Chapter 711 The Cost Of Every Decision

Irina remained speechless.

For several seconds, she did not even know what to say. Her body was perfectly still, but the storm raging inside her was anything but calm. One hand hung beside her while the other was clenched so tightly into a fist that the veins along her forearm visibly bulged beneath her skin. Her nails dug into her palm, yet she barely noticed the pain. Her eyes remained fixed on Eldric, and every instinct inside her screamed at her to end him right there.

She wanted to snap his neck.

She wanted to tear his head from his body and watch that disgusting smile disappear forever.

But she couldn’t.

Not yet.

Liam was still somewhere in Eldric’s hands. She did not know where he was being held, what condition he was in, or what Eldric had done to him. Killing Eldric without knowing those things could turn Liam’s situation from dangerous to hopeless in an instant. That knowledge was the only thing preventing Irina from turning the entire room into a bloodbath.

Eldric seemed to understand that perfectly.

He watched her struggle with a satisfied expression, almost enjoying the conflict taking place inside her. He knew she wanted to kill him. He knew she was capable of doing it. More importantly, he knew she couldn’t afford to.

That was why he was smiling.

After several seconds, Eldric slowly stood from his chair.

"I’ll make this simple for you," he said.

Irina’s eyes narrowed.

"You have twenty-four hours to return my wife."

The words immediately made the atmosphere in the room heavier.

"Twenty-four hours," Eldric repeated calmly. "Bring Mira back to me, and Liam lives."

Irina’s eyes flickered dangerously.

"And if I don’t?"

Eldric smiled.

"Then he dies."

A dangerous light flashed inside Irina’s eyes.

"I’ll be damned if I let you touch her again."

Eldric chuckled.

He actually looked amused.

Then, as though the entire conversation had become boring to him, he yawned and casually turned toward the interior of the house.

"Well," he said lazily, "I guess you’ll be damned when I place his dead body in your hands."

Irina’s fists tightened.

Eldric continued walking.

There was no fear in his movements. No hesitation. No indication that he believed Irina could stop him. He moved through his own house with the confidence of a man who believed every possible outcome had already been accounted for.

He reached the entrance to his room and stopped.

For a moment, he looked over his shoulder.

His expression changed.

The smug amusement remained, but his eyes carried something colder.

"And while you’re thinking about what to do next," Eldric said, "remember something."

Irina remained silent.

Eldric’s smile widened.

"Good luck convincing this entire town that the man who has been guiding them for the past fifteen years is actually responsible for the deaths of their loved ones."

Irina’s eyes narrowed.

"The man who provided food."

He raised one finger.

"The man who helped rebuild their homes."

Another finger.

"The man who gave them shelter."

Another.

"The man who stayed here when everyone else was trapped."

His voice became increasingly mocking.

"You think these people are simply going to believe you?"

Eldric laughed.

"Do you really think they’ll suddenly look at me and see the monster you’ve decided I am?"

He shook his head.

"They’ve depended on me for fifteen years."

His grin became wider.

"They trust me."

Irina’s stomach turned.

Eldric had spent fifteen years building that image.

Every meal.

Every roof.

Every piece of guidance.

Every act of supposed kindness.

He had woven himself into the fabric of Elaris so deeply that removing him would mean tearing apart something the entire village had depended upon for years.

And he knew it.

That was the most infuriating part.

He wasn’t merely hiding behind the villagers.

He had deliberately made himself indispensable to them.

"Have you no remorse?" Irina spat.

Eldric looked at her.

Irina’s disgust was written across her face.

"You’ve killed hundreds of people. You’ve imprisoned your own wife for seven years. You’ve manipulated an entire village and watched people suffer while pretending to be their protector."

Her voice trembled with restrained fury.

"And you still stand there smiling."

Eldric’s smile did not disappear.

Irina stepped closer.

"And If you harm a single hair on Liam’s head, I will rip you apart."

Eldric stared at her for a moment.

Then he smiled.

He turned and disappeared into his room.

"Yeah," his voice came from the darkness as he vanished inside, "good luck with that too."

The door closed.

Irina remained standing in the middle of the room.

For several seconds, she simply stared at the closed door.

