The sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon, leaving the city illuminated by campfires and a few fires. All the creatures and overtaken bodies suddenly fell to the ground, and although most of the soldiers were relieved, the sight of the ruined city no longer filled them with such joy.
Gwendal began to assess the damage. He could see a few of his men lying among the corpses, far fewer than the enemy, but these were still losses.
He sent the wounded soldiers back to the hospital tents and ordered those who still had the strength to take care of the fallen. The puppets were not to be moved for the time being - not that anyone would want to touch them.
Back in the main square, which had been a command station, now with a table set up in the center and a tent not far from it, he leaned over a map of the city and began listening to reports.
They managed to evacuate five hundred residents, who have been escorted to the main camp at the residence and are still guarded by Conrad and the rest. It wasn't much. Less than half the city's population. In addition, most buildings collapsed during the repeated tremors, and almost nothing was left of the town. Either it will have to be rebuilt, or the surviving residents will have to be resettled. This decision, however, was no longer up to him.
Waltorana has been informed of their movements but will still probably be furious when he finds out that one of his cities has been attacked and destroyed. But this was also something he had no intention of dealing with himself. For this very reason, he took Lord Adelhard with him.
Recalling the aforementioned man, Gwendal looked around but did not see him and had to ask the soldiers. It appeared that he had already started performing ceremonies for the dead. He didn't know what else he had expected from a priest.
They began to precisely count their own wounded and fallen, and it was exactly as he had noted earlier. With their opponents more than doubled in number, they suffered very few casualties. Well, they had the advantage in possession of maryoku.
After the initial reports were written down, one of the messengers brought him news that His Majesty had returned to the city, and soon Gwendal could see a black horse slowly entering the square. Visible in the dim light, the rider's face was pale, and he looked at the ruins in disbelief. Wolfram rode beside him, watching the king anxiously and tensing up as if he feared he would jump off his horse in a moment and do something stupid.
Yuuri stopped near the table and - after dismounting from his horse with Wolfram's help - approached them, still looking at the remains of the buildings with horror.
"What happened here?" he asked, finally looking at Gwendal.
"Several earthquakes destroyed almost all the buildings."
"And what about the residents?"
"Some managed to evacuate. They are in our camp."
"Some?" He shuddered and looked toward the square with the shrine as if sensing what was there.
"Yuuri, it's all over. You need to rest." Wolfram said weakly, placing a hand on the king's shoulder. "Gwendal will take care of the rest, so let's go back."
Gwendal looked closely at his younger brother. He was equally pale, and his movements were sluggish and slow. They were both not in good condition, so it would be better to send them away.
"No, I - "
"Being in such a state will only lower people's morale. Go to sleep and come back only when you can actually do something."
Yuuri lowered his gaze at his words, but it was better to make him aware of this immediately. He didn't have time to argue with children now.
"Where's Burenward?"
"Still in the courtyard. I tied him up, but his bones are broken, so he wouldn't get far anyway." Wolfram replied, and Gwendal turned to one of the soldiers, ordering them to send someone to fetch the prisoner.
"Where are father and Conrad?"
"Adelhard is at the shrine square. And Conrad should still be with the evacuated people."
The two boys relaxed slightly, and Gwendal appointed some soldiers to lead them away. Fortunately, Yuuri no longer protested and agreed to leave. He may have been getting better at governing, but you could tell by the expression on his face alone that he wasn't yet ready to handle such situations.
Most of Gwendal's life revolved around waging wars and fighting, so he was much more prepared for such things. Even if their opponent was an army of monsters, it was hardly different from his previous experiences.
"What was that thing anyway?" he muttered to himself, glancing at the pile of motionless dolls pushed aside. Absorbed in darkness, they were barely visible and even more disturbing. Even though they had stopped walking, people still avoided them by a wide curve and even moved them out of the way with sticks.
