What were they expecting?
It certainly wasn't this.
Of all things they could return to, the corpses of their warriors and the sight of their Saintess with her heart in the hands of a man they'd never seen before was not what they expected in the slightest.
And how were they to react?
For most of them, the only answer was shock.
Those other than Damien and Thalia were shocked into a stupor. The instant they appeared in the world, their bodies froze and their minds did as well.
There was nothing that could be done to snap them out of this state. Until they could accept the scene before them, they would remain frozen.
There was no sound.
The atmosphere was eerily silent as the Count processed the situation and the geniuses tried to regain their wits.
That only made it worse.
Because everyone was forced to listen to the Saintess' blood as it poured out of her chest and made impact with the ground.'
Still, not everyone was frozen so thoroughly.
Thalia was definitely petrified at the start.
She couldn't easily comprehend the scene.
After all, she had no knowledge of the happenings of the outside world. She didn't even know there was danger approaching until she exited Gehenna to this carnage.
It was natural that she couldn't accept it.
But more than anything, what she couldn't believe was the sight of the Saintess before her eyes.
She knew how it usually went.
No two Saintesses could live in the same generation. Once one was crowned, the last would lose their power and slowly pass away.
This wasn't slow at all.
This was murder.
The murder of the main parental figure she'd had in her life since the day her parents died.
Thalia felt the exact emotions one would expect of her. It was a huge bundle of negativity and grief that clouded her mind and made her want to recklessly charge at the enemy ahead.
However, the crown she wore pulsed, calming her emotions.
She had to accept it.
The Saintess was dead, and the tribe was facing a calamity.
She was the new Saintess, effective immediately, and before she could grieve, she had to find a way to save her people.
Thalia's eyes dulled.
She shut off all emotion and extraneous thought.
She could only look at the bigger picture. She was not allowed to grieve or panic. Just like her predecessor before her, she had to suffer for the sake of the tribe.
But Damien didn't.
Damien's first thought was
'...I was too late.'
He knew the Count was coming.
He thought that as long as he moved as fast as possible, he'd be able to save them.
He did move fast. He didn't play around at all or spend any time exploring the parts of Gehenna he didn't need to.
Even his long interaction with the mist led to him comprehending a concept of Existence, so it was absolutely necessary.eastern fantasy
He did everything he could.
Damien stepped forward.
He looked back at Thalia, who was still shaking, but whose eyes were slowly becoming more grounded.
And he turned back to the Count.
Count Verex grinned.
"Are these the returnees?"
He glanced at the Saintess' dying self mockingly.
"It seems my goal has come to me before I had to go chasing it. Isn't that wonderful?"
The Saintess glared at him with every ounce of emotion she could muster.
She knew she was dying.
She knew she wouldn't last long.
This was the moment her prophecies ended at.
She couldn't see further than this, not because there was nothing else, but because she was destined to die here.
She'd prepared for it.
lightsvel She'd been ready for it.
However, as she turned her head and saw the pitiful appearances of her young geniuses, she felt a pang in her heart.
She really didn't want to go.
She didn't want to leave the tribe alone at this critical moment.
But she had no choice but to entrust everything to Thalia.
As she felt her final breaths approaching, the Saintess turned to Damien, a weak smile on her face.
One word.
She had one word.
"...run."
With that one word, she tried to warn him.
And that only made him angrier.
Damien took a deep breath.
'I've held it in for a long time.'
Rage, anguish, negative emotion in general
He'd been containing too much of it within him.
But he couldn't keep it in any longer.
When he looked at the Count, the only thing he saw was someone who needed to die by his hands.
There was no need for conversation with someone like that.
There was no need for negotiation.
Damien's instincts kicked in, and he instantly disappeared.
In the next moment, the sacred jungle was torn to shreds.
A battle of untold proportions had begun.