CHAPTER 109: YOU’RE RELENTLESS

The sky was bruised purple. The land scarred.

And yet, somehow, they were alive.

When the dust settled, and the blood-soaked winds died down, the remaining survivors of the Hather Kingdom stood in reverent silence. Medics moved between the injured. Rogues sat slumped, arms bandaged in layers. Swords planted into the dirt served as both weapons and gravestones.

And then, they arrived.

Three streaks of brilliance tore across the sky and landed near the command tent with a sound like thunder cracking against stone.

Gareth Vael.

And the two epic-ranked awakeners who had joined him in annihilating the mutant at the ruins.

Their arrival sent ripples through the camp. Soldiers straightened. Mages went stiff. Conversations dropped to murmurs.

Gareth’s expression was a storm waiting to break.

He stepped forward, scanning the camp, his eyes settling on the princess at the center, flanked by her exhausted guards. She stood there in the medical camp with blood on her cheeks and soot staining her gloves, but she did not look away when Gerald approached.

For a moment, his mouth opened, ready to snap.

What were you thinking? Letting children face mutants?

But when he saw her that anger faltered. She herself was merely a child. Around Kaelen’s age or maybe even younger. And from the looks of her eyes.

She wasn’t a fool.

She wasn’t proud.

She was just young.

And tired.

And barely holding together the shards of a kingdom that had been cracking since her father died.

Gerald sighed. "...Hather’s still standing," he muttered, tone clipped. "By a miracle."

The princess bowed her head. "We owe that miracle to them," she said softly, gesturing to the team standing behind her.

And there they stood.

Derek, Kaelen, Neal, Alira, Sairi, Kaitlin and the members of the Loose Leash.

Battered. Silent. Bloody. And yet noble.

They did not speak out of turn. They didn’t clamor for recognition.

They simply waited, tired, but upright. Present and composed.

A long moment passed before the princess finally stepped forward.

"To all who stood with Hather," she said, her voice quiet but resolute, "...you have saved more than a kingdom. You have saved lives. Futures. Dreams that were nearly lost."

She turned to Kaelen now, her expression shifting.

"I gave you three Epic-class elixirs," she said. "The last in our royal vault. You used them. And you had saved more than just three lifes."

Kaelen didn’t boast. Didn’t nod.

He simply replied, "I did what was necessary."

The princess smiled faintly. "You honored their worth."

Then came the chests. Treasures. Land deeds. Orbs. Scrolls. Enough to build a generation.

But Derek said nothing. Instead, they waited.

Letting the people speak first.

Letting Hather decide what to give, before they chose what to accept.

The silence was broken only by Gareth’s voice.

"They deserve more than words," he said flatly. "Your Highness. They deserve recompense. And if this kingdom still remembers how to repay its debts... then you’ll award them one Epic Essence."

The air stirred.

The guards stiffened.

But the princess nodded. "Of course."

One of the royal vaultkeepers approached, cradling a crystalline orb the size of a heart, pulsing faintly with scarlet-gold light.

An Epic Essence.

Not just power, but a future.

The princess extended it with both hands towards them. It was obvious she was offering to Derek and team and no soldiers or members of the Loose Leash objected to this decision as all of them survived without any casualties thanks to them.

Even Sairi and Kaitlin from the renowned merchant family the Celsters didn’t try to negotiate or haggle over this decision.

Seeing this Derek stepped forward, bowed low and accepted it.

Not a word of refusal. Nor a proud speech.

He simply received it, like a knight receiving a solemn burden.

And then.

Gareth turned to Neal.

Another orb floated from his palm, raw, still echoing with the mana signature of the slain epic-rank mutant.

He didn’t ask for permission.

He tossed it toward Neal.

The young man caught it without flinching.

No one questioned it. No one dared.

Because everyone had seen the crater.

Everyone had heard the explosion.

And everyone knew what Neal had done.

Some bowed. Others whispered his name.

Neal, for his part, just exhaled.

"...Glad I’m still breathing," he muttered.

A few light chuckles. Nothing more.

Kaelen, still quiet, simply placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

Then turned his gaze toward the horizon again.

The storm was over.

But none of them would ever forget what it cost to survive it. And will not want to get involved in any big fight for the time being.

Later that day when the night sky stretched overhead, brilliant and unclouded. The ruins of the battlefield had long since faded behind them. In their place, music drifted lazily through the crisp evening air, mingling with the scent of roasted meat and rare wines uncorked for the first time in a decade.

A celebration banquet was going on.

The Princess had insisted. After all they had been through, the participants and the soldiers needed more than healing, they needed hope and she could use some as well.

Torches lined the outer ring of the encampment. Wooden tables were hastily assembled. Armor was exchanged for robes and loose tunics, plates piled high, goblets full and endlessly refilled.

And at the center of it all, a curious situation was unfolding.

Neal Throdan, savior of the ruins, black system prodigy, and walking inferno incarnate...

...was being shoved, politely but firmly, toward Kaitlin.

"I’m just saying," Sairi said with a deceptively sweet smile, nudging him with her shoulder, "you saved the girl, she looked at you like a god that just descended, and now the moon is out. What’s the hold-up? And most of all you asked for this."

Neal blinked, awkwardly clearing his throat as Kaitlin, seated just a few steps away, picked at her plate and very much pretended not to hear.

"We’re still strangers," he muttered.

Sairi grinned. "That’s what banquets are for."

"I nearly exploded three hours ago and can’t decide anything yet."

"All the more reason to start your new life strong."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You’re relentless."