"Our religion defines creatures of this type as demigods," Adelhard answered his quiet question as he stopped next to the table, leaning against it with his hands and looking in the direction in which Yuuri and Wolfram had disappeared. "Although this particular case is called an artificial god. Or false god, by more conservative people. Apparently, humans got jealous of the mazoku of their gods and created their own. I've heard that this thing is still worshipped in certain corners of the world. It's really unbelievable that someone would want to claim this as their deity at all."
Gwendal refrained from rolling his eyes. He didn't need a lecture on theology now; he needed to focus on getting the situation under control.
"I hope that the cessation of these attacks means that this creature has been killed," the man continued.
"You can go and ask Wolfram."
"I think it would be better to wait until tomorrow. He looked like he was about to collapse at any moment." He moved away from the table. "But yes. I've already done everything I can, so I'll be back as well."
Gwendal took a breath when he was finally left alone. He could now look at the reports of the search through the debris in peace. An alarming number of residents were found in collapsed buildings, even those that had fallen after their attempts to evacuate. And most of them were tied up.
They reached the residence, and Wolfram almost immediately pulled him inside, allowing him only a glimpse at the refugees from the city. The encampment, although full of people, was frighteningly quiet. Any conversations and cries that occasionally reached his ears were hushed as if people were afraid to act loudly.
Right after crossing the threshold, he plopped down on a chair in the hall and hid his head in his hands. Wolfram tried to take him upstairs but gave up when Yuuri refused to get up and just sighed, leaning against the wall next to him.
They saw smoke on their way back to the city. That alone made his stomach clench. And the closer they got, the more unpleasant sights they saw. It could hardly be called a city anymore. Just a pile of rubble. A mass of stones from under which he seemed to see limbs sticking out, although Wolfram tried to convince him that they were just shadows.
He felt as if he had failed. He hadn't even killed the monster - someone had taken it away before he could. Maybe if he had been faster. If he hadn't been so weak that Wolfram had to lead him through that cave. Maybe then more people would have survived.
"Yuuri..." Wolfram began uncertainly.
"I know," he replied, running his hands through his hair. "It's nothing I could actually control. But I still feel terrible."
Wolfram did not respond. He slid slowly to the ground and rested his head against Yuuri's knee. He could barely see him in the darkened room - almost all the candles on the chandelier had burned out, and no one bothered to replace them. But now, the darkness was somehow soothing. He felt better not being able to see anything.
"I knew quite a few people from this city," Wolfram whispered. "Even during the wars, rarely did anyone I knew die. The fights never came close to my home."
Continuing to lean on one hand, he lowered the other down and placed it on the head of the boy sitting next to him. He combed his hair, starting to feel better again.
"You're more tired than me, aren't you? You've used up almost all the maryoku, and in my case, it usually ends in losing consciousness."
Wolfram moved restlessly but didn't answer. He didn't even say it was because he was a wimp. Maybe they should go to the bedroom before he falls asleep on the floor.
The exit door opened, and someone stepped inside. Yuuri had to squint his eyes to recognize Conrad. The man approached Wolfram, who seemed to have already drifted off, as he didn't even react when his brother knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"You should go to the bedroom first." Conrad shook Wolfram slightly.
"Sorry, it's my fault." Yuuri stood up when the head resting on his knee moved away and smiled slightly, watching Wolfram rise slowly and mumble something. "What with the people?" He asked as Conrad began escorting them to the bedroom.
"They're fine, but they're scared. They say something strange was happening in the city even before the first earthquake, but now it's hard for them to explain it."
"It's not very good news."
"But it's over now, right?"
Yuuri cringed. Since he didn't kill the creature, there's a good chance it will reappear and attack another city.
"I thought that after defeating the Shoushu, that would be the end of monsters attacking my people."
Conrad patted him on the back.
"Everything will be fine. Now, you'd better go to sleep. You both look terrible." He stopped in front of the entrance to their bedroom. "The people outside will feel better when they see their king in good condition." Conrad waited until both he and Wolfram had entered the room and closed the door behind them, wishing them a good night.
