CH 261: SHOPPING

⟦LAPPD⟧

Back inside of her office at the underground bureau of the Los Angeles Paranormal Police Department, Theresa was looking at her screen with dark emotions in her eyes. The night had been long and exhausting for her, far from the cushy job she had wanted while coming here in the first place.

She had her doubts initially but after scouring through the data available on hand, she realized that something happened on the sea not far away from the city of Los Angeles.

The fact that she did not know exactly what happened even after extensive research made her unable to sleep without having nightmares. In short, she was not able to sleep at all.

After all, while she liked the advantage of being a Director in charge of a city, the responsibilities were no joke and could be quite crushing if taken lightly. Just as she was doing so till now. She had already prepared herself to lose her life for her beliefs and her job but what was happening now was driving her to the brink of insanity and beyond.

"Tea…"

"Thanks. What would I do without you, my dear student…"

Her brooding was interrupted as Makoto entered the room with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. Just looking at it made her feel like she was being rejuvenated.

Obviously, it was a special tea made with herbal plants that helped in calming and sharpening the mind.

Right now, working more than this would only be detrimental for her so all she could do was just sigh out loud.

"Did the church send an answer?"

She had been busy all night moving things around and learning all she could about this unprecedented incident. She had to call many people for that and that inevitably led to her blood pressure increasing to dangerous levels, but she believed that it was worth it in the end.

"The government accepted the dispatch of a Zodiac on these lands and the saintess said that ⦗Virgo⦘ was available and would come around in December."

"Hmm… This was a little too easy."

She frowned heavily at the words of her student. Zodiacs were extremely rare and there were only 26 official zodiacs in the whole world. With 13 in Asia and 13 in the rest of the world.

For countries, A zodiac was no different than a nuclear weapon. They represented the absolute peak of human power and were humans who could not even be considered human as they had reached the absolute peak of what was possible in this world in a given field.

Anastasia of the sign of ⦗Virgo⦘, the Blind Maiden— a woman of faith who lost her sight in order to obtain the power to look into the heavenly principles and gain the power of Foresight.

She might not be the strongest Zodiac out there, but she was definitely one of the most respected and acclaimed among all the Zodiacs in existence for her deeds.

'This smells fishy to me. In the first place, why did the saint come to Los Angeles for seemingly no reason?'

Theresa knew that this may be simple paranoia on her part. But now, there were simply too many coincidences to consider it to be just simple paranoia and push it to the back of her head.

This could only mean one thing…

Los Angeles was currently a convergence point. A singularity had appeared and Fate was starting to move around that person and that was the reason behind the recent circumstances and calamity-level events that were happening in this place.

'Fuck…'

If she was right about this… This also meant that Los Angeles was only at its second crisis and many more would appear soon in the future.

"But who could it…"

A call icon appeared at the corner of her eyes and she recognized the number to be her sister, Cecilia's.

Instantly, she was able to connect the dots as a terrifying thought came to mind…

"Haha… Holy… Just what is…"

If she was not wrong. No, she was sure that while she was only speculating, there were too many facts that were aligning together for her speculations to not be right…

'Is Adam the singularity?'

This would make so much sense and she realized once again that she truly needed to become close to him now before her feeling of duty made her act against him.

"Hello." She raised an eyebrow when she heard Cecilia's question, "You want to invite me and Makoto for Thanksgiving?"

She chuckled, "I would say yes but… It honestly depends on one thing. Ahem~ Are you the one cooking the dinner?"

She released a sigh of relief when the answer that came was indeed negative. She had enough headaches now and didn't want to have an upset stomach on top of that.

"Very well. I will participate." This would be the perfect time for her to relax a little and have a closer observation of Adam.

Once the call ended, Theresa turned toward her student,

"So. Makato, wanna dress up?"

Makoto shuddered at those words. Knowing that she was about to face something she dreaded more than anything in this world.

Shopping.

Theresa was not the only one that wanted to go shopping.

Sitting in the back of a large SUV while Mammoth was in the driver's seat, Shuri and Yui were both discussing at high speed, making Mammoth feel like bullets were being fired in an open battlefield.

"Why do we have to go shopping? This is just a simple moment. For one, I have not done such a thing in months so I need to unwind a bit. Furthermore, I looked at your dresser and it was horrible."

Yui dismissed Shuri's words with a wave of her hand.

"I would have lent some of my clothes to you but…"

She looked at her own relatively slender body then gazed at Shuri's explosive body and chuckled in dismay, "For some reason, I have the feeling that my clothes would not really suit you."

She laughed quietly as Shuri blushed heavily at her words. The places where she was looking were quite evident after all.

"Well then. Time to go."

CH 262: ACT BEFORE YOU REGRET

Adam was quietly driving the car while Viktor sat next to him on the adjacent seat. The two of them had been tasked with buying the necessary ingredients and groceries for the Thanksgiving dinner and they were slowly making their way back to Adam's house.

Alcohol and meat were bought in copious amounts and they were now coming back after making sure everything was in order and they had finished the task they had set out to do.

Sometimes, Makarov would give a side glance toward Adam but he would not speak in the end. He had something he wanted to ask him for some time already but he had the impression that Adam was not exactly in the most convivial mood right about now so he was not able to muster the courage to break the ice between them.

"What do you want to say? Spill it out already…"

Adam spoke without taking his eyes off the road. He didn't want to risk an accident. After all, if that happened, the ones who were at risk of dying would not be the two of them but the destruction they would cause in the wake of their accident and the lives they would reap in the process.

"Wel… Ahem~ I wanted to know if I could invite Susanne to the dinner."

"Oh?"

His attention was slightly diverted by his large-sized friend's words filled with hesitance, "So you two are already in a steady relationship, I suppose?"

They should have only met once or twice only. This was quite fast to confirm a relationship between two individuals, thought Adam in his mind.

Viktor scratched his head with a somewhat silly smile on his face, "I don't know if we are, to be honest. I mean, we did it, right? So does it mean that we are together? I am not really sure if I am to be honest about it."

Adam cringed slightly at the words that came out of his mouth but he could understand Viktor's confusion…

Nowadays we were in a world where lust and love were strictly separated and for most people, having sex together did in no way mean that they were entering a steady relationship with each other. It was far from it actually.

Adam knew this rule more than anyone else in the world. After all, he had his relationship with Sae that was quite hard to explain.

But… "I don't know her well. But from what I have seen, I think she is also interested in being in a serious relationship with you, my friend. Perhaps you should call her and see if she is free now?"

"You sure?"

The way Viktor's eyes twinkled made Adam flinch slightly. He had the feeling that if Viktor's relationship with that woman didn't last, he would be embroiled in quite a complicated situation of his own.

But it was already too late to back out now. "Give it a try. After all, isn't it better to try and fail than to not even try and regret it later?"

He could see that Viktor was not convinced so he continued on, "Look at it this way. If you try, you have chances of succeeding and chances of failure. But if you do nothing you have no chance of succeeding at all. So, it is better to just try and see where it goes…"

Adam spoke the last words quite quietly, a forlorn smile forming on his face.

As they said, preaching was always easy when you were on the side of doing it. It was always easy to say what someone should do or blurt out a solution to someone when you were not the one executing it.

However, putting a piece of advice into action was quite a complicated procedure and few in this world were truly capable of doing something like that.

His grip around the steering wheel became stronger as he thought more about his words.

"Look. She is a Hunter and you are also a Blacksmith. No, even before that, the two of you are humans. You never know what can happen tomorrow. You should act now. Because, once it's too late, you will only have regrets left to wallow on. Never let yourself regret anything, my friend. You don't want to face that feeling, trust me…"

This was something he wished that he had understood a little sooner. Because of his hesitation, he lost many things last night, and while it wasn't things that would gut him from the deepest part of his heart…ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

It instilled a certain fear in him nonetheless…

What if… In the future, his hesitation caused even more problems and made him lose even more precious people. People far too precious for him to even think of the possibility of losing them…

Could he truly say that he was ready to bear all those losses in the future?

'I need to build more Karma first.'

In the past, three thousand karma was an impressive number to him, but now it was basically close to nothing…

'I also need to visit the Bronze library one last time.'

He didn't even need to learn new skills. He simply needed a place where he could test Death in different ways. It might also be possible to find a book about Necromancy though he doubted it would be possible to find something like that in the Bronze section.

Time. He needed time. Much, much more time. He had so many things to learn and understand that even his three minds working together were not nearly enough for him to process them.

Soon he would have to go to France to retrieve the statue of the goddess of victory and he would surely fight many strong people there. Some of them would surely be far stronger than he could possibly imagine.

Facing a divine weapon holder was not an exception in that scenario and when this happened, the person would not hold back unlike what happened with his fight with the Lightning Blade, Makoto.

He needed to get the help of a Zodiac. Perhaps Medusa, to find the medicine for Cecilia. Then after all of that danger-inducing scenarios, he had so many more things to deal with in his hands.

'I am tired.'

"Adam? Look at the road."

Adam woke up with a startle and took back control of the steering wheel. A tragedy nearly happened because he was losing focus while being lost in thought.

"Sorry. Had a big night yesterday."

ƥαṇdαηθνε| "So, I see."

Viktor gave a worried look toward his friend.

What he had seen on Adam's face wasn't just the face of someone who had a rough night.

Rather, his eyes had looked completely empty for just a moment there.

But now, looking at Adam, smiling and joking with him like nothing was wrong, Viktor began to wonder if he had simply seen things there.

Finally, after this small alert… The two of them soon parked in front of the house, ready to kickstart the Thanksgiving Dinner…

CH 263: HER GOAL (1)

The preparation for the party and the Thanksgiving celebration continued for everyone involved. Shuri and Yui were surprisingly having fun together even as they visited different shops to look out for some much-needed clothes for Shuri.

The two of them together were extremely eye-catching thanks to their natural beauty and the aura of nobility they emanated naturally in their every action. One didn't need to be a genius to realize that the two of them were part of the select few and were quite high up the ladder.

A few men expressed interest in fraternizing with them in the way, looking at them with clear intentions in their eyes.

But just one look at the giant bald man with black glasses and black suit walking behind the two women made even the staunchest Casanova hesitate and then decide that it simply wasn't worth the risk of the wrath of those women with their pickup lines.

"Your bodyguard is certainly very handy in a situation like this."

Shuri expressed her admiration for Mammoth's mighty presence. Since her bodyguards mainly consisted of women, even when she went out with them, they did not have the same deterring power as the hulking mass of muscles and intimidation that was Mammoth. She couldn't help but marvel at the presence he exuded and was glad that no flies were ruining the experience for her and Yui.

"Mammoth is really helpful in almost any scenario. Always protects me from the bad guys. He's a gem."

Mammoth's lips twitched slightly, breaking his stone-cold stance for a split second after hearing Yui speak. He was wondering in his mind just who was protecting who here? If someone that could actually threaten Yui appeared in this place, then all he could do was sacrifice his life in the hopes of gaining some small fraction of time for her to escape this place and contact backup.

This was the sad reality that every bodyguard had to face when they were actually weaker than the one they were trying to protect.

"Boss. We are being followed."

"I know. Just ignore them. They are only some small flies who are trying to obtain some information on me."

Yui was unconcerned about the presence she could feel scurrying all around them and was watching their every move like some amateurs. Those people were spies from the different organizations of the underworld that were trying to sniff something out from her everyday life.

"How is the taking over going on?"

Kang Ho had quite a bit of territory inside K-Town and by taking it down, she had managed to salvage quite a hefty bit of it for herself. Of course, she would have to concede some small cakes to the different organizations under her to stop them from banding against her… but the sharing would be at her discretion only not theirs.

Shuri looked at the way Yui acted with supreme confidence in her every move and could only marvel at how steadfast such a woman who was probably ten years younger than her was.

"You are admirable."

ƥαṇdαηθνε| "Admirable?" Yui's eyebrow rose in surprise at the sudden praise that was coming from her new friend and she could only shake her head with a bitter smile in response, "I am just lucky to have talented people around me. That's all."

This was something Yui always reminded herself of no matter what status she reached in life. Her success was not thanks to her might on the battlefield but thanks to all the efforts the members of her organization and her many subordinates created for her with their hard work and loyalty.

She was simply lucky to have them at her side when she needed them the most.

This was how it was when she first started the whole underworld business and got Mammoth and then Adam to support her and push her from behind. It was the same when she met Nikola, Hacker, and the others.

She had met numerous supremely talented beings in the weirdest places at the strangest moments and made them her followers by chance. That was the secret behind her success.

"So, to thank that luck, I need to work even harder."

She needed to do more. Way, way more. Far more than what she had ever done till now. Until she reached the very top and became a legend in the supernatural scene that no one could ever forget or ignore, she had to keep going and keep pushing herself.ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

Shuri looked at the strong will behind the nonchalant eyes of the young girl close to her.

"Why do you fight like that?"

She knew more or less about Yui's origins. She was the illegitimate daughter of two powerful clans. Even then she refused the help given to her, smacked away the hand stretched for her, and continued to walk her own pace with absolute disregard for all rules and regulations thrown at her along the way. She was such a woman.

"Why? Because I am simply too petty."

She did not have a great cause or important convictions for her actions. She was just extremely petty. A petty woman who wanted to prove her worth to the whole world and slap that into their faces. Even if she had to scream and act unsightly to do so…

Even if she had stepped into the world of the shadows and darkness and became someone whose body would be covered in blood along the way.

She wanted to stand up, to look at them in the eyes and say…

'Look at me. I exist. The pariah you guys rejected. The one none cared for.'

'I am here and I will always be. No matter what, no matter how, one day I will have you guys look at me with awe and regret.'

She would become strong, she would take her place in all the domains they acted and looked down at her from… and she would make them bow to her will and grovel at her feet.

No matter what. No matter how. She would do it…

It was an extremely spiteful and selfish wish of hers. There was no beauty in her goal and her end might not be a happy one.

But this was her life and even if she had to trample on that of others, she would rise to the top and look down on anyone and everyone.

Shuri could see the fire in Yui's eyes and asked,

"Isn't it tiring?"

"Heh, is it something someone like you should ask?"

Yui gave a knowing smile at Shuri. After all, Shuri walked for years with a single-minded drive and rose to her current station.

Yui's respect for Shuri was no less than what Shuri felt about her.

Like this, the two women with a mind of steel smiled at each other and continued shopping.

The seed of a small friendship was planted between the two of them.

CH 264: HER GOAL (2)

⟦28th November 2030 — Day of Thanksgiving — 6 pm⟧

The sky was reddening with the evening glow, the aura of twilight permeating the atmosphere, as the sun slowly set behind the Beverly Hills of Los Angeles.

It was a sight for sore eyes. A sight filled with wonderland that gave one a desire to admire the power of mother nature. Everywhere, people were going at home or visiting friends and family in order to share the beautiful day that was Thanksgiving.

Some would simply spend the day alone while others would do so as a couple or family.

Inside Adam's house, the place was preparing for the day of festivity between loved and close ones which was called Thanksgiving. It was nothing impressive really, but Cecilia had worked hard on the backyard and a grill stood proudly among the grassy plane while Makarov worked on the fire.

His white hair was slightly charred around the tips and there was even soot on his clothes. It was hard to imagine that a blacksmith like him could be affected by the fire in such a clear and clumsy way, even more so because he was not just any blacksmith but the greatest blacksmith of the supernatural world, but there was a clear reason for something like this happening.

"Don't approach me. Don't even think of touching the fire. Just don't even move."

Makarov growled under his breath while shooting a threatening look toward Cecilia as he opened his arms wide and made a barrier take place around the grill.

It looked like he would stop Cecilia from approaching the meat even if it was the last thing he would do in this world at this point.

"But…" Cecilia gave an awkward smile but she knew that she could not blame Makarov after what had transpired a few moments ago in the kitchen. This had certainly not been one of her proudest moments.

"No buts. No ifs. Go to your room and change your clothes and just play the hostess for today. I will take care of the food otherwise we will only have pizza or charcoal to eat."

In the end, Cecilia could only give a bitter smile while she ignored the loud chortle coming from Adam and Viktor who were working on setting out the tables.

During the Day of Thanksgiving, eating turkey with the family was quite a common sight among the households and while Makarov was not a great chef, he knew more than enough to prepare a great meal worthy of Thanksgiving.

His mistake had been in asking Cecilia for some help in the process.

Truthfully speaking, while Cecilia was a bad cook, she was not so horrible that she could not at least do some simple task while being guided by someone else.

The problem was that she had a horrible control of fire or rather, whenever she handled fire, it changed property even without her direct will.

Cecilia could, in a way, be said to be one of the humans who were closest to the absolute destructive nature of fire. At her peak, one could have even called her a fire Elemental due to the pure destruction that she was able to bring out from any and all forms of fire.

Usually, she had a certain control over this aspect and she would have never been able to reach the level she had once reached with poor control. However, since she regained her lost powers over fire not long ago and she had once again gotten access to her Truth, it was inevitable that some form of mishap was about to happen one way or another once she came into the vicinity of any fire.

All the food was burned beyond any possible form of salvation. Charred to the point of becoming charcoal and if they had not acted fast enough then the house itself would have burnt and they would have to call the firefighter by now instead of preparing for the Thanksgiving Dinner.

To say that Makarov was pissed would be an understatement. Furthermore, having a Turkey for the Thanksgiving meal now was utterly impossible. But thankfully, while hours of work went down the drain, hope was not lost as Viktor proposed a simple improvise…

Seeing the dejected Cecilia wallowing about here and there, Makarov's tone and heart both became softer. He knew very well that Cecilia was more excited than anyone else about the current event. After all, this would be her first Thanksgiving with her sister in almost twenty years.

This would also be the first time in twenty whole years that she celebrated without feeling innately weakened by the constraints of the curse…

In more ways than one, this was truly a happy day for her and he understood the desperation Cecilia must be feeling in wishing to make this day as perfect and memorable as possible.

"Look. Relax, okay. Leave everything to us. The boys will soon finish with the tables. You can help them with the drinks and some other miscellaneous chores and then you should doll yourself up. You don't want your sister to one up you in that department, right?

Cecilia smiled, feeling her spirit lift up greatly with those words, "I really feel like you are treating me like a kid right now, old man."

"Heh. I see all of you guys as children. Come talk again when you reach my age, lass…"

"Even when I reach your age I will still be young looking, you know…"

She laughed and avoided the rock Makarov threw at her before scampering toward the living room.ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

It was indeed time for her to change her clothes even if he didn't remind her about it. After all, they had also gotten slightly burned due to the mishap.

Once she finally entered the living room, the smile on Cecilia's face slipped slightly as she looked at her hands.

While the fire had indeed gone wild, something had felt different amidst that mishap. It was different from everything she remembered as if her fire had somehow gained a new property. One that needed further exploration…

'Should I give it a try?'

She clenched her fists before relaxing them. Now was not the time for something like this. She could not squander the life force that she received from the potion Medusa had so generously given her…

Something big would happen soon. She was sure of it and they might have need for her powers then. While she could not be at her maximum capacity, she was sure that she could bring some much-needed help to the table.

'Sigh. Why are things becoming so complicated?'

She looked at Adam as he smiled while working and placing the chairs and suddenly the despondence that had been filling her heart vanished like a lie and a smile lit her face.

This was how life had always been. Nothing was ever easy and you needed to fight teeth and nail to get a hold of what you really wished for.

Crying was useless.

Whining was a waste of time.

Hesitation only made failure to be the most likely outcome.

All you could do in the face of adversity was fight, fight, and fight. You had to hold on with your teeth gritted even as the blood left your body endlessly, even as death approached your doorsteps.

The only hope that existed was the hope that once you passed the moment of great turbulence, a sky full of light would welcome you with open arms.

For her, this blue sky was the happiness of Adam.

She had been trudging alone all this while for the sole goal of accomplishing this reality.

She could feel that they were reaching new milestones and soon Adam would need her protection no more.

Like a proud eagle, he would soar in the skies and reign as a true 'King.'

'Just a little more.'

As long as Hope existed then she had to fight.

Even when Hope was extinguished, she still had to fight.

She had to fight on to her last breath to ensure the happiness of her child.

It was only after no more life was left in her body that she would be allowed to seek eternal rest.

"Well… Let's have some fun now shall we?"

She smiled as the bell rang.

It was finally time to start the party in full swing.

CH 265: WHAT THE...?

The first one to reach the house and ring the doorbell on this Day of Thanksgiving was none other than Susanne, the woman in an ambiguous relationship with Viktor.

She was of English descent but was born in America and had lived in this place for years already. When she first received Viktor's call, she had been quite surprised at being invited to a hearty Thanksgiving meal. After all, she knew that he was a foreigner in this place and was only here for a very short amount of time. Too short for any substantial bond to form between them.

Even though she really wished for a slightly more serious relationship with the hulking man, she didn't want to appear like someone too over-enthusiastic about it and break the vibe they had going on between them.

There was also the fact that Oscar had pointed out to her over and over.

Relationships for hunters generally ended in only blood and tears. There were no two ways around it. This was even more so for active and low-ranked hunters like them who were nothing more than cannon fodder in the eyes of the majority of the supernatural world.

The death rate for hunters of their rank was higher than any other rank and the world in itself was far more crueler in general. They did not have a big clan to protect them and have their backs in times of danger so cultists and monsters had no hesitation in acting in revenge for any mission they might have done to unfortunately irk them.

She asked herself deeply.

Should she really give a try to a serious relationship with a foreigner who could return to his home at the drop of a hat?

Thinking about Viktor's cute smile and gentle demeanor, she felt her heart becoming a little lighter. Better act now than regret later. She was a staunch believer in that statement.

Ding~!

When she rang the door, with a bottle of wine in her hands and a fidgety feeling trailing across her hands and feet, she was quite a bit startled when the door opened immediately after. However, she soon froze at the sight that greeted her…

"H-Hello."

She had a hard time uttering those words but anyone in her place would do the same. At the moment the door opened, for a very short instant, she had the impression that she was standing in front of the incarnation of a living volcano. But that feeling left as soon as it came, as though it was all a lie.

'Wha…'

"Oh? Who might you be?"

The living volcano or rather the young-looking red-haired woman's eyebrow rose when she saw her after opening the door before her eyes lit up in the colors of understanding and a small smile graced her enchanting blood red lips.

"Damn… You must be Susanne, right?"

"Y-Yes. Sorry for the intrusion."

"Heh, look at me welcoming a guest like this. Come in. Let me help you out, okay? My name is Cecilia, by the way."

Susanne was not able to say much as the wine was taken away from her hands and she was ushered in by the fiery woman's gentle hands.

"I must have startled you quite a bit earlier. Sorry for that."

"No. It's alright."

Now that she had become a little calmer, Susanne was able to breathe more easily and could take a better look at the woman that had ushered her into her home. Even though Cecilia was not showing off her aura, Susanne could still feel a prickly sensation gnawing at her skin ever so slightly.

She had the impression that she would be reduced to ashes in an instant if she so much as made this woman mad.

"You really have good senses, huh? Don't worry. I won't hurt Viktor's friend. Also gotta say, he really has good taste. You look so pretty."

Susanne had worn an elegant-looking pencil skirt that went down just above her knees and a suit top for today. It gave her a rather cute appearance, different from her usual business approach, and with her face that was already quite young looking, one had the impression that they were in the face of a teen in her eighteen rather than someone who was probably ten years older than that age.

"I am mainly working as a sensor. I am Susanne Brown and am affiliated with the Church and the Association."

Susanne spoke like she was a rapper with the way she was rapid-firing her words. After all, she was without a doubt now standing in front of a super big shot. She had the luck to meet a few Gold-ranked hunters while working with them and she could say without hesitation that it would be an insult to compare them to the aura of the woman before her.ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

She had already noticed this with Adam alone, but just what the hell was up with this family of his? Cecilia waved her hand to get her to calm down, "No need for formality, and today there will be a Powerless [1] so avoid talking about your true job. What is your cover?"

"I am a photographer."

She loved nature and working as a photographer gave her excuses to travel regularly and always observe her surroundings. So it was one of the best jobs for her.

"Oh? Interesting. Well, anyways I seriously need a bath. You can go to the back, Viktor is there with Adam."

"Thank you, Madame."

"Call me Cecilia."

Cecilia waved her hand again and walked up the staircase, leaving a bewildered Susanne alone.

This had truly been no different than facing a literal storm for her.

"Well… Let's go."

While Susanne went ahead and Viktor introduced her to Makarov who had a small smile while looking at her, as though she was looking at her granddaughter-in-law, Adam made his way back to the living room to cool off.

The atmosphere was a little too mushy for him and he didn't want to interfere with what looked like the introduction of a granddaughter-in-law in there.

'Perhaps I should take a bath as well and change?'

He thought about doing that now when the bell rang as if on cue.

"Wait a moment!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs and walked up to the door in a hurried stride.

He wondered if it was Theresa and Makoto or Shuri, but when he finally opened the door, Adam's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Hi, Adam."

On the other side of the door, was Shuri just as he thought, and he was not surprised by her arrival.

The problem was the one who was standing one step behind Shuri and giving him a mischievous smile,

"Hello. Happy to meet you. My name is Yui, I am a friend of Shuri."

Adam shared a handshake with Yui, completely bemused by her acting.

What in the actual fuck was happening here, Adam thought in his mind…

CH 266: EVERYONE IS HERE

At this moment, Adam realized one of the problems of having only one mind active. The poker face he was so proud of nearly broke.

"Hello. Happy to meet you. My name is Yui, I am a friend of Shuri."

Adam shared a handshake with Yui, completely bemused by her acting.

What in the actual fuck was happening here, Adam thought in his mind.

"Adam? Anything the matter?"

Adam gave a strained smile as he shook himself off from the feeling of bewilderment that was threatening to take over.

"Sorry. I was just shocked to hear that you have a friend outside of Mom."

"Hey! Do I look that friendless?"

"In your opinion?"

Adam rose an eyebrow at Shuri, causing her to blush and cough a little in embarrassment.

"Anyway. Firstly, happy to meet you, Yui, and secondly, I must say. You two are incredible today. I feel like I am speaking to two princesses."

He nearly gave a theatrical bow as he complimented them but coughed himself just in time.

'Oups. Nearly entered Cinder mode.'

One had to say. Both Yui and Shuri were truly beautiful and in their current attire, they were even more glamorous than usual.

They were both wearing beautiful evening gowns. One red and one blue.

Yui was a slim and slender woman. Her assets, if they could be called so, were not particularly large but neither were they small. Her current dress gave her a certain gravitas and the makeup allowed her youth to shine in a way that was truly eye-catching.

Shuri meanwhile was a mature woman in every meaning of the words. She had a body worthy of a gravure model that mocked any stereotype about Asian women being small. Her breasts were not at the same level as those of Sae but they were still massive and quite impressive.

The robe she was wearing now pushed those even more, giving a direct plunging view of her deep cleavages. A sight to behold for the sore eyes.

In front of such enticing views, Adam felt like he was currently in the bar and was working as a host. Tasks that were being clearly separated by his multiple minds were quite hard to keep track of.

'Should I simply unlock my power?'

He hesitated before shaking his head inwardly. He wished to at least stay normal until midnight.

This was a small penance and a simple prayer he was making for the soul of the woman he caused so much grief for.

"Princesses, huh…"

Shuri smiled. It was rare for Adam to be so outspoken. He was more in the silent side usually and she was worried about what might have happened if he didn't like Yui's arrival.

"So, do you plan to keep the princesses outside ?"

"Oh. Excuse my manners. Would you like to come in?"

Shuri gave a funny look at Adam before shrugging and entering. This playful Adam was quite new but it was still nice.

"So, we are still working on the grills. But we have some drinks. Anything you want?"

"Wine?" Yui asked.

"Heh, sorry we don't have any expensive wine here you know? In fact, we have more cheap beer than anything else. Though, I am sure that Shuri must have quite the collection."

'Huh…'

Shuri rose an eyebrow before realizing that Adam was talking about the drink they shared that night.

The meaningful smile on his face was worth a hundred words and she had to fight the desire to blush in front of Yui and Adam.

"*Ahem* Where is Cecilia?"

Mom should be taking a shower now. You can go upstairs and say hello."

Shuri nodded and looked at Yui, "Mind if I leave you a few minutes?"

"No problem. In the meantime, I will talk with your handsome friend here."

Shuri chuckled and walked up, leaving both Adam and Yui together.

"What the hell is going on!?"ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

Adam hissed once he was sure that Shuri was out of their range. To which Shuri simply shrugged,

"Shuri was the one to invite me here. I found it quite interesting so I decided to accept."

Adam did not need to be a psychic to understand that what she meant by interesting was the capacity to fully tease him as she wished.

And even at his peak, there was not much he could do against Yui. Not like he would threaten her even if he could.

"Sigh…"

"Heh, the great Adam, slayer of devils. Are you really unhappy to see me?"

Yui spoke in a sulfurous tone while approaching him. She was very close to actually touching him and simply discussing with him but the way she acted was quite enticing.

"Sigh. I am quite happy. But I would rather you come another day or at least warn me.."

Today was quite a complicated day and he could already imagine Hacker cursing at him for making the situation far more complicated.

"Sorry, Sorry. Heh, I guess this must have been quite the surprise for you."

It wouldn't have been a surprise if Adam had used his full power.

"Though, I am surprised; I was already trying to block my thoughts and see if I could surprise you despite your domain."

"I have them lowered currently. I lowered most of my power."

'Is it even possible?'

She obviously knew how to hide her power. But what Adam was doing was different as h

It was Yui's turn to be quite bewildered but in the end, she simply moved those thoughts aside.

"Either way, the one who invited me was Shuri. But If I am truly making you uncomfortable, I can leave no problem."

It would be a shame for sure but she did not hold it against him. After all, she could have warned him.

'It seems like I need to work on my jokes'

"Nah. Stay. I will have to show my actor's skills for the rest of the night but I think it's worth it."

Both Yui and Shuri were important to him, so he wanted to keep them happy. This would also be the first Thanksgiving he would have with Shuri.

It was something worth applauding.

"So…Any drink for me? I don't mind cheap beers, by the way. We ate and drank more than this when we were broke and searching for a shelter."

Yui laughed. She could always laugh at her past now. Even more so the past gave some many small anecdotes to share with those she cherished.

Finally, the two settle in a good discussion with just them sharing how their days went. It was truly a mundane discussion. But Yui found herself relishing it.

Ding~!

The sound of the bell broke immediately the atmosphere that had been gradually building up. Yui ground her teeth, feeling like she had an urge to murder.

But those urges vanished swiftly when she felt the princess behind the door.

"Adam…"

Adam nodded at Yui and made a few steps forward in the direction of the door.

This time, even without using his domain, he could easily find who was on the other side of the door.

It wasn't hard to guess.

After all, even if the heavy feeling of power coming was not intentional, he knew very well who were the last ones that were on Cecilia's list of invitees.

Opening the door, he smiled at the two news who arrived.

"Hi, you two. I am happy to see you."

Who else but his aunt and cousin could it be?

CH 267: EVERYONE HERE (2)

When Adam opened the door for the second time today, he was immediately greeted by the sight of Makoto and Theresa – his cousin and aunt respectively from his mother's side of the family – as he had expected.

Now that Cecilia had become much younger looking than before and had a much more healthy complexion, what looked to be only small similarities between the two sisters had somehow now changed into a sort of uncanny similarities that made the pair of sisters almost indistinguishable from each other.

Adam almost had the impression that this was in fact Cecilia playing a prank on him right now and would have even believed that to be the case here if not for the names that were showing up on Theresa's status screen above her head.

"Welcome to the both of you in our home. I hope you had a good trip."

Both Theresa and Makoto were stunning as usual. Theresa was currently clad in a white toga gown with strips of red that was running along the borders of the dress that melded on the insides of it to form a unique and elegant look that gave the usual Theresa a very enchanting look. The gown was embedded with golden laurels on her waist and she also had a black jacket above her shoulders which was left hanging there, showing her well-sculpted shoulders and collarbones to the beholder.

Overall, she fused a certain elegant and punk theme of clothing into one to create her own unique style and aura that perfectly fit her image.

Makoto had not changed her clothes particularly. She was still wearing the same black and white kimono that seemed to be made into a makeshift maid uniform. She was also holding an "umbrella" in her hand that was a bit in the current season.

Noticing the peculiar look that Adam was giving to Makoto, Theresa waved her hand and spoke up, "Forgive the girl, will you? I told her that she should wear something nice but she refused all the way."

Makoto had a steady glint in her eyes as she spoke in an almost emotionless tone, "My clothes are good… for fighting."

"Why do you think you will have to fight here?"

"Los Angeles… Weird… Too many incidents."

Both Adam and Theresa grimaced at her as there was not much they could say about this other than to agree with her views about this accursed place.

"Hahah… Anyway, we don't really have a dress code for today… Come in, mom has been waiting for you both."

"Thanks. So, just where is that muscle-brained sister of mine?"

"On the second floor."

The moment Adam answered, Theresa had to stop all of a sudden as they reached the living room space of the home. There, she could see Yui sitting there, waiting for them to arrive and she immediately stood up and gave her a small bow as a greeting.

"Heh. So you are dealing with them again?"

"Hello, Director. Hope you have been keeping well in the recent harsh times."

"Director?"

A voice interrupted them and from above the staircase, Shuri came down with a confused look on her face.

"What the… Cecilia? How did you…? Huh..?"

Her eyes opened wide when she saw Theresa standing there when she should have been up the stairs. Her head twirled and she looked at the door behind her but sure enough, it was still closed, indicating that Cecilia was still inside of her room.

"...Wait. You aren't Cecilia, are you?"

Shuri was utterly confused right now but it didn't take long for her to deduce that she was, in fact, not facing her long time friend Cecilia right now but someone related to her.

Even though their looks were extremely similar, the way they stood, and the aura around them were completely different from one another. If Cecilia was the fiery flames then the one standing before her was the frigid ice, complete opposite of each other. She didn't exactly know how to explain it in words but she could say with absolute certainty that this person was not Cecilia.

"Shuri, this is Theresa. She is mom's little sister."

"Ah…"

Shuri was so surprised that her mouth opened wide into a big 'O.'

But who could blame her really? In the twenty years of knowing Cecilia, this was the first time she finally saw a member of her family other than Adam. In the past, she even thought that Cecilia was in fact an orphan and had no one besides Adam as her family. It seemed like she had been wrong in that assumption of hers.

In a way, this was a historical moment for her to meet the family of her friend for the very first time.

"Forgive me for my manners. Hello…"

She walked rather fast and went down the stairs to come and share a handshake with Theresa.

She was extremely happy that her friend had managed to get into contact with her family again and from the fact that Cecilia had even invited them, then they should be in a relatively good relationship with each other.

