The place was chaotic.
Everyone had forgotten their differences.
How could differences remain when something heavier appeared—especially when that thing was death itself?
Pieces of bodies filled the place.
Vomit… and everything else as well.
Lillian had already injured her hand from biting it too hard and could taste blood in her mouth.
Meanwhile, Edward was staring at the place where the monster had disappeared.
The scene did not affect him much.
Instead, it made him think.
'Wake up, Edward! Will you let what happened to your father happen to what remains of your family?!'
Edward had already watched his father being eaten in front of his eyes, and he had not been able to do anything.
That was one of the reasons he remained more conscious than the others.
He turned and looked at his companions.
He no longer cared about anything.
What mattered, after all, besides his family?
When he saw his sister trembling, still not recovered from her fear—
his eyelids almost closed,
wrinkles formed as his brows tightened,
and he clenched his teeth hard.
He felt complete helplessness.
'Damn me! How could you let trash like that bastard do this to your sister?! Can I still call myself her brother after this?!'
Edward was harsh on himself,
remembering every moment his sister had supported him.
The moments she embraced him.
The moments she soothed him.
The moments she almost sacrificed herself for him.
And he…
could not even move.
Could not even hold her hand.
He could not even bear to look at her miserable state,
so he lowered his eyes.
The sounds of Caroline vomiting violently onto the ground showed the extent of the terror that thing had caused them in just minutes.
She felt as if her stomach had turned inside out.
Sera was not in a better condition.
She had been smart enough to cover her eyes,
but now, after removing her hands and seeing the scene,
she could only gasp and fall to her knees,
covering her mouth.
Chaos was everywhere.
Even Naivy was not steady.
In truth, she was very afraid.
Her life had only taught her how to hide fear—
not for long.
If that thing had stayed longer,
she would have started crying.
Luck was on their side this time.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
After some time, as each of them tried to process what had happened—
a movement pulled Leona out of her daze.
The movement was not far.
It was in her arms.
When she lowered her eyes—
she could no longer hold back her tears.
Anas had opened his eyes.
"Does none of you understand the concept of personal space?"
Everyone looked toward the source of the voice—
their eyes widening.
But Anas continued speaking.
"The sound of your heartbeat is extremely annoying. Also, why are you holding me like this?"
Anas's sudden words finally broke the silence.
Despite his usual tone,
Leona did not let him go.
On the contrary—
she hugged him tightly,
burying her face in his chest,
crying loudly and painfully,
while hitting his chest.
Anas did not understand anything.
His mind tried to connect the pieces—
but he could not.
"You idiot! Why did you leave us when we needed you?! Are you happy with what happened to us now?! If only… if only you had listened to me and stayed with us!"
She raised her head and looked at him.
"What did you gain from that stupid monster's corpse?! You left me to lead the group! You left me to protect you to repay the debt of saving us!"
She pressed her face against his chest again and whispered,
"You made me act like nobles… and I even wet myself. (she lets out a light, tense laugh) I didn't even do that when I was a child. You're annoying."
Despite everything—
Anas was the reason Leona remained standing.
In the end, humans become stronger when they act for a purpose,
no matter how trivial it may seem.
Leona's words made Anas understand what had happened.
He had felt that he was wet—
but only now did he understand why.
"What are you talking about? We are human. Anyone who expects perfection from humans is simply a fool."
Leona lifted her eyes and looked at him from beneath her golden lashes.
"Really? Do you not care at all, or are you just comforting me?"
She searched his dark eyes for mockery or pity—
what she had always been used to in her life.
But she found nothing.
Only that Anas was looking at her—
without looking away.
"Listen. I don't care, because life is unpredictable. In one moment, the weak may rise and the strong may fall. If we stopped at such trivial things, humanity would have gone extinct long ago. Or at least, that's what makes sense to me."
Edward finally released his tension,
stepped forward,
and patted Anas on the shoulder.
"You idiot… I didn't expect your absence to have such an impact until we lost you. You were a burden on us while you were unconscious."
Suddenly—
something rushed toward Anas and hugged him.
It was Naivy.
She held him tightly.
"Are you okay? Don't die. Do you understand? Don't die."
The group was finally overcoming that ordeal.
They looked like…
something close to a family,
under the fading sunlight.
Even Lillian, Caroline, and Sera began to regain themselves upon seeing that scene.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
After everyone calmed down, Anas asked:
"So… are you going to tell me what happened while I was unconscious?"
Leona regained her composure,
looked at the girls,
and began to speak.
"Well… these are new allies."
She gestured toward them.
Caroline looked at him for a moment, then turned her face away when their eyes met.
Sera was still affected by the death of her two friends and did not pay him much attention.
As for Lillian—
she had already overcome her shock,
and was waving at him with a childish smile.
"Hello, I'm Lillian. This redhead is Caroline, and this quiet one is Sera. Nice to meet you, you…"
She stopped,
waiting for Anas to complete it.
But her smile quickly faded as she stared at him.
Anas tilted his head slightly,
looking at her expressionlessly.
In truth,
he wanted to place his blade on her neck and threaten her—
but he was surrounded by his "allies."
"What is your goal?" Anas asked in a flat voice.
'Huh? Do all members of this group only ask questions? And each question is harder than the other! Lillian thought.'
She sighed in exhaustion,
raising her hands in surrender.
"Listen. We only wanted to escape the black market. We had no idea the colony had fallen, and meeting you was purely a coincidence. But after that thing appeared… we changed our minds. Maybe we will follow you. You are still injured, and I can quickly find a doctor for you. So it will be a mutual benefit. Right?"
'That thing? That explains all this destruction.'
Anas's curiosity began to move.
"What is this thing that causes all this destruction and does this to you?"
Lillian answered with a single word:
"Nightmare."
Anas stared at her for a moment.
Then he said:
"I want to see it."
Everyone's eyes widened.
And they shouted at the same time:
"What?!"