He changed into pajamas and then helped Wolfram, who was having trouble getting out of his clothes, after which they both went to bed. Wolfram curled up next to him, laying his head on his chest and falling asleep almost momentarily. Yuuri was sure that due to the multitude of thoughts running around in his head, he would have trouble falling asleep. But as soon as he lay comfortably in the bedding and the pleasant warmth began to emanate from his side, all those thoughts disappeared, and he drifted off to sleep.
He did not know how long he slept, but it was already bright when he woke up. He dragged himself carefully so as not to wake Wolfram, who had remained in the same position all night, and got out of bed.
After changing into clean clothes, he walked out into the empty hallway. Only going down did he encounter soldiers running in and out of the building. Looking outside, he concluded that it must still have been early since hardly anyone was walking between the tents.
Yuuri made his way to Gwendal, guessing that he would be where all these messengers were heading. Just as he thought, he found him and Adelhard sitting in an office not far from the entrance, discussing something over a map.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, joining them.
"We are planning what to do with the residents," Adelhard replied. "I've contacted my brother about it, but I'm already guessing that he will want to transport them to Keris." He pointed his finger at the map. "It's the largest city in the area. Therefore, we might as well start preparations already."
Yuuri remembered that when he said brother, Lord Adelhard meant Waltorana and furrowed his brow concerned. He was already beginning to dread the next gathering of aristocrats - the man still to this day admonishes him for taking Wolfram away from him every time they see each other.
"How many people are in the camp?"
"About five hundred," Gwendal answered him.
"Didn't this town have more than one and a half thousand residents? What about the remaining thousand?" he asked, but he had already guessed the answer.
"Something forced people to enter their homes just before the earthquake and stay there."
"Something? Those dolls?"
"They themselves went inside and tied each other."
Yuuri looked at Gwendal, not understanding what he meant. Why would these people do that? But he explained nothing more, instead shaking his head dejectedly.
"It has happened to them what happened to Wolfram. He, however, is much more resistant to it, so in his case, it was limited to strange visions." Adelhard explained to him, looking at Gwendal and shaking his head. "In addition, several of our soldiers also touched the bows clearing the square. The situation was quickly brought under control, but really, it should be taken care that people know about such things, regardless of religion."
"Are these soldiers all right?"
"They are trained men. They won't succumb so easily to someone else's manipulation," Gwendal said.
"But they will still need cleansing, just like Wolfram. You've seen what the consequences are, so there's no point in arguing with me."
Gwendal merely tsked and focused on the reports. Yuuri had never wondered about his religiosity, but it seemed that this one was a skeptic. But he had seen what was happening to Wolfram, even though he, according to Adelhard, was more resistant. So it was better not to take any chances.
"Do whatever you can to help them," he turned to Adelhard, who smiled at him.
"I will take them to the temple as soon as I finish the affairs of this city with my brother."
Yuuri nodded and turned around when he heard familiar footsteps heading into the room. Wolfram stopped in the doorway, glancing at him with darkened eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. He was up early for him, and the signs of fatigue could still be seen on his face.
"Is something wrong?" Yuuri asked uncertainly.
"We skipped a bath yesterday."
"Well, we rather didn't have the energy for it."
"You were covered in the blood of that thing."
Yuuri shrugged and squirmed.
"I forgot," he admitted, staring at his hands. Most of the blood had already been wiped off, probably rubbing into the bedding. Poor maids.
"How can you forget that you're all in blood?" Wolfram asked in disbelief, raising his voice slightly.
"I had some other things on my mind. Besides, it was dark, and it's hard to see blood on black clothes."
Wolfram rolled his eyes, walked over to him, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him out of the room. Adelhard's laughter bid them farewell as they walked toward the bedroom.
