Sigvor sees Shaula's expression and starts to figure out something crucial about what it is exactly that Shaula doesn't know. So rather than letting Dzan continue speaking, he states a fact of crucial importance.
"Shaula… this group of cultists, the one I had just killed in this building: they were only one group of them. Ajax had told both of us to deal with this one group because there were two other groups of cultists going into two nearby apartment buildings, three out of the four buildings in this apartment complex. All three groups were trying to collapse the buildings they were in. Or at the very least, kill as many of the residents as they possibly could…"
"...What?" Shaula's skin starts to form goosebumps out of fear. Her breathing hastens. Her blood vessels constrict while her heart pumps at a much faster pace. A pit of fear forms in her chest, one that wishes to drain her of all her serenity.
Shaula had thought that everything had already been dealt with, that the terrorists that the guard captain had so foolishly summoned were all killed. Now however, she cannot know for certain.
Three groups of terrorists? One for three out of the four apartment buildings in this complex? Is… Is Ajax brave and / or insane enough to attempt to handle all of that by himself? Why didn’t… Why didn’t he call me? Why didn’t he–
Sigvor continues with a measured tone, repeating himself so that Shaula doesn’t misunderstand. He can already tell that his words are having a prominent effect on Shaula’s state of mind since she’s gone completely silent as her expression turned agitated.
"There were… three groups of cultists who were going to each try to collapse a building. Ajax told us that he was going to try to stop two of them by himself and, just like Dzan said, he also told us to spy on this group on our own while he handled the other two. I… I thought he had told you that already. Isn't that why you came to help us?"
Sigvor's right eye twitches as she perceives a new air around Shaula. Waves of heat start wafting off of her, each pulse of heat in sync with her rapid and accelerating heartbeat. Even Mrs Litun feels the warmth coming from the human woman several paces away. Dzan as well turns to her and holds his breath at the silent pressure being released from her.
Shaula doesn't say anything further however, choosing to keep her lips tight while clenching her jaw; her eyes tremble as she stares off into the distance, looking at nothing in particular.
Thoughts race through her mind as she tries to figure out how to properly parse what Dzan and Sigvor had just told her. One important part, at least important to her, is that Ajax didn't run away.
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He’s actually dealing with something even more disturbing that she had fathomed. If he had personally gone to deal with two other groups of cultists then he also wouldn't have abandoned Dzan and Sigvor as she had initially feared.
She knew it. He truly isn’t one to abandon the people around him. He is one to go above and beyond, just as he had done for her. He was even going to come help Dzan and Sigvor. Yet still, if that is the case… then where is he?
Glimpses of Ajax's face rush past her mind. He had come with her happily to the festival. She remembers him smiling, laughing, and having fun today, before everything started.
Dzan tries to fill in more information about what Ajax had told him and Sigvor earlier.
"Ajax was actually the one who told us that each of the terrorists or cultists or whatever had the chance to turn into a human bomb and to not fight any of them unless we were forced to and he wasn't there to help. He also told us that if we were fighting them, we needed to kill them all as quickly as possible. Probably so that they couldn’t have the chance to actually drink the vials and do whatever it is they actually do to turn themselves into flame bombs. Like what happened outside…”
"He… He told you to kill them. He told you to actually… Oh God…"
Shaula had not wanted Ajax, her most cherished friend, the most important person in her life on both worlds, to be forced into a situation like this. She had never imagined that such a situation would present itself to either of them, but this new world makes everything too unpredictable.
It seems that he had forced himself to make the only decision that he could when faced with mass death that he and he alone could prevent.
Her mind flashes with images of Ajax killing terrorists like the cultists in this hallway, freezing them solid, slicing their heads off, pushing his hand through their hearts, among other possible methods. If Sigvor could kill these people so easily, then she could only imagine how easy it would be for Ajax. They would pose no issue.
Their bodies would be nothing but meat before his strength.
How did he… How did he wind up as the only person who could accomplish this? How? He’s still just… Ajax. He’s not meant to kill. I’m meant to kill… He’s meant… to save… t-to help people.
As if seeing these kinds of thoughts going through Shaula’s mind, Sigvor tries to reassure her.
“Shaula, he didn’t just tell us to kill them. When the bomb went off outside, he was the one working the hardest to save anyone who could be saved. Something like forty people died instantly, but the ones who were on the brink were saved by him. He’s a hero. He moved faster than anyone else would or could.”
Shaula looks at Sigvor with a gaze of astonishment. Yet her statement about Ajax doesn’t fill her with much joy, it only deepens her sorrow.
He did save people. That’s what he should have been doing, that’s what his job should always be. It’s because… it’s because I wasn’t there. It’s because I wasn't there that he had to do… what I would have done… Why wasn’t I there? Why wasn’t I there…
Somehow, Ajax learned that these terrorists had the ability to turn themselves into human bombs. Then, he learned that they had all broke into three apartment buildings in order to make the buildings collapse in some kind of suicide attack. Then, right after he had saved people’s lives, he forced himself to make the choice to kill…
No… No. He can't face it alone. He can't…