Turning
chapter-286

"Hasn’t it ended?"

"No. Calm down, Yuder."

Kanna strained to hold back Yuder, who was attempting to hastily move.

"How long was I unconscious? Where are we?"

"We're at the Western Mage Union's base. The Commander brought you here, and it hasn't been long since Priest Lusan finished your treatment."

That meant the battle with Pethuamet had ended just a few hours ago. A dreadful thought crossed his mind, wondering if Pethuamet, whom he thought he had killed, hadn't actually died completely. Even if that wasn't the case, there was still the possibility that the remaining monsters could cause problems.

'What's going on? What about Kishiar...'

The moment he bit his lip, Kanna responded as if reading his thoughts with a firm voice.

"Don't worry, the reason isn't what you think. The noise outside is because the mages and our side are arguing."

"Arguing? Why?"

"Why indeed?"

Kanna sighed, stroking the back of Yuder's hand.

"The Commander ordered that even when you wake, you must not go outside. So you mustn't move from here until Priest Lusan comes back."

Yuder fell silent for a moment before turning his head toward where Kanna was likely situated.

"Is he... angry?"

"Wouldn't it be odd if he wasn't?"

"I'm also angry, you know. I might not look like it, but I'm really mad." Kanna mumbled, her voice barely audible as she stared at Yuder's hand, her words hinting at concerns for what was to come.

"...Anyway, one thing's for sure, I've never seen the Commander's face like that when he brought you..."

Yuder couldn't see Kanna's blue eyes looking out into the distance. Clearing her thoughts, Kanna gazed at the thick bandages covering Yuder's eyes, letting out a long sigh.

"...But Yuder, aren't you curious about what we've been doing for the past three days? A lot of surprising things happened, don't you want to hear?"

Despite knowing that her words were aimed to divert his attention, Yuder couldn't help but respond.

"What happened?"

"Well, Prince Ejain... he awakened."

All sounds from outside that were reaching his ears disappeared in his mind at that moment. Yuder felt the silence, clearly waiting for his reaction, and licked his lips in disbelief.

"Awakened?"

"Yes. The same awakening as us. What, not surprised?"

Of course, he was surprised. However, not because Ejain had awakened, but because of the timing of his awakening.

Prince Ejain should have awakened later, not now. How he awakened in his past life was not publicly known, but it was widely known that the lackluster succession dispute ended abruptly with Ejain's awakening.

So, even if the timing of his awakening differed from his previous life, he had expected it to occur after he returned to Nelarn, not during his time with the Cavalry. His mind spun quickly.

"No, I'm also surprised. How did it happen?"

"It was when we arrived at the location where his followers were waiting. The number of people was far fewer than the prince originally stated, and it didn't feel right. As expected, the traitors attacked the prince's followers and were hiding there for a surprise attack."

The traitors were quickly subdued by the Cavalry, but a few managed to escape into the woods. Prince Ejain decided to take upon himself the arduous task of questioning them personally, then ending their lives.

However, during a brief moment of vulnerability, one of the captured traitors charged at the prince, intending to kill him. It was a hair-raising moment of deadly danger, yet a miracle happened then. Prince Ejain had awakened.

"I was truly surprised. I've never seen such an ability. Do you know what it was?"

"No."

Although he knew, Yuder merely shook his head in silence.

"A bright light burst forth. When I opened my eyes after shielding them, the man who was charging to attack was dead, and there was something around the prince, radiating a mysterious aura. At first, I thought it was just a mass of light, but when I looked closer... it was stone."

Listening to Kanna's astonished voice, Yuder gave a slight nod.

'As I thought.'

Yuder felt a slight relief at the realization that Ejain's ability, which he was familiar with, had manifested in the same way in this life as well.

In his previous life, Ejain was known as the Silver King followed by the Six Stars. That title was bestowed upon him because of the six masses of light that would circle around him, protecting their master. Very few knew the fact that inside the brilliantly radiant light were simply ordinary-looking stones.

