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Kai shook his head. "Everyone did it. If they hadn’t believed in my plan to summon a creature from another plane, it wouldn’t have worked." His eyes flicked toward the crumbled remains of the wall. "Though we lost the wall."

"The wall doesn’t matter. We rebuilt it once. We can do it again. What we did today... no one else in the kingdom could’ve done it with this many troops. It’s just an unprecedented victory that’s going to be written down in the history books."

Kai nodded, though he noticed a shadow passed over Killian’s face. Suddenly, his eyes seemed distant and he pursed his lips tightly together.

"Are you okay? I see you are injured." Kai asked, looking over at his shoulders. Just based on what he had seen, Killian had killed almost two dozen beasts on his own, but it had also given him quite a few injuries. "You shouldn’t push yourself and heal for now."

"It’s not that." Killian shook his head. "We lost people. Some I saw falling right in front of my eyes… Nelson didn’t make it."

Kai’s chest tightened, his frown deepening as he remembered Nelson, the young man who had entered the guards with lofty dreams. He was one of the Enforcers who helped Kai to the maximum of his abilities when they fought off the bandits and the first to face the spiders head-on during the earlier attacks. "There are probably many more who fell beside him. We’ll honour each one. Make sure their families know they died as heroes."

Killian gave a solemn nod but then added, his voice cautious, "There’s... something else. It’s about Amyra."

Kai’s heart sank, his face falling in dread. "Is she...?"

Killian quickly shook his head. "No, no. She’s just unconscious. But... there’s something you need to know—"

Before Killian could finish, a sharp, stinging pain lanced through Kai’s chest. His breath hitched, the sensation growing unbearable as he clutched his chest, teeth-gritting in pain. Even though he tried his best to stop the pain while keeping his hand on his chest, his whole body shook. The backlash of temporarily increasing his circles was here.

The word slammed into his mind, cold realisation dawning. His heart thundered in his ears, every beat a deafening drum as the fourth circle, barely contained, spun out of control.

His mana surged wildly, coursing through his veins like a raging river, uncontrollable, volatile. He felt it— like a storm inside him, battering his body from within. A jolt of energy slammed into his chest, sending a fresh wave of pain that nearly knocked him to his knees. His vision blurred as he fought to stabilise the circle, pouring everything he had into reigning it in.

But it wasn’t enough.

The mana whipped through him, lashing out violently, hitting him harder than any beast had. His knees buckled, and as the world tilted, the last thing he saw was Francis and Killian rushing toward him before darkness claimed his vision.

***

A week had passed since the beast wave battle.

Kai lay in bed, his body still bruised from the aftermath as he hoped he would recover soon enough.

The beast wave had barely managed to injure him since he had maintained his distance, but the backlash from the temporary fourth circle disintegrating had.

Mana had torn through him, leaving a trail of broken bones and a heart barely holding together. It had also damaged his Mana heart partially which he was in the process of healing.

Yet, despite the damage, he was lucky. The fear of being crippled for life had been there in the back of his mind, but he had dodged that fate. His progress had regressed, pushing him back to the beginning of the third circle. His Mana heart needed to be healed further to not leave any lasting damage, but he felt a smouldering confidence deep within.

He would rise again. Once his body healed, there was no doubt he would reclaim the fourth circle— and make it even stronger.

As he lay there, the muffled sound of laughter and chatter filtered through the walls of his chamber. The city was celebrating, despite the losses. Outside, Francis had taken charge in his absence, handling the logistics of the funerals and organising the festivities. Kai could hear the faint clamour of a feast in full swing, the scent of roasted beast meat wafting through the air, a reminder of their hard-won victory.

They had been holding such events daily after the cleaning had begun, wanting to savour the victory till they could.

Most of the city had survived— only the walls and some of the refugee shelters had been lost. Casualties had been heavy, but the town had held, with only thirty percent of their forces falling in the fight. And now, with fresh supplies of beast meat, the people had reason to celebrate, lifting their spirits after the grim, scary, monstrous battle. The festival atmosphere filled the night, while Kai rested, knowing that despite everything, they had endured.

