The end of the beginning

While Arthur was completing the Attribute Control Skill: Regression Of Forest And Affection, the battle in Parachenko Village had finally come to an end.

Things had played out exactly the same as Arthur was familiar with.

His Father, alongside Elder Vova and Elder Anatol had killed the Impure Rain Crab, bringing a swift and sudden end to the wind and rain that had been bucketing down over the region, immediately halting the floods and letting things resume their natural course.....

Quite of a few of the Elders had died in that battle.

And other than Elder Vova and Elder Anatol, there were only just a little bit over a dozen Elders left in the Kovacs Clan out of the original several dozen.

On the other hand, Dominic and Leon's group only possessed just under ten causalities.

Unlike the Impure Rain Crab, most of the spirit beasts they had to fight lived underwater, and couldn't leave the water, less they become easy pickings for the Fae Masters that laid in wait above.

Only those few amphibious spirit beasts that could come above water posed a threat to them, and were killed almost instantly by Leon and Dominic's combined attacks.

The exact moment they felt the wind and rain cease, and the first rays of light shine through the once black and cloudy skies above, their total morale surged, and they fought until their very last drop of origin essence.

Despite the fact that the rivers and streams of Parachenko Village ran red with the blood of countless humans and spirit beasts, these proud, seemingly undying Fae Masters stood tall and strong as they raised their arms above their heads.

Not only had they defeated one beast tide, but they defeated another, directly after the first one!

They ignored the huge amounts of death and destruction, and the once wide and seemingly boundless buildings of Parachenko Village, that had now crumbled back into the waters below, and instead cheered, thanking anything, anyone that they were still alive.

Leon and Dominic, both covered in blood and in water glanced at each other before smiling.

Leon's felt weak at the knees and fell back down into the mud and water beneath him, not caring about the dirt blemishing his clothes.

They were already dirty, why would they even care about their appearances on the battlefield?

Leon's origin essence sea had reached below 5% of his 249%.

If the battle continued on for much longer, he would've run completely dry, and passed out from overexertion.

Dominic was faring much better than his younger brother and walked towards the other Fae Masters, checking on their conditions, while assisting anyone that was either injured to too tired to stand up.

He noticed a few of the Fae Masters that he led were crying, obviously remembering those that they had just lost, and did nothing but pat them on the back, or hold them as they poured out their emotions into his chest.

It didn't matter whether they were men or women, it still all hurt the same....

Dominic only sighed before glancing towards the Lecture Hall.

"I hope Arthur and Andrea are fine. Knowing Arthur, he should be completely fine, or at the very least, Andrea should be completely fine and he should be injure-".

Dominic's eyes widened as he noticed a figure aimlessly walking throughout the ruins of the Village. The expression on their face seemed..... foreign to Dominic, despite the familiar features and clothes that he was currently wearing.

A shiver crept up his spine, and Dominic couldn't help but think of-.

His thoughts stopped there, his mouth widening and his legs moving, no, running towards this figure despite the raised hairs on the back of his neck.

He came directly in front of this person, and his mouth dropped as his body shook.

It was Arthur..... his clothes wet and reddened, as a large tooth lodged itself in his abdomen, piercing straight through his belly and out of his lower back.

In his hand was a moonsword, which was trembling uncontrollably despite having a massive hole in his stomach.

Dominic couldn't tell whether Arthur was crying or whether it was just the water dripping from his hair. But.... Dominic could say with absolute certainty.

He had never seen his brother, he had never seen Arthur so..... broken.... before.

His eyes, which normally possessed such an unfathomable depth to them, seemed as shallow as the puddles he trudged through. His pale expression, was obviously from the blood loss, but the way his lips trembled, as his eyes watered made things seem.... different.

Dominic glanced around before opening his mouth to speak.

"Arthur! What happened!? What is the matter?".

He received no response from his younger brother, so he changed his line of questioning.

"I thought you were headed to the Lecture Hall!? Where is the girl who was beside you? Where is Andrea?!".

The moment he said that name, Dominic felt the moonsword in Arthur's hand come into contact with his neck, drawing a thin line of blood as he noticed Arthur's hand shake uncontrollably.

Dominic saw Arthur's facial expressions change. From realization, to sadness, to hatred, to rage, to anger before.... returning, to the same lost, forlorn expression he showed earlier.

Arthur fell to his knees, letting go of the moonsword and letting it return back to his origin essence sea.

He fell to the ground, covering his face with his hands as he cried out.

The sheer amount of emotion.... the pure rawness in his voice.... the anger and hatred that was held deep inside his memories.... all bubbled up to the surface.

Even if he didn't feel distraught at this particular circumstance, Arthur had plenty of bad memories to draw upon.

He slammed his fist into the ground, pounding it, over and over again, drawing the attention of some of the other Fae Masters.

"What's going on? Whose that with Dominic?".

"Is that Arthur? But I thought that he went to the Lecture Hall with Andrea?".

"Hmm? They did? But if he's here and not with Andrea then that means that she is-".

Their breaths hitched, and a look of realization came upon them.

A look of sympathy, and regret could be seen within their eyes.

They too.... had lost someone today, it seems even Arthur was no exception....

Leon hobbled to his feet and saw Dominic cradling the crying Arthur in his arms. He noticed his older brother send him a glance before shaking his head as Arthur buried his head deeper into his brothers shoulder.

Finally, a semblance of a word could be discerned.... even as Arthur wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Strength.... I need strength.....".

All of the young Fae Masters, between Dominic and Arthur's generations stood in front of the two brothers, and listened to what the younger one had to say.

The single word that Arthur spoke.... caught both their eyes, and their hearts.

'Strength? What about strength?', they thought.

Arthur stood up, and pushed Dominic away slightly, despite his brother supporting him with his body.

"I... was too weak to protect her. I couldn't do anything as I was forced to watch! I.... was so useless....".

He clenched his fists tightly, with enough strength to pierce through skin and flesh.

Blood dripped down from his palms, drawing the eyes of everyone present.

His breathing became erratic, his eyes bloodshot and his chest heaved with every breath.

"I swear.... I will never be weak again. I will never be forced to endure something like this again Dominic! I refuse to be weak!".

He turned his focus towards Dominic, who only nodded half-heartedly as he let out a regretful sigh.

He knew that his brother had just.... lost someone, and there was nothing he could do to fill the void that she left but....

He glanced towards some of the other Fae Masters that he led, and noticed that some of them clenched their fists tightly, conflicted expressions on their faces.

They too.... had felt useless in the face of such overwhelming force. They did what they could, but they couldn't save the people they wanted to. They couldn't protect the people that they wanted to!

They couldn't do anything, as they were forced to watch their friends, family and loved ones, devoured, burned alive, torn in half, decapitated and ripped apart, right in front of them!

Dominic eyed the men and women he could call family, and a strange feeling bubbled up inside of him.

It was.... completely unfamiliar to Dominic.

Dominic hadn't.... lost anyone that he truly cared about, even if he did care about these people as the next Clan Leader.

There.... wasn't anything he could do for them. He couldn't help with the pain, and he couldn't support them like he usually did.

For the first time in his life.... Dominic too, felt useless.