CHAPTER 16: CHAPTER 15: AFTER THE MASSACRE

After the Great Autumn Spirit disappeared, silence filled the entire place for a moment.

But the masked man moved again immediately.

He rushed between the houses and buildings across the village, hunting the remaining monsters one by one.

Every time he pulled the trigger, another corpse dropped.

He did not stop until he had eliminated every monster in the entire village.

Then nothing moved except the wind passing between the ruined houses.

...

Meanwhile, Oliver was wandering through the village with Tell perched on his shoulder.

After all the monsters across the village had been killed, the place became extremely quiet.

Corpses were scattered everywhere, some torn apart, some half eaten.

Others had their entire bodies devoured until only bones remained.

Tell flew over one of the Autumn Spirits that had turned into monsters, trying not to look.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop herself from seeing that horrific scene.

Oliver entered the tavern. The place that had been crowded hours before the festival began was now empty.

Behind the counter, the bartender’s corpse was sprawled out, half his face crushed and the bones of his shoulder and chest exposed.

The smell of wood mixed with blood hit Oliver immediately.

Despite it all, his expression didn’t change. His face was unnaturally calm for a child his age.

He left the tavern and headed toward the sage’s tower.

The door was open as usual, but the inside was in complete chaos.

Books were thrown everywhere, some torn as if someone had desperately searched for information inside them.

In the middle of the room, the sage lay on the floor.

He stared at the ceiling with an empty look, surrounded by scattered books.

Oliver approached him and sat beside him.

"Sage."

He didn’t blink. He just kept staring at the ceiling without reacting, as if he hadn’t heard Oliver.

Oliver took a deep breath and tried to stay calm despite the storm of emotions inside him.

"We survivors are gathering the bodies now. We’ll bury them in the village cemetery. After that, we’ll hold the mourning rites."

The sage didn’t react or move at all.

Oliver lowered his voice.

"I know Eleanor’s death isn’t your fault. It’s not on you."

Several long minutes passed, and Oliver realized the sage wouldn’t respond.

Oliver stood and walked toward the door.

Before leaving, he glanced at Tell, who was standing silently by the window, looking as exhausted as the sage.

"You seem really affected by losing your companions. And by their transformation."

Tell lifted her head and glanced at the sage still lying motionless.

"Somewhat."

"Somewhat? Don’t you feel sad? Angry? Anything?"

She moved her wings slowly.

"Of course I feel all that. But we spirits... we don’t have the same depth of feeling humans do. We don’t experience emotion with the same weight, nor can we express it the same way. Does the same apply to you... hybrid?"

"Who said that? I’m just like any human."

She didn’t believe him, but she didn’t argue.

"If you say so."

He nodded toward the sage.

"Can you stay with him for a while?"

"Hybrid, that’s a really bad idea. Why would you want that? Technically speaking, I’m one of the beings that destroyed his village."

"I’ve never seen this man like this. If he stays alone now, he might kill himself."

She folded her wings tightly.

"Why don’t you stay?"

"When he looks at me, I see guilt tearing him apart."

"You can sense that now?"

"It doesn’t matter. This is not an order. I’m asking you a favor. Can you do that for me?"

She sighed with clear irritation, but finally flew toward the sage and landed near his head without touching him.

"I’ll stay for a while."

Oliver nodded to her, then left the tower.

Oliver continued working with the survivors under the moonlight.

They collected bodies from collapsed houses, from the forest edges, and from the streets.

Only twenty people remained... twenty out of hundreds. They worked quietly without anyone speaking.

By the time they finished the burial, the sun was rising, its orange light spilling across the aligned graves.

At the far side of the cemetery, the masked man stood watching them from a slight distance.

He didn’t approach and didn’t offer help.

Still, none of the survivors dared to look at him as a coward. On the contrary, they viewed him with respect.

He was the hero who faced the Great Autumn Spirit alone and saved them.

...

When the survivors began preparing the mourning rituals, Oliver ran to the sage’s tower to bring him.

He pushed the door and froze at the entrance.

The sage was lying on the floor, one hand behind his head, staring at the ceiling.

Beside him, Tell lay in the same position, her wings folded over her body, also staring at the ceiling.

The atmosphere inside the tower was far calmer than Oliver expected.

The sage was talking to Tell.

"In my childhood, I was barely allowed to leave this place. I spent all day organizing this damn library, memorizing books, and repairing this ugly stone tower."

Tell answered without taking her eyes off the ceiling.

"I went through something similar. I hardly left the Spirit City. I had to study everything to become the next elder of my clan. I never wanted it. I wanted to play with the other spirits... maybe visit the human village we heard about from those who returned every year."

The sage turned to her.

"Did you ever visit it?"

"Are you sure you’re a sage?"

"Oh, yes. I think there’s a reason you’re here now."

He paused briefly, then continued.

"You know, you aren’t just a bunch of ugly flying insects like I thought. I should have talked to one of you earlier."

"And I suppose humans aren’t as awful as I thought either."

Oliver entered then and walked toward the sage.

"Sage, the mourning rites are starting now."

This time the sage stood, leaning against the wall before stabilizing himself.

Then he left with Oliver toward the cemetery.