Suffering

The convoy got moving again.

The damaged truck had been repaired, and the group of more than three thousand made its slow way along the ruined highway toward its destination.

Soldiers spread out along both flanks of the convoy, keeping watch, though everyone kept glancing skyward.

Above them, Love and Thousand Blades hovered one ahead of the other, keeping watch over the entire convoy.

Knight was not up there.

She held the sleeping Bubbles in her arms and sat inside the officer's command vehicle.

There should not have been room for her, but the Fallen Beast attack had claimed many lives. Though some vehicles had been destroyed too, most still had empty seats.

They had no way to take the bodies with them. Love could only dig a large pit and use Magic Power to create coffins, burying the fallen soldiers there.

To make the grave easier to find later, she also erected a large memorial stone.

"Thank you so much."

Inside the vehicle, the officer still felt weak all over.

The swing from despair to relief had left him shaken.

But when he turned toward the back seat, his curious gaze settled on the sleeping Bubbles.

"What happened to her?"

Knight lowered her head and gently stroked Bubbles' little face.

"She was mortally wounded saving a city. Love brought her back, but she probably won't wake up anytime soon."

After getting into the command vehicle, Knight had briefly introduced everyone to the officer.

She saved a city?

The officer's respect for her grew.

It was not that he had no doubts about these girls who had appeared out of nowhere. They simply felt too different.

The Fallen Beasts gave off a bone-chilling aura that always filled people with unease.

The girls, on the other hand, felt like warm sunlight.