The dust parted in slow, curling waves as a figure stepped through it.
David emerged from the settling dust, walking toward the battered transport vehicle and the wounded squad gathered near it.
The world behind him was nothing but devastation—scorched earth, shattered concrete, and the still-steaming corpse of the Rook he had just slain.
He stopped a few paces away, his expression unreadable.
His crimson eyes drifted across the scene:
—from the mangled transport filled with terrified civilians,
—to the injured members of the squad who had barely survived,
—to Rea and Thalassa standing at the edge of the rubble.
No one dared to speak. Maybe only Thalassa, who was barely holding back her laughter, seemed to enjoy seeing David in that mood.
As they reflected on the utter devastation he had unleashed, the memories loomed large—an overwhelming spectacle that stood as a stark testament to his unimaginable strength.
A rank two human, by all accounts, should have posed no challenge against a rank three Rook—should have been utterly incapable of engaging such a formidable adversary, let alone overpowering and reducing them to mere fragments in a display of raw power.
The ferocity of his might was so immense that it defied understanding, leaving no room for doubt that something extraordinary and otherworldly had transpired.
The remnants of the battle told a harrowing tale of chaos and destruction; twisted metal, scorched earth, and remnants of shattered dreams painted a picture that was both awe-inspiring and horrifying—a scene that transcended all conventional expectations.
But David said nothing.
His gaze swept over the group once more—slow, precise, unnervingly calm. And though his face never changed, everyone present felt it:
He was searching for someone.
And then… they noticed.
His attention lingered on only two people.
Eryn and Jace.
The atmosphere tightened instantly, suffocating and electric. Before anyone could speak or even breathe—
David moved.
In an instant, he materialized before Jace, the space between them vanishing as if he had defied the very laws of movement. His arrival was so sudden and silent that not a single onlooker registered the swift steps he took. He cast no glance toward Eryn, his eyes skipping over her like a stone across water.
Felix, Kara, Ethan, and all the others seemed to fade into the background, their presence utterly ignored as he focused solely on the figure before him.
His focus was absolute.
His gun rose in his hand, the barrel pressing firmly against Jace's forehead.
Crimson eyes met Jace's.
David's voice was low, cold, carved from ice:
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you."
….
Eryn's breath caught in her throat as her gaze fixated on him—David, enveloped in a swirling haze of smoke and shadow, the remnants of that ominous power still clinging to him like a second skin.
His raven-black hair was interwoven with vibrant streaks of red, reminiscent of molten lava that had cooled into a hardened, fiery web.
His eyes, a piercing crimson, radiated an intense coldness; there was no hint of warmth, no flicker of hesitation—only a sharp, unyielding clarity that sent a shiver racing down her spine and tightened her chest with a potent mix of fear and awe.
His coat was torn across the sleeves and shoulders, singed by fire, ripped by claws, yet he stood perfectly straight, posture rigid, unshaken.
The twin blades at his sides quivered faintly with leftover aura, thin tendrils of darkness evaporating off them into the air.
Nothing about him looked human anymore.
Nothing about him looked safe.
Recognition struck her first.
Then fear.
A quiet, sharp fear she couldn't swallow down.
She knew him—knew the man she had once loved, hated, hurt, and betrayed.
And seeing him now, standing wrapped in darkness, she understood something chilling:
He hadn't softened.
He hadn't dulled.
He had only become sharper… colder… quieter.
Guilt tightened inside her, sharp and familiar—yet she felt no true regret.
Her choices had been made long ago.
But facing him now…
She finally understood the weight of them.
She felt an intense urge to speak, to shatter the oppressive silence that hung between them like a heavy fog. Her heart raced as she struggled to find the words, desperate to call out his name and release the tension that had coiled around them. But just as she summoned the courage to break the stillness,
David moved.
No warning.
No sound.
Just a clean, lethal shift of motion.
In the blink of an eye, he stood in front of Jace.
Eryn froze.
He wasn't looking at her. He had never been.
His entire focus, his entire killing intent, his entire attention—
was fixed on Jace.
Her stomach dropped.
Her pulse stumbled.
And then she heard his voice, cutting through like a blade:
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
Eryn could only watch—frozen, breath locked in her chest—as the barrel of David's gun pressed against Jace's forehead.