"Ah!"
The men on the track fell onto their backs, paralyzed as their bodies finally gave in. They couldn't move a limb anymore, and even though they were starving, all they wanted now was sleep. The crowds had already dispersed and gone back to their posts.
"We're… we're alive." The same man who had approached Lola during the sprint breathed out weakly. "We're… we're still… alive."
It felt like a dream to everyone.
Today, they had gambled with their lives — and who would have thought they'd actually hit the jackpot?
"You all got lucky," someone said from nearby. "Just what were you guys thinking? Trusting that woman with your lives?"
Despite their exhaustion, the men all turned their heads toward the voice. Their eyes landed on Frederick — their colleague, and captain of the Order's First Division. The men's faces soured upon seeing that nasty smirk on his face.
"Just get off our backs," one of them said. "We survived, and that's all that matters."
