LRAB Chapter 121: In the Ashes of Home
Chapter 121: In the Ashes of Home
Chapter 121: In the Ashes of HomeThe ring shimmered at the far end of the hall, golden light curling outward in soft pulses. It flickered like a warning, or a whisper.
Areum was already moving before the last flicker hit the floor.
She’d been patrolling the west wing, pacing the outer halls on instinct more than rotation. Ever since the monster sightings in the distance, the school had been sealed tight. No one came in. No one went out.
So when the light appeared, sudden, silent, wrong, she didn’t hesitate.
"Who’s there?" she shouted, a glass shard forming in her palm in a breath. It grew instantly, shaping into a blade with a quick shimmer and settling into her grip like it had always belonged there. "Step forward! Now!"
No answer.
Then a footstep.
She raised the blade higher, until the ring of light rippled, and a figure stepped through.
She almost let the blade fly.
Almost.
Then her breath caught. Her arm wavered.
"...Jin?"
Her voice cracked slightly.
The glassblade shattered a second later, slivers scattering across the tiled floor.
He looked exhausted. And not in the way he’d been after sparring sessions or training drills. This was something deeper. His shoulders were tense, jaw clenched. His shirt was torn near the shoulder, faint soot streaks trailing down one side. And his eyes, they didn’t look like someone returning home.
They looked like someone still in the middle of the storm.
"I thought you were—" she began, but her voice trailed off.
A shadow shifted along the wall beside her.
Hanuel emerged from it a second later, his form peeling away from the darkness like water running off ink. His eyes scanned the room first, then zeroed in on Jin.
He blinked. "You’re back."
Jin gave a curt nod.
"I heard Areum shouting," Hanuel said. "We thought we were under attack."
"You’re not," Jin replied. "At least, not yet."
Areum stepped forward slowly. "Then... what’s going on? You took care of the thing, right? The monster in the city?"
Jin met her eyes. "It’s still alive."
That landed like a stone in the room.
Hanuel folded his arms, his expression unreadable. "So this isn’t a check-in."
"No."
Areum’s hands curled slightly at her sides. "You need help."
"I need the two of you," Jin said. "We’re stretched thin, and the others, Seul, Echo, Joon, we’re doing everything we can. But it’s not enough."
Hanuel didn’t ask questions. He turned to the side. "Doyun’s on the third floor, sorting water supplies. I’ll tell him you’re pulling us."
"Tell him he needs to hold the line here," Jin said. "Everyone’s panicked. If we’re lucky, this place won’t see action. But if it does... I trust him to keep people alive."
Areum’s eyes
Her voice cut clean through the rooftop. It wasn’t loud, but everyone moved.
Chul took a step forward, but Seo stopped him with a glance.
"You’re not on the front this time," she said.
"I’m fine."
"You’re not." Her tone wasn’t harsh, just certain. "You’re support. That last move drained you. Let yourself recover. You’ll be needed before this is over."
Chul grit his teeth, but nodded.
Seo turned back to the group, her eyes scanning quickly.
"Echo, forward team. You’ll be our advance detection and disruption. Joon, you’re with him. Power support. Strike hard, strike first. If it can bleed, you’ll find it."
They both nodded.
"Hanuel," she continued. "Your ability with shadows will help navigate terrain. You’ll work with Seungmin."
Hanuel didn’t flinch, though his glance toward Seungmin was brief.
"Areum," Seo added, "I need precision. You’re with Kyungjoon. His movement will keep you mobile, yours will keep him sharp."
"Got it," Areum said, already adjusting the straps on her armguards.
"Seul and Daeho, you’re containment. His brute strength, your control of weight, you’ll keep the battlefield on our terms. Box it in."
"And me?" Jin asked.
"You’re with me," Seo said.
Of course.
She didn’t elaborate, and he didn’t ask.
The teams began to move, each one separating just slightly, checking weapons, checking footing, watching the horizon.
Seo stepped up beside Jin as they prepared to move.
"You trust them?" she asked, low.
Jin looked at the others. At the people who had stood beside him every step of the way since day one. Recruits. Friends. Survivors.
"Yeah," he said. "I do."
She nodded.
"Then we start."