"..."
Talulah stared blankly at the sky. Several days had passed since that event.
"Go talk to her," FrostNova said, crossing her arms as she spoke to Alina in the distance. "Perhaps only you can reach her now. If you fail, I'll have to try my own extreme methods."
"I understand." Alina stepped forward toward Talulah, who sat atop a nearby roof.
"Ata," she said, sitting beside her. "What are you doing?"
Talulah merely lowered her head, hugging her knees and burying her face deep within them. She remained silent.
"This isn't the Talulah I know," Alina sighed, reaching out to gently stroke her hair. "You were always unyielding, like a fighter. Why are you so despondent now?"
"I harmed the Doctor," Talulah's voice carried a faint sob.
In truth, she remained conscious every second Kaschey held her body. She had been aware, yet unable to control herself. She watched with her own eyes the price the Doctor paid for her sake. The Doctor should not have suffered this; she could have simply ignored her. But...
Talulah also wielded fire. She felt how evil the flames on the Doctor truly were. The Doctor had sacrificed so much to seal that fire, yet it all crumbled at the end to save her, leaving the Doctor's fate unknown.
Talulah felt she had no face to meet the Guerrilla, nor the Doctor. Had FrostNova and Patriot not stopped her, she would have long since chased after the direction the Doctor vanished.
"If the Doctor returns, she wouldn't want to see you continue like this," Alina advised helplessly. "Didn't she say she would ask a friend to check on us? If that day comes and you are still in this state, how worried would she be?"
"Come, don't just sit here." Alina reached out to pull her up. "Let's get something to eat, and then you should sleep."
"I can't sleep, Alina. I can't," Talulah remained rooted to the spot. "You don't understand what Kaschey is to me. He is a nightmare, a hatred, the source of a lifetime of suffering. I naively thought piercing his chest with a sword killed him. I thought I escaped, but instead, I led you all into the abyss. And the Doctor... she didn't have to care about me."
"I can't sleep, Alina. Every time I close my eyes, I see the Doctor looking at me, her body wreathed in flames."
"But everyone is still waiting for you," FrostNova interrupted, walking over. Since Alina's words hadn't worked, she had to try herself. "How much longer will you hide? We have work to do. Warships need clearing, prisoners need counting and managing, and those who scattered must be found. Everyone is busy beyond belief, yet you have time to be idle?"
She hauled Talulah up, forcefully shoving a stack of documents into her arms. "Take this! This is the route map for the teams we evacuated to the west. You must lead people to bring them back!"
Looking into Talulah's hollow eyes, FrostNova spoke harshly. "The snow has grown heavier these past two days. They didn't take much food. If you let them wander aimlessly on the tundra, hardly any of those one or two thousand people will survive! Don't look at me! I'm going east! My own task is heavy! The information is in your hands. We truly have no one else to send. If you won't go, fine; consider them unlucky, destined to die this winter!"
She pulled Alina away. Once they were at a distance, FrostNova stopped and looked at Alina. "Sorry, Alina. I had to do it. She won't think her way out of this anytime soon. I have to fill her head with work to get her moving. Maybe she'll find clarity while doing it."
"I understand your intent, Yelena," Alina said bitterly. "Talulah... sigh."
"Usually so arrogant, yet she wilts the moment she takes a hit," FrostNova shook her head. "She looks tough, but her heart isn't even as strong as mine. Then again, with a background like hers... being raised by a monster and not turning out twisted is already lucky."
Alina sighed, but before she could speak, she saw Talulah silently leaving with the map in the distance.
"See? At least she's willing to move. Her heart isn't completely dead," FrostNova said, relieved. "Alina, follow her. We have things under control here. I'm afraid she might do something drastic if left alone."
"I know. Thank you, Yelena." Alina smiled and hurried after Talulah.
As FrostNova turned to leave, she spotted Big Bear standing nearby, peeking around.
"What is it?" she asked curiously.
"Big Sis," Big Bear whispered, leaning down. "Someone just came to see the Captain."
"Who?"
"I don't recognize her," Big Bear said quietly. "A Feline. Said she's a doctor. The Captain seems to know her, but the atmosphere feels off, so I came to find you."
"Is that so?" FrostNova frowned. "Let's go take a look."
★ ★ ★
Inside the settlement's meeting room.
"Excellency," Patriot looked at the Feline before him. "What is your business?"
"Buldrokas'tee," Kal'tsit said, pulling back her hood. "You needn't be so guarded. I am not here as a messenger for the Royal Court."
"I know," Patriot nodded. "If the Court sought me, they wouldn't use you as an intermediary."
After all, Kal'tsit's relationship with the various Royal Courts was hardly harmonious—only slightly better with the Banshees, and even then, only just.
"I'll be blunt," Kal'tsit got straight to the point. "Recently, friends of Babel treated several strange Infected patients. They were refugees from the tundra, yet their infection levels were incredibly low, despite the clear signs of years of labor in the mines. This violates common sense. The doctor there learned a few things from them and wrote to ask me."
Kal'tsit looked at Patriot, her eyes holding a trace of pleasant surprise. Along the way, she had seen that the infection levels of those around her were mostly light; even the few with external crystals were far from critical. Even Patriot's own infection was lighter than when he left Kazdel!
"My apologies, Excellency," Patriot lowered his head, his heart full of guilt. "I am sorry. We failed to protect her. We allowed her to make such a great sacrifice for us."
He assumed Kal'tsit came to demand an explanation, since the Doctor mentioned being her friend during the confrontation with Kaschey.
"What? That person sacrificed themselves?!" Kal'tsit stood up abruptly. "Didn't you win a great victory?"
