Bab 175: Fixed rematch

"They are all dead". I expressed. But the liveliness in my voice died down the moment I finished talking.

It took a moment for him to process my words, and when he did…. "Captain.." His voice croaked. His eyes widened in disbelief and his expression… his expression was laced with doubt.

I repeated, "They are dead". My expression remained emotionless because I didn't trust my body to openly display what I deeply felt. "We were ambushed by the magical beast responsible for the frozen moonlight ice. I... I would have saved them, but the distance between us before the attack made my attempts impossible".

"Did.. y..ou…. Did you con..firm their deaths?" Mad John asked. He spoke as though there was a huge lump that blocked his throat.

I shook my head rigidly. 'No... there was no time".

Mad John slowly digested the information before he seemed to think it over with a much more inexplicable mixture of emotions -shock, disbelief and dread on his face.