"Grandpa! Grandpa! I want Grandpa..." The girl's tender voice was hoarse as she called out, her small hands reaching helplessly forward.
A long sword pressed against the old man's neck, as the solemn royal guards led him away. A woman, clad in a luxurious corset, held the girl tightly, preventing her from chasing after the old man. Tears flowed ceaselessly down the woman's face, dripping onto the girl's neck.
Bodies hung from the bell tower, swaying in the wind...
"Ah!" Stella Famillion suddenly sat up in bed. In the middle of the night, a bolt of lightning split the stormy sky outside, casting cold light upon the windowpane and illuminating her pale face.
She had once told her teammates in the Last Defender of the Way adventurer squad that she was born into a declining noble family. The decline of the family itself wasn't frightening, but what was terrifying was experiencing the process of that decline.
A dramatic scene of a bedroom at night. A young woman named Stella Famillion is sitting up in bed, her face and figure mostly obscured in shadow, silhouetted against the intense light of a bolt of lightning splitting the stormy sky outside. The storm is fierce, with dark clouds, rain, and flashes of light. The windowpane is wet and reflects the cold, bright lightning. The room is dim and filled with shadows, emphasizing the contrast between the dark interior and the stormy light outside. The focus is on the ominous, shadowy atmosphere. [https://files.oaiusercontent.com/file-9T3D9lFw3FJ3b6qSxnKrAdES?se=2024-11-15T15%3A33%3A06Z&sp=r&sv=2024-08-04&sr=b&rscc=max-age%3D604800%2C%20immutable%2C%20private&rscd=attachment%3B%20filename%3D5c7f7cf6-7f96-401f-a8d2-5ab56a1d3863.webp&sig=mgAMXzMAfSlBHdnDQzWaDjVH2WR8RU9PUIp8X8Eyqps%3D]
Two years of tense adventuring life had driven those painful memories from her mind.
But the day before yesterday, seeing the bodies of the executed hanging under the bell tower once again, even though she knew this place was thousands of miles away from her hometown in Re-Estize, the dark memories surged back like a tide.
In her sleep, she drowned in those memories. She stretched her arms forward, her eyes wide open, memories flooding into her throat, leaving her unable to speak...
Her sleep had been of poor quality these past few days, and not even soundproof spells worked; the noise of thunder was enough to wake her. Stella rubbed her temples and used magic to light the copper candlestick on her bedside table, then groped her way out of bed.
Winter had come, and the thunderstorm late at night made it bitterly cold. She wrapped herself in a cotton robe, picked up the candlestick, and walked out of her room, intending to get a cup of hot water from the kitchen.
Stella tiptoed, making as little noise as possible. The captain, Barrett, and Sean were still deep asleep in their rooms, and she did not wish to wake them.
"Hoo... hoo..." A faint snoring sound came through a door, the unmistakable sound of Barrett snoring.
Fortunately, Sean doesn't snore at night; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stand it. Wait, why am I even thinking like this?
Stella paused, startled by her sudden thought. In the dim light of the candlestick, a blush crept onto her pale cheeks.
"Bang… bang… bang…" Aside from Barrett's snoring and the sound of the storm muffled by the walls, there seemed to be a knocking sound coming from the dark.
Her experiences as an adventurer had made Stella braver. She stood still and listened carefully for a moment, realizing that the disjointed knocking came from outside the front door.
In this cold, rainy, stormy night, someone was knocking?
Stella quietly approached the front door. Amidst the rain hitting the oak door, the knocking sound became clearer, its rhythm growing weaker, as if the person outside was becoming more feeble.
The young cleric lit the candles and oil lamps inside, gripping her staff tightly. After preparing two spells, she cautiously whispered, "Who is it?"
"It's me…"
To Stella's surprise, it was the weak voice of a boy. She felt like she had heard that voice somewhere before... After a moment of thought, Stella quickly retrieved the key from the bottom of the flowerpot by the wall, inserted it into the lock, and opened the door.
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As the door swung open, a drenched figure collapsed at her feet.
It was Eddie! Old Tony's nephew! He was soaked to the bone, his wet robe clinging to his skin as if he had jumped into the river and been pulled out after ten minutes underwater.
Stella hurriedly dragged Eddie back inside, laying him flat on the sofa. She cast a simple water-dispelling spell to remove some of the water from him. At that moment, Eddie was in a dazed state, his eyes tightly shut, and his mouth slightly open as if he were mumbling something.
As Stella dragged Eddie, she felt he was icy all over. She reached up to touch the boy's forehead, and it felt like fire!
