The bright light of the afternoon Sun returned to illuminate the district as the cloud of darkness in the air dispersed. The atmosphere of dread slowly made way to one of painful relief and hope.
One moment, everybody thought that they were going to die.
The very next moment, the world restored to a semblance of how it used to be.
The citizens of the slums were truly frightened out of their wits about what had just happened. The magic battle that had unfolded was so far beyond anything that they had ever fathomed would ever happen to them.
Many were spooked by what they saw, locking themselves up in the slums.
Others screamed in desperation and grief at their collapsed housing, desperately digging through the rubble for those who had been buried within.
The collateral damage to the slums, despite the fact that the master mages fought high in the sky, was not great.
The sheer after-effects of their colossal magic were immense and had scarred the entire district.
Many students and members of the task force collapsed with exhaustion, both physical and mental. Many were already collapsed, unconscious due to the effects of the Master Mordir's heart-crushing spell.
They had labored breathing and pale expressions.
Some had bloodshot eyes as the blood vessels in their eyes burst, causing their eyes to become unnervingly red.
Others bled from several orifices due to more severe bursts in their blood vessels from the mounting pressure on their hearts.
They experienced the most severe and critical injuries that needed urgent care.
And then there were those that simply failed to make it.
Their corpses were strewn closest to where they had originally been when Master Mordir had appeared.
Their bodies were caked with blood and the marks of internal hemorrhaging.
Blood trickled from every orifice in their body.
It was mixed with tears as it emerged from their dead eyes.
The assistants of the task force were not equipped with the same kind of protection afforded to the students, who were each equipped with artifacts that were meant to protect them from just this kind of thing.
Cæ's expression grew grave as his solemn gaze swept across a few corpses closer to the battlefield than others.
They were assistants of the task force who, for one reason or another, had failed to get away from the battlefield by the time Master Mordir had cast his brutal, heart-crushing spell.
They didn't have the interference from the magic artifacts that the students were equipped with to help them experience less pressure from their enemy.
Cæ couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt weighing down on him.
It was an unusual emotion.
Largely because he was hardly ever in a position to feel guilt as opposed to resentment. But this time, he was in precisely that position because he was the director of the entire task force and the program.
That conferred upon him responsibility.
He was directly responsible for their well-being and safety because he had planned and approved the protocols for safety and evacuation.
He couldn't help but feel a pang of not just guilt, but also a hint of uncertainty.
Was there something that he could have done?
Maybe if he had been more cautious, these people would still be alive.
Maybe if he had placed more weight on people's lives, they would still be alive.
Maybe if he had been a little less obsessed with making money, he could have prevented their deaths.
It wasn't as though he had a lot of love and compassion and empathy for the average person, certainly not. But these were people he had worked with for the past two months since the program was announced.
He had come to appreciate their contributions to the program, even if they weren't particularly important individually. Together, the assistants played an indispensable role in the operations that he had conducted.
As much as it would have perhaps suited him to, he couldn't entirely just regard their death apathetically.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH
"They're here!"
"I found them."
"Quick, start performing emergency healing on the collapsed!"
Cæ's internal conflict was interrupted as his attention was drawn to a group of apprentice mages led by a senior mage. They wore magic cloaks with the crest of the Elendir Institute of Magic on the chest, with wands in the holster by their belt, rapidly drawing them to cast diagnostic spells on the collapsed.
WHOOSH
A powerful presence slowly descended from the sky.
Her baggy, black magical cloak floated gracefully as she arrived at the task force.
Her arrival drew the attention of all those who stood about, unable to ignore her presence after what they had just witnessed her capable of doing.
Despite having fought an intense battle, she didn't appear too strained, with a decent amount of mana at her disposal. Behind her were captured, unconscious apprentice mages, as well as the corpse of Master Mordir. A hint of regret and sorrow flickered in the depths of her aged, purple eyes as she beheld the collapsed students and assistants before her gaze shifted to Cæ.
"Mr. Cæ."
Her tone was calm, yet heavy.
She gazed deep into his stormy gray eyes.
"Headmistress…" A faint whisper escaped Cæ.
"I am aware that you are undoubtedly shocked by what has happened, but do not forget that you are still the leader of an active mission in the field," she informed him with a knowing tone. "You have people who are still depending on you."
Her words broke him out of his little state of indecision.
His eyes sharpened with a hint of determination.
He could think more about this later, for now, he had a job to do.
"Quick, every able member coordinate with the healing team to start moving people back, not the buses and trucks!" Cæ announced, quickly picking one injured student who had been diagnosed and emergency-treated in a stretcher. "If we don't have space, then ditch the least important stuff and get everybody in!"
His words shook many students and the assistants out of their shock, spurring them into action.
