NOVEL NEXT Chapter 124: From Mourning To Moving Forward
With the loss they had suffered from the Mirare Town Dungeon Incident, the Annual Caravan force, numbering more than eight hundred individuals, had been reduced to half.
Since the cavalry had stayed at the camp outside the town before Mirare became a dungeon at dusk—so as not to cause commotion or tension within the town—the only loss their group had suffered from the incident were the dozen soldiers Commander Brandon had brought as bodyguards, along with a few who had gone into the town to buy supplies.
Most of those who died during the incident came from the Guilds, the Church, the Magic Academy, and all the smaller groups that had been completely wiped out.
Out of the two hundred adventurers who took the Annual-Caravan Quest, only a quarter remained. Most of that number were those who happened to be outside the town, waiting in line in front of the gate when the Dungeon Boundary manifested and completely sealed the town—without any Gate for anyone to enter and rescue those inside, or to leave and escape for those trapped within.
It was the same for the Crafters Guild, Merchants Guild, the Church, and the Magic Academy. Their remaining number, equal to about a hundred, mostly came from those left behind outside—the crafters still working to repair weapons, armor, and carriages; the merchants who stayed behind to watch over their wares and merchandise; the priests and priestesses treating the injured; and the mage students and instructors who decided not to attend their scheduled evaluation meeting inside the town.
Those were the ones left, in addition to the fortunate few who survived fighting the undead Visages of the townsfolk and those from the caravan who had been captured and turned into undead Visages themselves.
The supposed four-day stay of the Annual Caravan at Mirare Town had been extended into a week as those who survived recovered their strength and healed from their injuries—both physical and mental—while what remained of them investigated the town, gathering anything that might shed light on what had actually happened before the town turned into a dungeon that lured its victims by day and devoured them by night.
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"It's alright to cry, Lynn."
"Who said I'm crying…"
Even if she hid behind him and buried her face in his back to escape the flickering light of the bonfires illuminating their dim surroundings as the sun set on the horizon—no matter how much she tried to ignore the cries of those who had gathered around the clocktower in the town square, mourning those they had lost—and bit her lips to hold back her tears, her stammering voice and trembling hands as she clung to his coat told Arezu all he needed to know about the regret and guilt Lynn felt.
To fight with everything you have, enduring every hardship—believing that you could atone for your sin, make amends to those you left behind, move forward for those you lost, protect those still fighting by your side, and save all that was left—only to fail in the very end.
The sadness everyone shared as they offered a funeral to those who had lost their lives reminded Arezu of his own regrets and guilt, making him clench his fists and grind his teeth to hold back his own sorrow.
"...You're the one who's crying, Mr. Arezu."
"Now, this is a surprise…" Arezu murmured, forcing a weary, enduring smile. "I thought I'd already cried all my tears before."
None of them knew every member of the Annual Caravan, but they didn't need to see the list of names to know who among them had died.
The memories they had shared departing from the capital of Eileen Kingdom, along with the battles they fought together while traveling the southern road, were enough for everyone to remember those who were gone as they all gathered at the town square to offer one final feast to their fallen comrades and bid them farewell as their souls returned to the goddess Isleen.
"I didn't take you for someone who would isolate herself during a celebration," Arezu said as he found Lynn.
Lynn had suddenly disappeared from the crowd, only for Arezu to find her at the top of the ruined clocktower, sitting at the edge and looking down at everyone mourning, grieving, and celebrating under the glow of bonfires scattered across the town square.
"Says the one who came here so he could cry without anyone seeing." Lynn retorted, throwing back the remark she didn't want to hear from Arezu—only to be caught off guard by his reply.
"I came here worried, looking for you, though."
Although his voice was as laid-back as always when he was being patient with her—and even though she knew there was nothing romantic behind his words—Lynn couldn't help but feel flustered, knowing that Arezu genuinely cared for her as he sat beside her.
Yet regardless of her satisfaction at receiving his attention, Lynn's sorrow soon overwhelmed her again.
"Do you think we could have done more to save everyone?"
So that's what she's thinking, Arezu thought, staring blankly at everyone below—just as Lynn did.
"Remember when I told you that dungeons are originally other worlds overlapping with ours?... What if the townsfolk and everyone from the caravan who were captured and turned into undead Visages were just trapped in that world?... Doesn't that mean we left them behind to suffer in that abyss when we destroyed the Core and the Dungeon?... That we abandoned them just to save ourselves?... That we're the ones who cruelly killed—"
Her sad, desperate train of thought—about to bring her to tears again—was cut short when Arezu gently patted her head. He looked at her with a wistful smile and a nostalgic glimmer in his eyes, comforting her as if she were someone very dear to him.
The words he offered next felt like they weren't meant just for her, yet she felt the desire to claim them.
"Even if it was your fault... even if you were the true villain of the story... as long as you bear your regrets and guilt, we will stand by you. We will raise our weapons and fight. We will believe in you—until the very end."
That night, for the first time, Arezu heard Lynn truly cry her heart out.