Ignoring the pain in his body, Kael scrambled to his feet and ran toward the two motionless forms lying on the pavement.
He collapsed onto his knees beside them, his hands shaking as he gently pulled back the cloth covering their pale faces. The raw grief he had been holding back finally broke. Tears poured down his face, dropping onto their cold skin.
"Why...?" Kael choked out, his voice breaking into a ragged sob. "Why? Why does it always have to be me?!"
He pressed his forehead against the cold asphalt, weeping uncontrollably. In that moment, he didn't care about the lingering reporters, the flashing news cameras, or the crowd watching from behind the police lines. The invincible warrior was gone, replaced by a broken man mourning the young lives he had failed to save.
Kael slowly lifted his head, his hollow, tear-stained eyes turning toward Rexon. "Call them..." Kael whispered, his voice barely audible. "Call Ashu's parents."
Rexon swallowed hard. His hands trembled violently as he pulled out his phone and searched through the company records for the emergency contact number. Every second felt like an eternity. With a shaking thumb, he pressed dial and raised the phone to his ear.
The line rang three times before a warm, gentle voice picked up on the other end.
Rexon closed his eyes tightly, taking a deep, shuddering breath to steady his trembling voice.
"I'm so sorry..." Rexon rasped into the receiver. "Ashu... Ashu didn't make it. He's dead."
A suffocating silence descended over the line. For two agonizing seconds, there was no sound at all. Then, the shattering sound of Ashu's mother weeping burst through the phone speaker—a mother's heart breaking in real time.
Rexon lowered the phone slightly, tears welling in his own eyes as he looked down at Vrinda.
There was no phone call to make for her. Vrinda's parents had passed away years ago, leaving her entirely alone in the world. She had no family left to weep for her—only Ashu, who had loved her until his very last breath.
Kael pulled out his phone, his blood-stained fingers trembling against the glass as he dialed emergency services.
"Send an ambulance to the Redgrave Group headquarters," Kael said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "There are two casualties."
He ended the call and turned his head toward Mantra's lifeless body. The woman who had orchestrated this tragedy lay stiff on the asphalt, her skin gray and hollow.
A dark, crimson flame flickered onto Kael's palm. Without a second thought, he tossed the flame onto Mantra's corpse. The fire flared instantly, consuming her remains in a flash of intense heat until nothing was left but a handful of silent ashes blown away by the wind.
All around the city block, the psychological horror of the attack had taken a devastating toll. The intense demonic pressure from earlier had shattered the fragile minds of ordinary humans. Some bystanders were driven completely mad, laughing and weeping hysterically on the curbs. A few weak-hearted citizens had died on the spot from sheer terror, while those who survived were plunged into deep, silent depression, staring blankly at the sky.
Renjiro knelt beside Vrinda, gently lifting her cold frame. Sarina stepped closer, carefully taking Vrinda into her own arms.
"We'll take care of her," Sarina whispered softly, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Renjiro looked up desperately toward Sara. "Sara... can't you use your healing magic on them? Anything?"
Sara closed her eyes, letting out a heavy, sorrowful sigh. "I can heal wounds, Renjiro... but I cannot reverse death. I am not a goddess."
"Shut up!" Kael snapped loudly.
His face was shrouded in complete darkness, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. No one dared to speak another word.
In the heavy, suffocating silence that followed, the sharp wail of approaching ambulance sirens echoed down the road, signaling help that had arrived far too late.
The paramedics loaded the two bodies into the back of the ambulance, closing the doors before speeding away into the gloomy evening.
Rexon stepped up from behind, placing a heavy, supportive hand on Kael's shoulder.
Kael turned around slowly, his golden eyes hollow and dull. "What is it?"
Rexon pointed toward the edge of the restored lobby. A small group of surviving employees were lying on the ground, badly bruised and bleeding, but alive. Rexon's emergency barrier had managed to shield them from the absolute worst of the explosion.
Without saying a word, Kael pulled out his phone again and dialed for additional medical teams. Within minutes, more ambulances arrived on the scene, loading up the wounded staff and rushing them away to safety.
As the quiet courtyard finally settled into silence, Kael stared up at the pristine, perfectly restored skyscraper. He let out a low, bitter sigh through his nose. "Even though David restored this building... there will never be any good memories left here."
Suddenly, a sharp, violent cough wracked his chest. Crimson blood dripped down his chin, and his remaining strength gave out entirely. He collapsed back onto the hard pavement, gasping heavily for air.
A yellow taxi rolled down the quiet road nearby. Spotting the vehicle, Sara rushed forward and flagged it down.
The driver took one look at Kael's bleeding form and immediately recognized the life-or-death emergency. He didn't waste a single second asking questions. As soon as they loaded Kael into the backseat, the driver slammed on the gas, navigating swiftly through the cloudy, rain-heavy streets toward the central hospital.
Moments later, the taxi skidded to a halt directly in front of the emergency room entrance.
Renjiro helped pull Kael out of the vehicle. Reaching into his coat pocket, Renjiro pulled out his leather wallet to pay the fare. But when he turned back toward the curb, the taxi was already speeding down the street, disappearing into the distance without taking a single coin.
Renjiro froze, staring at the empty road in surprise. A faint, gentle smile touched his lips. "Guess some humans still have humanity after all."
Shaking his head softly, he turned and hurried through the sliding glass doors into the hospital.