"Is it done?"
Baraha called up from the ground. Echi nodded.
"It feels right. I think it's going to work!"
The junction shuddered as if struck.
Cracks raced outward through the air in every direction. Then, like a crumbling shell, the red twilight sky fractured and beyond it, clear brilliant blue.
The crimson liquid faded beneath their feet and vanished. The monster corpses dissolved to dust. Only the ruined barracks remained.
The space warped, snapped back.
Echi pressed her hand to her mouth as the nausea hit; Baraha grabbed a pillar. Then it stopped.
The mist was gone. White Raven Gorge stood visible in the distance. The sky was midday blue. They had been inside for two full days.
Everything swallowed by the node had been returned.
"We actually made it back."
Baraha murmured it in disbelief. Echi dropped down from the barracks.
Then something came at her at speed, and her body moved to defend and then stopped.
"Commander....."
She was pulled into an embrace before she could finish.
A desperate motion. A familiar scent, faint beneath the rain and time. Silver hair cascading over her. A firm chest pressed against her cheek, separated by uniform fabric. Beneath it, his heart pounded so hard she could feel it against her face.
One large hand cradled the back of her head. The other tilted her chin upward. His fingertips traced along her jaw, then moved to the corner of her eye. Brushed across her cheek.
His hands were shaking.
It felt like confirmation... like pressing his hands to something to make sure it was real and not a trick of his own mind.
Above her, a low, pained sound.
Echi looked up. Through the curtain of silver hair that had fallen over them both, she saw his face.
She forgot, briefly, how to form words.
A face on the verge of breaking. Like someone who had walked a barren desert and finally reached water. Like a man rediscovering light he thought he'd lost forever. Eyes that didn't know whether to weep or to rejoice and were doing both, nearly.
The blue of his eyes was unstable, their edges red. His lips trembled. Tears threatened at the corners.
It was an expression she had never seen on Yurien de Harden Kyrie.
Not just on him. On anyone.
As though she were someone irreplaceable. Someone genuinely precious.
'Why…'
Why is he looking at me like that? Like someone he loves.
Why? He remembers. He knows what I did. The day I destroyed him.
But no. He must not know I'm that demon. He can't love me if he knows. This must be a performance. He's keeping me close to monitor me. That's the only explanation.
Which means if I'm not 'the demon' who does he think he's looking at?
Who is he looking at with that face?
Is any of this real?
Her thoughts spun. She shoved him before she could stop herself.
Yurien staggered back, unresisting. He had been holding her with no tension at all.
For a brief moment, he looked as though he had been cast from somewhere lost. Then, slowly, his focus returned.
His silver lashes moved. The storm in his expression settled.
He touched the corners of his eyes. The tears had not fallen. He wiped them away carefully. He gathered himself.
The first thing he did was apologize. His voice was still unsteady.
"I behaved improperly. I was simply… relieved. I'm sorry for that."
"No. I was startled, that's all."
"It was inappropriate. Please forgive the discourtesy."
"It's nothing, Commander."
"Are you hurt?"
"Not at all. How much time passed?"
"…Two days."
Careful words. A wall quietly erected between them, each stepping back from a line they weren't ready to name.
Baraha, who had been watching in stunned silence, noticed it. His eyes sharpened.
What was this? Then he remembered the stable, the moment Yurien had appeared, and how Baraha had instinctively stepped away from Echi before he understood why.
He inserted himself carefully between them.
"Commander."
"…Baraha. You're safe."
"Yes. There were many monsters inside the anomaly but I survived because Cadet Echinacea was with me."
"Senior Baraha" Echi started, alarmed.
"She protected me. I think she deserves significant credit."
She was already signaling him frantically. You said you'd keep it secret.
Baraha wasn't looking at her. His eyes stayed on Yurien.
"If not for her, I would not have come back alive."
"Senior Baraha!"
She stepped close and put her hand on his side. It looked like a light touch. It was not. He absorbed the pinch without reacting.
"The monsters weren't that significant. Senior Baraha is overstating it."
Yurien's expression stayed composed. But just for a moment Baraha caught the flicker.
Yurien's gaze had settled on Echi's hand at Baraha's side. Then, as though he'd noticed nothing:
"I'm grateful both of you returned safely. You'll receive commendation upon our return. Report everything to the vice-commander - the situation, the timeline. Again, welcome back. Well done."
Purely professional. He turned and walked away. Others were already approaching.
Among them, Echi spotted Alice pale, and finally showing relief. Something warmed in her chest. She spoke to Baraha under her breath.
"Senior."
"What?"
"You said you'd keep it secret."
"I did."
"Then how could you say it was because of me"
"It's true. And didn't you say you wanted to look like you were improving? Consider it credible cover. You survived a life-threatening situation and your swordsmanship got better. Straightforward."
"…You're very good at this."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Alice arrived at a run. She stopped in front of Echi, took a breath, and burst out: "I was worried about you!"
"I'm sorry, Alice."
"You don't have to apologize!"
"Ah."
While that was happening, Vice-Commander Baron crossed to Baraha. He looked at him for a long moment, then gripped his shoulder firmly. Said nothing. His hand did the rest. Baraha bowed deeply.
* * *
On May 15th, 1629, the Celestial Knights concluded the White Raven Gorge subjugation.
An anomaly had formed unexpectedly, resulting in one cadet death. Beyond that, only injuries. For an anomaly, the casualty count was remarkably low.
Some brief suspicion surrounded the circumstances of the deceased cadet's death but based on survivor accounts and the conditions within the anomaly, it was ruled a monster-related accident. The doubts faded quickly.
The fallen cadet was honored as a warrior who died in the line of duty.
The commander personally sent condolences to the family.
The subjugation force returned to Azenka two days later, on May 17th.
* * *
Upon arriving at her dormitory after the long absence, Echinacea found a mana telegram waiting.
It was from Nicole Sijuten.
Visiting Azenka on escort duty with a VIP. We can discuss the white lion then.
* * *
The first thing Echinacea did upon returning to Azenka was collapse into bed.
She had been fine the night before, read the telegram, slept as normal. The next morning, she collapsed on her way to the bathroom. Alice had come very close to panicking.
The truth was, Echi had been feeling off since the day after leaving the node. Exerting herself the way she had inside it, the fever had been inevitable. She had suppressed it, knowing she couldn't afford to be ill while the subjugation's conclusion and the return journey were still underway.
She had traveled with the cadets rather than the officers, and managed to avoid crossing paths with Yurien. She was quietly grateful for that. She had a feeling he would have seen through her condition immediately.
She had pushed through the fever for days and assumed she could keep pushing. Even waking up weak that morning, she had thought it was nothing serious.
Then she collapsed on her way to the bathroom.
Honestly, she was embarrassed. She had reached a level beyond mastery, and she'd been brought down by a fever.
I should have just maintained myself with mana. I underestimated this.
"Echi, should I call a doctor?"
Alice hovered anxiously, basin of water in hand. Echi stopped her.
"No.I'm genuinely fine, so just..."
"What do you mean fine? You're burning up!"
"It's a minor fever. If I sleep it off, it'll pass. You should go train, Alice. The ranking competition is coming up."
"But"
"It's just a fever. Go do what you need to do. I can't rest with someone hovering."
She snapped at her a little, finally, to get Alice out the door. The ranking competition was approaching; she wasn't taking up Alice's time over something this manageable. It was just a fever.
Echi sank into her bed. Using mana, she floated the damp towel from Alice's basin across the room and settled it on her forehead. The coolness was a relief.
She lay there thinking.
"My official squire appointment is tomorrow. Yurien will probably notice something's off. Will I be better by then if I rest all day?"