Chapter 74: A Desperate Rescue Operation

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When people are in emotional turmoil, the passage of time feels excruciatingly slow.

Zenith felt as though her tears had dried up.

Her hair was disheveled, her face haggard, and her gaze vacant as she stared at the valley before her.

Shadows of people moved about.

Almost all the adult men of Buena Village had come to help dig through the snow. The news of the tragedy had reached the village late last night, and the rescue operation had begun immediately.

Eradicating monsters was supposed to be the responsibility of the entire village. In the face of the monster outbreak, the villagers had been too afraid to properly clear the monsters in Paul's absence, leaving behind this "root of disaster." Allen, Paul, and the others had risked their lives to venture into the valley to exterminate the monsters, and the villagers were deeply grateful for their bravery.

Everyone grabbed shovels and wooden pitchforks from their homes and, under the cover of night, followed Paul into the forest.

Strangely, while there had been a few clusters of monsters at the edge of the forest, the closer they got to the valley, the fewer monsters they encountered. By the time they reached the valley's entrance, they had been digging from late night until now.

Not a single monster had appeared.

"Everyone, keep going!!"

Paul's hoarse voice rang out from the front. He looked utterly exhausted, his face unshaven, with dark circles under his eyes. Despite this, he continued to dig efficiently.

Yet, even so, the snow at the valley's entrance remained unbroken.

It hadn't snowed all day, and the setting sun cast its light over Zenith's blank expression.

It had been a full twenty-four hours since Allen and Sylphie had fallen into the valley.

"I shouldn't have let them go into the forest. It's my fault, it's my fault..."

"Madam... Allen is strong. He'll be fine..."

"It's my fault... It's my fault..."

Lilia looked at Zenith's expression. Her own face was numb, her red hair disheveled and draped over her shoulders. Lilia knew her words were just empty comfort.

The situation had been explained to everyone last night.

This wasn't just a simple matter of the valley entrance being blocked by an avalanche.

The two had fallen from halfway up the cliff...

No matter how strong Allen was, falling from a height of over a hundred meters... If they hadn't found a way to stop their fall immediately, the two of them likely...

Lilia quickly shook her head, trying to dispel the unsettling thought.

She reached out to tighten Zenith's robe. Zenith's exposed skin had already turned blue. The two of them had been awakened late at night and, ignoring Paul's protests, had hastily thrown on coats and left the house. They had asked a neighbor to look after their children before rushing into the forest.

When Zenith saw the valley buried under the avalanche with her own eyes, she froze. Her expression twisted several times before she collapsed to the ground and began to cry silently.

By dawn, she had been repeating the same words, and she hadn't stopped since.

As an adventurer, she must have understood just how dire the situation was.

And how slim the chances of survival were for the two.

As for Rudy, who was usually so composed and mature beyond his years...

Lilia turned to look at him.

Rudyus was wrapped in a blanket, crouched on the ground, staring at the snow before him. He looked utterly dazed, as if he hadn't fully woken up, detached from the world.

If Zenith's breakdown was visible, Rudyus's was more subdued.

But while Zenith was still willing to eat, Rudyus had remained in this position, unmoving, as if curling up like this could help him escape the reality he was facing. By keeping his head down, he could avoid seeing the rescue operation in the distance.

This cowardly demeanor was something Lilia had never seen before.

But perhaps this was how a child should react.

Because of this, everyone understood and allowed him to sit there. After all, as a child, he couldn't contribute much to the rescue effort, and as a mage, Paul had forbidden him from using magic.

The current situation was that while Rudy's wind and fire magic could be more efficient, Paul feared it might trigger another avalanche. If used sparingly, wind magic would be too slow and might cause the snow to collapse, while fire magic would melt the snow, and in the current temperature, it would freeze into ice, making the rescue effort even more difficult.

So he was left here.

Thinking this, Lilia walked over to Rudy, crouched down, and handed him a piece of bread that had frozen solid.

Rudy took the bread with a dazed expression and politely thanked Lilia.

Then he stuffed it into his coat and continued to sit in silence.

Lilia opened her mouth to say something but ultimately sighed.

Rudy's coat was already filled with several pieces of bread.

Every time she handed him bread, she would hug him and say things like, "You've worked hard," or "It's not your fault," to comfort him.

But there was no smile.

He would thank her and could hold a clear conversation, but his expression remained distant, as if he were in a dream.

She watched him for a while before turning to look at Paul, who was directing the digging in the distance. She took a new piece of bread from the basket and was about to bring it to him.

But then, Rudy spoke up.

"Lilia, what do you think Allen was feeling when he saved me?"

Lilia was stunned and quickly turned to look at Rudy.

Rudy was staring at the snow at his feet, as if he didn't expect an answer from Lilia. He continued speaking.

"If it were me, I would have saved them too. Because just thinking about their bodies possibly lying in front of me like two piles of meat would make me regret it. So I would save them. Even if I were unlucky and ended up as a pile of meat myself, at least in that moment, I would be sure I had tried to save them."

Lilia was taken aback, her lips trembling as she struggled to find the right words.

But Rudy lifted his head and stared blankly at her.

Lilia felt his gaze was distant. Even though he was looking at her, she knew he wasn't really seeing her.

Rudy's puzzled voice drifted to her ears.

"...I know I would have tried to save them. Even if they were strangers, I would have tried. So why... why was I the one who was saved?"

Lilia was stunned.

Rudy's words came faster and more fluently. He stared at the snow, his words spilling out like a rapid-fire barrage.

"My mana reserves are huge. If I had used my wind magic at full power, maybe I could have blown us back to Father. So why was I the one who was saved? Why didn't I save them?"

"I always talk about how Allen spouts pretty words, but when it comes to myself, all I can do is say pretty words and then torture myself with them. Is that all I'm capable of?"

"When Allen saved me, I saw it clearly. He didn't hesitate at all. Did he know he might die? Or was he just like me, making a choice he wouldn't regret?"

"We had the same resolve, so why am I the one sitting here filled with regret? Lilia, I don't understand."

Rudy looked up at Lilia, who was struggling to find the right words to interrupt him. Beside them, Zenith had covered her face and lowered her head.

"Or maybe Allen didn't even think about whether he would regret his choice. Maybe he just wanted to save me, so he did it. Is that it?"

The air between the three of them froze. Rudy looked at Lilia as if waiting for an answer—or perhaps waiting for her to scold him, to give him the response he wanted.

This direct line of questioning reminded Lilia of Allen during the night of the affair.

But back then, Allen had been interrogating others. Now, Rudy was interrogating himself.

In the nearly two years since then, how many people had Allen, like a butterfly, caused to change?

Lilia couldn't speak.

"Ah!!!"

But at that moment, a shout came from where the snow was being dug. Almost simultaneously, Rudy and Zenith sprang to their feet and ran toward the sound, with Lilia close behind.

When the three of them arrived, they, along with Laws, his wife, and Paul—all looking equally haggard—froze in place.

The snow at the digging site hadn't been fully cleared, but its color had changed.

Next to the shovel that a villager had dropped in horror...

The snow was a sticky, dark purple.

Everyone who saw this felt a chill in their hearts.

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 125 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 60 power stones I will publish the next chapter.