CHAPTER 37: CHAPTER 37: SUDDEN UPSET

"Thank you... for making it painless."

Adam’s whisper came along with the darkness that crept into the edges of his vision. And soon, his body went limp in Sylvie’s arms, the sword clattering forgotten to the ground.

And just like that, silence fell like a veil over the gathered creeps.

Sylvie stretched her rapier to the side, and it withered away into petals to be blown by even the lightest of wind. Leaving no trace of the weapon that had ended her opponent’s life.

And with the same hand she held the rapier, she gathered Adam’s limp body into her arms, his weight seemingly insignificant against her strength. But still, he felt heavy.

The silence trailed, but Sylvie’s mind was actually completely in chaos.

What was that? She kept repeating in her mind.

Right when she stabbed Adam, she felt a sudden pulse flow toward her—no. Through her. It was as if her blood, her entire body, reacted to meeting Adam’s blood.

For just a glitter of a moment, Sylvie felt... a sense of yearning. Like her blood... thirsted for his.

She let her thoughts trail for a few more moments before shaking her head off of it.

"I’m really sorry," she whispered, sucking in her breath as she carried him back to Grace and the others.

"Oh no..." Hannah’s already fragile tears broke down the moment Sylvie placed Adam’s body down. Her sobs and her trembling shoulders broke the veil of silence everyone was trying to keep.

As for Grace, she only knelt beside Adam, her fingers trembling slightly as she brushed his hair from his forehead, arranging it with the care one might show a sleeping lover.

Samantha also sat beside her, holding Adam’s hand, "M...mommy. When... is Mister coming back?"

Her voice and words were uncertain, and yet her eyes were filled with a certain innocent gaze, fully expecting Adam to come back.

Grace didn’t answer her, only wiping blood from Adam’s face with the edge of her sleeve, and also making sure to cover his wound. Her silence caused Samantha to tilt her head, but the little girl, instead of complaining, joined her mother in cleaning Adam’s body.

Hannah saw this, and her sobs grew stronger, her words breaking between each tear. "He’s...Adam’s gone, Samantha. He’s in a better place now."

"No," Samantha only glanced at Hannah, vehemently shaking her head with childish certainty, "Mister will return."

Hannah’s face crumpled further at her words, her tears continuing to fall onto the dusty ground, not knowing that there was truth in Samantha’s words.

Her quiet sobs made the air around them thick, almost suffocating. All the creeps, no matter the color of the Halo on their head, bowed in awkward respect for a stranger.

"He’s... gone," Hannah whispered, her hand hovering inches above Adam’s chest, not quite daring to touch. "This... this is the first time he even talked to me, and he’s gone."

Grace looked up, her eyes also red but dry. "Can... you tell me more about Adam?"

Hannah wiped her nose with her sleeve, a broken laugh escaping her. "I barely even knew him, he... kept to himself. But I was told that he was very kind, and likes to talk to himself. I...I thought he was special at first but the longer I observed him, he... he’s just awkward." The laugh turned genuine for a moment, a brief spark of warmth in the cold reality surrounding them.

"I know. I thought he was special, too." Grace’s lips curved as a brief chuckle also escaped her, sniffling to contain her tears, "Now, even more so than before."

The two continued to exchange stories about Adam, a man they barely even knew—Hannah describing how Adam would mutter to himself during scavenger runs. Grace recounting how brave Adam was and how he always tried to protect them—of course, she skipped the part where Adam doesn’t die.

And while they talked, Samantha leaned closer beside Adam’s body, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. She watched his chest intently, waiting for any sign of movement, any hint of breath. Her small hand rested on his arm, squeezing occasionally as if trying to wake him.

But when Adam didn’t react, she pouted and looked away. Her eyes, however, were still sneakily staring at his face, trying to catch him in the act.

Meanwhile, across the street, Sylvie continued to guard the Inner Crystal; her posture was perfect, but her eyes kept drifting back to Adam’s corpse, regret etched across her face.

Her mind had several thoughts circling around it, and when she finally decided to approach, perhaps to offer comfort or just to get to know them, something suddenly caught her eye.

In the distance, a blue pillar of light flickered and rippled, causing a wave to flow on the ceiling of the Dome.

"That’s... the East Outer crystal!?" The words escaped her in a shocked gasp.

The East Lane was her lane, but she decided to leave it when she saw the Inner Crystal of the West Lane being attacked.

She and the creeps have already destroyed the Red team’s Outer Crystal, and with them being escorted by the Echo Smith and all fully equipped, they shouldn’t have had any trouble marching forward till the Inner Crystal.

Something was wrong.

Sylvie’s breath began to hold.

Should she rush to defend the outer defenses, or maintain her position at the more crucial Inner Crystal?

If she abandoned the Crystal behind her, the red creeps might seize the opportunity to attack. Her eyes swept over the enemy creeps, observing and scanning them.

With Adam dead, only Grace posed any real threat to the blue creeps she would leave behind—but it was obvious that she no longer had any motivation or will to fight.

As Sylvie weighed her options, she finally noticed it—Adam and Grace’s armor had vanished. Even Adam’s sword, which had clattered to the ground, was gone.

And then, it finally hit her.

Adam and Grace’s equipment was from the Echo Smith, meaning they looted it from someone on her team. And the equipment crafted by Ilyana would only disappear if...

...If Ilyana was dead.

How? The question burned in Sylvie’s mind. Had someone managed to assassinate her? If so, that meant the East Lane would be completely undefended until Ilyana respawned.

More thoughts danced in the Duelist of Rose’s mind... and then—

[Your team’s East Outer Crystal has been destroyed! Deploying allied Middle Crystal troops in one minute! Help them!]

"What...?!"