He wanted to reproach Wolfram for forgetting this, too - otherwise, he wouldn't have hugged him like that. But he preferred to stay burn-free.
Someone had already prepared a bath in the bathroom, which may not have been as big as the one in the castle, but was still bigger than the one in his home on Earth. The pool, which could fit several people, was sunk in white blocks of stone and surrounded by tiles with black accents. The entire residence was full of such accents, clearly indicating who owned it. Steam had already managed to fill the room, carrying with it a delicate scent of perfume.
Only now, he felt the unpleasant sensation of filth on his skin, so he quickly undressed and immersed himself in the water. He sighed contentedly, stretching and leaning comfortably against the pool wall, sinking in the warm water so that only his head stood above the surface, and closed his eyes. The temperature was higher than usual, but it was good for his tense muscles.
The water splashed when Wolfram joined him, and Yuuri moved slightly in surprise but did not dare to open his eyes. It had been much longer since they had bathed together than since they had slept together, and now he was starting to get a little nervous. He had seen Wolfram naked before, but now, in some way, he thought it was different. His mindset was altered, and he wondered if it was a good idea to look at all.
The splashing continued, and only when it stopped and the water calmed down, did Yuuri hesitantly open one eye. But there was not much to see. Wolfram sat at the other end of the pool, also submerged in water almost up to his neck, leaning his head against a towel laid on the tiles and staring at the ceiling. The perfume added to the water dyed it pink, making it too murky to see anything through it. Slightly disappointing, though his nervousness settled.
"Make sure you wash it off thoroughly," Wolfram instructed, not bothering to look at him.
Yuuri took a breath and dived under the water to cool off his mind. After so many trips, he had already become proficient at holding his breath for long periods. Maybe he could become a professional diver or be attempted to beat some record.
Opening his eyes, he saw only pink. It's not that he expected anything. He was simply curious to see how such colorful water would look from this perspective. It was probably so for Wolfram's sake since he had never used such things.
The water moved again, and Yuuri emerged from the water gasping for air. He rubbed his eyes, glancing at his boyfriend, who had stepped out of the pool and was sitting on its edge near him with a towel wrapped around his waist.
For a moment, he considered sitting next to him, but Wolfram grabbed his arm and pulled him toward him, forcing him to lean against the edge of the pool and rest his head on his knee.
Hands began combing through his hair, rubbing some liquid into his scalp. Wolfram leaned over him, smiling with satisfaction as Yuuri sighed with contentment. Whatever it was, it made him feel pleasantly refreshed.
Several flacons stood nearby, and Wolfram reached for one of them when he was done with his head. An oily substance flowed out into his hand, which he rubbed between both palms, then began to massage it into Yuuri's neck and shoulders. Relaxing warmth began to spread from the places he touched, and the rest of the tension disappeared from his muscles. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling.
Wolfram's hand moved along his arm, and a sudden stab of pain reminded him that he still had a cut there. But the pain quickly disappeared, replaced by the same warmth that embraced the rest of his body.
Yuuri opened one eye and looked suspiciously at Wolfram.
"Are you using maryoku on me?" he asked reproachfully.
Wolfram's hands stopped, and his gaze fled to the side.
"I've already regenerated a bit." He took his hands away, and his shoulders slumped.
Yuuri pulled his head up and stepped back slightly, then grabbed Wolfram's arm and pulled him into the water, drawing him close. He wasn't able to be angry with him when he made such a pained face, but he didn't want him to use his maryoku on him.
He felt like hugging him now but tried to keep his hands to himself. Yet it was difficult to restrain himself, especially as Wolfram was getting more and more nervous. He moved his hands restlessly, roaming his eyes around the bathroom, but avoided looking at Yuuri. The concept of an embarrassed Wolfram was still new to him, but he welcomed it with pleasure and satisfaction.
He ran his hands through his blond hair, brushing aside a few strands that stuck to his face, and a pair of emerald eyes looked at him with such intensity that he became immobile. They were so close together, naked and in hot water. He shifted his gaze to Wolfram's mouth and images from the previous night immediately popped into his mind.
