Mash didn’t really know how much time had passed, but he woke up to see a very stressed-looking Luna. It took a second for Mash to process what had happened, and he sprung to his feet in alarm. He almost ran back out, but seeing everyone else in the room, he figured the fighting was over. If there was still going to be fighting, he doubted that Arthur would be here. Forcing himself to sit back down, he took in his surroundings properly.

The walls were adorned with elaborate paintings, and the bed he had been lying in was obviously of high quality. Despite the luxuries, it was the density of enchantments that told him that this was the castle. With his domain, he could trace the enchantments along the floor and there was even some on the furniture too. As Mash started remembering everything, his eyes naturally went to the balcony.

“You should rest, you can deal with the rest later.”

The concern in Luna’s voice was the only thing that stopped him from getting up and checking the results of the battle. Honestly, he didn’t feel the need to rest, her healing having washed away the fatigue too, but he only nodded his head. Instead, Mash turned to the others, wanting to hear about what they experienced. His eyes stopped on Red, raising an eyebrow at her new appearance. Her hair was a deeper shade of red, and her skin was oddly pinkish. It was significantly paler too, and the pink tint made it seem like her whole body was blushing a little. Even her clothes were oddly tinted red too, though her shirt was obviously green and her pants blue. Why did he see red at the edges?

His mouth fell open when he watched her body vanish. With his domain, he could tell that she didn’t really vanish. Her body dissolved into a puddle on the ground, before scurrying closer and reforming. How did a human body work like that? He was going to press her for some answers, but she mouthed the word later, and he let the subject drop. They were in the castle and would certainly have people listening in on whatever they said. Sadly, the conversation had to be pushed back, and they talked about much more mundane topics instead.

Mash talked with his family about their plans for the future, and what the other three wanted to do about their contracts. The idle conversation lasted for almost an hour before they lost things to talk about. Too many thoughts and worries invading their attempt to make peace. Not long after, they separated, deciding it would be best for everyone to get some rest. Mash took this opportunity to check the consequences of the fight.

He debated whether to do it or not, but he couldn’t relax without knowing. Mash had considered distracting himself by checking his status but wanted to know the cost before seeing his reward. There was no number of levels that would be worth that single attack of the demon, but he wanted to see what it truly entailed. Only after, would he feel comfortable checking his status? Finding a strong resolve behind that thought shocked him, but it managed to get him to his feet.

He was facing away from the door that the others had left from. The wall on this side was covered in drapes, and he knew that there would either be a window or a balcony behind them. From the height of the windows, he guessed it would be a balcony. As soon as he stood up, he hesitated briefly. Taking a small step forward he sent Priscilla a thought that had been bothering him since the start of the battle.

“I caused this, didn’t I?”

Priscilla didn’t reply with any sarcasm or words, merely giving him the feeling of a small nod. She knew as well as he did, that it was likely his fate that pulled the city into this. He was smart enough to know that that didn’t make any sense, but he wasn’t exactly thinking about it rationally. Even if he wasn’t directly to blame, there were too many coincidences surrounding him that he couldn’t help but connect the dots. First, the other's dungeon run had been interrupted by a demon, which by all accounts shouldn’t have been there. Then Mash and Jill run into a group of people that were clearly working with the monsters. Finally, the battle started soon after Mash had been excluded from the new year’s blessing.

If it was just one thing, Mash might have been able to tell himself that he wasn’t the cause. However, he had known after seeing the crows that something big was coming. The fact that he had seen them personally and chose to remain, only proved that to him. Despite that, he always believed that he could handle it. Whilst that might be true, he didn’t consider what it meant for other people to have to deal with it. Opening the curtains, he saw the results of that foolish way of thinking.

Even before stepping onto the balcony, Mash got a good look at some of the destruction that had happened. The attack from that demon had destroyed around a third of the city. Many of the buildings seemed to have been totally destroyed, and many others were turned into rubble. It was as if something had hit the town, and simply taken a chunk of the city away. The walls, streets, and buildings were simply gone around where the explosion had happened. The effects of it rippled out for a great distance too.

He pushed through the balcony doors, moving to step outside. The sun was out now, but Mash couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t appropriate. It felt more appropriate for there it to be cloudy or raining, instead, it was one of the clearest skies he had seen in the past couple of weeks. Despite the bright weather, the city was shrouded in a veil of despair. The normally loud streets were filled with silence.

