After the word "Captain" left Jace's lips, David paused.
It was subtle—almost undetectable, like a fleeting whisper in the silence. Yet the squad noticed it.
His shoulders, once confident and unwavering, dropped slightly; the sharp line of his jaw softened, and for an ephemeral, almost surreal instant…a hint of warmth appeared in his eyes, breaking the plain facade that usually defined his expression.
And then—
A flicker.
Something shifted behind his eyes.
…..
Inside His Mind
"Well, would you look at this guy."
A voice—David's voice, yet not—slid through his thoughts with a lazy, cutting amusement.
"I thought he'd start begging the moment he saw you. After what he and that bitch did."
A low, humourless laugh followed. "But, it seems he still has some spine left… unless—"
The tone sank. Darkened. Thickened.
"—unless he's simply forgotten who we are."
Outside, a ripple of black aura unfurled from David's body, like smoke rising from a dying ember. The squad stiffened.
Jace's eyes widened with horror.
The aura deepened—hungry, suffocating, destructive—
Then it snapped back into David's body in an instant, vanishing as if swallowed whole.
The voice continued, sharper now, with an impatient tone.
"Let me take over. I'll remind them. I'll make him feel it—the horror, the fear, the terror we carry."
It pressed harder, pushing against him, wanting out.
But David exhaled slowly, shutting the voice out with practised ease, as though closing a door in its face.
Before turning his attention back to Jace.
"Seems you've forgotten who I am," David said quietly. "Seeing as you used that title so freely."
His finger tightened on the trigger.
Jace didn't answer. Didn't move. Didn't breathe. He just stared back, trying to keep the fear inside him from showing.
Around them, the squad held their weapons in white-knuckled grips, not daring to intervene. But ready at the same time to intervene.
David's gaze drifted, assessing. Then he clicked his tongue.
"…Looks like you graduated from the coward I knew."
The gun lowered.
A deep sigh escaped David's nostrils, carrying with it the weight of frustration. "I was truly counting on you to plead for your life," he said, a cold glint in his eyes. "It would've given me a genuine justification to end you."
He carefully holstered the weapons, their metallic forms vanishing into the depths of his coat with a soft sigh of leather. With a deliberate movement, he stepped past Jace, the sound of his boots crunching over the scattered debris echoing in the stillness around them.
"But it seems your betrayal… and their sacrifice… weren't for nothing."
He came to a sudden halt, turning slowly to face Jace. His crimson eyes sparked with an eerie glow, a chilling echo of the turmoil that resided within him.
"That doesn't mean I've forgiven you," he said, his voice low and filled with restrained intensity. After a brief silence hung between them, he added with a hint of finality, "I'm letting you live because they wouldn't have wanted me to take the life of a teammate."
With those words lingering in the air, he turned away and continued down the path, leaving a palpable tension in his wake.
…
Silence enveloped the ruins as soon as David turned away. It wasn't a peaceful silence; it was a heavy stillness that pressed against the skin, thick and suffocating, as if even the air was afraid to make a sound.
Jace remained on his knees, fixated on the ground where David had stood just moments before. His pulse began to catch up with the moment, thudding so loudly that he could feel it in his teeth.
Felix lowered his sword last, his fingers trembling with the realisation of how close he had come to dragging them into another battle—one he wasn't even sure they could survive. Eryn exhaled shakily, her knuckles white around her staff. Ethan was the first to speak, his voice barely above a whisper.
"…We survived."
Philip swallowed. "Yeah." Then they remembered. The aura that had leaked from David for an instant—That thing was not the aura of a human, or even a high-ranked zombie. At that moment, they had been sure another battle was about to take place.
Felix took a step toward Jace. "You good?"
Jace pushed himself to his feet. His legs wobbled once, but he steadied. "Yeah," he said, though the tremor in his voice betrayed him.
Felix looked at Jace, and Jace could already see it in his eyes. He was asking for an explanation of what had gone on here.
Everything. Jace looked at Felix, "It's a long story, let's get them to safety first." He said while pointing back at the transport vehicle and the civilians inside.
At one look, Jace could see that Felix wasn't keen on being left out, but he could see that after the mention of the civilians, his face softened, and he nodded.
Jace was thankful he didn't try forcing himself to speak up, as right now he wasn't sure he was in the right state of mind to answer any question.
A large shape stirred beside them.
The tiger lifted its head, blinking sleepily as if waking from a nap with the little girl still curled up on its back, while David approached. The tiger had observed David's actions throughout, before finally resting its head again—calm and unbothered.
Felix looked toward the retreating back of David for the last time.
Then faced Eryn, as he just couldn't help himself, and asked, "I can wait for an explanation later, but at least let me get his name."
Eryn took a moment to consider the question before glancing in the same direction. Finally, she spoke, saying, "His name is David." She sighed, watching him retreat. Then she added, "Stein." As soon as Felix heard the last name, his eyes widened in surprise and shock.
….
David approached Rea's side as he walked, his coat fluttering lightly in the wind. The tiger didn't speak, didn't need to. His expression showed it clearly enough—Relief. Concern. And a trace of understanding no one else possessed.
Thalassa looked at him with the same expression. Although she did not outwardly show any concern, she felt it inside; her eyes, like dark glass, shone with pride and relief.
David stopped in front of them. "You two look comfortable," David muttered, eyeing the drowsy tiger and the girl curled on his back.
Rea said nothing, still looking at David with a lazy gaze before he replied, "Pls, you talk like being there would have made any difference."
David sighed, "At least you could have pretended to be of some help," and turned to look at Thalassa, who was also looking back at him.
"Well done, Dad," Thalassa said with a smile. Before she could continue, David's voice, devoid of any emotion, cut her off. "Don't call me that."
Thalassa's expression changed from a smile to a frown. "What's your problem?" she asked. "Stop calling me Dad when I'm not your father," he replied.
"Hmm," She pouted, then spoke, "Shouldn't you be happy this princess is calling you her Dad?" David said nothing after that statement, making Thalassa almost want to cry, "You're so mean, David."
"If you're done with your attempt at being spoiled, we are almost close to our destination."
Immediately, he said that both Rea and Thalassa, with her fake tears, became serious. As they both understood what was going on, after two years of roaming around the half-continent filled with Zombies, they had almost reached their
The Great Citadel of West Minerva.