n

n

nThis beast had a habit of digesting its prey with its red fiery saliva outside of its mouth before eating it. Quite an unusual food habit. But it could be easily figured out as Bret's flesh was scorched burnt black as if burned in high flames. There was no blood other than the beast's, it had already vaporized. After all, the boiling point of human blood is no more than 100 degrees Celcius.

n

"Bret,

" she whispered. She had seen someone in a similar state before. With the sight of Bret's dead body that memory came back to her mind.

nThe face of Blair came back to her mind. And the last time she had seen him. That horrid sight… she would never be able to forget it in her life! With his skull cracked open and his eyes and grey matter spewed out he didn't even look like a human anymore.

nIt was then… something that was always at the back of her mind resurfaced.

n

"Ah

"

nHer head jolted back. The memory of Blair tumbling and falling in front of the beast flashed across her eyes. Collapsing on his injured hand made him scream so loud that made it hard for him to pass unnoticed.

nVerona clearly remembers.

nRealization struck on her. As her eyes struck wide.

n

"Bret… Blair, maybe Kristie too.

"

nNow that she recalls, the direction from where Dant approached them after Blair's death was the very same direction where Blair was before. Coincidence? Even if it was, she was in no position to pass it off as one. Anger consumed her very soul but it didn't show up on her ashen face as only sadness dominated. Her own inability to judge and perceive danger made her curse herself.

nHer gaze shifted to the sword held onto by Bret's hands. Even after his death, he didn't let go of his sword. Or rather one should say that all of it was so sudden for him, he didn't have any opportunity to let it go.

nShe took hold of that sword as she pulled it from his hands. She had never wielded a sword before, ever since she was summoned to hell. Her bow was her only trusted weapon.

n

"This was his sword… I will keep it as a keepsake

" she whispered with her soft voice that seemed to be a lullaby for Bret who was falling to eternal sleep.

n

"Verona, I… I can explain. There is a reason behind all of this.

"

nDant tried to give an excuse. But nothing that he said seeped through her ears. Verona is usually a sweet woman. She is known to be a listener and tries to walk in other people's shoes so that she can understand their circumstances. That is why she had always supported Dant even though he was rather lacking in many ways. But today? She didn't want to imbue her ears with any reasons.

n'No reasons that he gives can make up for what he has done… How could he? And that also to his own teammates. If he is not even worth our trust then whose trust is he worth?' Verona asked herself but there is only one answer she got, 'I should have known about this. Why did I choose to ignore it? He is just a selfish man who doesn't put anyone else before himself.'

nflashback

n

"Haha, nice joke. That kind of reminds me of your cousin sister, whats her…

" his words halted with his mouth still hanging as it waited to spout out the next words. It wanted to but Verona's presence made it stop.

n

"Guys, anyone up for snacks?

" Verona entered the room with a vibrant smile on her face as she lifted the tray a bit higher to emphasize 'snacks'.

n

"Ah sure Verona, you don't know how much I need them,

" the man sitting beside Dant said as he returned a similar bright smile to Verona. He reached out his hand and picked up a glass of juice from the tray. Today he was a guest at Dant's house.

n

"Hey, leave some for me too!

"

n

"Not gonna

"

nHe shook his head as he stuffed more of those snacks in his mouth.

n

"Haha,

" Verona laughed as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"You are funny. Okay, you guys continue I have some work to finish.

"

nVerona said as she turned around and left the room. She closed the door behind herself. But as soon as she did she put her ears on the door. There was some mischief in her mind.

n

"Man, these dumplings are damn good. You have some damn luck having such a great cook as your wife.

"

nDant rolled his eyes.

n

"Only if you knew how wrong you are. Man, she sucks at it. Because of her, I have to go through the trouble of hiring a cook. These are made by that very cook I hired.

"

nThe man raised his brows.

n

"Oh really? Damn, doesn't matter. Your wife is hot anyway… you are lucky. I feel jealous.

"

n

"You sound like you want to get a taste,

" Dant smirked.

n

"What the hell! What do you take me for? I had no such thoughts.

"

nDant tapped his back.

n

"We will see about that but not now sometime later. We have this newlywed vibe going on so not now. Once I get bored of her, I will let you have a go. Haha,

" Dant laughed out aloud unknown of the extra ears that were hearing him.

n

"What the **? Are you out of your mind! Don't pull me into your weird fetishes?

"

n

"Maybe, but don't you think she is hot? Trust me, I had to go through a lot of trouble to taste that body of hers. You are getting it for free.

"

nVerona detached her ears from the door as those were the last words, she had heard. She doesn't want to hear any of this nonsense. But its effect was evident on her. With a droopy shoulder, she left, back to her own world.

n'Maybe he was just joking, I shouldn't put it too much on my mind.' She thought as she poked her cheeks with her fingers. As usual, she tried to be in someone else's shoes trying to see the world from his perspective. She wanted to be optimistic and wanted to avoid any sorts of misunderstandings. So she decided to settle with the idea that Dant was joking and was just having 'Guy's talk' with his friend and nothing else.

n***

nNote: These events transpired before he was declared incapable of having offspring.

n***

nAuthor: Like it? Add it to your library!

nLet me know your thoughts about the chapter in the comments section.

nCreation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your stones!

n