"Ah. Yes, Hello. Shuri, right? Cecilia told me a lot about you."

She smiled and shared a warm hug with Shuri.

"Thank you for taking care of that dunce for all this time. It must have been hard…"

After Shuri came down, Adam found himself progressively unable to participate in the discussion that was progressing between the three women.

Thankfully, he was not the only one to struggle it seemed.

"You seem rather lost there."

He spoke while sitting in a corner with Makoto next to him. Even in such a setting, her nerves were so taut that he felt like they would snap at any moment with the slightest pressure.

"I have to keep guard. That is my duty."

She spoke quietly and had no intention to participate in the discussion among the women in front of her. Not only was she not truly comfortable with conversations in general but she also had her duty to fulfill at all times.

Adam nodded, not willing to disturb her but then she seemed to have noticed something in him which made her frown heavily.

"You feel weaker than before."

Adam nodded, not surprised that she was able to feel his temporarily weakened state.

"I just sealed most of my powers."

"Sealed? Ah…"

She nodded, seals and whatever of sorts were very common in the lands of Japan as this was the main way the exorcists fought…

She wondered what reasons pushed him to do such a thing as to seal most of his powers, even if temporarily.

Looking at him from the corner of her eyes, she had to admit that he was making her progressively more curious about him.

He might become her master in the future after all. The kind that she would be serving as a servant rather than a student. So knowing more about him wouldn't hurt now, would it?

The problem was that… even though she wished to talk to him, she did not really know what to talk about at this moment.

She had never been invested in human relationships and she had become even more withdrawn when she had been recognized as the new Lightning Blade and the master of the Divine Weapon of Mei, the greatest prodigy of the Kaminari Family.

"Say, Makoto. Later on, would you like to train with me? I have my first mission incoming and I could use some help…"

Makoto, who had been agonizing about a way to start the conversation, was more than elated to hear him speak first.

Furthermore, training was something that she really liked and easily converse about. Then again, it was the only hobby she had in her life. So she had no way of refusing his request. She hoped to use this occasion to get deeper insights into his strength.

The fight that they had last time had in no way satisfied her. Not only had she been limited due to the nature of the fight and to keep things fair, she was sure that she had not seen everything that Adam had on him due to the abrupt ending…

"Good. Let's start the day after. I feel like we will be too tired tomorrow to do anything."

Makoto was confused but once she gazed at her Master who was already opening the fridge and searching through the numerous cans of beers, she nearly facepalmed herself in frustration.

After a short discussion with Makoto, Adam stood up and went to wash himself from the tiredness of the day and to get ready for the event.

He knew that Vitor would also want to take a bath but thankfully, he was still busy introducing his girlfriend to Makarov. He would have to use the small bath to join everyone as soon as he was able to.

The bath itself did not take long and back down Cecilia was already ready and started mingling with everyone.

When Adam also came back after a short but thorough shower, everyone present had been surrounding Theresa and started chattering away like no tomorrow.

Thanksgiving was finally starting in full swing with everyone gathered.

CH 268: THANK YOU...

In the backyard of Adam's home, where the party was being held, Cecilia looked on with clear emotions in her eyes as many of the few people she appreciated in the world had been reunited here in her own home.

Adam, Theresa, Shuri, and Makarov.

Then, while she was not close to others – such as Viktor, Yui, Makoto, and Susanne – she was still happy to have more people around the place than not. It was always good to have more people to make the party more exciting.

The party was actually arranged in such a way that many short tables were placed together to create a more extended table formation to promote intimacy among the participants. This kept everyone close and at arm's reach which helped to mingle with everyone pretty easily.

Everyone attending the party was already seated with Cecilia at the head of the table.

On her right was Adam, followed by Makarov, then finally Viktor and Susanne.

On her left was Shuri, followed by Theresa, and then Makoto and Yui.

"So, Cecilia, shall we start with a small speech?"

When Makarov proposed for her to make a speech, everyone grinned while Cecilia hesitated for a moment before standing up with a glass in her hand.

She was now wearing a dress that was a blend of midnight black and wine red and went really well with her current complexion. It was in no way the most beautiful dress in the room, but this did not affect her appearance and only complimented it, giving her a simple and down-to-earth vibe that went well with Cecilia's overall mannerisms.

A rare happy smile formed on her face for the first time in a while. This was different from her usual more manly way of acting out in the regular. It was a true soft smile, of the likes she generally only showed to Adam and no one else over the long years of isolation.

"To start it all… I want to say thanks to all of you guys for taking the time off from your busy days and coming here to partake in the small arrangement we have made. I know it isn't easy for all of you to be here so I am incredibly thankful to have you all in my presence."

Cecilia closed her eyes, she did not really know what to say right now. She had prepared no speeches beforehand and her mind had gone blank when she had been asked to give a speech…

And due to that… she simply decided to say what she held and believed in her heart.

"I am mostly rambling right now so I am sorry for that if I follow no particular order in this makeshift speech that I am forced to give all of a sudden. But… Thanksgiving is a day when we need to give our thanks, right? Now that all of you guys are present, I realize that I have many people I really need to thank in my life.

"Makarov… Thank you for organizing this party. Without you, and knowing me, we would most likely be eating pizza right about now."

Everyone chuckled under their breaths at her words but Cecilia was not finished yet, "Thanks for accepting my request. Because of me, you moved thousands of miles with no hesitation and came to this foreign place with your grandson. I will be eternally grateful for everything you have done for me and continue to do so."

Makarov owed her a great deal. But did that really matter? In this world, how many people actually honored the debt they had accumulated over the years? How many of them would actually do what Makarov had done for her and was doing for her on a regular basis?

The number was so small that it was truly insignificant…

"If there is someone else I need to thank more than anyone in this garden, it's you Shuri, my dear friend…"

After she was done with Makarov, Cecilia moved to Shuri.

"Shuri. I think between the two of us, our relationship has gone past the level of giving a simple thank you and calling it a day. You are basically family right now and I see you as my sister in all but blood."

A soft smile formed on Shuri's face at the words that came out of her friend's mouth.

"For twenty years that I have been in this foreign place, you took care of me and my son. You fed us, gave us shelter, and even helped me find a job. Well, multiple jobs… Heh, at this point, you are more like my husband than anything else."

Everyone laughed heartily while Shuri's smile turned into an amused scowl.

Once everyone calmed down once again, Cecilia continued on with a more serious note, "I was really down on my luck back then. I was alone with Adam and I was lost about where I could even start on this huge land. My life now would be very different if I had not met you back then, my dear friend."

Back then, Cecilia was a young girl who barely understood the world for all the power she had. She was then given a kid to raise and take care of.

It had been overwhelming, soul-crushing, and mind-numbing all at the same time and then some. As if that wasn't enough, she was afflicted with that curse, and every year… she had to suffer and see the power she had accumulated over the years, the power that was her everything at one point, dwindling before her own eyes. Going from one of the strongest people in the world to nothing more than a simple mortal had not been easy.

She could not count the number of times she simply wished to let everything go and give up. The days when she cried in pain alone and cursed the world with all she had, had been too numerous for her to count on one hand.

Those were really dark days. Days were when many dangerous thoughts crossed her mind.

But she never gave up.

One reason for that was without a doubt, her own mental strength. But, she understood more than anyone else how flimsy such strength was without anyone to act as a support.

"Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for being a friend and my family. Thank you for pulling me up even when I was falling into the deepest and darkest depths of life. Meeting you and helping you back then was without a doubt one of the best things I ever did."

She took Shuri's hand in hers and squeezed it slightly. There were many things that could not be explained in words but this small squeeze was enough to say thousands of words. It took all they had to simply not bawl their eyes out in front of everyone present…

The atmosphere was becoming warmer with that speech. Theresa watched in silence as Cecilia spoke on about her life and pain. Even though details were not given, she could picture the scene quite vividly with her eyes.

She could not imagine what had happened to Cecilia. But it must have been hard for her. Back then, Cecilia was barely older than Makoto was now and had to fend for herself alone with no support from anyone but herself.

'You must have really suffered, my foolish sister…'

She thought quietly. Her will to not let the old bastards from the family ever bother Cecilia again became further strengthened as she thought about the difficulties and sufferings of her sister over the years.

Once Cecilia calmed down slightly from the emotional high she took a deep breath and looked at Adam,

"The last one I need to say thanks to here… My Little Baby. He blushes even as I call him that actually…"

Adam covered his face and once again everyone smiled at the scene. Cecilia had a great talent as an orator and thanks to her charisma, even without meaning to, she could affect those listening to her.

"I am sorry for making you embarrassed. But you need to know that… It doesn't matter how old you become. Be it now, in ten years, forty, or even a hundred years, you will always be my baby."

This was how mothers were. How good mothers were…

Sometimes a little too smothering though. But always wishing nothing more than the best for their children.

That was a mother's love…

CH 269: ...FOR ALWAYS SUPPORTING ME

Cecilia felt happy while looking at the current Adam. She remembered the small boy who would sometimes be alone and simply do nothing but study by himself like his life depended on it.

He had matured before his time and she would have loved to see him be more free. Sadly, life was what it was and it had not been good to them.

But now, things were marginally different.

Adam was not alone anymore. Even if anything happened to her, she knew that he would have people around him to support and help if needed. Be it friends, lovers, or even family.

She chuckled under her breath, "Life has not been easy for us and now you are walking your own path, my dear son. You are making your own choices and facing your own trials. How time flies, doesn't it?"

She still remembered Adam as a baby. A small kid full of life and possibilities He would do stupid things sometimes, some days he would make her unable to sleep and some other days she would be filled with anxiety as she wondered if everything was alright with him when he faced the world.

Being a parent wasn't an easy task, perhaps the hardest task a human would face in their lives. It was a huge and heavy responsibility and this was even more so since she had never asked to become a parent in the first place.

But… Despite all this…

"Having you by my side is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me."

She loved Adam from the deepest part of her heart. He was the small ray of sunshine that illuminated her life and despite all the price she had to pay along the way, she would never regret any of her past decisions as they lead to the betterment of her child.

"I know that now, Mom cannot do much for you. You are independent after all. But don't forget, my son… You will always be my baby and I will always be there to help you, no matter what, no matter when, no matter how. Always… and forever…"

Cecilia knew her limitations. She was not really smart. It wasn't for nothing that her sister always called her a muscle head. She was the kind of person to move and do something based on pure instincts more than anything else…

She still had many things she did not understand clearly even at this age of hers. The way she had raised Adam was definitely not the best either…

But…

"I am proud of the young man you have grown into. I am grateful that you are able to live healthy and I pray that your life may be filled with everlasting light."

Life would be hard, he would face many trials… sad moments, happy moments, and bitter moments.

All those were moments that were necessary for his growth as was with all humans.

Growing, walking, moving, running, sometimes falling, crying but always standing up. Again and again and again without end.

As long as humans were alive, life would always be a series of highs and lows. Trials that needed to be overcome would always appear in front of a human.

Failing was not shameful.

All that mattered was that you could still stand up and fight to see another day.

And if there was one thing that she knew more than anyone else… It was that her son was a fighter. He was born that way.

"I rarely pray. I do not believe in gods and even less in Fate itself."

She fought gods and even killed the avatar of one. She knew that in the end, many gods were nothing more than slightly more powerful beings.

She had no reason to respect them, much less pray to them.

Even then,

"If even one small deity can answer my prayer. All I ask is for you to be happy. Adam, thank you for existing in my life and gracing it with your colors. Son… Thank you… For everything…"

Both Adam and Cecilia's eyes reddened and Shuri was already using a tissue to stop her tears from destroying her makeup from the emotional speech…

After all, she was in the first row seat to observe all the struggles those two went through. She was happy to have been part of something so beautiful. She was happy to have made a friend like Cecilia and to have met someone like Adam.

In her heart, something she had been hesitating about for a long time became clearer. She realized that she had gone through too many things to let hesitation stop her from realizing her wishes.

She understood now what had truly stopped her from acting on her feelings until now.

Cecilia.

She simply hoped that Cecilia would give her blessings to their relationship, whatever shape that it may take on in the future.

Moving behind the back of her friend to simply fulfill her own lust was something she found unacceptable.

The others were feeling as moved as Shuri was even though they could not picture the scene in the same way as she did.

Makarov affirmed once again that Cecilia had changed a great deal from who she was all those years ago. If twenty years ago, someone told him that he would hear Cecilia make such a grandiose and moving speech, he would have laughed at their faces with no hesitation whatsoever.

The Cecilia of those times was a lone wolf, a berserker going from battlefield to battlefield with no goal outside of revenge and delivering destruction to anything and everything in her wake. She was a human that was more frightening than even some demons. She was a force of nature, a natural disaster, and even sometimes depicted as the bringer of the wrath of the gods…

This was why she was known as the Destroyer.

But now…

'You have grown up wonderfully, lass.'

All doubt he may have had about potentially sacrificing his life vanished. Even if he had to die, he would create that weapon for Adam.

Looking at how everyone was reacting, Cecilia could only give an embarrassed laugh. She had not planned to spill what was on her heart like this. But the words simply kept coming like a dam that had burst open after decades and she was unable to stop herself from going with the flow.

"Hahaha, I am really sorry everyone. I feel like I made the mood a bit too heavy.".

She scratched her hair before nodding as if she had a genius idea,

"So let me start from the beginning."

She lifted her glass high and spoke with a massive grin on her face. It was nothing more than a silly grin, much different from her earlier emotions. But nonetheless a genuine one…

"Today is a good day. It's a day we say thanks for all the grace we received. I am very happy to see all of you guys sitting at this table and I pray that next year, on the same day, we all find ourselves together again at this table… Happier than ever. Happy Thanksgiving everyone…!"

This was a small wish. A very heartfelt wish and everyone understood the sincerity in her words.

All of them took their glasses and cheered with her.

Hoping that they would still find themselves together the next year…

CH 270: SHE IS TERRIFYING

After Cecilia's moving speech came to a conclusion, the atmosphere shifted to a more friendly note as everyone started mingling by introducing themselves to each other and started simply chatting about anything and everything, talking about mundane or irrelevant things like there was no tomorrow…

It didn't take long for the food cooked by Makarov to be served with the help of Susanne and Viktor. It was mostly meat, grilled meat to be exact, but Makarov's mastery over fire was so sublime that they were as perfectly cooked as perfect could be and boasted a great taste.

The juicy meat packed to the brim with flavors was so heavenly that some couldn't hold themselves and started eating like voracious beasts.

Everyone complimented Makarov for making such delicious food and the atmosphere became even more lively and cheerful as a result.

It didn't take long for the plates to be wiped clean by everyone present and for the food to vanish into the stomach of the famished guests.

Makarov had a proud expression on his face when he witnessed such a scene. After all, there was no cook that would not be happy to see his food being devoured with so much appetite by the people that he cooked the food for.

Once the meal was finished and the plates were taken away from the table, the drinks soon followed and by then people began to stand up and form small groups to talk and mingle.

Yui had been quite interested in talking more with Adam but just as she was about to engage in a conversation with him with a small smile on her face, her arm had become interlocked with someone that startled her to no end…

"Hi. You're Shuri's friend, right? May I have a word with you?"

Yui glanced at Cecilia's hand wrapped around her arm with a sense of palpitation. This might have been worded as a polite invitation but she had a feeling that refusing was not a possibility for her which only strained her taut nerves further.

'How strong…'

Even now, though she could easily push away the hand that was wrapped around her arm, her beastly instincts were screaming at her to not make problems for the being in front of her and stay put like a good girl.

Outside of the palpitation she naturally, felt she did not wish to create problems for Adam and his family. So, there were no ways left for her other than to comply.

"Sure. How may I help you?"

Letting herself be pulled by Cecilia's hand, the two of them finally reached a rather deserted place in the living room and began their standoff.

"You must be Yui, right?"

'Ah, this is starting in a rather problematic way.'

The confrontational tone in her voice was clear for anyone to hear as they reached the isolated area. Gone was the loving mother full of emotions that had delivered that heart-touching speech.

What replaced her was a monster that could destroy anything in its path in a heartbeat.

Once they were far enough, in their opinion, Cecilia finally turned to give a look at the one facing her. Now that she was far from being seen or heard by Shuri and the others, Cecilia let go of the charade and continued one…

"Feng Huang Yui, I wished to visit you for a few weeks now but did not have the time. It seems like you brought my son to the wrong path once again."

Yui could only smile bitterly, "I did not lead Adam anywhere. He is not some gullible kid. Be it back then or now, it has always been his own decision to follow me."

"Heh, trust me. I know about that and this is why your gang is still standing to this day."

Her aura became fierce, and she could almost see the illusion of a volcanic eruption for a split second there, but was soon able to calm her emotions down and it was fast enough that no one would notice.

"I don't really care about what Adam chooses to do and by following you I am sure he will be doing many things I might not appreciate…"

In the past, she had fought Adam to make him stop from going down the dark road. But it was because Adam was just a kid in her eyes back then. Even more so since he was just someone normal.

How could she leave her powerless son to deal with such a gang?

But now, things were different.

She only saw herself as a safety net for her child now. Adam was old enough for him to make his own choices and mature enough to take responsibility for them as well.

Even then,

"I really don't wanna act like the cliche parent and threaten you here which would only result in you answering with something like you already planned on taking care of him or anything like that… No, I just wanna tell you one thing. Just a single thing, okay?"

Cecilia looked deeply into Tui's eyes and it was then that Yui saw it. Something grueling and horrific, brewing inside Cecilia's heart.

A beast thirsting for unending destruction and the eradication of everything in existence.

"Adam is one of the last things I truly care about in this world."

In terms of height, both Yui and Cecilia were more or less equal with Cecilia being a few centimeters taller. But currently, Yui felt like she had to raise her head to look at Cecilia's face. It was like she was nothing more than a dwarf trying to gaze at the majesty of a towering giant covered in endless flames.

"Trust me when I say that you don't want to know what I am capable of doing if anything happens to him."

And with those words, the vision ceased like it didn't exist in the first place. They were back to the living room of Adam's house and Cecilia was back to simply being a slightly taller woman.

'What in the…?'

She felt like her breath had become short for an instant. It felt almost like how she was when she met her true mother for the very first time. The feeling of power and majesty left no place for any rebuttal only acceptance…

Patting her back, Cecilia smiled kindly, "I am sorry for souring the mood for you. Please take care of my son and who knows, you might become my daughter-in-law in the future."

She chuckled and took her drink from the table before walking away as she felt Adam coming close to their area. If she had one small wish, it was that she wished to see her grandchildren pretty fast.

Though they would have the blood of Cain in them, this was all the more reason for her to be alive when this happened.

'Thinking about it, there are many potential mates for him…'

She laughed. Wondering who— or how many would Adam end up with. This would be an interesting sight to witness for sure.

'I guess now I should make things clear with Shuri.'

If things worked as she thought they would, Shuri might soon really be part of her family.

Though, not as a sister…

Imagining Shuri calling her mother nearly made Cecilia explode in endless laughter. She would really tease her to no end when that happened for sure.

"Mom…"

"Don't worry. I didn't touch even a single bit of skin of your friend. She's alright…"

She smiled kindly at Adam and walked off, leaving him alone with Yui.

"Are you okay?"

Yui gave a strained grin, "Your mom is fucking terrifying, you know?"

There was no more fitting word to describe what she had witnessed just then. If she was right in what she had deducted, then Cecilia was hiding a very big secret, and one very dangerous for all of them involved.

'I hope I am wrong.'

Shaking her head she looked at Adam and gave him a small smile, "Well, now that you are here, what do you say we talk a little about what happened last night?"

Adam looked around, confused, "Here?"

She shrugged, "Why not? Or even better… Let's go to your room; I wanna see what it looks like."

She had put so much effort into coming here. She had to at least see something interesting before leaving, right?

This was common courtesy, after all.

CH 271: IS IT WRONG TO BE HYPOCRITICAL?

It didn't take long for Yui to convince Adam to let her into his room and he knew that with everyone being a hunter aside from Shuri in this place, they might hear his discussion with her if they just focused so he brought her to his bedroom.

"Huh, So this is your bedroom… It feels like no one has really slept here for some time."

Adam's room was sparsely decorated in the first place. But now, there was also a certain air of decay and desolation lingering around in his room.

This might not be the case for normal humans, but for Yui, it was possible to see that the room had not been inhabited in quite some time. Almost as though it had been abandoned by its owner.

"Well. I don't really sleep much nowadays so…"

"Huh. I guess this is because you have just recently awakened. Your body will take some time to adjust to the correct level of sleep to sustain itself."

Adam did not tell her that he might soon never need to sleep or rather not be able to sleep ever again. This was just a speculation on his part, after all. Though he had a clear reason to believe the possibility of it happening as the damned curse could truly fuck him up in the long run.

"So, is this the dreaded moment where I ask where your porn stash is?"

"You read way too many mangas, haven't you?"

"What can I say? My sister is quite an avid manga reader as well. She is even into cosplay and other otaku things. So…Where is the porn?"

"Tsubasa… I hope she is doing well and you will find no such things."

He did have some porn on his computer when he was in high school. But he had erased them all long ago

"Well… Let's just say that her obsessive tendencies have gone down to a more manageable level. Though, once she learns of the fact that you have entered the supernatural world, even I don't know what she will do then."

In the past, the only way they were able to keep Tsubasa away was by mentioning how Adam was a normal person and how being close to him would only lead to his eventual harm and even death.

Now though…

"Well, I didn't come here to talk about Tsubasa now, did I? So, will you tell me what happened on that island?"

Yui made sure that her barrier was well strengthened and blocked all sounds and observation attempts from the outside. She knew that Cecilia and Theresa could easily break her barrier if they wished but it would be impossible to do that without alerting her of their attempt. So, their conversation was now safe from all prying eyes. Adam had nothing to fear.

"Do we really have to do this now?"

Yui nodded her head with a solemn expression on her face, "Now may not be the best moment, but I still wanted to talk to you about it, not as Feng Huan Yui – the boss of the Wild Hunt – but simply as Yui, a non-blood related big sister who is worried about her little brother's mental health."

She gave him a small mischievous smile at the end of her words, but it was hard to hide the worry in her eyes as she looked at Adam.

"I wanna ask you again. What happened? I don't need to know all the details right now. Just the significant bits will suffice."

Adam massaged his neck for a bit as he considered his options for a moment before leaking out a strained sigh.

"I will try to be as concise as possible. Though I will have to hide some things as they pertain to my secrets. I am sorry but I won't be able to reveal them to you."

"Go on. Nothing can surprise me. I assure you. And I understand… Everyone has secrets in this world…

.

.

.

A few moments later…

After Adam finished recounting his story to her sworn big sister, Yui looked at him with her mouth wide open as if she was looking at an anomaly. Her brain was still trying to analyze and decipher the words that Adam had conveyed to her in these few moments. But it was becoming harder and harder for her to think about the content of his summary the more she tried to do so. What he had conveyed to her had just been that much absurd…

"Wait… Give me a moment, please…"

She took a deep breath, trying to get her bearings back before facing Adam again.

Yui had seen many things in her short twenty-something years of life in this supernatural world. From evil spirits to large-scale massacres, monsters, devils, and even gods.

She really thought that, as she was now, few things could actually surprise her any longer in this world.

But this… sadly, this… did fall into the realms of the few things that could surprise and shock the living hell out of her…

'This isn't a calamity class event. Shit. We nearly went through a small apocalypse without even having a clue about it.'

Thanks to the Scales of Equilibrium that were set in place to counter the alien forces of the universe, there was an absolute limit in power that could not be surpassed no matter who tried to invade Earth.

So even if the avatar of Lucifer had descended in this place, he would be limited to the same ceiling, no matter how powerful he was in Hell or any other planes.

But even though this limit existed, for an entity like Lucifer, as long as they had access to their conceptual powers, the maximum power output they could bring out amounted to nothing at all…

For a calamity class event, a Zodiac was generally necessary to counteract it but this time they would have needed way more than just a single Zodiac, and perhaps… the combined forces of the greatest beings on Earth might not have been enough to stop this event…

'Since when did the devil worshippers become so bold?'

She groaned under her breath as the shock she received was still making her brain go into overdrive. Soon, however, she still replied to Adam in a composed tone…

"Okay. I managed to grasp a bit of what happened here."

Once she accepted the reality, something else made her sigh, "It seems like, Hae-Won had unknowingly saved the world."

Adam could only give a strained smile as a response, "True."

Resting her chin on her palms, Yui gazed at Adam and understood a bit more of what was really going on in here…

"Do you feel guilty?"

Adam walked to the only chair present in the room and sat on it as he cupped his face and leaked out a sigh,

"I don't think so. I am just wondering what would have happened if I had not intervened in her life."

"That was what we call guilt, brother dearest."

Yui sighed visibly, "Look at it like this. Had you never existed, her son would have still been sacrificed. But the end result for all of us would have been worse. After all, Lucifer would have been free to roam on Earth as he wished."

This was a simple reality and something Adam understood very well.

"But…"

"You must be thinking, if you had been more proactive or if you had tried to protect her more from the start things might have changed and you are indeed right in thinking that. There are hundreds of things you, me, or anyone else could have done better. This is why they say hindsight is 20/20."

She could only chuckle bitterly before speaking in a small tone, "Who in their right mind would think that some random gang leader who only has control over a part of a small town in a minuscule part of the world was in fact linked to a cultist who had the means to summon someone on the scale of Lucifer— The Devil himself?"

This went beyond the realm of anticipation and straight into future sight.

"Adam, never forget this. Wallowing in regret and what-ifs will never be the right solution no matter what.

"There will always be something more you could have done.

"There will always be a better way you could have acted. However…

"If you lose yourself in the past, you will never advance in the future."

She stood up and hugged him tightly in her bosom as he gently spoke out her last piece of advice to him like a lullaby,

"Learn from your mistakes without dwelling on them. Make sure that you will never make the same mistakes in the future.

"You know this quote, right? Trick me once, shame on you. Trick me twice, shame on me."

Adam gave an awkward smile, "You seem so mature now. Very unlike the tomboy of 5 years ago."

"Heh, this is the job of a big sister, don't you think so?"

CH 272: NO MORE HESITATION

Yui looked at Adam's smile and knew that this was far from enough.

She approached him and patted Adam's shoulder,

"I am sure that what I said, in the end, didn't really help much, right?"

This was reality. One small speech would never be enough to change the whole mentality of someone or make me change their opinions.

If mental anguish could be so easily taken care of then there would be no need for psychologists and psychiatrists in this world and mental anguish would be a thing of the past.

"It helped. I guess it did. I am happy knowing I can count on you in moments like this. But in the end, I can't help but question myself and I cannot help but laugh at my hypocrisy."

"Adam…"

"I am not a good person but I want to look like one.

"I am not a bad person. But I want to act like one.

"In the end, I am nothing more than a half-assed criminal who doesn't know what he is fighting for and the results are as half-assed as my resolve, bringing me to a situation where I gain nothing, yet lose everything."

"Why do you need a reason to fight?"

Yui was genuinely curious,

"What?"

"No, I am serious. I mean, why do you need some grandiose reason to act? This is not a shonen you know? You don't need to have some grand dreams, nor act like a saint who knows everything in this world."

She grinned, "All humans are hypocritical. This is an undeniable fact. Perhaps only a rare few saints can say to be above such a thing, but never your nor I nor the billions of people on earth are saints."

Humans were the type of people who could laugh at the misfortune of someone they hated yet cry when this happened to someone they loved.

They were the kind of people who could film themselves while looking at an accident or even a murder but would cry for help when the same things happened to them.

Every day, humans wore hundreds of different masks, changing the way they spoke and behaved in the function of the one they were facing.

"There is nothing wrong with being hypocritical and even if there is, I truly do not care about it."

She pushed his chest with a finger, "I am willing to commit many atrocities and crimes in order to reach my goal, I have ordered the death of many people. Caused many families to lose their loved ones. Yet I keep rules such as not distributing harmful addictive Drugs. Don't you think I am quite hypocritical?"

Yui knew how she was perceived in the underworld. But she did not care. Her moral was at the mercy of her own whims. The rules she followed could be broken at any moment.

"I do not establish those rules because I want to appear like a righteous or chivalrous criminal. I do not steal from the rich to give to the poor. I simply do what I like and do not do what I do not like."

She flicked his forehead gently, "Adam. I understand a little better. All your life you have been raised as a normal human and developed your own sense of values. But suddenly you were plunged into a new world with new rules and aliens' way of thinking."

November was coming to an end.

Today was the 28th.

This also means that Adam had only been exposed to the supernatural world for 28 days and this introduction had been in the most brutal way possible.

"Thinking about it, your life is really worthy of a legend of old."

In Twenty-eight days. Adam went from being a normal student studying for his diplomat to becoming a gigolo, then a criminal, killings people in mass, fighting vampires, hunters, and devils, facing two Devil's prince summonings, and witnessing someone he cared about dying.

This wasn't just something as simple as a rollercoaster, this was a washing machine that was trying to wring him dry with no way of escaping.

In the first place, she was even surprised he was still sane and his worst symptoms were some self-doubts.

People had broken for less.

But at the same time, after remembering what he could do when he decided to bring pain, she wondered if he wasn't already broken in a certain way.

'Is it because of his race?'

Yui was not foreign to such things. Racial instincts could greatly affect the mentality of people in way they could not even perceive.

The best example of this were vampires who needed blood to live and Ghouls who needed flesh.

For vampire, the very moments they awakened, it became harder for them to consider humans as something they once were.

In a way, humans become closer to pets they enjoy having around in the best case, and nothing more than food for the vast majority. At the same time, they would grow to appreciate blood as a delicious source of food even though normal humans would be pretty disgusted by this.

In the same way, werewolves all had the Pack mentality and would submit to the Alpha of the pack.

This was a powerful nature that existed deep in their genetic information. The best way to actually survive and evolve without being exterminated.

The reticence towards murder for blood-born vampires was nearly non-existant and transformed vampires would soon forget everything about the humanity they once possessed.

'But I don't know what he is.'

She was still in the idea that he was a Cambion Incubi as this would be the most likely but it was hard to say without a definite proof.

When Yui shared her idea about Adam's mental condition, Adam frowned.

He thought her theory had a great merit. This would explain the difficulty he had as two sides in him constantly fought against each other.

He touched his heart and remembered the coldness and reaction he had during his first fight and the more he thought so, the more assured he became.

But in the end, there was only one person he knew who could confirm or deny his doubts.

Eve.

—And in order to meet her, he needed to complete a quest that had been pending for some time now.

It was time to make his relationship with Shuri the clearest possible. Staying in a situation with too many things left was enough once.

Yui was right in a way.

Trick me once.

Shame on you.

Trick me twice.

Shame on me.

He had already made a mistake once with Hae-Won and in the end all that was left for him was regret and wonder about what could have been had he done things differently.

He would not let this happen ever again. Hesitation was the mother of failure and the price of failure was something he did not wish to bear anymore.

It was time for him to seduce Shuri.

CH 273: CAUGHT IN 4K

While Adam was busy talking about his experiences with Yui, Theresa approached Makarov with light steps,

"Hello, Master Forger. I have to say, seeing you here is really a surprise."

"What do you want? I already told you long ago that acting like this would only make me feel repulsed. So, out with it, lass…"

Theresa could only flash a bitter smile in response before speaking, "The way you treat me and my sister is so different…"

Makarov shrugged his shoulders, "I have nothing against you lass. Cecilia is just special to me, that's all. I treat everyone else in the same exact way. No hard feelings."

As he spoke, he gazed deeply into Theresa's eyes and then spoke after a few moments…

"Though I must comment, if there is one thing I do respect about you then it's the fact that you do not seem to be jealous of your sister."

"Oh! You are pretty wrong about that. I am jealous, absurdly so."

This time it was her turn to shrug her shoulders and comment, "I mean, even when we were kids, she was the favorite child. Cecilia was the one who always got loved and appreciated, and got to make friends for herself due to her charming and easygoing personality. Meanwhile, I was the introverted gloomy bookworm little sister who nobody wanted to talk to or hang out with."

She then smiled all of a sudden as she continued, "Then things happened, we joined the Kaminari clan and once again my sister showed the great chasm that exists between the two of us. Even now, as I stand here, I am not even as strong as she had been twenty years ago. Isn't it just outright funny?"

There was one saying that was thrown around quite easily in the world.

"Hard work never betrays you… They really should not generalize something like that…"

This was true only when you compared yourself to the past and were happy with your own growth. It didn't refer to being compared to others.

Because… the moment you compared yourself to someone else, things started to become a lot more complicated, and the moment you compared yourself to a true genius of the world… You would then realize how futile hard work could be in front of true talent and god given gifts.

"Then I have to say this… For saying that you are envious of your sister, you sound surprisingly carefree."

"Well… How can you feel negative feelings when witnessing history in the making?"

She laughed.

Theresa did not think she was a saint. If she had simply been lagging one or two steps behind Cecilia, she might have really developed negative feelings for her sister in the long run. This was how humans were.

But thankfully or perhaps sadly? She didn't lag just one or two steps behind her.

What she had witnessed went beyond the realms of a mere genius or some flimsy talent.

Two monsters of their ages.

Be it, Cecilia or Mei, they were at such absurd levels of talent that using modern standards was impossible for them, and even the heroes of legends who could actually match them all had the blood of a god or something innately special about them that distinguished them from the others.

This was why, even though she felt both envy and jealousy, those sentiments never came to develop into something negative.

It was simply impossible for her to do that.

Could a human look at a mountain and feel bad because he wasn't as tall? All they could feel in that situation would be awe at its majesty.

Makarov looked at Theresa, almost as if seeing her for the first time. He was surprised by her open-mindedness and then realized that she was indeed Cecilia's sister. Despite the difference in their natures, at their cores, the two were extremely similar to each other. Blood runs thick after all.

"Very well. Let's talk."

Meanwhile, Shuri looked on as Adam and Yui walked into the house, her eyes narrowing for an instant, deep in thought.

'Adam did have a period during which he was a delinquent, right?'

She was deep in thought when,

"Hi, my dear friend. Care to share a drink with me?"

She was taken out of her musings when Cecilia appeared in front of her with a bright smile on her face.

"Cecilia."

"Follow me. I want to pray a little to Mei's altar."

Shuri gave a stiff smile at first but once she heard Cecilia's words, she nodded seriously.

.

.

.

A small trail of smoke was going up as the incense sticks were slowly burning away into dust and ashes. Sitting in a seiza position, with their hands clasped together, they both prayed to Mei.

The photo of a beautiful black-haired woman smiling at them was fitted inside of a frame of a small shrine.

