, charging wildly. More than once, Malin ignited his spiritual energy to utterly crush thousands of Plague Messengers.
Even if it meant saving just one young person.
However, during the seventh assault, old Keders was pierced through the chest by a longsword of a Plague Messenger in close combat. When Malin arrived, the old man was already on the brink of mutation, half-transformed into a Plague Messenger, and pleaded with Malin to end it quickly, to let him die in his human state.
All Malin could do was behead him, then cleanse everything with holy flames.
On the battlefield, a massive inferno that hadn’t yet died down, holy fire danced among the bone ashes of Chaos, tirelessly igniting all sins.
This was the scar Malin left on the land when his spiritual energy advanced.
"Your Excellency, do you need me to accompany you to Lord Keders’ house?"
Cradling the bone ash of old Keders, Sudel thought that Malin intended to bring the ashes to Keders’ home. Malin shook his head, "Get some rest early, everyone. The onslaught of Chaos grows fiercer by the day, and it might reach its peak in another week’s time."
"...Alright, Your Excellency, please get some rest sooner as well," Sudel said and went back into the small building. Malin walked through the snow with his hands in his pockets while Fio carried the urn of Keders’ remains behind him.
Bippo hummed a requiem belonging to their clan inside a small bag behind Malin.
There are some things it’s better for young people like Sudel not to see.
Following the address given by the military, Malin came to Keders’ mansion. This branch of his family had also been glorious once, with a house that had a garden. Now the garden had turned into a resting camp for refugees, and his mansion was full of wounded soldiers. It seemed he had turned his mansion over to the Benevolent Church for use as a medical facility.
This was no longer Keders’ house, as old Keders had sent away his butler the previous week, seemingly... as if he had anticipated his death, he had d his estate to the Benevolent Church.
Malin stepped through the mansion’s gates, and a matron from the Benevolent Church noticed Malin. She came over, "Good afternoon, sir, may I help you?"
Because it was deep into the night and the mansion was poorly lit (using only candles), and Malin was dressed in a very modest coat, he appeared more like a destitute young man, prompting the matron to turn and open a large wooden barrel behind her, "Ah, I apologize, young sir, there’s only this piece of black bread left."
"No, I didn’t come to find something to eat," Malin said, shaking his head at the matron.
"Then you are..." "I am Malin, Malin Gaiate. I have brought Lord Keders Hagelberry back."
The matron glanced at Malin and then at the World Tree Sapling carrying the urn behind him, slowly realizing the situation, "No, this... this isn’t true! His Excellency... His Excellency was a high-ranking war practitioner!"
"I purified him," Malin responded.
Watching the matron wail, Malin felt somewhat at a loss on how to explain. As more onlookers gathered, a middle-aged man dressed as an Assistant Priest from the Benevolent Church pushed through the crowd. He looked at the matron, then turned to Malin, "Sir, what exactly happened, why is Nun Eileen from our Church so distressed?"
"...I am Malin Gaiate. Lord Keders Hagelberry fell in battle this noon. I’ve brought him back," Malin repeated, and in the eyes of the middle-aged man, there was a moment of silence; one could see his eyes reddening. The emotionally controlled Assistant Priest nodded, "I understand, where is Lord Keders?"
Malin turned, took the box, and handed it to the middle-aged man, "His Excellency delegated his mansion to you. I hope you can properly attend to His Excellency’s funeral arrangements."
"We will," said the middle-aged man, taking the urn and nodding solemnly, "We will always keep in our hearts the help that Lord Keders provided to the Benevolent Church."
Hearing this, Malin nodded.
The news of Keders’ war death would be conveyed to Antoine by Malin the next day, along with the return of his badge.
It is said that all Northern Kingdom nationalists who die for their country leave their badges on the wall of a safe house.