Chapter 52 Fortitude Unlocked at the Edge of Death!

Magnus Vane’s eyes suddenly sharpened as the word Strength flashed through his fading consciousness. Survival instinct overrode everything else, and with the last bit of focus he could gather, he forced the system interface open. The moment the panel appeared, the familiar level-up sound exploded in his ears while experience from the night’s slaughter began pouring into the display faster than he could properly read it. Blood Moon Berserkers awarded far more than ordinary walkers, and now all of that accumulated experience hit him at once.

[Experience +1200]

[Experience +1200]

[Experience +1200]

[Experience +300]

[Experience +300]

The notifications continued stacking until another system message replaced them. Magnus blinked through his blurred vision, struggling to keep the translucent screen from dissolving into darkness while the last walker continued stumbling toward him. Then a new line appeared directly in front of his eyes.

[Level Requirement Reached: Lv20]

[New Attribute Unlocked — FORTITUDE]

Magnus forced his head up and opened the newly unlocked Fortitude tree without wasting a second. He didn’t have the time or mental clarity to study every perk, compare numbers, or plan an optimized build; he needed something that could keep his body functioning right now. His eyes landed on Pain Tolerance and Healing Factor, and he spent points on both almost instinctively. The system reacted immediately.

[Pain Tolerance Lv1/5 — Hard to Kill]

[Your body becomes more resistant to pain and physical trauma.]

[Healing Factor Lv1/5 — Fast Metabolism]

[When properly fed, your body gradually regenerates health.]

Something changed inside Magnus.

The pain didn’t disappear, and his injuries certainly weren’t gone, but the overwhelming shock that had been shutting his body down suddenly loosened its grip. Sensation returned faintly to his left arm, and his breathing became just steady enough for him to move again. The final walker lunged toward him at that exact moment.

Magnus threw up his left arm and caught it around the neck.

Using the small burst of strength he had recovered, he twisted his body, dragged the walker over his shoulder, and slammed it onto the floor. His right hand remained useless, and his left barely had enough control to maintain the hold, leaving him without the ability to retrieve the Stone Sledgehammer. Magnus stared down at the snarling corpse beneath him, blood dripping from his face onto its ruined clothes.

His expression hardened.

“Not dying to you.”

Magnus raised his head.

Then drove his forehead down.

Bang!

His skull smashed into the walker’s face.

He lifted his head again.

Bang!

Another impact.

Again.

Again.

Magnus continued until the corpse beneath him finally stopped moving and his own body had nothing left to give. He pushed himself upright with enormous effort, staggered two steps through the blood-covered second floor, and collapsed heavily against the stone.

His consciousness began slipping away again.

Magnus fumbled through the system inventory, pulled out a handful of Antibiotics, and shoved them into his mouth without even checking how many he had grabbed. Blood from his lips and hands smeared across the tablets, but he swallowed anyway. His thoughts slowly became clearer even as his vision continued shrinking into a narrow tunnel of light.

The last thing Magnus saw clearly was the walker he had just killed.

A suit.

A ruined boutonniere stained dark with blood.

His unfocused eyes shifted toward the bodies scattered throughout the church, and a faint realization finally connected the pieces.

“So these guys… were wedding guests too.”

Darkness swallowed everything.

Magnus lost consciousness.

Morning arrived beneath a sky still heavy with storm clouds. Last night’s rain had left the road soaked and the surrounding fields covered in standing water, while the damp air carried the smell of wet grass and mud. Eventually, a narrow shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds and fell across the convoy. The fire engine door opened, and Rick Grimes climbed down onto the road, squinting against the sudden brightness.

Voices were already rising nearby.

“Magnus didn’t come back the night before last,” Shane said, frustration making his voice rough. “We stayed here all day yesterday, and he still didn’t show. Daryl and Merle haven’t come back either.” He dragged one hand through his hair and looked around at the others. “I said this before—we should move to the prison. That’s where we were all heading. If those three are alive and can’t find us here, they’ll go there.”

Carol stood nearby with Sophia tucked against her side, the little girl holding her doll tightly. “So we just leave them?” Carol asked, her expression tightening. “After everything they’ve done for us?” T-Dog immediately shook his head as well, uncomfortable with the idea. “That doesn’t feel right. We don’t just drive away and pretend they’ll figure it out.”

