Rudeus's Point of View
He saved him.
I let myself fall to the ground; my legs simply gave out. They wouldn't stop shaking—a violent spasm coursing through my entire body. For a moment, I thought Paul... my father in this world...
I let out a sigh of relief that felt as if I were exhaling the entire weight of the labyrinth from my lungs. He was going to die. I saw it in his eyes; Paul was ready to be crushed just so I could live.
But then, Arthur appeared.
That white flash... Arthur interposed himself between death and my father.
— "Arthur!"
Roxy's scream snapped me out of the shock. Her voice was laced with a genuine, piercing worry. She was the first to react, rushing toward the boy's body as it lay motionless on the ground after that devastating attack.
Roxy reached his side in a heartbeat. She sat down, turned him over carefully, and cradled Arthur's head on her lap. After a second of inspection, her shoulders relaxed.
"He's alright..." she whispered. "He has some broken bones... and extreme exhaustion."
As she spoke, she began to conjure a mid-level healing spell. A soft light enveloped Arthur's body, slowly bringing color back to his face.
I looked away toward the other side of the room. Paul had already moved toward Zenith. He wrapped her carefully in his cloak, covering her naked body while sobbing uncontrollably. It was a cry both bitter and sweet; pure joy for having found her and a deep sadness for the time lost in this hell.
Talhand and Elinalise exchanged glances. Their faces were the very picture of relief. It was clear that they too had seen Paul's end in that sweep of necks, and they shared my feeling of gratitude toward the blond boy.
However, looking back at Roxy, I couldn't help but feel a small sting. Seeing her hold Arthur, with his head resting so comfortably on her lap... gave me a bit of a jealous twinge.
"No! Stop it!" I rebuked myself mentally, clenching my fist with determination. "I must stop thinking about those things. As a man of honor, I have to be faithful to my beloved Sylphie. This is no time for these mental deviations."
— "Looks like it was a success, huh?"
Gisu's voice pulled me from my thoughts. He was walking toward us with his hands clasped behind his head, observing the Hydra's corpse and my reunited family. His smile was cynical... but sincere.
— "You should go to your mother, too."
I nodded.
I stood up and walked toward them. Zenith remained unconscious in Paul's arms, and he watched her as if fearing she might vanish if he blinked. He was smiling through his tears.
Truly...
Thank you, Arthur.
I still didn't fully understand what kind of person Arthur was... but one thing was certain: I owed him my father's life.
...
Third Person Point of View
After the beast fell, everything became quiet in the room. Behind where the crystal that imprisoned Zenith had stood, the group discovered an unexpected treasure: a vast accumulation of magic stones with the same shape and luster as the Hydra's scales. At the far end of the chamber, several ancient objects and magical artifacts lay scattered.
As expected of a group of their caliber, they gathered the loot efficiently, though without the usual boisterousness of adventurers.
The journey out was surprisingly peaceful; the monsters they encountered were repelled efficiently by the group. During the two-day trek back to the surface, Zenith and Arthur remained unconscious. Paul carried his wife with almost religious devotion, while the rest took turns carrying the exhausted Arthur, whose body was still recovering from the overexertion he had endured.
When they finally crossed the threshold and returned to the base in Rapan, the news of their success spread like wildfire.
Shera and Vera were the first to receive them; both collapsed into an embrace, cheering the victory, though Shera's excitement was notably louder. Lilia, always composed and elegant, simply smiled, though her eyes shimmered with tears of relief that threatened to overflow at the sight of Zenith again.
That night, an impromptu feast was organized at the base to celebrate the conquest of the Teleportation Labyrinth. Beer flowed and the laughter of Gisu and Talhand filled the air, but the atmosphere wasn't festive for everyone. Three people flatly refused to attend the celebration, remaining in the rooms, tending to the two who had not yet awakened.
.....
The Next Day
The soft morning light filtered through the cracks in the window, illuminating the dust motes floating in the air. Arthur blinked several times, his eyelids feeling heavy.
The first thing he saw was the rustic wooden ceiling of the room. It took him a few seconds to recognize where he was; the scent of pine and medicinal herbs told him he was no longer in the suffocating humidity of the labyrinth, but back at the Rapan base.
He tried to sit up, but a groan of pain escaped his lips. Every muscle in his body felt as if it had been trampled by a herd of wandering dragons. He felt a fatigue that reached his very bones.
— "Don't move so fast..." a soft, familiar voice came from the side of the bed.
Arthur turned his head slowly. There, sitting in a wooden chair, was Roxy. She had visible dark circles under her eyes, betraying that she hadn't slept a wink all night monitoring his condition. She had an open book on her lap, but her attention was entirely focused on him.
— "You're at the base," she continued, leaning in to place a cool hand on his forehead. "You slept for almost two full days. Rudeus and I had to stabilize your mana flow because it was completely chaotic."
Arthur tried to speak, but his throat was as dry as a desert. Roxy, anticipating this, brought a glass of water to him and helped him drink carefully, holding his head with the same gentleness she had shown in the labyrinth.
After drinking, Arthur recovered some of his voice.
