As A Mafia Boss, I Refuse To Be An Extra

Chapter 426: Whatever It Takes

Luna pulled back just enough to look at his face, her silver eyes scanning every cut and bruise with the kind of focus that made his chest tighten.

Her spatial ring flashed as she pulled out a small container of food, something that looked like it had been prepared recently.

"When did you–"

"Eat." She broke off a piece and brought it to his lips, her hand steady despite the tremor he could see in her fingers.

Damian opened his mouth and let her feed him, the taste barely registering as he watched her move.

Luna uncorked a healing potion and brought it to his lips next without asking.

"Drink it."

He drank, the bitter liquid washing down his throat as his wounds responded to the fresh dose of healing energy.

She pulled out another potion, this one glowing faintly green, and poured some onto her palm before her fingers worked gently at his face, wiping away blood and grime with careful strokes.

Her touch was feather-light as she cleaned a cut above his eyebrow, her eyes locked on the wound with concentration.

The careful furrow between her eyebrows deepened as she worked, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

She pulled out another vial, uncorked it, and brought it to his lips.

He drank without protest, his eyes never leaving her face.

Her hand moved to check his ribs next, pressing gently through the torn fabric of his shirt.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Her voice came out quiet and worried.

Before he could answer, she’d already pulled out a stronger potion, this one deep crimson in color.

"This one works faster... Mom gave it to me for emergencies."

She brought it to his lips and he drank, feeling the warmth spread through his chest as broken ribs began knitting themselves back together properly.

Luna’s hands moved to his shoulders next, her Aura flowing in gently, checking for injuries he might not have noticed, for damage hidden beneath blood and exhaustion.

Throughout everything, she didn’t ask a single question.

Didn’t ask where he’d been for months.

Didn’t ask what had happened tonight.

Didn’t ask why he was sitting alone by a pond while being drenched in rain.

She just took care of him with the kind of focused attention that made the rest of the world disappear.

Her spatial ring flashed again and she pulled out a clean cloth, dampened it with water from another vial, and began cleaning the blood from his hands with slow, careful strokes.

"You’re shaking." Her voice came out soft and concerned.

Damian looked down at his hands in hers and realized she was right.

A fine tremor ran through his fingers, the adrenaline and exhaustion finally catching up now that someone else was here, now that he didn’t have to hold everything together alone.

Luna’s grip tightened around his hands, steadying them, her thumbs brushing across his knuckles in slow, soothing circles.

She pulled out yet another potion, this one almost clear, and brought it to his lips.

"For the exhaustion."

He drank, and warmth spread through his limbs, pushing back some of the bone-deep tiredness.

Her hand came up to cup his face, tilting his head slightly so she could examine a cut along his jawline.

Her silver eyes were so close he could see the worry etched in them, the fear she’d been carrying, the relief bleeding through now that she’d found him.

She cleaned the cut with gentle touches, her Aura flowing out to accelerate the healing, and Damian just sat there, letting her work.

Something warm touched his cheek.

Luna’s hand stilled, her eyes widening as she looked at him.

"Damian?" Her voice came out concerned."Why are you crying?"

He blinked, his hand coming up automatically to touch his face.

His fingers came away wet.

’Huh?’

Damian stared at the moisture on his fingertips, surprise cutting through everything else, and he wiped at his cheek roughly, then the other one, trying to clear away the evidence.

But more tears fell, quiet and unbidden, cutting clean paths through the grime and blood still on his face.

"Why am I..." His voice came out rough and uncertain, the words catching in his throat. "I don’t... why..."

He didn’t have words for it.

For the feeling crushing his chest that had nothing to do with broken ribs or physical wounds.

For what it meant that throughout these past months of isolation and training, throughout tonight’s battle and desperate fighting and impossible choices, he hadn’t thought about her at all.

And she’d been here the entire time.

Worrying, waiting and the moment she found out what happened, she had come looking for him.

Luna’s arms wrapped around him before he could finish, pulling him into a tight embrace, her face pressing against his shoulder.

"It’s okay." Her whisper came out soft and soothing against his ear. "I’ve got you."

Her hand came up to cradle the back of his head, her fingers running through his blood-matted hair with infinite gentleness.

Damian’s arms came up slowly and held her just as tightly.

’No matter how many Shadow Kings remain.’ The thought crystallized in his mind with certainty. ’No matter how many demon rulers I have to face... No matter what I have to become.’

His grip on her tightened.

’I won’t let anyone destroy her world.’ The resolve settled in his chest like steel. ’Not the monster races... Not the humans... Not anyone.’

The rain continued falling around them, deflected by her Aura barrier, creating a small pocket of stillness in the middle of the storm.

’Whatever it takes.’ His eyes closed, his face still pressed against her shoulder. ’Whatever power I need to gain... Whatever enemies I have to kill.’

Luna’s hand continued stroking his hair, her other arm wrapped securely around him, holding him like she’d never let go.

’I’ll become strong enough that nothing can touch her.’ The promise burned through him.

Neither of them spoke.

They just sat there by the pond’s edge, holding each other, while the city was filled with smoke behind them and morning crept closer through clouds that refused to break.