novelraw Chapter 575: Let’s sleep.
Chapter 575: Let’s sleep.
"You do not have to apologize.
One must consider every possibility.
And just because I did not smell that rot does not mean that lot wasn’t involved. The chances that they were hiding are high.
I cannot catch them, not unless they use that rotting power."
Igni answered in a solemn tone, and for a moment, the space turned silent. Everyone who understood what it meant started thinking different things. Zoraa and Gruumak, on the other hand, just sensed the tension and did not say anything.
Aurelia nodded at Igni’s words. She wanted to think more as well, but this wasn’t a matter they could cover, not right now.
So instead—
Her eyes fell on Zoraa.
The two prisoners stared at each other for a while, then Aurelia turned towards Kael and—
"Anyways, even if we couldn’t catch the cloaked ones, we still have the enemy chief. She should know quite a bit."
Kael nodded at those words, bringing his focus back to the present matters.
"Also, do you have that?"
Aurelia asked. Kael nodded again and took out a recording crystal, the one that had recorded the entire attack.
Seeing the crystal, Morvain, Korvath, and Gruumak stepped behind Aurelia too. They all wanted to see everything that Kael did.
But of course, the recording was long. Kael was gone for hours; the attack itself would have taken more than 30 minutes. Watching it here didn’t make sense—
The four were going to watch it later. Right now, however, it was time to decide what to do with their prisoner.
"What do you wish to do with her?"
Morvain asked Aurelia.
The Velmourn Matriarch had seen Aurelia take control of a situation where she and her men had panicked. She acted when it was necessary, and that alone was more than enough to prove that her input in this situation was valuable.
In her mind, she had already acknowledged Aurelia.
Aurelia nodded at Morvain, as if acknowledging her acknowledgement.
Then she glanced at Zoraa again and—
"Present her to the people."
She spoke, then looked at Gruumak and—
"To the Stonefangs."
Gruumak frowns. He doesn’t understand Aurelia’s words, but when Kael translates them for him, his face becomes solemn.
"My people kill her."
He spoke directly. Even he was barely holding the urge to kill this woman. He could tell how difficult it must be for Kael to bring her back in such a state, especially when he was acting alone. That was the only reason he was holding back.
And it was taking all his might.
But his people?
He may be able to control them, but this time, lives have been lost. Living examples of that tragedy still existed. There would definitely be some even he wouldn’t be able to control.
It would be over... or it would result in chaos.
Both were possibilities Gruumak knew Kael and the others wanted to avoid.
The rest understood him, so they hesitated as well. Morvain nodded to herself—
"Then we will use the recording to calm the people."
She spoke directly, staring at the crystal in Kael’s hand.
"Of course, we would first need to watch the recording before thinking of presenting it."
The Matriarch then looked at Kael and—
"You should go rest.
You have done a lot. Leave the rest to us. We will give you a concise report tomorrow morning."
Kael nodded in understanding. He too did not wish to have any conversations right now.
So he walked away.
Igni too entered the Sanctuary after giving one last look to the humans present, and Lavinia—she first looked at Morvain and the others, then she turned around, following Kael.
Since Kael wasn’t participating, she too had no interest in it.
Aurelia watched the two leave, then she glanced at Morvain. Honestly, for hours, she had been helping the Velmourns and Stonefangs. People had already accepted her, even the leaders.
Even Gruumak, who usually hated outsiders, felt indebted to her.
And because of that, Aurelia had now become one of the decision makers; she, together with the other leaders, would be watching the entire recording.
A treatment one wouldn’t possibly think of giving to mere prisoners.
As for the second prisoner, the Chief of the Stormcallers—she was taken to the prison, tied properly, and kept under strict, watchful eyes.
...
On the other side, Kael returned to his house. Lavinia followed right behind, and the moment she locked the door behind her—
"How many did I kill?"
Kael asked directly, without turning around. His tone sounded flat, almost expressionless, but Lavinia could sense the slight trembling in that voice.