Opening her eyes, Shuri gazed deeply at the photo. She had never met Adam's blood mother in the past. She believed that Mei was in fact Cecilia's lover of old who had died along the way. It was only later that she understood that they were only friends.

"Don't let her appearance fool you. Mei was a stubborn woman. Not even a bull was more stubborn than her once she took a decision."

"Do you miss her?"

Shuri knew she asked a stupid question the very moment it left her lips.

Cecilia chuckled as she poured some Sake into her small bowl before drinking it in one shot. "Won't lie. In moments like this, I really miss her. She was a difficult woman to understand. Always acted like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders, but she would sometime crack her cold expression and make a bad pun out of the blue. Never failed to crack me up that woman."

"She sounds fun."

"Heh. That… she was."

Silence settled once again, as she poured a drink in her and Shuri's glass.

"Well. We didn't really have much time to spend together during this month. How things are going for you?"

"It's going pretty well all things considered…

'I am still about to divorce, I made a contract with a criminal and my family is trying to kill me. So, pretty great, yeah…'

"Things could be better. But it's still pretty good."

"Hmm… You are pretty bad at lying for someone who is supposed to be a lawyer."

Shuri took out a mirror and looked at her face, "Did my expression betray me or what?"

It would be pretty bad if she were unable to lie well while in court after all. While Lawyers didn't technically lie at all. They were good at adjusting their words to fit the circumstances. They were the best white liars in the world, in a sense.

"Nah. I just knew you were lying… I could sniff it."

"You are like a dog, you know?"

"Please, at least say that I am a hound."

She laughed, never imagining that Shuri, of all people, would use one of her old nicknames without knowing about it.

"Well, enough with the chit-chat. Do you know why I brought here, just in front of Mei's altar?"

"No, and I am quite curious."

"Well…" She grinned and gazed at her deeply, not wishing to miss even one instant as she enunciated her words.

"Then… Tell me… Dear Miss Shuri Nakiri. Hehe… What intentions do you have toward my dear son?"

Looking at her expression, Cecilia wished she had brought her cell phone for this very moment.

CH 274: GOOD FRIENDS

Shuri's current expression was truly a sight for sore eyes, at least that was the case for Cecilia. After all, in the twenty years that she had known the woman, Shuri had always acted like a mature woman with endless composure. Even though she had only been a young girl when they had first met.

It was very rare to see her get flustered about anything and that too in such a manner.

Sadly though, as was normal with Shuri by now, she was able to take control of her expression rather fast. And the flustered expression soon morphed into a troubled sigh.

"Was I that obvious?"

"Hmm… Well not really, to be exact. I say I think you only have the hots for him. Though I understand you. My son is handsome."

Cecilia humphed proudly when she talked about her son. Like any other mother out there, she thought her son to be the most handsome and perfect man on earth.

The only difference was that, in her case, Adam was at least the most charming human out there right now so she was not wrong about that. [1]

Shuri was left speechless as she was unable to counter Cecilia's words. But in the end, she simply sighed and nodded her head in acknowledgment.

She had no intentions of hiding her emotions for Adam and she already had the thought of telling everything to Cecilia before going further in her relationship with Adam.

She just never imagined that it would happen so fast and Cecilia would be the one to approach her on this topic.

"I am sorry. I am sure that all of this might seem a little gross to you. I would understand if you ask me to not approach Adam anymore."

Here she was, a married woman in her thirties, lusting for a young man barely in his early twenties. The difference in age might not be a problem in some cases, but there was also the fact that she had basically helped in raising him until now and was practically family to him.

Even if she was accused of grooming, there would be nothing she could say because of how accurate that wording would be.

"I am sorry."

"Hmm… You don't really need to apologize to me, you know? Both of you are adults. Why would I interfere with whom Adam is planning to have a relationship with in the first place?"

Cecilia didn't care about age as it was irrelevant in the supernatural society past a certain point. Some people could live for hundreds of years and still look like they were in their middle ages. While some monsters could even surpass the thousands of years mark of lifespan.

This was why, one was considered an adult at 15 when one awakened or when one made their first kill.

After all, if one was old enough to kill then they were old enough to drink and gamble. Both Cecilia and Theresa had been considered and treated as adults ever since they were children after they killed the cultists with the dagger Musashi had given them.

Adam was now an adult in her eyes in every sense of the term and he would live for a very, very long time. Almost too long even…

If his curse was as strong as Cain's, then he would most likely live forever. Suffering eternally, all alone.

A bitter taste spread in her mouth at that thought. She knew a few human beings who had managed to cheat death and surpasses the limited lifespan even the strongest Hunters had.

But they were rarely happy. The mind of humans simply was not wired to live that long anymore.

Only those who were born immortals could actually support the weight of time and she sincerely hoped that Adam was in the second case.

"Cecilia?"

"Sorry. I was just thinking about something irrelevant."

She shook her head and took Shuri's hands in hers.

"Look. I am not saying that you should just directly go and bone my son. But whatever you end up doing, I will not be against it. I have no reasons to be against a consenting relationship between two consenting adults."

"I… Sigh~ Thanks."

Tears gathered at the corner of Shuri's eyes as she felt a huge weight suddenly vanish from her heart. She had been so hesitant and scared about this that she had forgotten how to sleep peacefully at this point. She was always left wondering how her life would change and if she would lose the friendship she had with Cecilia if her feelings were to be brought out into the open.

There were so many moral dilemmas, thoughts of stigma from society, her own relationship, and much more that were acting as shackles and limiting her actions and emotions.

Now though, the greatest shackle had been released and she felt like the other ones didn't matter as much as she thought they would…

"But… What about your husband?"

Shuri could only form a smile full of endless bitterness at those words, "I honestly don't know. But I am sure he is feeling far happier without me."

She explained the information she had found out and talked about her husband has created his own family and living a second life in Japan.

A hand was placed over her stomach as she felt endlessly gloomy. They had been married for years and never had a child no matter how much they tried.

She thought the problem was once on his side as she had made sure there was no problem on hers. But this showed that he had no problem either.

She did not understand where the problem was. They had tried nearly everything for years and went to many doctors. Even artificial insemination failed.

'Ugh…'

Images she had hidden deep in her mind surfaced and flashed but she simply shook her head and pushed them away to the furthest corners of her mind. All the blood flowed without end and the feelings of emptiness in her stomach kept churning on endlessly. Just thinking about those moments made her want to tear up even more.

The only option left was adoption or finding a surrogate mother.

Though now… Thinking of all that was useless.

Cecilia hugged Shuri, "I am sorry for making you remember bad memories."

There was no more smile on her face and all she did was take Shuri in her arms.

It was in a moment like this that she remembered that Shuri was just a frail woman who had a fragile heart and someone who hid her pain in the endless pursuit of work, success, and greater heights.

She had faced many terrible and unimaginable things in her life and had somehow managed to come out of them mostly unscathed. But they still left scars that were most likely never going to heal no matter what…

"Shh~ Don't cry. You are ruining your beautiful face. We don't want to scare Adam away now, do we?"

"Pfft~ haha."

Shuri chuckled out loud and let out a small laugh through her tears.

This was why she loved Cecilia so much and considered her to be her best friend.

No useless sympathy. But neither did she have a heart made out of stone.

She could be comforting when necessary and also lighten the atmosphere when needed.

"I am also really happy to have you as my friend."

It was a belated answer to Cecilia's earlier speech and to this, Cecilia gave a smug grin as she helped wipe away the tears from Shuri's face with a small tissue on her hands.

"I know. I am also happy that you have me as your friend. I am awesome after all."

Laughs once again bloomed in between the gloom and the moment of tears stopped once and for all.

[1]: I think I already explained this. But just to be clear, the stats Charm isn't just physical appearance. There is a limit to the change in the face. What it truly affect is the charisma and natural aura. In the same way, some people naturally seem more beautiful just by changing their clothes, standing a little straighter, etc. Pass D+ it's mostly the aura.

CH 275: END OF THE PARTY

When Adam came back from his room after his discussion with Yui had come to an end, he could see that midnight was almost upon them and things were starting to wind down at the party.

Most of the food was already cleaned up and he could hear the explosive laughter coming from Makarov followed by a few more bouts of laughter from the others.

Approaching further, he could see that Viktor was currently conducting an arm wrestling match with Makoto. They were really going at it from the looks of it.

"Hahaha~ Dear Grandson. Don't disappoint me."

"What is happening here?"

He spoke to Susanne who was watching the fight and smiling every now and then from the sides.

"Mister made a bet with the Director and this is the result. The one who loses will have to clean everything by themselves."

"Oh. Is Prana involved in the match?"

Obviously, even in her base form, Makoto was stronger than any adult male had the right to be. But the same went for Viktor as a person from the supernatural side of the world.

Sadly, if internal reinforcement was allowed then Viktor had zero chance of winning this bout.

"Nah. This is just for fun and he said they might destroy the backyard if they went at it with Prana."

The arm wrestling was fun to watch and in the end, Viktor managed to take the victory by a hair's breadth.

After all, though she was stronger overall, Makoto was primarily using some techniques to keep up with Viktor till the very end but she was not able to beat Brawn with her skills alone, unfortunate as that may be.

Seeing a dainty and frail woman like Makoto nearly beat a muscular young man like Viktor was quite a surreal sight for everyone but Adam was used to it by now.

"Adam, you wanna join?"

"Haha, nah. I am alright."

He had sealed most of his strength for today and he didn't want to have to use it just for wrestling another person.

Refusing Viktor in a small tone, he gave a look at Susanne who was staring at him.

"Anything the matter?"

She shook her head and placed a finger at her temple. "I just received a message."

Thanks to working with the church now, she also upgraded her equipment to the latest model and was able to use the state-of-the-art VR technology that worked on lenses.

"The saintess said she wanted to speak to you later in the week if you had some time for her."

Adam remembered the dagger he was given by her and wondered if she had noticed that it had been destroyed already.

Either way, all the discussion with Elysia had been quite delightful up to now and so he had no reticence about meeting with her again.

It was also helpful in knowing a little more about the church and how it worked. The more understanding he had of the various powers of the supernatural world, the more he could prepare for any off chance where he had to antagonize such organizations.

"Well. Now that the match has been decided already, why don't we start?"

Even though Viktor had won, he was the first one to start working on cleaning things up.

Adam shrugged his shoulders and he started helping as well to lighten the burden of the two.

It didn't take long for others to come and give a hand in the cleaning process as well. It was nothing big but it made them feel a little more close to each other as they worked together to tidy everything up. Group activities were always the best to help each other mingle after all.

While Adam was working on cleaning up the barbecue, Theresa approached him from a distance with light and pronounced steps, letting him know of her arrival.

"You seem rather weak today. Were you wounded somehow? You should be more careful out there, you know?"

Even though her tone was brisk, she was clearly asking him out of the worry she felt for his well-being and this was enough to make Adam smile. It was always delightful to interact with family after all.

"I am alright. I am just consciously restraining my powers for today."

"I see. You are quite talented to be able to do so to such a degree. It almost feels like you're a normal human right now."

Theresa nodded to herself after hearing him out. Though she did not say anything more, her eyes never left his visage; as if trying to fuse his image in her mind.

"Hmm…"

"What is it?"

"You are staring at me…"

"I know."

"...It's making me a little uncomfortable, to be honest. I'd like it if you stopped doing that."

"Why? Do you not like being stared at by a beautiful woman like me?"

She tilted her head out of genuine wonder which rendered Adam absolutely speechless. This shamelessness reminded him of Cecilia and made him realize once again that those two didn't only have their appearances in common. It seemed like Theresa had also picked up some of his mother's more annoying set of abilities.

"Speaking of beauty and whatnot, I suppose you won't tell me how my dear sister became so young and strong all of a sudden?"

Her eyebrow rose along with a playful smirk to which Adam merely shook his head in response, "It isn't a secret or anything. I can tell you, of course. I have Miss Freud to thank for mother's improved condition."

"Oh… I knew that she was a young genius who created many new kinds of medicine but I would have never thought she was that good."

Adam nearly laughed out loud at the title of 'Young Genius' that was being thrown around to describe her but he was able to keep it in check just in time.

"Does it mean that she will be completely healed soon?"

Adam was about to say no when he stopped and thought things through.

Cecilia had been quite clear that they would need the help of a Zodiac for that matter. So, what about telling Theresa the truth and having her use her connections to help them?

If the Kaminari family was so awesome, they should have at least one zodiac or have contact with one at the least, right? Maybe he could use their help to cure his mother once and for all.

He hesitated, knowing that he couldn't tell all the truth now at least, "We found a way. It won't be easy and we might need help. What do you say?"

Even if they couldn't get a Zodiac, getting a Director with a divine weapon on hand should still be very useful for them, right? At least Adam was willing to believe in that scenario, so he asked Theresa for her assistance in this matter.

Theresa's eyes narrowed slightly before she nodded, "Very well. I don't know what kind of secret you two are hiding, but I am willing to help if it can heal that troublesome muscle head of a sister of mine. She will owe me after this so that's a plus too."

Adam had to remark in his mind… Despite her tough exterior and front, it seemed like she had a heart of gold.

'Is this what they call a Tsundere? I guess my aunt is cuter than I thought.'

"I don't know why, but I feel like you are having very rude thoughts about me right now."

"Hehe, must be your imagination."

She gave him a glance full of suspicion before continuing to help him out.

Later on, Yui came down and it was followed not long after by Cecilia and Shuri.

They also gave a hand and soon, everything was completely cleaned up before midnight.

.

.

.

A few moments later, Adam was standing at the door all alone. He had been bidding his farewell to everyone and was looking as Shuri and Yui were now leaving in their car.

Makarov had already left again to go to his work and Susanne had left with Viktor for a personal after-party between the two.

What they wanted to do was quite clear for everyone and seeing the blush that had gone up all the way to his ears on Viktor's face when he left with her, Adam could only laugh at his mind about how shy the hulking mass of muscles actually was.

Cecilia on the other hand had been pulled to some corner by Theresa and made to go along with her on a sibling's night out. Seems like she would be forced to sleep in Theresa's home tonight.

Now, all alone, Adam could finally savor the feeling of quietness that he had been craving for some time.

He walked up to the sofa and turned the TV on, watching a meaningless reality show about a group of mixed young adults of mixed genders all living in a house.

It didn't take long for him to simply have glazed eyes as what actually happened did not even register in his mind.

He wondered what he should do right now.

If everything had been normal… He would be studying right now, perhaps even preparing for some exam…

.

"I should perhaps go take a look at school?"

He spoke out loud, to no one in particular, and did not expect an answer to come his way either.

He was just feeling slightly empty, realizing that he did not really have any hobbies of his own outside of studying or killing.

"Or I could just train?"

He chuckled.

"I am really a boring person through and through."

There was not much else he could say to describe himself.

A boring person, with no particular grand objectives or things he wished to do in his life.

If his life was a story, it would most likely be a pretty dry and boring story that would be used primarily as a device to make one go to sleep.

Taking out his phone, he looked at his rather short contact list and his eyes settled on the names of Natasha, Sae, and Alberto.

'I wonder how all of them are doing right now?'

"Hopefully better than me."

He sent a message to the three of them. It wasn't much and they might not even be able to see it.

But it was something at least.

Once he was done, he closed his eyes and rested his mind.

Sleeping might be able to help him a little, he thought absentmindedly.

Sadly for him, sleep never came.

CH 276: I WANNA SEE HIM

[Academy]

The Academy of Magic had many branches as its goal was to help young people who have a talent for magic to realize their dream. It was also a place to protect the people with mixed blood who had no place left in society and who were rejected by everyone.

Thankfully, nowadays, with the widespread acceptance policies, the school had fewer people coming with a horrible past. This was something Bridget was more than happy to see. After all, it had been her goal when she created this place.

[You seem pensive.]

A feminine voice full of seductiveness sounded in Bridget's ears as she observed her new student, Sae Kirishima, fighting her other, but nearly as a recent student, Luvia Osborn [1].

She had taken the girl as a student after the first night when she met Adam in the Wild Hunt. Her intention was quite clear.

A king needed a sage and while she could play that role, she also knew how young men could be. She feared that Adam might get lost in his newly gained power and so wished to prepare someone who could become his brake.

Nothing better than a young heart in love to make you more willing to listen.

Of course, she had no intention of forcing Luvia and she had no power over Adam.

"I am just thinking…genetics is really unfair, don't you think?"

Bridget gave a sad smile. Even though she had only taken Luvia as a student recently, the girl was really talented and had signed a contract with two elemental spirits. She had also received a very strict training and upbringing since she was a child as she was the last hope to revive the Osborn family and give them back their pride.

Sae meanwhile, only one week two weeks ago did not even know that magic existed and she only opened her circuits recently.

Despite this…Luvia was struggling.

[Heh. Not all humans are born equal and humans can hardly compare to supernatural beings.]

This was the sad truth. In the same way that Luvia was already stronger than most silver-ranked hunters, despite her young age and could match gold rank, when fusing with her spirits, Sae was showing just how fast those with supernatural blood could grow.

Innate talents could rarely be surpassed.

'Then again, the girl is also working hard.'

She could see how much sweat, blood, and tears Sae had given. Even now, while all the other students were enjoying Thanksgiving in the grand hall, she was here and training despite being continuously trashed. All of this to catch up to the standard she had asked. All of this, because of a simple promise.

'Once you are officially able to beat silver rank, then I will let you go out for a visit.'

She thought that since Sae wasn't a pure succubus it would take her at least a few months to adapt.

But this…

[I am as surprised as you. I guess my blood is just that good.]

"Well…"

Ignoring the prideful Lilith, she sighed.

"So. You still won't tell me what was the disturbance I felt yesterday?"

[I honestly don't know. My main body is busy fighting the legion of Asmodeus. The bastard always acts so smugly. But now he is hiding behind his wall like a turtle.]

"A fight against a Lord of Hell. This must be something worth observing."

[Heh. You just have to die and get reincarnated as a succubus per our contract. My legion needs a powerful witch like you.]

"Sorry. But I wanna stay alive for some more time."

[Heh. Don't worry. I am patient. Be it now or in a thousand years, you will die all the same. Not even the strongest vampires can escape mortality forever. Much less a witch.]

"You are very irritating in a moment like this."

[Well. What can I say? My contract is far more lax than most. At least I am making you my family rather than forcing you to live in eternal torment.]

Bridget had nothing to say.

Thus was the reality of making a contract with the devil. This was also why demons or devil summoning were only taught to old students and contracts with elementals were favored in the curriculum.

Lilith was one of the most "honest" devils if she could be called so and she could have taken a price far larger. After all, when she signed, she was only a kid that was about to get hanged as a witch even though she had done nothing of the sort.

There was little she wouldn't have given to escape her situation.

Focusing on the small fight again, she could see that it had ended.

Luvia had finally managed to corner Sae and put her down.

"Okay. It's enough now. Good job you two."

She approached Sae and could see the girl breathing heavily, her body covered in sweat and her chest moving up and down every time it happened.

A sweet scent flowed in the room and she could see Luvia's face become flushed, though not simply because of how tired she was.

Dispel

A simple movement from her and the aphrodisiac scent in the air completely vanished.

"Sae, it was a good fight. But you need to control your secretion."

"*Huff* Sorry *Huff* Not doing it intentionally."

Sae huffed and puffed and spoke with difficulty but Bridget knew that this was indeed not her fault.

Whenever they were in danger or when they were hunting, Succubus would unconsciously secret this pheromone.

In both cases, the goal was to affect the mental capacity of the one they were facing. Despite the less-than-savory effects, It was quite a powerful skill as it was completely indiscriminate toward gender and few people could actually counter it.

'But the pheromone of a hybrid should not be that powerful.'

Once again, Sae proved herself to be a very interesting test subject. If she was not her student, she might have kidnapped her to try and understand her physiology better.

"Luvia, you should have been able to use a [Dispel] yourself. Remember the first rule when facing a demon or a devil?"

Luvia was breathing with nearly as much difficulty as Sae but she still managed to speak,

"Always beware of poison, illusions, and other traps."

Bridget nodded, "Devils are cunning. While a few like to fight head-on. Most devils will not hesitate to rely on tricks to take you down. In a way, they are very much like Hunters. But for them it's different. Tricking an opponent is a form of art for them. Something to be proud of."

She turned to Sae, "The same goes for you. You shouldn't be using this unconsciously. But very much consciously. If you had done so, you might have won. Never forget. Shame doesn't keep you alive. Use every advantage at your disposal."

"Understood."

Bridget smiled at her student.

"Good. Now go wash up. I don't really like Thanksgiving but it's a good time for young people like you to mingle. So, happy Thanksgiving."

Sae nodded and stood up with the help of Luvia before walking away.

She could feel it.

A little more.

Just a little more — And she would finally be able to see Adam again.

CH 277: ARE YOU READY?

While many families reunited and celebrated Thanksgiving together, some other families reunited for many different reasons —Darker reasons.

Yui's attack on Kang Ho's gang had many repercussions. For one, this made her the undisputed ruler of K-Town. There were other relatively bigger gangs there but none of them would actually dare to face her now that she had shown her fangs.

At the same time, many gangs outside of K-Town were observing and wondering if they should attack in order to get some of the Cake or discuss how to handle Feng Huang Yui now.

[Beverly Hills; Los Angeles]

Sitting in front of her mirror, while Alexendra worked on her hair, Natasha was trying to breathe deeply in order to calm down a little.

"Nervous?"

"A little. This is the first time all the family will be reunited in the same place. They are already there, right?"

Since she was born an alpha, Natasha had always been slightly put aside from her siblings.

This was in no way out of malice but simply because her aura could negatively affect them and make them consider her as her leader. Which would have caused many small trouble in the family.

This was also why, the moment she came of age, she moved out. Not only to get more freedom but also to lower the burden on her family.

"Your training has been coming along well. So you should not worry. Be proud Natasha and either way, they will all be happy to see you."

Natasha breathed deeply and nodded.

Looking at her own reflection in the mirror, she admired herself. She was wearing a rather masculine black suit and pants alongside a white shirt. This was nothing out of ordinary.

But, because of her assets—or lack thereof, she had quite the androgynous appearance and one would confuse her as the silver prince rather than the Silver Princess as long as they did not look at her face nor pay attention to her frame.

Once Alexandra finally finished with her hair, she stood up.

It was time to see her family.

.

.

.

The Great Wolves.

Be it in the supernatural world or the criminal underworld, it was a renowned and feared group made of very dangerous people.

The current leaders of the groups were Antonius Alexandrovitch Nikitina and his wife Marfa Nikitina.

Two people who were known for their ruthlessness and how cold-hearted they were when dealing with enemies.

But in the end, those two ruthless leaders whose names were sometimes used to scare children asleep in certain families were parents like many others.

—And Like many parents, they could be quite invasive.

.

.

.

The moment Natasha pushed into the large living room that was being occupied, she was greeted with the pitiful sight of a black-haired young girl who looked to be around her early teens, sitting on the lap of a silver-haired mature woman with a rather feminine body.

The girl was helplessly being manhandled and was trying to fight back but to no avail. The grip of the older woman was simply too strong.

The girl's eyes lit up like she had seen her savior when Natasha came and begged while mouthing.

'Save me!'

Natasha gave a smile at this and spoke, "Mother, You should hug Fedora more. You know at her age it's hard to be honest."

"My, what a delightful proposal."

Marfa, who had been hugging her daughter with her eyes closed, opened them and gazed at Natasha with her red pupils before hugging Fedora more tightly.

The eyes of Fedora that were filled with betrayal did make Natasha feel a little guilty. But it was better to sacrifice her sister rather than be in her place.

"My dear sister of mine. As treacherous and mischievous as I remembered."

Natasha smiled and turned to the young black-haired man who was holding a glass of wine.

His eyes were shining with mirth as he observed everything that was going on,

"Forgive me but I went and took wine from your cave."

"You are the one who filled the cave in the first place."

She was speechless by action but to her words, he only smiled. "Like a rabbit who has many holes, A man must have many wine caves."

"Ah. Mischa darling, come to mother."

Fedora finally managed to escape after their mother opened her arms wide for her son but he only took a few steps back with a bitter smile,

"Mother, I am 24. I believe I am a little too old for cuddling."

Mikhail or Mischa for his mother knew very well that once he was in her arms, she would not let go until another sibling came. He couldn't really let his older brother and sister see him in such a compromising situation.

At least this was what he thought until he saw the hurt look in his mother's eyes.

Sighing, he placed down the glass of wine and walked up to her until she hugged him.

"Hehehe."

From the way she laughed mischievously, he knew that she had tricked him. But what could he do? He was weak to the tears of women. Even more so when it was my own mother.

It didn't take long for two more men to enter the room. They were slightly older looking than Mikhail but the similarities were clear. What was interesting to witness was that the two were twins.

One woman with beautiful long black hair and the other one…A silver-haired young man.

"It seems like our dear little brother is still a mom-con."

Mikhail blushed when his elder sister mocked him.

Thankfully for him, he was spared further embarrassment when his brother approached and kneeled down before taking their mother's hand in his and kissing it. He seemed quite happy and his heterochromatic eyes, red and blue, seemed to be shining.

"How have you been, mother? I see your complexion is as healthy as always."

"My, Alexei, such a charming young man. You are the only one who complimented me."

"I mean. Do you even need compliments about your beauty at your age? Aren't you ashamed?"

The elder sister laughed but immediately began to whistle like nothing happened when Marfa glared at her.

"Don't listen to Elmira, mother. She is simply jealous of your grace."

"Damn. I forgot how much of a bootlicker you were. How can I have a twin like you."

Elmira face-palmed and approached Natasha before patting her on the back;

"So. Little sister. I heard you had a rather exciting month. Something about kidnapping and devil summoning?"

The others stopped playing around and looked at Natasha. But, just as she was about to answer.

*Step*

The sound of someone entering reached them and they all turned toward the source.

It was a man. A man that was relatively on the normal side when it came to height. But the impression that a giant had stepped into the room could never be shaken off.

Holding a cane with a wolf head, a pair of black gloves with the insignia of a howling wolf, a scarf around his neck, and a hat covering his expression, the pressure he was emanating silenced the whole room.

This was Antonius Alexandrovitch Nikitina, the leader of the Great Wolves and a man respected in the world.

He looked at everyone silently, his red eyes glistening and the pressure became even thicker but,

*Bonk*

"Tosha. Stop scaring your children. You aren't on a battlefield."

Like a lie, the pressure receded completely and he looked back behind him with a bitter smile,

"Old Hag, why must you always break my cool scenes?"

Alexandra, clad in her maid outfit laughed, "You can have your cool scene as you want when fighting. Not here."

If anyone who knew Antonius' reputation saw this scene, they would open their mouth wide in shock.

But for the people here, this was nothing more than usual.

Sighing, Antonius looked at his family before nodding, "I am happy to see everyone is well and alive. I have two orders to discuss today."

He bent down a little as Alexandra took away his scarf and coat,

"Firstly, we need to discuss how to deal with the Wild Hunt."

"Why? Just increasing her territory doesn't make her a threat."

Antonius looked quietly at Elmira. A quiet stare filled with pressure and in the end, she took a step back and bowed slightly,

"Sorry."

"Very well. As I was saying before I got rudely interrupted, I have news and while the increase in territory is not a matter of concern, it seems like her gang recruited a new Gold-level member."

This definitely got everyone's attention. After all, Gold-level hunters were no joke and could be game changers in any organization.

"As for the second new… We made calculations. The full moon will appear on the 9th of December. Perfect for your Birthday."

He looked at Natasha as he spoke, "Are you sure you are ready?"

She did not hesitate.

"I am."

[1]: For those who might be confused. This is

Elmira Antonovna Nikitina. (27 years old) *Black hair; Blue eyes*

Alexei "Sasha" Antonovich Nikitina. (The Heir and future Alpha) (27 years old) *Silver hair; One blue eye and one red*

Mikhail *Mischa* Antonovich (24 years old) *Black hair; Blue eyes*

Natalia Antonovna Nikitina. (21 years old) *Golden hair; Blue eyes*

Fedora Antonovna Nikitina. (15 years old) *Bkac hair; Blue eyes*

Mother: Marfa Nikitina *Silver hair; Red eyes*

Father: Antonius Alexandrovitch Nikitina *Silver hair; Red Eyes.*

Grandmother? Nanny: Alexandra Nikitina *Black hair; Red eyes*

CH 278: I NEED TO FIND HIM

[?]

In what looked to a giant mansion in the far end of Los Angeles, women clad in old-looking maid attire were walking around the dining room while cleaning off the meal.

Once they left, there was only a bottle containing a beautiful red liquid.

The only persona seated was a beautiful young woman. She adjusted her long flowing bluish-silver hair and smiled with a hint of amusement and anticipation. She was wearing a short one-piece white dress that showed off her beautiful body and had a blue cardigan over the dress, covering her features.

Her dress seemed quite inappropriate for the current setting, but there was no one who would dare to point this out to her.

Her eyes seemed to be multilayered as her pupils had three different colors with blue at the edge and red like a crimson flame in the middle.

"So, this bottle really has some of the blood of Joan of Arc?"

"That is so your majesty."

"Ah…How beautiful. I never managed to become close to that stubborn woman up to the end. To think someone managed to keep her blood."

"This blood was taken by Lord Gilles de Montmorency-Lava [1]. He extends his salutation to your awakening in this era and would like to invite you to his castle."

The good mood of the woman noticeably dropped when she heard the words of her Butler.

It was a young man with a rather tanned complexion. His black hair swayed quietly and his eyes black eyes contained none of the awe all the other servants seemed to show.

Looking at him, the woman smiled, "Your name was Alberto, right?"

"That is so your majesty."

"Do you resent me? After all, because of me you were forced to cut contact with your friends."

"I would not dare."

"Heh. I like the way you play with words."

She leaned back on her chair and looked at the bottle with a thoughtful look.

"I don't remember much about Gilles. But I do remember that he was quite enamored with Joan. Didn't he become crazy after her death?"

"I was not born at that time."

"Hum…Look at me. I forgot your look actually matches your age. My memory is truly going from bad to worse. All because I woke up too soon."

She frowned a little, "Where is Gilles residing currently?"

"In Paris. He took over as a proxy and he is keeping control of a great part of the territory."

"Heh. A warlock who lost everything by trying to defy death. How amusing."

The woman chuckled, quickly losing interest in this matter. She did not care why such a man would want to invite her. She had no desire to enter Paris.

That place was a wolf den, even for her.

"Now then. Enough of this. Did you find what I asked?"

Alberto gave a bitter smile, "Your description was; A masked man with a dreamy atmosphere and a delicious odor."

"Indeed."

"Sadly, I do not think even werewolves would be able to find who you were searching for with such information."ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

Her expression was slowly changed into a frown,

"But…We did find some information."

He tapped the watch on his wrist and a holographic screen appeared in the air.

"Oh my. I always marvel at the ingenuity of humans. I only slept for a few hundred years. But so much changes."

Alberto ignored her mutter and showed a picture of a man walking with a hood and a mask, those pictures were taken from a massacre on the site belonging to the blue shark.

"Code name: Unknown. Skills: Unknown. Estimated rank: Gold. Affiliation: Wild Hunt."

"Yes! It's him. I could recognize his handsome face even in a crowd."

'What handsome face? He is wearing a freaking mask!'

"Haha…Either way. We know very little about him. We suspect that he is a guard sent by the Hanekawa or Feng family, as the Wild Hunt does not really have the condition to attract a Gold rank."

"Enough yammering~! I do not care. I want him. Find a way."

"But…"

"Find. A. Way. You have ten years. It should be more than enough for such a meager task."

For her, ten years was not even enough for a good nap. But she judged that it should be more than enough to find and convince someone to join her group.

"Ten years?"

"I know it's a small amount of time to accomplish my task but it should still be somewhat enough. Right? My patience is limited after all."

"I…"

He tried to say something. But then thought better about it and simply nodded with a serious expression.

"10 years might not be enough but I will do my best."

He made sure to control his heartbeat to hide exactly how excited he was. At the same time, he began to understand why, despite having such a long lifespan, most long lived races were inferior to humans in terms of technology.

The way they viewed time was simply too different.

Now, he only had one mission,

—Finding the identity of that masked man.

[1]: Also known as Gilles de Rais. The man was a Baron who lived during the Joan of Arc era and fought alongside her when France fought against England. I won't go into too much in detail but basically, the dude became kinda crazy after Joan of Arc's death. He first invested greatly in religion so that her name was remembered but after that dude became basically a monster. In 1440, he is judged for Heresy (Attempt of demon summoning and other occult things to become rich)

Then Sodomy, rape, and murder of 140 children and women (Estimation between 150 to 600). He was tried, hanged, and burned.

Though later his story became the basis for the legend of Blue Beard (not a pirate).

The most interesting thing is…He is considered History's first serial killer.

Obviously, there are others unknown. But he is the first RECORDED serial killer.

Many interesting parallels with Adam don't you think so?

CH 279: TOMBSTONE

Quietly, the morning sun rose above the horizon, reflecting on the endless sea and dazzling the world with beautiful light. The waves of the tumultuous sea rose and fell and in the skies above the ocean, flocks of seagulls flew from here and there along with their distant cries…

Breathing in the scent of the sea into his lungs, Adam quietly floated on the ocean surface before diving down with no hesitation whatsoever.

Water droplets splashed all around him as he dove down but the sea water was not even able to graze his clothes or skin as he used a psychic shield to protect himself from the influence of the water.

From afar, he could see the fishes and other residents of the deep sea moving and fretting around in the ocean deep, giving one a rundown of the animal life in the depths of the Ocean.

At first, the sea was still clear and he was able to see into the distance but as he moved deeper and deeper down the depths of the seemingly endless ocean, darkness slowly crept in as the light of the sun could reach no further below the surface.

The pressure of his surroundings progressively grew around him but he ignored it. He had a goal in coming this deep into the ocean floor and he was going to reach it soon.

It did not take long for him to finally reach the place he was targeting when he had dove down. It was a place that was more than 400 meters deep in the sea— a place no humans had ever reached with just their bodies alone.

No traces of light were able to reach this area. But for Adam, the presence or absence of light was of no importance as long as his domain was activated. He was able to sense practically everything with his domain as though he was able to see crystal clear in the dark.

As the new day came, Adam had obviously released all the restrictions that he had willingly imposed on himself during the Day of Thanksgiving.

This was a new day and so a new beginning for the young man. But before starting everything, he needed to accomplish one last thing. One last task that he needed to set behind to fully embrace his new life.

"Here it is."

He sighed when he finally found what he had been searching for all along. A small cave that would have been impossible to find in normal circumstances.

Moving inside the underwater cave, then up its surface, he slowly swam on until he found himself in a place completely devoid of water. An air pocket inside the sea.

