Chapter 54- Love And Decision
Chapter 54- Love And Decision
Time passed slowly inside the building, and for the first time since yesterday, the group had a moment to catch their breath and relax for a bit. Everyone was incredibly exhausted, and mentally, they were drained beyond words.
No one wanted to talk; they just sat there, trying to take everything in and recover. They knew very well that things won’t be calm forever. They will eventually have to move. To where? Nobody knew yet, and the person who would make such a decision was heavily injured and sleeping.
The mood was sour, but nobody was feeling hopeless yet. The simple reason for that was Rein himself. His power, intelligence, and understanding were all crucial in keeping the entire group intact.
If miracles could be performed, then Rein was the one who would perform them. He was the single catalyst that could keep them alive. Seeing him injured simply meant that if something attacked now, they couldn’t really rely on him to survive.
Violet sat next to him, making sure he was recovering even while he was napping. She kept checking his breathing and temperature every now and then to see if his body was reacting negatively or not. However, surprisingly, he seemed rather fine all things considered.
’His body could handle injuries that deep and recover without any strong side effects... You’re really amazing, Rein.’ She blinked with a faint smile as she watched his sleeping face. Violet didn’t realize this before, but this was only the second time in her life that she actually saw Rein sleeping.
His face looked so peaceful, so calm, so... oddly innocent. Knowing the man he is, that word doesn’t really describe him. Yet, he had such an innocent face that she could only admire him in silence.
’His eyelashes are really long... And hm, I don’t know if I’m imagining things or not... But Rein looks a bit different.’ She thought to herself.
His face, while still completely recognizable, felt slightly different than usual. It looked more attractive, sharper, and more angular...
’Is this the effect of Life Essence on his body?’ Violet blinked. She had already loved Rein’s face, but the fact that he could be even more handsome than he already is... Her heart started racing.
’W-What am I even thinking about? This isn’t the time, Violet, you idiot!’ She slapped her face gently before she tried to look away. She really felt embarrassed just having such thoughts.
However, her eyes kept darting back to him without her control.
"Ugh... I should probably take a nap too..." She muttered as she sighed to herself. ’Tsk, these feelings. I wish I were more experienced to know how to handle them. I feel like a complete idiot.’
Violet, as inexperienced as she was, knew that she had feelings toward Rein. She doesn’t look at him the same way she looks at other people, and that was clear to her. She knew that she liked him, or perhaps even loved him. He was her favorite person, and deep down, she never wanted to be away from him.
However, at the same time, she knew that Rein was simply not a romantic person. She had asked him before about it, and his answer was oddly cold and distant, saying that he had no interest in such things.
She always wondered why his reaction was that way, but couldn’t ask him about it as she knew that would be crossing the line.
’Hmm, now that I think about it... Rein is a very charming man. I would be surprised if he didn’t catch the eyes of women before. Even now, he does catch their eyes. Hm... What are the chances that he was indeed interested in someone before?’ She asked herself as her expression darkened.
Just imagining that made her mouth bitter and her heart squeezed tightly. She didn’t like it whatsoever.
’No, no, no, he definitely isn’t that kind of person. He probably never got with anyone before. I can’t really imagine Rein being... Being... in love?’ She asked herself and then... She could only shake her head. ’Ya ya ya, you can’t imagine that either, Violet!’
Rein, in love, stared at her with eyes filled with adoration and love. That kind of image, as weird as it was, made her heart race even more.
These thoughts raged in her head and only made her blush harder and harder as if she was fighting a war with herself.
"Violet?" Alex noticed the weird expressions she was making and called for her. "Are you ok?"
"Huh?" She snapped out of her daze as she looked up. "Yeah, ehem, yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just... a bit tired. I think I will take a nap too."
"Yeah, you should do that, sweetheart. We will keep an eye on the outside and alert you in case there is an emergency." Victoria said with a calm tone as she sipped on a coffee she had brewed a moment ago.
"Yeah, thank you, mom. You should also rest later, ok?"
"I will, honey. Emily is sleeping in my arms now. She hadn’t slept the entirety of last night. What happened had shocked her greatly." Victoria said as she ran her hand through her little daughter’s hair while she was deep asleep. A worried look appeared on her face.
"Poor girl..." Teo said with a sad look on his face. "This world is so cruel to everyone... But little kids are the ones who will suffer the most."
The next generation was basically non-existent anymore, and those who survived will have to lead extremely tough lives. He couldn’t imagine what a small kid could do living in a world filled with mutated monsters, Undead, death, blood, and everything cruel in this world.
"..." Alex stared at Emily with a dark expression on his face. "All we can do is protect her and hope that she can live the most normal life we can give her."
"Sigh." Cain rubbed his forehead. "I still wish I could close my eyes and open them again to see that this was all just a really bad nightmare. What has become of our world?"
"It was going down this path for a very long time, Mr Cain."
At that moment, everyone turned to look at Rein as they heard his voice. The young man grunted as he rose from the ground and adjusted his position.
"Wars, famish, cruelty, greed. They were all going to lead us to this moment. The only thing the system did was accelerate it to where we can see the end result now rather than a hundred years down the line."
"..."
They all stared at him as he slowly stood up.
"Hey, Rein, you don’t need to move-"
"It’s ok. I feel a bit better now." Rein replied as he limped toward the window to check the outside. It seemed to be quiet still. "Well, there is a decision we need to make immediately."
"What is it?"
"That tower in the distance. It’s clearly not there just for no reason. Just like this system has a clear purpose, that tower most definitely has a clear purpose." Rein explained. "I don’t really know what it is or if it is even something that could help us or is completely against us. But... There is one thing I’m certain of. I want to go see for myself what it is."