— "Paul... and Zenith? Are they okay?..." he managed to articulate with difficulty.
Roxy fell silent for a brief second. A shadow of melancholy crossed her face before she nodded slightly.
— "They are alive. Paul hasn't left her side for a single moment. Zenith woke up a few hours ago, but..." she paused, "...it's not exactly as we hoped. She doesn't seem to remember anything. Lilia is tending to her right now in the next room."
Arthur sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. He knew that fate in this world was fickle and sometimes cruel, but at least they were all under the same roof. They were alive. Then, a void at his side reminded him of something important; he looked down at his empty hands.
— "My sword... it broke, didn't it?" he asked with a tone of genuine loss. It wasn't just metal; it was his bond with the man who raised him.
— "Yes... but I recovered this."
Roxy reached into her bag and carefully pulled out the hilt of the sword. She held it out to Arthur with trembling hands.
— "Since you said it was a gift from your grandfather, I thought... well, that we couldn't just leave it there."
Without letting her finish her sentence, Arthur lunged forward, ignoring the stinging pain that shot through his back, and hugged her with all his strength.
— "Thank you so much, Roxy. Truly..."
The girl's eyes went wide, trembling with surprise. She wasn't used to such direct and warm physical contact. She felt Arthur's heat and the weight of his gratitude, and slowly, her face turned a deep crimson. Timidly, she finally returned the embrace, resting her chin on the boy's shoulder.
At that moment, the door creaked open.
"Sensei, how is Arthur? Has he woken up yet?"
Rudeus froze in the doorway. He looked at Arthur, then at Roxy, and then at the position they were in. His eyes narrowed for a second, processing the scene with his typical analytical mind.
— "Wow... seems like I'm interrupting an important moment," Rudeus said with a forced smile and a raised eyebrow.
Roxy broke away from Arthur in a leap, so red it looked like steam might come out of her ears. She tried to adjust her hat, which she wasn't even wearing.
— "I-It's not what it looks like, Rudeus! I was just... checking his body temperature!" she exclaimed, looking anywhere but into her students' eyes.
Arthur let out a small laugh, though his chest hurt as he did. He turned to Rudeus with a more serious look.
— "How are you, Rudeus?"
Rudeus sighed, and his playful expression vanished, replaced by a shadow of sadness. He walked over and sat at the foot of Arthur's bed.
— "Seems you're already aware of what happened... Well, to be honest, I feel empty. Seeing her like that hurt more than I expected. But the one who is truly suffering is Paul; he blames himself for the state she's in. He's devastated. Zenith is awake, but she's like a porcelain doll. Her eyes are empty. She doesn't speak, she doesn't react... She doesn't remember me, and she doesn't even seem to know who Paul is. But... I've already talked to him and managed to calm him down a bit."
Arthur nodded slowly, processing Rudeus's words while an idea crossed his mind.
— "I can imagine..." Arthur muttered to himself. "In the original story, since Paul died earlier, he never had to face this reality. But here... here everything has changed."
While Rudeus and Roxy exchanged a few words about the state of the base, Arthur closed his eyes and submerged himself in his own subconscious.
"Great Sage, let's try what we discussed earlier,"he commanded mentally.
"It is possible to initiate an analysis of 'Zenith Greyrat's' mental state and mana flow. However, due to your current physical condition and the depletion of your energy reserves, the process will be slow. There is no quick fix for a consciousness fragmentation of this level."
"That's enough," Arthur replied with determination. "I didn't spend months reading every book in the academy library for nothing. There has to be an answer among all that accumulated knowledge. I won't let it stay like this."
Coming out of his thoughts, Arthur focused back on Rudeus, who was watching him with curiosity.
"I'd like to see how they are."
Rudeus nodded.
Upon entering the room, the air felt dense. Lilia was sitting beside Paul, maintaining her usual faithful and serene posture, though her eyes reflected deep sadness. Paul, for his part, didn't even seem to notice them enter; his gaze was fixed on Zenith.
Zenith was sitting in bed, leaning against the headboard. Noticing the newcomers, she slowly turned her head. Her eyes, once full of life, now seemed to lack it, like two opaque crystal beads. There was no smile of recognition, no reaction of affection. Her face remained expressionless before Rudeus or Arthur; from her mouth came only a faint, monotonous:
— "...Mmm."
Lilia noticed the young warrior's presence and turned her gaze toward him with a mix of surprise and relief.
— "Arthur..." she said softly, standing up carefully so as not to break the fragile silence. "I'm glad to see you've awakened."
Arthur only smiled faintly and nodded. With slow steps, he approached Paul and placed a hand on his back, giving him silent support while they both looked at Zenith. In that moment, Arthur closed his eyes and called upon his ability.
"Great Sage, tell me what's wrong with her. Can you help her?"
A few seconds of silence passed before a calm voice resonated in his head.
"I cannot... not from the outside. There is something blocking my vision. If you want me to find an answer, I need a sample of her blood. Only then will I be able to see what is truly inside."
"I understand... I'll try to get the sample at another time,"" Arthur thought.
After that, they stayed to talk for a while in the room about what would come next.
End of Chapter