This was obviously not the work of nature but something he had artificially built through the night of that fateful day. It was also one of the reasons why he had been so late to come back to the Wild Hunt.

Outside of dying a second time to get rid of the negative effects of bringing a soul to these plains, that is.

In the cave, two tombstones could be seen side by side, and each of them had a name on them.

[Hae-Won]

[Han-Wool Azrael]

They said that the rites of burying were enacted to let the dead have their eternal resting place. But the reality was that it was more for the sake of the living.

Adam knew very well that what he was doing was useless, at the end of the day. Hae-Won had already ascended from this plane and he did not know where her soul had gone to. Heaven, Hell, or someplace else, he could not be sure.

As for Han-Wool, it was even harder to say, as logically, his soul should be in Hell but with the way things happened, there were also high chances for him to be in Heaven alongside Azrael, the angel presiding over death.

Looking at the tombstone of the woman who had given him the greatest curse in existence, Adam realized that even though his heart might be filled with endless turmoil, his mind was clear.

This tombstone was useless.

His actions were also useless.

He did not even believe in any gods and did not know to whom he should pray for her soul to receive eternal peace— something that she sought all throughout her life. After all, wouldn't praying to the one who cursed you be the height of irony?

Even then….

"So what?"

Adam smiled as he felt himself speak out those words so naturally. As though the words of rebellion were eerily familiar to him.

So what if it was useless?

So what if it was a waste of time?

Whatever he was doing and was about to do was something he had chosen to enact out of his own volution. His own decision could be contested by no one.

"I am sorry…"

He was sorry that his hesitation led to the demise of a pitiful woman like her. Led to a tragedy he could have stopped had he cared a little more about the woman who had given her everything to him.

"...And thank you."ραпdα `nᴏνɐ| сom

At the same time, he was thankful to her. Thankful that she had opened his eyes to what he should do and to the path he should strive to walk upon.

Death was something that could not be avoided and was the fate of all mortals. But he refused to accept this reality and would walk a path that would enable him to find a way to fight against the very concept.

He would not let some moral hangs up stop him either. If he wished to be kind, he would be and if he wished to be ruthless he would be.

The world was not a place dyed in the colors of Black and White, it was dyed in the infinite shades of Grey, and trying to conform to a side and kill his emotions was something he refused to accept.

No one was perfect and no one could say that they could always bring about the most optimal scenario. Sometimes, people even took the least optimal solution willingly to attain their goals.

Some people smoked even though they knew it could kill them. The same went for alcohol and drugs.

Some others chose jobs they knew were dangerous. Only for the deep desire to help other beings in danger.

It was easy to talk about reason and logic when watching from afar but once faced with the reality, emotion would always find a way to prevail. The only way around this was to be a machine with no sense of emotions and only logic and reason to drive them forward.

He would embrace his own hypocrisy with no more shame and walk a path he could look back on with no regrets.

Even then, he might stumble. No… He was sure that he would stumble.

He was only 21 years old after all and as a member of the supernatural world, he was not even one month old.

He still had so much to learn and so much to understand about this world dyed in infinite shades of gray. Mistakes were given, losses were to be accepted and defeat was an inevitability.

But as long as he continued to walk… As long as he didn't give up… There will come a day when he would become able to look at his face in the mirror and proclaim proudly that he loved what he was seeing.

A relaxed smile formed on his face as he faced the tombstone that had paved his future path.

"If one day I truly become a god, I will make sure to find both of your souls… and give you the happy ending that you deserve…"

He didn't know if he could even become one and even if he did, he was unsure if he would be able to find their souls or not…

It was a mystery that he needed to naturally solve in the future.

But having more goals in life was what made things interesting, rather than just staying still and mopping in the patches of darkness wondering what could have been if he just tried.

Sighing, Adam stood up and began to walk away. On his body were the clothes Hae-Won had bought for him with all her heart.

They were not illusions but the real deal.

Taking out the clock, he looked at the time and covered his face with a white mask.

With a tap of his cane, the place began to be filled with light and flowers of endless colors bloomed all across the rocky plane. The gloomy atmosphere vanished completely and was replaced by the colors of euphoria.

Illusions were normally ephemeral.

But not this time.

Mixing the illusions with as much Prana as he could, he made sure that these illusions would be able to last for a few months if necessary.

Giving one last bow to the desolate tombstones, he smiled softly with melancholy in his voice, "The next time I come here, It will be when I am worthy of being a Prince. No… Not just a prince…"

He chuckled and walked away, his cane tapping rhythmically on the ground.

Adam did not voice the final thoughts in his heart. But Genesis, who shared one heart with him, heard his thought out loud.

The next time he came to this place.

He would be a King.

CH 280: SUICIDAL? NAH JUST NORMAL

After Adam left the sea and flew back to the shore, he continued his flight until he reached a nearby park and decided to walk from there on.

Walking while being completely invisible from everyone's sight brought a rather odd feeling about but he liked it nonetheless. It allowed him to be alone with his thoughts and think about what he should do and plan ahead.

He had talked big in his mind while leaving Hae-Won's tombstone but now that he was here and had cooled off his mind somewhat he began to wonder about one very important point. A crucial aspect that would decide his future path.

"How do I even become a King?"

This was an important aspect that he had to carefully think about and something he had to care about. He knew that all the Primogenitors were called Kings. But, what did this entail exactly?

"Say, Genesis. Do you know how strong the other Primogenitors are?"

[All Primogenitors are at the limit of what is allowed by the world's will or the Scales of Equilibrium.]

"Hmm… So she is as strong as mom was at her peak?"

[Not enough Data to compare the subjects. The limit of the world is only a matter of pure stats and upper limits in destruction. But everyone has a different way of using the same limit so there are definitely differences in their full power and capabilities.]

Adam mused the information that Genesis relayed to him quietly. He could understand what the book spirit was trying to convey to him. After all, thanks to his skills he was stronger than what most people would be able to perceive him to be.

He wondered what kind of powers they all had.

Sighing, he moved his hand and a flame appeared above his hands. This was not an illusion, he could clearly feel the heat of the fire that was floating above his hand.

Furthermore, the fire was actually capable of burning and hurting him if he was not careful with it.

This was not magic. This was a physical phenomenon induced by his own will and as such, his own body was not immune to it unlike how a magician would not get hurt by his or her own magic spells.

Looking at the Book of Genesis, his attention fell on a certain skill that he had acquired quite recently.

『 Skill: Adaptation

Rank: EX

Description: Death will progressively come harder and harder for you. The more you die the harder it will be for you to die of the same cause, until one day… Death will not even come to you, not even as a release… You will be damned for all eternity…

Effect: Continuously evolves your body and slowly creates resistance to the aura of death until it reaches full resistance to death and Immunity to Death itself. 』

The same went for Eternal Damnation; or more precisely the First effect of the trait.

『 Trait: Eternal Damnation

Rank: EX

Description: Even in 'Death,' you will no longer find peace nor will you find rest. Death will no longer be an escape for you, even if temporary…

Effect 1: Your mind is damned to wander the world of the living. The eternal rest of 'Death" will not come even partially any longer. 』

Those two skills had been haunting his mind ever since he had gotten them during his fight with the devil of lies— Xezbeth. The malicious intent behind the skill and trait had been made clear to him from the very start. They were not given to him as a reward but as a curse to further his misery.

The more he died, the more he would be conscious of the outside world. This meant that in the future he would not have the pleasure of closing his eyes after death and simply awakening when his body was revived to the optimal condition again.

So here was one… or rather many questions that were troubling his mind and psyche.

Would he eventually become able to affect the world even when he was dead or even obliterated into dust? He had the faintest of impressions in his heart that something along those lines won't be impossible for him after a certain point.

After all, he would be mainly using his soul to fight not his body once he achieved physical death.

In the same way, Dreams and even Magic cared more about the capabilities of the mind and soul rather than the body itself. So at the very least, in theory, he should be able to fight even while he could be defined as physically dead.

But this brought about another problem that immediately came to mind once he thought some more about the specifications of death.

If he was conscious even when he should be considered dead then would he be truly dead?

If not, then that would mean that his revival to the optimal condition, that his curse provided him with, would probably not activate as he would not be able to fulfill the condition leading to its activation.

"Ugh…"

Another matter to take into account was his newest skill— Adaptation. The description and the effects of the skill created an ambiguity that was bothering him to no end.

Did the Adaptation trigger when he actually died? Or simply whenever he was wounded?

Furthermore, how much resistance did he build for each death he had to undergo in a certain way? How many times would he need to die before becoming completely immune to the effects of death?

If he died from being cut by a sword, what would change for that matter? Would his skin become tougher to stop the blade? Would his bones change so that the sword couldn't sever his body anymore?

Once again this was a skill filled with maliciousness that had a very bad synergy with Eternal Damnation.

The more resistance he built, the harder dying would become for him. So it would take more time and more, much more pain would be involved every time he had to die in a certain way.

The effects would worsen since his mind would not break no matter what he went through and he could not fall into the slumber of death.

Eventually, he would have to suffer indefinitely with no way out.

In a way, one could say that his recent acquisitions were the most problematic EX ranked capabilities that he had obtained till now.

Just how much would his body change to accept the changes in his two new abilities? Would he start to look like a monster?

If he died by drowning, would his lugs capacity increase? Or would he develop gills like a fish?

What if he crushed his own body with gravity? Would his skin be able to completely counteract any forms of blunt damage? Or would his bone and organs develop to handle the heavier weight and not let it get crushed under its weight? [1]

His eyes looked blankly at the flame that was still hovering above his hand while extending its fiery tongues.

In the end, he could make hundreds of speculations in his mind… but there was nothing better than trying at least once to make sure.

After taking out his glove, he clenched it tightly, without protecting his hand with Prana.

The sound of sizzling immediately resounded from his hand and a charred scent came out as his hand began to burn down into nothingness.

Adam released a grunt filled with pain but did not let go and continued to clench his hand around the seething flames.

"Fuck…"

No matter how used to pain he had become by now, things that hurt would still hurt like hell. He only knew how to internalize this pain better.

It hurt quite a bit, but he managed to calm the erratic beats of his heart by breathing deeply and exhaling in a rhythmic manner.

When he finally stopped the fire, his hand had become beyond recognizable by now. A terrible stench of grilled meat and fat filled his surroundings and his limb had become beyond recognizable due to being burned so heavily by the scalding hot flames.

Adam looked at his arms with bloodshot eyes but he slowly made his agitated mind calm down till he was able to breathe steadily. There were no particular changes that were happening to his damaged hand but he did not know if it was because he didn't die or just because it simply wasn't enough to induce the skill to take action.

In the end, he couldn't help but wonder in his mind.

'Should I just throw myself in a lava volcano until I develop complete resistance to fire?'

This was truly something worth pondering, wasn't it?

CH 281: I NEED TRUSTWORTHY ALLIES

"Hey, Genesis. You are the one who is usually all about efficiency, right? What do you think we should do right now?"

Adam looked at his hand and frowned due to the pain.

It fucking hurt like all hell right now.

Should he just kill himself and be done with this?

Perhaps it was time to pay for a gun. A quick way to end himself when necessary was always welcome.

"If I kill myself with a bullet and revive. Would the bullet still be lodged inside my head?"

The pain in his hand kept bothering him nonstop but it was still bearable enough that he wouldn't contemplate suicide just to relieve the pain in his hands. This was also good training for him since this would allow him to train his mental strength either way.

[I believe that if you are truly able to develop immunity through continuous Death, we should prioritize things that are hard for you to protect against with your current capabilities.]

"Oh? Please continue."

[Be it fire or even crushing force, at the end of the day, they are all very much visible attacks that can be blocked by your telekinetic shield or can be avoided by your reflexes. But some attacks such as poison or even curses are far more insidious and there are not any immediate skills in your arsenal that you would be able to use to defend yourself against them.]

Adam grunted in acknowledgment as he looked at his charred and beyond well done hand.

'I wonder what it tastes like?'

"I heard humans taste like pork or something. Wonder if that's true or not." [1]

[...I fail to understand the relevance of this information in our current discussion.]

"Oh. I was just curious about how I taste, is all. My hand is on fire and everything right, so, I wondered what we tasted like to Devils or any other Supernatural creatures for example."

[From a rational point of view, the human body is far from being nutritious. Fish, cows, birds, bears, and beavers all contain more calories per pound of muscle than humans do and they provide no form of benefits that other protein-based beings can provide with.]

"Didn't think you would actually answer me seriously. But I should have guessed that you would say something like that. Hmm and from a supernatural point of view?"

[Creatures who nourish themselves from humans' blood or flesh do not consume them for the nutrients in the body but for the power of life and the soul that humans are able to provide them with. Generally, only undead-related species feel the need to drink the blood of humans or devour them to replenish their reserves.]

"...As for devils?"

[They only do so for the pleasure of torture or when they are in need of energy to sustain their existence on these planes.]

Adam looked down before chuckling helplessly. He would have never thought that one day he would be discussing cannibalism and the nutritional value of human flesh with an inorganic and robotic book spirit. Life was really strange, he thought idly in his mind.

Though, he had to admit that this was certainly quite an interesting topic.

Adam understood that because of how focused he had been on certain matters in the past, he was yet to truly focus on exploring the supernatural way more deeply.

He had only seen the darkness and evil that prevailed and permeated the supernatural world. The cruelty and cutthroat way of thinking and the survival of the fittest that was the norm.

But he knew that this couldn't be all that consisted the entirety of the supernatural side.

Since he could see that in his University alone many supernatural beings were admitted as students and even teaching staff while they lived their lives normally and only wished to not be disturbed by the others.

[Adam, your minds are wandering too much.]

"Sorry, sorry. You will have my undivided attention of at least one of my minds from now on."

Even as he spoke he moved out of the way to avoid a child that was running with a plane in his hand, playing the imaginary game that he was seeing with his mind and his alone.

Behind him was a young man and a look was enough for him to understand that it was the father of the child.

It was quite a cute sight but this was not particularly useful for him.

"Genesis, I was thinking."

[About?]

"If I need poison, don't I already have the perfect person for that?"

If he needed to build immunity to poison, what better way to do that than to go visit the greatest alchemist he knew of who incidentally was also capable of producing a super-killing poison from her blood alone?

If he really developed resistance to that poison, he doubted there would be many kinds of poison left in the world that would actually be able to harm him anymore.

That or he would simply end up suffering pain for nothing as his ability probably had certain other conditions that needed to be fulfilled before activating.

He doubted that increasing resistance or even obtaining immunity would take just a minuscule number of deaths. He would probably need to die hundreds of times just to see the slightest effects.

[Medusa is indeed the best person for the job. But you should understand that this might make her discover your secrets, right?]

Medusa was not a stupid woman. Her ability to read people and understand them was honed by thousands of years of experience that she had gathered throughout her life.

Thinking that he could fool her would be a foolish thought in itself.

"I want to be a King."

What a King needed more than anything else were subordinates and subjects that he could believe in to have his back in times of need.

"Sooner or later, my identity will be revealed and I refuse to live in hiding while fleeing for most of my life."

Adam had been observing a few things and he knew that not all Primogenitors were actually in a hostile relationship with humans.

At least, dwarves were friendly towards humans and Elves as well as Were beasts were technically neutral toward humanity as a whole.

[This is a relationship born from power. Friendship between two forces can only exist when the price necessary for war is too steep for them to pay.]

" —And this is why I need to build my force and my territory now. At the same time, I need to find people who will be loyal to me no matter what my identity is."

Recruiting Medusa on his side would be an extraordinary blessing. He knew at least that she held a great deal of influence in the medical world and she was rich.

Very Rich.

Stupendously RICH.

"Thinking about it, I don't have any cigarettes anymore now, do I?"

He truly lost a great deal in the explosion against that devil.

There was also the new lesson that he learned from the fight against the devil. When fighting, killing as fast as possible to avoid any form of surprise was the best way to go.

[So you will seduce her?]

Adam stopped for a moment and looked up.

He had wanted to stop working as a Gigolo under Yui. It didn't bring much money and he doubted that he would find many women willing to give him a 5 million pocket watch like Hae-Won.

But….

"I guess I can never escape from the fate of being a Gigolo."

Be it Shuri, Yui, or Medusa, and even possibly Bridget Bishop in the future.

There was even Eve and his mother in a certain way. [2]

As well as Theresa and Makoto.

Mooching off from women seemed to be his destiny, his calling in life, his fate.

So he would just need to embrace it.

"But first, I really need a gun."

He suddenly didn't know why he had burnt his hand in the first place. He should really be careful about letting his intrusive thoughts win.

[1]: Those are the words of the German cannibal Armin Meiwes. He is serving a life sentence for killing and eating a man who begged to be devoured and has described how the meat tasted of pork and how he prepared an elaborate meal of human steak in a green pepper sauce with croquettes and Brussels sprouts.

CH 282: HEHE

[?]

In a laboratory filled with the stench of potion, a young woman with green hair was slowly scribbling on a book while muttering to herself.

Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot but outside of this, her body was perfectly clean.

The more she wrote, the more her eyes seemed to shine with a vigorous splendor. It was as if it was about to illuminate the whole room and her breath grew harsh and difficult.

It was as if she was in the middle of the greatest epiphany. Nothing could really describe what she was feeling.

"Doctor."

A voice interrupted her.

*Snap*

The pen in her hand broke as she clenched her hand. For an instant, a malevolent aura filled the room and the one who had interrupted her backed away with fear covering his face.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman sighed before ruffling her hair. It was only after exhaling and calming down that she turned to face the intruder.

"Why did you disturb me?"

The young man was sweating. He now understood why his co-worker had looked at him with pity when he was designed by the head searcher to come warn her.

"I am very sorry for disturbing you. I…"

"Go to the point. Do not make me waste my time."

"I. Yes! The young man you asked us to warn you about when he entered the building is present."

"Ah…"

Instantly the weight that had appeared in the room completely vanished. The young man released a sigh of relief as he felt like he had just gotten a second lease at life. It seemed like that if he had not given a good answer he would have lost this incredible chance.

"My. What should I do?"

Now though, he was presented with a horror of a different kind. Doctor Freud was very popular in the science and research department. Not only for obvious reasons such as her results and influence but also because of how young and beautiful she was.

A young and beautiful genius would always be appreciated wherever she went.

But there was another thing that made her popular and it was the cold face she perpetually had.

Doctor Piaget Freud never smiled at anyone outside of patients she was observing or clients who needed counseling. She was a cold woman with a heart of gold and this helped in creating a certain fan club behind her.

Now though, the young man was awestruck as he realized that his idol could, in reality, smile for something else rather than work-related reasons.

He could have never imagined that he would see her worry about her appearance and try to work on her hair just in order to meet a man.

This was certainly some big news and he didn't know what he should do with this.

"So…Do you plan to watch me while I shower?"

He immediately snapped out of his thoughts and apologized profusely before leaving.

Now alone, Medusa's girly disposition completely vanished. While she was excited about Adam coming to see her, there was no way she would act like some stupid young teen in love at her age.

But she knew that by doing so, soon rumor about her feeling for Adam would spread and this would make any future meeting far less suspicious. She did not wish to people to know that she was sponsoring him for now as this could give him more problems than necessary.

"Then again, me falling in love might also be problematic."

She chuckled and looked back at the information she was writing in her book. While it was sad, it seemed like she had to leave her research for now.

—-

When Adam entered the association, he was not surprised to see Mark coming at him at a brisk pace.

"So are you my butler or something?"

"Sadly, I do not think the name Mark is suitable for being a butler."

Adam chuckled, "I guess Sebastian or Alfred do sound better."

"Right?"

Mark shook his head before sharing a handshake with Adam.

"So, what brings you here? Don't you have a big mission in 10 days?"

Adam rose an eyebrow.

"I am your handler. So I have access to information like this. Though I must say, you are certainly starting strong. Your first mission and it's a joint one with you acting as the leader of a team."

"Hum…I guess this is indeed a little much. Perhaps I should start with some small mission?"

"Oh? You are serious?"

"Why?"

Adam immediately became wary as he saw Mark shining as he had just found a treasure.

"Ahem. It's just. Most hunters only go for missions that bring them results. As you know Hunters aren't heroes. They are more like mercenaries. They only move when wealth is involved and never for justice."

Adam tilted his head, "You remind me of someone. That person was also talking about justice every time."

"Well…"

Mark clenched his hands as he looked up absent-mindedly before giving a bitter smile, "The world would have far less tragedy if people were more concerned about justice. Even more so for the hunter."

He shook his head, "But I understand that I shouldn't impose my views on people. After all, not everyone is willing to sacrifice his life for justice, and people should never be forced to make sacrifices. This should come from the heart."

Adam looked at Mark. He could see that the man had lived a hard life and most likely faced his own set of hardships.

At the same time, now that he thought about it. Most humans who were not from special families, they needed to survive a supernatural event to become able to see through them.

There was a high chance that something of the like happened to Mark.

"Perhaps one day you will share your story over a drink."

Mark laughed out loud. "I would be more than happy to drink with a Gold Hunter."

"Also, while I certainly won't fight for justice. I think I am quite the desperado compared to other hunters. So, why don't you find some small good job for me."

Adam had many things he wanted to test.

What better place than a mission to test his power?

Getting paid while training and gaining some Karma along the way.

This was a perfect win-win.

"Speaking of. There is indeed a new mission. It's on the silver level."

"You already have something?"

"Yes. This is a mission we just received today because of some fuss yesterday."

Mark moved his finger and a picture appeared in the air. It took all the willpower of Adam to not twitch or look in surprise.

"There is a new man in the underworld and he is suspected to be at the Gold level. While we generally look the other way as long as Criminals don't go too far and affect Powerless people, this one is quite dangerous and it's necessary to at least have some basic information about him."

Mark frowned a little as he didn't really like how criminals were allowed to roam free but he knew that this was a necessary evil to assure security.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"Heh…"

Adam chuckled.

Should he chase after himself?

He never thought this would be something he would ask himself.

CH 283: GIVING UP ON DREAMING

Adam had an unnatural expression on his face, though he made sure to hide it with his illusions.

'Was I too showy?'

He wondered for an instant before shaking his head. Sooner or later, he would have needed to reveal his persona to gather fame and fear. So this was welcome.

"So what is the goal of the association?"

"If it was just a bronze or silver level, it wouldn't have mattered. Silver are the mainstream power and they aren't exactly rare though still power. But a Gold level on the loose about whom we know absolutely nothing is very scary. A Gold level could be an Executor in the making for all we know and even without that they are small tactical weapons."

Mark showed the picture. "This man for now did not attack any normal humans nor did he hurt civilians of the supernatural world so for now he is only a code yellow."

Mark mused. The Wild Hunt gang was one of the rare gangs that were considered "allies". After all, despite being criminals for humans, they never stepped past their limits.

In fact, Mark had some contact with Feng Huan Yui, albeit short and he had to admit that the woman was very respectable.

"Code yellow?"

"Warinnes. Green is no problem. White is a friend. Red is danger and Black is Elimination."

Mark hoped it would not come to this. After all, killing a Gold-ranked Hunter would bring too much sacrifice and they were not even sure to succeed.

"Well, thankfully we have the Director now. So if necessary she will just attack."

'Getting chased by my aunt. How interesting.'

Adam had to admit. He understood now why villains in stories who disguised as good guys and worked with the police while being the actual murderer/thief always feel so smug.

There was something about watching people fretting and worrying about one of his personas.

'I wonder if I should create more persona.'

This would certainly lead to very interesting things. In fact, he could even use his illusions to stage a fight with himself.

Magician vs the Prince.

Or Magician vs Illusionist?

Perhaps Magician vs Death?

Using the code name Death for his criminal Persona would make things quite clear. This would also help him make sure what power he should use depending on which persona.

While one of Adam's minds fell in contemplation, the other two were still busy discussing with Mark and taking information.

"Either way. You can choose to take it or not. For now, you should focus on the incoming mission. If you want a small mission to give a try take a look at the platform. In a few days, we will call you to show you the team. Do you have any things you want? Like specific skill sets or age or experience?"

Adam was not really interested. He was sure that in the end he would do everything alone. In the worst case, he could ask help from the hounds.

"Hum…I want someone skilled in hacking and someone in magic. For the magic one, I want a high rank. Silver if possible or at least someone with enough experience."

He didn't really care about the team but it was an occasion to have someone good in magic close to him. It was necessary to see if people who had access to magic could erase his illusions and also if he could perhaps copy some of their skills.

"Very well. This won't be complicated. Many graduates from the academy join the hunter association."

"Hum…"

"Also a healer."

Adam looked down at his hand and clenched it. He had already killed himself on the way towards the association but he was starting to wonder what would happen if he continuously hurts and then healed himself.

His lack of healing factor without dying was quite problematic and slowed down the speed of some experiments.

"Good. I do have a young priest in mind and he is French so it will be helpful."

"Thanks."

"Don't worry. My job is making sure high-ranked hunters like you can do their jobs and save people."

Mark recognized the limit of his habits and recognized the limit of the morality of the so-called hunter.

As such, he wanted to make things as easy as possible for them so that they would have no reason to actually fail.

"You are a good man."

"I am just a stupid man that was enamored with justice."

He once had a dream. A dream of the world where people would not have to go through what he and his sister did. A world where justice and peace would not be something exceptional but nothing but the norms.

Then reality slapped him back awake.

"Even then, I am very stubborn you know?"

He might not be able to create a utopia with his meager ability but as long as he could do even a little bit. As long as he could help even one person be saved, then he was happy.

A small consolation considered his past aspiration but it was what it was. The world was not perfect and there was nothing one small man could do about it.

Adam patted the middle-aged man who had clearly seen many things and lived through his fair share of pain.

"Well. I just received a call from the office. Miss Freud is waiting for you."

"Thanks."

Adam waved his hand as he left and said out loud "Don't forget, you owe me a drink."

"Hehe. Pretty sure you are the one who owes me."

And so Adam walked away, feeling like he had made something akin to a friend.

CH 284: GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

After leaving Mark Adam thought back about Medusa.

There was a reason she was one of the first people he wanted to recruit to his cause.

Like Yui, Medusa was not a human so they would feel less reticence about him. After all; Cain was mainly considered an enemy by humanity.

He doubted Medusa had any heroic traits in her and in fact, she was a monster killed by a hero. Her desire for Hero did not change her disposition and the hero she was searching for in the first place was not a kind hero who helped save the world but simply a man who could affect the world.

If he had to be honest, he wished to start with Yui. He knew very well that she would not betray him — at least if everything was normal.

But sadly they were not. There was a problem with her or more like with her true mother. It was a hidden danger that he could not allow himself to neglect.

He clearly remembered Eve's small speech about how Cain basically attacked the Jade emperor's court alongside the Monkey King.

How epic this story was aside, he did not know what the stance of the court toward Cain was currently but Eve had clearly implied that they would not be too friendly to him.

Adam hated the fact that he was being punished for the crime of a father he did not even know and had never met but there was little he could do.

At the end of the day, he did not know what Yui's mother would do if his identity was revealed and he did not want to place her in an awkward situation. At least not now.

Medusa meanwhile was the complete opposite.

She was not really close to humans on one side and she also hated the gods or at least felt nothing but disdain and bitterness.

She was really a premium-grade target for a future ally. All he needed now was to be careful.

After all, he only had speculation and if he was wrong, he doubted he would have the power to fend off a Zodiac.

Pushing a door open after getting a pass, Adam found himself in what looked like a normal office in the depth of Los Angeles.

Further ahead, sitting on a chair he could see Medusa smiling at him.

"Hello, Doctor."

Adam spoke politely as he closed the door behind him while pointing his finger at the surrounding with a questioning look.

"It's alright there is no one listening".

Adam nodded and took a step.

"So, Adam, how have you been? Anything interesting lately?"

"I helped in stopping the summoning of Lucifer."

"..."

The smile that had been on her face froze for an instant as the information tried to sink in.

"I beg your pardon?"

She asked again, wondering if she had heard wrong but Adam's answer came back again without hesitation.

"Oh…"

Medusa lowered her head as an explosion of thoughts filled her mind, threatening to overwhelm her.

'Is she shocked?'

Was that he thought at first?

But when he paid more attention, he could see that Medusa's face was becoming strangely flushed and her breathing became ragged, her prana moved as if she could hardly control her own power.

When she finally rose back her head, Adam nearly backed away by instincts, her eyes were now clearly that of a reptile and a large smile was on her face.

"I know I was right. Hahaha."

She stood up and placed her hands on the table while looking at him with so much luster in her eyes one would think he was the most precious treasure she had in her possession.

A laugh escaped her lips and it seemed to go on forever. It was only after a long while that she finally managed to calm herself down.

Her eyes swam as she took a notebook and started scribbling on it like she was possessed.

"I know I was right. I was sure of it."

She continued to mumble and twitch while her eyes gleamed.

'Genesis…Should I make a run for it?'

For the first time, Genesis was unable to utter any feedback. Even for him, the reaction of Medusa was beyond what he could understand.

Ignoring Adam, Medusa continued to write and write and write. From a certain perspective, her fingers moved as fast as lightning and one wondered if she would even tear the paper away.

"Finally…"

When she finished, Medusa placed back her pen and quietly breathed, her face was still flushed and it was even covered with sweat. He could see that her eyes were bloodshot and there were even tears of blood at the corner.

"What happened?"

"Do not worry. This is just a small punishment for trying to look at the Heavenly Secret. All seers have to pay for this pride and those who use it too much will become Blind."

She shook her head. She had answered by instinct but she truly did not care about this matter.

There was something that was much more interesting and important and she needed to share it.

"Do you know Adam? In the latest year, the action of the Devil Cult had quieted down considerably. Some thought that it was because of the action of your mother. After all, she did massacre many cults.

"Others think it's just normal and the result of their efforts to kill cults members."

She scoffed before focusing back on Adam, a smile threatening to split her mouth.

"Adam; I have two pieces of news. One very bad and a good one. What do you say?"

Adam wondered if it was really the right time to play around but he sighed and asked,

"The very bad news first."

"Well, Adam, if my calculations are right — and I am sure they are…"

"Yes?"

" —Then I can say with absolute conviction that an Apocalypse is incoming."

"Ah?"

"The good news is that it should only be a Class II apocalypse. Not bad, right? Humanity can survive at least."

Adam looked up at the ceiling. Wondering if he should have really come today.

CH 285: MANY WAYS TO END THE WORLD

Adam felt like a headache was threatening to make him die again. Why was it that whenever he came to meet this woman for a simple reason, she somehow found the way to bring a matter that was ten time more impressive?

Taking a seat without being prompted to, Adam sighed and asked,

"Firstly, I understand the word Apocalypse but what is class 2?"

He needed more information for the discussion to progress.

Medusa grinned and showed her fingers. She loved teaching and loved having students willing to learn.

"If we want to make it simple, there are ten knowns classes of Apocalypse."

She touched her table and a holographic screen appeared, floating in the air.

"From Class 0 to Class II, we have events happening with humanity or any intelligent race ruling the world as the center. Class 0 is Societal Disruption or Collapse on a Regional scale. Class I is Planetary-scale Civilization Disruption and Class II is Planetary-scale Societal Collapse. Humanity, or otherwise the local dominant species, survives, but this event takes an entire planet back to at least a pre-industrial age — and pre-agricultural at worst."

She shrugged, unconcerned, "This kind of apocalypse happened many times honestly. Two such events are the Great Flood where humanity was nearly reset and an example of Tier 1 which happened when the Tower of Babel was struck down and humans were forced to learn different languages.[1]"

Adam frowned, "How advanced were humans before?"

"Advanaced enough to create a tower that can pierce through dimension and reach Heaven. So you should be able to understand. Honestly, the current humanity is pretty behind even when compared to a few past civilizations. But it's what it is. Whenever humans start to encroach in the domain of God, they get wiped out and reset."

She sneered a little, "Coming back. Class III is divided into III-a which is the Planetary-scale extinction of the dominant species on a planet, via unnatural causes. I am pretty sure even supernatural intervention humans gonna reach this soon. Then you have III-B which is the same as III-A only that the cause of extinction is Natural. Like what happened with the dinosaurs."

Pictures continued to be shown on her screen as she explained, "We now have classes IV and V which are Planetary-scale Species Extinction of most complex multi-cellular organisms or all of them in case of class V."

She pointed at the sky and smiled, "Mars is the best example of this [2]. Everything was erased."

Adam paled, even for him this was rather shocking news, "There was life on Mars?"

"Yep. Though few people know it. Mars was the place where humans once existed. Got wiped by an apocalypse though."

Adam looked at Medusa before massaging his brows. If someone else had said this to him he would have said the person was crazy.

"I am intrigued, you discovered magic is real and that godly being exists. You are currently in an office with a door leading to different places throughout the world and you are surprised life existed on other planets?"

He gave a bitter smile, "When you put it like this…"

"Now we continue. For class VI Planetary-scale Total Extinction of all life of any kind. The planet is still physically there, but is left as a lifeless husk."

She grinned and Adam gulped, "Don't tell me."

"Yeah. Also happened. Though the victim that time was Venus." [3]

"What exactly happened on Mars and Venus?"

"I do not know what happened. My age may seem impressive for humans. But for God, I am not even a kid, I am just a toddler. There are many secrets I am not privy to."

She spoke with frustration evident in her expression. There were many things she wanted to do and learn about. But the only way seemed to become a goddess and bow down to the rules.

"*Sigh* Whatever. After Class VI we enter the true big league. Class X"

"Why do we jump from 6 to 10?"

"Not X as a number but as a letter. Class X determines the destruction of a planet. X-2 for Solar systems destruction. X-3 for Galaxy. X-4 is for the destruction of the universe. X-5 is for Multiverse. Finally, we have Z for the omniverse and even there some people added a subsection. From Z-1 to Z-3 but I am honestly not interested."

Medusa chuckled and arranged her flowing hair, there was a small smile on her face as she looked at Adam.

"So you see. Compared to everything I named— Class II isn't so bad, right?"

Adam looked at the snake lady like she was crazy.

Then he realized that she was indeed crazy.

He sighed. It was tiring being the only sane person in the room.

CH 286: PROPHECY

"We only met for the third time now but each time you managed to understand just how little I actually understand about the world."

Adam mused. He was surprised that he was able to feel much calmer than he would have imagined. Beyond being surprised at learning that humanity might be sent back to the age of stone.

He could understand the reason. On one hand, this news was so outlandish that it barely landed.

All humans knew that they would die one day. But how many actually contemplated their death?

All humans knew that climate changes would sooner or later bring the end of the world for them but they did not care.

This was both the greatest flaw and the greatest strength of humanity. They did not care about the far future that they could not perceive and were only interested in the most immediate future for their survival.

