Lucas' Quest

After bawling his eyes out for a few long minutes, Nero swiveled and staggered back to sit on a nearby waiting bench.

Lucas' words hit too close to home for him.

He was already in a distressed state after seeing Liz's condition, and at the back of his mind, he was also feeling guilty for all the cadets who died.

He told himself that their blood wasn't on his hands, but somehow he knew that they were.

Just as Lucas said, if he hadn't prioritized his victory in the Mock War and used his Gift, the vampires would never have made him their target.

Yes, by that logic, those deaths really were on him. In fact, he was also to blame for Liz's current condition.

If Lucas hadn't confronted him, he was probably going to delude himself into believing that he wasn't at fault.