Chapter 1024 Reunion with the Expedition Squad
1024 Chapter 1024 Reunion with the Expedition Squad
After finishing their private meeting with the adventurers guild's leader, Marcus and Mrazivý made their way to the section of the guild hall where the other members of the expedition squad were waiting. They needed to relay what happened after everyone else retreated, return Cassius' sword to his party members, and inform the survivors of Evette's party that she was not dead.
Luckily, when they arrived at the lounge area sectioned off for the members of the expedition, they found that everyone was already gathered and waiting for them.
Naturally everyone was happy to see both Marcus and Mrazivý were still alive. Considering the situation they had been in; it had been assumed that they were killed. Nôv(el)B\\jnn
'Looks like one person is a more delighted to see us alive than the others.' Marcus thought, his eyes moving towards Miguel who wore an extremely relived expression and was covering his face with his hands to hide the tears falling from his eyes. With everything he had been through, believing that he had lost the first friends he had finally opened up to had caused him a great amount of grief. Still, seeing that Marcus and Mrazivý had survived brought him an even greater amount of joy.
"I'm glad to see that the two of you made it out of that battle. When I left with Miguel the situation looked precarious at best. Would you mind telling us what went down afterwards?" Fianna said, acting as the representative of the expedition squad.
Nodding their heads, Marcus and Mrazivý relayed their fabricated series of events to everyone. A few people gave them skeptical looks, but no one called them out. They had just come back from a meeting with the guild's four Grand Masters and the leader of the guild, so whatever they were saying was sure to be how things were officially reported.
"Well, I'm certainly surprised that you guys managed to beat that man, but I am glad that we don't have to worry about him anymore. Plus, I know that Evette's, Cassius', and Adlamin's souls will rest easier knowing you avenged them." Fianna said, wearing a solemn expression.
The other members of the expedition squad lowered their heads at the mention of their fallen comrades, and those from Evette's and Cassius' parties looked especially crestfallen.
Seeing this, Marcus almost came out and revealed that Evette was not dead but held back in the end. The method of her survival was sensitive information that pertained to the Great Spirit of Life. He and Mrazivý had already agreed to only disclose what had become of Evette to her party members.
"I know that it may not be much, but we at least retrieved this." Opening up her item box, Mrazivý took out Cassius' sword Excalibur and held it out towards Dominque. From what they knew, she was not only Cassius' second in command but also his lover. It was only right that they return the sword to her.
Taking the blade from Mrazivý, Dominque held it to her chest and could not help but start sobbing uncontrollably. She had lost both her party's leader and the person she loved. "If it brings you any solace, Cassius fought valiantly until the very end. Without him, I am sure that far more of us would have died. Perhaps we would have even been wiped out. I'm proud to have been able to fight alongside him as a comrade." Mrazivý said, attempting to comfort the members of Cassius' party Round Table.
In response each of them thanked Mrazivý for her kind words before excusing themselves. None of them wanted to have an emotional breakdown in front of a crowd.
Once they had left, Marcus asked Fianna what had happened to everyone that had retreated while they stayed behind to fight.
"There is not much to tell. We simply ran as fast as we could towards the shore and left the island. It was a pretty harsh march since we did not stop out of fear of being pursued by that monstrous man. We ended up attracting a large chain of beasts and monsters, but with a bit of teamwork and perseverance we drove them off. The fight was intense, but I doubt it compared to your battle. That guy was not a normal opponent. I don't know how his power worked, but he seemed practically invincible to me." Fianna remembered how she had shot an arrow through the man's eye, yet somehow, he used his strange ability to bend reality and turn a fatal wound into a missed shot.
"Yeah, he was tough, especially with that power of his. We only barely managed to beat him by keeping the pressure on so that he did not have time to activate his ability." Marcus said, sticking to the story that he and Mrazivý came out victorious.
After catching up with what had happened with the rest of the expedition squad, Marcus and Mrazivý simply chatted with their temporary comrades.
Then once the conversations began to wind down, they took Evette' party off to the side and informed them about her survival.
"Are you certain about this?" Besso the bear beastman of Evette's party asked.
"Yes, I'm sure you figured it out by now, but I am a spirit like Evette. I felt her soul escape just before her form was destroyed. I'm positive that she is still alive and recovering at the side of her lord, the Great Spirit of Life. I don't know what state she is currently in, but if you meet with the Great Spirit of Life, you should be able to learn more."
Bursting into tears of joy, the three remaining members of Evette's party thanked Marcus and Mrazivý with bright smiles on their faces. They had thought they had lost two members of their party but hearing that their leader was still alive helped to lift their worn-down spirits.
With a quick wave goodbye and an assurance that they would pay Marcus and Mrazivý back, Besso, Roseline, and Yinceran took their leave in order to prepare for their journey to find Evette.
"I guess we're done here. Let's head to our room and get some rest." Mrazivý said, stretching her arms and letting out a long yawn. The two of them were still exhausted from the hard-fought battle and the nonstop trek from the center of Haze Island back to the Republic of Eios.
However, before they reached their room, they found Miguel waiting for them. Fidgeting around and looking nervous unlike his usual stoic demeanor.