His eyes kept moving back to the decimation from that one attack. That had been his fight, his responsibility, and he had failed. It was more than that though, as the fight proved that he couldn’t contain the events that surrounded him. Even if he survived, he couldn’t protect others from it.

The enemy had simply been too strong, and even with all the advantages of the class, he was only able to slightly delay the creature. How long had he lasted? He didn’t know but felt like it couldn’t have been more than ten minutes. The demon was considered to be level 150 by the class system. For a long time, Mash had thought that there must be some reason that high-level people never fought one another, and it turned out he was partially right. When people at that level fought, they were taken to another place, presumably to avoid destroying the world in the process. That power might not be within the realms of people at that level, but the demon could have destroyed the whole city with that one attack.

Crack!

Mash’s eyes fell to the short wall of the balcony. His grip had been tightening as he observed the consequences of the battle, and the stone crunched beneath his strength. The thought to stop didn’t even cross his mind, and he only closed his hands into fists, breaking the stone in the process. It didn’t provide him any satisfaction. Instead, the action had managed to make him feel worse. There had been enough destruction, and here he was causing more.

“I would appreciate it if you could avoid damaging my home.”

The voice sounded like it knew a secret, and Mash’s head slowly turned to the speaker. They were hovering right outside of Mash’s draconic domain, and golden light seemed to radiate off them. Even without the light, Mash could recognize the king when he saw him. Despite knowing he should show some propriety, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead, he let his gaze fall back to the city below him.

Mash felt as the king moved closer, his power seemed endless. In fact, Mash couldn’t see the limits of his mana and guessed that it was basically infinite. The king slowly descended on the balcony next to him, looking over the city too. At that moment, the king looked very old. Without his armor, the man didn’t look nearly as muscular, and the more mundane clothing he chose to wear made him look like a tired father. After a few seconds passed the king continued speaking.

“I had a vague understanding of your situation. I had believed that the fate following someone of your level would be manageable, but this fight has proved me the fool. I don’t blame you. This incident was my fault, for believing that your fate would not be able to affect me. However, I will not be making that mistake twice.”

The king sounded disappointed as he spoke, and Mash heard a tinge of sadness in his voice. it hadn’t occurred to him, that someone else could know about his fate, but there would certainly be classes that could tell. Mash didn’t look towards the king. His heart rate increasing, as he processed the king’s words. Mash was going to die, and there was nothing he could do. The king didn’t stop speaking though.

“You will have to leave the city, ideally by tomorrow. However, I understand that you and your friends might need some rest, so I will give you up to three days. I’m truly sorry, especially after all you did to defend the city.”

Mash felt some of his worries die down. Before the battle Mash had considered slowing down, about taking a small break. That was impossible though, and he needed to accept that. He probably wouldn’t be able to relax until he was strong enough to guarantee the safety of those around him. Nodding to the king, he spoke with resolve.

“I will leave tomorrow.”

The king nodded, seeming satisfied with his response. The king turned to leave, saying one last thing as he stepped out of the balcony.

“I recommend that you avoid staying in cities for longer than a few days. Also, don’t turn into a demon while you’re here.”

With that, the king was gone, and Mash was alone once again. He stared into the distance, unsure of what to do. Leaving was a given, but the king’s last comment made him unsure of where he should go. He would do some research on the nearby dungeons tomorrow. He couldn’t, in good conscience, travel to other cities. However, a life spent traveling dungeon to dungeon, didn’t sound particularly good either. This was another thing he needed to talk with the others about as well. They had been just as affected by his fate.

Mash remembered how everyone had looked earlier. Red’s eyes kept glancing downwards and Luke kept looking at her too. His face seemed like it was conflicted, constantly switching between concern and something Mash couldn’t identify. Even Jill had been looking at them strangely, though she didn’t seem to be in a particularly bad mood. There was no point in delaying more, and he also wanted to see if he could help with the reconstruction. While his imitations would dissolve, his normal wooden creations lingered and if he made them while in the treant form, they would last indefinitely. It was one of the bonuses of creations that absorbed their own mana. He could do a lot for the reconstruction and would do as much as he could before leaving tomorrow.

He lingered for a few more minutes taking in the sight of the city. Slowly, he turned away and entered the room. He felt a sudden rush of power, and he wondered what had caused it. A quick check told him that Priscilla had formed another body. That was a lucky break, as Mash planned on leaving one of her real bodies with his family. That way they would be able to manage some form of communication despite the distance. Plus, it would hopefully reassure them of his safety. Finally, he took the time to check what he had gained from the battle.