Her breathing was slow.

Controlled.

But her mind was moving at terrifying speed.

Twenty-four hours.

Liam’s life.

Mira’s freedom.

Eldric’s secrets.

The dome.

The treasure.

Everything had suddenly become tangled together.

And she hated the fact that Eldric had managed to put her in a position where every choice came with a cost.

?

Outside Liam and Irina’s house, Voss was pacing back and forth.

The drizzle had started while Irina was gone, covering the village in a thin veil of rain. The clouds overhead were dark and heavy, and the streets had become damp beneath the steady fall of water.

Voss barely noticed.

His attention remained fixed on the direction Irina had disappeared.

Every few seconds, he would glance toward the road.

Then back toward the house.

Then toward the road again.

Mira sat quietly on the stairs near the entrance, her hands resting in her lap. She had been silent for most of the time, but the tension in her posture revealed that she was just as worried.

Neither of them knew what had happened inside Eldric’s house.

They only knew that Irina had gone there alone.

And that Liam was still missing.

"She should have been back by now," Voss muttered.

Mira looked toward him.

"Do you think something happened?"

Voss stopped pacing.

"I don’t know."

He looked down the road again.

"But with Irina, I doubt anything happened to her."

He paused.

"The problem is what she found."

Mira lowered her eyes.

She knew exactly what he meant.

Liam.

She had only known him for a short time, but she had already seen enough to understand that he was not an ordinary person. He had saved Leo when everyone else believed the boy was already lost. He had treated her with kindness despite knowing nothing about her. He had walked directly into the mysteries surrounding Elaris instead of turning away.

And now he was missing.

Mira clasped her hands tighter.

"I hope he’s safe."

Voss looked at her.

"So do I."

Then he saw movement.

His eyes widened.

"Irina."

Mira immediately looked up.

A figure was approaching through the drizzle.

Irina.

She walked toward them slowly.

There was no urgency in her movements now.

No sprinting.

No visible anger.

Yet somehow, the sight of her made Voss more concerned than if she had returned shouting.

Her expression said everything.

The confrontation had not gone well.

Voss immediately moved toward her.

"What happened?"

Irina did not answer.

She simply continued walking.

Voss followed beside her.

"Irina?"

Nothing.

Her eyes remained fixed ahead.

Then they shifted toward Mira.

Mira noticed.

Something inside her seemed to sink.

She understood before anyone said a word.

She slowly stood from the stairs.

"It seems..." Mira whispered.

Her voice trembled.

"In exchange for Liam, he asked that I be returned, right?"

Irina stopped.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then she nodded.

Mira’s shoulders dropped.

She looked toward the sky.

The drizzle continued falling.

Tiny droplets landed on her face and slid slowly down her cheeks. For a moment, she simply stood there, allowing the rain to fall over her.

Then one tear escaped.

"It seems I can’t escape him after all."

Irina’s expression changed.

She had expected anger.

Fear.

Perhaps even relief that Liam’s life could be exchanged for Mira’s return.

But Mira’s reaction was different.

She sounded defeated.

As though the seven years of imprisonment had taught her that freedom was never something she could truly keep.

"I’ll go back," Mira whispered.

Irina’s eyes widened.

"Mira?"

Mira looked at her.

"If giving myself back saves Liam..."

Her voice cracked.

"Then maybe that’s what I have to do."

Irina stared at her.

For a moment, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Then something fierce ignited inside her.

"No."

Mira blinked.

Irina stepped toward her.

"No."

Her voice was much firmer this time.

Mira stared at her in confusion.

"Irina..."

"No one is going anywhere."

The words came with frightening resolve.

Voss went silent.

Irina looked directly into Mira’s eyes.

"You are not some object that can be handed over to someone because he demands it."

Mira’s lips parted.

"You are a person."

Irina stepped closer.

"You suffered for seven years because that man decided he had the right to control your life. You finally escaped him, and now he thinks he can simply demand that you be returned?"

Her eyes became colder.

"No."

Mira’s eyes began to water.

Irina reached out and placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"I told Eldric that I would be damned if I let you come back."

Her gaze hardened.

"And I meant it."