Chapter 171: Burdens of the Chosen
"Her... husband?"
President Craig watched the old man’s reaction with interest.
"...You didn’t know?" He then raised an eyebrow, a slight chuckle escaping him despite the gravity of the situation. "Oh, right. You’ve been entirely out of the loop while in seclusion. She actually got married about a month and a half ago. To a young man named Soren, from the Valmere family in the capital."
"..." The old man went quiet, his gaze dropping to the floor as if searching through a long-forgotten archive of names. After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head. "I don’t know this person."
"Hah, it’d be a miracle if you did," Craig chuckled again, though the humor quickly drained from his face. "By speaking of things you might know... have you heard what happened to her?"
"..." The old man nodded, his expression growing solemn. "I’ve heard about the incident."
He turned his attention back to Ethea, his gaze shifting through a tangle of emotions before softening into deep pity.
"To think someone of her caliber would end up like this," the old man murmured, his voice heavy with the sorrow of a seasoned warrior who had seen far too many prodigies fall before their time.
Craig sighed, crossing his arms as he looked down on her. "The world of the Awakened is brutal, but what happened to her... it was an entirely different kind of tragedy. She didn’t deserve any of it."
"Indeed." The old man nodded, his eyes still fixed on Ethea.
After a moment, he broke the silence, his tone shifting back to business.
"How did this happen anyway?"
"Tell me about it," Craig sighed heavily, dragging a hand down his face. "As if the previous incident wasn’t enough of a nightmare to deal with. However, I have a pretty bold guess regarding this one."
He meaningfully glanced at Ethea.
The old man instantly picked up the meaning. "You mean..."
"As much as I hate to say it, she is the reason." Craig nodded reluctantly. "First, her husband left in a hurry, saying she was in danger. Second, the gate opened right above where they live. Lastly, I heard that a powerful dragon pulled them into its domain. Even then, I wasn’t fully certain. Only now, after you told me it was going to kidnap her, did I become sure of it."
The old man raised an eyebrow at the president’s words, processing the info before nodding slowly, "I think you might be right about it."
"Oh, it’s rare for you to agree with me so quickly."
The old man let out a dry, humorless huff. "Don’t get used to it. I only agree because the facts line up with what I just witnessed."
"Huh? There’s more?" President Craig became intrigued.
"Mm." The old man nodded and explained what had happened just earlier. "I think the gate was artificial."
Craig’s lightheartedness vanished, his eyebrows shooting up. "You mean..."
"While it looked like a seventh-circle gate from the outside, it didn’t behave like one," the old man explained, tightening his grip on his spear. "You know how dangerous or volatile seventh circle or above gates are. Even when they contain a mix of monsters from various ranks, the majority of them still consist of the gate’s actual rank. Yet this gate had only a small handful of them, along with that singular anomaly."
Hearing the old man’s analysis, Craig fell silent once more.
"...You’re right. If it had been a real one, the city would have been long gone." He finally muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose as the gravity of the situation settled in. "I didn’t even consider that because of all the chaos and immediate threat of a gate break, but it makes sense now. Far too much. However..." He looked back down at Ethea, his expression darkening. "If someone has the power to fabricate a seventh-circle gate just to use it as a smoke screen for a kidnapping... then they are in deep trouble."
"...What are you going to do then?" The old man asked, knowing the president’s nature all too well. Craig was never one to sit idly by when a storm was brewing.
"..." The president’s gaze turned complex, a flicker of heavy calculation crossing his features before he let out an exhausted sigh. "Let’s take care of this mess first. Then we will think about it."
"Need any help?" the old man asked.
"No, you have already done more than enough," Craig replied. "Besides, the reinforcements from the neighboring cities should arrive soon. We’re gonna make them sweat for being so late. Hehe~" He started laughing, the sound echoing like an evil villain plotting mischief.
The old man sighed at his antics, completely unfazed, before asking, "Where should we put her?"
"Hmm?" Craig stopped grinning, his expression turning serious again. "Let’s just admit her to the hospital, along with her husband. And can I leave the task to you? After all, you’re the one who brought her here. Besides, aren’t you close acquaintances with her too?"
"..." The old man stared at the president coldly, offering nothing but a silent glare before casually waving his hand and lifting Ethea. "...Where’s little Zoe?"
"Rest easy," the president smiled, "she’s in a safe place. I’ll take you to her once you finish your delivery."
The old man gave a terse nod, turned on his heel, and shot into the sky.
The president watched them leave, his expression slowly turning cold.
’Even their own families ruthlessly abandoned them,’ he thought, the harsh reality weighing on his mind. ’Then, how can I justify keeping them here?’
He wasn’t a cruel man, but he was a leader responsible for millions of lives.
Yet as he recalled how Soren helped his niece, or how he was willing to help those in need, a deep sense of conflict gripped him.
Sure, there was no doubting their character; Soren and Ethea were genuinely good people who had always used their strength for the right reasons. But they had also become an undeniable catalyst for unprecedented disaster. A seventh circle gate, even if it had been fake, opening directly inside the city limits just to kidnap her, was proof enough. If they stayed, the next ’kidnapping’ might just obliterate the entire region.
"...Sigh." Craig closed his eyes for a brief moment. "If... If protecting my loved ones and this city means becoming the bad guy in their story... then so be it."