On the other hand, after surviving two devil invasions, Adam had an inkling that shit was really about to hit the fan.

"Well, now that I learned that the world is about to end I am…"

"Not the world. Only humanity and the early supernatural races will suffer. This is only a class 2 after all. This is a reset that happens to actually stop humans from destroying the earth itself."

"A reset heh."

Adam smiled, "How funny."

"Very well. Do you know what this apocalypse will entail? Devils summoning?"

This was the most likely after all.

"I do not know. Currently, I am unable to use my full power and so my abilities as a seer are quite restricted."

"Any other seer as good as you?"

Medusa scoffed, "Only the Norns sisters or the Moira [1] and entities of the like can actually surpass the Gorgons when it comes to observing Destiny."

"Well. I doubt we have access to some deity right now."

"We don't. But we have one who, despite being a mortal, sacrificed her sight in order to see what should not be seen."

Medusa, for the first time, had eyes filled with respect. Even though she usually tried it, there was no denying that she had a certain disdain when it came to humans. It was not because she simply looked down on them but the reality was that aside from some exceptions, they were truly inferior.

But those exceptions were what made humanity so interesting in Medusa's mind and she respected all the outliers who were able to bring results beyond imagination.

One such outlier was—

"Her name is Anastasia. She is also known as the Blind Maiden. Truly a crazy old woman."

—-

[Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels– Los Angeles]

"We are in deep shit."

While Adam was having a discussion about the future of the world and humanity, in the church of Los Angeles, Elysia covered her face and released an exasperated sigh.

"Please, pay attention to your words Mother Anastasia."

On the other end of the screen, the old woman with her clear white eyes frowned,

"What do I have to mind? Do you not shit? I do not think you reached the level where you produce no more body waste."

"Mother…"

"Don't shush me child, shitting is natural. Shit is stinky and filled with filth and this is why I said — We are in deep shit. Very deep."

Elsyia wrinkled her brows and pushed away the chocolate milkshake she was about to drink. It suddenly looked far less appealing than a few moments ago.

"*Sigh* Now that you managed to disgust me, could you at least explain."

"Look at you, weak hearted girl. In my time, we had to step hands first in the filthiest places. Youngsters nowadays are so mentally weak."

She complained a few more before shaking my head, "I am truly becoming too old. To think I would say a speech similar to what the matrone said to me in the past."

"You are not that old."

"Ohoho. Do not worry. Ever since I lost my sight, my interest in the physical world waned greatly."

Elysia did not know what to say. It was no secret why Anastasia lost her eyesight. This was one of the reasons why she was so respected as a zodiac even though she did not have her full power.

She may have never stepped on a battlefield, but the number of calamities she helped avert through her visions could not be counted.

"Do we have no hope left?"

"Like I said we are in deep shit. Filthy, stinky shit. But at the same time, even the filthiest shit can be used to fertilize the ground and bring a new life."

"Mother, I know you cannot directly reveal the secret of Heaven. But why use this as an image?"

"I am old and I have few ways of distracting myself. Making others feel uncomfortable is honestly pretty interesting."

Elysia was left speechless at this gangster like way of thinking. But she knew that despite all her words, Anastasia was a woman with humanity in her heart and a great sense of justice.

She was only slightly eccentric.

"On this day, a new light ready to extinguish everything nearly descended. But thanks to the one with a thousand faces, lies were not able to encroach upon truth and were chased away."

Even as she spoke, she seemed noticeably more tired. For a human, divulging the secret of heaven always had a price and the only way to minimize it was to talk in such an indirect way.

"The world was given more time to thrive and humanity given a second chance. But this is nothing but a small reprieve. Soon, an even bigger calamity will happen and this time, the chances of stopping the incoming calamities."

"Is there a way?"

"I do not know. But what I can see is a King. Leading from the shadow and possessing the power to affect Life and Death as well as the Natural Force of the world. A man whose fate can never truly be read. A being created by the greatest sinner. He has thousands of faces and no fixed identity."

Anastasia became more haggart and her breath was labored. Elysia wanted to tell her to stop but she knew that this would be an insult to the resolve of Anastasia.

"Listen my dear child. On the annual sacred day, a new star will be born and three sages from three factions will find a new King. The King, accompanied by a legion of beings neither dead nor alive will either become a Black King that will cover the world in Chaos. A white King that will cover the world in Benevolence or a Grey King that will watch over the world with indifference."

Her eyes were bleeding now but she did not stop,

"I will be one of the sages and you my child…Need to make a decision."

(AN: Honestly, this arc should have been the first arc of Volume 7. I made a mistake in order and started this before Shuri arc. Thankfully it doesn't change much to my plans.)

[1]: The Norns sisters are Skuld, Uld and Verdandi.

The Moira are Clotho; Lachesis and Atropos.

Be it the Norns (Nordique myth) or the Moira (Greece) basically play the same roles as the spinner of the Thread of Fate. What is interesting is that many mythologies in the past all used the concepts of Three goddesses, generally sisters to represent Fate.

For example, the Celtic Matres and Matrones, female deities almost always depicted in groups of three. In Lithuanian and other Baltic mythologies, the goddess Laima is the personification of destiny, and her most important duty was to prophecy how the life of a newborn will take place. With her sisters KArta and DEkla. In Hurrian mythology the three goddesses of fate, the Hutena, were believed to dispense good and evil, life and death to humans.

CH 287: CRAZY BASTARD (1)

When thinking about the end of the world, one would come to realize that their own problems were surprisingly small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. One would inevitably start to think about what they should do to stop it, to save the world and their lives. At the same time, one may also feel fear about their future and think up plans to protect themselves from this catastrophic event.

Adam, however, felt no such compulsion stir inside him. The truth was that, even if a nuclear war happened at this very moment, then he would still most definitely survive through it.

Even if a new ice age covered the world and plunged the world into eternal winter, destroying civilizations and people alike, he would still survive through the world-ending phenomenon.

In fact, he was confident that, even if the planet Earth exploded in its entirety, he would still find a way to survive. Though he would need to learn how to face the vacuum of space and not constantly die through that experience. He believed that after tinkering with his domain— The World, he would be able to somehow manage without much trouble.

But… There was one problem that still haunted his mind… Others, his close ones, didn't have the same power as him.

He now realized that a class 2 Apocalypse event was indeed a good thing all things considered. Even if society and all of humanity as he knew it collapsed in its entirety, it wouldn't be a problem as long as he made sure to protect the few he cared about.

Medusa's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she keenly observed the apparent changes in Adam's body language. The sense of surprise and astonishment had already gone out the window and only a certain sense of indifference and nonchalance was left in their wake; that was what she was able to gather from the signs Adam showed her.

She realized that her little hero had a significant secret of his own, hidden from the rest of the world and probably everyone that was close to him. She was sure of that as few could stay indifferent at hearing such news, after all.

"Thanks for giving me a heads-up about the end of the world. I guess I should start making some preparations?"

"You are welcome to do as you wish."

She grinned and swiped the pictures away with a gesture. Somehow, she felt a little robbed at the moment. She would have loved to see him become a little more flustered after hearing the earth-shaking news. Sadly, it was not meant to be. That's just how the man in front of her was.

"So, you came to me for a reason. What might that be?"

Adam gazed into Medusa's eyes as he heard her question and decided to ask one of his own…

"Can I trust you?"

"No."

Medusa's answer was firm and immediate, without a hint of hesitation whatsoever, "I am investing in you for my own interest and my desire to witness the birth and growth of a true hero. In a way, you could say that I am trying to entertain myself through you. Nothing more, nothing less. From another perspective, you could also say that I am betting a lot on you."

She adjusted her glasses before speaking further, "The only link between us is of mutual benefits. Give and take; plain and simple. Trust is something that cannot be built so easily and in such a short time."

Adam loved her answer. He would have put his guard had she answered anything else. At the same time, he wondered if her words were not intentional put this way to please him.

After all, with her understanding of pyschology and humans, psyche, Medusa was easily a mastermind manipulator.

"You truly like teaching, huh?"

"I do." A small light gleamed in her eyes, as she reminisced about a far past, "Teaching was one of my passions when I was still a priestess and preached the faith of the gods… Then I was ruthlessly betrayed two times by the one person I believed and cherished the most in my life."

The pain she had felt in her heart at tat betrayal was beyond imagination.

She smiled thinly, but her eyes were cold and venomous. Adam could feel it quite clearly that she was drawing a clear line between the two of them right now.

"Adam Gospel. I know you have a secret. All heroes have at least one in their lives. Your birth is extraordinary. So, I wouldn't be surprised if you were to be the son of a god, a devil, or whatever else that is possible out there. I have seen it all. You can be certain that I am not interested in your secrets."

"Even if my identity might put me at odds with humanity?"

"Isn't that even more fun? Hahah…"

Desire swirled in her eyes as she gazed at him deeply, "A being born between an enemy to all of humanity and one of the greatest symbols of humanity. A duality. Will you become the hero of humans? Or the hero of monsters and evil? How will you grow? What choices will you make? What path will you take? So many questions. So many possibilities. An infinite number of tales interwoven to form your destined future."

The more she spoke the happier she seemed to be.

This was why she had settled on Adam even though her sisters had warned her against this decision. The duality in his existence was interesting and very attractive and his fate was so blurry that she was sure not even the almighty gods were able to decipher it clearly.

Every time she looked at him, she could see the endless possibilities and infinite potential he wielded within him, and any of his choices could become the axis of a new reality and new direction for the world.

His final Fate could not be witnessed, the destiny of a King covered him and his path in a veil much blurrier than what separated the Ordinary from the Supernatural.

If she was right in her speculation… she already knew who his father was and this was why—

"You must not tell me anything yet."

Too many ears were surrounding her in every possible moment and even if she paid attention to be as careful as possible, it was impossible for her to block all leaks.

"You should also not tell anything to your demigod friend. Even if you believe in her; even if she does not betray you voluntarily— your information will somehow leak to your enemies."

This was not a supposition but an absolution. She had done her research and she obviously knew who Yui was.

The people of the Imperial court were generally well-mannered. But when it came to taking revenge, those guys would become like infernal monsters that would not stop chasing their enemies until everything that constituted their foe was razed to the ground and scattered into ashes.

Since many of them were humans who had ascended, they faced far fewer restrictions from the world and even the Scales were lenient to its former denizens. In a manner similar to how Lilith could bring her avatars to Earth, they had many apostles in China and those apostles were just as crazy as them if not more.

"Adam, as long as our interests align, I will be willing to even die for you. That, I can swear on my existence and the endless River of Styx."

Adam had no time to answer as he felt a cold shiver go down his spine. It felt like an all-encompassing entity covered him and the sound of flowing water entered his ears and made him aware of its existence.

When this sensation finally vanished, Adam was breathless as he asked in a slightly quivering tone, "What happened… just now?"

"I have many debts to pay and the river latched on the occasion to bind me once again."

She lowered her shirt without a hint of shame and there, on her left breast encased in a green bra, he could see a mark of two scythes slowly appearing in real-time.

"Though… Two scythes already? It seems like the river was trying to work above and beyond."

She mumbled with confusion. Even though her oath had been pretty one-sided, it looked like the river, which was mostly a being without a clear consciousness, was working hard to restrict her more than usual.

Now, even the thought of betraying Adam as long as their interests aligned would bring pain throughout her body, even if slight.

She looked up at Adam and she could feel her heart beat even more powerfully,

"How fun!"

No matter what was the outcome of this adventure— this will without a doubt be the most interesting one in her nearly three thousand years of existence.

"So Adam…. Now that my life is tied to an oath, tell me… What do you want me to do?"

Adam closed his eyes, many thoughts swirling in his mind. The events had proceeded in so many unexpected ways that it was hard to make sense of it for the current him but the result was far more advantageous than he initially expected it to be.

"You told me that Gorgon's blood had two properties."

"Yes…"

She narrowed her eyes, "Do you want to save someone else? Or do you want to use my poison to kill?"

"Not exactly."

Adam grinned,

"Use your most powerful poison on me."

Medusa immediately paused in her tracks, suddenly wondering if her future hero was in reality a suicidal lunatic.

CH 288: CRAZY BASTARD (2)

"Are you completely sure about this?"

The blood of the Gorgons had two properties and it depended on which side of the body the blood came from.

The blood from the right side of one's body contained the power of Life and could heal absolutely any injuries and could even bring the dead back to life as long as the soul had yet to leave the body.

The blood on the left side, on the other hand, contained the power of Death and could bring about a slow and excruciatingly painful death to absolutely anyone and everyone. Even the gods feared the poison of these dangerous beings as it could attack the souls of an entity at a conceptual level. Only hundreds of years of suffering or even temporary death could help them get rid of it and even then it may find some way to latch to some part of the soul and spread again.

Of course, similar to how her blood containing the power and concept of Life had lost most of its capabilities and effects in her current teen form, the side of her body that contained the blood, wielding her power of Death, had also lost most of its catastrophic capabilities. But it was still very dangerous and fatal for the vast majority of mortals and could almost definitely kill mortals of any level given enough time.

"Never been surer of something in my life in fact."

Presently, both Adam and Medusa had gone out of their office and opted to go down to in one of her hidden laboratories.

The transition from their conversation to now had been quite fast and Adam found himself in a patient gown while being bound to an operation chair.

No matter where his gaze wandered, green and red lights of different intensities were beeping intermittently, and he could see that Medusa was now looking down at him with an ominous-looking syringe in her hand with a rather long needle.

On Adam's left arm, an infusion was installed and a sac filled with reddish liquid was seemingly waiting to be administered into his blood streams.

Sighing, Medusa wondered if she was about to bring an end to her future Hero by her very own hands right now.

It would be quite ironic, to say the least. But she also felt a sense of anticipation and curiosity for what Adam would show him this time.

"Adam, I am still feeling hesitant about going through with this procedure. Building poison resistance is certainly possible but it takes years of taking in very very small doses of progressively lethal poison to gain resistance of any degree. What you are doing is just suicide."

"—Yet, here I am on your table."

"Very well. I have already said my piece. Don't say that I didn't warn you already."

She took some cotton and alcohol before cleaning a part of his arm and finally injecting the poison into his bloodstream.

This was obviously not the full concentration of her poison, but something that had been diluted to a certain extent. It was still very much deadly, but at the very least he would not die instantly and the antidote that would slowly be infused in him would keep him alive.

"You will feel pain. A great deal of pain. Your heart might even go in shock and cause you to die. Even so, you still wanna do it?"

"Yes."

"...Just why?"

Adam simply smiled, "I want to be prepared for all eventualities."

"Okay."

She asked no more questions after the last exchange. She was intent on respecting Adam's will and chose to observe from the sidelines.

"I will observe your situation in real-time."

Once she made sure that everything was ready, she pushed the syringe into his arms and then slowly injected the poison into his body.

"Ugh~"

The greenish red liquid was injected into his veins and immediately flowed into his body. Black veins formed and wiggled on his skin as they showed the trace of the path they were taking to travel through his body.

A groan leaked out from Adam at first as he felt like a ball of fire had been siphoning through his arms and slowly going on a straight trajectory until it reached his heart.

Then this sensation was filled and replaced by a coldness that seeped and permeated through his whole body almost instantly.

The very moment the liquid reached his heart, the black veins vanished for a short instant before immediately manifesting throughout his whole body in real-time.

Like a flash of lightning, immense shock and pain struck down Adam's whole being and his mind nearly blacked out nearly instantly.

But this was just the start of his pain and suffering.

The pain of the body was something that could be mitigated with enough training and control of the senses. Adam had died enough times that he could somewhat diminish the pain he felt by focusing on other things.

But Medusa's poison did not stop merely at affecting the body.

Soon, the pain bypassed all his mental defenses and attacked his very soul.

This time, Adam was unable to stop himself from reacting violently. His body arched in a frenzied fashion as a pain of the likes he had never felt before filled his body and soul in their entirety.

For the first time in a while, since his first few deaths— Adam screamed at the top of his lungs.

Facing the console that was showing Adam's current situation, Medusa did her best to ignore the scream of pain that was leaking out of her Hero like the cry of a beast that was about to be slaughtered.

She knew very well how painful this poison could be as she had tested it on a few enemies of hers in the past. Since it also attacked the soul, there was absolutely no way to stop this feeling; as it was more or less equivalent to feeling your very existence being torn apart.

Many times, she wished to push the button and end this madness. She wished to teach Adam many things, but this was not part of the curriculum she had in mind for him.

"I think it's time to…"

"Don't stop!"

A vehement and mad shout of denial filled her ears just as she was about to bring an end to this experiment. She looked up at Adam, only to take a few steps back in fright as his eyes glared at her with the malevolence of a malefic Raksha.

It looked like he was ready to tear her apart if she stopped the test now.

"Argh!"

Speaking once had been all Adam could do before even more pain filled his mind, soul, and every conscious entity that constituted his being. He tried to stop himself from screaming, but there was simply no way for him to do that.

His mind was in pain. His body was in pain and even his soul was not spared this supplice worthy of the greatest form of torture in the world.

Part of his body began to darken considerably as if they were rotting and decaying away into ashes and were ready to break down and fall at any moment.

His eyes were completely bloodshot and from his nose and lips, black blood like tar began to bubble out incessantly.

In a part of his heart, Adam was regretting this decision of his ever so slightly. He still didn't even know if his power needed Death to activate or not. Perhaps he was simply making himself suffer for absolutely no reason.

But even then…Adam did not stop this experiment.

CH 289: CRAZY BASTARD (3)

"This is enough now. You reached your limit."

This time, Medusa did not listen to Adam as she activated the injection of the antidote.

Soon, the blackish veins seemed to vanish slowly as the antidote was administered. The pain that had threatened to take over his mind calmed down and he was able to think a little more clearly.

"Haha…"

A bleak laugh escaped from his lips and his head was pounding so much that he could hardly think.

"At least…This is good torture…Training."

"If you are able to make such a stupid joke now, I think you are good."

Medusa studied the information on her computer. Adam had nearly reached the point of no return. Had she not intervened he would have died here.

A few seconds passed like this as Adam slowly gathered back his breath before focusing on the light of the ceiling.

"I am good now."

"Thankfully, you have seen the light. If you really want to train your resistance, I can —"

"No. You are misunderstanding."

Adam looked at her, "I rested enough. Begin again and this time… Increase the dose."

"You….Are you out of your mind?"

What kind of madman asked this? Even a masochist would not wish to be placed in such a situation and go through such pain again.

"You did say you would do whatever to help me as long as it doesn't go against your interest, right? So do as I asked."

Adam had the urge to laugh even in such a situation. Seeing the flustered Medusa reminded him of how his mom had reacted when he asked her to reduce him to ash.

Medusa gritted her teeth before preparing a new blend.

"If you want to go mad, then let's become crazy together."

She decided to greatly increase the proportion of poison. Even if his heart stopped for a short time, she had the confidence of bringing him back to life quite fast.

Perhaps dying once was what he needed to stop this madness.

Once the new blend was crazy, she approached Adam and looked at him. His body was covered in dried black blood. His eyes were still bloodshot and his chest was moving up and down too fast.

All those were clear symptoms that he was about to reach his limit. But yet he still wanted more.

"Just to be clear. Are you some kind of hardcore masochist?"

Adam chuckled with difficulty as he stretched his arm with difficulty for her to inject the poison.

"Honestly, at this point I would be happy if I was."

Medusa nodded, "This is going to hurt."

"I know."

"You might die."

"I don't mind."

"...Adam Gospel. You are certainly one of the craziest bastards I had the chance to meet."

"Heh, I will take this as a compliment."

His smile cramped when the poison was injected and Medusa immediately left the room to go back to her machine and observe his situation.

This time, the poison moved much more slowly. As it was firstly eliminating the antidote that had been previously injected.

But for Adam, this was not all good news. After all, the pain was extremely amplified as the poison and the antidote fought in his body.

His temperature rose greatly and soon his entire body had a rose hue as if his own blood was boiling.

Groan leaked out of his lips as Adam began to move his body more by instinct than anything else. Trying to escape the progressively growing pain.

It felt like thousands of ants were climbing on his skins and nibbling at him, tearing him slowly apart.

His flesh began to crack and black blood oozed out from the wounds.

Finally, the antidote was beaten and like a beast pouncing at his prey, the pain flooded him.

Pain, pain and even more pain.

The pain of Ravenous beasts feasting on his body. The pain of his bones breaking in thousands of small pieces. The pain of his internal organs rupturing.

It felt like Adam finally understood the true meaning of pain as hundreds of different sensations flooded his brain and cut off his thoughts.

The laboratory began to tremble as Adam lost control of his body. His scream that seemed to come from the deepest part of his soul blasted at the shield like they were ready to break it.

Equipment began to fly as his telekinesis took over and even some parts started to burn or freeze.

Medusa witnessed all those phenomena with bated breath. She knew that Adam was strong. But for the first time, she realized that she had underestimated just how wide his skills were.

"Shit."

She stepped back in hurry when electricity zapped and her console short circuited.

"No!"

She watched with terror as she was now in no way able to verify what Adam 's current state was and was even more unable to administer the antidote in time.

"Adam! Can you hear me!?"

She approached the door while screaming, ready to blast it open but was pushed back ruthlessly.

"Fuck."

She cursed at the weakness of her current body. Her eyes gleamed with a terrible light and her glasses cracked.

Even though she was not at her peak, she was still a zodiac and there was no way she would let a simple door block her way.

"Adam!"

Still no answer. So she simply looked at the door and everything froze. The door transformed immediately into stone and she destroyed it with a kick before running at him.

She did not even try to understand what was happening as she tore the small bag of blood and opened his mouth to dump it in him.

'Come on! Come on! Come on!'

She had been too complacent and she risked losing one of her last hopes.

She became even more worried when the storm of prana ceased, as it could mean nothing good.

Thankfully, when she placed her ear to listen to his heartbeat, she realized that he had a pulse.

*Cough* *Cough*

His body convulsed as he leaned forward and vomited black blood.

"Adam! Are you alright!?"

She knew it was a stupid question as soon as she asked. But what she did not know was that Adam was filled with jubilation, mixed with frustration.

After all, a new line appeared in his book.

New trait:

[Poison Resistance—(F)]

CH 290: A DEBT AS HEAVY AS A MOUNTAIN

[Los Angeles— 2nd December 2030; 6:00 pm]

On a medical bed, a young man was resting peacefully, next to him, a green-haired woman was looking at him with a strange expression.

Medusa had lived for nearly three thousand years. Even though her time on Earth was small when compared to certain entities, this period of time was enough for her to witness the lives and experiences of many heroes and how extraordinary they all were.

From Heracles with his strength that could rival the gods, to Achilles and Siegfried with their nearly indestructible bodies, or Arthur with the sword of destiny and the heart of a Dragon.

All heroes had something special. A power that allowed them to stand head and shoulders above everyone.

A cheat code in a way.

'He truly started to build a resistance to my poison.'

Medusa was bemused. Resistance to poison was not rare. For assassins, ninjas and the like, it was a necessary skill.

From the time they were captured as kids to near the end of their training, they would continuously intake small doses of poison non-stop in order to build the smallest resistance.

It wasn't as if no organization had tried to do what Adam did but the result was always the same.

Failure.

Humans had the innate power to slowly evolve and adapt to their surroundings and environment. For how black people created melanin to fight off the sun while white ones lightened the amount of melanin in order to absorb more Vitamin D.

Some animals developed to run faster or others to have a stronger build. But all of this had the same reality.

Adaptation took years.

Evolution took ten of thousands of years or even more.

What Adam did was no different from breaking all those rules as if they were completely nonexistent.

After the explosion of power, Adam did not relent and continued to ask to be injected with more poison.

The only reason they stopped was —- She had no more poison or antidote from her blood.

What he had been injected with would have been enough to massacre an entire city or kill an army of the supernatural.

But in Adam's case. He managed to do the impossible and built a small resistance to her poison.

Not only that, she could feel that resistance growing and strengthening by a small amount every time.

He even reached the level where his body could counterattack. Taking a small sample of his blood had been enough for her to realize many things.

One— Adam's blood had absolutely no trace of any foreign race.

No matter how much she analyzed, his DNA and genetic makeup were perfectly that of a human.

No…It was far superior. It was as if all the defects that should have been found in a human could not be found in him. As if he was a perfect being made with nearly no imperfection.

The second thing was that — He had developed an immune system that could fight against her poison.

—And it was perfectly natural. There was no trace of magic or the power of law.

This means that, unlike her own blood, if Adam's blood was studied, it could be possible to create a vaccine and serum that would be beneficial for all humanity, even those who had no Prana.

Just thinking about this made her chest heavy and her blood race. Her mind was numb and she couldn't help but think about all the implications.

This power of Adaptation.

What if…

What if it was not limited to only poison?

What if he could build resistance to

'Just What race is he?'

Adam was something she had never seen.

A first.

—And this made her even more sure about who he was.

"Sir…"

She muttered a name while touching her neck carefully. Her eyes softened noticeably for a while as she caressed Adam's hair.

"How long are you going to act as if you were asleep?"

The face of Adam shimmered a little and his sleeping face was replaced by his eyes wide awake as he watched her.

"What betrayed me?"

"A woman needs to have some secrets, don't you think so?"

She smiled and Adam asked,

"Sir?"

"Why don't we talk about what happened? You were acting quite crazily."

Adam understood that she was asking to change the topic. But he was beginning to put two and two together.

Like this, the young black-haired man and the equally young-looking green-haired woman gazed into each other's eyes.

Adam did remember Medusa's small lesson and what he saw confirmed his thoughts. But it seemed that, for some reason, she did not wish for him to speak about it out loud.

Sighing Adam turned to look at the ceiling,

"I missed the timing to say an unfamiliar ceiling."

"Pardon?"

"Don't mind me. Just a small joke."

"I am starting to wonder if the poison had some effects on your mental capacity."

"Haha. Don't worry. I think I am still mentally sound."

"Someone sane would not do what you did. Was it even worth it?"

Adam grinned as he looked at his Book.

[Poison Resistance — (D+)]

"It was more than worth it."

Medusa could see many things swirling in Adam's gaze as he looked at something that she could not see.

She adjusted her glasses as she thought.

"Take this."

She showed him two bottles before placing them on the table.

"My Gorgon poison is finished and taking blood weakens me too much so you will have to wait quite some time before you can do that crazy stunt. Still, I have some small poison here. As well as the antidote."

She pointed at the Black and white bottles respectively.

"Be careful and only put a few drops in a drink or food. This won't be deadly. Then, five minutes later. Drink the antidote. Do this every three or four days and this should help you slowly build."

She grimaced a little, "I like slow and steady means. So promise me you won't do something that will endanger your life."

Giving a look at the poison, Adam nodded and smiled at her.

Now that he knew that his Adaptation didn't need death to activate, he needed to know if dying accelerated the growth of the Adaptation.

This was why.

"I promise to not drink enough poison to put myself down permanently."

—-He would just drink enough to put himself down temporarily.

"I know you are giving half-truth."

She shook her head.

"By the way. Before I forgot. Take this."

Adam took a small file and tilted his head.

"Why are you giving me a phone number?"

"Heh…This is not a phone number."

A bad feeling began to rise up from the deepest part of his soul as he felt like he should not let Medusa finish whatever she was about to say next.

" —This is how much you owe me for both the poison and all the equipment you destroyed in my two labs."

"*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*"

Adam's heart stopped beating for a moment and his eyes scanned once again the paper file even though he did not need to thanks to his perfect memory.

"I…"

"I can take an installment with no interest."

"Thank you."

It seemed like the power of money was still not something he could go against currently.

CH 291: INVISIBLE PRESSURE

As Adam walked by his lonesome in the streets of Los Angeles, while smoking one small smoke of the mind nourishing cigarette that was adding to his already heavy debt, he couldn't help but think about the profundity of life and the importance of money in said life.

He was not covered in an illusion this time as he wished to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city this time around.

The only thing he made sure of was to slightly alter his appearance so that any photos that may be taken of him would not show his true appearance to the crowd, leaving no physical appearance behind of his presence in the process.

Sure enough, sounds of camera clicks started resounding soon after and some went as far as to take videos of him after taking some simple photos.

But Adam did not pay heed to the outside world.

In his mind, he was constantly replaying the last conversation he had with Medusa as he left the hospital ward of her residence.

His debt aside, he had asked her to do very important and very unorthodox. Moreover, it was even more ludicrous than the act of asking her to inject her poison into his body so that he could develop resistance against poisons.

Even so, she had not been shocked and only showed an intrigued expression on her face at his request. In the end, she revealed that she needed to pull some strings to have access to what he wanted.

So he could only wait until she got what he needed from her.

'Genesis, what do you think of the current situation?'

[We still need to judge whether the Adaptation speed increases when you die or not. But from what we have on our hands, we can summarize that the increase in resistance will be extremely slow and excruciatingly painful for you.]

Adam had no words to reply to those words. Even after using one of the strongest poisons in the world, his resistance had only increased to the D+ rank and that had also been achieved after a great deal of struggle.

Even though he hadn't still experienced the full brunt of Medusa's poison, he had the faint feeling that even going through the same painful and tedious process for an entire week wouldn't have been enough for him to achieve what he truly desired.

"The road to total immunity will be long and painful. But it will be extremely useful for me in the future."

Adam sighed under his breath. He was sure that it might take years at this point for him to realize his goals. However, the immediate profits he had obtained were already not bad.

His D+ ranked Poison resistance already made it so that he would fear no natural poison in this world and even poison of magical origin would have a hard time killing him instantly.

For him, that was more than enough for his current goals.

'I need different types of resistances though.'

Having to die every time was a pain and sooner or later it would reveal his secret to the world.

In fact, the devils should already know that he was Cain's son and soon this news would be known throughout the supernatural community if he continued to get killed during his confrontation with other supernatural entities.

Thankfully, he already had a clear idea about who he needed to ask for help in this regard.

For fire immunity, he obviously needed his mother's help. But when it came to it, he wondered if jumping into a volcano wouldn't be simpler for him to do. After all, this would make him avoid all the useless moral drama and burden that would come with this task.

No matter how much she tried to hide it, killing him once had evidently shocked Cecilia quite a bit.

For ice, he would ask help from Natasha or Theresa. Since Theresa was a Director, she had an even greater mastery over that element than Natasha.

But he didn't know how their masteries of ice might change in the future. So having the two options was great for him.

Obviously, if it didn't work, he could just go to the South or North poles and let the ice and snow kill him repeatedly until he was able to get what he desired.

For lightning and electricity, he would ask Makoto for help in the guise of training.

He also needed more experience in fighting people of the supernatural world and mainly people at the level of Executor and above.

In fact, he was even wondering if he shouldn't ask her to come with him just in case for the mission in France.

'Seems like I already have many ways to train this skill.'

Adam scratched his head, wondering why his future training seemed more akin to a torture session than anything else.

But there was something else that was bothering him internally.

About the Apocalypse that was soon encroaching upon them. Would it truly be only class II as Medusa had mentioned? What if it was even higher than that? What about the annihilation of all life or the destruction of the earth itself?

Should he fly in space now and experience the radiation of the sun with no protection and the cold of dark and lonely space to gain resistance to them?

Perhaps this would even help him get a better understanding of how his main skill— [The World] really worked and help him tune it out.

'Genesis. Don't you find it interesting? It seems like all my skill sets need me to go through unimaginable and prolonged amounts of pain.'

[...]

Adam laughed loudly, and the few people gazing at him took a few steps back in apprehension, wondering if he was crazy or not.

Adam though, had no care for them nor for what they thought of him. He only looked up at the sky, gazing at the stars, wondering if he should give his plans a try or not.

In theory, it shouldn't be impossible for him to accomplish all his plans. The only problem was that he couldn't quite control oxygen yet.

But what if he let himself repeatedly die in space? To what would he develop a resistance to in that scenario?

[Adam…]

'What?'

[Your psyche has been repeatedly unstable for some time already. Your tendency for self-harm has been growing exponentially throughout my time with you. It is definitely not good for you to have these exceedingly dangerous thoughts.]

'Oh. You are worried. Haha Don't be. It isn't like I want to do this, you know?'

The madness that had been growing in Adam's eyes as he considered flying into space right this instant calmed down considerably once he heard the voice of reasoning that Genesis provided him with… He couldn't help but leak out a tired sigh…

'Cain should also have this power and trait, right? Adaptation and Eternal Damnation…'

[While I do not have accurate data. I believe the curse on him should be exceedingly higher than yours. It's hard to determine how this would affect the different traits and abilities both of you receive but we can still deduce that he should have a similar or higher version of those skills.]

Adam adjusted his hat, " —And he lived for billions of years while honing them."

Adam had always wondered why Cain was so much feared despite the curse that was shackling his powers and existence. After all, even though he could revive this wouldn't really be enough to inspire fear in his enemies.

But now he could understand a bit about the reason behind his notoriety.

On one hand, he had the strongest spear — [Death]

On another hand, he had the strongest shields — [Immortality] || [Adaptation] || [Eternal Damnation] and most likely many more similar or higher-leveled skills.

Just how strong was Cain who without a doubt understood [Death] to a much higher degree than him?

Just how much had Cain evolved after billions of years with his [Adaptation]?

Just thinking about it made Adam shiver in both fear and anticipation.

Fear because Cain might become his enemy in the future and anticipation because he might become the same as him once he walked to the end of this path.

"I need more time."

This was his greatest weakness and handicap when compared to his other siblings.

He was too young. He had only awakened 32 days ago. While his other siblings were at least thousands of years old.

He sighed and walked away, hidden in the shadows of the Veil and The World.

CH 292: DARK THOUGHTS

When Adam finally reached his destination, he could see that the place was already bustling with life. Needless to say, his destination was Yui's bar and he could see that there were even more people than usual today.

Clearly, the reputation of her bar was steadily growing to greater and greater heights and the last events had brought a great boost to the bar's numbers overall.

If before Yui was only seen as a small-time gang leader that rose principally thanks to the power of her family, now they had absolutely no reason whatsoever to underestimate her any longer, and doing so would be just utterly dumb and careless of them.

All of them were people who had grown and reached the level they had by burying hundreds of corpses under their steps and they knew how to act when the flow of the winds changed directions and favored a new player of the game.

| Scrutinizing the information of all those present, he realized that he could see the names of not only different gangs but even different companies.

'How quaint…'

Chuckling at the beauty of humans' capacity to understand the flow of the world, Adam adjusted his hat as he walked past everyone and went toward the core of the bar.

No one could observe him and he could observe the world. As if he was just a small shark swimming in the vast and endless sea… he flitted through the crowd to reach his destination.

"How bustling."