He sighed, his thoughts drifting. Veralt. The city that had become an extension of him, entwined with his fate. His gaze lingered on the ceiling as he thought about the future— he hadn’t planned to take over Arzan’s body and duties. It had just happened as he had deemed it the best scenario for him, but as he fought with Actra and the brood mother, he had started to wonder if it was fate that had led him to clashes against dead mana.

Maybe it was. There was no answer to that, but at least, he had gotten more convinced in his decision to take over Veralt. The city was still growing, but it had everything to mould into something formidable and with the plans he had in mind, he might be able to change the course of history, with the city in the centre of it all.

Although Kai wasn’t sure if he was a good lord, he wasn’t as bad as Arzan and compared to the nobles he had seen, he had a vision.

As his musings reached there, he was interrupted by a knock. A light rap against the door, prompting him to look towards it.

"Come in," Kai called out.

The door creaked open, and Claire, Francis, and Killian stepped into the room. Francis’ icy composure led the way, followed by the battle-worn but dependable Killian, and lastly, Claire, who looked extremely cautious with the slow steps she took.

One after another, they all stood in front of Kai. His lips twitched into a small smile, an automatic response to the sight of his most trusted people in the castle. At least, with them, Veralt remained standing, and he was able to take a good rest without being worried about what’d happen when he wasn’t there anymore.

"How’s your health, Lord Arzan?" Francis asked, voice low and respectful.

Kai waved his hand, cutting through the formalities. "I’m recovering. Let’s get to the point."

The room seemed to shift at his words, everyone falling into their roles. A slight smile tugged on Francis’s face, probably because he expected Kai to get to the chase like this, therefore he straightened, his expression turning serious.

"All the funerals have been handled, Lord Arzan," he began. "We’re in negotiations with Malden and a few other merchants for the beast parts. Veralt’s getting the prime sections— we’ll need them for supplies for weapons and alchemical potions. The rest, we’ll sell. First order of business after that is rebuilding the wall. We’ll start with that tomorrow."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "Luckily, things have been quiet since the beast wave, so even without a complete wall, we’re in good shape. The frays have agreed to help secure the perimeter in the meantime. No beast will get near Veralt."

Kai nodded, absorbing the information. Francis had a way of covering the essentials with the security of the city, and at moments such as this, it was all he could ask for. "Good," he said simply, acknowledging the progress without lingering on it.

His eyes shifted to Killian, who had been standing quietly, though with an air of casual confidence. Kai noted the improvement in his posture— much stronger than the last time they spoke.

"And you, Killian? How’s your recovery?"

Killian gave a slight nod with a ghost of a smile covering his lips, rolling his shoulders as if to emphasize his point. "Much better, as you can see, Lord Arzan. My body’s healing faster than I expected— becoming an Enforcer really speeds things up."

Kai nodded, unsurprised but glad to hear it. "And your report?"

Killian’s grin faded, replaced by his usual seriousness. "The guards are mostly healed. Those still injured are recovering, though it’s slow for some. The mercenaries are staying with us for now, but they’ve been paid, so they’re content. Only Nelson lost his life among the Enforcers, the rest are back on their feet thanks to the potions given by Orion."

"I’ve taken a few frays out on patrols outside Veralt. We haven’t seen anything threatening— seems like the wave cleared out most dangers. News has started reaching the other cities, though, and we expect the people who ran away will start returning soon."

Kai listened, nodding slightly as Killian finished. It was as expected— Veralt was regaining its footing, albeit slowly. The beast wave had left its mark, but the city would recover. He would make sure of it.

Finally, his attention turned to Claire, who had remained quiet through the reports. She met his gaze with her usual calm, but there was a tension in the room now, the air heavy with unspoken things.

"Claire?" Kai asked, his voice low, though he already knew she had something important to say.

She didn’t speak immediately, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. Then, in her usual measured tone, she began, "As you ordered, I’ve had the maids and servants under my command monitoring the Mages closely. So far, we’ve only confirmed one spy— Roran Brightholm. He’s been attempting to send information to Archine Tower, though he hasn’t made any moves beyond that. We’re keeping a close watch on him."

***

A/N - Do you want me to change covers?