The Failed and The Damned

[Processing...]

[New spell acquired... 『Solar Cleanse』.]

[Adding 『Solar Cleanse』 to 『Solar Sorcery Index』...]

[Complete. 『Solar Cleanse』 has been added.]

And just like that, Lucius was dragged out of the ethereal plane, the burning orb already becoming a forgotten memory. When he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by the familiar forest terrain.

~Ugh, what is that?~ he thought to himself, a pungent smell attacking his senses. He looked around and noticed that a tarry black substance was sticking onto his body, radiating a disgusting warmth.

Ignoring the smell, he tried to pick himself off the ground, however, his arms gave way as soon as he put weight on them. Though he no longer felt the searing pain caused by the poison, its effects still seemed to linger in his body as everything felt numb.

"Ah, the poison," he remembered, before trying to stand up once again, this time more slowly. Once he got to his feet, he tried peeling the gooey black substance off his body, which proved to be difficult as stuck to him like glue.

"The hell is this stuff?" he whispered, managing to get some of it off.

~What am I doing here anywa- the leaflings!~ he remembered. He tried running towards the camp but quickly tripped over himself as one of his legs was still unresponsive. He looked down and noticed that it was at least five shades paler than the other and had several bite marks on it.

"Fuck!" he grunted, a jolt of pain running up that leg. He ignored it, and stood up again, limping as fast as he could towards the camp.

He tripped over himself several more times along the journey, his body slowly becoming covered in scratches. The pain from his leg grew more unbearable with every fall, however, he didn't let up. The only thought on his mind was the leaflings, he had to make sure they were safe.

When he finally reached the camp, he found it empty. And the anxiety that plagued his mind finally disappeared.

"They made it," he sighed in relief before falling to his knees in exhaustion.

~Well done, Alpha,~ he thought, before sitting down to take a rest. Now that his worrying was behind him, the pain from his leg became more prominent. It felt like it was throbbing, and as if to make things even worse, a wave of fatigue and thirst suddenly washed over him.

"Water," he whispered haggardly, before standing up and slowly limping his way towards the river banks. Nothing could've prepared him for what he would see next.

"No... no... no," he whispered slowly, time seemingly slowing down as he took in the scene in front of him.

"This isn't real. I'm still dreaming, I have to be. I'll wake up any second now. Ghost made it in time, Alpha led them away," he whispered crazily, staring at the graveyard in front of him.

Sprawled all across the ground were leafling remains; feet, little bits of leafling flesh, and even a few larger chunks of body. His mind went blank, and his knees gave way. He punched the ground repeatedly, scraping the flesh off his fists, but none of that could reverse what had been done.

A whirlwind of emotions took over him, past memories flashing into view, becoming indiscernable from reality.

Among the leafling remains was the bloody corpse of a young boy, his body littered with bullet wounds. Lucius's vision became clouded, he looked down at his hands and found them bloody, clutching onto the hands of woman.

"Lucius," croaked the woman, blood pouring out of her mouth as she spoke.

He scuffled backwards, as if trying to escape from the apparition.

"I... ha-" her body went limp before she could finish, but he knew what she wanted to say. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the nightmare, but the bodies did not disappear. Whether they were that of his wife, or that of the leaflings, it was all the same. He failed them both.

He took a seat beside the river bank, staring into the water as if it were the only thing that mattered, before willing the limb on his back to stretch out towards it.

[Water absorbed.]

[Growth efficiency increased by 2.5%]

[Photosynthesis efficiency increased by 2.5%]

[Solar Cleanse effectiveness increased by 2.5%]

After sitting in silence for a while, he stood up and picked out a nearby twig before quietly digging a hole.

After burying the remains of the leaflings, and sticking a twig upon each grave site, he looked to the sky for a moment.

"Burning eyes... laughing at me," he whispered, before dusting his hands and walking towards the forest.

***

"How far up did he go? We should've reached him already," Ghost complained. They had been walking up hill for nearly 20 minutes and still hadn't found Lucius.

"He's probably just a bit further up, we should continue moving," Hannibal replied, moving past her as the group marched.

"No, this is taking too long, perhaps we should make the sound before we find him. At this rate the others at the river bank will be found out," said Alpha, before instructing the group to stop.

"You, you can't do that," Hannibal interjected, his face turned to the ground.

"What do you mean? I think we've moved far enough. Even if they come after us, I doubt they'd be able to catch up."

"W-we're too far away, there's no way they would be able to hear us," Hannibal replied.

"What? You were the one who told us to continue moving forward. You said that the sound would be able to travel back to camp regardless of how far we went," Alpha shouted, coming face to face with Hannibal.

"Y-You couldn't possibly have believed that," Hannibal whispered, trying to step back.

"What are you getting at? What about the others we left behind? What's your plan to get them to safety?"

"They're probably dead by n-," Hannibal tried whispering in reply, but was met with a kick to the face before he could even finish.

"You bastard, this was your plan from the beginning!"

"T-this was the only way, c-can't you see that?" Hannibal whispered, his tone filled with anguish. The others leaflings soon realized what had happened, and a wave of agitation soon spread throughout the entire group.

"Y-You left them to die?" one of the leaflings asked innocently, as if unable to fully process what he was hearing.

"It's not my fault, this was the only way," Hannibal repeated, more for himself than anyone else.

"It was the only way."