The threat was finally over.
Alen’s group had won, but at a terrible cost. Nearly half of the soldiers they had brought with them had fallen. The field was silent now, broken weapons and burnt ground stretching in every direction.
They had let one of the Cerebus mbers escape, it was unfortunate, but from the look of things, she wasn’t coming back.
For now, all they could do was tend to the survivors, gather what remained of the wounded, and secure the evidence they had risked their lives to obtain.
Alen slowly pushed himself off the ground, his stomach aching with every breath. When he lifted his head, his eyes locked on Beatrix.
She was standing in the middle of the battlefield, alone, surrounded by the faint shimr of dust and blood that the wind hadn’t yet carried away.
She did all of this, Alen thought, clutching his abdon. She took them down... every last one of them. But why isn’t she moving?
A cold unease prickled at the back of his neck.
There had to be a reason Beatrix hadn’t used that kind of power from the beginning. He had felt it, sothing different, sothing darker, and now she just stood there, unmoving, as if frozen between worlds.
"No one get close to her!" Alen ordered.
The soldiers who had survived turned their attention toward him.
"Make sure the rest are stable first," he continued. "We’ll arrange transport for the wounded and the rescued. They need to be protected. Get them out of here as soon as possible."
His tone left no room for argunt.
The soldiers nodded. Though they mourned their fallen comrades, they all understood the reality of war. The mission wasn’t finished until the evidence and the survivors were safe.
Alen kept his eyes on Beatrix.
Then, without warning, her body swayed.
She stumbled once, and collapsed.
"Beatrix!" Alen shouted, rushing forward.
He caught her before she hit the ground, kneeling beside her. Her breathing was shallow, her skin cold. The faint red glow that had surrounded her eyes was fading, breaking apart into shimring particles that drifted away like ash.
Her lips parted slightly, and her eyelids fluttered open.
"Is everyone... okay?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Alen exhaled in relief. "Not everyone," he said softly. "But because of you, no one else was lost."
She managed a faint smile. "Good... that’s good."
He could see how drained she was. Whatever power she had tapped into, it had nearly consud her.
But Beatrix’s eyes still held that spark of clarity. She was herself again. For her, that was enough.
Vehicles began to arrive not long after. The engines humd as soldiers loaded the rescued patients inside. These people, once victims trapped within the facility, were being taken to safety. Their first destination would be the Underside, where Raze and Safa would treat them. After that, they’d be transferred to the military for protection and recovery.
Beatrix leaned against Alen for support, watching silently as the vehicles drove off.
At least so good had co out of all this.
Once the wounded were secured, Alen turned back to the remaining soldiers.
"I think it’s best if we leave this place as soon as possible," he said. "We’ve already captured enough evidence. We went through multiple recordings with different mana crystals and docunted everything we could."
He gestured toward a soldier carrying several small storage orbs, each one containing visual records of what they had witnessed.
"The computers in the facility were destroyed," Alen continued, "but before that, I managed to recover fragnts of data. It’s not everything, but it’s more than enough to expose what was happening here."
He turned to Beatrix, making sure she could hear him.
"Once we’re gone, this entire area will be sealed off. If we stay too long, there’s a chance Yellum will return with reinforcents. We can’t risk that."
The soldiers nodded grimly.
One of them stepped forward. "But, Commander... didn’t she see your real face during the fight? Won’t that cause problems for the operation?"
Alen hesitated for a mont, then shook his head.
"That’s exactly why we have to reveal this information publicly," he explained. "Once the truth cos out, there won’t be any trust left in the Cerebus Guild. And even if the Grand Magus hears Yellum’s report, there are people high enough up who won’t allow a full investigation, not with the evidence we’ve gathered."
He took a deep breath. "Officially, this was a military operation. That’s the story we’ll present to the public and the upper ranks. There’s no direct link between this mission, the Dark Guild, or the Dark Magus. We’ll make sure of it."
The n exchanged glances and nodded.
They all knew what that ant, Alen was taking full responsibility for their actions, even if it ant putting himself in the crossfire.
Beatrix looked at him quietly, still pale but steadying her breath.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For trusting ."
Alen smiled faintly. "You saved us, Beatrix. You don’t need to thank ."
As the last vehicle rolled away, carrying the freed patients toward safety, the sky above them began to darken. The sll of smoke and ash lingered in the air, mixing with the faint scent of ozone left behind by Light Magic.
For the first ti since the battle began, the silence felt heavy.
"I just hope the others succeeded in their missions too," Alen muttered, watching the horizon.
Beatrix followed his gaze. Sowhere out there, other units of the Dark Guild were carrying out similar operations, striking at hidden facilities tied to the Grand Magus’s vast network.
"Do you think the Grand Magus knows what happened here?" she asked.
"He will," Alen replied. "Soon enough. Yellum won’t stay quiet. She’ll report everything she saw. But by the ti her story reaches them, our version will already be in circulation."
He turned to face his remaining soldiers, his voice steady.
"Let’s move. We head back to the Dark Guild imdiately. We’ll regroup, share what we’ve found, and prepare for whatever cos next."
The soldiers saluted.
As they began to march toward their vehicles, Alen took one last look at the ruined facility behind them.
The walls were scorched, the ground split apart. It was hard to believe that only hours ago, this had been a secret operation run by one of the most powerful guilds in Alterian.
Now, it was nothing but rubble, and the beginning of sothing far larger.
He helped Beatrix into the transport vehicle, then climbed in beside her.
Whatever ca next, they had enough proof to shake the entire nation.
As the engines roared to life and the convoy rolled away, Alen’s thoughts drifted once more to the allies scattered across Alterian.
"I wonder how the others have done with their tasks," he murmured. "I guess we’ll find out soon enough."
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