An amethyst portal shimmered open beneath the blinking stars.
Out of it stumbled Azriel, his right hand missing, supported by Celestina.
Vergil followed, silent and distant, while Solomon emerged last, just before the portal vanished behind them.
Celestina and Vergil, still in a daze from what had happened, blinked at Solomon, the one who had created the portal.
Azriel, his expression tight, finally spoke.
"...You actually fought him?"
"It's a long, funny story. I'll tell you another day."
The one he referred to was the Nebula King—Caleus' father.
Azriel nodded, curiosity gnawing at him, but he glanced at Celestina and Vergil, concern clouding his gaze.
'They've been silent ever since Zoran's death... Their first taste of something . Of course, they're not thinking clearly.'
Everything that had transpired today was also a first for Azriel.
He had done things in this life that he never imagined he would do in his previous one.
Perhaps the difference lay in the fact that the weight of it all hadn't caught up to him yet—not with so many things happening at once.
And then there was that strange version of him wielding the scythe.
Why did he remove the crying fog from his mind?
What did he mean by 'remember'?
So many questions, so abruptly, and yet no answers.
His expression darkened.
Now wasn't the time for such thoughts.
He was too exhausted—physically and mentally.
Looking around, Azriel and the others found themselves atop the cliff, overlooking the vast black desert.
When he turned his head, he froze in shock, just like everyone else, at the sight greeting his crimson eyes.
Bones littered the ground, and skeletal creatures moved about, attacking cadets.
Almost all of the skeletons lay defeated, reduced to mere remnants of battle, easily dispatched.
It felt as if he were gazing at the aftermath of a war—which, in a sense, it was.
Humans had clearly triumphed against the skeletons, evidenced by the lack of bodies still intact. No flesh, no blood—just bones scattered across the battlefield.
Skeletons in the shapes of different creatures—some human, some strangely resembling dinosaurs.
There was a variety of them, including creatures with wings.
The fact that they had won without any casualties was a feat Azriel doubted he could achieve.
Azriel's expression grew grim as an unsettling realization dawned on him.
The number on the same floor had broken one of the rules, triggering a stampede of skeletons.
Luckily, they were weak enough to pose little harm since Zoran had been quickly dealt with, reducing the apostles to three on the same floor—still breaking the rules, but it clearly made a difference.
Azriel was sure the void dungeon would spawn something new and far more nightmarish the longer he, Vergil, and Lumine remained on the same floor.
With Celestina's support, Azriel walked forward, the others following closely. As they moved, the cadets began to notice their presence, a myriad of expressions painted on their faces, most of which were horror and surprise.
Celestina was covered in dried blood and dirt, Azriel bore the marks of battle, missing his right hand and smeared with blood, while Solomon, too, appeared battered despite his unexpected presence.
Vergil, on the other hand, stood out, seemingly unharmed, with little dirt or blood on him.
Yet, none of them smiled.
As they progressed further, stepping on the bones that crunched beneath his feet, more cadets began to notice them.
Each time they noticed him and his group, they looked surprised, standing up and slowly following from behind.
It kept going like that.
The further they walked, the fewer skeletons they saw. None attacked them, though. They wouldn't.
Even the dead knew not to attack when a saint was present.
As they walked, Azriel and the other three finally reached the center of the battlefield.
The remaining skeletons were no longer in sight.
"Cadet Azriel... Instructor Solomon?"
Instructor Alicia's voice broke through the silence as she rushed towards them, baffled.
A hammer was in her hand, at least almost her entire size, yet she carried it effortlessly.
Looking at her appearance, one wouldn't have thought she could use such a weapon.
"What are you doing here?"
"Azriel!" came a shout.
His head snapped toward the voice, seeing Jasmine and Nol rushing toward them, Yelena and Lumine following closely behind.
A group began to form, all cadets gathering at the center.
But just like the others, Jasmine gasped, her face paling as she examined their appearances.
"Y-your hand...! What happened to it...?"
Her gaze lingered on his missing limb, and Yelena and Lumine looked equally solemn.
There was no blood coming from it since Azriel had taken a lot of health potions, and Celestina's light affinity helped a lot.