Adam spoke gently as he took a seat in front of the bartender, a woman with reddish short hair, wearing a pair of burgundy gloves and observing everyone present while shaking the blend in her hands.

"Is it poisonous?"

The woman— Nikola, released an exasperated sigh and looked around to see if anyone was hearing them speak.

"Don't worry. They can't see me or the real you. For them, a completely different scene is happening right now."

Nikola swallowed the words that were about to spit out of her mouth,

"Your means are becoming more and more strange by the day and are worrisome, you know that?"

"I will take that as a compliment."

Adam smiled and took the drink that was served to him by the beautiful bartender. It was a wonderful cocktail with a strange mixture of red, yellow, and green colors blended into a perfect combo that made it an aesthetic sight.

Adam was tempted to put some poison inside it and gulp it all down in one go but he didn't want to ruin the taste so early on.

"Delicious."

"This is my specialty, after all."

Nikola gave him a charismatic smile that was unlike her but Adam more or less understood the meaning behind it.

"This reminds me of the time you made alcohol for me for the first time."

He have a soft smile full of melancholy that caused Nikola to give him a weird glance.

"This was only one month ago."

"Only one month, huh… I guess it indeed has been only one month."

He looked down at his drink before gulping everything down in one go.

Nikola understood that people who drank like they wanted to drown in the drink were usually the type of people with a story they needed to share and confide in others.

"Seems like your heart is quite heavy there."

"Nah. I am just feeling down right now, you know. Nothing new."

Nikola hesitated before continuing to do her work. Truth be told, her relationship with Adam was not the best out there and she knew that she was at fault for that.

Her hostility had been too blatant and unfair. But even if she was given a second chance, she would change nothing about how they interacted.

Because it was her duty. And she would do anything and everything to see it through.

Still— Now that Adam had proven to be someone whom they could believe and trust with their eyes closed, she wished to become a little closer to him than usual.

The Hounds had something similar to a familial bond between them and even Blade, who was the most silent out of them all, was close to everyone in the group.

Sighing, she made a new blend with a different set of exotic ingredients and passed it on to Adam.

"I call this one, Melancholy. Try it."

This time, the cocktail was entirely Blue. It looked otherworldly at first glance and Adam decided to drink it slowly to savor its taste.

Was it perhaps the drink? Or was it because Adam did not consider Nikola as someone close to him?

Adam spoke his thoughts out in a monotone voice.

He had been blaming himself all this time. He believed that he had not calculated everything correctly, which was why such an accident transpired in the end.

Choosing between saving or giving up on Hae-Won would have been one thing. But he had been robbed of the choices because he did not take the time to pay attention to all the details.

He felt that it was because he was not capable enough that such a tragedy occurred. His lack of experience and foresight had been his undoing.

He thought that his combat strength was not enough, so when this situation happened, he could not change it.

Nikola calmly listened as Adam drank on and kept on speaking in the same tone without a hint of emotions.

"I realized then and once again that I needed to change."

He needed to become perfect.

Adam knew that he was book-smart. Studying was his bread and butter. But when it came to the more complicated situations, he would hit his limit very fast.

He wasn't some super mastermind who could plan absolutely everything from start to finish like it was nothing and control the flow of events at the palm of his hands like some anime character who said 'Keikaku' every time something occurred.

Despite all of his varying powers, he was far from being omnipotent and even less from being omniscient.

"I need to become stronger, faster, smarter. I need to cover all my shortcomings and grow to become a King."

This was the promise he had made to himself and the woman who had given her heart to him. This was his determination in this life, one he vowed to see through.

He drank some more and drowned in the taste of the alcohol.

The truth was, deep down, Adam was scared.

The simple thought of imagining Shuri or Cecilia in Hae-Won's place made him feel like he was about to lose his mind and go crazy.

Inwardly, he couldn't help but wonder if he should simply just capture Shuri, coming clean about everything about him, and make sure she could not leave his side.

She might be angry at first at the loss of her freedom. But when she calmed down, she would realize that what he did was without a doubt the best way to ensure her protection.

A bird in a cage might not be able to fly freely in the sky, but it would not have to fear being eaten by other predators.

Only by being on his side could he ensure —

"Prince."

Adam woke up from his thoughts that were going in a strange and dangerous direction and smiled feebly toward Nikola.

"Sorry. Got a bit distracted."

He had been so focused on the possibility of kidnapping and incarcerating Shuri that all of his minds had been focused on the matter.

"Your expression was very scary there, you know?"

"Hah?"

Adam tilted his head absentmindedly and touched his face.

"What expression?"

Nikola took a hard look at him before focusing on the glasses she was cleaning and lining up on the counter.

"You should take care of your mental health. The boss would be sad if anything happens to you."

"I am perfectly sane, don't worry. I am just becoming more aware of my own limitations and how to break them."

Adam was clear about that statement. His guilt for Hae-Won was powered by his fear of death.

More precisely, the death of his loved ones.

—And not just that.

Even now, what told him that Shuri was alright even at this very moment?

What if she was captured and suffering pain that could not be explained in words by his enemies.

His breath hastened slightly as his mind conjured hundreds of possible scenarios that were enough to make him have nightmares for days on end.

His mental strength had been affected by the alcohol and all the poison he inhaled previously was causing his imagination to move about wildly and dangerously.

But there was one simple reality he could not ever try to win against.

He could not be everywhere at the same time.

"Hey, Nikola. What happened to the Hunters I had captured from Big Eric again?"

Nikola tilted her head before she was able to understand who Adam was talking about.

The one who had actually taken care of them was Blade and Hacker.

"They should be finished soon. We discovered that there were in fact very few of them who had any deep sense of loyalty to the group. So as long as you bring money, they should behave as you wish."

"Money, huh."

He thought back to his fight with them and how they kneeled all in front of him while swearing obedience, "Trust me, they won't refuse to help. Even if it's for free."

Nikola nodded, remembering that scene all too well and she could only agree.

"Well. This was fun, but I have guests to entertain."

Placing money on the table, Adam stood up and his costume changed, while a mask formed on his face.

From that moment on, he was not Adam Gospel, but Cinder the Midnight Prince.

Walking ahead, he took the stage and began to sing.

It was time for him to build up some Karma.

CH 293: I WANT SOMEONE TO VANISH

When Shuri walked into the bar with her bag in hand and a beautiful black gown donned above her glamorous body, she was startled when she heard what could only be called an angel-like voice.

Looking up at the stage, she could see none other than Cinder, singing in a low voice with nothing to accompany him aside from a violin that could hardly keep up with the sheer beauty of his voice.

It was a sad tune and the lyrics of his sounds tugged at her heartstring as she fell in reminiscence about her life and the things she had to do to reach her current level and how much of her integrity she had to sacrifice to attain her goals.

She went from a young starry-eyed lawyer who believed in miracles and justice to a jaded old woman who recognized how ugly the world truly was and saw it in its truest colors.

Some people called this process— growing up. Others called the process— inching closer to spiritual death.

Recognizing that dreams were dreams because they could not happen in reality was the first step of growth or so they said. Giving up on unrealistic desires and focusing on what you could hold onto with your capabilities was the true realization of one's reality.

This was one of the reasons she loved Cecilia so much. Because despite clearly knowing the darkness of the world, her gaze was still filled with light and her heart was that of an innocent childs, who believed in the infinite possibilities that this rotten world held.

She envied her as well in a way.

Sighing, Shuri shook her head and continued to walk into the bar.

She had something important to discuss with Yui tonight and… while it was sad that she would not be able to listen to this song for a little more time, she had already made her choice to focus on work for today.

When she walked along the usual stairs, her mind was preoccupied with the fact that Adam was not answering her calls.

She had started to build the necessary resolve to break all the teaching she had received from her elders and make a choice about her stagnant situation with the boy she held infatuation for. The blessing that Cecilia bestowed her with had tremendously helped her in lowering the amount of guilt and hesitation she felt within in going through with this immoral relationship.

'Then again. If my speculation is right, I think I know where he is.'

She smiled and finally reached the door and knocked on it a few times.

"You can come in."

Shuri opened the door, only to show a surprised expression.

Right now, Yui was not clad in her usual attire but rather in a body-fitting suit and yoga pants while being immersed in a stretching position.

Her legs were opened wide at a 180-degree angle and her torso was touching the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think I am doing?"

Yui chuckled as she spoke while stretching her arms as far as humanly possible.

"Do you wanna give it a try."

Shuri hurriedly shook her head. Just watching her working like that was enough to make her grimace in horror. She could only imagine how many bones she would break if she were to try this out.

"Don't be scared. Women's bodies are naturally very flexible thanks to our pelvis and since you can't run every day, doing some yoga would do you good."

While speaking with Shuri, she changed positions, moving in a way so that her forehead was touching her knees.

"Though of course, you shouldn't try doing what I am doing from the start or alone for that matter."

What she was doing was not just any form of yoga. It was also a form of breathing exercise in a way that she used and had been training in since she was young.

Kundalini Yoga.

In her body, a violent flow of energy was coursing through her veins with every beat of her heart and every breath she took.

On her back, the dragon tattoo seemed to squirm as if it would come alive at any moment. The claw of the dragon aligned perfectly with her heart and her Great Chakra Vein, greedily absorbing in the energy of the world before converting it into physical power and Prana.

She had slowed down her training lately because of her gang. But after two Devil Prince summonings in a row, one didn't need to be a seer to know that something big was brewing in the background.

She did not like feeling powerless and she needed to make sure that she could protect herself and Adam when the time of reckoning was upon them.

Thankfully, unlike so many other supernatural creatures who only relied on time or faith to naturally grow stronger, the immortals of the Jade Emperor court all specialized in breathing exercises and immortal techniques to ascend to the Heavens.

Kundalini Yoga was an art that focused on using the energy hidden in the chakra pathways and as long as a human had enough talent, it wouldn't be impossible for them to awaken on their own while practicing it and opening the Heart Chakra.

Her version of this was different since she already had her own Chakra pathway that was different from your average human and she had no hope of ever opening the Heart Chakra in her life.

Finally moving her legs, she placed them together and began to breathe in the lotus position.

If anyone could see her back, they would realize that the coiling dragon was placed in such a way that each coiling of its body was placed around where one of the main chakra pathways should have been.

Her face was covered in sweat and her breath was a little shallow as she focused on the breathing technique. Her bones were making rather unnatural sounds as if they were breaking and then mending themselves.

"Should I come later?"

Yui shook her head, "Take a sit and tell me what you want. Sorry for the sweaty appearance though."

"I don't mind."

Shuri did not care about such superficiality. Sighing, she opened her purse and took out a tablet from within.

"The first thing that I would like to discuss is about the company we stole from the now-extinct Blue Sharks gang. They are now slowly stabilizing and the shareholders wish to prepare for a meeting between the major shareholders. Do you need a representative?"

"No. I have waited quite a long time for this. Now I can proudly walk in the open with no care for others."

"Very well. For the second thing, as we had expected from the start, some foreign investors are trying to join into the process and take a piece of the fresh cake that we made for ourselves."

"Let them. This is a tacit agreement between us members of the underworld. As long as they don't try to eat too much, they can get their small crumbs of cake."

Shuri nodded. She knew that one should never try eating a big cake alone in the business world. Otherwise, the result would not be pretty for anyone.

"Finally… I want to know… How good are you at making someone vanish?"

Yui stopped her breathing exercise and directed a rose eyebrow-filled gaze toward Shuri before giving her a lopsided smirk.

"Seems like you know who attacked you."

"I do."

CH 294: I KNOW (1)

Yui had stopped her Kundalini Yoga [1]. Even for her, it was a rather dangerous practice, and now that she was completely focused on Shuri, she had a hard time avoiding mistakes.

This yoga was practiced by humans as well, as cultivators spread the initial and simplified version in the hope of finding more seedlings. But sadly, the results had been subpar.

Each generation of humans was worse than the last in terms of potential, and because of the pollution and destruction of nature, the Prana and the power of mystery were thinning.

They were already in a period of great drought where most celestials, such as fairies and Yokai, avoided staying too long on Earth as the air was more akin to poison for them.

Sighing as she felt heat spread through her body and her muscles twitch, Yui asked, "So, who is it?"

"My half-sister."

Shuri had a calm expression on her face even as she calmly said that her sister had hired people to eliminate her.

Yui winced a little. She was not unfamiliar with this kind of thing, especially in a rich and powerful family.

She had done her research and knew that while the Nakiri family was not super noble, they were still quite a conglomerate in the past, and as a result, they had their share of disputes.

"Don't worry. Honestly, I am not particularly surprised. Even though I am the legitimate daughter, I was never the favorite."

Shuri shrugged. Was it because of her personality? Ever since she was young, she had always worked to prove herself.

She was the eldest daughter of the family, and it was her duty to set an example.

At least, this was what she thought it was.

For this, she worked harder than anyone else, sacrificed her youth, and did her best to always be at the top of her class.

"But it was never enough."

While she worked hard and was reprimanded for the slightest mistake, her sister, born only two months after her, was the jewel of the family.

"Two months?"

Yui asked with confusion before realization struck her.

"Don't tell me."

Shuri simply sneered, "My father had a child outside while my mother was pregnant."

She couldn't help but laugh bitterly inwardly since her situation was quite similar to what her mother went through.

"She was the jewel of the family. Where I was tough, she was gentle. Where I was too headstrong, she was the kind lady all the servants appreciated."

"Well, in the end, I am the one who succeeded while everyone else failed."

When her family fell because of the stupidity of her father, she was the one who rose and kept everyone afloat.

She obtained everything, and even her grandfather left her name in the will as the only successor.

All those who ignored her started fawning and treating her like a princess.

—It was disgusting.

"Technically, I am the matriarch of the family now, but many aren't happy about this."

"So your sister decided to make you vanish and take your place."

"Nah. That woman is too naive. I don't like her, but there is a higher chance that the one who incited her was her husband and a few of my cousins or uncles."

Shuri's eyes reddened a little. Though, whether it was because of sadness or anger, one could not say.

"I would hug you, but I am quite sweaty now."

The atmosphere lightened after Yui made that silly joke, and Shuri showed a smile.

"So what are you going to do?"

Yui was quite serious. She knew very well that filial pi

ety was a notion taught quite early, and while many ignored it nowadays, for some others, those rules were like shackles that could not be erased.

Shuri was one of those. Someone who was so deep in the world of rules and tradition that she could not walk away from them.

"I am done being too gentle with my family."

She had been kind and accepted all the small machinations they had done behind her back.

It was because they were family. Because it was her duty to protect them. So she had accepted everything.

Everything until now.

By attacking her, they showed that they had stopped caring about any relationship, as small as it may be.

"Our forefathers always say that blood is thicker than water. Don't you find this quite funny?"

Yui had no words. She knew very well that nowadays, the word 'family' had basically no more value.

Then again, the first murder in the world was one done between brothers.

—Perhaps blood never had any value in the first place.

—-

When Adam walked into the VIP room after a few more encores, he was not surprised to see Shuri sitting quietly while admiring the ceiling that had a beautiful painting. It was quite the work, and even Adam admired it sometimes.

One could say many things about Yui, but she had great taste.

"So, I see that you had quite the drink while waiting for me."

Shuri giggled while holding her glass that was only half full. Close to her were two bottles of wine that were completely empty.

"I needed to relax. So I took some wine from Yui's cellar. Being an ally is really cool."

"You shouldn't drink too much."

Adam said as he took her glass away from her and took a seat.

"Well, shouldn't you encourage me to drink more? After all, the more I drink, the more you will get as a commission."

"I don't need money."

"Hmm... Well, I guess the little brother of the boss wouldn't need money indeed."

Shuri smiled, her eyes half-opened as she gazed at the young masked man who had served as both a confidant and something of a friend.

"Cinder, you know, I talked with the mother of the young man I am interested in. Quite old woman style, but hey, she was the one who caught me off guard."

Adam looked at Shuri, wondering if she was completely drunk and ready for the night.

"You are drunk."

"I am not drunk. I am just a little tipsy."

"—That's literally what all drunk people say."

"Hehehe. Sigh..."

The giggly appearance on her face vanished as she looked up again. "Cinder, you know, sometimes I wonder why I work so hard when all I receive is hatred and jealousy from my own family."

"I think the mistake was trying to work to make people who don't like you happy."

"Hahaha. Indeed. I guess I am only a poor dumb woman who is too hesitant to cut off the leeches."

She sighed and covered her face. "Well, enough of this discussion. Maybe we should talk about something more interesting."

"Such as?"

Shuri stood up and walked up to Adam before sitting on his lap. This was quite surprising and bold from Shuri. But what followed next proved to be even more surprising.

"So, Adam — What does it feel like to work as a gigolo?"

[1]: So, Kundalini is a form of energy coiled at the base of the spine. This energy can be drawn up through the body, awakening each of the seven chakras. Full enlightenment occurs when this energy reaches the crown chakra at the top of the head.

Kundalini Yoga exists in real life and was principally a Hindu practice. Basically, it's a combination of movement, breath, meditation, and chanting. Its goal is not only to make the body stronger and more energetic but also to increase your level of self-awareness and consciousness.

CH 295: I KNOW (2)

"So, Adam—What does it feel like to work as a gigolo?"

Even as Shuri asked her questions and looked at him with a meaningful smile, Adam didn't miss a beat and was about to speak. But Shuri gently shushed him, placing a finger on his mask.

Right where his lips should have been.

"Before you answer, let me finish."

She was still sitting on his lap, and a hot breath mixed with wine escaped her lips as she spoke.

"You don't need to hide. I'm already sure you are Adam. Up until now, you could argue that you lied by omission, and I won't hold it against you. Don't lie to me anymore, Adam. It would make me very sad if you did."

Her expression was serious as she continued,

"Of course, I can't stop you from telling me what you want. So if, right here, right now, you tell me that you are not Adam, that I'm just a little too drunk and mistaken, then—I'll trust you."

The smile that formed on her face then held many hidden emotions.

But Adam could see the resignation in her eyes.

He knew very well that he stood at a crossroads of sorts.

Shuri was asking if she could trust him with his identity, and depending on his answer, their relationship would change greatly.

In the past, Adam might have hesitated about what to say.

But now—he didn't want to reveal his true face only at the moment she died. Nor did he want to be filled with regret because of his hesitation.

Sighing, he made the motion of taking off the illusory mask before placing it aside.

His black hair and his beautiful blue eyes were revealed, stunning Shuri for a brief instant.

Looking at his face up close, she suddenly became very aware of the compromising and suggestive position she was in.

Here she was, sitting on the lap of a young handsome man with her legs spread, her robe stretched, and hints of her panties showing.

Coughing to hide her awkwardness, she tried to move up, but a hand held her back.

This time, Adam looked at her with a mischievous smile and a glint hidden in his eyes.

"Not so fast, shall we?"

Sighing, Shuri stopped struggling and looked deeply at him.

"To think the shy young man would become a great seducer."

"Life is full of strange things, isn't it?"

Adam chuckled as he released his grip on her arm and hugged her waist.

His movements were so natural that they looked like those of old lovers already accustomed to being with each other.

She raised an eyebrow at the arm that was covering her small waist.

"You're quite bold."

"—Says the one who came to use my lap as a chair."

She had to admit that there wasn't much she could say against such a retort.

For a moment, silence fell between them as they sized each other up.

The one to break the stalemate, however, was Shuri.

"When did you plan to tell me the truth if I hadn't unmasked you?"

"Do you want the truth?"

"Of course."

"Then most likely at any time before our relationship reached the next level."

His eyes blazed with desire and conviction as he said this, causing Shuri to blush slightly and avert her gaze.

"So in the meantime, you would have continued to act as Cinder and give me advice?"

"Everything is fair in love and war."

"How shameless."

"Shame is nothing but a brake stopping us from reaching the peak."

"Then what would you have done if I started falling in love with Cinder?"

Adam winced, "I guess we'll never have the chance to find out."

Adam quietly joked, but at the same time, he was quite serious. He had

indeed considered this possibility.

That's why he had done his best to maintain a certain distance from her even when working as Cinder.

"Now it's my turn to ask."

"Ask what?"

"How?"

Shuri understood the question and smiled. "I started having doubts when I realized that Cinder and you were wearing the same perfume. Once would have been fine, but two times in a row made me suspicious."

"So you memorized my scent?"

Shuri ignored this comment and continued, "Obviously, during the Thanksgiving party, you guys were a little too conspicuous. Then I remembered many things. Like how you became a delinquent when you were young or how your girlfriend was from the Yakuza."

She ruffled his hair. "Honestly, I feel like Yui intentionally gave me many conclusive clues. She's too smart not to have done this, knowing that I might put two and two together."

Adam agreed with this, and it was also one of the reasons he wasn't too surprised.

"Of course, all I had were guesses. But thinking about it, I decided to take a gamble."

"What would you have done if I hadn't told the truth?"

"I would have stopped believing in you and treated Adam like anyone else outside of Cecilia."

"I guess honesty once again proved invaluable."

"And it did."

They started joking again with half-sentences and chuckled aloud, allowing the mood and the tension that had slowly built up in the room to cool down a little.

Clearly, Shuri had many more questions she wanted to ask and discuss.

Mainly about how much protection he actually had as a criminal and how he could better hide but increase the benefits he gained from the Golden Court.

But not only was she tired because of the alcohol, but she was also tired because of the weight of what she was about to do with her family.

—Which made her drink more alcohol, creating a vicious cycle that few could actually break away from.

Lowering her head, Shuri whispered in Adam's ear, the scent of wine lingering in the air.

"Should we go to my home?"

CH 296: DARK THOUGHTS/LEWD THOUGHTS

As the car glided through the streets under the ethereal glow of the moonlight, a symphony of veritable sounds filled the air, merging with the pulsating rhythm of the bustling city. The sleek metal body of the vehicle cruised through the cool night breeze, leaving a gentle whisper of metallic vibrations in its wake.

The engine hummed softly, its vibrations reverberating through the car's frame and creating a soothing harmony with the surrounding urban landscape. The rhythmic purr of the engine served as the underlying melody, a constant reminder of the power and movement propelling the vehicle forward through the night street.

Outside, the city breathed with a variety of life. The distant honking of horns, the occasional wail of a siren, and the muffled chatter of pedestrians added layers of texture to the symphony of the city streets at night. The tires rolling against the asphalt produced a melodic murmur, perfectly synchronized with the car's progression.

Within the confines of the car, the occupants basked in the serenity of the moment. The soft leather seats embraced them, cocooning them in comfort as they absorbed the enchanting ambiance.

Each turn and corner brought new scenes into view, adorned by the moon's silvery touch. The towering skyscrapers reached for the heavens, their glass facades shimmering under the celestial spotlight. Neon signs and streetlights created a vibrant tapestry of colors, painting the city in a nocturnal kaleidoscope of colors and liveliness.

As the car continued its nocturnal journey, the symphony of the city and the soothing engine notes became a melodious backdrop to the passengers' shared experiences. It was a fleeting moment, a harmony of sound, light, and motion, forever etched in their memories as a night of magical allure and urban exploration under the moonlit sky.

Looking at Shuri sitting next to him in the passenger seat, her hair moving under the wind as she boldly breathed in while the window was down, Adam couldn't help but breathe in deeply as well, and if it wasn't because he knew that illusion could not affect him anymore, he would wonder if he was somehow dreaming.

She was a woman of refined taste and style adorned in a beautiful robe, radiating an air of sophistication and allure.

Her robe, fashioned from the finest materials, enveloped her form with a graceful drape. Its design showcased intricate patterns and delicate embellishments, evoking a sense of timeless elegance. The fabric cascaded down her body, pooling gently around her as if whispering tales of luxury and grace.

As she sat, her posture exuded a sense of quiet confidence. The robe, in its flowing silhouette, accentuated her natural curves, revealing a harmonious blend of grace and femininity. Every movement she made was accompanied by the soft rustle of the fabric, an orchestra of whispers that only added to her magnetic presence.

Her beauty was undeniable, enhanced by the subtle play of light and shadow. The car's interior lights delicately caressed her features, highlighting her flawless complexion and illuminating the subtle contours of her face. Her eyes, like shimmering pools of depth, sparkled with a captivating allure, drawing one into their mesmerizing depths.

Her hair, styled with meticulous care, framed her face with a touch of artistry. It cascaded in soft waves or was elegantly swept up, accentuating her features and adding to the overall composition of her aesthetic. Each strand seemed to have found its perfect place, contributing to the harmonious balance of her appearance.

It was a soul-stirring sight and for the first time in a long while, Adam felt his heart beat powerfully against his chest as a feeling far different from simple lust filled his heart and soul.

"You should keep an eye on the road rather than gawking at me like that."

Shuri may have been filled with hesitation in the past, but now that she had made her decision, there was nothing in the world that could make her stop from getting what she wanted.

She still felt a little shy deep down and the difference in age between her and Adam was certainly a complicated point in their relationship that was simply undeniable. But outside of those moral factors, seeing a young and handsome man like Adam filled her with a certain feeling of pride in herself that she was not able to feel ever in her life before.

She knew that she was not exactly old but her growing age was still a small seed of doubt that disturbed her endlessly in the past.

Of course, while she was happy that Adam found her attractive, she did not want her night to end in a tragedy because Adam had been too focused on admiring her rather than observing the road before him.

'Well, technically I don't really need my eyes to drive so…'

As long as nothing that was moving at hypersonic speed entered his domain, there were very few things he couldn't react to.

He had already covered the entire car with his psychic shield, just in case, to avoid any kind of surprise accidents that could occur.

In fact, they were not even visible from other people's perspective right now. Adam had actually made sure to camouflage the entire car with his power of illusions.

It might be a little too overboard with all the protection he had placed on their surroundings, but one could never be too prudent. After all, there was indeed someone out there who wanted Shuri's life.

'The husband of her sister was it?'

Adam mused quietly while changing the gears of the sleek car. Adam knew that Shuri had already decided to put down her brother-in-law for good.

But, doing something like that would certainly hurt her very deeply as that would go against her values. He knew well that despite all her bluster and tough exterior, she was someone who valued her family to the extreme. Otherwise, she wouldn't still be hesitating about what to do with her husband when she had all the evidence to drown him in the abyss.

'Well— It won't be a problem if a little accident happens, right?'

The world was filled with endless dangers, known and unknown.

Who knew? Perhaps her brother-in-law could find his conscience and decide to just suicide. Or perhaps he would have a sudden resurgence of his values and go to the police himself to surrender for his misdeeds.

Obviously, the chances of facing a road accident are extremely high. Every day, nearly 99 people died from accidents in America alone.

One more or one less added to the equation…

It wouldn't make much of a difference…Right?

While Adam was working on the details of what might be a perfect crime to take out Shuri's nemesis, the two of them finally reached the vicinity of Shuri's home.

The guard let them in through the gate and soon they were seen walking into the large living room.

"Take a seat. I think I need to take a bath."

—-And she also needed to calm her wildly beating heart. The moment she had been waiting for so long was finally upon her and while she was still sure of her decision, it was normal for her to start getting a bit of a cold feet.

She tried to flee, in order to put some distance between them and cool her head with some cold water, but Adam was not about to let that happen.

"There is no need. We are going to get sweaty soon anyway."

His bold words caused Shuri to flush deeply but she was given no time to give an answer as Adam yanked her back in his arms.

"Adam…"

This was all she could say before a searing heat came from her lips and overloaded the circuits of her brain in endless pleasure as Adam brought his head down and kissed her.

After resisting slightly, more by instinct than anything else, Shuri sighed and closed her eyes while reciprocating the kiss with an endless passion of her own.

It looked like she was going to get devoured tonight by the young man of her dreams.

— And she was definitely not against that notion.

CH 297: MAGICAL NIGHT

In the living room of a stylish mansion, two people, a young man and a woman, hugged tightly.

Driven by a potent blend of longing and anticipation, the young man leaned in closer to the woman. His lips, soft and gentle, brushed against hers, igniting a spark that sent shivers down their spines. With each lingering kiss, they shared a connection that transcended the physical realm.

After the first kiss, they stopped and gazed at each other.

Adam's heart pounded in his chest as he stood before Shuri, his eyes locked with hers, a magnetic pull between them. The air was charged with anticipation, and Shuri's face, flushed with desire, had lost all the anxiety she once had.

Her lips curved into a smile, a silent invitation to continue that stirred something deep within Adam's soul. With trembling hands, he reached out, cupping her delicate face, his fingertips tracing the contours of her jawline. His touch was tender, a feather-light caress that spoke volumes of his affection.

Time seemed to suspend as their faces drew closer once again, the space between them evaporating. Adam's breath mingled with Shuri's, their warm exhalations blending into a shared atmosphere of longing. And then, with courage born from the depths of his heart, he closed the remaining distance, his lips gently brushing against hers.

In that fleeting moment, the world vanished, and their connection became the focal point of their existence. Their kiss was a symphony of emotions—a delicate crescendo of desire, tenderness, and possibility. It was as if their souls, entwined in a dance of destiny, had found their perfect rhythm.

The sensation was electrifying, sending waves of warmth and exhilaration coursing through Adam's veins. He felt Shuri's response, a reciprocal surrender to the allure of their connection. The taste of her lips, soft and supple, awakened a thirst within him—an insatiable desire to explore the depths of this newfound intimacy.

As their kiss deepened, time regained its momentum, and the world around them slowly filtered back into their consciousness.

When their lips finally parted, Adam's eyes met Shuri's, shimmering with a kaleidoscope of emotions. In that silent exchange, unspoken words hung in the air, promising a future intertwined with endless possibilities. They stood on the precipice of something beautiful, their hearts open to the magic that fate had orchestrated.

As they gazed into each other's eyes, Adam and Shuri knew that this kiss was just the beginning, and Shuri would hesitate no longer.

And so, in the embrace of destiny's dance, Adam and Shuri embarked on a chapter that would shape their lives—a chapter illuminated by the lingering sweetness of that first, transformative kiss.

Now a hunger rose deep in his heart. He did not wish to stop only at this point, and neither did Shuri.

They had come too far to stop now, and nothing short of a calamity would make them stop.

His hands moved with purpose, delicately removing Shuri's garments. The air crackled with a sense of heightened sensuality as each article of clothing fell away, revealing the curves and contours of her body.

When she finally stood in front of him, clad in nothing but her black panties and small nipple protection, he felt like he had been struck by a hammer.

Under the clear moonlight, he could observe her in all her glory, and what he saw made him realize that even his wildest dream could not clearly imagine what he was seeing.

She had delicate skin, her proud body showing large curves with no sagging whatsoever, making her akin to a work of art.

"You are beautiful."

Still dazed, Adam muttered, causing Shuri to stand a

little straighter, clearly happy with his compliment.

"Where did your vocabulary as a gigolo go?"

She was quite embarrassed by her current attire, but she couldn't help but tease him a little. After all, she had a dignity to uphold.

"I think that hundreds of words would not be enough to do justice to what I am seeing."

"Then what about a thousand?"

"You want me to write an essay?"

"Why not?"

Adam chuckled and approached Shuri before hugging her once again, then with a simple movement,

"Ah..."

Ignoring her startled cry, Adam took her in his arms in a princess carry and started to walk towards her bedroom.

"After this, I believe I will have enough material to write an entire memoir about you."

Adam did not know why, but he felt both very giddy and very calm. A part of him that was now used to matters of the flesh allowed him to keep his calm, but at the same time, the fact that the one facing him was none other than Shuri made everything seem like a dream.

After all, she had been his childhood crush for quite some time. He thought he had outgrown it, but it seemed like this was clearly not the case.

"I am not too heavy?"

Shuri asked with a worried expression as Adam walked up the stairs with her in his arms. No matter what, she was an adult woman. Seeing Adam lifting her so casually and walking with no difficulty surprised her.

"You are as light as a feather."

He could literally lift hundreds of kilograms with absolutely no problem, much less a human.

Finally, they reached her bedroom.

The grandeur of this room was exemplified by the centerpiece—a queen-sized bed, commanding attention with its regal presence.

The bed, adorned with ornate carvings and intricate detailing, stood as a testament to exquisite craftsmanship.

Adam raised an eyebrow at the presence of this bed.

He was definitely sure that this was not the one that had been present in her room the last time he came here.

'Did she already prepare for this moment?'

Shuri blushed, moving her head away hoping that Adam would not notice the unnaturalness of her expression. Finally reaching the bed, Adam placed Shuri slowly on top of it as if he were handling something extremely fragile that could break at any moment.

Then leaning down, he kissed her again.

A magical night was approaching.

CH 298: SHURI (1)*

The air was heavy with tension as Shuri breathed in deeply and looked at Adam looming above her.

If she had to be honest, as a matter of pride and as an adult, she wished to be the one to lead Adam and control the situation.

Even beyond that, she simply disliked being on the receiving side in this situation. But from the way he kissed her to the way he undressed her, Shuri was forced to realize that in terms of experience, Adam was far ahead of her.

Realizing that this experience must have come from his work, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous.

Adam, reading Shuri's emotion, rose an eyebrow, "You know this is not a competition, right?"

Shuri chuckled helplessly, "You should make sure that I don't remember this."

"Oh trust me, I will."

Adam thought about different little things he could try but as it was their first time together, he wanted something more romantic.

His first time with Sae had been a little too wild and his first time with Hae-Won had only been about manipulation and submission.

But at the same time, he understood deeply that he liked the feeling of seeing his partner writhe in pleasure and become a mess.

'Well. Let's take things one at a time.'

It wasn't like he had to go all out now.

As Adam reached out his hand and gently pulled her sweaty hair off her face, she tightly crossed her legs. Feeling a little too vulnerable while placing her hands over her breasts.

Ignoring her small movement, Adam approached a little closer and buried his face in her nape, breathing her delicious scent.

"Take off your hands."

His voice was low and gentle, but the command behind them was unmistakable, Shuri hesitated slightly but did as she was asked at the same time, she took away the small nipple protection she had on them.

Pink nipples standing erect were exposed in front of him. It was quite embarrassing for Shuri, but at the same time, it was very exciting.

Electricity coursed through her body as the anticipation continued to rise. She was not ignorant about the matter of sex. But she had always kept a rather conservative view of such a thing because of her upbringing.

Now though, she simply wished to let go of all struggle and all the pressure that came with her position.

In this place, right here and right now, she was not a skilled lawyer nor the matriarch of the Nakiri family. She was simply a woman who was seeking pleasure and soon enough, she would be able to reach the ninth heaven.

As Adam moved his hands down, she was a little disappointed as she expected that he would simply penetrate her with no more preparation.

Instead, he leaned over and brushed her hair off her slender neck, pressing his lips to her exposed nape.

The kisses were slow and sensual at first until he sucked on her skin and caressed that area with his tongue.

