Chapter 344: Homecoming

The SUV slowed as it approached Mythal. Leo immediately leaned toward the window. "Is that it?"

Mina looked up from her phone. "What?"

"Mythal!"

She smiled. "Yes."

Leo pressed closer to the glass as the city came into view, and for a moment he didn’t say anything. He’d heard plenty about what happened, the disasters, the destruction, the casualties, the battles, but seeing Mythal with his own eyes was different.

There were still damaged buildings, one apartment complex missing an entire section of its upper floors, several roads under repair, a few buildings reduced to empty lots. But most of the city was standing. And more importantly, it was moving.

Construction crews were everywhere, large trucks carrying steel beams through the streets, excavators clearing rubble from damaged buildings, cranes lifting new sections of concrete into place, workers in safety gear moving between construction sites. Mixed among them were Hunters, some carrying materials far heavier than ordinary people could manage, others using their abilities to stabilize damaged structures. A Hunter with an earth-based Mage class stood beside several construction workers, manipulating the ground beneath a new foundation, while another used wind magic to lift materials toward a higher floor. Near one of the damaged streets, several Hunters helped workers move twisted metal away from a collapsed section of a building. The Astral Church had set up temporary stations throughout the city as well, healers treating injured workers, support Hunters helping stabilize damaged mana conduits.

Everywhere Leo looked, people were working.

"They’re rebuilding," Mina said quietly.

"They started almost immediately," Kai nodded.

Leo continued staring through the window. "I thought it would be worse."

Kai glanced at him. "So did everyone."

"How much of the city got destroyed?"

"Enough."

"That’s not an answer."

"You’ll have to ask someone else," Kai smiled.

"Why?"

"Because I was busy."

"Doing what?"

"Surviving."

Leo stared at him. "...Fair."

The SUV passed through an intersection, and Leo suddenly pointed. "Wait! That building."

"The shopping center?"

"Yeah. It was damaged."

"It’s already open," Kai nodded. "They repaired it."

Leo looked impressed. "That’s fast."

"People needed the stores."

They drove farther into the city, Leo pointing at everything. "Was that damaged?"

"Yes."

"That?"

"Yes."

"That one?"

"No."

"What about that?"

"Definitely."

Mina laughed. "You’re going to ask about every building, aren’t you?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Kai asked.

"Because I want to know what happened." Leo’s expression grew more serious. "How bad was the disaster?"

Kai was quiet for a moment. "Very."

"How very?"

He thought about it. "There were six separate calamities."

Leo’s eyes widened. "Six?"

"One after another."

"What happened?"

"Storms. Floods. Fire. Frost and some other annoying things."

Leo stared at him. "And you fought all of that?"

"The Hunters did."

"You did too."

Kai smiled slightly. "Yeah."

Leo looked outside again. "What about that giant hole?"

"Don’t worry about it."

"That’s not an answer."

"It was complicated."

"Did you make it?"

"No."

Leo narrowed his eyes. "You hesitated."

Mina covered her mouth to hide a laugh.

Kai sighed. "It wasn’t me."

"Was it Sera?"

Sera, sitting in the front passenger seat, glanced back. "Why am I getting blamed?"

"Because you’re strong."

"That’s not how evidence works."

Leo nodded thoughtfully. "Okay." A few seconds passed. "Was it Lily?"

"No."

"Elden?"

"No."

"Raze?"

Sera answered immediately. "Probably."

From the back seat, Raze wasn’t there to defend himself.

Leo laughed. "See?"

Kai shook his head. "You’ve been talking to Raze too much."

They continued through the city, the streets busy again, cars moving through repaired intersections, buses running, restaurants reopened, people carrying shopping bags, children walking beside their parents. A few temporary shelters still remained, but workers were already dismantling them as families returned to their homes.

Leo watched one family carrying boxes toward an apartment building. "They’re coming back too."

"Most of the people who evacuated have returned," Kai nodded.

"That’s good," Mina said, looking outside.

"Yeah."

The SUV eventually turned onto a familiar street. Leo sat up. "I know this place."

"You remember?" Kai asked.

"Of course."

The vehicle stopped in front of their old apartment building, and Leo immediately opened the door. "We’re here."

Mina got out after him, Kai following. Leo looked up at the building. It had survived. There were still signs of damage around it, but repairs had already been completed, the windows replaced, the exterior cleaned, the entrance repaired.

Leo smiled. "It’s still here."

"Yeah," Mina nodded.

They entered the building, and the elevator took them upstairs. When the doors opened, Leo walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the apartment. Mina unlocked the door, and it opened.

Everything was familiar. The furniture was still there, the couch, the table, the television, the kitchen, the small decorations they’d left behind. Leo walked inside, looked around, then dropped his bag and collapsed onto the couch.

"Finally."

Mina laughed. "Long trip?"

"Very."

"You spent most of it sitting."

"Exactly."

Kai leaned against the doorway. "That’s not exactly difficult."

"It is when you sit for hours."

Sera smiled. "I think he’s right."

Kai looked at her. "Don’t encourage him."

Leo stretched across the couch. Then his expression slowly changed as he looked around the room, the smile disappearing.

He sighed. "...Nothing feels like home."

Mina stopped. Kai looked at him.

Leo stared at the ceiling. "It’s the same place." He looked around. "Same couch. The same table. The same TV." He paused. "But..." He couldn’t quite explain it. "It doesn’t feel the same."

Mina sat beside him. "Because you changed?"

He shrugged. "Maybe." His eyes moved toward the window. "Everything changed." He looked at Kai. "You were fighting."

Kai didn’t answer.

Leo smiled faintly. "And we were somewhere else."

Mina gently touched his shoulder. "We’re back now."

He nodded. "I know."

The room became quiet. Kai looked around the apartment. It had once been enough. But things were different now. They had survived things none of them should have had to experience. They had seen the city nearly fall. They had watched people fight to protect it. And now they were trying to return to normal.

Kai looked at Mina, then Leo. "If you’re not comfortable here anymore..."

Both looked at him.

"Would you be okay with moving?"

Leo sat up. "Moving?"

Kai nodded. "We can find a new place."

Mina blinked. "A new apartment?"

"Maybe." He smiled. "Or a house."

Leo’s eyes widened. "A house?"

"We can go look at some." He paused. "And you two can pick whichever one you want."

Leo stared at him. Mina stared at him too.

For the first time since they’d entered the apartment, Leo smiled.