Glenn approached with Maggie beside him, while Hershel and Beth followed a few steps behind. Several people turned toward him, and T-Dog gestured in his direction. “Glenn, what do you think?” Glenn hesitated, lips pressed together for several seconds before finally answering. “I think Shane’s right.”

Rick lifted his eyes toward him. “You think we should leave?”

Glenn nodded, then quickly raised both hands when several people reacted badly. “Listen first. Just listen.” He looked around the group before continuing. “The three people missing are Magnus, Daryl, and Merle. Those are probably the three people here I’d worry about the least if they were stranded somewhere on their own.”

Nobody immediately interrupted.

“You’ve all seen what Magnus can do against walkers,” Glenn continued. “Daryl can track, hunt, and survive in the woods better than almost anybody, and Merle’s not exactly helpless either. Now look at us—we have kids, older people, families, sick people, livestock, vehicles, and supplies to protect.” His expression became more serious. “We need the prison more than those three need us sitting on this road waiting for them.”

Glenn left one thought unspoken.

Magnus wasn’t only dangerous to walkers.

Glenn still remembered the destroyed survivor compound they had encountered before and knew Magnus could be just as ruthless when living enemies became a threat. Combined with Daryl and Merle, the three missing men were arguably more dangerous than many groups of armed survivors. If anyone else had disappeared into the woods, Glenn might have demanded a search.

But these three?

He believed they would survive.

Carl clearly didn’t share that confidence.

“But Magnus—”

Rick turned toward him before he could finish.

He crouched so they were eye level. “Carl, remember what Magnus taught you during that week?”

Carl’s hands tightened around his Primitive Bow.

Rick continued gently. “Out there, hesitation can put everybody in danger. Sometimes you have to make a decision even when you hate it.”

Carl’s face tightened.

Then he turned abruptly toward the woods.

Rick caught his arm before he could run.

“Let me go!”

Carl struggled against him, tears already forming in his eyes. Rick pulled him around and wrapped both arms tightly around his son before he could break free. “Hey. Hey, easy.”

“But Magnus is out there!”

“I know.”

“He could be hurt!”

“I know, Carl.”

Rick held him more firmly as the boy continued fighting for several seconds. “Running into the woods yelling is only going to attract walkers. Is that what Magnus trained you to do?” Carl stopped struggling quite as hard, though his breathing remained uneven. Rick lowered his voice beside his ear. “You trust him, don’t you?”

Carl sniffed.

Rick continued. “Then trust him now. Magnus has gotten through everything else that should’ve killed him.” He eased back enough to look at his son. “We go to the prison, make it secure, and wait for him there. If he’s alive, he knows exactly where we’re heading.”

Andrea had moved closer during the conversation, and her expression changed sharply when she realized what Rick was saying. “Wait. You’re agreeing with this?” Her pale eyes fixed on him. “You’re actually saying we leave?”

Behind her, Shane quietly stepped closer.

Rick glanced past Andrea and caught his former partner’s eyes.

For one brief moment, the old familiarity from their days together as King County sheriff’s deputies returned without either man needing to say anything. Rick knew Shane was ready to push harder if the argument continued, but he didn’t want this decided through intimidation or another fight. He looked back at Andrea and kept his voice calm.

“If I had a better option, I’d take it,” Rick said. “Before Magnus left, I gave him a handheld radio wrapped against the rain. If he came within a couple miles of us and tried the channel, we should’ve heard something.” He glanced toward the silent radio resting nearby. “We haven’t.”

Andrea opened her mouth, but Rick continued before she could interrupt. “That means he’s far enough away that he can’t just walk back here right now. Daryl and Merle are missing too, and we don’t even know which direction to start searching.” His gaze moved toward the rest of the convoy. “Every extra day we stay parked here increases the risk to everyone else.”

“But—”

“Andrea.”

Rick’s tone softened.

“Think about Amy.”

That stopped her.

Andrea turned slightly and looked toward her younger sister.

Rick continued, quieter now. “Magnus isn’t here, so our first responsibility is protecting the people who are. Our families. We get them somewhere secure, then we figure out the next move.”

Andrea’s shoulders gradually lowered.

Her anger didn’t disappear, and neither did the worry in her face, but the argument she had been about to make died before reaching her lips. She looked from Rick to Amy, then across the rest of the exhausted convoy. In the end, she said nothing.

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