It was her.
Even in the dim, oppressive gloom of the hall, Gil recognized her immediately.
She was the leader of the other captive group—the girl who, despite suffering far heavier losses than the group led by that hypocritical guy, managed to command complete trust and fierce loyalty from her surviving followers.
It really wasn't surprising, even if one only took into account the brief glimpse he'd caught during the arena battle between her and that hypocritical bastard.
The difference was night and day. She was genuinely capable, and she actually had the guts to throw herself right into the thick of the action.
And yet, despite all of that, Gil couldn't bring himself to let his guard down around her.
The suspicion lingered, heavy and dark. Out there, ability didn't equal trustworthiness, and bravery often just masked ambition—or something far worse.
Once he fully registered who it was, Gil forced his racing heart to settle.
He composed himself and simply stared up at her in silence.
At first, a faint, amused smirk played on her lips, likely enjoying the way he had jolted awake in near-panic.
But as the seconds ticked by and Gil's expression flattened into an unreadable, icy mask, the amusement faded.
A subtle flicker of surprise crept into her purple eyes—a surprise that grew more pronounced with every passing moment of total silence.
Gil didn't know why she was so shocked, but he maintained the standoff, stubbornly refusing to break the silence first.
Something about this girl truly rubbed him completely the wrong way.
Especially that gaze of hers.
Unlike the others, whose eyes were filled with veiled glee and suffocating pity, her look held something deeply unsettling, something calculating and strange.
He hated it.
He hated it immensely.
Moreover, he was rather pissed off, his patience was razor-thin, and he was thoroughly irritated that his rest had been so abruptly shattered.
He had far too much on his mind to deal with cryptics.
Finally, after another agonizing stretch of silence where she still didn't speak, Gil snapped.
"What do you want?" his voice scraped out, blunt and dry. "It's too late for this."
The simple, unbothered words made the girl flinch slightly, stepping back as raw astonishment washed over her face.
She quickly recovered her composure, crossing her arms.
"Ah... sorry," she murmured, though her tone lacked true remorse. "In my defense, you've been staring at me since yesterday too, haven't you?"
Gil's face didn't twitch.
He had already figured out she was just as sensitive to being watched as he was. He let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Fine. I looked at you, you looked at me. Now we're even," he rasped, driving straight to the point. "What do you actually want? I have things to do."
Her curiosity was clearly piqued by his sharp attitude. She tilted her head, her purple eyes narrowing.
"Hmm. You seem... better."
Gil blinked, confused for a fraction of a second, before the realization hit him like a physical blow.
When he had been dragged back to the holding area earlier after his brutal encounter with Hector, he had tried to act tough, but he knew he must have looked like a broken wreck—battered, mentally drained, trembling with raw shock and pain.
But now, after spending time in his inner sanctuary, regaining his left arm in that ethereal space, and reclaiming his sense of agency... he looked like a completely different person.
He had returned to the Gil they had first met: proud, guarded, with a sharp, dangerous fire burning behind his eyes, ready for a fight.
He understood what she was driving at, but he had zero intention of feeding her curiosity.
"You still haven't answered my question," Gil said, his voice dropping into a cold, menacing register.
The tension between them spiked instantly. "What were you doing creeping up on me at this hour?"
Her posture shifted instantly. She leaned in slightly, probing deeper, staring directly into the depths of his eyes as if trying to read his very soul.
Yet, as the seconds passed and she didn't find whatever she was looking for or something wasn't going as expected, another wave of genuine surprise flashed through her emotions.
Gil noted the shift immediately, even if he couldn't comprehend what she was searching for.
"Nothing," she finally said, smoothing down her clothes. "I just wanted to see if you needed any comfort after what happened to you. But since my good intentions are being received like this... I'll leave you to it."
She turned on her heel to walk back into the shadows.
"Hey."
Gil's voice cut through the quiet hall, stopping her in her tracks. She paused and glanced back over her shoulder.
"Yes?"
"I don't know what you were planning to do right now. I don't know what you're capable of doing later, either. And frankly, I don't care. Leave me out of all of it. Do whatever you want with your own life or with the people who decided to follow you—to be completely blunt with you, I couldn't care less. I already have enough trouble as it is."
He gestured vaguely with his remaining hand toward his severed left shoulder, then swept his arm out toward the heavy walls holding them prisoner.
"But if you get in my way or if you drag me into your mess..."
He let the sentence hang heavily in the air.
The girl stared at him with sudden, solemn gravity. She didn't offer a witty retort or an argument. She simply turned and vanished back into the dark, quiet corner of the room.
Once Gil was absolutely certain she was gone and no one else was lurking nearby, he slid his back down against the cold stone wall.
Sleep was completely out of the question now.
Every nerve in his body was singing with adrenaline.
I need to keep a serious eye on that one,
Gil thought, staring into the dark shadows where she had disappeared.
Something tells me I'm nowhere near done dealing with her.
He nodded to himself, lost in thought, but before he could drop his guard completely, he felt someone else nearby shift in the darkness.
After a brief pause, a familiar figure slipped over to his side.
It was Kuro.
She looked down at him, her eyes searching his face. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it," Gil replied, keeping his voice low. "Have you been awake for long?"
Kuro examined him closely, and once she realized that—against all odds—he was actually doing fine, better than earlier, she let out a quiet breath and nodded.
"I was only sleeping with one eye open. I felt her approach earlier. But i don't think she did anything... she just stood there staring at you for a really long time."
"I see," Gil muttered, leaning his head back against the cold stone. "I have no idea what she wanted from me either. What do you think of her?"
Kuro fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting toward the shadowed corner where the other group was resting.
Finally, she answered softly, "She's... hard to read. I wouldn't really know what to say. She seems to take good care of the people around her, but... I don't know. I wouldn't trust her with my back, that's for sure."
"Yeah," Gil agreed quietly. "Same here."
He sighed, glancing around the silent, oppressive hall. "Well, since neither of us can sleep anyway... why not talk for a bit?"
Kuro looked surprised.
A faint, wicked smirk suddenly tugged at Gil's lips.
He turned his head toward the snoring lump a few feet away.
Without hesitation, he reached out with his right boot and forcefully nudge his sleeping "partner" right in the ribs to wake him up.
How dare Greg sleep like a log while Gil was wide awake and dealing with shadowy late-night visitors?
The nerve of that guy !