Chapter 28 – Aftermath
They moved away from the clearing without speaking.
The sounds that had drawn Jack in faded quickly behind them, swallowed by the trees and the steady quiet that seemed to define everything beyond the Citadel’s reach. The trail remained visible underfoot, cutting through the ground with the same deliberate direction as before, but now there were two sets of footsteps following it instead of one.
Jack did not slow his pace.
He adjusted it slightly, not to accommodate her, but to maintain efficiency. If she couldn’t keep up, that would show quickly enough. He didn’t look back to check.
He didn’t need to.
Her steps remained consistent behind him.
Not perfectly even, not without strain, but controlled. She was keeping pace, and she wasn’t trying to hide the effort it took. That alone told him more than anything she could have said.
After a few minutes, he spoke without turning.
“What’s your class.”
The question was direct, without introduction or context.
There was a brief pause behind him before she answered.
“Ranger.”
Her voice had steadied compared to before, the strain still present but no longer dominating it. There was a slight edge to the word, not defensive, but measured, as if she was aware that the answer would be evaluated.
Jack nodded once, even though she couldn’t see it.
That matched.
Her awareness, her movement, the way she had held herself even immediately after the encounter—it fit the archetype.
“Level.”
“Eight.”
He registered that without comment.
Lower than his, but not insignificant.
Enough to survive.
Enough to contribute, depending on how she used it.
They continued forward, the trail guiding them without deviation.
Jack let his awareness extend outward again, Blood Sense spreading ahead and to the sides in a controlled range. The signals remained distant for now, the main cluster still out of reach, but there were others—scattered, moving independently, some crossing the path at angles that would intersect if left unchecked.
He adjusted their path slightly.
Not a full detour.
Just enough to avoid unnecessary engagement.
Behind him, Hanna followed without questioning the change.
That was noted.
A faint signal crossed into range a few minutes later, closer than the others, moving erratically toward the trail.
Jack slowed this time.
Not stopping.
Assessing.
The pattern didn’t match the structured movement of the group ahead, but it also wasn’t human. The motion was too direct, too focused.
A creature.
He shifted his stance slightly as it broke through the tree line ahead of them.
“Identify.”
[Feral Hound — Lv.9]
Type: Predator
Traits: Fast, aggressive
It lunged the moment it saw them.
Jack stepped forward, already moving as it committed.
Sanguine Surge activated.
The shift sharpened his perception, the creature’s movement slowing just enough in his awareness to make the outcome obvious before it finished closing the distance. The scythe moved in a controlled arc, intercepting its path instead of reacting to it.
The blade cut across its side, redirecting its momentum rather than stopping it outright. The creature hit the ground off-balance, its structure compromised just enough to prevent an immediate recovery.
Jack stepped through and finished it before it could adjust.
[You have defeated: Feral Hound (Lv.9)]
[Experience Gained]
He let Sanguine Surge fade as the body settled.
No wasted energy.
No extended engagement.
Jack continued forward immediately.
Behind him, Hanna followed again, but this time there was a slight shift in her pace as she closed the distance between them.
“You didn’t even hesitate,” she said.
Her tone wasn’t accusatory.
It was observational.
Jack didn’t look back.
“There was nothing to hesitate over.”
A short pause followed, her steps quiet against the ground.
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
He didn’t respond immediately, letting the words settle before answering.
“You’re talking about before.”
“Yes.”
There was no need to clarify further.
Jack exhaled slowly.
“They were a threat.”
“That’s not what I saw.”
He stopped.
Not abruptly, but enough to break the forward motion and force the conversation to settle into something more direct. He turned slightly, not fully facing her, but enough to meet her gaze without shifting his stance entirely.
“What did you see.”
Hanna held his eyes, her expression steady despite the tension that still lingered beneath it.
“I saw three people who weren’t monsters.”
The words were simple.
Direct.
Not emotional.
That mattered.
Jack studied her for a moment, then spoke just as evenly.
“And what they were doing.”
Her jaw tightened slightly.
“I’m not defending them.”
“Then what are you doing.”
She held his gaze, the hesitation this time more visible, but still controlled.
“…Figuring out where the line is.”
Jack didn’t answer immediately.
The question lingered, not because it was difficult, but because it didn’t change anything.
“The system already decided that,” he said finally.
Hanna’s brow furrowed slightly.
“What.”
“They gave experience.”
The words settled between them.
He didn’t elaborate immediately, letting her process it.
“They counted the same as anything else.”
Hanna’s expression shifted, not into disbelief, but into something more thoughtful, something that turned inward rather than outward.
“That doesn’t mean it’s right.”
“No,” Jack agreed. “It means it’s consistent.”
She exhaled slowly, her gaze dropping briefly before returning to him.
“And you’re fine with that.”
Jack’s expression didn’t change.
“I’m fine with removing threats.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Without conflict.
Hanna held his gaze for a moment longer, searching for something in it, then gave a small nod.
“Alright.”
It wasn’t agreement.
It was acceptance.
For now.
Jack turned back without another word and continued forward.
This time, she followed without closing the distance.
The trail stretched ahead of them, leading deeper into territory that no longer felt abandoned, but shaped.
Structured.
Controlled.
Jack’s awareness extended again, the signals ahead growing slightly clearer as the distance closed.
More people.
More movement.
Not chaos.
Not survival.
Something else.
Hanna’s voice came again after a while, quieter this time.
“Boiling Springs is about an hour out from here if we keep this pace.”
Jack nodded once.
That matched the direction.
They continued without slowing.
The path ahead no longer needed interpretation.
It led exactly where they needed to go.
And whatever waited there—
Would be dealt with the same way everything else had been.