The wind howled as the Core Strike Team soared over the mountains, the sharp peaks of the Varis Region looming below them. Clouds parted like a curtain as Indra flew alongside Lumina and the others, his eyes focused ahead.
A dreadful silence gripped the team as they began descending.
"No way…" Gerrik whispered, eyes wide in disbelief.
"But how?!" Lumina gasped.
Below them lay the shattered remains of what had once been Varis. The mountain city had been leveled—its temples crushed, homes burned, and stone bridges collapsed into ruin. Black smoke drifted into the air, curling toward the heavens like a funeral pyre.
Cries could be heard beneath the rubble.
"You hear that? There's survivors in there!" Indra shouted, already diving toward the ground.
Lumina's voice rang with urgency. "We have to help as many people as we can. Let's move, people!"
She turned to Indra. "Lord Indra— I mean, Indra… can you assist us?"
"Of course," he said, without hesitation.
The team landed amidst the chaos, rubble crunching under their boots. With no time to waste, they began digging through collapsed buildings and overturned stone. Cries echoed through the dust—some weak, some frantic.
The group, joined by several able survivors, worked quickly, lifting beams, shoving aside debris, and pulling people from the ruins.
Indra heaved a crumbled door off a small child, who gasped for breath and clung to him.
"This is bad," Gerrik muttered, sweat beading on his forehead. "Some of these people are still alive but… they're in pretty bad condition."
"Treat them, Gerrik," Lumina said firmly. "As best as you can."
Gerrik knelt beside a wounded man and reached for his bag. "Bandages won't do them any good," he said grimly.
"They need a doctor," Kagiyama added, brushing debris from his shoulder.
"Is anyone here a doctor?" Lumina called out.
"No, ma'am," a weary man replied. "The doctors are among the injured."
"Damn," Lumina muttered. Her voice cracked with frustration. "There has to be something we can do…"
Thunder rumbled through the clouds, and suddenly a radiant light pierced the gray sky.
Gabriella descended like a falling star, her robes catching the wind as she landed gracefully beside the group.
"It's Gabriella," Lumina said in relief.
"What happened here?" Gabriella asked, surveying the ruin around her.
"I don't know. It was like this when we got here," Indra answered.
"Madam," Lumina said, turning to her with urgency, "please help. Are you able to heal these people?"
Gabriella's expression softened, and she nodded. "Sure. Stand back."
She knelt, placing one hand on the cracked earth. Her body began to glow with divine light, the energy flowing from her core to her fingertips.
"Divine…" she whispered.
"Healing."
A wave of radiant energy pulsed outward from her hand, flooding the ground with life. Where it touched, wounds closed, breath returned to lungs, and bodies once lifeless stirred.
"Woah—what happened?" a man exclaimed, sitting up in shock.
"My arm! It's not broken anymore!" another cried.
"That's incredible," Indra said, watching the miracle unfold. Even the grass and flowers were blooming again, weaving through the wreckage.
"Alright, let's help everyone else," Gabriella said, already moving to the next body.
"Couldn't you just hit the whole area with that wave?" Indra asked, curious.
"If I heal someone who's trapped under rubble," she explained, "they'll just get re-injured. I'd be forcing them to go through that pain all over again. We have to get them out first."
"I didn't think about that… but it makes sense."
"You can raise people from the dead?!" Lumina asked, stunned.
"Yes," Gabriella replied calmly, "but there are conditions that must be met."
They moved as a unit, finding The Zehirah and helping the wounded as Gabriella continued to spread her healing across the ruined city.
Indra paused, his gaze sweeping the devastation.
"This isn't right."
"What isn't?" Gabriella asked, glancing at him.
"Who could do something like this? It isn't right. These people don't deserve this."
Gabriella looked at him, her expression solemn.
"Indra… they don't think about right and wrong. It's whether they want to or not. And this isn't the work of a lowly demon."
A chill ran down Indra's spine.
Somewhere nearby… something darker waited.