50. Graveyard (part 1)

Character : Nathan Fiore, Graveyard

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Arriving at the edge of the crater, I realized that the damage we caused to the desert ground is by no means small.

It's just as big as the crater that was formed by the triangle tower's collapse. Our combined origin techniques were not only powerful, but it was also massively areal, which resulted in a very large scale powerful blast.

The question is… can the world's most dangerous man survive such an explosion?

"Ghahhakkk!!!!..."

The answer is… no.

By the time we found him, he was already powerless on the ground. His right hand is missing, and the long slash wound which was caused by Eric is also there. His body is no longer as large as before, and it seems like he has gone back to normal. And now that his skin no longer completely charred black like before, it showed us just how badly wounded he truly is.

As disgusting as his wounds looked, it's still wild to think that he even survived such a blast at point zero. He was at the very center of the blast radius, and the only reason that made sense as to how he survived was because of how powerful his defense ability was.

This showed us that he actually could've come out of the blast even better than this. Had Eric not slash his ankle to make him kneel, or if Jonah didn't create the sand pit to stop his movement, he could've attacked one of us with his light blast and stop at least one origin technique from reaching him. If that were to happen, he could've survived.

But, the 'if's don't matter. The result now is his defeat, and he couldn't move a muscle.

"It's a pity, headmaster. My mother would've loved to see you like this." I said to him coldly as I arrived right next to where he was laying down.

Everyone else stood a few meters away from us, watching in silence while also preparing for anything that might surprise us. They will surely be ready if the headmaster does something crazy, just in case.

"You've truly underestimated us, haven't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so predictable." I said to him one more time to see if he can still communicate, but the headmaster only showed me a soft smile.

"… Fae…"

Hearing that mumbling, I quickly wiped off the smirk off my face and kneeled down right next to him. I placed my ear right above his mouth, and everybody else could only watch as I listened very closely to what the headmaster was saying.

"What is he doing…?" Lily asked out of concern, but no one else could really answer. Everyone only watched as I listened deeply to the headmaster's words, and they began to grow concerned.

After a while, I lifted my head away from the headmaster and turned my gaze to the others. Seeing my expression, everyone was shocked because they weren't expecting to see the kind of face that I'm wearing.

I'm… crying, am I?

"Call Frisena… we're going home."

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.

.

Fast forward after that, Lily proceeds to contact her sister through the communication device. Unfortunately, Frisena's Steelbird had collapsed, but her army still had plenty on reserve.

With the battle being over, every soldier who survived the battle was picked up. The reserved Steelbirds owned by the backup squad were not only massive, but also carried supplies to deal with any wounded. The clean up process began right away, starting with the Steelbird picking up the captured monster.

The headmaster is still alive, and a black red collar was placed on his neck. This collar is a commonly used device that can stop the wearer's usage of origins, mostly used by law enforcers to stop criminals with origins going rogue. And with the headmaster wearing the collar, everyone can rest assured knowing that he will not terrorize the world anymore.

The five heroes who defeated the monster and put a stop to an evil monarch's revival have split up to deal with different things. Frisena allowed us to rest at the new base of the unnamed military group after the battle ended, but everyone was just too on the edge to be taking a rest.

Lily and Nyssa decided to stick around in the battlefield to help out with the cleaning up. Jonah assisted the teachers in investigating the meaning behind the ancient book that they managed to retrieve from the headmaster. Eric, obviously, didn't give a damn about anything and just took the first flight back to the base to rest.

Meanwhile, the headmaster is being transferred to Valkaria to be imprisoned. The Steelbird transferring the headmaster left quite early, accompanied by two other Steelbirds who followed along to accompany the transfer. An entire platoon was basically guarding the headmaster during the transfer, so we can be assured that he will not be able to escape.

The prison will be located in the Valkaria territory. Frisena had already contacted her kingdom to assist with imprisoning the madman, and we decided to lock the headmaster in a highly secured prison for elite criminals.

