"What on earth happened here? I only stepped away for a short while, and everything fell apart," Jeanne said, walking up to Talulah and asking directly about the bizarre situation. Where did these walking corpses even come from?
"How should I know? Someone rushed to find me the moment trouble broke out. By the time I got here, it had already turned into this mess," Talulah replied, her hand raised as she used her Originium Arts to break the magical tether binding the corpses. She realized it didn't take much effort on her part to neutralize them, but the sheer circumstance left her puzzled.
How had these creatures managed to slip this close without anyone noticing their approach along the way?
"Besides, I've never seen this many Dublinn troops at once. Are there really this many hiding in Victoria? It feels almost like a full regular army division," Talulah added, watching the figures swarm toward them with purple flames flickering in their eye sockets—a sight that was unnerving to behold.
Meanwhile, the Taran refugees who had stayed behind were nearly scared out of their wits. A few among them seemed to recognize what these monsters were, whispering fearfully to the others about past encounters.
"Excuse me, do you know how these things ended up getting over here?" Jeanne approached a few Tarans who hadn't managed to run off, trying to piece together the details.
The refugees let out a collective sigh of relief when Jeanne drew near, though their eyes remained glued to the spellbound corpses in the distance, trembling so hard they could barely form proper sentences.
"We were just standing here... then we heard a massive crash off in the distance like something heavy fell," one of them recounted, shaking uncontrollably as he pointed in the direction of the noise. "Before we could even check it out, these monsters came charging straight at us..."
Hearing his explanation, Jeanne and her companions realized another unexpected complication had flared up nearby. It was frustrating; could they not catch a break while waiting for Rhodes Island to arrive?
The course of action was obvious. After clearing out the immediate wave of animated corpses, the three moved cautiously toward the site of the crash.
What awaited them were several supply trucks that had plunged from a higher ledge. The cargo beds were already empty, but a swarm of dead Dublinn soldiers was still wandering around the wreckage.
"It looks like someone used Arts to herd these corpses here," Outcast observed, pointing to the mud caked onto the soldiers' uniforms. "They must have trekked a long way to get here. Look at that mud—that's not the kind of soil you find around these parts."
Compared to these heavily caked corpses, the first batch they encountered had actually looked relatively clean.
"But what's the point of driving them here?" Talulah asked, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Are they just trying to show off what their Arts can do? That doesn't make any sense."
"These monsters weren't sent by Dublinn directly," a tired voice called out from the shadows. "They were redirected here by the local nobles allied with Dublinn, using a method taught to them by Dublinn."
Reed emerged from a quiet corner, looking worn out. Her eyes carried a deep, lingering exhaustion that she couldn't quite hide.
"I can't believe I circled all the way back to Hillock County... What a mess," Reed murmured. Seeing Jeanne and the others didn't bring a wave of excitement to her face; instead, she looked utterly stunned. She had never expected that after wandering for so long, she would end up right back where her journey started.
"Long time no see. When you vanished earlier, we were all wondering where you'd gone," Jeanne greeted her. It was clear Reed had been having a rough time; her clothes were tattered and bore the scars of countless battles. Only the high quality of the fabric had kept them from falling apart completely.
"I went through a lot after leaving your group," Reed confessed, a touch of embarrassment flickering across her face. "I'm really sorry for leaving the way I did back then. I should have said a proper goodbye."
At the time, she felt slipping away quietly was her best option, even if it meant betraying their trust.
"Don't worry about it," Jeanne waved her hand dismissively. "We weren't keeping you prisoner anyway! We didn't even lock the door when we went out, so there's no need to feel guilty about it."
Back then, Jeanne had only kept Reed nearby to slow down Dublinn's movements, giving them more time to prepare for whatever was coming.
"Still, I'm sorry... but right now, the situation here is what matters," Reed turned and pointed toward the wandering corpses bound by her sister's Arts, explaining what she had uncovered.
These dead soldiers were brought back to life through Originium Arts. Originally, they were roaming areas quite far from Hillock County. But as groups of Tarans migrated in this direction, the mindless corpses attacked anyone in sight, eventually following the refugees into the territories of the local nobles.
"Some of those nobles are in league with Dublinn," Reed explained, her eyes darkening as she looked at the roaming dead. "When they were attacked, they ran to Dublinn for help. Neither side wanted to waste their own troops clearing out... cannon fodder created by Dublinn's own grand plan."
She couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for the dead Dublinn soldiers. Even in death, they were treated as nothing more than disposable garbage.
"So Dublinn used some kind of Arts to herd these undead over here and just abandoned them?" Outcast's mood soured instantly. She hadn't anticipated anyone being cruel enough to treat their own dead like this.
Knowing that these soldiers were already deceased—their bodies used as mere tools—made the reality all the more appalling.
"I've been trying to stop them from wandering toward populated areas all this time," Reed said, her voice dropping into a sorrowful hush. "But my strength... my power can't grant them peace. I..."
Her pain and helplessness were obvious. Even Jeanne could feel the crushing grief weighing down on the young woman, a bitter frustration at her own limitations.
"Don't talk like that," Outcast said gently, placing a comforting hand on Reed's shoulder. "You've already done so much through your own efforts. How could anyone call your actions meaningless?"
Outcast could tell the young Draco was carrying a heavy emotional burden.
"If you truly want to help them, the first thing you need to do is believe in yourself," Talulah said, stepping forward as she turned toward Reed. "You must have realized it by now—a Draco's flame can put these restless souls to rest. I know you are capable of doing the same."
Talulah raised her hand, channeling her own flame Arts in a demonstration. A warm wave of fire swept outward, gently enveloping the wandering corpses and bringing them to a peaceful halt.
"Try it," Talulah urged, her tone firm as she looked into Reed's uncertain eyes. "You can do this. Don't forget, you are a Draco, too!"