Elegy from Another World

About an hour later, the terrifying hole in my chest was finally filled with newly formed tissue. Although it was still somewhat fragile, it no longer hindered my movement. I stood up, moved my body which had regained its support, and felt the magic power slowly recovering within me.

The cave was littered with signs of battle, and the stench of blood was nauseating. I walked to the body of the bandit leader and hoisted him onto my shoulder. This corpse was crucial evidence proving my words were true.

Back in the first-floor cell block, the thirteen survivors were still huddled in a corner, their eyes filled with fear and unease. When they saw me appear, covered in blood and carrying a gruesome corpse, they all flinched in fright.

"It's alright," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "All the bandits, including their leader, are dead. You're safe. Let's leave now and head to Valencia."

Perhaps it was the leader's corpse that brought the final convincing, or perhaps the instinct for survival finally overcame the fear, and they began to stand up shakily.

Seeing that most of them were dressed in rags, I stripped the relatively clean and intact clothes from the dead bandits and gave them to the women to wear, at least to cover their bodies and keep them warm, and also to provide some disguise. Then, I began searching the cave for useful supplies: the simple but crucial map, some non-perishable dried meat and black bread, a few bags of water, a small bag of money looted from the bandits, and a few fairly sharp daggers for self-defense.

Finally, I found a relatively sturdy burlap sack and carefully placed the body of the girl who had died helping me inside. I couldn't leave her in this filthy cave.

"Let's go." I slung my luggage over my shoulder, picked up the sack containing the bodies, and gestured for the survivors to follow.

With the map as a guide, the journey went much more smoothly. Along the way, we passed the valley floor buried by the mudslide again, where the abandoned horse-drawn carriage was still half-buried in the mud and rubble.

I let the survivors rest for a while, and then I took matters into my own hands and moved the already stiff bodies of the victims out of the carriage. Then, I found a relatively flat spot nearby, dug a large pit, and buried the girl's body together with the victims in the carriage.

Standing before the new grave, I closed my eyes, clasped my hands together, and whispered a prayer: "May your souls find peace, cross the boundaries of death, and journey to another beautiful world to begin a new journey."

After doing all this, the heavy sense of guilt in my heart seemed to lessen a little, but the regret and lesson were deeply imprinted in my heart.

They continued their journey. A day later, a magnificent stone city wall finally appeared on the horizon. Towering towers, fluttering flags, and a constant flow of people—Valencia, the capital of humanity, had arrived.

There were guards at the city gate, but when they saw our group of disheveled and frightened women, they only asked a few simple questions before letting us pass, their eyes filled with pity. The scene inside the city was completely different from the desolate border; the streets were wide, shops were lined up, and pedestrians were bustling about, full of vitality.

I asked passersby about the city's security forces. Sure enough, as in many stories, the police here were referred to as the "Knights." Following the directions, we arrived at the Knights' headquarters, a solemn and imposing stone building.

After explaining our purpose to the guards at the entrance, we were led inside. We were received by a knight captain who appeared to be of high rank. Seeing the state of our group—especially the still-wet bloodstains and wounds on my body, and the thirteen terrified survivors—he believed our account of the bandit's lair almost without a second thought.

My first request was that they provide shelter and medical care for the thirteen exhausted survivors, and the Knights immediately arranged for medical personnel and female members to look after them. Afterward, I, along with several knights and the bandit leader's body as evidence, returned to the cave to identify the scene.

Along the way, I told the knights about the destroyed village. They were all shocked to hear it, clearly unaware of the matter. I sighed inwardly; this was the price of an era of information isolation. Such a tragedy had occurred in a remote border region far from the main city, yet news of it failed to reach the center of power in time.

Cleaning up the scene, registering evidence, taking statements… the whole process continued until it was completely dark before everything came to a temporary halt. The Knights expressed their sincere gratitude to me, thanking me for eradicating a scourge that had plagued the area and rescuing a large number of innocent people.

They arranged a clean and comfortable hotel room for me and said that they might need my help later, but I could get a good rest tonight.

I entered the room, closed the door, and shut out the noise from outside. I took off my blood-stained, tattered clothes, went into the bathroom, and let the warm water wash over my body and hair, washing away the dust, bloodstains, and fatigue of the journey.

Lying in bed, the soft mattress enveloped his body, and a long-lost sense of security and relaxation washed over him. However, as he closed his eyes, the recent events—the village fire, the battle at the bandit's den, the girl's fallen figure—still lingered in his mind.

Having eliminated the immediate threat and reached my destination, this is by no means the end. What challenges and encounters will Valencia, this seemingly prosperous and peaceful city, bring me?

With a jumble of thoughts and wounds that hadn't fully healed, I closed my eyes. At least tonight, I could temporarily set aside my burdens and find a moment of peace.