Chapter 817
Anton started feeling lost after a couple of minutes of embarrassing, full-on sobbing. He was grateful that he was not alone in behaving like a child. After he had taken hold of himself, Aruma approached him.
“What is your next plan, Anton?”
“I’m returning to Nermador since my portal scroll safe point is currently located in our team’s manor. I will then use my relative’s portal to return to my family’s manor. What about you? You’re welcome to join my family and me.”
Anton was looking around while talking to Aruma. He saw that the wizards there had started leaving the area. Some of the most powerful ones started creating a dimensional gate, and some used their spells to swiftly leave Nizgeroth, but Anton saw that just like him, the majority of the wizards there had grief, combined with relief, and lost expressions on their faces.
He knew that it would take Anton a while before his emotions settled down. He also knew that dealing with his chaotic emotions would probably be a huge headache for him.
“Thank you, but I’m returning to my home kingdom to check if there were any survivors left in my family,” Aruma said.
Just like Anton, Aruma, despite having an advanced age, also looked very lost. Anton remembered that, unlike him, Aruma had been part of Team Gorvin for a long time, which meant he was closer to them than Anton. The fact that the only remaining members left were him and Aruma meant that the older mage was probably full of grief at that moment.
Aruma joined Anton in returning to Nermador. When they arrived at the manor, he was extremely grateful to Aruma when the old mage told him that Anton did not have to deal with Team Gorvin’s home base and the servants there. Aruma told him that he would let go of all the servants and, after a couple of weeks, would leave the mansion to be closed down.
Anton just nodded his agreement, said his goodbye to the older mage, and went to his room. He used the magic earring communicator to summon Raymond, the family butler. When the butler entered the portal, Anton was extremely surprised when Raymond was followed by his father and sister.
Anders and Anna hugged him so fiercely that Anton was starting to have trouble breathing. He also hugged his family member tightly. After a while, the three of them sat down on chairs in Anton’s room. Anders actually wanted to leave Nermador immediately before they started talking, but Anton told his father that they needed to stay for a while so they could search for a good place to use as a save point, so they could return to Rendindura.
When Anna suggested to just continue using Anton’s room, he told them that all of the members of his team except for himself and Aruma had perished. He was told that the mansion could not be maintained anymore once Aruma left.
Anna gasped when she heard that all of Anton’s team members except two had died. They didn’t delay any longer, and the four of them, including Raymond, left Team Gorvin’s Mansion. Anton would have said goodbye to Aruma, but the older wizard was not there. Since Aruma was aware that Anton was leaving, they all simply left.
Anton shared his plan with his family to find a place outside Nermador to use as a save point so they could return to Rendindura.
The streets of Nermador were extremely chaotic. Almost everyone was running around like crazy people. They could understand the behavior of the people since the threat of the Undead Coalition made living in Rendindura not so comfortable, as it was full of the threat of death and slavery.
Anders surmised that more than likely, Ormunda and New Drennor would behave the same way once the news that the Undead Coalition was destroyed. Anton saw that just like him, Anders and Anna looked a little lost.
The Undead Coalition had been such a huge part of their lives. Their future goals revolved around gaining enough power so they could fight the undead once they had no choice but to do so. He remembered that Anders and Anna had also succumbed to Anton’s pessimistic thought that someday, all of the world would be conquered by the undead except for a few sanctuaries and that they would have to do everything in their power to defend the last remaining sanctuary of humans.
Outside Nermador, they located a somewhat hidden place inside a small copse of trees where one of them could establish a portal. Anton told his family that he would be the one establishing the portal. After that, they all returned home to Ormunda.
Once they were back at the manor, the first thing Anton did was to cast the Blizzard spell that was converted into Mana Rain. His casting the spell was a form of announcement to all of the people in the Rose Manor that he had returned safely.
Anton then established his room as his portal’s save point again. Still, he would be able to easily return to Rendindura since he did not close the portal that led to a small forest outside Nermador.
Anders, Anna, and Anton then gathered in one of the manor’s salons that was overlooking the manor’s beautiful garden, so they could start talking about what happened in Nizgeroth. Anton realized that every family member was at home, but they had to give the three of them some privacy first.
Anton was about to start talking, but Anders stopped him and asked him an important question.
“When was the last time you rested?”
Anton shrugged since he could not remember. Anders then commanded Anton to rest first, and they would talk once he had rested. Since he was extremely tired, he obeyed Anders, went to his room, cleaned himself using his Cleaning spell, and lay down on his bed to sleep. He even forgot to set up his Pearl of the Ocean magic item.
The next time Anton woke up, for a moment, he forgot where he was. After a while, everything came back to him. He still felt a huge emptiness inside of him, and because of that, he simply stared at the walls of his room for a few minutes.
After a while, the door to his room opened, and he saw his father entering.
“Thank the divines you’re awake. You’ve been sleeping for twenty-four hours. After eight hours, I went here every hour to check up on you,” Anders told him.
Anton was startled. He realized then that he had forgotten to set up his magic pearl. After a couple of minutes, he started talking to his father.
“I feel lost, Father. I don’t know what to do next.”
“You’re not alone, son. A lot of the people who were affected by the coalition, especially those who had run away from them, felt the same way one way or another. You and your sister are the same. The best thing we can do is to live our lives the best way we can, one day at a time.”
Anton stood up from the bed and asked his father to wait for him in the salon. After he freshened up, he went to where his father and his sister were. Thankfully, food was already prepared, and Anton started eating.
While he was eating, he told Anders and Anna all the things that happened in the final battle between the wizards of the human kingdoms and the Undead Coalition that culminated in the nightmare-inducing phenomenon that happened at the end.
