Chapter 208: The Wounded of War

The silence that followed the battle felt strange.

Just a few hours earlier, the battlefield had been filled with explosions, screams, and waves of violet energy. Now, the dimensional portal had disappeared, and the remains of the metal structures lay scattered across the ground.

The war was over.

Yet as Liam walked through the corridors of the Ace of Spades Guild’s medical facilities, he found it difficult to feel as though they had truly won.

Hunters rested on stretchers or sat against the walls on both sides of the corridor. Some had their arms bandaged, others wore leg braces, and several were hooked up to medical equipment monitoring their vital signs.

The medical staff moved constantly from one room to another, tending to the most seriously injured.

Liam recognized several faces from the other squads. Some tried to greet him as he passed, although they were too exhausted to manage more than a few words.

He returned their greetings before continuing down the hall.

His own team hadn’t escaped unscathed either. Jordan’s legs were bandaged, while Carol and Emily remained under observation after exhausting nearly all their energy during the battle. The others also needed rest and time to recover from their injuries.

Fortunately, none of them had lost their lives.

Liam paused beside a window. From there, he could see part of the guild’s courtyard, where workers were clearing away the equipment used during the operation.

’At least everyone made it back.’

It was a simple thought, but after everything they’d been through, it meant far more than he would have imagined just a few days earlier.

Lydia walked beside him, gently holding his arm.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"That means you’re worried about something."

Liam smiled faintly.

"Can’t I think without worrying?"

"Of course you can. But I know you."

He gently stroked her hand and decided not to argue. Lydia was right. Even though the threat had disappeared, there were still too many things to think about.

And one of them was in a room at the end of the corridor.

◇◆◇

The door to the medical room was slightly ajar.

Liam knocked softly before entering with Lydia.

Inside, Captain Armstrong lay in a bed surrounded by medical equipment. Several cables were attached to his chest, while tubes and other devices helped keep him stable. The monitors beside his bed beeped at regular intervals, indicating that his vital signs were still responding.

His face was pale, and his eyes were closed.

Jane sat beside him.

The young sub-captain, who had fought with admirable determination during the battle, now looked completely different. Her shoulders slumped, and her hair was disheveled.

She hadn’t strayed far from her father since he’d been brought back to the guild.

Hearing the door, she looked up.

"Liam Davis..."

"How is he?"

Jane lowered her eyes toward the bed.

"The same. The doctors say he’s stable, but he still hasn’t woken up."

Her voice cracked slightly as she spoke those final words.

Liam took a few steps closer. It wasn’t easy to see the man who had faced the invaders’ leader in such a condition. Armstrong had managed to keep fighting even after losing his sword and his left arm.

He had risked his life to give them the chance to destroy the core.

And now, he couldn’t even open his eyes.

"The doctors are doing everything they can," Liam said.

"I know."

Jane clasped her hands in her lap.

"But I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if he hadn’t taken that attack for us."

Lydia approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Your father made that decision because he wanted to protect you all. I don’t think he regrets doing it."

Jane didn’t respond immediately. She looked at Armstrong’s unconscious face and took a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears.

"I just want him to wake up."

Liam couldn’t promise her that everything would be all right, but he didn’t want Jane to face that uncertainty alone, either.

Before he could say anything else, the door opened again.

James entered with a tablet in his hand.

"I’ve reviewed the latest results," he announced as he examined the monitors.

"The captain remains stable. His injuries were severe, and he lost a considerable amount of blood, but he’s responding to treatment."

Jane immediately stood up.

"Does that mean he’ll wake up?"

James placed the tablet on a table and looked at her seriously.

"It means we have reason to be optimistic. He’ll need time to recover, but I’m confident he’ll be all right."

"Really?"

"Really. I can’t tell you when he’ll wake up, but you shouldn’t lose hope."

Jane closed her eyes for a few seconds. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, as though his words had finally allowed her to breathe after holding her breath for far too long.

