CHAPTER 44: THE AFTERMATH

Theo floats midair, watching the serpent as thousands of his spear-beams strike it. It shrieks, thrashes violently, and dies slowly until it stops moving.

Both Theo and Liam descend to the ground. They do not let their guard down just because the haelion has stopped moving. It does not immediately dissipate into the wind like the others, making Theo believe it is not completely dead yet.

He produces several floating purple flame swords, ready to strike. Liam, Aetherion in hand, subconsciously steps behind Theo. Together, they approach the fallen haelion cautiously.

To see better, Theo lets a few light orbs float ahead of them. In their glow, he can see that the haelion is truly dead. Its scales glow dark blue, each one as large as Theo’s face.

Only then does he realize the beast’s true size, and the gravity of what he has done dawns on him.

Damn. What have I done? How can I explain taking down a haelion this big? No, I need to disappear. Thank God I cast the illusion spell.

Theo shifts slightly so Liam cannot see his face. But Liam’s attention is fixed on the haelion, making sure it is truly dead. Then he sees something that makes his eyes widen.

"Oh my God. It can’t be!" he exclaims.

Curious, Theo steps closer, keeping his face turned away. "What is it?" he asks.

"This!" Liam points to a wound on the haelion’s body. "I did this! But it was when the head was still one! This haelion is the Dungeon King. It can mutate?"

Seeing that it is not something he finds important or useful, Theo decides he needs to go. He turns and starts to walk away.

"Hey!" Liam calls after him, trying to catch up. "Which company are you from? You were amazing! Would you mind teaching me how to use Heartstone energy like that?"

But Theo is already floating away. "I’m sorry, but I need to search for survivors." With that, he flies off without looking back.

"I have a device that can detect human presence!" Liam pulls out the detector and waves it toward Theo. When he sees no response, he looks down at the screen and frowns.

"It doesn’t detect her? She’s not human?" He swallows hard and drops to the ground. Only then does exhaustion catch up with him. He lies back, closes his eyes, and waits.

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Theo flies toward the direction he came from, above the cavern. As he exits the cave, the surroundings grow brighter. The trees, bushes, rocks, and stones slowly transform into crystallized, transparent forms — Heartstones.

Theo looks around in amazement. "These are the Heartstones?" He lands and touches one near him. "The mana isn’t pure, it’s quality can’t be that good."

Then he remembers his watch. He takes it out, straps it on, and uses it to locate the purest mana source. The signal points back toward the cave. Theo sighs.

He dispels his illusion magic, looks down at his clothes, and realizes he is still wearing what he had on when fighting the water serpent.

He sighs again, then casts a simple mud spell and smears it over his body and face until he looks as though he has fallen head-first into a swamp.

And heads back to the cave.

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Liam opens his eyes and sees that the cave surroundings have changed into Heartstones. He sits up. "Alright. Now let’s search for survivors." He activates his device and sees about seven dots on the screen.

He sighs. "I need to bring a team and recover the bodies of the fallen members."

He turns toward the Haelion King of the dungeon, the two-headed water serpent. "I can’t claim this dungeon. I didn’t clear it."

A slow smile forms on his lips. "A Warrior Princess did."

He gets up and starts searching for survivors.

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Theo arrives back at the cave but does not enter immediately. He scans the area for the tall, green-eyed stranger who helped him fight the serpent. When he does not see him, Theo finally steps inside.

The dungeon’s topography has changed. The cliffs, hills, and mountains are gone, replaced by a single, level ground that stretches endlessly.

The cave itself is unrecognizable. It feels like walking into a cathedral of crystals and light. The walls shimmer, each surface refracting color and mana in endless patterns. It is breathtaking.

Theo walks deeper, eyes wide with awe. Following the signal from his watch, he reaches the place where the serpent’s body should be. Instead, there lies an azure crystal-like stone as large as his head.

He glances at his watch. It reads: 51% PURITY DETECTED.

"Fifty-one percent? Is that good or bad? I remember Julian said something about forty-eight percent being the purest ever found. So, I guess this is good, right?"

Theo places his hand on the Heartstone and senses it with his own magic. "This isn’t good. The quality’s low."

He shrugs. "I guess this is the best one here. I—"

Suddenly, the world tilts. A wave of dizziness crashes over him.

"Oh no. Thea’s body is at its limit. I—"

Theo collapses.

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"Look!"

"It’s opening!"

"Get ready!"

Outside the gate, a large crowd has formed. It has been almost three hours since the gate first appeared.

Arthur, Julian, and Dumar have refused to leave. Julian has been continuously trying to find a way to open the gate, while Arthur can only pace back and forth. It is a good thing Dumar is there with him; otherwise, Arthur would have annoyed everyone, especially Julian.

Approximately thirty minutes after the gate appeared, Leila and Maurice Montrose arrived. Both were deeply worried about Thea. Leila tried hard not to cry or break down, but it has proven very difficult.

Maurice finally led her back to the car so she could rest and cry away from the paparazzi.

A short while later, Miranda and Linus Monfort arrived. Claudia immediately collapsed into Miranda’s embrace while Linus joined Arthur and the rest of the men to talk.

Now, Miranda, Claudia, and Leila are waiting together inside Leila’s car.

Linus’s presence brings order to an otherwise chaotic situation. The officials on-site quickly look to him for leadership. Even the Mayor of Arvion arrived a few minutes later.

The reporters and media surround the area, pressing forward, demanding updates.

He is sitting inside a large tent with the Mayor of Arvion, Maurice, Arthur, Dumar, and Julian. The tent faces the gate.

Julian suddenly gasps. The device in his hand lights up, beeping rapidly. He turns toward the gate, eyes wide. The giant stone arch begins to pulsate, slowly at first.

"Guys, look!" Julian points at it.

Everyone turns their heads toward the gate.

Beyond it lies the ocean, reflecting the glow as the arch rumbles and grows brighter. Lightning bursts from the stone, streaking into the night sky — a sight both terrifying and magnificent.

"Finally!" Arthur jumps from his seat and runs toward the gate.

The DEU Captain shouts, "Get ready!"