That creature tried to kiss him. It was trying to do something Yuuri had yet to do. At the very thought of this, his blood boiled, and he dipped under the water again to cool off.
Wolfram looked at him strangely when he emerged, and he felt a little silly. He had probably messed up something that could have turned into something more pleasant, and he was unlikely to be able to fix it now.
Then he reminded himself that he still had things to do, so it would be better if he went and took care of them before he did something stupid again.
"I have to get back to work." Yuuri got out of the pool. "Don't sit in the water too long."
But not long after he started looking for a towel, he noticed that there was a lot more steam in the bathroom.
"I mean it. People with low blood pressure shouldn't be in such hot water for too long."
"I can handle it." Wolfram returned to his earlier position, leaning casually against the pool wall and purring contentedly.
" I see you are more comfortable there without me."
"You can't help it if you can't stand a little heat."
"A little heat? I'm sure whoever will go in there now would be cooked instantly."
Wolfram laughed, and Yuuri shook his head, muttering something under his breath about the fire mazoku.
Wolfram was sent back to the residence with a prohibition on leaving right after they recounted in detail, together with Yuuri, what had happened in the underground the previous day. Some of his own people now acted as his guards, not even allowing him to stay alone in the room, given what had happened the previous time.
So he sat in the parlor, sprawled in an armchair, holding a glass of water on his lap and gazing at it with concentration. First, he boiled the water, after which he gave a similar order, but this time he took away the heat completely instead of increasing it. He did it as instinctively as he did during his fight with Burneward, and after a moment, the water in the glass froze.
He didn't think much about it at the time. All he knew was that rapid temperature changes could shatter the stone, and just as he thought, it worked. Only now, holding the glass of ice in his hand, did he realize that he had done something that, in theory, no fire mazoku should be able to do.
The glass was freezing, but it didn't bother him too much. He could feel the coldness, but it didn't seem to penetrate his hand, not even causing him discomfort. Recently, he had a similar feeling with the heat and began to be tempted to put his hand in the fire to test what would happen. However, he has not yet dared.
He put his finger in the glass and touched the ice directly, then took it out and rubbed the fingertip among his other fingers, but not even a hint of coolness remained on it. He melted the ice, boiled the water, then put his finger in it again. Nothing happened to him, and he only felt a pleasant warmth.
He didn't know what he should focus on more - his sudden resistance to extreme temperatures or his ability to create ice. Both things seemed useful, but he could not understand where they came from.
He raised the glass to eye level and froze the water again. With the same ease with which he summoned the fireball.
"Interesting."
Wolfram flinched, almost dropping the glasses from his hands. He was so focused that he didn't hear his father enter the room.
The man came closer and sat in the chair next to him, all the while not letting the glass out of his sight. He took it from Wolfram's hands and looked at it carefully.
"This is rather strange." Wolfram sank deeper into his seat, looking away.
"You think so?" His father returned his glass to him, and Wolfram melted the ice. "In our religion, a lot of writings believe that ice and fire are the same things."
"As if in what way? They do two completely different things."
"It didn't look like you were doing anything different than usual, did it?"
Wolfram shrugged his shoulders and put the glass down on the table.
"Actually, ice is mentioned in the books along with other elements. However, it doesn't have its own guardian or its place in the rituals, which brings up many theories." His father rested his hands on the armrests and smiled slightly, taking on the posture of a teacher, which meant that Wolfram was in for a lecture. "Whenever the elements are mentioned, fire and ice are always side by side, which makes us think that people at that time considered them as one. Like two sides of the same coin. And judging by the attributes of the god of fire, we can assume that he was also the patron of ice." He pointed with his head to the bracelet on Wolfram's wrist.
He ran his hand over two gemstones. Again it seemed to him that the red one was hot and the light blue one was icy.
