Changes [1]

Ashes and smoke covered the crimson sky. Plights of help and screams of agony kept echoing. The smoke made it difficult to see even a foot from you.

Suddenly, a strong gale passed, clearing the smoke and giving a clear picture of the surroundings for a moment.

Humanoid beings with wings and horns dotted the crimson sky. On the land, where only broken houses and buildings remained, many more of them were wreaking havoc.

"Sniff..Sniff"

Hearing a muffled cry, one of the winged creatures turned its head. Then, licking its lips, it walked in the direction of the cry and stopped before a broken house.

-SNAP! -BANG!

With a snap of its finger, the entire house exploded, leaving a closet in the middle of the now empty area.

"Sniff…Sniff"

-SNAP!

With another snap, the closet burst, revealing a kid. The demon's smile widened as it saw a young prey.

BOOM-

However, before the demon could move, a large burly man jumped in between the child and the demon.

"Run"

Despite his strong appearance, the man's voice was weak and tired. He had been fighting those creatures for hours now. Now on the verge of exhaustion, he didn't know for how long he could continue.

"Papa!"

"RUN!"

The child flinched at his father's stern voice. Not wanting to anger him, the child did as he was told.

He ran and ran and ran

…until he couldn't anymore.

-FLAP! -FLAP!

The child was about to stop when he suddenly heard the flapping of wings. Every flap reminded the child of what he had witnessed in the past hours, making his heart tremble.

Thinking that he would face the same end, standing on his trembling legs, the child tried to run when he heard a whistling sound.

Following that, the flapping of wings slowly reduced and disappeared.

TAP- TAP-

Walking through the smoke, the figure of a young woman was revealed. She crouched in front of the child and, with a sweet smile on her face, caressed him.

"Sweetie, it's alright. Everything is alright. Mama is here now"

The woman patted the child's back until his sniffs stopped.

"What a touching reunion. Don't leave the dad out of fun~"

-PLOP!

Something fell beside the child, but before he could look at it, the woman covered his eyes. Leaning, with a trembling voice, she whispered in the child's ears.

"Sweetie, let's play a game, okay? You need to hide till the sun comes up. If you win mama and ..pa..pa will grant you one wish."

The child nodded his head. But as he was about to run, for one last time, he turned and looked at the ground….at the round object.

"…Papa?"

***

"No!"

Leon's eyes open abruptly and his body shot up.

Lowering his head and staring at the drenched bedsheets he realized that they were drenched in his sweat. Covering his face in relief, he tried to regain his breathing.

"Are you okay?"

As he was trying to calm down, a sweet and clear voice flowed into his ears. Turning his head, he saw Anna, dressed informally, looking at him worriedly.

"…Yes."

Anna, noticing Leon didn't want to continue the topic, decided to talk about something else.

"Eat this. Your body is still not healed properly."

Leon, confused, picked one apple slice. The last thing he remembered was healing Lilith in the dungeon before losing consciousness.

He was about to speak when Anna stood and bowed.

"Thank you. It's because of only you that we were able to survive that demon. If not for you, I don't think we could have survived."

"…Don't mind it."

Anna's brows furrowed at Leon's unenthusiastic answer. However, Leon spoke before her.

"How is Lilith?"

"She is fine. Right now, she is undergoing rehabilitation. "

Leon sighed in relief. It seems that the <Heal > he used on her before losing consciousness worked properly.

He felt grateful to whoever that grimoire belonged to. Without it, Leon wouldn't have been able to use heal Lilith.

Clenching his jaws, Leon took a deep breath and asked another question.

"How many cadets died?"

"Twent-"

-CLICK!

Anna was about to answer when the door opened, and she was interrupted.

"It's not your fault that others died. You should worry more about yourself. Do you know that if the rescue had arrived a little late, you might have died?"

Cadmus, followed by two people wearing black masks, entered the room. Listening to him, Leon, biting his lips, didn't answer and only looked down.

"Anna, let's go out. These people are from Aegis and want to talk to Leon."

…..

"Who were those people?"

Anna asked, stepping into the corridor as they walked to where the other cadets were being treated. Normally, whoever may it be, Cadmus talks with them in a friendly way, but Cadmus' tone when he talked with those two people was not friendly but something that held awe, respect, and reverence.

"The Huntress and Seer."

