Chapter 137: Awakened Tournament Crisis (43)

"Eden!"

She broke into a run.

Or at least, what she probably considered a run. Given her injuries, it was closer to an unsteady sprint, but Eden wasn’t about to criticize her technique.

She reached him, dropped to her knees, and threw both arms around his shoulders.

"Eden! You made it!"

The force of the hug nearly knocked the remaining air out of his lungs.

"Ugh— Lucy..."

She tightened her arms around him.

"We won! We actually won! The monster is gone, and we’re alive, and you—"

"Lucy."

She pulled back slightly, her bright blue eyes searching his face.

"...What?"

"Take it easy. I think you might have just broken whatever bones I had left."

Her expression immediately changed.

"Oh! I’m sorry!"

She loosened her grip, but she didn’t let go completely.

For a few seconds, she simply looked at him, as though she needed to confirm that he was really there.

Then her face softened.

"You scared me."

Eden’s teasing smile faded.

Lucy lowered her gaze.

She swallowed.

"I thought you might have..."

Her voice trailed off.

Eden understood what she had been trying to say.

He looked at her battered face, at the trembling hands she was trying so hard to keep still, and felt something tighten in his chest.

He had spent so much of his life focusing on strength that it was easy to forget what his actions meant to the people around him.

To him, unleashing everything he had been an obvious choice. The monster had to die, and he had possessed the means to kill it.

But to Lucy, it had been watching someone she cared about charge into an attack that could have killed him.

He reached up with considerable effort and gently patted her head.

"I’m here."

Lucy went still.

Eden managed a tired smile.

"And so are you. That’s what matters."

Her cheeks turned pink.

"...You really shouldn’t say things like that so casually."

"Like what?"

"Nothing!"

She quickly looked away, but the smile returning to her face betrayed her.

Then she noticed his condition properly.

"You can’t even stand, can you?"

"I can stand."

"Really?"

"...Absolutely."

"Then stand up."

Eden stared at her.

Lucy stared back.

Several seconds passed.

"...I hate you."

"Come on. Put your arm around my shoulder."

She carefully helped him rise.

The moment Eden tried to put weight on his legs, his knees threatened to buckle. Lucy immediately tightened her grip around his waist, pulling him against her to keep him upright.

His arm rested across her shoulders, and he leaned against her more heavily than either of them had anticipated.

Lucy froze.

Her face turned a deeper shade of pink.

’He’s... really close.’

Eden, meanwhile, was focused on a far more pressing matter.

"Lucy."

"Y-Yes?"

"If I fall over, we’re both going down judging by the way you’re helping me."

"S-sorry."

"Just making sure."

She adjusted her grip and began helping him walk across the ruined battlefield.

They didn’t have to walk far before they encountered the others.

Jax was leaning heavily against Elio, helping the silver-haired Awakened navigate the rubble. Elio looked as though he had been dragged through a battlefield, which, to be fair, was exactly what had happened.

Jax glanced at Eden.

Then at Lucy, who was supporting him.

Then back at Eden.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

"Wow. You two look cozy."

Lucy immediately stiffened.

"Shut up."

"I didn’t even say anything!"

"You were thinking it!"

"That’s an outrageous accusation. I would never think something so obvious."

Eden sighed.

"Jax, I’m going to make you regret surviving this."

"Oh what, are you going to chase me around in a wheelchair?"

"At this rate I really might."

"That’s the spirit!"

Elio groaned.

"Could both of you shut up? My head is killing me."

Jax patted his shoulder.

"Ah, sorry Gramps! I keep forgetting how weak you old folks are."

Despite their exhaustion, the exchange brought a small measure of normality back to the group.

Not far away, Sophia was helping Kael out from beneath a pile of debris. The gray-haired Awakened was battered, his clothing torn and his hair covered in dust, but he was apparently more concerned with his own dramatic narration than his injuries.

"Ah... such is the burden of the protagonist. Even in victory, I must endure countless hardships."

Sophia stared at him.

Sophia let out a long sigh and continued helping him walk.

Sonne and Alexis soon joined the group, with Luvian following a short distance behind them. All three were battered and exhausted, but none appeared to have suffered anything that would immediately threaten their lives.

Alexis took one look at the destroyed stadium and whistled.

"So what’s next? We create a super powerful raid group? A guild perhaps?"

Luvian resisted the urge to facepalm.

"Yeah, no. I’m out."

"You’re just jealous you weren’t the one who did the finishing blow."

"Watch your mouth, Cyan Boy."

"Uh-huh."

Luvian looked toward Eden and Elio.

"...Still, I’ll admit it. That was impressive."

Coming from him, it was practically a heartfelt compliment.

Eden raised an eyebrow.

"Did you hit your head?"

"Say another word and I’ll finish what the monster started."

Sonne shook her head, but she was smiling faintly.

For a while, they simply stood together amid the devastation.

The reality of what they had accomplished was slowly beginning to settle in.

Alexis finally broke the silence.

"So... who won the tournament in the end?"

Everyone turned toward him.

He raised both hands.

"What? I’m just asking!"

Elio covered his face with one hand.

Lucy shook her head in disbelief.

Eden, however, looked toward the ruins of the stadium.

He wondered how the Association would explain this to the public.

’Actually, no. That’s their problem.’

He had more important things to worry about.

Like finding somewhere to sleep.

And making sure nobody tried to interrogate him before he had recovered.

A rumble could be heard a considerable distance away.

Figures were approaching from beyond the devastated landscape, moving rapidly across the broken terrain. At their head was Neville.

The S-Rank leader of Silver Wing slowed as he reached the edge of the ruined battlefield.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

He simply stared.

The stadium was gone.

The ground had been split open for kilometers, and the remains of the S-Rank monster were nowhere to be seen. The air still carried the faint residue of two extraordinary Essences, one purple and one crimson, whose combined pressure seemed to linger over the entire region.

Behind Neville, members of his strike team gradually came to a stop.

One of them muttered a curse.

Another simply stared with his mouth open.

Neville’s gaze traveled across the devastated landscape, taking in the enormous trench, the shattered remains of the arena, and the scattered debris that stretched as far as he could see.

Then he looked toward the group of battered young Awakeneds standing near the center of the destruction.

Neville slowly exhaled.

’What the hell happened here?’

His shoulders slowly relaxed.

A faint smile appeared on his face, and the tension that had been building in his expression finally eased.

He had spent the last several minutes fighting his way out of a sealed S-Rank dungeon, uncertain whether the stadium had already fallen and whether the civilians under his protection were still alive.

"Seems like they didn’t even need us."