Chapter 44 — Red and the Apocalypse
"Eclipse Vanguard"
The room fell silent the moment Ragnar opened his eyes.
The air itself felt heavier.
A faint crimson glow reflected inside his slit-like pupils as he slowly stared at the ceiling. Mira stepped back immediately, wiping sweat from her forehead while Aoi sat beside her, breathing heavily after lending so much aura energy.
Hoshina instantly leaned forward from the couch he was tied to.
"Raiga"
His voice cracked with relief.
"Raiga, hey… answer me, damn it."
Ragnar slowly turned his head toward him. His body still looked battered beyond belief, bandages wrapped around his chest and shoulders while dried blood stained the couch beneath him.
"…Tch. You're loud."
Hoshina let out a shaky breath and leaned back slightly.
Everyone else remained cautious.
Tokita stood quietly near the wall with his hands inside his pockets while Natsuki folded his arms.
Kaiito narrowed his eyes.
Nezuko simply watched Ragnar carefully.
Then Ragnar slowly pushed himself upward before grimacing in pain.
"Don't move too much," Mira warned him. "Your external injuries are mostly healed, but your internal organs are still damaged badly."
Ragnar chuckled weakly.
"…Yeah. I noticed."
Then his eyes slowly moved across the room.
One by one.
Tokita.
Aoi.
Kaito.
Nezuko.
Natsuki.
Mira.
Finally, he sighed.
"…So. I guess there's no point hiding it anymore."
Aoi's expression sharpened immediately.
"Hiding what?"
Ragnar rested his head back against the couch.
"The organization."
The room went still again.
Then Ragnar finally said the name.
"…Eclipse Vanguard."
Kaiito frowned immediately.
"Eclipse Vanguard? What the hell is that supposed to be? Some kind of secret government agency?"
Ragnar let out a dry laugh.
"No. Not government."
"It's far worse."
Aoi crossed her arms.
"Then explain."
Ragnar looked at her for a moment before closing his eyes briefly.
"To explain Eclipse Vanguard…"
"…we have to go back."
"Way back."
"A year before the apocalypse began."
Aoi nodded slowly.
"…Go on."
Before Ragnar could continue, Hoshina suddenly spoke.
"…Boss."
His voice carried hesitation.
"Are you really sure about this?"
Ragnar slowly turned toward him.
"Hoshina."
"We're already screwed."
His tone became colder.
"Our identities are exposed."
"We failed the mission."
"And once Eclipse Vanguard realizes that if they haven't already…"
A faint smirk appeared on his face.
"…they'll come for us anyway."
Hoshina clenched his fists silently.
Inside his mind, one thought echoed repeatedly.
This is why I followed him.
This is why everyone respected Ragnar.
Even now, he was still thinking ahead.
Ragnar looked back toward the group.
"So if we're going down…"
"…we might as well drag them to hell with us."
A chill ran through the room.
Then Ragnar finally began.
"A year ago… before the apocalypse…"
"…I was inside a juvenile detention center for committing arson."
Natsuki blinked.
"…Wait."
"You committed arson?"
Tokita immediately laughed.
"for real, are we really surprised?"
He pointed directly at Ragnar.
"Look at this guy. His whole existence screams criminal,plus fire,arson,his abilities screams catastrophe."
Ragna scoffed "I'll take that as a compliment."
Natsuki burst out laughing.
"Exactly!"
Then he pointed at Hoshina too.
"And this one looks even worse."
Hoshina's eye twitched.
"…Say that again."
"See?" Natsuki said instantly. "That glare right there. Pure villain energy."
Even Kaiito almost smiled slightly.
Ragnar sighed tiredly.
"…Can you idiots let me continue?"
The room quieted again.
Ragnar leaned back slightly before continuing.
"I was an orphan."
His voice became calmer now.
"I grew up in shelters. Ran away eventually."
"After that, I survived however I could."
He stared blankly ahead.
"I joined a street group. A fake family."
"I thought they cared about me."
"…Turns out they just needed someone disposable."
Nobody interrupted him now.
"One day, they ordered me to burn down a man's shop because he owed money to the group leader."
Ragnar's eyes darkened slightly.
"Nobody was supposed to get hurt."
"It was only meant to scare him."
