Eve Story | Judgment Fable | Ella and Yoru | Episode 70: It's Not Over Yet

Fool had fallen.

However, it was not over yet.

Inside the collapsing Forbidden Zone, we were running in search of an exit.

Ella and Yoru Episode 70
[It's Not Over Yet]

The ground shook violently, and the walls were crumbling.

The ceiling of the Forbidden Zone was falling with an ear-splitting sound.

"That way... it's dangerous."

When Fortune pointed, everyone moved away from that spot.

Immediately after, the ceiling collapsed with a roar.

The path we took was not the Black Gate we had first entered through.

We kept moving forward, turning back repeatedly along a long slope lined with narrow passages.

Fortune's steps were unwavering.

As I ran following her back, I felt the air gradually becoming lighter.

When I looked up, a faint light was leaking from the end of the passage.

—The exit!

I looked at Ella, who was being carried by Chariot.

She still hadn't regained consciousness.
Even so, she was moving her eyebrows from time to time.

When I looked back, everyone was following.

"Just a little further,"

I said, and started running toward the light.

Before long, we burst out into a place where the sunlight hit.

The shaking of the ground had subsided somewhat, but the city scenery spread out before us was completely different from before we entered the Forbidden Zone.

Large buildings in the Central Shell City had collapsed, and people were running around in a panic.

Cries and screams that sounded like wailing overlapped.

Men in LAG uniforms were desperately trying to guide the people.

Even so, collapses and fires were occurring here and there, and the chaos had not yet stopped.

I was speechless at the sight.

At that moment, Nico stepped forward.

"I will take command."

It was a loud voice.

Yet, strangely, it didn't sound like she was yelling.

It was a voice that seemed to push back everything, including the sound of rubble and the screams.

Hearing that voice, the men around her gathered in front of Nico.

It wasn't just the Red-Eyed members. The LAG military police were among them as well.

Nico gave orders without hesitation.

"Gather people at the main plaza of the Central Shell City."

"Open the main gate. Let the people from outside in. Prioritize the injured."

"LAG staff, do not move individually. Gather in one place and arrange rescue and transport by sector."

And finally, Nico looked around.

"Call Dike and Rose to the center."

Every time an order was issued, the men began to move.

Someone started running, and someone else took over that voice.

A path was gradually being created amidst the chaos.

Some time had passed since Nico gave the orders.
By the time the sun began to set, countless tents had been set up in the main plaza of the Central Shell City, and a temporary infirmary had been established.

The injured were being carried in one after another, and people carrying water and cloth were moving back and forth across the plaza.

The voices of people crying and calling their family members' names could also be heard from everywhere.

In one corner, treatment for the heavily injured Hermit and Sun had also begun.

I sat in a chair beside Ella, who was lying on a simple bed, and stared at the scenery around me.

Beyond the plaza where the sunset was shining, I could see the outer gardens of Rouvent.

Some black smoke was still rising, but the fires were gradually subsiding.

"It has calmed down a little, hasn't it?"

When I looked up, Oto was offering me water in a cup.

I silently accepted it and took a sip.
It felt like the water was soaking into my body.

I had even forgotten that my throat was parched.
The hand holding the cup was trembling slightly.

For a moment, the memory of stabbing Fool in the Forbidden Zone crossed my mind.

But I shook my head slightly and chased that memory away.

—This is no time to be remembering such things.

After staring at Ella's face, who still hadn't regained consciousness, I asked Oto.

"How is everyone?"

"Sun and Hermit are both expected to recover."

Oto answered with a look of relief.

"Right now, Nico is at the center, directing the rescue operations."

As she said this, Oto pinched a loose thread on the edge of her clothes with her fingers and looked toward a large tent a little further away.

There, many people were moving, regardless of whether they were Red-Eyed, LAG, or Desert Rose.

"It seems the disaster prevention plan that Dike had been thinking about for a long time has come in handy."

I listened to those words in silence.

"Rose is persuading the merchants to release the goods from the warehouses and distribute them."

Organizations that usually kept each other in check were cooperating to stop the city's collapse.

Thinking that, the corners of my mouth lifted just a little.

"What about Dia and the others..."

Oto's words stopped.
She looked down slightly, chose her words carefully, and then continued.

"It seems that everyone in the Dragon Worship Cult, including Leader Ruth, has surrendered."

"Then, what about Seize!?"

My voice grew louder unintentionally.

Oto smiled just a little.

"Please rest assured. Those who surrendered were not detained and are now being assigned to rescue work."

"Nico said that if they want to repent, they should save the people of the city. Everyone is being worked hard right now."

I let out a breath and looked outside the tent.
There were many things I wanted to talk to Seize about, too.

But not now.

Just as I was thinking that, a faint voice leaked from the bed.

"Ugh... where... is this?"

It was Ella's voice.

"Ella! Are you okay?"

Ella tried to force herself to sit up.
But she had no strength and started to collapse forward.

I hurriedly supported Ella's body and tried to lay her back down.

However, Ella shook her head.

"Yoru. It's not over yet."

Saying that, she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and tried to stand up again.

"Ella, Fool has been defeated. The Dragon Stone is also safe."

Oto said, as if to restrain Ella.

"This city won't be able to stop as it is. I have to stop it."

Ella put her hand to her head, frowned, and answered.

"How?"

When I asked, the corners of Ella's mouth lifted slightly.

"Let me talk to Nico. I might have figured out a way."

Oto and I looked at each other, and we lent our shoulders from both sides, sandwiching Ella between us.

The large tent came into view.

Beyond the figures moving busily, long tables were lined up, and various maps were spread out on them.

Nearby, I could also see Dike and Rose.

Seeing us, the first one to speak was Rose.

"Finally awake, are you?"

Rose snorted and wore a smile.

Beside her, Dike immediately opened his mouth.

"Injured people should be resting. You are a hindrance to the rescue operations. This is Rouvent Disaster Prevention Plan Article 3—"

"You're noisy and annoying!"

Rose put her hand on Dike's head and ruffled his hair.

"Stop it. Is this violence? I will arrest you."

Dike shouted while trying to brush Rose's hand away.

"I have something to tell the Empress."

When I said that, their gazes turned toward us.

"Ella says she has thought of a way to save this city... Rouvent."

At those words, the curtain at the back of the tent opened.

"Ella. Let me hear the details of that story."

Nico's red eyes were staring straight at Ella.

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