Professor Sylvia stood silently among the wreckage.
Behind her, a small group of Arcadia Academy's medical helpers tended to the wounded.
A few villagers slowly approached, unsure whether to speak.
One of the survivors, a middle-aged man, spoke first.
"Y-you… you are Professor Sylvia… from Arcadia Academy?"
Sylvia turned to face them.
"Yes, I am," she replied.
Another survivor, a young woman clutching a child to her chest, bowed deeply, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Thank you… thank you for saving us. We, we are truly grateful for your… your saving grace. If not for you, we…" Her voice cracked as the child whimpered and buried his face into her soot-stained robes.
Sylvia inclined her head respectfully.
"I am glad we arrived in time to save as many as we could," she said gently.
Her gaze, however, shifted toward the blackened horizon where faint trails of smoke still rose.
"But…"
"…I am sorry. I'm sorry that we couldn't save all the villages."
