My Cuckhold System Chapter 30: He’s Dead

Minutes later, the sound of engines echoed again.

Sixteen figures approached from the western end of the wasteland. Their jackets were emblazoned with spiky white markings shaped like fractured anvils.

They were known as the Steel Howl.

A street-level gang but a large one... aggressive, and notoriously reckless.

Their leader, Marek Voss, grinned when he saw Black Furnace already stationed.

"Well, damn," Marek said loudly. "Didn’t think you’d beat us here."

Ross straightened. "We’re calling dibs. Move along."

Marek laughed. "Dibs?" He spread his arms. "Buddy, the whole point of being in a gang is breaking rules."

His eyes flicked over Black Furnace’s numbers.

"Twelve, huh?" Marek said. "We’ve got sixteen."

Tension thickened instantly.

Darius stepped forward. "Careful. You’re out of your depth."

Before Marek could respond another rumble rang out.

Eighteen figures erged from the smoke with chains tattooed in fla patterns around their necks.

Iron Chain.

At their head walked a familiar figure.

Raze Calder.

His gaze swept over the scene calmly, assessing.

Three gangs.

One prize.

"Well," Raze said lightly, "looks like everyone had the sa idea."

Ross’s eyes narrowed. "Iron Chain doesn’t get priority here."

Raze smiled. "Funny thing about priority—our boss doesn’t care for it."

The air snapped.

Soone laughed nervously.

Soone else clenched a fist.

No one backed down.

And then—

Soone struck first.

No one even rembered who but this one action was the tipping point.

Abilities ignited...

Fire t steel...

Shockwaves tore across the empty block as craters ford where streets once were. Fighters were launched through the air, slamd into phantom outlines of vanished buildings with blood splattering across the dust.

The battle escalated due to greed and pride.

No side showed restraint.

Minutes into the fight... the survivors erged.

Forty civilians stumbled out of the ruin entrance and amongst them was, Aria, Auntie Maribel, Neighbours and a few kids.

They stepped straight into a battlefield ducking and trying to take cover to avoid being collateral damage.

The clash of awakened powers suddenly began to slow after the arrival of the survivors.

And it wasn’t because one side was losing... instead it was because a shocked, disbelieving voice cut through the battlefield.

"Survivors!"

The word echoed repeatedly.

"Survivors from the ruins!"

For a brief mont, even the air itself seed to freeze.

Flas flickered uncertainly before dissipating. Shockwaves died mid-ripple. Awakened fighters lowered their arms one after another as their heads turning toward the ruin entrance almost in unison.

n...

Won...

Children...

Dozens of them...

They stood there dirty and shaken with so injured, so crying and so clutching each other like lifelines.

"That’s... impossible," soone from Steel Howl muttered.

Residential ruins were death traps for civilians. Everyone knew that. Low-level creatures didn’t an it was safe. Not even regular humans could handle low level creatures...

Yet here they were.

Alive.

"How the hell did they make it out?" another gang mber whispered.

The three gangs approached cautiously, scanning the survivors like they were anomalies rather than people.

And then, Ross eyes widened the mont he spotted a figure...

"Aria?"

His cigar fell from his fingers, forgotten.

"Babe?"

He moved without thinking, pushing past others and closing the distance in long strides. Aria looked up, equally shocked with her eyes widening when she recognized him.

"Ross...?"

He grabbed her shoulders, rough but trembling. "What are you doing here? How did you—what happened?"

Before she could answer, Auntie Maribel stepped forward instinctively.

"It was West," she said firmly.

Aria reacted instantly.

"I—I ca to see my brother," she blurted out.

Everyone paused.

Auntie Maribel blinked.

"Brother...?"

Her eyes flicked between Aria and the mory of West in her mind. Handso, yes. Close in age, maybe. But siblings?

It didn’t quite add up. One had pink hair and the other... black.

Still, she didn’t contradict her.

Ross frowned. "Brother? I thought your brother lived in Prothium City."

Aria swallowed, then nodded quickly. "Half-brother. From my dad’s side. You don’t know him."

Ross hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Oh... right."

"Where is he?" Ross asked. "Is he here?"

Aria’s composure finally cracked.

She shook her head as tears welled in her eyes. "He’s still inside."

This one statent made the survivors began talking all at once.

Voices overlapped.

"He saved us—"

"He led us—"

"He stayed back—"

"He lured the creatures away—"

Auntie Maribel spoke louder than the rest, grounding the chaos with her steady voice. She explained how West had taken charge, how he’d read the terrain, avoided monsters, cald people down when panic nearly tore them apart.

The beautiful woman whose fiancé had been pinned under rubble stepped forward too.

"He lifted debris no normal person should be able to lift," she said. "He saved my fiancé. And when the creatures ca... he ran back. Alone."

Silence followed.

Ross scoffed softly.

"He’s dead," he said flatly.

Aria snapped.

Her hands slamd into his chest repeatedly. "Don’t say that! Don’t you dare say that!"

Ross grabbed her wrists gently but firmly. "Aria. I’m being realistic. An unawakened kid can’t survive long in a ruin. Especially alone."

She yanked her hands free with blazing eyes. "Then go in! You and your gang—go save him!"

Ross hesitated then shook his head.

"The entrance is sealed," he said. "Residential ruin rules. No entry for one to three days. It doesn’t care who you are."

Aria stared at him like he’d slapped her.

"So that’s it?" she said quietly. "You won’t even try?"

"It’s not about trying—"

She cut him off.

"You’re always like this," her voice rose. "Your gang this. Your gang that. You leave alone all the ti for them. And now—now—when I actually need you to do sothing with them, you turn useless."

Ross opened his mouth but no words ca.l out.

Aria turned away sharply, storming off. Auntie Maribel hurried after her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and murmuring soft reassurances.

Aria couldn’t stop crying... the tears just wouldn’t stop pouring out no matter how much she cleaned them.

’Why am I crying so much... we’ve barely gotten to know each other... have I fallen for him?’ mories flashed in her head of how he saved her from the crumbling building, held her hands while leading her through the ruins and then turned around to lead the creatures away from them.

If she thought he was amazing before now she believed he was way more audacious beyond her imagination...

Auntie Maribel kept consoling her not knowing what was running through Aria’s head. ’You’d better be alive West... we haven’t even done it... you better be alive...’

Ross stared at her figure from the distance and sighed when he noticed her shoulders jerking up and down.

’Anyone would feel bad about losing their brother...’

"Tsk," soone from Black Furnace muttered. "Won."

Ross’s head snapped toward him.

"Watch your mouth," Ross growled.

The man raised his hands mockingly, backing off.

Ross turned back toward the ruin entrance and walked closer, scanning the slope. He placed a hand against the invisible barrier and gritted his teeth.

Behind him, the survivors continued talking...

Repeating the sa na.

"West."

"That boy..."

"He didn’t hesitate..."

"He saved us..."

The na spread.

Gang mbers exchanged looks.

"Who’s West?" Marek from Steel Howl asked.

Raze Calder, standing among the Iron Chain mbers, stiffened almost imperceptibly.

West...

The sa na echoed in his mind.

’Is it the sa one who had punched Caleb out of transformation?’ He wondered.

His lips slowly curled into a faint, dangerous smile.

"...If it’s the West I’m thinking of," he murmured, "then things just got very interesting."