The mother and daughter's sobs gradually faded. Ulu wiped the tears from her eyes, and suddenly remembered there had been a boy who came with Urrutia. Turning to her daughter, she asked softly:
"Who was that boy who came with you? Was he also captured by the Magic Development Bureau?"
Urrutia sniffled, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice still trembling with traces of tears:
"No, I don't know him. I met him after I escaped from the Bureau.
He gave me clothes and shoes, used his magic to help me run all the way back, and he was the one who brought me out just now. Without him, I really might have misunderstood you, Mother."
Hearing this, Ulu lowered her gaze and studied her daughter's clothing. Urrutia wore a thin light-blue dress underneath, with a thick white coat draped over her shoulders.
The coat hung down past her knees, and on her feet were white fleece-lined sneakers that looked soft and warm at a glance.
Recalling her daughter's words, Ulu asked:
"That boy, he kept casting magic to help you on the way back?"
"Mm-hm. His magic made me feel really light… walking wasn't hard at all," Urrutia explained, recalling the sensation.
Ulu fell silent for a moment. From her description, it sounded like gravity magic. To be able to release it steadily while traveling, and maintain it for so long… that was no small feat. Whoever that boy was, he had to be a magician of considerable strength.
But someone so young with such ability it almost felt unreal. Perhaps he was one of those rare mages who trained in solitude, hidden deep within the mountains, forgotten by the flow of time?
Still caught between disbelief and relief, Ulu's thoughts drifted. Her daughter, whom she had been told was dead, was alive and clinging to her chest. The storm of emotions left her mind spinning wildly before she managed to ground herself again.
Urrutia, nestled safely in her mother's arms, didn't notice her mother's momentary distraction. After answering, she simply curled up more tightly against Ulu, drinking in the warmth of her breath, so comfortable and reassuring.
Ulu pulled herself back to reality, tightened her hold around Urrutia, and started walking toward Noah and the others.
"We need to thank that boy. If it weren't for him, you could've met all kinds of dangers on the road. Without him… we wouldn't have had this reunion."
Urrutia wrapped her small arms around her mother's neck and pressed her cheek to hers, unwilling to be separated even for a moment. She mumbled in a muffled little voice:
"Mm."
As Ulu approached, Noah and the two boys shifted their focus.
Looks like their talk is over, Noah thought. She's coming to ask me some questions.
But before Ulu or Noah spoke, the black-haired boy beside them blurted out first, unable to hold back his curiosity:
"So this girl's really your daughter, Urrutia? But you said she was dead so how is she here now?!"
Without hesitation, Ulu shifted Urrutia with her right arm and smacked the boy on the head with her left hand.
"Ow!"
The black-haired boy yelped in pain, rubbing his head with tears in his eyes. Ulu scolded him sharply:
"Don't be so impatient. Introductions come first."
Lifting Urrutia a little higher in her arms, she said warmly to Noah and the others:
"This is my daughter, Urrutia."
Then, with her free hand, she pointed at the two boys. Turning back to her daughter, she added:
"And these two are my disciples. The black-haired one is Gray, and the other is Lyon."
Ulu then turned to Noah with heartfelt gratitude.
"My name is Ulu. Thank you so much for bringing my daughter back to me. Without you, we would never have reunited. I truly don't know how to repay you."
She thought back to just moments ago Urrutia had been ready to leave, still trapped in the misunderstanding that her mother had abandoned her. If Noah hadn't intervened and pulled her out of that spiral, her daughter might have carried that pain forever, and the two of them might never have seen each other again. That thought made Ulu's gratitude deepen even more.
"My name is Noah," he replied with a modest wave of his hand. "I was fortunate enough to meet Urrutia by chance, so I could help. But in the end, this was all because of her own courage. If she hadn't fought to escape, I never would have known she needed saving."
Ulu smiled quietly at his humility. No matter how much he downplayed it, she knew that without Noah's help, Urrutia would still be in the Bureau's clutches. She silently vowed that she would never forget this kindness and when the time came, she would repay it.
Turning around, Ulu addressed Gray and Lyon.
"My daughter Urrutia was born with excessive magical power. Because of that, she suffered from a persistent high fever that never left her. Desperate to find a cure, I learned that the Magic Development Bureau claimed they could treat her condition. So, I entrusted her to them, believing they could save her."
Her voice darkened, her expression tightening.
"But when I returned, those bastards lied to me. They told me my daughter had died. In reality, they had been using her as a test subject for their twisted experiments. Those people deserve to die a thousand times over!"
As her anger surged, her magic power poured out uncontrollably. The ground trembled faintly underfoot, and the air grew heavy and oppressive. Both Gray and Lyon gasped as though their lungs had been bound in chains, struggling to breathe under the crushing pressure.
Startled, Ulu quickly reined in her aura. The suffocating weight lifted, and the boys slumped forward, gulping in deep breaths of air.
"I let my emotions get the better of me. Are you two all right?" she asked, her tone softening.
Lyon straightened and looked at her with admiration in his eyes. Ulu really is as powerful as I thought. I was right to follow her as my teacher.
Gray, still catching his breath, pushed forward with another question.
"So what now? Did Urrutia really manage to escape on her own?"
"Yes," Ulu said, holding her daughter closer. "An accident gave her the chance to flee. Afterward, with Noah's help, she found her way back here and we were reunited as mother and daughter."
Gray fell silent for a moment, then turned to Noah. "So, what do we do now?"
Noah's gaze sharpened. "I plan to infiltrate the Magic Development Bureau, gather evidence of their crimes, and make sure they pay for everything they've done. Ulu, will you join me?"
Ulu's eyes blazed. "Of course. Those monsters dared to use my daughter as an experiment. I will see them punished with my own hands."
Her body trembled slightly with fury, her fists clenching. She wanted nothing more than to storm the Bureau right this second and tear them apart. But then her eyes fell on the small figure in her arms, and on her two disciples standing close by. Her heart softened. They had to be kept safe before anything else.
"I have friends nearby," she said firmly. "I'll entrust Urrutia, Gray, and Lyon to them first. Once they're safe, I'll come with you."
"That's the best plan," Noah agreed with a nod. "We'll move more freely once they're settled, and it'll give us a clearer path forward."
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