"There is also a lot of speculation that the former fire mazoku could use both elements, but they lost this ability over time as the magic of all mazoku began to weaken."
His father's eyes began to glow as he looked at him with interest, and Wolfram felt like running away. He had no desire to either start this discussion or become the object of his father's probing. However, if it was as he said and every fire mazoku should be able to create ice as well, he already had an idea of what to focus on during trainings when they returned to the castle.
The soldiers standing by the door shuddered when Wolfram looked at them as if they had already guessed what was on his mind.
"How's it going?" he asked, looking out the window at the camp outside and wanting to draw the topic of conversation away from him.
" We should leave tomorrow morning. I will go to talk to Waltorana, taking a dozen of Gwendal's men with me and escorting the evacuees along the way. And you and His Majesty will return to the castle."
Wolfram tilted his head, not understanding the reason for his emphasis.
"Later, you will have to go to the temple for the purification ritual anyway. However, I would prefer you not to leave the castle alone. I'll come for you when everything is ready."
"And all this time, I will have to walk on a leash?" He pointed his head toward his guards.
"Whatever this thing wanted to accomplish, part of its plans is to kill you, so yes. As long as this thing lives, you have to watch out for yourself."
Now Wolfram regretted not risking burning that thing.
"It could have been worse," his father said tauntingly.
"Oh, really?" He raised an eyebrow, glancing at him.
"Gwendal might have decided to send for Otwin."
"Don't even dare remind him of that option." Wolfram scowled at the thought of it. Otwin was his personal teacher, whom Wolfram had already disliked since childhood. But his uncle and older brother adored him because of how effective he was at making sure he didn't run off anywhere and get into trouble. This man was the main reason for his passionate search for ways to sneak out, and after finding a secret passage in his grandfather's residence, he looked for them everywhere he went.
He put his hand to the red gemstone, wanting to feel the calming warmth.
"How do you feel?" his father asked, and Wolfram looked at him quizzically. "You look like you haven't slept at all."
"I'm fine. And I slept all night."
"So maybe it's the result of a strain on the maryoku. You shouldn't be using it so much."
"I didn't have much of choice."
His father shook his head and rose from his chair, placing a hand on Wolfram's shoulder. At the same time, the door to the parlor opened, and Conrad peeked inside. He smiled at them both and dipped his head.
"Several residents asked about the priest," he said to Wolfram's father.
"Really? In that case, I'd better go see what they need." He put his hand on Wolfram's head and ruffled his hair, then left before he could say anything to him about it.
Conrad was still standing in the doorway staring at him, and Wolfram moved uneasily in his chair, looking away. He felt uncomfortable and didn't quite know how to talk to him.
"Can you manage to ride a horse by yourself tomorrow?"
Wolfram scowled and looked at him.
"I rode back yesterday by myself."
"Yet such a long journey is something entirely different."
"I can manage. It's only tomorrow, so I'll have time to rest. You should rather worry about yourself."
Conrad smiled and raised his hand, placing it in the area where one of the most serious wounds was located.
"By tomorrow, I should have recovered to a state to be able to drive myself. Mainly thanks to the fact that you have already healed the worst wounds."
"So it's better not to do anything to open them. I have no intention of healing them again because of your stupidity."
Conrad smiled in a way that reminded Wolfram of his father even though they weren't related, then backed away and left the parlor.
Alone again, if not counting the soldiers still guarding the door, Wolfram settled back in his chair. Despite having slept through the night, he still felt persistent fatigue, and the doctors told him that this would continue until his maryoku had completely regenerated. He used some to play with ice and heat water, but he had to wait until tomorrow morning anyway, so it didn't make much difference.
It was the middle of summer, so of course, the fire in the fireplace was out. However, there was firewood prepared next to it, and Wolfram wondered whether to light it. He had spent a lot of time earlier in almost boiling water, which was good for his mood, so sitting by a warm fire could make him feel better.