Jack's fingers tightened around the odachi.
"If I stay, more people will die," he said. "They will keep sending people. Stronger ones. Crazier ones. And when Father comes…" He shook his head. "Cromwell will be wiped out before I can even blink."
He forced himself to meet Nox's gaze directly.
"So I will make a choice," Jack said. "My choice. Not his. Not theirs."
Nox's stomach sank. Were they really that powerful? He thought to himself quietly. They had repelled the demons and the Order of the Flaming Rose as well. Just how powerful was this unknown family?
"Jack—"
Nox called out, but he was interrupted.
"I will go."
The words came out calm. Too calm.
It felt like he had stabbed himself.
Nox stared at him.
He suddenly hated how calm Jack looked.
"That is not what I meant," Nox said. There was a sharpness in his voice that he rarely showed. "You do not have to—"
"It is because you said those words," Jack interrupted, a small smile appearing, "that I can walk forward."
