Gray smoke billowed toward the heavens.
But despite this pri sign of chaos, Yon Augenn City was strangely peaceful.
Mundane folks crawled out from whatever holes and bunkers they had hidden in, while adventurers wandered the ruined streets, lanting the devastated state of the world's capital.
They talked in hushed voices, shivering as they recounted how they had barely survived the war.
Luckily, it was all over now, at least according to what remained of the city guards who inford them.
Among the common folk, a few stood out—those brave enough to peek outside during the chaos.
One, in particular, claid to have seen two fifty-ter-tall dragons erging from the massive hole near the city square, one after the other.
According to him, the dragons had roared—a strange, resonating lody, both heavenly and hellish, that spoke of the cycle of life and death.
So people doubted him, while others believed wholeheartedly.
It was a rather warm scene that highlighted the human race's resilience.
The war had apparently ended a day and a half ago, but for the citizens' safety, they had not been allowed to leave their shelters until the authorities of each city gave permission.
Now, it was finally safe to do so.
After cautiously stepping out and taking in the devastation that engulfed the entire city, the citizens began to disperse, making their way ho.
A few lucky ones found their properties with only minor damage, but most weren't so fortunate. They could only stare in pain and heartbreak at the ruins of their hos.
They had spent so much and endured countless hardships to get here—especially the mundane folk—only for everything to be reduced to rubble.
Many had nowhere to go, as even the establishnts they worked at had not survived.
Would they have to return to poor towns and villages, living in constant fear of monstrous creatures that road free from the adventurer zones?
They were reluctant to leave. Surely, they would try to inquire about the situation at City Hall or the WAA.
Maybe they would receive compensation…
They probably would.
After all, the one in authority was none other than the esteed Lord Hale Eversong.
The entire city was engulfed in a strange mix of relief, sorrow, confusion, and curiosity.
They wanted answers.
Had the damned lying serpent's forces been vanquished?
They must have been—soone had seen the two divine deities soaring away from the city.
Whether that was true or not would soon be confird by the WAA, likely within a few hours.
***
Inside a luxurious office, where an enormous ironwood table sat at the center, ten old n faced each other with indescribable expressions.
They appeared both pleased and displeased at the sa ti, perhaps due to two separate matters.
Naturally, they were pleased that they had won the war—and that the two deities, driven by personal grudges against Dweezel, had aided them in capturing the bastard at the very end, eliminating the world's greatest threat.
After all, if that wicked man had escaped, he would undoubtedly have tried to pull a similar sche again in the future.
Hale could guarantee it.
Recalling how the damned manipulator had scread hysterically when the two deities trapped him within their divine domains, Hale couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
His mood instantly improved.
He had witnessed everything through a live recording crystal brought back by one of the heroes at the scene.
"So… Sanada is still nowhere to be found?" Hale asked the other directors, hoping that at least one of the branches had a lead.
They owed Sanada too much—both an apology and their gratitude.
Despite being labeled one of the vilest criminals, the noble man pressed on, silently enduring everything for the sake of the world.
At the very least, Hale wanted to clear his na—standing before the public with his old face on display, declaring that Sanada Eiichiro of the Howling Void was no terrorist leader, but a noble hero who stayed true to his duty until the very end.
It didn't seem like Sanada had died, however.
He had simply… disappeared.
In any case, the council of directors couldn't afford to halt their duties just because he was gone.
They had to provide a transparent explanation to the public and assure them that everything would be fine from now on.
Naturally, the ten directors also wished to reward the noble souls who had made everything possible—naly, those from Hadean Varsa.
The organization had suffered great losses, including their most trusted commanders, all for the sake of saving a world that treated them as fugitives.
Recognition was the least the WAA could offer to atone for their colossal blunder.
Every ti Hale imagined what would have beco of the world had Sanada given up, a shiver ran down his spine.
Who could have guessed the depths of Dweezel Hawkins' cunning and malice?
"I asked my for—err, the heroes of my region who joined our cause." Belford began,
"They contacted their headquarters and confird that Sanada wasn't in his office there either. He simply vanished… However, Izanagi inford that one of his n discovered two teleportation portals at the site, though no one could determine where they led."
Hale simply sighed and nodded, following up with another question for the Valenzian Director.
"I see… Then what about the heroine of the Sanguine Eve? I heard she was Shye Crowley's partner—was she not? Is her ntal state fine? And what did she say about the ascension ceremony we planned for the ten of them?"
"Also, what about the Crowley family? How are they dealing with the loss?"
This ti, it was the Valenzian director who sighed deeply, seemingly distressed about the situation.
"My n checked on them. The Crowley family is in a rather depressed state right now—they didn't want to talk. I suppose it's best to delay the rewards and acknowledgnt ceremony.
As for Sanguine Eve, she doesn't seem to be thinking straight.
She claims she'll enter a monastery for a year, supposedly to acquire 'priestess' as a subclass, but more likely just to grieve in silence over her lover's death. She said she has no interest in the position of a Divine Guardian and wishes to be left alone.
After all she's done—all the sacrifices she's made—it would be highly inappropriate not to respect her wishes."
The other directors could only sigh at Belford's words.
Even Director Barley of Krebori—who usually took every chance to pick a fight with Belford—wasn't in the mood for such petty banter.
"Sigh… What are we to do with these, then?" Hale muttered, his gaze fixed on the ironwood table. "The deities entrusted them to us, after all…"
There, atop the table, lay ten ancient stones—each engraved with divine runes, their black-and-white surfaces pulsing faintly as if yearning for masters.
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