The silence that filled the room was breaked by Amaki who questioned Drey about his decision on letting Haru go. Amaki approched Drey to where he stood and started asking questions.
"Captain, was it okay to let Haru go? What if he doesn't return to the Capital and does something stupid and dangerous?"
"Amaki...There was nothing we could do. The boy needed time so letting him go was the least we can do to calm him down. And don't worry, he might be like that but Haru will definitely never break his word. That at least I know."
Drey tried to reassure Amaki and everyone listening and it seems to have worked. The problem now was the bombardment of questions that would come after.
"With the loss of a person who knew what happened, the number of those whose know deceased. So I'll explain to all of you what happened and why Ren isn't here with us.", Drey said loudly to everyone.
Drey ordered the others on watch to come closer but maintain vigilance on their surroundings.
"I'm sure there are lots of questions you want to ask but let me explain first."
Drey moved from where he was and sat down on top of a medium-sized rubble. He then proceeded on his explanation.
"While we were escaping the room we were in, it seemed that some of the party members were behind us. From what I saw, it would be Takeshi and Ren. As I had the chance of looking back inside the room, I saw Takeshi running towards the exit and Ren...who was..."
Drey was reluctant to tell the others about what happened to Ren but he thought to himself that by not telling them, it would only give rise to confusion and more questions. With a heavy heart, Drey resumed talking.
"As I looked inside the room, I saw Ren...kneeling on one knee and was stabbed by the Death Reaper."
Everyone in the room let out a sound of being shocked. Asaki who had just calmed down began crying again and fell on her knees.
"That's...That's..."
Unable to speak another word, Asaki just cried that it filled the entire room with sounds of heavy wallowing. Rindo, who was nearest to Asaki rushed to her side. She hugged Asaki as tears also start to fall from her eyes. The boys were still shocked by what they learned. Maebara in particular, dropped his shield which he was holding tightly. The sound of metal hitting the concrete floor snapped everyone out of shock.
Amaki's expression grew dark. Shin was frustrated that he punched the pillar beside him. Kenchi and Akira were standing still but a sad expression still showed on their faces. Mitahara and Ray followed suit to the girls and started crying. Takeshi, who was leaning against the wall where he was pinned stayed silent while showing a sad expression.
The knights who were trained to not waver had different reactions. Some started to cry quietly while some remained standing, dropping some of their weapons.
The silence that prevailed throughout the room was replaced with sadness. Despite this, Drey continued talking while clenching his fists.
"As I saw Haru return inside the room, he was stopped by Takeshi but to no avail. Then I immediately followed. On his way, he was attacked by the Death Reaper. Luckily, he was able to dodge the attack, which gave me time to grab his hand. As I held him, he struggled like an imprisoned animal. No matter how I hold him, Haru was so close to breaking free when-"
As Drey was talking, he noticed that some sort of liquid ran through his cheeks. He touched it with his fingers, only to find himself crying. But Drey wasn't done talking yet. He continued talking while doing his best to stay composed.
"Haru struggled so much that I could barely hold him. If it wasn't for Ren, we would've had another casualty. In the end, Ren prioritized our safety over his. He stood up even after lying on the ground. He...didn't try to run but instead, sent us off with a smile."
Hearing Drey's last sentence, Asaki's crying grew louder and the others couldn't bear anymore so Maebara told Drey to stop at that point, which he disagreed. Drey called Takeshi and told him to come closer.
'What! The Captain is telling me to come closer. Shit! What do I do? If I don't go, I'll be suspected.', Takeshi was thinking to himself, scared shitless.
"R... Right away, Captain.", Takeshi replied.
'I have no choice but to follow. If I don't...', Takeshi thought to himself again.
Takeshi slowly approached Drey and when he arrived, he was immediately asked a question.
"Takeshi...What happened inside the room that lead to Ren being stabbed by the Death Reaper?", Drey asked in a serious and composed manner.