Reborn: Apocalypse Ready. War Goddess by My Side novel Chapter 251

Chapter 251 Unsealed Past

“And all of it came to a head during the last battle. The battle for this exact Celestial Core.”

The shock that moved through the group was immediate and complete.

Steven stared. “The same one? This one right here?”

Edric gave a slow nod.

“That battle was the end of our squad. Only the three of us made it out

Something cold and violent surfaced briefly in Edric’s expressionless face.

“Everyone else could have survived. They should have survived.”

Edric’s eyes went red at the corners, and the faces of fallen squadmates rose up in his memory unbidden, one after another, each one hitting like a fresh wound.

“We were deep in a bloody fight against the God Eaters and their beasts. At a critical moment, Yvonne stepped in front of a killing blow meant for the captain. She took it for him. The damage was severe.

“Everyone was running on nothing by that point.

“The old captain made his choice without a single moment of hesitation. He activated Divine Rite to tear open a window for the rest of us to breathe.”

The reaction that rippled through the squad was visceral.

Divine Rite.

That was the deepest, most destructive sacrifice a Divine Sigil could make. It was another name for Living Sacrifice. That was the same act Bianca performed when she destroyed her own Sigil.

Bianca used Divine Rite too.

Edric’s voice came out thick and unsteady. “The old captain gave his life to buy us that moment.

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“He told us to activate the Divine Protection Barrier.

“If that Barrier went up, we’d have enough time to recover. The rescue unit was almost there. They were so close.

“But Theodore hesitated.”

Edric repeated it, and his voice broke around it. “He hesitated.” A hollow, aching smile crossed his face.

“He looked like something had shattered inside him. His eyes were completely fixed on Yvonne. He was gone, standing there in the middle of everything, holding the most critical component of the Divine Protection Barrier.

He was SS–rank. The old captain trusted him with that role above everyone else, because he was the one

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Chapter 254 Unscaled Pant

most capable of carrying it.

“And he just stood there. He let the old captain’s sacrifice mean nothing!

“While he stood frozen, everyone else got slaughtered And Yvonne…” Edric stopped. “Those creatures tore her heart out while she was still alive!

“Everyone died. And then the rescue unit arrived.”

Edric went silent for a long moment.

“The captain and I never found an explanation for it that made sense. Why would Theodore hesitate at all? There was no version of that situation where doing nothing was the right choice.

“Theodore blamed the captain afterward. Said he failed to protect Yvonne. But we couldn’t even stand to be in the same space as Theodore anymore. He’s the reason every single one of those squadmates is gone. He’s the reason Yvonne is gone.”

Edric’s eyes were bright with something he was clearly refusing to let fall. An old memory surfaced in him, quiet and sharp.

That lady who always had a smile ready, who once grabbed his face between her hands and told him, “Edric, you need to smile more. You’re so young, and you walk around with that serious face all day. It’s not a good look. I’m ordering you, with my girl power, smile. Be happy.”

She had laughed and kept going, “Your sword is small, Edric. Listen to me. Smile more.”

That was all of it. The past. The source of this grudge.

Steven’s brow furrowed as he turned it over. So Theodore was distracted in that moment because he watched Yvonne take the killing blow meant for Alan?

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Chapter 252–Unscaled Past

So why did he hesitate?

Steven’s frown deepened. Something was wrong with the picture.

“Was there a Moon Sky Fox anywhere in that battle?”

The question landed strangely on the group.

What? A Moon Sky Fox?

Edric looked at him. “There was a Phantom Moon Fox. No Moon Sky Fox.”

Steven understood the distinction immediately. One word apart, worlds apart in meaning.

The Moon Sky Fox was a variant strain of the Phantom Moon Fox, or more precisely, a higher–order evolution of the same bloodline.

And the Moon Sky Fox possessed an ability so subtle it was almost invisible.

He couldn’t confirm it yet. But the question wouldn’t leave him.

Edric’s voice returned to something steady and resolved. “Whatever we face today, the captain is finishing this fight with Theodore. Don’t be afraid. We’re getting out of here alive. Trust him.

“The captain won’t make the same mistake twice!”

Edric’s trust in Alan carried no cracks.

Steven’s chest felt heavier than he let on. Will we, though?

In his previous life, Operation Moonfall left almost no survivors.

Around them, the other squads and the military units kept working on the Quantum Barrier in a desperate, coordinated effort, trying anything that might find a weak point.

And the two figures at the center of the city kept fighting, relentless and savage, both sets of eyes gone deep red with the singular focus of people who had nothing left to lose.

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