Chapter 203 | Aurora

Chapter 203: 203 | Aurora

The fifth was the Tank. His actual hero name was Bulwark, but everyone called him the Tank because it was more accurate. His talent was straightforward and devastatingly effective. Extreme durability. His body could absorb physical punishment that would kill most heroes. Blades bounced off his skin.

Blunt force that would shatter bones merely bruised. During the outbreak, he had stood in front of a charging six-star Dark Hound and let it slam into him at full speed.

One Six arm goblin had broken its neck on impact but the Tank had gotten a bruise.

He was the quietest of the group. Sitting at the edge of the circle, his massive arms folded across his massive chest with a calm look.

Five heroes. All of them from the outbreak.

And then Aurora.

Dexter took the empty seat that Cole was pointing to. It was on the opposite side of the table from Aurora, positioned between the Tank and Gridlock. He sat down, settled into the chair, and looked at the group.

"I’m sorry for being late," he said. "I got held up."

The others waved dismissively.

"No worries, no worries," Cole said, grinning. "We understand."

Blitz leaned forward. "If it were some of us, we might have been even later. I got stuck in traffic on the way here. Literally had to run the last three blocks."

Gridlock nodded solemnly. "I was early. I’m always early."

"That’s because you have no life," Bullet Spear Man said with a smirk.

"That’s because I’m responsible," Gridlock replied, completely unfazed.

The table chuckled. ℯℯ𝑙.

Dexter smiled. The banter was easy. Natural. The kind of exchange that happened between people who had shared a dangerous experience and come out the other side with a bond that was hard to articulate but impossible to deny.

He glanced at Aurora.

She was still watching him. Her dark eyes were steady. Unblinking. Her expression was neutral, giving nothing away. She sipped her palm wine with the slow, deliberate patience of someone who was content to observe until she had seen enough.

Cole leaned toward Dexter. His voice dropped to a murmur that was pitched just below the threshold of the others’ conversation.

"We had already gathered here before you arrived," Cole said quietly. "We were expecting you. Then she walked in."

He glanced at Aurora.

"She said she wanted to meet you. Specifically."

Dexter blinked. "Do you know why?"

Cole shook his head. "No. She hasn’t said. She’s been sitting there since she arrived, drinking palm wine and not talking to anyone."

He paused.

"I suspect she’ll tell you when she’s ready."

Dexter looked at Aurora again. She met his gaze for a brief moment, then returned her attention to her glass.

"Okay," Dexter said.

He turned back to the group and let the conversation carry him.

---

The discussion flowed naturally. They talked about the outbreak.

Blitz talked about the rescues of how close to being with death as he saved a few heroes from the clutches of death.

The Tank said very little. When asked about his experience, he simply said, "I stood in front of things. The things broke."

Dexter listened to Bullet Spear Man’s account and said nothing.

’Bullet Spear Man is competent and he kills without hesitation. But his priorities are wrong. He values results over people and sees civilians as resources, not as lives. And a person who sees other people as resources will eventually see you the same way.

’I cannot be on a squad with this man.’

The thought was firm.

Dexter continued chatting with the others, avoiding direct conversation with Bullet Spear Man without making it obvious. He laughed at Blitz’s jokes. He complimented Gridlock’s barrier technique. He nodded respectfully at the Tank.

And throughout it all, Aurora sat in her corner. Sipping her drink while watching silently.

---

After the discussion had wound down and the appetizers had been substantially reduced, Cole reached for his glass and tapped it with a spoon.

Ting. Ting

The table quieted.

Cole stood. He raised his glass with a genuine, unguarded smile.

"Today, one of the reasons we gathered here is to thank Dexter for what he did during the outbreak."

His voice was warm and sincere. The voice of a man who genuinely believed that he owed his life to the person sitting across from him.

"Dexter, we say thank you. For giving us a second chance at life."

He raised his glass higher.

"Cheers."

"Cheers!" the table echoed.

Glasses rose. Blended. The sound of glass meeting glass rang through the booth like a small, musical bell.

Blitz grinned and Gridlock nodded solemnly as the Tank raised his glass witb his large hands.

Even Bullet Spear Man raised his drink, his smirk softening into something that resembled genuine gratitude.

Dexter looked at the glass in front of him. Amber liquid. The sharp, smoky scent of aged whiskey.

He picked it up.

"I accept your appreciation," he said. "Thank you."

He downed the drink in one smooth motion.

The whiskey burned down his throat, spreading warmth through his chest. It wasn’t the Emperor Void Flame. It wasn’t mana circulation. It was simpler than that. Rougher. The warmth of alcohol shared between people who had bled together.

The heroes clapped. They cheered. They took their own drinks and downed them with the enthusiastic commitment of people who believed that any problem could be temporarily improved by the application of sufficient alcohol.

The atmosphere lightened. The formality dissolved. What remained was something more honest. More human. Five people who had fought beside each other, survived, and come back to talk about it over food and drinks.

Dexter found himself genuinely enjoying the company. Blitz’s manic energy was infectious. Gridlock’s dry, deadpan humor caught him off guard more than once. Even the Tank, in his monosyllabic way, contributed moments of unexpected comedy.

At one point, Blitz asked the Tank why he never dodged attacks.

The Tank looked at Blitz as though the question had offended his ancestors.

"Why would I dodge?" he said. "Dodging means moving. Moving means effort. Standing still is free."

The table erupted.