Unfortunately, no one had bandages—at least not for his missing right hand.
Some of the cadets looked sick.
Jasmine doubted her eyes as a panicked look came over her face.
'Calm down; I am fine. We will talk later.'
But with a gaze, he smiled slightly at her as she bit her lip.
Azriel studied everyone calmly, his eyes meeting Nol's.
Nol's expression was blank, devoid of emotion, though his furrowed brow betrayed his inner turmoil.
'He's holding back… a lot.'
Glancing around, Azriel sighed inwardly.
'It seems that no one died…'
Perhaps it was better if some had perished—or perhaps not.
All Azriel knew was that too many deaths wouldn't have been better for anyone, and his priority wasn't their lives.
His focus was solely on taking down a Heptarch, which he succeeded in doing.
Of course, with Nol's help, he also ensured that no one died during the mission assigned by Freya.
Nol hadn't even needed to call on Lumine, as Freya had used Jasmine instead, which Nol took advantage of.
Ignoring the crowd, his gaze fell on one person: Instructor Alicia.
Azriel bit his lip, meeting her questioning eyes—eyes that demanded to know not just what had happened to his hand.
'Ah... I really don't want to do this.'
The air grew suffocating, the silence painful as everyone waited. Jasmine's shocked gaze burned into him, but he didn't look at her. He just wanted to be done with it.
Azriel's left hand reached into his torn pocket, pulling something out.
With a heavy heart, he extended his left hand before him, opening his palm to reveal a single wedding ring, its white gem shimmering beautifully beneath the stars.
His eyes locked onto Alicia's trembling figure as she stared at the ring.
"What... what is the meaning of this?" her voice quivered, her gaze flickering between the ring and Azriel.
Azriel's expression was solemn as he spoke softly.
"Instructor Kevin... and Instructor Benson. They both died after a terrorist organization infiltrated the dungeon. They fought until the end. They died like heroes."
The silence was deafening.
If silence could grow louder, it did now.
It took a few seconds for the words to sink in.
When they did, Alicia's hammer fell from her grasp, smashing onto a bone, shattering it beneath its weight.
Both her hands rose slowly to her face, trembling, her entire body shaking.
Tears welled in her eyes, cascading down her cheeks and splattering on the ground.
"N-No… this is a lie… You're lying! They can't be dead! Please… my prince… tell me you're lying."
Azriel watched her, his eyes unreadable.
For a few seconds, Azriel met her gaze as she kept murmuring, tears streaming down her face.
Most of the cadets had lowered their heads, eyes filled with sorrow.
His voice held no particular emotion, but it was enough.
Alicia collapsed to the ground, her body shaking as tears poured from her eyes.
A few female cadets rushed to her side, supporting her as she broke down.
Azriel crouched with Celestina's help, placing the wedding ring in front of Alicia.
Then, he stood, turning to face Jasmine, who looked at him with a complicated expression.
Jasmine nodded slightly, their silent communication understood.
Solomon stepped forward, scanning the crowd of cadets as he assessed them. After a moment, he sighed.
"The void dungeon trip is officially canceled. We're heading back to the surface. Neo Genesis attacked there as well. It's chaos up above, but you are future heroes. Important figures, like the Headmistress and Grandmaster Thomas, will be waiting. Behave accordingly.
If you have any concerns, come to me."
His words settled over them like a heavy blanket, faces darkening as they nodded in silence.
As Solomon walked toward the platform, the cadets followed, their movements quiet and restrained.
Azriel stood still, watching as Alicia was helped to her feet.
He nodded at the female cadets as they led her away, her sobs growing distant.
Watching her retreating form, Azriel felt a heavy weight inside him.
He had lied about their deaths.
He didn't want to dishonor their memories, not for Instructor Alicia's sake.
Watching her figure grow smaller, Azriel sighed before moving forward again with Celestina's support.
The others followed silently.
In the end, it was only natural for Alicia to feel broken.
Alicia, Kevin, and Benson had been childhood friends, after all.
And… Alicia was Benson's wife.
The lie he told her was an act of mercy—for her, for Benson, and for himself.