Ezra did not turn his head.
He did not even spare her a glance, he only listened.
Then...
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Gunfire burst into the quiet Maze again.
Ezra fired.
At the sa ti, another gun fired.
The bullets collided mid-air, sparks flashing between them before falling uselessly to the ground.
Pala slowly turned her head to the right.
There stood Vera, holding a revolver loosely in one hand. Smoke curled slowly from the muzzle as the scent of gunpowder spread into the air.
"Vera..." Pala whispered.
The mont she saw her, a visible relief appeared on her pale face.
Ezra finally glanced at Vera for a mont.
Then he looked back at Pala and fired again, but this ti Vera moved.
She stepped forward in a single clean motion, appearing directly in front of Pala.
A slim long sword flashed out from her hand.
Clang!
The blade intercepted the incoming bullets, deflecting them aside with several quick tallic sounds.
The bullets scattered across the stone floor.
Vera tilted her head slightly while looking at the gun in Ezra’s hand.
"What type of handgun is this?" she asked with mild curiosity.
Her tone sounded more like soone studying an object than soone in the middle of a battlefield.
"The rounds still haven’t finished after that many shots... but it doesn’t look like a Binder rank gun either."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Interesting." She smiled faintly.
"Vera, get lost," Ezra said coldly.
"Ehnn... no way," Vera replied flatly without hesitation.
"You promised you wouldn’t kill her."
Ezra’s eyes narrowed.
"I said our paths wouldn’t cross," he corrected calmly. "Not that I wouldn’t kill her if we actually et."
Vera ignored the tension and looked around instead.
Her gaze moved across the battlefield slowly.
Dead bodies, Broken weapons and Blood spreading across the stone floor.
"You really went on a killing spree, didn’t you?" she said casually while examining the scene.
Then her eyes landed on Aliya’s body.
"Is it because of the girl?"
Ezra’s hand tightened slightly on the gun.
"Vera," he said quietly, "if you’re going to block then..."
His other hand slowly moved toward his space bag.
"But if we fight," Vera interrupted calmly, "you would lose."
Her voice was not arrogant, it wasn’t angry either. She simply stated it like an obvious fact.
Ezra stared at her.
"Pala would still die though," he replied.
"I know that," Vera sighed softly.
She glanced back at Pala briefly before returning her gaze to Ezra.
"You really want to kill her, don’t you?"
Ezra paused.
His eyes slowly moved to Pala.
The mont their gazes t; Pala flinched backward violently.
"I..." Ezra stopped for a mont.
Then he answered quietly.
"I guess you can say that."
Vera clicked her tongue. "Rember the favour you owe ."
Ezra’s eyes shifted back to her.
"The ti at the library," he said.
"Nice mory," Vera smiled.
"I’ll use it now to save her life."
Ezra stared at her silently.
Then he looked at Pala, then back at Vera again.
"...Ahh."
Finally, he lowered the gun.
He placed the weapon back into his space bag.
"Deal."
He turned his back and began walking toward Bobby.
Vera watched him for a mont.
Then she turned to Pala and helped her stand.
"Look what has happened to you," Vera muttered while brushing Pala’s hair gently.
But the blood had already stained everything.
She sighed softly.
"Ahh... the blood won’t co off until you take a hot bath. I will let you borrow my room for a hot bath."
Pala stared at her.
Then suddenly she began crying loudly.
Her voice echoed in the empty Maze.
Vera pulled her closer and rested Pala’s head against her shoulder.
Her hand slowly rubbed Pala’s hair.
"I’m a failure..." Pala sobbed.
Her hands grabbed Vera’s waist tightly.
"I was so scared... I didn’t want to die... when I still haven’t avenged my brother... and I was actually scared to die..."
Her knees weakened again as she cried harder, tears streaming down her face soaking on the place she rested on Vera’s cloth.
Vera slowly lowered herself to the ground with her, supporting her weight.
"It’s okay," Vera said quietly.
"You tried your best."
But while comforting Pala, Vera’s eyes moved toward the battlefield again.
Her gaze lingered on the corpses.
A faint anger appeared in her expression.
Not directed at Ezra.
She already understood the situation.
Soone had interfered with her territory.
A rat had touched what belonged to her.
"I guess I’ve been too lenient with him," she murmured quietly.
anwhile Ezra had already reached Bobby.
He looked down at him.
"When did you wake up?" Ezra asked flatly.
Bobby flinched violently.
He was truly scared now.
His shoulders trembled and his whole body vibrated as if cold air had suddenly wrapped around him. He could not even bring himself to look at Ezra’s eyes.
"I... I... I saw... ho... how you killed Li..."
His voice broke halfway through the sentence. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.
Ezra crouched down without looking at him properly and began cutting the ropes tied around Bobby’s legs and wrists.
"Are you sad?" Ezra asked calmly.
Bobby froze.
The question felt strange.
Wrong.
He gritted his teeth instead of answering.
"...Aliya is really dead?"
"Yes," Ezra answered imdiately.
No hesitation, no pause.
Just a simple answer.
When Ezra finished removing the ropes, Bobby slowly pushed himself up.
