I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm – Chapter 35

The hour passed quickly without any speaking nor any signs of resistance from the remaining lizards.

Once the countdown on my monitor had reached its end, the basalt temple was officially considered to be captured; a box was marked on another monitor signifying that the criteria to receive a Tier I victory had been met. As for what this capture looked like on the screen, I had no idea. Uunga had fallen asleep in exhaustion after the long and bloody fight, leaving the screen completely blacked out.

I still can't believe that he single-handedly killed over 1% of Levon's entire population within a few hours.

It was a feat that was unheard of, though there was nothing really to compare it to at this point.

As impressive and absurd as it was, Uunga did not come out of it unharmed. In fact, his condition was unpromising to put it lightly. His injuries were nothing to scoff at; his left arm was completely mangled, every inch of his back had been roughly sliced, large sections of the clothing he wore for protection had been torn to shreds, and numerous cuts, bruises, and burns were plastered over other parts of his body.

That was without even mentioning the physical exhaustion caused by traveling for 4 months straight- half through an icy wasteland and half through a sweltering desert- and then immediately charging into a half-a-day brutal battle against an entire city and an Oracle all by himself.

... I'm not even sure if he'll be able to make that journey again in his condition.

Although his breathing had stabilized during his rest, barring any miracle, it seemed clear to me that Uunga's fate had been set.

His injuries were simply far too great for any medical advancements of this primitive world to cover. I could try to convince the Oracle to amputate his left arm and burn it afterward to stop the bleeding, but that would likely be overstepping the rules on what I could say. That's not even mentioning how risky doing such a procedure would be.

It might not even be enough to save him, anyway.

My grip tightened on the arms of my chair as I was forced to face the reality of the situation.

Was this the right decision?

It was a question that I found myself asking repeatedly.

Uunga had not only managed to defeat Levon's Oracle and completely eliminate any threat to my realm for this battle period, but he had also somehow found a way to capture the temple as well.

Thanks to Uunga's efforts, my humans would be safe for at least another one thousand years, but he may have thrown his life away in the process of achieving that.

If I had forced him to wait for them in the arctic, would things have turned out better?

It would have been a much riskier decision- Levon's Oracle would have had years to steadily build another massive army, and with the aid of torch tree branches, they could have actually made it through the snow. Even with the advantages brought by the cold, Uunga would have needed to deal with a force far greater than the one he just faced. Given his condition despite half of the lizards fleeing after their Oracle was slain, it was certain such a fight would not have gone well.

That's not even mentioning that there would have been no chance of Uunga conquering their temple.

As I was thinking those thoughts, the screen gradually began to brighten and focus, revealing the inside of the dark and deserted basalt temple past the view of blood-covered legs peaking through torn clothing.

After giving the Oracle some time to come to his senses, I finally spoke for the first time since the battle.

I wanted to congratulate him for what he had achieved. He killed an Oracle, took on an army, and conquered their temple all on his own. He had been entrusted with what should have been an impossible task, yet he had managed to come out on top and trample everything that came in his way. I wanted to convey all of this to him and shower him with praise. I wanted to tell him how proud I was, but when I opened my mouth, only two words came out.

"... I'm sorry."

The view on the screen stayed still- only the Oracle's shallow breaths seemed to cause the screen to sway.

Such a static sight did not last forever, however, and the Oracle soon rose to his unsteady feet with his broken club in hand. Step by step, I watched as Uunga exited the basalt temple and trudged into the now mostly abandoned ancient city still smoldering from the remnants of battle.

The lone human treaded over the corpse-covered ground- his eyes soon locking onto one scarred figure sprawled among them, its right eye socket was void of its sight. With one last glance at the slain beast, the Oracle continued his journey out of the city in the direction of where he came from.

Uunga's steps were slow, and with his mangled left arm dangling at his side, he nearly looked as dead as the corpses he had just left behind. His hide clothing which had once been the pinnacle of my realm's innovation had been reduced to a state that could not be considered more than horribly tattered rags. 

Yet despite all of this, there was one thing that stuck out to me.

The screen is in full focus.

Though silent, Uunga was conscious. Though exhausted, Uunga kept moving. Though broken, Uunga was determined.

He would not go down in this foreign land- he would drag his injured body back to the portal he came from. He would return home.

At his current pace, this would likely take half a year. It would be a brutal journey through sweltering desert and frigid snow, and considering his condition, it was an impossible task.

But Uunga was not a stranger to impossibility.

