Victor noticed Leo staring at him, unblinking, then saw his eyes shift slowly toward Lyla.
"Ethan... disappeared from the VR capsule again," Lyla said, recounting what she had just witnessed.
As she spoke, Leo’s pupils had narrowed into vertical slits, and his gaze stayed fixed on Victor. The weight of it made Victor’s chest tighten.
"Boss isn’t here..." Leo said suddenly, his voice rough. "Are you going to tell them yourself? Or should I?"
Victor blinked, thrown off. "What?"
"Not you, Victor. Step aside," Leo said flatly. "I wasn’t talking about you."
Only then did everyone realize Leo’s attention wasn’t on Victor at all, but on the man standing just behind him—Williams. A ripple of understanding passed through the group. None of them were fools. They rembered what Starfall had described earlier: when Leo had been half-dead, he’d carved words of warning into the ground with shaking hands.
At the ti, Starfall had even drawn the words for them, and everyone had assud it was ant to be a warning for Ethan. But now, with Leo alive and pointing straight at Williams, the aning shifted. He was talking about Williams? The sentence hadn’t made sense—until now.
"You already know, then," Williams said quietly. His face was gray, but there was sothing almost relieved in his tone. "I have nothing more to hide."
"For a woman, you betrayed the boss," Leo growled, stepping forward and grabbing Williams by the collar. "Was it worth it?"
Williams’s composure broke. He roared back, eyes blazing. "What would you do if it were Celeste?"
His head snapped toward Victor. "And you—what would you do if it were Celia?"
The nas landed like blows. Both n stiffened, the question cutting deeper than they wanted to admit.
Victor stepped forward quickly, prying Leo’s hand off Williams’s collar before the situation could spiral. "Leo. Tell us what happened. Now."
Leo let go, stumbling back a few steps. His legs gave way and he sank onto a bench, shaking from head to toe.
"Before Williams ca here with us, his so-called ex-wife was being controlled. They threatened him—forced him to stay close, to dig for Ethan’s weaknesses and report back. That day when Liam barged in and had his arm severed by a Ghost Parasite, you all saw it. What you didn’t see was another Parasite coming straight to . It carried a ssage... from the Captain."
Leo’s voice cracked, then steadied. "I don’t know why it didn’t go to the boss directly. Maybe he suspected a mole already. But the ssage was clear: Williams had been turned, and the boss needed to watch his back."
Leo paused, his eyes burning with sha. "I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it. Williams was a brother I’d fought beside for years. I thought... it had to be a mistake. So I kept it from Ethan. I went back to Ember City to investigate on my own. And just like the Captain warned, I was found out. Attacked. Nearly killed. After that... well, you all know the rest better than I do."
He lifted his ruined arm, the flesh twisted beyond recognition. "But here’s the thing. Williams may have agreed to their terms, but I discovered sothing. He hasn’t given them anything. Not yet."
His voice dropped to a sneer. "Isn’t that right, Williams?"
Williams’s face crumpled. "Leo... I’m sorry," he said hoarsely, sha etched across his features.
Leo exhaled through his nose in disgust. "Hmph."
"You lucky bastard," Starfall cut in, shaking his head. "And here you are, still complaining."
Leo turned, startled, staring at him. For the first ti, he realized he had no idea how he’d survived at all—no idea that it had been Starfall who had saved him.
"Alright, everyone, don’t bla him. As a woman, I’m on Williams’s side." Lyla stepped forward, placing herself between the n. She gave Williams a small, sympathetic smile.
"I agree," Celia said, moving to stand beside Lyla. "Williams never passed on any real information, and now we know the truth. What matters now is saving his wife." Her final words were aid at her husband, Victor.
The two won weren’t excusing Williams’s betrayal—they were softening the blow. They understood too well the desperate choices a person could be forced into.
"Lyla, Celia... I..." Williams’s voice trembled. At first he looked stunned by their support, even grateful. But then his expression collapsed into despair. "I sent a ssage... in Ethereal."
"What?!" The entire hall erupted in shock.
"What did you say?" Lyla demanded, her face paling.
"That day... the boss was drunk, talking about his high school days..." Williams stamred.
"You... you leaked information about Rainie Chen?" Lyla’s voice dropped, her expression hardening. She rembered the night Ethan had been drinking and ntioned, almost laughing, his clumsy love letters from school. She had brushed it off at the ti—everyone had a first love. It hadn’t mattered. But hearing Williams now, her stomach clenched.
"Idiot! Rainie Chen has nothing to do with Ethan anymore! You’ve dragged an innocent woman into this!" Lyla’s fury spilled out, sharper than anyone had ever heard from her.
Williams froze, his lips trembling but no words coming. His face had gone ash gray.
Lyla glared at him one last ti, then spun on her heel and strode toward the entrance of the Ancestral Hall.
"Lyla, where are you going?" Celia demanded, shooting Williams a cutting look before hurrying after her.
Outside, the other won—Dragon Child, Astrid, Nora Vance, and the others bound to Ethan—were already gathering. Dragon Child darted after Lyla, worry etched across her face.
Lyla stopped in front of them, her expression tight. Looking at the nine won, she gave a bitter smile. She knew Ethan’s feelings. He wasn’t romantically entangled with them, but she understood the longing in their eyes all too well.
"I need to make a call," she said. "Right now we only have a na, but the enemy has probably already dug up her entire background. We don’t have much ti. It might already be too late."
---
Ravenwood, Shadow Lynx Village.
Ethan suddenly shot to his feet, his gut tightening.
"If Leo was exposed... then the Dissenters—" His eyes went wide.
Celeste Hawthorne’s expression shifted, but her voice was calm. "The Dissenters? Forget it. Too much ti has passed. If you go now, it’s already too late. Leo isn’t ant to die so easily. Right now, there’s sothing more important you need to hear—the real reason I brought you here."
But Ethan barely heard her words. His mind was still racing, torn between fear for Leo and suspicion of what Celeste was about to reveal.
She saw the storm in his eyes and pressed on. "We can talk on the way."
"...Alright." Ethan nodded reluctantly. The promised al was forgotten. There was no ti for it now.
The two of them stepped outside together.
But before they could take more than a few steps, a chilling voice echoed across the village, curling around them from every direction.
"Since you’re here, why the rush to leave? The boy you’re so worried about... is already dead."
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