Evolving Classes In The Apocalypse-Chapter 23: Guilt

I grew confused when I heard what he had said. So much that I turned to him with a frown.

’I shouldn’t give myself away so easily.’

"I don’t think I understand what you mean..."

His eyes met mine and a small smile spread across his lips. He raised his chin slightly, looking at me from a little bit of an elevated point of view.

"Oh really now, Lady White, no need for you to play pretend with me. I have no intention to inform anyone of your escape."

He turned to the busy settlement beneath us. "Like I said, all these people are like you... I have helped them overcome Undefinition."

His gaze came back to me, those shiny green eyes sitting on me for a moment, his smile still remaining and completely unreadable.

"I can help you too, if you let me." He extended a hand towards me.

I stared down at the hand for a few moments, then withdrew my hands to my back, clasping them there.

"I will only allow you to help me on one condition."

He raised a brow, looking at me with small surprise.

"I’m very sure I should be the one stating demands here."

"Where is Axel?"

"I’m... not sure who that is."

"Red hair, fat."

He shook his head.

"Nope, didn’t get to meet someone like that."

He looked at me and explained further.

"When we got there the place was devastated. Most of the Enforcers were slain and the others had run. The Undefined were advancing against you and the rest of the wounded humans. We intercepted and brought you because you’re like the people here. This Axel person you speak of may be a part of the people that were killed, I don’t know."

Something cold slid through my stomach at the thought of Axel being among them.

"Axel won’t die so easily..." I kept my voice level, but my fingers tightened behind my back. "Show me the way out of here. I need to find him."

He continued to stare at me for a couple of seconds, then sighed and scratched his temple. "Do you know the reason why your transport vehicle was attacked?"

I turned to him with a scowl as he continued.

"The Enforcers have done this several times, over and over. They never get attacked by the Undefined. But this time they were."

"What are you getting at?"

His hand rose forward, and he pointed a finger at me.

"It is because of you. You’re the cause for the death of all those people, all those Enforcers, those Mundane Defineds. The only reason why the Undefined from hundreds of kilometers began to make their way to your transport is because your Undefined soul was loud, announcing its presence. The catalyst the Enforcers were using to mask the scent of their soul from the Undefined was rendered ineffective."

My scowl deepened.

"You... you’re lying."

He folded his hands and gave me a cold glare.

"Why would I? I couldn’t care less about the Mundane Defined or the Enforcers, to be honest. But do you understand the weight of your own selfishness? You chose to escape with a mass of people who were only struggling to survive another day. People who were responsible for others. Who strived to make sense of their mundane lives. Because of a single decision from you, all of that was thrown away."

My hands unclasped behind my back. I didn’t know when they did, they just hung at my sides now, and I could feel the trembling starting at my fingertips, creeping inward.

’No, no, he can’t be right. He’s trying to...’

But trying to what? He had nothing to gain from lying.

I thought about when the transports were collapsing, the weight I had felt pressing down around me, the way everything had gone wrong so fast and so suddenly. It all connected and made sense now, and that made my chest feel even colder.

I clenched my hands and teeth, forcing the shaking to stay beneath the surface. Then I lowered my face, letting my bangs fall over my eyes.

"My reason for saying this to you is for you to be self-aware," he continued. His tone hadn’t softened. "I intend to help you, but I despise selfish people, because they always put the safety of others in jeopardy. We are a community of people who live a life away from the knowledge of the NEGI, and I want to keep it that way. I don’t know who you are and I’m not interested, but something about you tells me you’re going to be quite a ton."

The words landed on me like stones dropped into still water, each one sank and settled.

I could still see the first transport collapsing and then the second, and the jolt of everything going sideways. And now there was a reason for it. And that reason was me.

’Axel could be dead because of me.’

I squeezed my fists tighter until my nails bit into my palms.

"Please..."

My voice came out quieter than I intended.

"Can I go find Axel."

He studied me for a moment. I did not raise my head, but I could feel his gaze sitting heavy on me.

"He could be dead."

"He’s not." I replied calmly, still keeping my face lowered. "He’s not one to die easily. All I need to do is go back there. He’ll come back to get me."

His gaze persisted. Then he sighed again.

"Fine then. If you insist that he will come back to find you, then I will find him for you. But for now, you stay here. I won’t force you to stay. After this Axel person comes, you can make your decision..."

His mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out. Then it did, a few moments after.

"But for now, how about you stay here and get to know the people." His expression brightened. "Oh, food! You must be really hungry. How about you let Ayesha cook something nice for you. Goodness, I love her soup. I already ate earlier but thinking about it already has my stomach growling again."

He spoke rubbing his stomach, and it really was growling again.