Shuri shuddered as she spoke, "It's going to leave a mark."

"I know."

It was exactly his goal. His desire to mark her and leave of trace of him that she belonged only to him and no one else was steadily growing;

Trying to relieve her tension, Adam reached out and traced circles around Shuri's nipple with his finger. The texture of the skin on his fingertips was incredibly soft. Her quivering skin, her hair, and everything else smelled ridiculously good. It would not be weird for someone to wish to swallow her whole and even though he had decided to be gentle with her in his head, his hand kept getting rough.

The ticklish sensation caused Shuri to let out a slight moan and soon enough, Adam's grip on her twitching nipple tightened and he began to tweak it gently, causing her to wince a little.

"Don't…."

As the elastic bosom pinched between his fingers swelled up, Shuri begged in a whimpering voice.ραпdαs `nᴏνɐ| сom

Her voice was hoarse, laced with pleasure and even though she complained a little, she did nothing to stop Adam from exploring her body.

He clenched her nipples, leaving an imprint on her tender white skin. Shuri would be lying saying that she wasn't in pain.

But — She liked it.

She felt a strange thrill between her legs. The feeling of his hands exploring her body without any hesitation. Those eyes were filled with desire and passion as he gazed at her body and the marks he wished to leave on her.

All of this excited her in a few things ever did in her entire life.

But this was only the start.

Adam, with his head down, drew her breasts in his mouth and gently sucked on them. The nipples, which were initially plae in color quickly reacted to the stimulation and heated up like bright red cherries.

The tip of his tongue pressed down on her erect nipple and licked it up obscenely. He then gnawed ad bit her nipple.

Shuri could only gasp frantically in disbelief at how obscene the sounds comings out of her were. She panted and twisted her body. She was slightly afraid that he would bite too hard.

Her nipples which were persistently bite and licked in his mouth spread a tingling pleasure through her body.

In fact, even thinking was starting to get difficult as pleasure overwhelmed all her senses.

She did not understand why she was like this.

She had never been particularly sensitive in the past. But now, it was like any of his caresses could send her to the top.

Obviously, Adam was cheating a little. Using his power, it was easy for him to read her emotion and know exactly where he had to move.

This made it so he could attack perfectly all her weak points and even the one she did not really know nor find until now.

"N-no…ah~Stop; t-this is weird, haa…"

Incoherent words came out of her lips as the pleasure continued to increase. Her eyelids fluttered and she panted as if she was about to faint.

But Adam did not stop. Using all his skills, he keep finding all the places where Shuri was weak.

Kissing, sucking, biting, pinching.

There was nothing he did not do nor try.

Switching between tender care and rough handling, he managed to always keep her at the peak.

Soon, pleasure exploded in her mind. Shuri closed her eyes, trembling from the stimulation and nearly forgetting to breathe.

The pleasure was simply too much for her and Adam hugged her gently as she went through a powerful climax.

"Relax." He whispered quietly in her ear, "Breathe in and out slowly."

Finally, the trembling of her body slowly stopped and Shuri looked up at Adam with a dazed and absent-minded expression.

Smiling, Adam kissed her forehead and said jokingly.

"I only teased your upper body. Are you sure you will be able to survive the night?"

Shuri gasped quietly, realizing that this was indeed going to be quite the problem.

CH 299: SHURI (2)*

As Adam hugged Shuri tightly, teasing her, she couldn't help but glare at him with difficulty while he laughed quietly.

"You are very skilled."

"Or you're just very sensitive."

Shuri looked down and bit Adam gently, causing him to laugh out loud. She looked very cute acting this way, and Adam could feel his heart swell with joy and happiness.

"This is just the beginning, you know, right?"

Shuri's eyes widened like saucers. She was already drained, but she had just realized that Adam had only touched her.

She was about to protest when Adam's hand traveled down her body and abruptly entered her black panties.

Shuri groaned as she felt her inner furnace slowly being stirred by his fingers before he brought them out for her to see.

"It's quite wet. Must be sweat, right?"

"Ahh..."

"Don't try to lie."

Shuri looked away, and Adam found her even more cute. Bringing back his finger, he caressed the outer part of her lower lips and penetrated her warmth once again.

Shuri's body trembled as Adam's fingers swept around her slit.

It was a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time, and never before had the buildup been so powerful.

She had touched herself before, but Adam's touch was much more pleasurable. He was touching her in a place she had never imagined and was moving in different, novel ways.

In a way, it was as if he could read all her movements. Moving down himself, Adam savored the feeling of her skin and the scent of her arousal as he spread her legs wide open.

"This is a little embarrassing."

Shuri covered her face in the humiliating position, but once again, she let Adam do as he wished with her body, looking forward to the pleasure he would bring her once again.

Adam, meanwhile, was fascinated by her secret garden. Her radiant labia looked so fragile, and her moist vagina trembled with tension and excitement, glistening in a pretty color. It was such a spectacular sight that he couldn't take his eyes off it.

Shuri, unable to bear the shame, turned her head and buried her face in her pillow. Adam's breath on her sensitive place made her feel an even greater mixture of pleasure and shame.

Adam's forefinger slid over her narrow petals and then opened her up, revealing her entrance. As Shuri hid her face, she opened wide and arched her back when she felt a hot tongue over her nether region.

"Ahh~! Stop, it's dirty."

She hadn't taken a bath yet.

"No part of you is dirty."

Rising up slightly to tell her this, Adam went back to working on her secret place. The texture of the tongue around this area was too vivid, and it became even more so when his tongue suddenly poked over her sensitive clitoris.

His hot lips wrapped around her clit and began to suck it. Then, as the heat rose, her lower region began to produce even more love juice, proof of her deep excitement.

"Ahah~"

Soon, his flexible tongue penetrated her narrow gap and licked her inside tenaciously. Everywhere his tongue touched, a thrill spread out, and she could feel her inner walls melting.

Suddenly, a finger entered her entrance, making the delicate muscles contract. The thick finger was pushed in deeply, filling her to the brim.

Before long, the fingers that went in and out had already stretched to three and were greedily devoured by her vagina. Soon, his fingers began to move faster and faster, stimulating all her weak spots and causing her waist to shake on its own.

Gasps of pleasure spilled out of her mouth as her body was rocked by pleasure, and Adam worked doubly as he leaned and sucked her erect clitoris.

A strange sensation began to simmer, and Shuri recognized that she was once again very close to climaxing.

Her toes curled, and her body twisted and arched as she reached the climax, convulsing due to the intense stimulation.

Raising his head, Adam licked the love juice on his finger while looking at her hungrily. His lower body was already erect as much as it could be, and he had no shame in showing it.ραпdαs `nᴏνɐ| сom

Shuri was breathless. She had never felt so much pleasure during sex, and they hadn't even started the main course.

However, she couldn't help but find herself a little pathetic for being only on the receiving end of this treatment.

She didn't want Adam to see her as a boring woman in bed, as she was called by her husband. She wished for this moment to be something shared between the two of them.

After finally calming herself down, she brought her hand down, undid the button of his pants, and brought her hand forward. She could feel the heat as her hand wrapped around it, and she realized how sturdy it was.

To help Shuri, Adam moved his pants down and stepped out of them, allowing Shuri to finally have a full view of his penis.

"T-This is..."

She gulped a little but wasn't given more time to think as Adam once again hugged her, his pulsating member touching her smooth belly.

"I want to try something."

She gulped once again and pushed Adam before stepping out of the way. Kneeling down, she looked at his member filled with blood and dripping with precum and finally — she hesitantly brought her tongue forward and gave a small lick.

'Bitter.'

She cringed a little at the taste, but she didn't relent, and soon, she was continuously licking the upper part of his penis as if she was holding a candy or ice cream.

But she knew that it wasn't enough. She wanted to do more.

"They say men like this kind of thing."

She gave a lustful smile at Adam before lifting up her breasts with her own hands and then approaching his throbbing member, gently wrapping her warm breasts around it.

His red glans between her cleavage became visible.

"You don't really have to, you know?"

"I know. But I just want to."

Smiling at him, she leaned a little forward while starting to move her breasts up and down, and for the first time, she heard Adam groan in pleasure.

'He likes it.'

Adam had been so calm and composed all this while; she had started to wonder if he was even feeling pleasure while being with her.

Thankfully, it was clear that her fear had been for naught.

Wanting to see a little more of his cute reaction, she continued her actions. Her voluptuous breasts rocked violently.

Sadly, no matter what she did, she was simply too clumsy and couldn't bring him to ejaculation as she lacked the necessary experience. Furthermore, her knees were starting to hurt a little.

She felt like her pride was being ruthlessly destroyed, but Adam noticed her situation and pulled her shoulder toward him.

"I don't want to come like this."

He smiled at her while pushing her down on the bed. The moonlight illuminated Shuri's beautiful body as Adam took off his clothes, as well as Shuri's panties.

The two lovers gazed at each other, naked.

"No regrets?"

Adam asked one last time.

"No regrets."

—And finally, the two joined together.

CH 300: SHURI (3)**

As he settled between Shuri's legs and received her approval to continue further and cross the line of no return, Adam slowly pushed his hardened member into her slippery entrance causing the two of them to draw a sharp breath in due to the feeling of ecstasy that immediately rushed into their brains.

The bulbous tip of his elongated shaft squeezed in through the unexpectedly narrow gap of her honeypot, which was still quivering from the earlier intense climax she received due to his techniques, and he could feel the soft and scalding flesh slowly surround his sensitive rod, forcing him to groan ever so slightly.

Shuri's whole body trembled vigorously when she felt the heat of his glans on the most secretive and sacred place of her body, but as he slowly pushed in further and further into her sticky depths, she could not help but feel like she was slowly being stuffed full as his meat lance was being gradually sucked in due to her glistening folds.

"Ugh~"

Even as she tried to focus on other things to take her mind away from this growing sense of pleasure, she still felt that, inside of her lower belly, her insides were being forcefully stretched out by the massive rod that belonged to none other than her beloved.

When Adam finally inserted his full length into her narrow depths and their hips finally met, she couldn't help but curl her toes as a new wave of pleasure started to attack her mind, body, and soul in unison. Her love juices started to flow out incessantly, without showing any signs of stoppage, while she was busy clawing at the bed sheets to cope with the pleasure that was slowly but surely threatening to make her lose her mind.

Holding her thin waist with both of his rough and manly hands, Adam felt like he was going crazy as he fought the urge to simply slam inside her with wanton abandon and let his lust take control of his mind, making him a feral beast of decadence that was only hell-bent on pursuing more and more pleasure for himself. He could feel his rod being tightly gripped by her sticky and smothering insides, as if refusing to let go.

No matter how much he tried, his reasoning was slowly leaving him as he slowly started to accelerate further along with the lengthening of the act.

Even though the room was previously filled with the scent of perfume and air fresheners, right now, only the musky scent of two bodies colliding with each other in the most primal act known to men filled the air with its intoxicating fragrance. Sweat poured down from their bodies ceaselessly to the point that it felt like they had just been drenched in a bath.

Taking a whiff of her delicious scent that was lingering all over, Adam leaned in and traced her prominent collarbone with his tongue before biting onto her earlobe with his lips.

He licked, tasted, touched, and explored every inch of her body, both in and out, filling Shuri with a feeling of euphoria that she had never felt in all of her life.

Whenever he moved and acted, she would feel a shiver of pleasure run down her spine and stretch throughout her body and make them throb with joy and ecstasy. Finally, his lips overlapped with hers and their tongues greedily wrapped around each other to savor each other's taste in the most decadent way possible.

While she was distracted by the kiss, Adam continued to move inside of her depths using his throbbing, faster and faster with each thrust.

Under the relentless barrage of his thrusts, Shuri's body swung frantically to and fro as she tightly grasped the bed sheets with her hands to cope with the pleasure and not lose all her senses due to the overload of sensations. The double approach of the smothering kiss and his throbbing penis filled her narrow insides and left no gaps.

The thick rod poked inside her wriggling folds, making her eyes flash white with decadence. Shuri's breathing became more rapid and ragged as he began to stab at her weakest spots with clinical precision as if he knew all the secrets that her body had confined from even herself.

The feeling as it rubbed against her sensitive places was so pleasant that whenever Adam plunged deep into her insides, a groan would slip out of her mouth and wanton moans would fill the air with a succession of movements.

Her sticky, creamy juices overflowed from her entrance and soon covered the bed itself but the two of them had no care for that. Like two beasts entranced in this primordial pleasure, they continued to focus solely on the act of seeking more pleasure from each other.

He pierced her depths again and again and her inner walls, which were stimulated by his onslaught of precise strikes, cramped and greedily tightened around his penis. She could feel the thickness and the shape of his majestic organ clearly; as if she was holding it in her hands and watching it with her eyes.

Finally, the two of them hugged each other tightly as Adam pushed himself deeper inside her than ever before and released a groan, finally ejaculating all the contents inside of him and showering her insides with his sticky goo.

Shuri's eyes turned white as her third climax started building up inside of her. Her body had already gone through a small climax in the process of their carnal Her body trembled even more as her orgasm washed over her whole body. So intense that she found it even hard to breathe properly and her nail pushed deep in Adam's back, leaving a bloody scratch.ραпdαs `nᴏνɐ| сom

She opened her mouth wide and screamed his name, making Adam feel even more pleasure as more and more of his white liquid filled her small hole until it started overflowing and staining the sheets as it mixed with her love juice.

"Ha…Ha…Hah…"

Shuri's body was entirely covered in sweat and her vision was heavy. It was like she had made a small trip to heaven and now she was completely unable to even think properly.

This was…

"This…Was incredible."

Even speaking proved to be difficult and her beautiful and bountiful breasts continued to move up and down.

But it was then…That she realized something strange.

Even though Adam had already ejaculated once, she could still feel his hard penis moving inside her as Adam gave a small shake of his waist.

Finally looking up at his face with terror, she pleaded in a small voice.

"No way…"

"Heh, you seriously didn't think that we would stop after doing it only once, right?"

He had been waiting for this night for so long. There was no way he would stop here.

Before Shuri could react, Adam used his strength and moved Shuri to completely change their position.

Now, with her ass raised high in the air and his penis still in her, Adam landed a playful smack on her juicy bottom and leaned forward to mutter in her ears.

"Time for round two."

Shuri groaned, as terror about the fearsome stamina of youngsters and anticipation about the incoming pleasure fought in her mind.

She knew then that she was in for something she would truly never forget. She could hear her phone ring in the distance but she completely ignored it, knowing that it was just her normal phone and the only one who had this number was her husband or future ex husband for that matter.

He had ruined her night once. No way she was going to let it happen again and like this, Adam and Shuri fell in the throes of passion once again.

CH 301: SHURI (4)**

In the cover of the night, an obscene act was taking place in the bedroom of a large modern house.

It was also the most primitive act that all Humans committed be it for simple pleasures or the desire to procreate.

"Adam~!"

A sweet voice leaked out

Two bodies were entwined on top of the large regal bed, doing the most primitive act known to mankind.

The woman was kneeling on the bed with her beautiful ass up in the air while the man behind her, gripping her hips with his hands, continued to move back and forth in a hypnotic rhythm.

His only goal was to give her as much pleasure as possible and to make her drown in lust.

"Ugh! Please!"

Her mind filled with the pleasure she was receiving, the woman could not help but whine and groan ceaselessly.

Her voice leaked more and more as time passed until all she could do was call the name of her partner helplessly, overloaded by the myriad forms of ecstasy that were rocking her body with no end in sight.

Answering the plea of the beautiful woman, the young man freed one of his hands and used it to grab her long hair and wrapped it, before pulling on them roughly from behind.

From the way her wet vagina suddenly clamped around his penis, he knew that she was liking what he was doing and continued to manhandle her while being careful to not go too far, for he had no wish to seriously hurt her.

It was a simple and brutal form of lovemaking. But also a sensual show of pleasure in its most basic form.

Sometimes he would slap her butt with moderate force, while in the next moment, he would murmur dirty words in her ear, eliciting more moans and whimpers from her each time this happened.

Feeling her begin to stiffen further inside of her depths, he immediately let go of his control over his own build-up of pleasure and ejaculated deep in her.

This was the last straw for the woman as she felt the heat pervading her insides and coloring it in its hue. Her mind was sent into the heavens of decadence as her body convulsed violently.

"!"

She opened her mouth wide, releasing a silent scream, while her hole gushed a sticky blend of liquids all over the sheets.

Once he filled her with his seed, the young man, Adam, slowly pulled out of her.

As for the woman, after losing her support, she simply opted to lay down on her stomach, her breathing rough and legs still apart, with a cloudy white liquid slowly seeping out of her and marring the sheets with its gooey texture.

Her body was still shivering in pleasure and she wished for nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep a little more but her companion denied her this wish.

Feeling his hand gripping her ass once again, she yelped out loud.

"Adam!?"

"My dear Shuri, did you really think that would be all? I told you, right? We will be here for a long time."

A wicked grin could be seen plastered on his face as he asked while pointing toward his shaft covered in a mix of various juices and cum and still standing straight despite the previous ejaculation.

Shuri shuddered at the scene. She did not know whether it was out of fear or anticipation, or simply because she was too exhausted to even argue, but she closed her eyes and entrusted her body to him.

Once she felt her inner core slowly being invaded once again, she released a low moan, ready to once again be ravaged by the young beast.ραпdαs `nᴏνɐ| сom

"We will have to work on your stamina later."

Adam spoke jokingly as his finger traced the line of her spine. She was so fragile, so weak— a simple incident could end her before he was even able to think of protecting her from it.

Adam smiled as he felt his seed filling her womb to the brim. Since Hae-Won had died too fast, he still didn't know if his sperm had any true effects on its bearers. It was hard to say whether Sae awakened because of him or because of her succubus blood.

But he was willing to try and this was why he was filling her so much with his sperm, refusing to even let her sleep even though he knew how tired she must be feeling from all the back and forth. He wanted to fill her to the brim and bring a change as fast as possible.

Ideally, she would awaken a bloodline that would help protect her or perhaps she would awaken her Heart chakra.

All that mattered was to increase her chance of survival in case anything happened.

Smiling, he started moving inside her again. As Adam's weight mounted on her slender body, Shuri's chest contorted vulgarly to the sides.

Every time he dug deep into her depths, she felt as if her insides were choking and burning. When his hard and stiff shaft poked her writhing and heated inner walls without showing a hint of mercy, her eyes turned white with pleasure as she slowly but surely was teetering on the brink of sanity and insanity.

With each of his movements, semen, and love juices would flow out from her hole, showing just how much Adam had put inside her by now. Despite the slickness caused by the mix of the juices, her convulsing hole continued to tighten around his length as if feeling overwhelmed with ecstasy.

Hot breaths and kisses rained on her slender neck and shoulders. Bodies covered in sweat were joined in unison by the primordial act of propagation.

No matter how tired she was, Shuri was feeling so good that she could not think of doing anything else other than savoring the feelings Adam invoked in her.

The more intense the insertion became, the more her inner walls were rubbed, leaving her screaming and writhing in pleasure every time.

She was also feeling terrified inwardly as she had never realized that her body was so sensual and able to bring her such sensation.

Even when she comforted herself alone in her room, she had never been able to reach such heights. Right now, she was not in a state where she could even moan properly as her body was rocked back and forth like a boat sailing under a tempest

'I am going to get addicted to this.'

She realized that after this, it would be nearly impossible for her to think of a relationship with anyone except for Adam.

She tried to crawl away unconsciously but the beast who had already tasted his sweet prey had no intention of letting her go. He pressed his hand on her back as if blocking all escape routes.

He pulled her hips closer and began to swing at an even faster pace. Adam groaned in sheer pleasure as Shuri's insides shook once more with the signs of reaching her climax. He clenched his teeth and plunged his penis deeper inside her as he once again sensed the incoming release.

"Ughh."

Finally, he let out a hot and shaky breath, his manhood swelled up and a thick white fluid gushed out shooting it all in her and unwilling to waste even a single drop outside.

As for Shuri, all she could do was breathe in and out and let the new wave of orgasm wash over her body and corrupt her senses with the sensual overdose. Her eyelids were heavy and her breath was chaotic.

Finally, unable to take more of the heavy pleasure, she simply passed out.

Looking down at the now unconscious Shuri, Adam debated between bringing her to wash up.

But for the first time in a long while, he felt tired enough to sleep and decided to simply leave that out for tomorrow.

Perhaps this time, he would be able to sleep for one or two hours at the very least.

EPILOGUE 1: END OF A STORY

Sitting on a small chair surrounded by books, a silver-haired woman wearing a beautiful robe closed the book she was holding.

"And so ends the first act," she said.

Standing up, she stretched and placed the book back on the shelf before taking out a new one.

It was a blank book.

The number of pages could hardly be determined, but she was sure it could hold a new and enticing adventure.

"Asmodeus will sadly not fall, but I managed to obtain enough of his divinity to send him into slumber," she muttered quietly while admiring the blank book, wondering what kind of new adventure would be written on its pages.

As she walked, the world seemed to change around her. She found herself no longer in her library but in a vast world where the sun and the moon shone in the sky like beautiful jewels or the eyes of a god.

In front of her stood a young man, bound to a throne, fast asleep.

"My poor boy. How long until you can walk again?" she asked.

Seemingly waking up, the young man gazed at Eve with his golden eyes filled with stars.

"Leave," he commanded, his voice filled with killing intent, though his expression remained unchanged. Even though she wasn't physically present in his castle, Eve knew that distance held no meaning once those eyes landed on her.

If he truly desired her death, she would die.

That's why she felt no fear. After all, how could her cute kid wish for the death of his own mother?

"Ah, is this another rebellious phase? Or was killing your brother not enough? Do you also desire to add matricide to your sins?" Eve taunted.

Cain closed his eyes, refusing to speak further for he knew that nothing he would say would chase her away until she finished what she came for.

"I met my grandson. His story is very interesting, one that even the Akasha Library cannot anticipate," she said, jokingly. Behind her, on the shelves, hundreds of books appeared and vanished in seconds, as if in a constant cycle of creation and destruction.

"He is different from his other siblings," she continued.

Having met all the primogenitors before Adam, she knew that each of them lacked something important. Something that Adam possessed and this was not just because of the book of Genesis.

But how?

Cain's gaze remained cold, but it briefly shifted to her throat, as if contemplating whether to slit it or not.

"Well, I understand why you don't want to speak. But you know, don't you? Don't break the limit placed upon you," she said with a serious tone while ignoring the threat in his gaze. Unlike most immortals, she did not fear death, even more so when the one threatening was her son.

"And what about Adam?"

Though Cain remained silent, it seemed as if a silent discussion was taking place, with Eve decrypting all his actions.

"Don't worry. He is my grandson, a very cute one at that. I will take special care of him.." she assured then added as an afterthought, "Though his name is really not cute."

With those words, she began to walk away, until she reached the edge of the two dimensions.

"I don't really know what your ultimate goal is in this game of chess, Cain, but let me be clear..."

She pushed away the aura of death that had filled the air, causing the sun and the moon to dim under her powerful presence.

At that moment, even though she still inhabited the body of a young woman, a cosmic entity that defied description emerged behind her.

"Be it you, Lucifer, or anyone else, If you take action to bring the apocalypse sooner than it should be, I will make sure to spank you," she said, as the intense energy dissipated, showing him her tongue before departing.

Now alone in his mindscape, Cain looked down at himself. Even within the world of his mind, he remained locked.

Closing his eyes, though he knew he couldn't sleep, his mind delved into the past, showing him the last few moments of happiness he had experienced in recent years.

A smile formed on his face as he reminisced, remembering a black-haired woman as cold as ice and as fast as lightning, wielding the power to face divinity.

She was most likely dead.

He wondered which was more saddening: her death or the fact that his skills prevented his emotions from exceeding a certain level. At least not enough to mourn for herραпdαs `nᴏνɐ| сom

Truly, he was a prisoner. In mind and body.

But soon, he would regain his freedom.

And what would he do with it?

"I am hungry," he said.

Not having eaten anything in 20 years had been rough. Even though his body no longer required food or water to survive, he still felt hunger, which had tormented him all this time.

But this was nothing.

"I want some meat."

His brother had been a very good farmer.

He wondered if he would ever be able to taste something with the same flavor.

With those thoughts, Cain, the first murderer, returned to slumber once again.

As for Eve, back in her own prison, she looked at the previously blank book that was now starting to fill itself.

A smile formed on her face as a new story was about to begin.

She didn't know how it would end, but she could only follow the events as they unfolded.

And wasn't that what made reading beautiful?

With those thoughts, Eve sat back in her chair and waited.

Waiting was all she could do.

Thankfully, she had enough time to wait. Eternity was very long, after all.

- END OF BOOK 1 -

SIDE STORY 1: ACADEMY

[Academy of Magic]

"What is the Academy of magical arts and Sorcery exactly?"

Standing in front of a blackboard while watching the students taking notes in the large amphitheater furnished with modern desks and seating arrangements, a man wearing a tuxedo with a stern expression on his face and slick black hair, combed with meticulous care, asked in a quiet yet powerful tone.

"In the past, it was a refuge for the unfortunate. A place where people with extraordinary powers outside of the Heart Chakra or contracts with angels could hide in the hopes of avoiding being hunted down by the vile humans. It was a safe haven where people from similar backgrounds shared their pain and suffering with each other while simultaneously protecting and being protected by others."

"Now though… It's one of the most prestigious institutions on this world and one worthy of all the respect that anyone can shower it with. Studying in this place should be an honor for all of you."

His voice was calm but one could see the anger evident in his voice, "Do you understand?" As he said so, he looked at a petite woman wearing a black robe.

"I understand."

"Then, if you understand this simple logic, pray to tell me, why were you sleeping in my class, Miss Kirishima? Or mayhaps my class was too boring for you? Are you perhaps not interested in the art of making potions, hmm? Or do you believe that you do not need to follow my lessons?"

The girl looked at him quietly before scratching her head and speaking in a helpless tone, "I am sorry prof it's just… you are showing us how to make an illusion potion."

His eyebows shot up and frowned before he spoke, " —And?"

"And you know…"

She didn't speak but waved her hand on her body causing him to nod in understanding.

"So you believe that due to your heritage, you do not need to learn any potion related to illusions. Is that it? Am I correct, Miss Kirishima?"

She cringed slightly at the sharp question that was thrown at her by the professor, "When you put it like that it does sound really bad."

"It's not bad. It's utterly stupendous."

His voice grew harsh for a split instant before he sighed visibly with his hands cupping his face a few times to calm down his agonizing mind,

"Still, I perfectly understand your reasoning. As you are still new to this world it's normal for you to make such beginner mistakes. Usually, you should have learned better as a child but it is what it is. We can't do anything about spilled water now, can we?"

Thinking slightly about what to do, he watched the class before asking, "Can anyone explain why the reasoning of Miss Kirishima here is dangerous and in fact, very deadly?"

Everyone looked at each other with visible flusters in their eyes until one woman finally raised her hand.

"Very well, Miss Osborn. We are listening."

"While the inherent illusion capacity of a succubus dwarfs all existing potions in terms of skills, the biggest disadvantage is the fact that it emits Mana."

"Wonderfully said, Miss Osborn."

He tapped his blackboard and a new formula manifested on it out of the blue, "Miss Sae, I have no doubt that you would be able to conjure powerful illusions despite your meager experience as a succubus, but did you realize… The whole classroom is already filled with my potion."

After waving his hand, a pink-like mist could be seen floating everywhere inside the classroom, as though it had manifested out of the blue, "From there, all I need is to add one more chemical and everyone would fall into an illusion. This is a very insidious way that even experimented hunter may not be able to notice."

He then sighed, "But respect must be given where it's due. If an illusion potion must be compared to a succubus' natural illusion magic, the difference is quite clear and the succubus would always win a hundred out of a hundred times. So I will give you a choice."

He pointed toward the door with his fingers before speaking in a steely tone, "Walk out, now. You will not be punished for your misconduct and your choice. I do not force students to learn what they do not want to. But I will also never teach you anything else about potions. I am sure the Principal can teach you more in this domain than I would ever be able to. Or just stay and focus if you decide to learn from this incompetent man, and in that case, I will ask for your undivided attention."

Sae did not even hesitate before speaking in a clear tone, "I am sorry once again and I will pay more attention."

The middle-aged man nodded his head with a huff and went back to his board, "Very well. Since we lost so much time because of this, everyone open page 310. We are going to learn about healing potions today."

He smiled as he looked at everyone, "Alchemy is a very expensive practice and the Healing potions are the bread and butter of it as the Hunter association and all independent guilds in the world always buy them in bulk from us. I will give you one week. The three who make the best healing potion will have their potion added to the next batch and from then on will be allowed to participate in real life operations of making potions."

His voice sparked a new wave of enthusiasm into the horde of students. After all, money was always a great motivator for anyone and everyone.

A few hours later, as Sae walked out of the classroom with her books, she couldn't help but sigh…

Dark circles were coloring the space beneath her eyes. She had been thrown in the classroom in the middle of the year and was trying her utmost to catch up to the curriculum almost every day.

"Seems like you are tired."

Someone hip-checked her and she gave a feeble smile at her friend, "Hi, Luvia. I am dead tired. I just wanna sleep already. For even 10 minutes. I just wanna sleep…"

The two of them started walking through the corridor and Sae could only marvel at the sights she registered in her head. No matter how she looked at it, she could not believe that the things that she was witnessing existed in real life.

After all— the academy was resting in the clouds high above in the sky.

It looked like a giant flying castle.

"This was created in a time when witches needed to hide. Aunt— I mean, The principal created this place with the help of the Grand Wizard Merlin and a few other wizards. It's a flying fortress floating in the cracks of another dimension."

Sae chuckled at those words, "If I knew that one day, I will hear about flying fortresses and alternate dimensions outside of movies or animes I would have slapped that person in the head for spouting nonsense."

Luvia gave her an encouraging smile, "You are adapting pretty fast. So, don't worry if you have a hard time catching up right now. The prof may be a little harsh but they all have a big heart."

"Don't worry, this is not nearly enough to put me down."

She joked while showing her arms that were devoid of any muscles. But Luvia knew very well that this small frame belied an incredible power that was hard to describe in words.

The succubi were one of the weakest races when it came to their physique as they focused on magic and illusion.

But this weakness was only relatively speaking to other supernatural races. When compared to humans, things changed completely and Luvia knew that those small arms of Sae were able to crush the skull of any human as easily as a sizzling hot kife cutting through butter.

"So, what is your next class?"

"Martial arts and yeah, Mages do learn martial arts. The first lesson we learn is to not always believe in magic."

Sae closed her mouth and gulped down the question that came up to her throat, "Haha. Yeah, who do you take me for. Of course, I knew that."

She gave an awkward laugh while cursing all the books and video games that made her believe that sorcerers had zero physical capabilities.

"Don't worry. This is a pretty common stereotype. But you will soon realize that many mages actually specialize in physical enhancement rather than long-distance magic."

It was faster, and safer, and it avoided the possibility of being one shot because of a lack of attention. In a way, one could say that martial art and enhancement magic as well as defense magic were the most basic and most necessary classes.

—If you were a human that is.

"You are going to flight classes, right?"

"Yep. Learning how to use my wings. I don't even understand how such small wings can help me fly."

"It's magic."

"Indeed…It's magic."

SIDE STORY 2: ACADEMY (2)

As the sun — or whatever served as a sun in this alternate dimension began to dim, Sae walked unsteadily while wearing gym clothes. Her body was covered in sweat and her expression was haggard.

'Fuck this shit.'

She frowned as she felt hundreds of muscles she had no idea even existed aching.

Unlike the potion class which was only one of her minors, the flying class and flying combat class were part of her major and the professor keep bashing her as if that old hag had some grudge against her.

The worst was that, whenever she wanted to complain, the prof would say that if she wasn't happy she could ask the principal to fire her.

Sae was not stupid. She understood very well that as a direct student of Bridget, she was given many advantages and those advantages didn't sit well with everyone.

'Still…I don't care.'

She gritted her teeth. No matter how much she was targeted. At the very least, the prof taught her everything and Sae could slowly feel her skills increase.

Some hazing was only a minor price to pray for such a thing. She could even feel some of her very small excess of fat completely drying. Taking away a little of her softness.

'Well, at least my little babies didn't shrink.'

Looking at her massive chest, she drew a weak chuckle as she made a joke for her own self.

In moments like this, she missed Natasha deeply. After all, while they always quarreled, the two of them were without a doubt close friend

Just as she was about to fall in melancholy, she stopped and looked behind her,

"How long do you plan to follow me?"

A young man walked out of the shadow with a smile plastered on his face, "Your sense has sharpened considerably. Should I say as expected of the prime student?"

"Look. I ain't in a good mood. I am tired, my breasts are killing my shoulders, and I just wanna take a shower and sleep. If you have nothing to say then just scram."

"I understand. I am just here on behalf of Lord Radna and asked me to verify if you considered his proposal."

Sae frowned a little before tilting his head, "Who the fuck is Radna."

The young man twitched a little as if he wanted to laugh but had to hold it. In the end, coughing, he simply said, "Like you, Lord Radna is one of the rare cambion in this school and an incubus. He wishes to have you as a mate and bring a new era of Lust Demon."

'This again.'

Sae sighed.

This was another point that had been bothering her.

If in the outside world, demon-blood children were shunned and rejected, in the academy, it was all the opposite.

Those with demon blood were considered something akin to super rare pandas or any race near extinction that needed to be protected at all costs. The purer the blood was the more this was evident.

Furthermore, be it to prolong the bloodline or simply to obtain prestige, many warlocks or mixed-blood families wished to obtain this kind of special bloodline.

Sae had received more than a hundred marriage proposals, some even asked only to lend her womb or one of her eggs and a few were willing to pay millions for her blood or nails and hair.

At the same time, the first lesson she had been taught by her prof was how to erase all spirituality from all the fluids — Even the filthiest.

'Disgusting.'

"Tell that Ragnar —"

"Ragna."

"Potato tomato, same thing. Tell that Rag whatever dude to please not bother me. I am not interested in any relationship."

Her relationship with Adam was too vague for her to use it as an argument even though she wished to say that she was already in a relationship. Furthermore, she feared what would happen to Adam if those people knew his existence.

She did not want to cause trouble to Adam.

'Then again…Can they cause trouble to him?'

She grimaced, feeling a new wave of headache.

"Very well. I will stop bothering you."

"Thanks."

After waving her hand, she continued to walk, feeling tired more than anything until she reached her room.

It was a rather luxurious room, but despite how spacious and grand it was, for her, it was only a place that was used to sleep and even then barely.

In the safety of her room, all her tension left her.

