Creak, creak—
After wiping the blood from beneath her straight nose, Pakunoda gripped both armrests of the wheelchair and slowly pushed it forward.
"I saw the battle just now," Chrollo said from the wheelchair, his lower body covered with a blanket once more.
"You all did well." Chrollo's lips curled into a gentle smile.
His bangs fell over the cross tattoo on his forehead, making him look much younger.
"But," Pakunoda said, glancing down at Chrollo's head before looking up again, "we weren't the ones who decided the outcome. And we weren't the ones who saved Meteor City."
Chrollo nodded slowly. "It's all right... You've already done everything you could."
Shalnark, walking beside them with bandages wrapped around him, and Machi, her hair loose because her headband had snapped, both remained silent.
In his current state, Chrollo couldn't turn around by himself. He only leaned slightly to the side to look at Sheila, who followed behind them with an anxious expression.
"Sheila."
Sheila had been looking down, rubbing her knuckles. Now she raised her face in a daze, revealing several bandages stuck to it.
She'd only just had time to put them on. The Demon had grabbed her by the neck, its claws lightly grazing her skin.
Chrollo gave her a calm smile, too.
"I'm not blaming you, and I have no right to blame you. In fact, I'm grateful you made that choice. You gave Meteor City hope when it was facing life and death."
Sheila looked as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only lowered her eyes and chose silence.
There was no way out of the situation before them. Whatever she said would be meaningless.
The atmosphere was heavy. Their footsteps clacked along, monotonous, yet Chrollo seemed to be in high spirits.