Realm Lord
Chapter 129: Aftermath

Chapter 129: Aftermath

The silence that followed Arthur’s words hung heavy in the throne room. Aziel stood frozen, his brows furrowed in obvious confusion as he tried to process what his friend had just revealed. His eyes darted between Arthur’s haunted expression and the decayed remains of the corrupted king.

But it was Lara’s reaction that truly captured the magnitude of what had occurred. She stared at Arthur with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open in pure shock.

Arthur remained seated on the floor where he had collapsed, his hands still trembling from the intensity of what he had experienced, while his companions struggled to comprehend his words.

Finally, Lara found her voice, though it came out as barely more than a whisper laden with surprise and something that might have been excitement.

"Y-you got an echo!?" she stammered, the disbelief audible in every syllable.

Arthur looked up from his position on the floor, meeting her gaze with eyes that still held traces of the wonder and horror he had witnessed through the king’s memories.

"An echo?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Lara gulped audibly, her throat working as she tried to find the right words to explain something that was clearly beyond the realm of normal experience.

"Y-yes, they’re extremely rare, so it makes sense you guys have never heard of them," she began, her words tumbling out in a rush of scientific excitement mixed with genuine amazement. "But there have been documented cases when high-ranking corrupted monsters that were once human are killed—the person who landed the final blow sometimes sees their memories through their eyes. We don’t know why or how it happens, but all recorded cases have been from the killing of human corrupted monsters of the abomination rank and higher."

The throne room fell into silence as the weight of her explanation settled over them. Arthur felt a mixture of relief and apprehension—relief that what he had experienced had a name, and apprehension about what it might mean.

’An echo, huh?’ Arthur thought. ’How many more "extremely rare" things am I going to come across in my first damn time in the realms? It’s starting to get very, very annoying.’

As Arthur was processing these thoughts, Lara’s voice cut through his contemplation, her tone beginning to border on genuine excitement despite the gravity of their situation.

"This is amazing news! Aside from the altars, these echoes are the greatest sources of information on the realms we have. You have to tel—"

Her words stopped abruptly, cut off mid-sentence as her expression shifted from excitement to concern with startling speed. Her head snapped around in haste, her gaze landing on Kay’s crumpled form where he still lay against the far wall of the throne room. Even from their position across the chamber, they could see the dark stains of blood that continued to trickle slowly from the stumps where his arms used to be, creating small pools on the pristine marble floor.

"Hold that thought," Lara said urgently, her voice taking on a crisp, professional tone. "You can tell us all about it in the briefing once we get home, but for now, hurry and bring me his arms!"

Without waiting for a response, she began sprinting across the throne room toward Kay’s unconscious form, her boots echoing sharply against the marble as she covered the distance of the throne room.

Arthur and Aziel exchanged a quick glance before jumping into action, wasting no time in recovering Kay’s severed limbs. They found both arms scattered across the throne room and brought them to Lara, who had already begun working on Kay with intense focus.

What followed was the longest hour any of them had experienced. Lara worked tirelessly, sweat beading on her forehead as she drained her realm core in a desperate attempt to bring Kay back from the brink of death. The healing process was incredibly complex, requiring the restoration of countless severed nerves, blood vessels, and muscle fibers.

Arthur and Aziel could do nothing but watch and wait, offering what moral support they could while trying to stay out of Lara’s way. They took turns checking Kay’s pulse, monitoring his breathing, and simply being present in case Lara needed anything. The tension in the room was palpable, each minute feeling like it could be Kay’s last.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of desperate magical work, Lara suddenly swayed on her feet before collapsing entirely, her body finally succumbing to the massive drain on her realm core.

"Lara!" Arthur yelled, his voice echoing through the throne room as he and Aziel rushed to her side with panic-driven speed.

They dropped to their knees beside her unconscious form, Arthur’s hands immediately moving to check her pulse while Aziel supported her head to keep it from striking the marble floor. For a terrifying moment, Arthur couldn’t find a heartbeat, and his own heart seemed to stop in response.

Then he felt it—steady and strong, if somewhat slower than normal. Arthur let out a long sigh of relief, the tension flowing out of his shoulders like water.

"She’s just unconscious," he announced, his voice still shaky with residual fear. "Probably exhausted her core completely."

As both of them sat back on their heels, relief washing over them like a cool breeze, they were suddenly startled by the sound of coughing coming from next to them. Their heads snapped toward Kay in unison, eyes wide with hope and disbelief.

Kay was having a coughing fit, his whole body shaking with the effort, but more importantly—and more wonderfully—he was awake. His eyes were open and alert, moving around the throne room as he took in his surroundings in confusion.

"Kay, you’re awake!" Arthur exclaimed, unable to keep the joy and relief out of his voice. "How are you feeling?"

Kay coughed several more times, his throat clearly dry and raw, before rubbing his eyes and continuing his visual scan of the room. When his gaze finally settled on Arthur and Aziel, there was a mixture of confusion and cautious hope in his expression.

"Like shit," he said honestly, his voice hoarse but recognizably his own. "Did we win, or am I dead?"

Arthur and Aziel both let out light chuckles, the sound carrying more relief than humor.

"We won," Arthur responded, unable to keep the smile off his face despite everything they had been through.

Kay managed a weak chuckle of his own before his eyes moved to Lara’s unconscious form lying nearby. His expression immediately became more serious, concern replacing the brief moment of levity.

"Good... is she okay?" he asked, genuine worry evident in his voice despite his own weakened state.

Arthur looked down at Lara’s peaceful face before meeting Kay’s concerned gaze again. "Oh yeah, she’s fine, just exhausted. You were in pretty bad shape—it took a lot out of her to heal you."

Kay’s response was delivered with the same dry humor as before: "You don’t say."

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