There was no doubt that he had a high fever. In this cold, rainy winter night, she couldn't imagine how long he had been outside in the rain. It was no surprise he had developed such a high temperature.
Stella didn't have time to think about why Eddie was soaked to the bone and knocking on the door in the middle of the night. Gripping her staff, she quietly chanted a blessing spell, enveloping the feverish boy in warm light.
After evaporating all the rainwater from Eddie's body and temporarily alleviating his fever, she woke the other three in the room one by one.
"What's Eddie doing here?" Barrett and the others were equally shocked.
EeDeChi rubbed her tired eyes, groggily staring at the unconscious boy, as if her drowsiness was even more intense than a high fever.
Sean fixed his gaze on Eddie, who was resting his head on Stella's lap, Sean's eyes unreadable—caught between sympathy and jealousy.
"What's wrong with old Tony? He can't even take care of his own nephew?" Barrett grabbed a canvas cloak from the coat rack and instructed, "You all help him change into some dry clothes. I'm going to check on old Tony."
With that, he threw on the cloak and dashed out into the howling wind and rain...
Old Tony lived in the eastern district of the capital, quite a distance from where Barrett and the others resided. Barrett could hardly imagine how Eddie had made it through the stormy path to reach them.
At that moment, the rain had lessened significantly, but the road was still full of potholes. Barrett stepped through the waterlogged puddles, gripping a glowing stone lantern as he ran toward old Tony's address in the darkness.
He was in great shape and soon ran to the vicinity of old Tony's house, where he saw a crowd blocking the road.
Among the crowd were mounted guards in shining armor, militia with long swords and round shields, and several figures cloaked in enchanted black robes, looking like wizards.
Barrett hurried forward and grabbed a wizard wearing a tall pointed hat, asking, "What happened?"
Raindrops pelted the wizard's black hat, rolling off the brim. He looked at Barrett with endless sorrow in his eyes.
"Old Tony was attacked by enemies and... was killed!"
Barrett felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He stumbled back two steps, staring in disbelief at the wizard in the pointed hat. He had suspected something unusual would happen, but he never imagined it would end like this!
"No way!" Barrett croaked, "That's impossible! I know him too well—this old turtle who studies defensive spells wouldn't die even if all his teammates fell!"
"It's true." Two murky tears rolled down the wizard's cheek as he trembled and wiped his eyes.
Barrett glanced around at the guards surrounding old Tony's house, the militia and officers standing ready, and the several silent High-tier mages. He understood that this news was real.
"Is there any way to bring him back? Can we find a mage who uses 5th Tier Divine Magic to revive him?" Barrett stepped forward, clutching onto a sliver of hope.
"It's too late. His body was destroyed... all that's left is a head…" The wizard sniffled, tears streaming down his face. "Even his High-level mage badge and Orichalcum adventurer plate are missing."
Barrett stood in the rain, his expression numb, oblivious to the raindrops falling on his face. The sorrow in his heart felt like a boulder lodged in his throat, threatening to overflow from his chest.
"How could this happen…" He pressed his hands against his temples, slowly crouching on the rain-soaked ground, overwhelmed by pain.
…
"What? You're saying Tony Ulea is dead?!" Upon hearing Barrett's news, EeDeChi and the others were equally stunned. Barrett collapsed onto the sofa, having run back from old Tony's place, still struggling to process it all.
He remembered his last meeting with old Tony, when they had argued for a long time over differing opinions and parted on bad terms. If he had known that this would be their final farewell, he would have gladly agreed to whatever request old Tony had made at the time.
Every goodbye in life should be treated as a parting for eternity, to avoid leaving regrets behind.
"Let's go check on Eddie," Sean suggested. "Maybe he knows something."
"Right!" Barrett sprang up from the sofa. "Old Tony must have sent him here."
The four of them entered Stella's bedroom, where Eddie lay on the bed in new clothes.
All the water had been wiped off him, and a thick comforter covered him. Thanks to Stella's treatment, his fever had mostly subsided, but he looked completely drained, as if trapped in a nightmarish quagmire, struggling to awaken.
His lips were still pale and blue, slightly moving as if he were mumbling something.
The four adventurers listened carefully for a moment and could clearly hear Eddie's intermittent whispers: "Uncle said... must have Barrett..."
Barrett sat on the edge of the bed, holding Eddie's cool little hands in his large ones, softly saying, "I'm here, right beside you."
"Uncle said…" Eddie's small hand was enveloped in Barrett's warm palm, seeming to regain some vitality. His eyelids fluttered open slightly, looking at Barrett.
"Uncle said... must have Barrett's team captain participate in the Warrior Captain competition"
"Me?" EeDeChi raised an eyebrow, bewildered.