Were the ten warships lying outside a lie? There was no doubt the Infected Guerrilla won. She had prepared to seek the truth amidst a chaotic defeat, for which Theresa had even sealed a spell on her for protection. And yet, the Guerrilla won, but that person sacrificed themselves?
Upon hearing the news, she had even set aside the excavation of Rhodes Island to rush to the tundra. Theresa took this matter very seriously and sent people to protect her. But now...
"The Doctor paid a heavy price to defeat them," Patriot said in a low, ashamed voice. "Excellency Kal'tsit, it is my fault. I failed to..."
"Wait, what do you mean by 'our fault'?" Kal'tsit caught the key point. "Why are you apologizing? And why to 'us'?"
"Wait, isn't the Doctor your friend?" Patriot looked up, confused.
"What? You're saying I know them?" Kal'tsit was even more bewildered. "Why didn't I know about this?"
"The Doctor indeed said she knew you," Patriot sensed something was wrong. "From the chronicler of the alliance between the Khagan and the Shah to the commander who led the four nations to besiege Kazdel... who else could it be but you?"
"Wait, let me think," Kal'tsit rubbed her temples, trying to recall if such a figure existed in her memory.
"She wore ancient armor and used arts called Glintstone Magic, which glowed blue, and Incantations, which glowed gold," Patriot explained. "She had a Spirit Steed named Torrent that she could summon with a whistle. She could also transform into a dragon; those five warships outside were her handiwork. There is also an evil god related to fire sealed within her body, born from the injustice and slaughter suffered by the persecuted. Its goal is to destroy all life and return everything to Chaos. Thus, she cannot stay in civilized society for long, nor even the tundra, lest the evil god use the widespread suffering here to stage a comeback. Do you truly not remember?"
Kal'tsit's expression turned strange.
'Do I really know such a person?' Based on the description, this was a world-renowned powerhouse. She racked her brain but couldn't recall ever dealing with such an individual. Yet, if the other party was so certain... it couldn't be without reason, could it?
Could the death two hundred years ago have caused her to lose some memories? Kal'tsit couldn't figure it out. She searched her entire network of relationships and found no such person.
However, one phrase caught her attention.
An evil god wanting to destroy all life... to return Terra to Chaos. Could it be that person? No, that wouldn't fit with fire or persecution. Still, the slight clues were enough to make her wary.
"Can you tell me more about this doctor?" Kal'tsit looked at Patriot with a serious expression. "I have a few guesses."
Patriot didn't doubt her, as the Doctor had personally vouched for her.
★ ★ ★
Ursus, Deity Grypherburg
"Boris! Give me back my fleet!"
An elderly noble spat out a mouthful of blood upon seeing the battle report, then rolled his eyes and fainted.
"A doctor! Get a doctor!" The crowd fell into chaos as servants carried him away. The remaining people turned their gaze toward the supreme Emperor of Ursus.
"Why are you looking at me?" the Emperor snapped. "I should be the one saying that! An entire fleet! Ten warships! Twenty thousand soldiers! All gone in the tundra, the backyard of our Ursus! How exactly did you manage this?!"
Though he shouted fiercely, he felt quite satisfied internally. The fleet belonged entirely to the aristocratic faction; they were not on his side at all.
"I suspect someone is falsifying military reports!" an official stood up immediately. No one wanted to take the blame. With tensions rising in Ursus, losing an entire fleet in their own backyard meant the end of a political career.
"What do you mean a giant dragon descended from the sky and destroyed the fleet?" the man shouted, waving the report. "Heavens, since when are there dragons in the tundra? And one that can destroy a fleet?"
"It's true," an official from the Emperor's faction stood up, pushing forward a projector. "We have a recording. Though it doesn't cover everything, it captured part of the events."
Everyone watched the projector. Even they found the report absurd; some had even spat out their coffee upon reading it. But the subsequent recording delivered a stinging slap to their faces.
In the video, the warships—initially advancing with an invincible aura—were moving smoothly until a meteor struck the central vessel. After a single breath attack destroyed it, everyone froze. Then, the dragon used its flight advantage to destroy two more ships from above. Everyone stood up.
When the recording ship itself was destroyed by a brilliant beam of light, their hands began to tremble.
"If this is the case... wouldn't all the Empire's warships become sitting ducks?" an old general asked, his voice shaking as he took off his glasses. As a veteran, he understood the implications.
"Unfortunately, yes," the Emperor nodded. "Therefore, in the face of their demands, the Empire must make concessions. From now on, the tundra belongs to the Infected."
"Your Majesty, how can we bow to a group of lowly Infected!" someone shouted indignantly.
"Then you go be the dragon slayer!" the Emperor roared, standing up. "Mount your horse, put on your armor, take your lance, and charge it! If you kill it, we won't have to compromise! Can you do it?"
"I... I..." The noble's face went pale. He only dared to speak because his family's wealth came from the tundra mines. If the Infected took them, his family would be destitute within years. But face a dragon? He fell silent.
Nearby, the nouveau riche nobles nearly laughed at the sight of the old aristocracy losing their souls. They weren't traditional landed gentry; their wealth lay in emerging industries. While losing the mines hurt, it didn't strike their lifeblood.
"Order the Academy of Sciences to research anti-air cannons first," the Emperor sighed. "Until new equipment is officially deployed, no one is allowed to provoke conflict in the tundra!"
He had no choice but to back down. The dragon's deterrent power was too terrifying, and the fleet Ursus relied so heavily upon was helpless against it.
"That is all. Meeting adjourned!"