"Thank you," she murmured.

James nodded and returned to checking the monitor readings.

Liam watched Jane for a moment before turning his attention to the scientist.

"Any news about what happened on the other continents?"

James looked up.

"Yes. That’s actually what I was about to brief you on."

◇◆◇

James projected several graphs onto the room’s screen.

"Over the past few hours, we’ve received reports from hunter organizations around the world. The strange energy readings we’d detected on other continents have disappeared."

Liam frowned.

"All of them?"

"All the ones related to this phenomenon. Furthermore, the dungeons that had begun behaving abnormally appear to have stabilized."

Pix appeared beside Liam in a shower of colorful sparkles.

"It looks like the connections have stopped exchanging energy in that strange way we detected before the invasion."

"Does that mean they won’t appear again?" Lydia asked.

"Not necessarily," James replied.

"We still don’t understand all the mechanisms connecting dungeons to other dimensions. It wouldn’t be responsible to claim that this phenomenon can’t happen again."

Liam nodded. It was a reasonable answer. They’d discovered too much over the past few weeks to believe they fully understood what was happening.

"What about the SS-Rank dungeons?" he asked.

"They’re still there. But for now, they aren’t showing the same abnormalities that preceded the opening of the dimensional rift. The teams monitoring them haven’t reported any new changes of concern."

That was a relief.

SS-Rank dungeons would continue to be a major problem for hunters. Their danger hadn’t disappeared, and no one could afford to let their guard down around them.

Still, at least they had stopped behaving like pieces of a much larger mechanism that nobody understood.

"The extraction devices also remain inactive. And we haven’t detected any other rifts comparable to the one that appeared during the invasion."

Liam crossed his arms.

"So, can we say it’s all over?"

James took a few seconds to respond.

"We can say the invasion is over and that, for now, there are no signs of another immediate threat. That’s already far more than we expected to accomplish."

Pix nodded.

"Energy levels are returning to their usual values. I can’t guarantee that all dimensional connections have disappeared, but I’m no longer detecting signs of the same phenomenon."

Liam remembered the enormous violet rift, the armies that had crossed through it, and the core that had nearly drained the strength from everyone.

They had come dangerously close to losing their world.

And yet, they’d managed to stop the invaders.

"I guess it’s time for us to recover now," Lydia remarked.

"That’s right," James replied.

"Although some people will have to learn how to rest without trying to return to work the very next day."

His gaze briefly shifted toward Liam.

"Why are you looking at me?" Liam protested.

"Because I know you."

Lydia giggled.

"For once, we completely agree!"

Liam sighed.

Jane, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, sat down beside her father again. Her expression was still sad, but she no longer looked quite so desperate.

James reminded her that she needed to rest as well. She reluctantly agreed, though she made it clear she had no intention of going far.

Before leaving, Liam stopped beside Armstrong’s bed.

"Captain, I hope you wake up soon. You’ve still got plenty of things to do."

Of course, he received no response.

Even so, Liam was convinced that the man wouldn’t give up so easily.

He left the room with Lydia, allowing Jane to spend a few more minutes with her father.

The corridor remained crowded with injured hunters, doctors, and workers. There were still plenty of things to repair, reports to write, and people who would need weeks, perhaps months, to recover completely.

But there was no longer a dimensional army on the other side of a rift, nor an unknown force draining the energy from their world.

Now, they could look ahead without expecting another catastrophe to strike the following day.

Liam intertwined his fingers with Lydia’s.

"Let’s go home," he said.

She smiled and leaned against his arm.

"Yeah. I think we both need some rest."

As they walked down the corridor, Liam cast one last glance toward the medical rooms.

The war was over, but its consequences would remain for a long time. They couldn’t change what they’d lost or erase the pain of those still fighting to recover.

All they could do was move forward.

And Liam intended to do that alongside the people he loved most.

After everything they’d been through, going home and enjoying a peaceful life seemed like more than enough of a reward.