Seeing the clueless look on Anna's face, Cadmus elaborated.

"They belong to the Goliath unit. A small, elite unit of Aegis and their secret weapon. Nobody knows the number of members they have or their identities. The only fact known about them is all of them are quasi Irregulars."

Anna's eyes widened. To give a comparison, the three heroes that saved earth during Third Disaster were all Irregulars. An irregular is someone whose stigma's ability allows them to fight awakeners higher ranked than them.

Before Anna could ask more, Cadmus stopped her.

"We are here."

-CLICK!

Opening the door, the first thing they saw were the orderly spread beds in the room. The room was big enough to hold 30 people, yet currently were extra beds being used.

Entering the room, Cadmus and Anna started taking care of the cadets. This wasn't their job, but something they had decided to do themselves.

The room felt suffocating with the depressing atmosphere.

Most of the cadets had recovered physically, but their mental condition was still at their lowest.

Occasionally a cadet would break down into tears, and others will also get caught up in the hysteria.

All of them were top talents of humanity, but this didn't change the fact that they were still kids in their mid-teens.

The experience of being robbed of your sense for hours and not having any control over your body isn't something everyone's sanity can handle.

Whenever they slept, they still felt that they were being dragged into a bottomless abyss, unable to even scream for help.

This was the first time they faced a real 'monster' and it shook all of them to their core.

"Why..why did she die? Why didn't you guys defeat the demon earlier!?"

A girl, whom Anna was treating, pushed her away and shouted at her.

Looking at the girl, Anna bit her lips. Although it had been only a few weeks since everyone got to know each other, it was enough to develop close bonds. Everyone lost someone they knew.

Unknowingly, Anna clenched her fists. The girl was right why couldn't have they defeated the demon earlier?

It was because of her.

Cadmus fought the demon in frontal charge to protect others. Lilith almost sacrificed herself to kill the demon. Leon fought the demon and ultimately defeated it.

But what about her?

She couldn't even heal Lilith when she needed it the most.

She was only a burden till the end.

'What if I was an attack-type mage?'

For the first time in her life, Anna questioned her decision to become a support mage.

Being born into a fallen family, her life had been far from comfortable. The people of high societies treated her family as trash and trampled them on the first opportunity to feel superior. No matter where she went, the name 'Kenward' never left her.

She suffered because she was a 'Kenward'.

But it was fine at least her family was with her. Society treated her harshly, but her family was always together with her. Her parents loved her dearly and supported her through everything.

….But even that haven was taken after her awakening.

The family which always supported her and treated her dearly started seeing her as a tool.

A tool to revive their family.

Nonetheless, Anna persisted. Her family was the only thing she had. How was she going to survive in this harsh society if there was no one with her?

Thus, she decided to become a support mage against her wishes.

But was that the correct choice?

Unlike Leon or others, has she achieved anything?

'If only I chose something else.'

"Stop it."

"Huh?"

"It's our fault? Who was the one that left us saying that we were fools for challenging the demon?"

"Bu-but that because-"

Seeing the ever-friendly Cadmus speaking in a cold tone, the girl flustered.

"Because? Because what? It was you who decided to not fight. Don't blame your weakness on others. Let's go, Anna."

Cadmus grabbed Anna's wrist and left the room.

She quietly followed Cadmus through the pristine white corridors until they stopped in front of another room.

"…Thank you."

Hearing Anna, Cadmus frowned. Realizing that she misunderstood something, he decided to correct her.

"I hate people who never take any action, but when something goes wrong, they immediately start blaming others."

Seeing that Anna was still deliberating, he decided to change the topic.

"Anyway, did you tell Leon about him?"

"..No"

A deep sigh escaped Cadmus' lips. From one look, Cadmus was able to tell that Leon's mentality was greatly impacted. Leon was holding himself responsible for the deaths.

If Leon got to know about him, it might leave a life-lasting scar on him.

"Don't tell Leon about him. At least not yet."

The student in the worst condition was not Lilith or Leon but their friend.

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Author's Note :-

This is the end of Dungeon of Trials arc. Till now I've only published 45 chapters for me, a newbie writer, this feels like a great achievement. This is thanks to all of you who has continued with me till this point. I hope you will continue supporting me in future too.

Now onto the important part. Since, the next arc will explain a lot about world building and the characters, I want you guys to give your opinions and suggestions for the story ^^