The silence that followed Arkas's words was heavy.
No one moved. No one spoke.
A few soldiers whispered in disbelief. I saw Dio staring blankly at the ground. Logan's fists were clenched, knuckles white. Sarah, for once, didn't have a snarky comment. Steve kept glancing at me, waiting for me to say something. But I couldn't.
Because my mind was stuck on one name.
Bruno Harold.
The commander of Unit 77. A Grandmaster.
A single attack. A single Phantom. And everything they'd worked for was erased like it was never there.
What was the point of all this training, all the pushing and fighting, if we could be wiped out just like that? Was this what awaited all of us eventually?
I stared at Arkas.
His voice was calm, but there was something in his eyes. Rage maybe. Or guilt. Maybe all of it. He'd seen this before. He probably knew it was coming. And yet, here we were, hearing it like a cruel surprise.
I exhaled slowly.
