Chapter 236: Slipped Away
At that moment, the truth settled across the battlefield like an invisible weight pressing down on all of them at once.
It didn't arrive through words or confirmation. But through absence, through the way Daniel had sounded broken. Through the way the battlefield itself seemed to shift around that single loss.
Victor, Kade, Ethan, and Samantha all understood it at the same time. Clara was gone, she died. The realization cut deep, sinking into their chests with a sharp, suffocating pain.
They had lost another one of their own, and this time, there was no doubt, no uncertainty left to cling to.
The grief rose immediately. It twisted inside them as their breathing turned ragged and their bodies tensed under the weight of it.
Some of them bared their teeth or let out broken and strained sounds that barely held together. But none of them stopped moving. They couldn't. Even as the pain burned through them, even as their vision threatened to blur, they forced themselves to keep fighting. Their weapons still raised, their bodies still pushing forward.
The grief didn't fade, but changed. It hardened into aggression and rage.
Their movements shifted almost at the same time, turning sharper, faster, and far more aggressive as the emotion that threatened to break them instead fueled their actions.
There was no hesitation left in them, no restraint holding them back as they surged forward against the elite members of Red's forces who were their foes.
Their attacks carried more pressure now. Each of their strike driven by burning rage other than simple survival.
Steel and Ether collided again and again, but this time the balance had already tipped. The elite fighters tried to hold their ground or respond to the sudden escalation, but they found themselves overwhelmed under the relentless pressure that came crashing down on them all at once.
The battlefield turned brutal.
And so, their elites began to fall.
One after another, the elite members of Red's troop were cut down under their aggression.
Their defenses broke apart under the sheer force of attacks that no longer held anything back. There was no coordination spoken between them, no need for commands or signals.
They moved with a shared understanding while driven by the same loss, the same anger, and the same need to release what had built inside them.
In that storm of grief and violence, they killed every enemy that stood in front of them without stopping.
But their assault didn't slow even after the last of the elites died.
They managed to kill those elites, but the cost had already carved itself into their own body as well because of their recklessness.
Cuts spread across their arms, torsos and heads. Blood seeped through their torn clothing as their breathing grew heavier with each step. They had lost a lot of MP as well.
Some wounds were shallow while others were deeper, stinging with every movement, yet none of them stopped or even glanced at their injuries.
The pain was there, but it did not control them. They kept moving with weapons raised and eyes searching for more enemies as if stopping for even a moment would break them completely.
The battlefield blurred again as they pushed ahead in their own directions. Their bodies were driven forward by pain and sadness that refused to let them rest.
In that moment Daniel failed to notice what moved behind him.
His mind stayed clouded by rage and grief, stripping away his awareness until nothing remained except the urge to kill and release the pressure building inside his chest.
He didn't sense the presence slipping through the chaos, and he didn't realize that Rafe had already closed the distance behind him with silent and deliberate steps.
Rafe moved like a shadow, steady and precise as he reached Daniel's back. Without hesitation his dagger cut forward in a clean and decisive motion.
The blade slid across Daniel's throat with no resistance, carving deep. Blood burst outward instantly and Daniel's body froze for a second before all strength left him.
His daggers slipped from his hands as his body collapsed forward. He hit the ground with a dull impact while blood spread rapidly beneath him, mirroring the same scene that had taken Clara moments earlier.
George saw everything. His eyes widened as the moment burned into his vision, and anger surged through him as he turned toward Rafe with his hammer tightening in his grip.
"RAFE!" he roared, his voice filled with fury as he charged forward to attack.
But Rafe had already retreated with a grin on his face. He started slipping back into the chaos before George could reach him and disappearing without leaving any chance to catch him.
George's hammer swing met nothing, and his momentum broke as his focus snapped back to Daniel.
He rushed forward and dropped to his knees beside him. He then pressed his hands against Daniel's neck in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding, but the moment he felt the wound he already understood the truth.
The cut was too deep and too clean, leaving no chance to save him no matter what he did.
"No… Daniel!" George shouted, his voice breaking apart as he tried to hold him together, even as the blood continued to pour through his fingers.
Daniel's body trembled weakly. A gurgling sound escaped his throat as he struggled to breathe. His eyes lost focus while his life slipped away.
George tightened his grip, refusing to let go even when he knew it was already too late.
But nothing changed as the sound faded and the movement stopped completely.
Daniel died right there in his arms.
"Ghh…" George grit his teeth and shut his eyes.
The pain was coming to him again. It was just moments ago he knew he lost Clara, and now Daniel met with the same fate as her.
At that moment George realized… This was the reality of this war, the reality of this world right now. No matter how much they tried to cling to life, it would always slip away as easy as air.
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