His jaw tightened.
"But things went wrong."
"The fire spread."
"And the moment the police arrived…"
"…they blamed everything on me."
Silence.
"So I got arrested."
"And sent to juvenile detention."
He tilted his head slightly toward Hoshina.
"That's where I met this idiot."
Hoshina scoffed.
"I was getting jumped by three guys."
Ragnar smirked faintly.
"…So I beat the hell out of them."
Natsuki grinned.
"Of course you did."
Ragnar continued.
"After that, things escalated."
"More fights happened."
"Then more."
"And eventually…"
"…I took over the entire cell block."
Kaiito raised an eyebrow.
"You're serious?"
Ragnar shrugged.
"Anybody who challenged me lost."
"Inmates."
"Groups."
"Even guards started avoiding me."
He laughed quietly.
"The more people I beat up, the longer my sentence became."
"Didn't really care though."
His expression darkened again.
"I had already decided I wasn't leaving that place."
The room became quiet again.
Then Ragnar continued.
"One day…"
"…a guard told me I had a visitor."
Nezuko frowned.
"A visitor?"
Ragnar nodded.
"I didn't have family."
"No parents."
"No siblings."
"Nobody."
He paused.
"So I went to see who it was."
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"And that's when I met him."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
"He was wearing a black suit."
"Perfect posture."
"Perfect smile."
Ragnar's voice lowered.
"But the moment I looked at him…"
"…I knew something was wrong."
Aoi leaned forward slightly.
"What did he want?"
Ragnar smirked bitterly.
"He told me there were powerful people gathering talented individuals around the world."
"Politicians."
"Businessmen."
"Scientists."
"People preparing for the coming of a 'new era.'"
Natsuki frowned.
"A new era?"
Ragnar nodded slowly.
"He said the world was going to change soon."
"That a catastrophe was coming."
"And when it happened…"
"…the weak would fall beneath the strong."
A cold silence filled the room.
"He said humanity was about to evolve into something greater."
Tokita finally spoke quietly.
"…The apocalypse."
Ragnar slowly looked at him.
"…Yeah."
Then Ragnar continued.
"He asked me a question."
Ragnar's eyes narrowed slightly as he remembered it.
'Do you think you could defeat a lion with your bare hands?'
Ragnar scoffed lightly.
"I told him maybe."
"But I'd probably lose an arm doing it."
Then Ragnar's expression darkened.
"And the man smiled."
"He told me that humans only ruled the food chain because of intelligence and tools they made."
"But soon…"
"…certain people would receive the power of "GODS" themselves."
Natsuki blinked."GODS..."
"…That sounds insane."Aoi muttered
Ragnar laughed.
"That's exactly what I said."
"I thought he was some cult recruiter."
Tokita smirked slightly.
"Fair."
Ragnar nodded.
"I told him to get lost."
"But then…"
His eyes sharpened.
"He offered me freedom."
Everyone froze.
"He said he could erase every charge against me."
"Not just mine."
"Hoshina's too."
Hoshina looked away silently.
Aoi narrowed her eyes.
"And you believed him?"
"No."
Ragnar answered instantly.
"But I was curious."
He continued quietly.
"So I tested him."
"I told him if he could get both of us released by tomorrow…"
"…then I'd hear him out."
Ragnar smirked faintly.
"The bastard immediately pulled out a contract."
Kaiito snorted.
"And you signed it?"
"Hell no."
Ragnar laughed.
"I threw that shit right back at him."
Even Tokita chuckled slightly.
Ragnar continued.
"I told him I don't sign mysterious papers from creepy men in suits."
For the first time, Mira actually laughed quietly.
Then Ragnar's expression slowly darkened again.
"But before leaving…"
"…the man looked directly into my eyes."
The room became still.
"And he said something I'll never forget."
Ragnar's voice lowered.
'Once you witness what is coming…'
'You will beg for the POWER we offer.'
Silence.
Then Ragnar slowly looked downward.
"And the next morning…"
His eyes narrowed.
"…every single charge against me disappeared, Not just me, Hoshina included."
Nobody spoke.
Not one word.
Then Ragnar slowly leaned back against the couch again.
"That," he said quietly,
"…was the day I first stepped into Eclipse Vanguard."