Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Chapter 2037

People scrambled on the rooftop, dodging and rolling to avoid the onslaught. Estelle was caught in the blast and hurtled through the air, crashing to the ground with a thud.

"Estelle!"

"Stella!"

Raiden and Xavier raced toward her with urgent strides.

Triceratops switched to a machine gun, waiting for the right moment. He aimed at Estelle, who was wounded and slow to move, and opened fire.

"Stella!"

Raiden lunged forward, shielding Estelle with his body. Bullets struck his back, and he collapsed on top of her as a gush of blood sprayed from his mouth.

In the sky, Gab and Alvis swooped in with their helicopter, bombarding Triceratops' aircraft while on the ground, the Brennan family's Iron Shadows surged in, unleashing a barrage of fire upon Zion. Zion was a cauldron of smoke and gunfire, with countless people fleeing in all directions, panicked and disoriented.

On the rooftop

Estelle clutched Wolf, her hands stained with blood as she touched his back. Panicked, she laid him flat on the ground, desperately trying to stem the flow of blood.

Xavier stripped off his shirt, wrapping it around Wolf's wounds. He grabbed Wolf's hand and said, "Hang in there!"

Wolf turned to Estelle, his scar-riddled face pale, a wry smile on his lips. "Xavier was right, in the end, I still don't want to kill you!"

"Don't talk, Wolf!" Estelle shook her head frantically, "Even if you wanted to kill me, I'd be willing to die by your hands. I knew it was you before Xavier even got here!"

He knew her so well, knew her fear of dogs. In the forest, she had been certain he was Wolf.

Only he and she knew about the candy company formula theft from their earlier days.

He had told her that if they ever got out, he would start the biggest candy company in the world for her. It seemed now there would never be that chance.

Wolf's smile was faint but genuine. "I knew you'd guess it. We're too familiar with each other. Even if I changed, I couldn't hide from you. I lured you here because," Blood poured from Wolf's mouth, a crimson tide as if blood-red lilies were blooming, welcoming his return. His gaze never left Estelle. "I really wanted to see you again."

To see what the girl who had fought and survived with them had grown into.

Indeed, she was even more beautiful than he had imagined.

Tears streamed down Estelle's face as she said, "Please, don't talk anymore. Just hold on, okay? We've both survived; we have to keep living!"

"Wolf, hold on, come back to J City with us!" Xavier fought back sobs, "Let's go home together!"

"I wish I could, but I might not get the chance to see your lives now. Take care of Stella for me. I should have been gone a long time ago!" Wolf's gaze was fading, "I need to meet up with Tyrannosaurus and the others."

"No, don't do this!" Desperation shone in Estelle's eyes, "Wolf, don't die!"

The horrific battle from years ago, the death of her teammates, had always been a wound she couldn't face. Why did she have to go through it all again?