The clean-up and recovery process continued for a while as everybody rapidly got to work. The emergency healing team that had come to help the injured task force, presumably on the Headmistress's command, quickly diagnosed and issued emergency treatment.
The task force, among whom were still able, quickly transported those people into the trucks.
Cæ was among the most active people in dealing with the aftermath, partially because his Fyreveil armor had offered just enough protection to have most of his problems solved with a simple healing spell.
There were, however, those who were still in emergency healing and in a critical condition.
And those who didn't make it.
Cæ's heart tightened when he saw the corpse of the Shield of Water, Senior Surven, being placed along with the other bodies, covered in a black cloth from head to toe. Cæ would very well not be alive if not for the senior mage who kept an eye over him even as he pushed himself on the battlefield to get more real combat experience.
He had sacrificed himself to stop Master Mordir or delay him as much as possible.
"He will be honored as a hero."
Headmistress Lenolia's tone was sorrowful, yet calm.
Cæ heaved a deep breath.
"I don't think it is wise to continue the final few days, Headmistress."
She nodded lightly.
"I agree. You have done enough. All of you have done enough."
Her eyes grew heavy.
"Leave things to me from here on out."
Cæ wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but regardless, he was glad that the program was complete.
Even though they didn't intend to complete the two final days left in the schedule, the program had been a resounding success overall; they had managed to induct nearly a hundred elite talents across the slums into the Elendir Institute of Magic as new students.
This was a powerful accomplishment that was bound to make a huge impact on the magicademics industry.
Soon enough, they had completed dealing with the immediate aftermath, having gathered what they could, transported all the injured and all the bodies in the trucks, and were all but ready to depart from the slums.
"We need to get back to the Elendir Institute of Magic as fast as possible," Cæ informed the drivers with a serious expression. "Drive as quickly as possible."
"Don't bother, Mr. Cæ."
Headmistress Lenolia, who had remained with the task force the entire time, drew his attention. "It won't be necessary."
Cæ frowned. "Meaning…?"
"Meaning that I have arranged for a quicker means of transport," she informed him with a calm tone, directing a gaze in the direction of the Elendir Institute of Magic, far away. "It should be coming about any time soon… Ah, there it is."
Cæ turned in the direction she was gazing before his eyes widened with shock.
The very fabric of space and time warped as a hole in reality emerged in the distance, widening and growing larger. On the other side of the hole was the Elendir Institute of Magic in all its resplendent magnificence.
The students were thoroughly shocked, but it was the residents of the slums who were truly mind-boggled by what they saw. They gaped at the hole in the very fabric of reality that seemed to tunnel through to a heavenly paradise of a place, especially in sharp contrast to the Graveyard district outside the boundary of the gate.
"This…" Cæ's voice was reduced to a whisper. "This is gate magic."
He recalled it from when he scored high in the magic aptitude test, getting a special invitation from the Elendir Institute of Magic through a gate in space and time. It was one of the most powerful and advanced forms of magic in the country.
"I took the liberty to authorize its usage in this particular case," she remarked. "Now come, let us quickly go."
The task force eventually broke out of it, following her through the gate.
VRMMM…
The trucks and buses pushed through back into the Elendir Institute of Magic, traveling a huge distance in the blink of an eye.
They arrived right before the medical wing of the Elendir Institute of Magic, where the assistants in critical condition and injured students were immediately rushed to for a more thorough treatment.
The bodies were rapidly transported to the same facility for a more appropriate place of storage so that they could be delivered to their loved ones.
Cæ rapidly followed through, wanting to keep an eye on many of his subordinates who were among the injured, like Sorenon.
"Mr. Cæ."
Headmistress Lenolia's voice reached him, drawing his attention.
"Your friends are in good hands," she told him in a calm tone. "We will cover all medical expenses, which means that they will make an absolutely perfect recovery. But for now, please come with me so that we can have an important talk in my office, before I'm swept up in the work that I will be overwhelmed with from this incident."
Cæ clenched his fists as he gazed at her with serious eyes.
"…Fine."
He followed her quietly to her office before shutting the door behind him.
CLACK
"Today was a catastrophe." Cæ's expression hardened with severity. "It was a fiasco and a calamity that could have easily been infinitely worse had the guy we were dealing with not been self-sabotagingly sadistic. This lapse in the intelligence of the threats we faced is not acceptable."
She took a seat at her table, steepling her fingers as she gazed at Cæ with a serious expression.
"You are justifiably angry."
Her tone was sympathetic.
"However, you fail to look at the big picture, Mr. Cæ," she spoke with an almost positive tone. "This incident has not been a catastrophe or a calamity, but an overwhelming victory of great triumph."
Cæ's eyes widened at her words.
"…What?" His tone was stunned. "…What did you just say?"