Chapter 234: Broken
Clara's body dropped without any resistance. Her strength disappears in a single, irreversible moment as if it had never existed in the first place.
When her body hit the ground, the impact sounded dull beneath the chaos of the battlefield, yet it carried a finality that cut through everything around it.
Blood spread beneath her rapidly, dark and thick, seeping into the dirt and forming a widening pool that swallowed the space around her as though the ground had opened to consume her.
Her eyes remained wide open. Frozen in a moment she never managed to understand. Filled with despair, anger, and shock that lingered even after life had already left her body.
Rafe let out a sigh as he watched her for a second, then shifted his gaze toward the spearwoman on the ground in front of him.
The woman forced her injured body to stand. Her muscles strained as she tried to push herself upright.
"You…" she said. She paused for a moment before continuing, "Thanks, I guess."
"Whatever. Just go," Rafe replied without emotion.
The spearwoman stared at him for a moment before letting out a short, mocking snort, her lips curling into a faint sneer as she spoke again.
"We're glad we had a traitor like you in this camp. I guess having someone with no loyalty like you is beneficial in the long term." Her eyes narrowed slightly as she added, "I always hated you. You always seemed like the type who would stab your friends in the back since the first time I met you. But you're worse than I thought."
Rafe's eyes sharpened instantly at her words. His jaw tightening as he raised his dagger, the blade catching a faint glint of light.
"You want a taste of this too?" he asked, his voice cold and low, carrying a quiet threat that didn't need to be emphasized further.
The spearwoman only responded with a crooked smile as if she had already expected that reaction from him. Without saying anything else, she turned and ran. Her figure quickly disappeared into the chaos of the battlefield.
Rafe remained still as he watched her back retreat further and further away. His grip on the dagger slowly loosening even as his gaze stayed locked on her until she vanished completely.
"This doesn't end yet." The thought settled firmly in his mind. "You'll die too… just not now."
He understood it completely. His betrayal would not end with this moment. When everything involving Myles and his companions finally reached its conclusion, he would return to finish what he had started and also kill Red's companions, leaving no loose ends behind.
Then he slipped back into the surrounding chaos again.
—
Elsewhere on the battlefield, the clash between Daniel and George against Peter and Varyn continued with brutal intensity. The constant collision of weapons creating sharp, ringing sounds that blended into the chaos surrounding them.
Daniel moved with overwhelming speed. His twin daggers cut through the air with speed and control that Varyn struggled to follow. His movement flowed seamlessly into the next as it forced Varyn into a defensive position again and again.
His attacks failed to land cleanly, while Daniel's strikes found their mark more often than not, leaving small cuts and deeper wounds accumulating across his body as the pressure continued to build.
At the same time, George dominated his own fight through sheer strength. His hammer swings carry a crushing force that pushes Peter backward despite his attempts to resist.
The difference between them became clearer with every exchange, and Peter could feel it in the trembling of his arms every time he blocked another heavy blow.
"I'm stronger… I should be stronger…", he thought, his mind clinging to that belief even as reality continued to prove otherwise. "Then why… why is he overpowering me?"
The doubt began to grow sharp and persistent inside him, refusing to fade no matter how much he tried to ignore it.
Varyn felt that same pressure in a different way, as Daniel's movements appeared faster, sharper, and far more refined than his own. It left him struggling to keep up as each exchange added more wounds to his body and less space for him to recover.
Daniel allowed a faint smirk to form on his face as he pressed forward while fully aware that he held the upper hand.
But that moment of confidence shattered when his eyes glanced to the side and caught something through the thinning mass of fighters.
A figure lay on the ground.
Surrounded by blood.
Recognition hit him instantly. Everything inside him froze as he realized what he was seeing.
It was Clara.
His eyes widened. His entire body trembling as reality forced itself into his mind, breaking through the layer of denial he tried to cling to.
"No… no… no…" he muttered under his breath, his voice shaking as disbelief took over and shattered his focus completely.
The battlefield, the enemies, the fight itself, all of it faded into the background as his mind locked onto that single image.
Varyn saw the change immediately. He recognized the hesitation in Daniel's face and the opening it created for him, and he didn't waste a single second as he lunged forward while also driving his weapon straight toward Daniel.
Daniel's instincts reacted before his thoughts could catch up. His body moved on its own as he raised his daggers just in time to block the attack.
CLANG!
The impact forced him backward and snapping him partially out of his daze.
They clashed again, exchanging blows in rapid succession.
But Daniel wasn't truly present anymore. His mind still fixed on the image of Clara's body lying motionless in a pool of blood.
"No… that's not real…", he told himself, but the more he tried to deny it the heavier the truth became. It pressed down on him until it could no longer be ignored.
Something inside him began to rise, a slow and burning anger that pushed everything else aside until only one thought remained clear in his mind.
"I have to see her!"
And to do that, he needed to end this fight immediately.
Daniel's expression hardened as he grit his teeth. His movements changed instantly as his attacks became faster and heavier, each slashes and thrust carrying a force that Varyn struggled to block.
The sudden increase in pressure caught Varyn off guard. His eyes widening as he barely managed to defend against the relentless assault. The attack pushed him further off balance.
Daniel didn't stop or hesitate. His bluish daggers flashing forward in a precise and deadly attack and one of them finally pierced into Varyn's stomach while the other attack drove straight into his chest.
Blood burst out instantly, staining Daniel's hands and clothes as Varyn gasped. His body loses all strength before collapsing to the ground while bleeding heavily.
Daniel didn't finish him. Instead, he pulled his weapons free and turned away without a second glance, moving immediately toward the direction where he had seen Clara's body.
Varyn lay there in confusion. He frowned and struggled to understand why he had been spared.
A mix of shock and relief filled him as he forced his injured body to move, dragging himself away from the battlefield. He had to search for someone who could heal him before he bled to death.
Meanwhile, George remained focused on his own fight, completely unaware that Daniel had already left.
—
Daniel ran without slowing until he reached the place. The moment he arrived there, his steps came to a sudden halt as the scene before him confirmed everything he had feared.
Clara's body lay there exactly as he had seen it from a distance. She was unmoving and silent, surrounded by blood that continued to spread across the ground.
The closer he got, the more undeniable the truth became. His legs gave out beneath him as he dropped to his knees beside her.
His trousers immediately soaking in the thick, warm blood.
His eyes widened further as he looked at her throat that was torn open in a way that left no room for doubt.
She was dead. Danie was certain of that.
His breathing became uneven as the weight of that realization crashed down on him. His chest was tightening as if something inside him was breaking apart.
"No…" he whispered, his voice trembling as his hands shook while reaching out to her as if touching her might somehow change what he was seeing, but nothing changed. Of course, nothing changed.
Her eyes remained open, empty and lifeless, the expression frozen in place as if she had been trapped in her final moment forever.
Tears filled Daniel's eyes, blurring his vision before spilling over uncontrollably. His shoulders trembled as the sharp and suffocating pain settled deep within him.
His heart felt like it was breaking apart piece by piece, leaving him unable to hold himself together any longer.
And in that moment, surrounded by blood and silence, Daniel cried.
—