And for attempting to revive an ancient monarch and his godship, everyone agrees that the headmaster deserves the most secure jail cell possible.

As for me… I was nowhere to be found. I went to a place that I've not yet visited in a short while, even though I technically came here before I went to Ellen for the academy.

Frisena allowed me to take one Steelbird since that same plane is also carrying dead soldiers back to Fiordall. Alongside the heroes who had fallen in the rather short battle against the headmaster, I flew back on the Steelbird alone alongside the pilot towards Fiordall.

But, I plan on being dropped off somewhere else.

"Is it really okay if I drop you off there?" The pilot next to me asked quite concerned after seeing where I wanted to be dropped at, and I nodded firmly at him.

"Yes. By the oasis is fine." I said while pointing at the oasis far in front of us, and the pilot understood.

The Steelbird continued flying until it arrived near the oasis in the middle of the desert, and it slowly descended. I got up from my seat and opened the back hatch to jump off, and the pilot noticed that I would simply jump from the Steelbird despite such height.

My feet landed on the sandy ground after the tall five meters drop, and I lifted a thumbs up at the Steelbird to give the pilot confirmation. The pilot saw me landing just fine, and he closed the hatch from the control board before flying away towards Fiordall.

And now, I am left alone. In the desert, by an oasis.

An oasis that was once a place I call home.

Not too far from the large desert lake is a burned down village that is over seven years old. The area surrounding the village was covered in a tall earthen wall created by earth origin people, possibly to cover it so that no outsider can enter easily.

Not just that. This place is also quite guarded. There's a watch tower at the center of the village keeping an eye on everything that is happening around the place, and the people watching from there definitely know that I have arrived.

As I walked to the front gate that is facing the oasis, I can see that the gate is being opened quite slowly. Three people came out from the gate, and I recognized the old man who was standing at the very front.

"Back so soon, Nathan? I thought you'd be at Ellen by now." The leader of the guards said to me as soon as I got into talking range, and I just chuckled at how right he is.

"Yeah… I should have. Nice to see you again, Uncle Killian." I said as I kept on walking, and the old knight lifted his eyebrows after seeing my clothes.

"You… Did you got into a fight??" Uncle Killian, the leader of the knights guarding the village asked me out of concern. 

It makes me glad that he still considers me as someone he needs to look after, since he was quite close with my father back in the day.

"You'll hear the news soon, uncle. May I visit their grave…?" I asked out of courtesy, and the old man let out a sigh.

"Are you going to dig their graves again…?"

"Actually, yes."

"Well, thank god. I thought you were… What!?" Uncle Killian quickly said after processing what I told him, and I chuckled seeing his reaction.

I explained to him about the things that I've learned from Miss Hilda, about how Mom's grave wasn't actually real. I wanted to find out if this is true or not, and Uncle Killian only let out a sigh.

"Listen, Nate. Whether or not it is real, it's still VERY-VERY disrespectful to open someone's grave."

"Please. It's for an investigation." I pleaded with him while using a serious tone, and Uncle Killian definitely noticed that I'm not doing so to play around.

"If you have a license for asking such things, then I'll allow it!"

"I am the license. Do you not know who I am?" I said jokingly as I walked inside, and Uncle Killian only turned his annoyed gaze.

"Look at this bratty prince, thinking he is all high and mighty because he got adopted by the king!"

"It's a good thing Father was the one who adopted me. Imagine if I got adopted by you?"

"What did you say!?" Uncle Killian lifted his fist from being so angry, and I only laughed at him. He was the one who started it, and yet he lost composure after it backfired.

I appreciate Uncle Killian's kindness very much. If the King of Fiordall didn't adopt me as the second prince, then he would've been the one to take care of me since he is someone very close to my real dad.

Back in the day, he was Dad's right hand guy. When Dad was the strongest knight general of the kingdom, Uncle Killian was the general's assistant. His rank only goes up to the Captain level, but Dad trusts him so much to put him as his assistant. Mostly to have Uncle Killian deal with annoying paper works that my dad doesn't want to do, since he is just like that.