Got her!
Magnus had lived through nine months of the apocalypse - nine months of clawing his way through death, instinct honed sharper than any combat vet in the Sinovar military.
He lashed out, but not at Sophia directly. His hand shot toward empty space about a ter and a half to her left. To anyone else, it looked like a wild swing.
But Magnus knew how speed-type Awakened moved. Sophia held her rifle in her right hand. That thing had weight. When startled, she’d naturally dodge toward her left - away from the gun, into the side with less resistance.
He’d aid right for that spot.
And it worked. Perfectly.
His hand closed around the collar of her uniform. One hard pull, and she was in his arms. Then a blade - cold, sharp - pressed against her neck.
The ambush stunned the female soldiers nearby. Instantly, rifles swung around, tense fingers ready on triggers.
"Don’t move!"
"Let go of our captain!"
"Captain, huh?" Magnus sneered. Slowly, he lowered the dagger in his left hand. His right gave Sophia a slight shove, sending her stumbling forward. Cold sweat dripped down her back.
He’d let her go.
Just like that.
Too clean. Too easy. The won froze in disbelief. Sophia took two deep breaths, trying to calm the pounding in her chest. But nobody here was more shaken than she was.
She knew her speed better than anyone.
Yet this guy had caught her. Just like that.
Magnus scanned the troops, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it with steady hands, and took a deep drag. "Alright," he said. "Put the guns down. Let’s talk."
Sophia slowly turned to face him. Her wide eyes were filled with things she couldn’t decide - fear, confusion, maybe sothing else. "What do you want to say?"
"I’ll keep it simple..." Magnus took another puff, exhaled the smoke, then t her gaze. "All these trucks out here... you’re prepping for the Seventh Vanguard outside the city, right?"
"And what if we are?" Sophia lifted her chin, refusing to show weakness. "What does that make you?"
"I’ve got two questions," Magnus said flatly, eyes flicking around the rest. "Call it curiosity."
"You think we owe you answers?" Sophia snapped.
But Magnus cut her off.
"First - just answer this: In the Sinovar army, who’s the majority? n or won? And be honest - have you faced harassnt before?"
Sophia’s face flushed with fury. "What kind of question is that?!"
He ignored her.
"Second," Magnus continued, voice steady, tone sharp. "From what you know of the world right now... looking at how things are outside these city walls - do you really think Sinovar still stands a chance?"
This ti, no one spoke.
They all knew the truth.
The apocalypse hadn’t stopped with Springvale City. The radio broadcasts had made it clear. This was global. The entire Earth was falling. Everyone knows that humanity never peaked beyond 7 billion, but now the world’s overrun by infected beasts in the trillions. The only way to wipe them clean would be nuking the whole damn planet.
The nation? Probably fell the mont those monsters showed up.
After giving them a mont to think, Magnus spoke again, steady and cold: "Third, I want to ask you - "
"You said only two questions!" Sophia cut him off furiously. Ever since she beca captain of the Female Special Forces Unit, she’d never lost to a man. Being pressed like this - humiliating.
Proud swan having her head forced down... couldn’t feel worse.
"Third..." Magnus went on like nothing happened, "Given everything out there right now, using your judgnt - are n more likely to survive, or won?"
"What the hell are you getting at?!"
Furious and flustered, Sophia vanished in a blur - next second, she reappeared right in front of Magnus, shoving with both hands. But right then he happened to step back just slightly -
Her strike missed.
Thrown forward by her own montum, she stumbled straight into his chest.
She was a speed-type Awakened - fast, four tis her original speed - but her strength hadn’t changed. Magnus, as a regular Awakened, had both strength and speed doubled.
That gap... made all the difference.
To her, those arms clutching her felt like iron clamps, holding her so tight she couldn’t move an inch. The sha, the rage, made her tremble.
"So..." Holding her firm, Magnus raised his voice as he looked around. "If the nation’s gone, if the system’s dead, and Cliff Baxter of the Seventh Sovereign Vanguard still wants to play warlord... what’s he gonna use? Grain? Booze? That all?"
"Of course not!" Magnus shoved Sophia away and kept going, voice firm and clear. "He’ll need more than food. He’ll need you. Won like you - young, good-looking - you’ll beco bargaining chips. Tools. Rewards. He’ll build ’won camps’, call them shelters or whatever. But you’ll be there to keep his n loyal. Compared to that, street girls charging for their services will live better! At least they eat fresh food and sleep under roofs. You? Moldy bread for every al."
"He wouldn’t dare! We’ll kill him first!"
Sophia roared, and around her, the other won raised their rifles again, aiming at Magnus like he was already feeding them to the wolves.
"He wouldn’t dare with you," Magnus shot her a glance, then turned to the others. "Let’s not pretend here. You all see it - your captain’s beautiful. Of all of you, Cliff might take a liking to her. ’General’s Lady’, wrapped in silk, diamonds on her fingers... maybe even living better than she did before the world ended. So she won’t fear surrendering to the Seventh Vanguard. And you lot? You’ll be her offering."
"I wouldn’t! I’d never!" Sophia shouted, voice shaking. "You’re slandering ! Twisting my words! Sisters, I - "
She tried to explain, desperate, panicking.
But then she noticed - twenty pairs of eyes, all locked onto her.
No one said a word.
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