Ander crashed down on the hostile with brutal force, driving his knife into its chest.

  The monster collapsed lifeless, but the victory was short-lived: an entire pack lunged at him.

  From the building, Néstor raised his weapon and opened fire.

  "Come on! We have to help him, shoot!" he shouted desperately.

  Luke watched in disbelief, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

  "How is that boy doing this?" he murmured, his face twisted in shock.

  Rogelio, pale, could barely speak.

  "He died… his heart stopped. This makes no sense."

  Andrew clenched his teeth, eyes locked on the battlefield.

  "I don’t care if he resurrected or not. What matters is that he keeps killing hostiles."

  The creatures swarmed Ander.

  Without time to think, he clenched his fist and unleashed a colossal punch into one’s torso, sending it flying backward into another hostile.

  Another attacked from behind, but Ander spun with astonishing agility, as if a new instinct had awakened.

  His knife sank into the hostile’s skull, dropping it lifeless at his feet.

  Two more charged.

  Ander stumbled slightly as he retreated but managed to dodge. With a powerful strike, he slammed one beast against the wall.

  The other tried to seize the moment, but Ander drove his knife between its eyes and brought it down.

  Grabbing the corpse, he hurled it into another hostile, knocking it over as well.

  Gunfire from his companions in the building shielded him from the next wave.

  Luke’s heart raced. The boy doesn’t know how to fight, but he has superhuman strength…

  Josh fired his pistol to cover him, but the sight of Ander—lifeless minutes ago, now fighting with fury—left him speechless.

  "Where did you get that strength? How are you alive?" he asked, incredulous.

  "Josh, focus!" Cody shouted. "Protect Ander!"

  Josh squinted to aim better.

  "Ahh, yeah… you’re right."

  The hostiles kept coming, but Ander never stopped counterattacking.

  His lack of technique was obvious, yet his strength and agility gave him the edge.

  He blocked and killed each enemy with instinctive moves and crushing blows.

  Little by little, the battlefield cleared, hostile corpses scattered around him.

  Breathing heavily, his clothes shredded by claws and drenched in hostile blood, Ander lifted his gaze toward the building.

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  The entire group stared, stunned, seeing him standing among so many bodies.

  But the moment shattered when a hostile, still alive, rose and bit into his right leg, sinking its fangs into the femoral artery.

  The group panicked.

  Ander felt the pain, but calmly drove his knife into the creature’s neck, ending it.

  "Come on, the area’s clear! We need to get him up here," Andrew ordered.

  "Yes, help him, please," Italia implored.

  Néstor and Magnus rushed down, carried Ander, and brought him back into the ruined, debris-filled building.

  Meanwhile, Luke walked among the remains and found a piece of Tobias’s clothing beside a wedding ring. He pocketed it, sorrow in his eyes.

  Inside, they laid Ander on a broken table.

  "Rogelio, check the bite, please," Néstor asked.

  Alicia hugged him tightly.

  "Ander, my friend, you’re back."

  Josh, wordless, wrapped his arms around him too.

  Everyone watched, moved.

  Ander’s face, once grim, softened, and his eyes returned to blue.

  "My friends…" he whispered, returning the embrace.

  Rogelio examined the wound carefully.

  "Kids, be careful. Ander must be exhausted—we need to treat his leg and stop the bleed—"

  He froze, stunned.

  The fresh bite wasn’t bleeding.

  "What’s happening to you?" Andrew asked.

  Rogelio studied Ander’s leg closely. The bleeding had stopped completely.

  "I’ll just bandage it so the wound isn’t exposed," he said, still astonished.

  "Thank you, truly," Ander replied sincerely.

  Luke frowned.

  "And your first bite?"

  Rogelio leaned in to check. What he found left him speechless: the scar was gone.

  "I don’t understand this…" Ander murmured, confused.

  Josh stepped back, his face twisted.

  "His… his bite… it’s gone."

  "It didn’t vanish," Rogelio corrected. "It healed."

  Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.

  One question lingered: how was it possible Ander had come back to life? No one had an answer.

  The survivors, though relieved, couldn’t take their eyes off the boy whose resurrection defied all logic.

  Andrew broke the silence.

  "I want to thank you, kid. We owe you one."

  Italia nodded, moved.

  "We’re very grateful to you, Ander."

  The boy lowered his gaze, embarrassed.

  "Don’t worry, it’s nothing."

  Josh stepped closer, disbelief still etched on his face.

  "Ander, what happened? What did you feel, my friend?"

  "I don’t know," he answered thoughtfully.

  "How could you do all that?"

  "I just felt fury coursing through me."

  Josh looked at him.

  "Fury? That’s what I felt when I thought you… were dead."

  Ander clenched his hand, staring at his palm in confusion.

  "I know I should be dead, but I’ve never felt so alive. I don’t even know what I did."

  Josh smiled.

  "What you did, Ander, was save our lives."

  Alicia approached, worried.

  "And your leg?"

  Ander stood without difficulty, as if nothing had happened.

  "Perfect. It doesn’t hurt at all."

  Elsewhere in the building, a conversation unfolded.

  Luke and the guardians gathered in a small space, discussing what had happened.

  "Dante, how’s your arm?" Luke asked.

  "Better. I’m ready to fight again," Dante replied firmly.

  "If you feel anything, let us know," Luke added.

  As they spoke, Luke couldn’t shake the image of Ander returning from death. "Ander’s case is incredible," Néstor said. "He’s fine after fighting a pack of creatures hand-to-hand."

  "His wounds healed. He regained energy in minutes," Luke added, still in disbelief.

  "His speed and strength… if I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t believe it," Magnus said.

  Adriano spoke up.

  "Iván and I saw him die, with our own eyes."

  Luke pondered, recalling a disturbing detail.

  "His eyes… they glowed… like a hostile’s."

  Néstor interrupted.

  "We all saw it. But whatever it is, the boy saved us. There’s no reason to distrust him."

  At that moment, Ander entered the room. He approached slowly, his face serious.

  "Excuse me… I heard your conversation."

  Silence fell.

  Italia also stepped in.

  "What were you talking about, Luke?"

  "About Ander’s abilities… and their similarities to the hostiles," Luke replied.

  Ander lowered his gaze, disappointed.

  "You don’t trust me."

  "What?" Alicia exclaimed. "Ander saved us all."

  "That’s right," Josh added. "There’s no reason not to trust him."

  Both stood in front of Luke, defending their friend.

  Luke raised his hands, trying to ease the tension.

  "That’s not true, boy. I don’t distrust you. In fact, I respect you for everything you did."

  Adriano cut in with a wry smile.

  "But… there’s a ‘but,’ isn’t there?"

  Luke sighed.

  "But…"

  "Ha! I knew it…" Adriano laughed.

  Luke ignored him and continued seriously.

  "I can’t help but think… maybe you’ll turn into one of those beasts."

  Cody raised an eyebrow. "A human turning into a hostile?"

  "That’s insane, completely impossible," Josh retorted.

  Luke looked at them one by one, his voice firm.

  "Have you ever seen a human do what he did?"

  The group was left with countless questions.

  Was Ander still one of them?