I watched on as he slowly made his way closer to the portal while the days flew by. The grassland under his feet turned into savannah, then desert, to swamp, and desert again, until the pair of familiar stone pillars appeared before his tired body. Though I spent the time speaking of what he had achieved and every other thought that came to my mind, he had not uttered a single word through the three months it took him to reach that point.

After kicking aside a small stone and stuffing the feathers buried underneath into the remaining hide on his body, Uunga stepped into the red hue- vanishing from the land he had conquered as quickly as he had appeared.

The hide bag that he had sported upon his entrance had been nearly completely destroyed in the fight, yet the Oracle had managed to tie the material into a small pouch to use on the travels. The moment after being blasted by a nostalgic blast of icy wind, Uunga reached into this pouch and pulled out a certain stick.

Fwoom!

His body which had long ago grown cold from blood loss was enveloped in a heat reminiscent of the desert he had just arrived from. It was thanks to this that Uunga managed to trudge through the ankle-high snow and eventually travel through the two mountain ranges by the time half a year had passed from when he had left the temple.

While I looked at the Oracle with eyes of admiration for somehow managing to journey back to my realm with his broken body, it was clear that his body was well-passed its limit.

He may have been an Oracle in a universe full of magic, but Uunga was still a human at the end of the day. No amount of willpower, nor strength could prevent the inevitable.

Yet he is still moving...

Even as his body deteriorated with every step, Uunga continued to move through the continent with a torch in hand. Step by step, day by day, Uunga forced his broken body closer to the plateau.

He went on through pure willpower for another two months, before he reached the river's crossing where a landslide had provided an unstable passage across, followed by one more month with steadily slowing steps further east.

But eventually, long after burning through his stockpile of branches, near the southern tip of the long lake formed from the remnants of the original river's path, the Oracle's legs gave out causing him to collapse onto the soft moss-covered ground.

The Oracle tried to push himself up using his right arm but only succeded in turning himself onto his back before falling right back down. A light blue sky filled the screen now beginning to blur.

"Uunga... it is time for you to rest," I softly spoke.

"... I do not want to," a strong voice not matching the shattered body it had emerged from replied through the screen.

"It's the first time you've spoken in nearly nine months, and you use those words to argue with me."

Despite the pain in my heart, I couldn't help but smile.

"You traveled two worlds, slayed an Oracle, defeated a city, captured its temple, and somehow managed to return through pure determination alone. You single-handedly saved this world with your own might. You have done more than anyone else possibly could h-have."

My voice broke a bit at the end, yet I continued speaking.

"You did so much, but there's nothing I can do in return," I paused as a stinging pain shot through my chest, "I can't save you, Uunga."

"..."

I found Uunga when he was still a kid and made him my Oracle when he was around 22 years old. Ever since that moment, every step he took was for the sake of my realm.

My emotions began to show in my eyes, and despite my best efforts to hide them, I felt a feathered stare from the icy balcony behind me. I could not hold them back any longer.

"You spent your entire life living for my sake and got nothing in return. Sure, I gave you strength, but you only used it to fight on my behalf-"

"That is not true," Uunga's voice brought an end to my speech, "I wanted to fight. I slayed the strongest beast of this world. You gave me the chance to beat the strongest in another."

Despite the nature of the situation, I could not help but smile at his words.

"That's not a fair trade and you know it."

The view of the screen narrowed slightly, indicating that the Oracle was smiling.

"I did not only want to fight. I wanted to protect this world, too," he continued.

The screen rapidly regained its clarity, as if the blurriness that dominated my view had only been from my imagination. The Oracle's voice seemed to likewise grow stronger.

"I have traveled this whole world. I have seen the beasts, the people, and the trees. I have seen the land, the rivers that run through it, and the endless seas to which they lead. I have walked and met so many, I have fathered ones who crawl. I have seen the storms, the rainbows, and the snow; I have seen the beauty in it all."

The silence of the past 9 months bore its fruits. Every line seemed to cause my heart to tighten.

"E-even my storms, huh?" I managed to croak out.

The screen began to blur again.

"I am happy to save this beautiful world," the Oracle declared resolutely.

"... But what was this whole trip for then? You could have rested months ago... why push yourself so hard?"

The blue sky began to lose its color.

"... I wanted to see them one more time," Uunga softly stated.

I understood his plight completely.

"They will have good lives and grow up strong. I know it- they're your children, after all."

The screen narrowed again at my words. The edges began to fade black.

"...Watch them for me."

"I will, Uunga. Please rest well," I watched as the darkness on the screen steadily moved in from the edges, "I am so proud of you. Thank you for everything."

With one final breath, the last of the light vanished from the screen leaving the domain in heavy silence.