The mont he stood upright and his vision cleared...
He saw everything.
The bodies, broken limbs, faces smashed open, blood splattered across the walls like dark paint and small pieces of flesh scattered across the ground.
The sll hit him first.
Hot iron and rotting blood.
Bobby’s stomach twisted violently.
He dropped to his knees and vomited.
His body convulsed as his stomach emptied itself again and again.
Why did this happen?How could this happen?How could he kill so many people like this?
His blurry eyes slowly shifted toward Ezra.
Ezra stood there quietly.
Not shaking, not crying, not even breathing heavily anymore.
He looked... normal.
Too normal.
Why does he look like nothing happened?Aliya just died.
She died protecting him.Why isn’t he sad?
Bobby clenched his fists against the floor as more vomit spilled from his mouth.
"You should leave now," Ezra said coldly while turning and slowly walking back toward Aliya’s body.
"Why...?" Bobby forced himself to stand up.
His legs trembled.
Ezra stopped walking.
He did not turn around imdiately.
"Why are you not looking sad?" Bobby suddenly shouted.
His voice cracked.
"Aliya died to protect you so you could escape! But why would you kill all these people and still not show any sense of remorse?!"
He spoke so fast the words nearly collided with each other.
The mont he finished shouting, the sll of blood reached his nose again.
He bent forward and vomited again.
Ezra looked at him quietly.
His face did not change.
"Like I said," he replied calmly, "you should leave."
He raised his hand and waved lazily toward Vera.
"Hey Vera, can this boy follow that girl over there to the exit? I’m sure she has a key-card with her."
Vera waved back casually.
She agreed without even thinking.
Lady Vera is here?
Bobby slowly lifted his head.
Only then did he notice Pala leaning weakly against Vera’s shoulder.
He didn’t kill Pala...Is it because Lady Vera is here?
The thought confused him even more.
"She agreed," Ezra said while glancing at Bobby again.
"You just register your blood on the card and exit the Maze with the girl over there."
His tone sounded almost casual, as if nothing important had happened.
"I don’t understand," Bobby shook his head violently.
"I don’t understand why you are still acting like you didn’t just kill people, Ezra!"
His voice broke again.
He almost vomited again.
"Hey, Bobo or whatever your na is."
Vera suddenly spoke.
Her voice was ice cold.
Bobby instantly clamped his hand over his mouth.
He rembered during the second trial.
The way she had casually renad him.
"If you vomit again," Vera continued calmly without even looking at him, "I will add you to the list of bodies."
Bobby nodded quickly.
His face turned pale.
"Good."
Her tone suddenly changed into sothing soft and cheerful.
"Now be a good boy and help my cutey out of here."
Bobby imdiately stood upright.
He ran toward Vera without daring to glance back at Ezra again.
Ezra didn’t care.
He had already turned away.
He walked toward Aliya’s body while Bobby moved toward the exit.
Bobby helped Pala stand and slowly escorted her toward the maze exit, his hand still covering his mouth to hold the vomit inside.
Only when they disappeared into the distance did the area grow quiet again.
Vera stretched her arms lazily, then she turned around and walked toward Ezra.
Ezra was wrapping Aliya’s body carefully with his blankets.
"Did you love her?" Vera suddenly asked as she appeared behind him.
"No," Ezra replied flatly.
"But she loved you though," Vera added.
"Yeah."
"You’re such a sinful boy, aren’t you?" Vera said while poking his cheek.
Ezra turned his head and stared at her, but she continued poking his face without stopping.
"Your face looks pale," she said while observing him closely.
"You must have used a lot of Cognis, didn’t you?"
Ezra slapped her hand away, but she had already pulled it back.
He finished wrapping Aliya’s body carefully and then leaned against the wall.
"I guess you know who those guys obeyed, right?" Ezra said while pointing at the corpses of Felix’s group.
"That’s Felix’s people," Vera replied as she sat down beside him.
"I know that."
"Can you leave him to ?" Vera asked while turning to face him.
Their eyes locked.
"What’s with the question?" Ezra replied. "It’s not like I was planning to hunt him down."
"You can do whatever you want with him."
Ezra’s eyes darkened
"But if he crosses my path... which he probably will..."
Ezra turned his head and stared at the opposite wall.
Vera looked at his torn clothes.
"You’re not wearing a coat," she said. "And your clothes are torn."
"The Ezra I know wouldn’t allow that."
"It’s because I took a heat-stimulating pill," Ezra answered.
"That Bobo boy made it for you?"
"Yeah."
Silence fell between them.
Both of them stared quietly at the wall opposite them.
After a mont Ezra spoke again.
"Did you know her?"
He pointed toward Aliya’s wrapped body.
"Yeah," Vera replied softly.
"She was a funny girl."
"That’s why you look sad," Ezra said.
Vera glanced at him.
Her expression suggested otherwise.
"I guess so," she said quietly.
"What about you?"
She rested her head on her knees while watching him.
Ezra sighed slowly.
"I don’t know myself."
He stood up and lifted Aliya’s body.
"I’m going."
He began walking away.
Vera watched his back silently for a few seconds.
Then she stood up and followed behind him.
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