She slowly walked towards him and held his hand from behind.
"There is no reason for you to think about it."
She spoke in a gentle, caring tone.
"Answer the question, Lavinia."
Kael did not give in.
He knew Lavinia already had the answer. He had already seen her Spirits moving around, watching everything from up close.
They knew every single thing that happened there, and that included the details even he didn’t know about, since both he and Cirri had too much on their plates.
"Kael, you don’t have to—"
Lavinia tried to reason but—
"I wish to know."
Kael interrupted her, and Lavinia understood that he wasn’t going to let this go. For a moment, the Drakthar Princess stayed silent.
Not knowing whether she should answer truthfully or... lie.
But if in the future, Kael found out she lied, she would... lose his trust, and Lavinia could not imagine what she might do in that scenario.
A life where Kael did not trust her... it did not feel worth living.
So in the end, she told the truth.
"A total of one hundred and eighty-nine Stormcallers are dead."
"Out of eight hundred Stormcallers... around two hundred are dead...?"
Kael blinked. He expected a large number, but this was... still far higher than the number he had in mind.
Two hundred lives...
He had just ended two hundred lives in... a few hours.
Lavinia didn’t say anything. Her mind couldn’t come up with anything that would console Kael.
"What about injuries? How many did I hurt?"
He asked, as if he was already blaming himself.
Lavinia felt her heart squeeze at those words. She tightened her hold around Kael’s hand. She still stood behind him, only seeing the back of his head, and she...
She couldn’t find the confidence to go around and look at his face right now. After all, it was her words that were hurting him more.
"Lavinia."
Kael called out when Lavinia didn’t answer for a while, and Lavinia...
She bit her lip and—
"About two hundred."
"Two hundred?"
Kael’s voice turned sharper.
"Yes, two hundred that aren’t dead but are hurt because of your attack. About thirty are in a critical condition.
They... they won’t survive.
Lightning fell right next to them, their limbs were pulverized, and they do not have the Sky Kingdom Healers to control the situation.
They are panicking.
The cloaked beings had returned about an hour after you left but... by then the condition was far worse.
They won’t be able to save them. Even if they do, without their limbs, they wouldn’t be able to live in conditions that extreme."
"..."
Kael didn’t say anything.
Lavinia stayed silent too.
She did not wish to give more details—not to Kael.
Because the destruction he did at the Stormcaller Camp wasn’t just at the level of a normal raid.
That level of destruction... it was more than enough to cripple the Stormcaller Settlement and make them live in fear for the next few decades.
An attack where they lost their Holy Sign, the bridges they relied on to move, and lightning rained down on people like rain.
Those who were directly hit by the lightning could be considered lucky, since their bodies were pulverized and they perished that instant.
But others—those who bore the impact of the explosion that came with lightning bolts falling on the ground—they had it worse.
Because these people could run; they could only watch as the fire consumed them. It was a slow, desperate death.
And no one—not the women, not the children, not the elderlies—no one was spared.
Even though Kael himself did not personally target the weak, one bolt alone, especially in that climate, was more than enough to cause destruction of an absurd level.
And that was exactly what happened.
When Cirri unleashed her powers, the Stormcallers...
They trembled.
And...
It would take a long, long time before they could recover and restart their operations.
Of course, right now, Kael didn’t have to hear all this. Lavinia made up her mind, then she collected herself and took a deep breath.
Then she stepped forward and appeared in front of Kael.
Kael’s expression was... still.
It held the same unnerving calm that did not ease Lavinia’s worries one bit—it only made them worse.
"I understand."
Kael nodded to her.
Lavinia didn’t say anything, she didn’t ask him to stop pretending to be strong or to be himself, she just...
Hugged him as gently as she could, placed her head on his chest and—
"I am tired."
She whispered softly.
Kael placed his hand on her head and began ruffling her hair.
"Let’s sleep."
Lavinia requested, and Kael... nodded.
"Alright."