Sinner System

Chapter 590: Future Ahead of Us

"Feels like it’s been an eternity since we were last here, huh?" I remarked, as Aria and I walked into the Sinners Guild building.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, feels like forever," Aria nodded in agreement.

"Hm? Hey, Guildmaster, Vice-Guildmaster, you’re back!"

"It’s good to see you guys again!"

"Way to go with defeating the Demon Lord!"

Today’s the 24th of January, 2171, and Aria and I decided to swing by the Guild to see how everyone was doing.

While the Dungeons aren’t a problem anymore, Hunters are still being issued Quests, mostly stuff like moving piles of rubble and whatnot.

Though, only a handful on Hunters were currently active. Some had suffered severe injuries that weren’t healed in time, others were immensely traumatized from the battle and loss of loved ones, and the five survivors of the Final Dungeon were cleared to take indefinite breaks.

Aria and I are just dropping by the Guild for a bit to greet everyone, we’ll head back home after that. We did call Cleo and asked her if she wanted to come with us, but she opted to stay at home instead.

"Oh, hey, guys. It’s been a while," Wrest greeted us with a smile, as he walked over with a wave.

"Hey, man. Glad to see you’re doing okay," I responded, as I gave him a glance over.

"Yeah, I got lucky. Sustained some pretty bad injuries, but fortunately got to a Healer in time. Though, I probably would’ve died either way, if it wasn’t for Iqra," He remarked, as he glanced back and nodded at her, trailing behind him.

"U-Uh, no, I-I really didn’t d-do much," She shook her head timidly.

"Oh, I beg to differ. Your barriers totally came in clutch, a lot more of us would’ve died if it wasn’t for you," Wrest stated in response.

"Hey, way to go, sounds like you made quite the difference," Smiled Aria, patting Iqra on the shoulder.

"W-Well, maybe for a bit, b-but I...I got badly injured a-and knocked out before l-long, a-after a Dragon showed up. A-Apparently, Guildmaster Isla showed up a-and teleport the D-Dragon away, b-before it could kill me. O-Otherwise, I’d be d-dead," She mumbled quietly, a frustrated look on her face as she clenched her fists.

The HUC has decided to keep the evolved sea creatures a secret, at least for now. Which, fair enough...considering the destruction and aftermath of the battle, the last thing we need is more bad news.

And since it doesn’t seem to be an immediate, pressing concern, it shouldn’t be too big a deal. At least, I hope not. We could really use a nice, prolonged break.

"Hey, what’s important is that you survived, and saved a bunch of others in doing so. So, I’d say you did great," I assured her encouragingly.

"I’m not seeing some of our other core members, by the way...where are Lector, Damien and Ferna?" Inquired Aria, looking around.

"Oh, don’t worry, the three of them survived too. Lector and Ferna are out on a Quest to help clear out rubble from an area where a bunch of buildings collapsed. And Damien has just been staying home since the battle ended," Wrest informed us.

"I see, glad they’re all okay, at least," I replied somberly.

We lost Brid in the Final Dungeon, he was a good guy, and had the potential to become the greatest Healer ever seen.

And no matter how dire things got in the Final Dungeon, and especially on the final floor when we fought the Demon Lord, he didn’t run or try to get to safety.

He didn’t falter until the end, and his contribution to our victory was far from insignificant, some of the others would’ve been taken out of the equation a lot sooner if it wasn’t for him.

"So, are you guys back to work, or are you just stopping by? Given that we’d all be dead if it wasn’t for you, you should take it easy and let the rest of us handle the clean-up," Remarked Wrest.

"Oh, we’re just stopping by, we’ll head out and let you guys get back to it in a bit," Aria informed him.

"Yeah, and to be totally transparent, we probably won’t be back again for a while. The Final Dungeon left us feeling pretty burnt-out," I added with a wry smile.

"I bet, I can’t even imagine how difficult it must have been."

"Y-Yeah, it must h-have been hell," Chimed in Iqra.

"Mhm, I’d say that’s an accurate way to sum it up. Seven incredibly powerful Monsters one after the other, and then an impossibly powerful one to cap it all off," I recalled with a wistful sigh.

Looking back on it, it really was something of a miracle that we survived the Final Dungeon.

And it truly was by the barest of margins, I was running on fumes by the time I killed Vaszel...a single misstep at any point, and the outcome could’ve ended up being completely different.

Every single member of the team that was deployed to the Final Dungeon played their part, most of them at the cost of their own lives, we wouldn’t have won if it wasn’t for them.

And now, after well over a century, it’s finally over, the war against the Monsters had ended at long last.

Their relentless invasion ultimately ended in failure, and while they did inflict a tremendous amount of damage in the process, we’re still alive.

Humanity survived what had started to seem like an inevitable extinction, and now, given enough time, things will slowly but surely start to return to normal.

And eventually, the Monsters will be a distant memory, nothing more than a spectre of the past.

Huh, maybe in the distant future, people will start to doubt that the Monsters ever existed in the first place.

And with my newfound immortality, I may just live to see it...there’s no telling for sure what the future holds, there’s bound to be both good and bad.

But, what’s important is that we do have a future ahead of us, whatever it may or may not have in store for us...