The First Dragon God

The group was momentarily caught off guard by Leo's question but they were shocked by his young appearance, and the familiar feeling that the lady beside him was giving off.

The lady was giving them a dreadful feeling. It was like they were standing in front of a zombie and a human at the same time.

The group felt their hand go wet with cold sweat at the feeling the lady was giving off. Just the familiar zombie feeling she was giving off made them want to attack her but they knew what fate awaits them if they are to act on their thoughts.

It's wasn't just the lady but the boy beside her was giving off an equally dangerous feeling, and this feeling was heightened by the black blade in his hand.

The group members knew that at this point, the only thing they can do is to have their leader take over.

They slowly turned their head to look at Mr Miguel who also had a frightened expression on his face. They could see him stretching out his hand to grab his hand but his body didn't have the strength to lift it up.

Miguel saw the look his teammates were giving him and he cursed them silently. He hated them for transferring the responsibility to him but he hated himself more.

With cold sweat running down his back, his breath still unsteady and even from the recent fight with the zombie hordes outside—that has now increased, his body also weak and devoid of strength after expending it all on escaping from the zombies, he tried to grab his axe again but his body was beyond spent to squeeze out any strength.

The faint, distant sounds of zombie snarls outside, made the silence between Leo and the group even more oppressive, and this was coupled with the air heavily tinged with the metallic stench of dried blood and decay from the zombies' corpses in the lobby.

Leo saw Miguel's action and he squeezed the Nightshade's hilt, preparing himself for any potential confrontation but he knew that it would never come.

With just a look, he saw how exhausted and weak the ground is, and this was shown by how Miguel was unable to muster the strength to lift his axe.

Leo's intention is to help the group, but after taking Ms Ves' and Tatiana's words into consideration, he decided to do it smartly.

It's for this reason that he asked the question he asked. He doesn't want a situation whereby after helping them, one of them would turn and put himself, Ms Ves and the others in danger.

He sighed when he thought of this. His gaze became firmer and his grip on Nightshade became tighter.

'The world has changed and I also have to change along with it. Though I don't have to become ruthless and apathetic to others, I have to be smart when interacting with people,' Leo thought to himself, as he continued to gaze at Miguel.

"I will ask for the last time, were any of you bitten or scratched? If I don't get an answer, then I would take your silence for a yes and would have to send you out," Leo said, with the most emotionless voice he could come up with.

Ves who was standing beside him smiled slightly when she saw this. She knew that Leo was doing his best to change but she was also aware that it isn't something that will happen instantaneously, but she knew that given time, Leo would become someone that the world wouldn't want to trifle with.

The face of Miguel and his group went pale when they heard what Leo said. They slowly turned to look at the zombies roaring and growling at a distance, and they felt chill run down their spine.

There was no need for them imagine what their fates would be if they are to be sent outside. This time, the group members didn't wait for Miguel as one of them spoke up.

"No. None of use were bitten or scratched. Though we lost some of our members to the zombies. Three of them turned," one of them, a male who looks to be slightly older than the girl, spoke up.

Leo nodded when he heard this. He looked at Ms Ves and he saw her nodding at him. He understood what she meant with the nod and he turned to look at the group, mostly at Miguel. He wants to make sure that he's not being lied to because they want to protect one of their own.

"Are you sure that none of you is infected?" He asked, as he flexed Nightshade a little.

The young man swallowed hard when he saw this, and he nodded desperately.

"I swear. We're clean."

Love narrowed his eyes for a moment when he heard this, but he eased his expression almost immediately. He knew that they were telling the truth now and he decided to believe them. But he will still be taking precautionary measures against them.

"If that is so, then you can join us. You all look exhausted, so I will allow you to rest on any of the apartments on the first floor. If after you have restedvand you want to leave, then that's fine by me," Leo said, and paused allowing what he just said to sink in, before continuing.

When he saw that them nodding in understanding, he decided to continue:

"But understand that if step out of this building with the intention of leaving, then there's no coming back. If you're to be seen close to the building after that, then I will take your return as a threat."

The group continuously nodded when they heard what Leo said. They could understand where he was coming from and why he's being so cautious, and they can't blame him. Though they were slightly surprised that someone as young as him would actually say things like that, but when they remembered the current state of the world, they understood where he was coming from.

Leo smiled while secretly letting out a sigh of relief when he saw them nodding in agreement. He felt like a massive boulder has been lifted off his shoulder, allowing him to finally breathe easily.

'Putting on a strong front isn't really my strong suit but it's something I will have to learn. I have to adapt and get stronger so that I can protect myself and those around me.' He said to himself internally.

Ves decided to take over the situation since Leo has taken care of the difficult part. She would had done it herself but she allowed him to do it as she felt it's a way to help him learn and grow.

"Since all of you understand the situation, you're in, you can follow us up to the first floor," She said, and started walking to the elevator.

She saw that Leo was already waiting in front of the opened elevator, and she smiled proudly at him.