A bright light flashed in the South-Eastern Plateau. A light bright enough to light up the night sky for a split moment as a ‘cut’ traveled upward.

The clouds had split apart.

And then, everything fell silent. Birds, insects, and even the wind seemed to have stopped for the moment.A soft thud resounded in that silence as Mrs. Frock’s body fell to the ground. And right after, a loud bang echoed.

Dust rose in the sky as the giant chimera, split in half from the top, fell to the ground.

This time, its body did not wriggle or change. It simply remained on the ground. Dead.

“We… did it…” A gasp left Shirley as she clutched the wounds she had accumulated in battle. “We stopped the Chimera… W-we did it—”

Shirley turned to look at me and stopped in her tracks. Blood poured out of my mouth as if a faucet had been opened. My entire body was convulsing as the shock of using all my mana started to hit me.

“P-professor… Professor!”

“Stop…” I groaned the words out. “This is fine, it is nothing.”

“How are you… talking…?”

“Shirley. Leave. Right now.” I slowly stepped ahead, almost tripping over, but held on. “The civil servants… will come here soon. Run right now.”

“But you’re injured!”

“Leave!” I shouted at her. “Go, right now! You don’t have any time to waste. If you’re caught, it's over for you!”

Shirley took a step back. She bit her lips, then nodded.

“Ok… Stay alive, professor. You better stay alive…”

“This is nothing but a scratch…” Saying such words while coughing out blood like a broken fountain didn’t make it trustable, but I was being truthful.

Shirley nodded and dashed into the distance. I watched her body fade into the trees until my mind went blank.

Slowly, I pulled myself to the Chimera's body. Immense pain was assaulting every nerve, but only confusion and shock stayed in my mind.

That slash…

That tenth of a second…

I was late. I was the one who lost that exchange. Mrs. Frock had sacrificed herself faster, and her sacrifice should have strengthened the Chimera beyond anything here.

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After all, taking someone else’s life was an act against nature. It was worthy of punishment, not reward. The balance of the world had to be maintained, though, and the sacrifice of others still gave one strength.

On the other hand, giving up your life—something everyone valued more than anything else in the world—for your goal, was an ultimate form of sacrifice.

The noblest of sacrifices.

The strength it lent was greater than any other. It brought about a calamity beyond comprehension for the ones against it, and a miracle beyond prayer for the ones with it.

Yet…

Mrs. Frock’s sacrifice brought her nothing. Nothing at all…

I slowly leaned next to the body of the Chimera, propping myself upright against it. I heaved heavy sighs as I finally took a breather.

How… How did it happen? Why?

I couldn’t guess it. No matter what I thought, I couldn’t understand it.

My gaze slowly traveled to the debris of the lab—at Mrs. Frock’s corpse. A frown took over my face immediately. Why did someone like her have to become the person she had turned into at the end?

Just what kind of grief and pain did she carry?

A few moments of silence passed. Soon enough, a voice cut through the air as many presences made themselves known around the lab.

“Professor Ethan…” Gladwin’s familiar voice reached my ears. “You look, battered.”

“I am,” I answered, coughing another mouthful of blood.

“From this?” He asked.

I reached into the pocket of my coat and slowly pulled out a stone. I tossed it at Gladwin, and he caught it smoothly. Gladwin’s eyes trembled in surprise. He definitely hadn’t expected to see a magic stone stronger than a Level 10.

“Where…?” Gladwin asked with a trembling voice. It was extremely shocking to see a monster stronger than Level 10 around here. Just subjugating that one Behemoth would need at least four or five Level 10s.

“There was a dungeon in the south,” I said.

“Alone?”

A scoff left me.

“I was wrong, Professor Ethan. You look in rather good health.”

“Haha…”

Anything not dead was great against a Behemoth for him, huh?

“It’s a shame,” I said.

“Not at all, Professor Ethan. You have done well. You have saved many more than we have today.”

Gladwin gestured at the other civil servants, who rushed to me. Some of them applied first aid and administered a potion before helping me stand.

“You need immediate medical attention,” said Gladwin. “They will take you back to the city.”

As they pulled me up, I looked back at Mrs. Frock's body. Once again, the same thoughts flooded my mind. There was confusion about her end, yes, but what filled more of me was instead compassion.

The years of war had made its gruesome mark on everyone.

“Mrs. Frock,” I eked out. The civil servants stopped, and Gladwin turned toward me. “Can you bury her?”

“The criminal? Bury her? Someone like her should be hung in front of the city—”

I wished to cremate her, but I couldn’t follow the culture of the other side of the world.

“Just a grave will do… please.”

Gladwin nodded at me. His eyes turned away again at the scene. This much was good enough.

They started dragging me away from the scene while the others stayed back to investigate.

It seemed everything was over in the city too.

At last, a very long day had come to an end.

Suddenly, Gladwin’s voice echoed again. The civil servants stopped, but Gladwin had not turned back.

“You’re too naive at times, Professor Ethan. Too warm, for no reason. One day this warmth will take away something far too important from you.”

I lowered my gaze at his words.

“It already has,” I said with a wry smile. The civil servants started walking again. “It has taken away my coldness.”

A truly long day had come to an end.