Chương 83: Lealia’s Decision (2)

Lealia's very first instinct had been to renounce her title as a Hero Candidate altogether. Within a few incredibly brief days, her world had fractured and shifted so drastically that she felt like a solitary leaf caught in the vortex of a raging storm. She had no control over anything; she didn't know where she was heading, nor did she have any concept of what choice would be for the best. Then, she met Asher—a boy who appeared to be exactly her age—at the celebration banquet following the Debut Ceremony.

He possessed a frame far smaller than most boys his age, yet his gaze was entirely distinct. It was the gaze of a person who seemed to comprehend exactly what he wanted and what he must do. He knew so much, harboring a sense of profound wisdom and calm that Lealia rarely observed even in grown adults. A person like that naturally invited the trust of others.

To someone wandering lost within a cold, suffocating fog like Lealia, Asher's existence was akin to a flickering wisp of firelight, unconsciously drawing her toward him. She had harbored a fragile hope that following it would lead her somewhere, anywhere but here. Yet, the further she followed that light, the denser the fog seemed to grow. The old patterns repeated themselves, and the lies resurfaced.

A part of Lealia desperately wanted to believe they were merely harmless untruths meant for her own protection, but another part of her rebelled against it. If he could lie so casually about everything else, then had he also lied when he looked her in the eye and said he truly believed she was worthy? If not, why could the people around her never stop lying to her? Was it because she was truly someone who didn't deserve to be believed in?

That was precisely why, when Asher attempted to conceal the fact that the town's water wells were at risk of contamination from the rest of Grasiva, Lealia had refused to comply. She was utterly exhausted by calculated ambiguities and half-truths engineered under the righteous guise of "doing what was best" for others. She didn't believe she had done the wrong thing, yet the look on Asher's face at that exact moment had stubbornly refused to leave her mind in the days that followed.

Why had he looked so profoundly hurt when he was the one who had lied? How could he claim she was worthy, while simultaneously refusing to share a single genuine thought with her? Why is it that when she voiced her doubts, rather than offering an explanation, he simply decided on his own that she wouldn't understand? From that point on, Asher began doing everything entirely alone.

He tracked down the source of the contaminated stream by himself; he rode out into the torrential rain toward the landslide by himself; he single-handedly made the decision to scale the mountain to uncover the root cause of the Miasma outbreak. That was the exact moment Lealia realized he was never a wandering, aimless wisp of firelight. He was a blazing, flaming arrow surging relentlessly forward. Even if she chose not to pursue him, that arrow would still fly true, eventually disappearing into the deep mist.

Lealia was abruptly jolted awake by a heavy knocking at the door. She had slumped over the wooden table in the communal living area, drifting off to sleep while waiting up for Asher's group to return. By now, the sky had turned a pale, pre-dawn grey, and the rain continued to patter softly against the roof. Springing to her feet like a coiled wire, Lealia rushed forward and yanked open the door. Yet, only a single figure stood on the threshold, and it wasn't Asher.

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"… Jonas? Why are you alone? Where are the others?" Jonas stepped inside, stripping off his saturated straw rain-cloak, his entire demeanor radiating bone-deep exhaustion. The boots on his feet were caked in thick mud; his face and hands had turned a deathly pale from prolonged exposure to the freezing rain. Lealia quickly grabbed a nearby towel, handing it to him to dry off and retain some warmth. Wiping the rainwater from his hair and face, Jonas muttered heavily, "Gather the rest of the group down here.

I'll explain everything once everyone is present." Despite her desperate urge to ask about Asher's condition, Lealia complied, quickly waking Iris and the remaining guards. Once the entire party had assembled in the tense room, Jonas broke the news regarding the abandoned church and the gruesome Miasma experimentation occurring within its sub-cellar.

"…That was what Nathan told me the moment he got out of the hatch," Jonas explained, his voice grim.

"He instructed me to head down here immediately to report the situation to the remaining Hero candidates, so that the two of you could evacuate the townspeople to safety. As for him… he stated he was heading out to scout the alternative mountain trail on the opposite side of the ridge, and required Mantir to accompany him as protection."

"And what about Asher? Where is Asher?!" Lealia asked, her throat tight.

"Nathan didn't tell me the details," Jonas admitted, shifting his gaze.

"He only stated that Asher would find his own way out later…" Lealia clenched her fists so hard her knuckles turned white. A subterranean laboratory swarming with lethal Miasma, bloodthirsty ghouls, and sadistic cultists—how could Asher possibly survive down there entirely on his own? Could he be dead, and Nathan simply lacked the heart to say it out loud? Jonas pressed on, breaking her train of thought.

"Regardless of the logistics, we need to mobilize and evacuate this entire settlement immediately to guarantee their safety." Iris began pacing the room in circles, frantically biting her thumbnails.

"There are barely ten of us left here. How are we supposed to convince over a thousand civilians to abandon their homes and leave all at once?"

"We do exactly what we did last time when we exposed the contamination of the water supply," Lealia countered firmly.

"We must go straight to the mayor." Iris shook her head vehemently.

"But… even if we manage that, organizing an evacuation of that scale will take more than half a day. Factor in the time it takes for them to pack their belongings and assemble the crowd, and we will lose an entire day… If the forces up on that mountain intend to launch an assault, they will have completed their preparations by then. Furthermore, will the townspeople even believe our warnings? What if the pathways suffer another landslide while we're exposed?"

"Then do you have a better alternative?" Lealia challenged.

"Uprooting a thousand civilians is simply beyond our current capacity," Iris muttered defensively, her voice trembling.

"If we're destined to be too late regardless, then perhaps… perhaps we should just follow our original contingency plan. We leave this place immediately, make it to safety, and report the threat to the Holy Church so they can dispatch an army to handle it." Hearing Iris's proposition, Jonas knit his brows in sharp disapproval.

"Absolutely not. There is a substantial horde of ghouls up there, and the air itself is thick with Miasma. If we fail to alert the people, they will be caught entirely defenseless. Asher explained to us that ghouls have entirely lost cognitive function; tracking their way down from the mountain ridges to the town will take them some time. If we mobilize immediately, we can still outrun them." Iris shot back, "And what about the Miasma? How long before the toxic gas cascades down into this valley?

It's an airborne, it will travel infinitely faster than a horde of corpses!" Jonas faltered, his confidence wavering.

"That… I cannot say for certain…" A heavy, suffocating silence blanketed the room as realization dawned that no one present knew exactly what path to take. It was only in this precise moment of stagnation that Lealia realized something: she and the others had never actually been forced to make a single critical decision on this journey until now. There had always been someone there to offer strategic council, provide vital intelligence, and map out a comprehensive plan for them to execute.

That person had been Asher. And now, he wasn't here. Lealia didn't even know if he was still breathing. If Asher is dead… The sheer weight of that thought made it physically difficult for her to draw breath. Regardless of what his hidden motives or secrets truly were, Asher had arrived at this desolate outpost to serve as her personal aide. From the very beginning of this perilous journey, he had been the one to nurture her, guide her steps, and stand firmly by her side.

Despite the handful of mysteries and calculated lies, Lealia had never once felt that Asher would ever orchestrate anything to bring her harm. On the contrary, he was always the very first person to hurl himself directly into danger simply to carve out a path of survival for everyone else. A man like that did not deserve to be met with cold suspicion, especially not from the very person he had consistently supported and shielded. Not from Lealia.

And now, when he was the one who needed salvation, she was going to be the one to provide it.