Chapter 644: Side Story 2. Dance of Flame and Shadow - 3
The place was dark, darker than he thought. He would recognize the fear creeping into his heart if he wasn’t too proud to admit it.
But his young, scarred heart did not want to admit that he wanted to go back and forget everything. He didn’t want to say there was nothing left he could do and just give up.
And so he marched forward, with nothing but anger and pain fueling him. Shouldn’t he, at the very least, have closure? Did he not have the right to even that?
Anyway, the place was dark and eerie, but he could live with that. Objectively, the place was even compatible with his skill. He had come across several beasts and weird creatures earlier, but he was being smart and moving through the shadows, avoiding dangers. With this, he should be able to roam around the Deathzone as much as he could before using up all of his rations and having to get out again.
He wondered how many times he would have to go back and forth before finding what he was seeking...
"Ronan Hertz!"
The young scout had been planning to run away if any of the Unit’s personnel tried to catch him, but he didn’t expect one who knew his name would come. His first instinct was to flee, but he couldn’t help halting his steps because for a second--for a second of foolishness, he thought that voice belonged to the person he had been looking for.
For a foolish second, he thought that voice might belong to his father.
How stupid.
His father’s voice wasn’t that deep and hoarse--certainly not that loud and powerful. But he was also curious. Who could it be; who knew his name, and knew that it was him who had snuck into the Deathzone?
That few seconds of foolishness when he stopped and turned his head around, however, was the few seconds that another used to prey upon him.