The entirety of Xin’s body was already frozen, with one hand from Stanley holding onto her neck. Maybe Stanley’s words were right—that the two of them were the same, that both were based on a wyvern.
However, it was clear there was a huge difference in elemental power between the two of them.
Now, as she saw Stanley ready to swing his sword, all she could do was close her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Jayden… and Ga-”
She heard the sound of the sword cleanly swinging through the air, and then, in the middle of it, a scream.
“STOP!” a roaring voice shouted so loudly that even the birds in the nearby woods began to fly above. Right on cue, Stanley stopped his strike as well, leaving it mid-air.
The vein on his forehead was bulging slightly.
“What is it?” Stanley asked. “Why are you, another Zodiac, telling me to stop, Apollo?”
The others turned to look at him. Apollo was standing up, his large frame tense, fists clenched. With all eyes on him, he knew he had to come up with an answer fast.
“I just… don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think it’s good for us to kill her.” Apollo gulped, buying himself a little more time to think.
“I mean, we’re already being investigated heavily by the White Rose. Xin is the sister to Jayden. If she goes missing too, if that’s on our hands, it could give us a lot of trouble.”
“But she just killed William!” Berry argued. “Don’t you think she should pay for that? Why does the White Rose only care when someone else dies and not one of our own?”
“It’s okay, Berry.” Lena said, placing her hand on Berry’s back. “It’s just the situation we’re in right now. The world is against us and Harvor. Even though from the beginning, all we’ve done is protect ourselves.”
“It’s clear the White Rose is out to get us.”
Stanley didn’t say anything but instead looked at Harvor. In truth, he agreed it was bad timing to kill her, though he was beyond annoyed and had already lost his patience.
“The White Rose getting more involved is not good,” Rumper said. “We need them as far off our backs as possible. We can’t give them a reason to investigate us! If we have NIRV and White Rose against us… it’ll be too much!”
It was clear Rumper was panicked, yet despite everything, Harvor remained calm. Behind his sunglasses, no one could tell what he was thinking.
“Take her to the old training warehouse. White Rose has already investigated the place, and their focus has shifted anyway, so it’ll be fine.”
“Just in case, though, since you suggested this, Apollo, I think you should be in charge of guarding her.”
“Stanley, I want you to set up an operation as well. There was something Berry said that I liked. We are the good guys in all of this, and we need the public to see it that way… so let’s make the Howlers be the ones to attack us.”
—
Stanley entered a vehicle along with Apollo and Xin. Stanley was still using his powers to restrain her as they drove away.
It was silent for most of the drive until Stanley eventually spoke.
“Thank you for keeping a cool head,” Stanley said. “I almost lost it back there. This is why I like you—because you’re not all muscle. You’re quite reliable.”
Apollo just nodded, remaining silent until they arrived at the warehouse. At the same time, another vehicle arrived, and they all entered.
The warehouse was filled with training equipment, most of it worn, torn, and beaten. When they reached the back, the other vehicle was filled with more equipment.
It looked like iron shackles and giant weights. Stanley ordered Apollo to lift these giant square blocks of metal.
In order to lift them, Apollo had to transform into his Altered form. He then placed the cube down on the ground; it had to weigh at least a few tons.
Then shackles were attached from the cube to Xin’s wrists and legs.
Three of these large cubes were placed in different areas. After seeing Xin tied up this way, even Apollo thought it would be impossible for her to escape.
He could hardly move one of these cubes, never mind three, and he was surprised the vehicles that transported them could handle their weight.
The shackles and castings were made of the same material throughout.
“A team will arrive later and stay here with you. It’s a busy day, so you stay with her,” Stanley said as he walked off with the only key to the shackles, so there was nothing even Apollo could do if he wanted to.
“I know I’m not in the best situation… but thank you,” Xin finally said. “You saved my life.”
“Me?” Apollo said, turning his head. “No, I was just telling the truth, that’s all. Don’t think too much of it—I’m not on your side.”
Apollo looked away with his arms folded, and she was sure she could see his ears turning slightly red.
“Right, right, that’s fine. But still, I’m alive because of you. You’re Gary’s friend, though, right? Maybe that’s why you helped me… but I have no clue what I’ve done now, ending up like this.”
It was then that Apollo turned to Xin and looked her straight in the eyes.
“This isn’t the first time Harvor has done something like this. I have an idea of what he’s going to do,” Apollo said. “Stanley saw the relationship between you and Gary, between your brother… so I know they’re going to test it. He’s going to use you… he’s going to use you to start a war with the Howlers.”