Alice stood by the window, peering out into the dusky horizon. She was looking for someone—hoping. Occasionally, loud bangs and distant crashes echoed through the air, as if the earth itself were crumbling. A faint tremor reached her feet from the direction of the town center. She sincerely hoped Lucid was alright.
Meanwhile, Shion was tending to the victims—those who had narrowly escaped execution. Wrapped in her arms was a rolled-up fabric bundle Lucid had handed her earlier, instructing her to use it should the mission succeed. Since he had once treated her wounds, she now mimicked his precise movements, careful and steady.
A single candle-lit lantern illuminated the lobby, its warm glow painting the walls with long shadows. Sector 9 had been left behind at midnight; and now, with the sun beginning to dip again, nearly a full day had passed in their efforts to save Yannick.
The other three victims groaned faintly. Yannick occasionally flinched as Shion wrapped a clean bandage around him, the soft fire dancing in his eyes–bright and warm, reflecting off the candlelight.
Alice hopped off the stool which elevated her gaze to meet the window. She was worried, but she told herself that she had to be different from Lucid, seeing how deep in thought he was most of the time.
"I'll develop wrinkles if I act like my big bro…" Alice muttered.
Shion caught on to what she said, all the while tending to Yannick.
"Ahh—" She gasped, briefly covering her mouth.
She hesitated, wondering if Shion had caught what she muttered. If she had, she might tell Lucid… and that could make him angry. To Alice, Shion felt like someone who might steal away her one and only dear brother.
Shion looked at her with a questioned look on her face.
"Nothing…" she muttered.
"Well, I know you're done healing everyone, but you can't look outside that window forever."
Shion paused, finishing up the last bandage on Yannick. He was nearly covered from head to toe—practically a mummy at this point.
Shion continued,
"What is it?"
Alice paused, deep in thought. Her stone-like expression was a telltale sign that she was in some kind of inner turmoil.
"You're gonna develop wrinkles by the time you're grown up."
Alice flinched—those were her own words, echoed aloud by Shion.
"I can pick up on things, Alice. No need to hide things from me… though, why hide something as insignificant as that?"
"It… was nothing!" she shot back.
She stepped closer to Shion, laying her palm gently on Yannick. A soft glow began to radiate as she started healing the remaining wounds on his body.
Alice was a healer or a magic wielder—but her mana proficiency and potential were unlike anything Shion had ever seen.
In this world, one couldn't use healing magic unless they had reached the Mastermage stage. Even then, most could only heal small parts of the body.
'However… she's healing his whole body. No…'
Shion narrowed her eyes. She knew healing magic. It typically gave off a faint blue glow, gently enveloping the affected area to accelerate the body's natural processes.
But Alice's mana glowed green. At first, it seemed normal—until she noticed how the wounds were closing.
They weren't mending on their own which was usually caused by blue mana. The torn flesh was pulling together in perfect alignment, and the scars faded to faint traces—as though they had never been there.
'No… it was as if time itself reversed around the wounds, restoring them to their original, untouched state.'
Shion's breath caught. This was nothing like conventional healing magic.
As Alice finished, she stepped back, placing a hand over her forehead, wincing as if struck by a sharp headache. Her powers had a drawback—but Lucid was unaware of that fact. In truth, she tried her best to hide it from him. She remembers the pain she went through the night she healed Andrew's mother. She couldn't sleep for the whole night due to extreme migraines but she didn't want to bother Lucid so she endured it as best as she could. Her frown was broken by Shion's words.
Nice work, Alice," Shion said flatly, but with a hint of kindness.
Alice stepped down and collapsed into the nearest chair.
"I'm… so tired."
"When will Brother come back…?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Soon," Shion replied.
It seemed like they would have to wait for Lucid. After all, the mission they gave him was to distract an Archmage, while Shion took care of the remaining guards and Alice freed the captives.
Compared to Lucid's task, their part of the mission felt like a walk in the park. He had to distract—possibly even fight an Archmage. Even if the odds seemed grim, Alice knew deep in her heart that he would come out of it unharmed. She had seen him sparring with Yannick and the others at the training center. Lucid had learned how to fight again, maybe even better than before. She didn't doubt his abilities, she believed he could come out on top.
'I believe in you… Brother.'
Those thoughts were interrupted by the sharp scrape of metal dragging across the wooden floor. Alice turned to the side. Shion was pulling a nearby chair by its back, the legs screeching faintly as she set it down in front of Yannick. She straddled it with crossed legs, facing him directly, like an interrogator sizing up her subject.
Her eyes studied him quietly.
Yannick was awake and aware, but silent, not like someone hiding something or like a culprit withholding the truth. He felt more like someone who had already been broken inside, unwilling to speak because, in his eyes—it wouldn't matter what he says or does anymore because the damage had already been done. Shion has seen this type before. There was an emptiness to him, like something vital had been torn away. Whatever it was, it must've been precious.
"What happened?" Shion asked, her voice firm but not unkind. "Why were you about to be executed?"
He met her gaze for a second, then turned away—shrugging her off without a word, with nothing more than a cold flicker of his eyes.
"Not much of a talker?" she muttered.
But he suddenly spoke.
"You should've just let me die there," he said, voice low. Then, as if the words themselves cracked. Something inside him, he choked on a breath.
"I couldn't protect them… not one of them…" He broke into a quiet sob, shoulders trembling.
Alice leaned forward from her chair, glancing between the two. She didn't speak. There was nothing she could say to improve the situation, even to her it seemed like something went terribly wrong for Yannick.
Shion studies him carefully with great intent.
"Students?"
Alice slipped off her chair and gently nudged Shion's arm, a silent signal that she wanted to whisper something. Shion leaned down slightly, and Alice cupped one hand to the side of her mouth.
"He's talking about the students from the center," she murmured, "the same one where Lucid used to spend his time."
Shion pulled back, a flicker of shock crossing her face—just for a second. Then it vanished. She straightened, her expression returning to something neutral, as if it didn't concern her.
"What happened to those students?" she asked, her tone even.
Yannick was still weeping, shoulders trembling, the weight of guilt pressing visibly on him.
"I… I… killed them," he choked out.
Shion stiffened. The words hit hard, but she could sense something behind them—something unsaid. That wasn't what he meant. Not really.
"Did you cause their deaths?" she asked more directly, eyes narrowing.
Yannick leaned back in the chair, gaze drifting off toward some distant point, lips slightly parted.
"Ye—"
The door to the lobby creaked open, and all three victims froze—Shion included. But her expression quickly softened when she saw who it was.
Alice didn't even need to turn around to know. A wide grin broke across her face.
Yannick, still seated and long since dried of tears, looked up at Lucid. But there was no joy or anger. He was still momentarily surprised but still indifferent. He was too broken for anything else.
The figure by the door stepped inside and gently closed it behind him. The usual glint of his glass mask caught the dim light, and his long coat—this time scratched and torn—hung loosely over his frame. Still, considering they'd faced an Archmage, it was a worthy trade.
"Big brother! Welcome back!" Alice cried, rushing toward him. She leapt into Lucid's arms, wrapping him in a tight hug.
Shion chuckled softly as she rose from her chair.
"I've never waited for someone in my life," she said, walking forward with a rare gentleness in her eyes. Her expression was soft, almost relieved.
"Good to see you made it," she added, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Lucid looked around the room, silently taking stock. No one had died, but they were still wounded, inside and out.
"I am too…" he replied. This time, despite his usual reserved demeanor, he meant it.
But then his gaze settled on Yannick—and lingered. In that moment, something in him seemed to shift.