Haria sat in her chair with a dazed look and thought over Rion's words.

"If it's our will, who dares stop us..." she mumbled, and the memories of that fateful day flooded her mind.

Her hand began to shake, and her eyes trembled in fear. She remembered that darkness that had dwarfed over everything she had ever witnessed — darkness so deep that it could devour anything... everything.

Yet, Haden had crossed it.

Many had crossed it before, but none ever dared return… none except Haden. That was why she never tried again. She didn't just fear failing but also losing the respect Haden had for her, if he even had any.

"Haah..." A heavy sigh escaped her, and she clenched her fists to stop them from trembling.

"Haha..." she let out a dry chuckle and took a deep breath with which she threw her dreams back in the coffer that rusted deep within her.

Her eyes lost their sorrowful and reminiscing gleam as she stood up and mumbled under her breath, "There's no point thinking over this... I have a group to lead."

She fixed the wolf fur cape strapped to her shoulders and stepped towards the door.

***

Rion walked back towards his camp and felt that the glum mood within the campsite had thinned a lot.

He looked around and saw the same squad members who had dark expressions before. Now had determination burning in their eyes.

Their squad leaders didn't remove the fear they had; instead, they used it to fuel their courage.

'They are squad leaders for a reason...' he thought.

His steps continued towards his camp, and with each step, he felt the gloom thin before it vanished completely.

He stopped at the entrance of the camp and eyed Balthar's squad members, who were laughing and joking with each other before stepping inside.

Just as he stepped inside, he felt four curious gazes shift at him.

He looked at Dora, Yuura, Kahrun and Tarun, who were sitting in their fur beds while staring at him with nervous expressions.

His lips arched up into a slight smile, and he asked, "What are you so nervous about?"

Yuura jumped off his bed and appeared beside him as he asked, "How did it go?"

He chuckled at his impatience and announced, "I'll be standing beside the group leader."

Yuura's eyes gleamed in surprise while the other three jumped off their beds in shock.

"What?!" They exclaimed at the same time, and Dora snapped, "What about us?! We have never fought a kareth wave before, and you want us to do this without a squad leader?!"

He nodded and explained, "I understand your worries, but truth to be told, none of you needs me to fight this wave because each of you is just as strong as a squad leader."

She ignored his explanation and muttered, "So that is enough for you to throw us away?"

The others frowned, not knowing if her words stemmed from her duty or her anger at Rion drawing a boundary between them.

Rion's eyes sharpened, and he muttered coldly, "Dora."

The camp turned heavy. Her body trembled at his chilling voice, and she responded, "Y-yes."

He stepped closer and breathed with the same sharpness in his eyes, "I am not throwing any of you away. I know your strengths and weaknesses, and I am trusting that strength of yours... Don't ever say that again."

"I-I am sorry..." she mumbled tearfully.

The heavy mood vanished into smoke. He placed a hand on her shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't be sorry, be better."

His words struck her right at the heart, and all she could do was nod and lower her head.

The others didn't say anything and just stared at both of them with a frown.

Rion displayed a smile to all of them and left the camp.

Yuura also followed behind him, and Kahrun and Tarun stared at him.

A few moments later, Tarun walked over to Dora and asked worriedly, "Are you fine?"

She shook her head and mumbled pitifully, "No..."

He heaved a sigh and comforted, "I know you are mad at him—"

Before he could even say anything, she lifted her head and interjected with a glare,

"I am not mad at him, I am mad at myself for not being able to help him because of my anger."

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes, and she also left the camp.

He looked at her departing figure with a puzzled expression and mumbled, "Why are both of them so weird...?"

Kahrun walked over and commented while patting his back, "We wouldn't know."

"True..."

***

Rion stood on the edge of the cliff with an expressionless face, and his hair fluttered wildly with the warm wind.

Ssshk... Ssshk...

The bushes rustled and parted as Yuura stepped out of them.

He walked over and stopped a few steps behind him before he questioned, "Was there a need for you to be that harsh?"

"No..." He answered softly, "I could say it in a softer tone, but I didn't just want her to hear my words, I wanted her to feel my worries... I wanted her to know how important she is to me..."

"So, I didn't care about hiding my emotions."

Yuura nodded and asked, "Then why didn't you tell them your plan before this?"

"Haha!" He chuckled heartily and responded, "If they knew, their pride wouldn't have allowed them to sit around while you did everything... sometimes ignorance is better than knowledge."

Yuura slammed his palms together as the understanding dawned on him and said, "I don't know why you are doing all of this, but it's too fun for me to stop... So, don't leave me."

A smile creased Rion's face, and he mumbled under his breath, "I do want to take all of you with me."

Unable to hear him, Yuura mumbled with a puzzled expression, "Did you say something?"

He brushed his hair and mumbled with a wide smile on his face, "Nothing."

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