Yuder wouldn't have known this either if he hadn't met Ejain personally. Perhaps because he thought it wasn't very impressive, Ejain himself didn't widely publicize this fact either.

Still, Ejain used those masses of light to exert a more powerful defensive power than anyone else. After his awakening, there was no one who could physically injure him. That was the very reason he was also known as the Guardian of the Barrier.

'Perhaps the Ejain of the previous life awakened due to similar reasons.'

It felt quite ironic that the only weapon the Prince, who had been thrown into life-threatening danger countless times, managed to acquire was a few ordinary stones. No matter how much they shone, in the end, they were just stones.

"Everyone was surprised. Even the prince himself was so startled, he didn't know what to do. But we still had to catch the remaining traitors, so we went after them... It turned out there was no need for us to chase them. Some people had already taken care of them."

Kanna's voice fell low.

"As it turns out, they were Awakeners staying at the Star of Nagran outpost in the Great Sarain Forest."

Yuder jerked his head up. The mention of the Star of Nagran, which he had momentarily forgotten in his dazed state since woken up, brought back his memories.

"If you mention Star of Nagran, I think... I've seen it too."

"Yeah. I've heard. The people you met were from Star of Nagran, and so were the ones we met. Thanks to them, we were able to return without being too late."

"What do you mean? ...Did we do more than just encounter Star of Nagran?"

"Don't be surprised. We've been to the village where those people live. So, to be precise, we visited one of the outposts of Star of Nagran that I mentioned before."

"What?"

They had been to an outpost created by Star of Nagran? How did that happen? The more he heard, the more questions he had. When he tilted his head in confusion, Kanna let out a pleased snort, as if she had gotten the reaction she wanted.

"I told you it would be surprising. Who could have expected the subordinates of that person, who almost got killed by the traitors while on the mission to escort the prince from the Great Sarain Forest, were rescued and staying with those people?"

Kanna continued the tale, jesting now but expressing how she had genuinely broken out in a cold sweat back then.

The Cavalry members stood in stunned silence as they surveyed the bodies scattered before them. The man who had just used his bare hands to impale and kill the last traitor, now discarded the corpse and furrowed his brow at them. Despite being dressed like an ordinary huntsman, he couldn't hide his grotesquely hardened fingers, which seemed as solid as iron. Kanna suspected that he was undoubtedly an Awakener.

"What's this? More of them? Are you with those scum too?"

"On the contrary. We were chasing them."

"Oh... I see? Our folks said those guys are terribly bad news. Hmm. I don't know who to believe."

The man gestured dismissively toward his companions standing behind him. Every single one of them appeared to be severely injured and gazed warily at the Cavalry members.

'Those injured don't seem to be Awakeners... What kind of group are they?'

In the midst of her confusion, the tension spiked sharply. A moment later, Prince Ejain, who had appeared with a pale face, opened his eyes wide and his mouth hung agape.

"...You are?"

"Wait, the Prince?"

The injured all exclaimed in unison.

"So, the person you've been waiting for has finally arrived?"

The Awakener casually shrugged, cupping his ear as if straining to hear their response. They didn't head towards the pile of bodies in the lodge, but instead towards a village the man guided them to, where a few more of Ejain's surviving subordinates were still lingering.

"Well... Normally they would fuss about it, but since the guests we worked hard to save were waiting for this person, and since you're all Awakeners, I guess they'll let it slide this time. But, everything you've seen here must remain a secret."

Initially, they didn't believe it, but indeed there was a village where the man led them. The man guiding them revealed a knowing smile, as if understanding their shock at discovering a perfectly ordinary village hidden deep within the dense and gloomy Great Sarain Forest.

"No one knows we live here. It was quite an effort to hide it with our abilities. Things are getting a little dicey as the number of people increases, but... unless those distant mages get involved, a little exposure is not a big deal in my opinion. As long as the village isn't revealed, anyone we come across just assumes we're nomads and moves on."

The man speculated that the Cavalry members were followers of Ejain. Ejain, meeting his subordinates whom he never thought he would see again, blushed at the corners of his eyes a few times during their conversation.