'I wonder where Luvia is.'

She thought with a small gloom.

She hated being alone.

She had been in this place for only two weeks now, but she felt like it had been a few years.

In fact, from what she knew there was a very small time difference between the flow of his dimension and the outside.

During those weeks, she would study hard in the morning under the teaching of the professor and she would try catching up at night or have special training with the Principal and Luvia.

This was a tight schedule that made her barf many times but she knew that it was necessary for her if she wished to grow stronger and meet Adam.

Of course, there was another reason. One she did not wish to share with anyone else.

ƥandasnovel·ƈom The more she trained, the more occupied she was — The less she had time to think.

She did not want to think. She did not want to sleep and she did not want to stay alone.

A small shiver went down her spine as memory of that day flashed in her mind again causing her to feel revulsion from her very being and a desire to vomit grew.

"Ugh…"

Placing her hands against a wall, she heaved a little as cold sweat covered her face. In the end, she sat with her back against the wall in a fetal position as she tried to fight the small bout of anxiety that was assailing her.

Ever since that day, she had been unable to sleep properly. Not only because of all the caching up she had to do but also because of all the nightmares she was forced to face every time she closed her eyes.

The day her entire life changed.

It had been horrifying. Disgusting, traumatizing and so many other things that she could not properly describe.

On that day, many people died. So much blood and other bits of flesh and blood filled her vision.

Even now, she could still hear the laugh and cry of those demons even as they were being crushed.

She simply wanted to cry.

Until that day, she had just been a simple girl with some lustful tendency. Her greatest worry until that day was her love life and her study to become a lawyer.

This was all.

Now, she was supposed to be some kind of super demon descendant from some other super demon who had nearly been the ancestor of humanity.

She was studying to become a witch in a school floating in the sky and she was surrounded by people she did not know and many people who only saw her as nothing but a womb to raise a new generation of children.

Truth be told.

— She was scared.

She was fighting with despair-fueled emotion and constantly had to keep a strong front when facing everyone else.

The only thing that helped her hold on was one promise.

The promise to be allowed to go out and meet him.

"Adam…"

She wished to see him so much. She wanted to talk to him and ask him just what was happening.

She had the feeling that in this vast world, he was the only one she could trust.

It was a weird feeling of dependence. One that went beyond the simple lust she had been feeling and the small sprout of love that had been building.

It felt like Adam was the only one in this world that would never betray her no matter what happened in the world.

No ... .It felt like she was someone who could not live without.

She shuddered a little. The thought of Adam driving the gloom that had been seizing her heart until now.

Her heartbeats became more regular and the fear and disgust slowly left her.

Finally taking a deep breath, she stood up and shook her head.

This was now a common occurrence.

And every time she had such an attack, thinking of Adam would slightly relieve her tension.

She wanted him.

"Adam, where are you?"

Leaving this question unanswered she walked to the shower. She still had to study this night.

SIDE STORY 3: LIGHTNING AND FIRE (1)

[Japan: Many years ago.]

Whooosh.

A huge explosion rocked the training building as two young girls clashed their swords against each other.

One had a red aura that seemed to emit a certain heat while the other one was covered in wind and faint spark lightning.

The ground was covered in craters of varying depth and width and all around, people were observing the fight with nothing but awe in their eyes.

In the end, the red aura faltered and was completely crushed by the might of the other one.

"Ooohh! Good job young lady!"

"Show that mad mutt who is the boss!"

Cheers rang as the witnesses cheered the victory of the heiress. Clearly, they were happy to see the current result.

When the dust finally dissipated, they could see the black-haired young girl holding her sword over the throat of the crimson-haired girl.

This brought a new wave of cheer from the spectator. After all, they had all been savagely beaten by the crimson-haired girl. So seeing her heat the dust again and again only brought joy to their heart.

On the training field, the black-haired young girl, who seemed to be in her early teen gave a gentle smile as she keep the sword close to the throat of the other one.

"You are dead. Once again. 99 to 0. Should you not give up by now?"

After moving her sword away she brought her hand forward to help the crimson-haired girl stand up but her hand was ruthlessly slapped away.

"Do not look down on me."

She growled as she stood up unsteadily on her feet.

"I am Cecilia Ataegina. I am the one who will surpass even the zodiac and the gods. The only time I will give up is when I die."

Shooting a vicious look at the crowd even as she heard some snickers and began to walk away. A clear limps on her gait but with her back straight and her gaze impassive.

She ignored the mockery and laughter and simply focused on her goal.

This was all that mattered to her.

Watching the girl leave, the only one who did not laugh was Mei.

A smile formed on her lips as her eyes shone with admiration.

'She is getting stronger.'

This was unmistakable. The girl she could beat down in one strike at the start now needed her to put far more effort into the fight.

If she continued to grow at this rate Cecilia might even pose a serious threat to her own day.

'Hehehe this is fun.'

For the first time in a long while, a spark of competitiveness burned in her heart.

Fighting with Cecilia was fun.

But if Cecilia beat her own day, they would never fight again.

This was why — 'I should become stronger.'

She thought and began to walk away.

All this time, she never paid attention to the one laughing at Cecilia.

It wasn't that she didn't want to defend her 'friend'. It was just that the laugh of rabbles like this could never hurt someone she admired.

They were of no consequence and no importance. Nothing more than unnamed background characters not even worthy of her remembering their existence.

Humming to herself, she walked away, wondering how to become stronger in order to keep beating up her friend.

—-

A few minutes later,

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. It fucking hurt."

Cecilia was cursing and breathing hard in her bedroom as her sister, Theresa covered Cecilia's wounds with healing medicine.

Looking at Cecilia squirming and shouting like a pig that was about to get slaughtered, Theresa sighed as she asked,

"Aren't you gonna surpass the gods? Stop acting like a crybaby and suck it up."

"Ugh! Even gods feel pain you know?"

Theresa sighed and ignored her sisters as she applied the medicine to her naked back while slowly moving toward her swollen feet.

ƥandasnovel·ƈom "So, how many times did you lose today?"

"I did not lose. I was simply unable to take her down and she beat me up."

"Isn't that losing?"

"No. You only lose when you give up or die."

Theresa fell silent before speaking softly.

"You know this is just sophistry, right?"

"I do not care."

Hearing this, Theresa stood up, outrage visible on her face, "Sister why are you always acting like this!?"

"Theresa?"

"Every day you are fighting the young miss like this and when you aren't fighting her, you hunt down the yokai and others like there is no tomorrow! Do you know how they call you outside!?"

"Mad dog. Crazy bitch and many other names."

"And do you not care!? Even in the family, everyone seems to hate you and insult you behind your back.

Also please stop fighting the Lady. She is a genius. We simply cannot match her."

This time it was Cecilia's turn to sigh as she stood up and covered her body with a cloak. Her chest was covered in bandages, hiding her budding maturity.

"Why should I care about the opinion of irrelevant people who can only speak behind my back?"

There was no arrogance in her words. Only pure and clear pride as well as endless confidence.

Her only goal was growing stronger and for that, only the strong mattered.

"Sister."

"Enough. I will take care of my wounds alone."

She began to walk away but only stopped when she reached the door.

"Theresa you know. I am not super smart like you so perhaps what I am doing seems dumb in your eyes and honestly you are most likely right. What I am doing may be dumb and stupid and useless or whatever you may call it. But you know—"

She turned around and gave a weak grin,

" —I would rather be someone dumb who continues fighting against the impossible than someone smart who gives up at the first signs of difficulty."

Taking the ointment on her way, Cecilia left a silent Theresa and continued her way.

Even though she had spoken so grandly a few moments ago, at this very instant, she looked like nothing more than a small lone wolf walking away to lick its wounds.

SIDE STORY 4: LIGHTNING AND FIRE (2)

"Need any help?"

"Old man."

Cecilia was deep in the forest belongings to the Kaminari house as she placed her back against a tree and tended to her own wounds.

Bandaging her arms had been quite complicated but she had managed to do it by biting the other end.

Right now though, an old man with an old beard spoke quietly as she stood next to her.

Cecilia grimaced as she realized that she had felt absolutely nothing before he spoke.

If he had been after her life, she would have been dead.

This realization made her bite her lips in frustration.

'Ohoh.'

The old man, looking at her reaction, could only chuckle inwardly in admiration.

This was why he liked this little girl.

Anyone else in her place would have not cared.

After all — He was a zodiac and one of the strongest at that.

Wasn't it normal for him to be able to sneak up on them?

Thinking stupid thoughts like this would stifle their own growth.

"It seems like you got beaten up today again."

His words were different from the others and Cecilia nodded,

"Yeah. Mei is strong and she didn't even go all out. I got many bruises."

Many people thought that Cecilia was too prideful to accept defeat which was why she never accepted when someone said she lost.

They were wrong.

Cecilia recognized very well when she was outclassed and outmatched. She recognized and accepted getting beaten up by Mei.

But she did not lose.

You could only lose when you give up or when you die.

Musashi understood all this and chuckled as he took a small piece of candy and gave it to her.

"You know an old man giving candy to a little girl in the Forest looks very creepy, right?"

"If you don't want them…"

Musashi raised his eyebrows and was about to retrieve his hand but he was stopped by Cecilia who swiped all the candy away.

"I said it looked creepy. That I didn't want them. You are becoming a senile old man."

"You are really a brat."

" — And you are really a senile old man."

For a moment, the armor that she wore on her heart seemed to break a little, showing a glimpse of the actual young kid she was.

Only Musashi could do this as she was the only one she believed in.

In a world where everyone said useless things such as vengeance brought nothing, he was the one who gave her a knife back then and he was the one who taught her to become strong.

"Do you wanna continue like this?"

"Yes."

"Even though you are always getting beaten up?"

"I don't care."

"Why?"

She looked at him and spoke softly, "You know why."

"I do. But tell me."

Had anyone else talked to her like this, she would have attacked them on the spot with no hesitation.

But in this case, she simply looked down.

Not because she was scared of him. But simply because she respected him.

"You know…Every day, I feel like I have this fire in my heart."

She placed her hand on her chest, "Every time I wanna calm down. It keeps urging me. Don't stop. Fight. Fight again and again."

A haze covered her expression as she hugged herself.

"When I think about how a bastard like the one who hurt Dad and Mom can walk free and unhindered, I feel like I want to scream. Why!? Just why can they walk with no punishment!?"

A crimson prana covered her and a dense killing intent filled the air.

"So I can't stop. I will become a zodiac to kill them all and If the zodiac isn't strong enough to bring all of them down, I will become a god and burn all of them."

Musashi looked down at the girl who was already far stronger than many adults. But whose vision was directed at a far higher horizon than anyone else.

He could see it in her eyes.

An endless desire for destruction. A fire of pure rage and hatred.

He knew very well why. After all, on that day —

Musashi chuckled,

"Very well. Then I will give you a chance."

"Old man?"

"You said you want to become stronger, right?"

"Yes."

"Then from now on. I order you to stop fighting against Mei."

"What!?"

She screamed in surprise and wanted to stand up but a simple hand on her shoulder made her feel like a giant Boulder was pressing down on her.

"Listen until the end."

When she calmed down he gives a gentle laugh,

"From now…You will serve Mei as a sword bearer and retainer. Follow her in her mission and fight alongside her."

Cecilia fell silent. She knew the rumors. All the missions of Mei were so hard that all her retainers ever died, were crippled, or simply gave up.

No one could keep up with Mei and for all the smile she keep on her face, Mei would never slow down for anyone.

If people could not keep up with her, she simply lost interest and continued to walk her way. Alone like a lone rose at the top of a cliff.

This was why people admired her or even worshipped her.

In their eyes, she was not a human but more like a goddess or the reincarnation of an immortal.

Someone who could not be tainted.

This was also why they hated Cecilia.

Seeing the girl fall silent, Musashi grinned and goaded her,

"What? Scared now?"

Like he anticipated, those words were like a fire on oil. Cecilia gritted her teeth, fire blazing in her eyes.

"Will this really make me stronger?"

"If you survive."

"Very well. Isn't it just following her around? I will do it. I will show you all."

She shouted and walked away.

Now alone, Musashi coughed a little, a trace of blood mixed in it, and shook his head.

"Come out."

A black-haired young woman walked out of the shadow quietly. If Cecilia had still been present, she would have most likely cursed like there was no tomorrow.

After all, not noticing Musashi was one thing. But having Mei also walk past her sense would have been a great blow.

"Good afternoon grandfather, you should take care of your health."

She bowed gracefully but Musashi simply waved his hand like he was tired, "Don't give me that crap. Those old elders aren't here."

Standing up, the solemn atmosphere was replaced by a teasing smile as she approached and hugged Musashi before letting go.

"Sorry Grandpa. But you should really take care of your health."

"Don't worry. This is the price I have to pay for my sword."

His name was not Musashi. He long since discarded his true name after taking his sword.

"So, what do you think of her?"

Musashi asked and, looking in the direction of the departing Cecilia, Mei smiled, "I like her."

Her smile was sincere. As a supreme talent, she was used to others feeling inferior to her and not daring to look her in the eyes. Much less fight her.

"She never gives up no matter how much I beat her up."

If it was just this, Mei would not feel admiration. After all, there was nothing admirable about a fool.

"Every time we fight, she becomes stronger the next day."

"So you noticed."

He took a pipe and was about to lit it but the pipe was smashed by Mei.

"Smoking is bad."

"Sigh. Smoking is one of the few pleasures of a man."

"Hmph. If I have a child and he is a boy, I will never let him smoke."

"Look at you little girl talking about raising a child. Wait a few more decades"

Musashi shook his head and chided her while giving up the idea of smoking as he looked at his broken pipe with heartache.

It had been one of his favorites.

Inwardly though, he was also surprised by the speed Mei had shown. After all, it wasn't the first time she had tried to break his pipe but every time he would simply avoid her attack. This time though, he had been caught off guard. He looked at her with a frown as he realized something.

"You…You opened your gate of Truth?"

He asked with bewilderment as he could not believe his own words.

"Hum? Oh, I did it this morning. Beating up Cecilia is so fun. I thought it wouldn't be fun if I didn't become a little stronger. So I decided to break through."

"...So you decided to break through…"

Musashi repeated her words dumbfoundedly before exploding in laughter.

ƥ "You wanted to break through so you did."

The more he thought about it, the funnier it was.

Just how many people would have a heart attack if they heard those words?

Truly —

"Youngsters these days are too energetic."

He laughed and looked in the direction Cecilia had left earlier. Wondering if leaving her with Mei was a good idea. But soon, his eyes became cold.

He believed in her. He wanted to see how far this stubborn lone wolf could go and whether she would get crushed by reality or soar like an eagle in the sky.

Who knows? Perhaps she would break through all his wildest expectations.

SIDE STORY 5: LIGHTNING AND FIRE (3)

The place was a battlefield or perhaps the remains of what once used to be a battlefield.

Wherever one's eyes would gaze, all they could see would be the destruction and desolation that permeated the whole region.

Everywhere one's vision would chance upon, there would be the scene of tens of corpse of a variable of hunters— some were limbless, while others were burned to crisps.

In this place that was filled with the stenches of death, one girl was humming joyfully a song while sitting on the corpse of a giant fox.

"Hey, Cecilia. Don't you find it funny? That fox dared to call itself a goddess when it was nothing but a Nogitsune that hadn't even obtained her ninth tail[1]"

Standing up on the body of a small god or at least a supernatural being that nearly managed to ascend, Mei looked more like a transcendental being than anything else.

As if she was not someone of this world.

"Still, this was so romantic. She wanted to join her love. Don't you think it's beautiful?"

"I don't think those who died will think the same. Also Despite her story, you still killed her."

"I mean. She is an evil Yokai, you know? At least evil to humans. I don't mix personal liking and job. No matter how much I liked her she had to die."

Mei smiled quietly as she said this while looking at the sky and continuing to Humm her songs.

"You are truly a psychopath bitch, you know?"

"Heh. Say the one called Mad Dog."

Saying so Cecilia jumped off the corpse and landed elegantly before looking at the half-burned body of the fox.

In terms of Pure height, even on all four, it could reach more than 6 meters. It was an impressive being when alive.

But in the end — it simply died. How sorrowful.

"They are going to use her body, right?"

"Yeah. It's a rare bloodline. So they certainly gonna use it down to the smallest bit. I guess they are going to do the same with the body of the hunters."

ƥ The organs of hunters were very rare and very prized commodities and ingredients.

"Well, I don't like it. Now that the job is done I can let my personal life interfere."

Mei placed her hand together and made a short prayer. For both the souls of the deceased hunter and that of the dead Nogitsune.

Once she was finished, she raised her hand toward the sky and muttered,

"I call the heavenly lightning."

At her words, the sky itself began to rumble and black clouds filled with lightning sparks condensed together.

Cecilia immediately covered her ears.

The next moment lightning struck one after another until they were so dense one had the impression they were in a forest of light connecting both heaven and earth.

It was beautiful.

It was also frightening.

When the light show finally ended, there was nothing left in a radius of more than one kilometer outside of the very center where both Cecilia and Mei were.

Cecilia's eyes twitched a little bit at the sight of the overwhelming destruction.

"The elders are going to be angry."

"What does it matter? If they are angry they should have come and hunted it down."

She smiled but then her expression changed,

"Sorry. You also helped in the hunt. I ended up disposing of your share."

"Fuck this. I barely did anything. So you can do whatever you want."

Cecilia laughed and looked at the large crater where the bodies previously were.

"Hey Cecilia you know, aren't you curious about what love is?"

She spoke absentmindedly, "For love, this Kitsune trained for 800 years. Love is a really powerful drive. I am kinda envious."

"Did you hit your head against something or did you finally fry too many brain cells with that lightning cloak of yours?"

Mei ignored her and placed her two hands on her hips.

"Yoosh. This is decided. One day I am going to fall in love and when I get a kid, you will be the godmother. It will be fun."

"Don't go deciding my future godson like this. Also what kind of man is even going to have the courage to marry someone like you?"

"Heh… isn't it obvious? Since I am the strongest obviously my husband needs to be at least as strong as me. Though ideally, my husband needs to be human and stronger than me. He also needs to be handsome."

"With those criteria, you are going to die old and alone, you know that, right? Also what about his personality?"

"Personality? In all those Shojo, doesn't the lead fall in love with each other just because they are attracted to their physical appearance?"

"Imagine talking about love when your full experience only amounts to Shojo manga."

Mei pouted a little. It was the first time she felt like she lost. It was quite the novel feeling.

Feeling petty, she approached the place where Cecilia had been talking to her from.

"Anyway Cecilia, you are so interesting. You survived again."

Crouching down she looked at Cecilia who was breathing heavily while being covered in wounds and smiling evilly.

Even though Cecilia was making fun of her, an 800 years old Kitsune was no weakling. The proof was all the dead hunters who faced it.

Many had been at the gold level and a few were even executioners. In the end, though, they all died.

During the fight, Cecilia nearly died as well many times and the fact that she did not lose a limb was already a miracle.

She was not the strongest in this place in fact she had perhaps been the weakest. But her phenomenal instincts that neared the supernatural allowed her to barely escape death.

Now though, she was completely helpless as Mei continued to poke at her wound with her finger.

"Fuck you."

Cecilia breathed harshly and insulted Mei while giving her the middle finger. Speaking had been one thing, but now she was barely able to even lift her limb.

Sadly, rather than getting angry at this, the smile on Mei's face grew even larger. Though thankfully she stopped poking at her.

"You are so interesting, you know? The sword bearer who lasts this long with me eventually starts worshiping me."

She wasn't just a hunter.

In the eyes of many, she was a goddess or some being who reincarnated. This was the only way they could explain her monstrous talent.

"But you…You keep your strong glare. The light in you did not diminish or get devoured by my presence."

Even as she rested on the ground, Cecilia glared at Mei.

"Why the fuck would I worship you? Even if you were a goddess, so what? I am the one who will surpass the gods. I will never worship anyone."

"Fufufu~ How fun. Since you rested enough, shall we go to the next mission? Of course, if you are too tired you can say so."

Cecilia's muscles twitched. She wanted nothing more than to lie down in a medical bath and tend to all her wounds.

But she would rather die before showing weakness to that smug-looking face.

"Let's go."

"Hehe. Let's do it."

—-

A few years later.

"Why don't you respect me? I always wondered. Aren't I a good subject to observe.?"

"Certainly, you are my goal. But you know, Failure in life begins when you aspire to be someone who is nothing like you.

"You are strong and you shine brightly in the sky. But…That ain't my style."

The two of them were standing before a slowly opening gate.

From that place, hundreds of eyes could be seen gazing at the two of them, with hunger and madness.

Despite this, the two girls — or rather, the two young women continued to speak as if the gate was of no importance.

Cecilia grinned, "I don't wanna be the kind of star that shines above like an untouchable celestial."

"I rather am the fist that will destroy everything on its Path."

Walking on, she faced the door entity, and a pure crimson aura mixed with fire bloomed from her body.

Next to the gate was a very large entity that looked to be more than 10 meters tall.

It was a "god". A mountain and river "god" that had been worshiped for years before turning evil.

In reality, though, it was nothing more than a slightly stronger spirit who went crazy after being forgotten for so long.

Observing this, Cecilia realized something.

Nowadays — The term god had become way too light.

"You were right. Those things are not the god I am targeting. Nothing but false imitation."

What she targeted was not those mindless monsters or fake entities who, after being worshiped by ignorant humans, started to believe that they were gods.

What she wanted was — to reach the level of the True gods who could not come down on earth and even surpasses them.

"Will you take care of them?"

Mei asked, her eyes twinkling and Cecilia's answer was nothing but a confident stride.

Soon, as she walked, realization washed over her and a cloak made entirely out of fire covered her body.

"Just watch."

On that day— Cecilia fought continuously for two days against a seemingly never-ending flood of monsters.

It was also on that day that Cecilia finally opened her Door of Truth.

To the question… Who are you?

Cecilia's answer was simple albeit cheesy.

She was the one who would surpass both Gods and Devils.

She was the one who would suppress all on Earth and in the sky.

She was the one who would deal swift justice to the wicked

She was the Destroyer.

Her aspiration may be nothing more than the dream of a mad woman.

But since she was already known as a mad dog, she might as well show the world what was true madness.

At the same time, on that day.

Cecilia made a promise to herself.

—One Day she would kill a true God.

That promise was accomplished a few years later during her trip to London.

It was also the fight that cemented her position as a future Zodiac.

After all — She had managed to fight back and destroy the projection of Surtr.

It was an achievement that even many recognized Zodiacs could not boast to have accomplished.

It was a fight that shook the earth and the sky and casualties reached ten thousand.

On that day — She became a "Godslayer" at the tender age of eighteen.

But, this was a story for another time.

[1]: Kitsune grow one tail every 100 years. The 5th and 7th tails are very important but the 9th tail is the most important one where the fox becomes basically "Divine" in a loose way of speaking.

Kitsune are divided into two types depending on their personalities. It's important to note that all Yokia are basically mischievous. But then there is Mischievous and outright evil.

You have the Zenko or "Good Kitsune" who are generally related to Goddess Inari.

Then you have the Yako or Nogitsune who are the "Evil Kitsune."

The most popular Nogitsune is Daji. A fox woman who caused the fall of many empire by seducing the emperor and causing him to become bloodthirsty.

This is like for Cat Yokai. You have Bakeneko (Monster cat) who are basically kinda bad but not necessarily bad.

Then you have Nekomata who are two tailed cat and are really evil and sometimes murderous.

SIDE STORY 6: JUSTICE?

The sound of the gavel filled the entire courtroom, and the suspect was finally released as she had been judged innocent by the jury.

The case involved an accident where a family of four had their car run over by another woman who was seemingly driving while drunk out of her wits. The result of the accident was, expectedly, a tragedy.

Out of the four passengers of the crashed vehicle, the parents who were in the front were not able to make it through this disaster. The big brother, one of the kids, lost an eye and was bedridden after an intense surgical operation. As for the youngest child, she was found to be unscathed. There were not even the slightest wounds on her body, despite the car being half destroyed and folded in due to the violent nature of the crash.

The doctors could only attribute this to a miracle. Sadly, while her body was completely intact, it was hard to say the same for her mind. She had been left alone in the car and while her brother was in a coma, she had been awake and had witnessed the mangled bodies of her dear parents— devoid of any signs of life.

After a long court session and the presentation of many, many proofs, it was discovered that the cause of the accident was different from what was initially thought.

The final result was that no signs of alcohol or other substances that could affect her mental capacity were found in the woman's blood. However, such substances were found in the father's blood instead. It was a complete turnover from the initial circumstance.

Clearly, he had been somewhat drunk as he drove the car. Some eyewitnesses even affirmed that they had seen the parents having a dispute inside the car, causing the steering wheel to veer off the track and leading to the tragic accident.

There was no CCTV footage as the cameras in the area were found to be malfunctioning.

The woman was innocent.

The dead were the culprits.

As her sentence was relayed by the jury, she stood up and smiled at the young girl who was looking at her with an expression full of incomprehension at the absurdity of what she was witnessing before her— the injustice of the world.

"Though I was finally found innocent, what happened is a tragedy beyond words. As such, I will make sure to bear all the medical bills and even pay for the counseling sessions of this poor young girl."

The girl could not speak. Young she may be, but she was not stupid. What she was watching was not a judgment.

There was no fairness in the decision for it to be deemed a judgment, in the first place.

This place was a coliseum, the jury was the spectators, the judge was the King, and her family… nothing more than helpless gladiators thrown in front of a giant lion they had no chance against. The result— they had been devoured till not a single trace of them existed…

She was young… nothing but a kid who should have still been bathing in the innocence of her childhood while playing with her friends.

In the end, she realized one simple truth.

Justice was not blind, and the scales of justice were not equal.

The simple reality was that money could quite easily tilt that balance in the greatest bidder's favor.

[Present Day — Los Angeles — Richard Riordan Central Library]

"Miss Smith, you should wake up already. We are about to close down."

ƥ "Ugh…"

Waking up with a tired expression on her face and heavy bags under her dull eyes, the dream, or rather nightmare, she had been experiencing in her sleep left a very bad taste in her mouth as it brought back the memories she had thought she'd completely buried deep in her heart by now.

Shaking her head to chase away the last remnants of her living nightmare, Themis blinked her eyes a few times as she looked at the librarian who was gently shaking her awake.

It was an old woman wearing a pair of glasses, but she recognized her in an instant. After all, during the last three days, Themis had become a recurring client of hers inside this grand library.

"Sorry. I was a little too tired today and dozed off before I knew it."

The librarian gave her an encouraging smile as she nodded her head in understanding, "I perfectly understand. Would you like to borrow some books?"

"No, it's alright. Thanks."

Carefully raising her upper body, after making sure she hadn't damaged the book she slept on, she stood up from her seat and stretched her arms and shoulders slightly before observing her surroundings.

She immediately notices that there were still many people present in the library, outside of her, though they were clearly all university students swiftly rummaging through the books— indicating that they might have some exam sometime soon which warranted their current numbers and behavior.

Sighing, she looked down at the book she had been examining and thought about her progress over the last few days.

She had been a little naive.

The Central Library's Rare Books Department had over 16,000 volumes, dating from the 15th century till modern history with a majority from the 18th and 19th centuries. Even if she used the rest of her life cooped up inside the library, while not eating, sleeping, or doing anything other than reading, she would not be able to finish reading all the books in just the Rare Books collection.

But even so, those few days had allowed her to rest her mind.

"Sorry, I will be leaving now."

"Don't hesitate to come back later."

Waving her hand, Themis left the library and observed the lively city once again. She trudged on the streets with an absent-minded expression.

Ever since the 28th, what Kirishima, her teammate and mentor told her kept turning in her mind.

Every time she thought of his words, something tried to make her forget or instill distrust in her.

But… she knew Kirishima. She knew that he was not crazy and more than anything, what he had told her was too significant to simply be the ramblings of a mentally ill man.

At the same time, she knew that this was an opportunity for her. A chance to bring true change and have a greater impact on society.

All she needed for that was to truly enter the supernatural world.

She knew a little bit about the different factions that comprised this new world she had become privy to and realized just how much was hidden from the eyes of the 'normal' public.

This brought a new sense of paranoia in her heart. A bunch of criminals that she could not see and could not even stop were moving all around her without her even knowing their identities.

This made her feel like she was about to go mad and she did not even dare to sleep in her own home.

'Hah… Kirishima really gave me some shocking news, didn't he?'

While her paranoia was running at full power, something else was swirling in her heart.

A desire for power.

She didn't just want to observe… she wanted to act.

Becoming a hunter was impossible for her, but she knew that this was not the only path to power.

In fact, it was the slowest, unless you were some kind of genius of the century.

Themis didn't believe that she was a genius.

This was why she needed to form a contract.

FINAL SIDE STORY: STALKING ARACHNE

[?]

Among them was the Chinese clan of Peng— a family entirely composed of hunters and part of the Triad.

Then there was the Aldini family— a group of European vampires associated with the Italian mafia that had integrated into the modern city. They were generally inactive, with many members working in the medical field, making it easier for them to acquire fresh blood or corpses for their survival.

The Great Wolves— a group comprised of the Russian Mafia and a pack of werewolves, had the least influence in the underworld of the city as they were the newest faction in the area. However, this was relative to the other factions and not representative of their real capabilities as their influence was still significant in the city.

The final group, like the Peng family, consisted of humans. However, they were not Hunters.

The Hanekawa family, known to humans as the Yakuza group, held control over Little Japan inside the city of Los Angeles. In reality, they were more akin to Shinto priests or Shaman Exorcists, deriving their power from contracts with gods, ghosts, or even the Yokai— Japanese folklore ghosts and spiritual beasts.

What made them special was their ability to use their bodies as vessels to house spiritual entities that were unlike any other powers out there. Their status was determined by the level or number of entities they could seal within themselves to use as a vessel.

This was why they were respected.

This was why they were feared.

Fighting against them was one thing, but the moment they died, they could choose to bring the entity to hell with them or release it into the world and wreak havoc on the enemies.

They were no different from walking nuclear bombs, capable of detonating at any given moment. And for that very reason, most people made their best efforts to avoid provoking their wrath.

In this way, they were the most influential of the four families watching over the city of Los Angeles. Their role was simply too vital for them to be insignificant no matter how low-key they acted.

...

...

...

Presently, within the Hanekawa family mansion, a grand ritual was taking place.

Scores of individuals dressed in ceremonial kimonos, their faces concealed by talismans and heads covered by large traditional bamboo hats, chanted in unison as they recited a sutra of otherworldly origins.

At the center of the vast plaza where the ritual was held, a large white cocoon stood in place and the praying monks gazed at it with eyes filled with fear and horror.

With each prayer, the cocoon pulsed like a beating heart, causing the monks to endure immense physical and spiritual torment with each beat.

Yet, they did not cease their prayers. This was perhaps one of the most critical sealing rituals they had conducted in decades and failure was not deemed as an option. They would win or they would die.

Their fervent prayers intensified, knowing that ultimately, only the young woman fighting within the cocoon could resolve the situation for them.

As the night wore on, a sigh of relief escaped their lips, illuminated by the rays of the rising sun.

A cry filled with indignation and fury resonated through the air, but they paid it no heed.

Slowly, time trickled by, and the cocoon disintegrated into nothingness, revealing the figure of the person who had been trapped within all this time.

Everyone present prostrated themselves in the most respectful dogeza position possible before the enchanting figure— their foreheads touching the ground and never moving up.

After all, how could they dare to gaze upon the naked body of their mistress?

"Congratulations, Young Lady!"

The few who had failed to avert their eyes and caught a glimpse of her unclothed form promptly employed their Prana to blind themselves for the rest of their life for the blasphemy they had conducted.

The sin of beholding her naked form could only be absolved through blindness or death.

Such was the creed of their family.

"We beg for your forgiveness!"

The young woman was breathtakingly beautiful— her long pink hair, going below her rambunctious waist, shimmering with an atypical exotic hue.

Her body exuded a form of softness that was pleasing to the eyes, and her curves, while not exaggerated, were certainly above average.

It didn't take long for women dressed in white and red kimonos to approach the enchanting girl, carrying a large Haori to cover her holy body.

Once they had performed this duty, they knelt down in succession, offering their backs as a makeshift pedestal for their mistress.

She frowned at the unnecessary display, but understanding the hackneyed tradition, she stepped upon their backs while two women held her hands and escorted her from the central plaza into the house.

Sitting inside, a mature blonde-haired woman wearing a loosely tied Kimono, which accentuated and even revealed her impressive curves, leaned on her hand with a pipe between her lips, observing the approaching young woman.

"So, how did it go?"

"Hello, Mother. With your blessing, the sealing of the Tsuchigumo was successful." [1]

The blonde woman scoffed in derision at her words, "My blessings brought nothing. It's honestly a miracle that you managed to seal a Tsuchigumo while hosting the Jorogumo. Take credit where it's due." [2]

"It pales in comparison to what you have accomplished."

"Heh... Nothing, she says. Haha. This is why geniuses are a pain in the arse."

Letting out a sigh, she waved her hand dismissively. "I understand why you were so eager to seal the second evil spirit within you and I won't hold it against you for doing that. Now that it is part of the supernatural world, you may do as you wish."

For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on the pink-haired girl's face as she bowed her head repeatedly, "I am grateful."

"Now go. Oh, and Tsubasa, while everyone is free to do as they please, I must say... Your room is quite unsettling."

"I do not comprehend the meaning behind your words, Mother…."

The two exchanged a gaze, but the mother's interest waned almost immediately, and she returned to her drinks, placing her pipe down on the mahogany table.

Bowing once again, clasping her hands, Tsubasa turned and walked toward her room.

Upon reaching her destination, the attendant halted and kneeled before departing from the vicinity. They were well aware that no one had the right to enter this sanctum.

Stepping into the room, an overwhelming sense of devotion and possessiveness pervaded the air.

The walls were adorned with an extensive collage of meticulously arranged photographs, creating a tapestry of obsession and delusion. Every available inch of space was adorned with snapshots capturing the object of her love.

Soft, diffused light bathed the room, casting the pictures in varying sizes and qualities, forming a haunting mosaic that narrated the tale of her unwavering fixation. From stolen moments to intimate gazes, each snapshot captured the essence of her beloved, frozen in time.

The progression of photographs along the walls told a story, unveiling the evolution of her obsession. Initially, the images depicted innocent encounters and sweet smiles, evoking a sense of purity and budding love. Laughter and joy radiated from these early captures, painting a picture of an idyllic romance.

However, as one's gaze traced across the wall, a subtle shift in tone became apparent. The expressions of her love changed. The pictures now captured stolen glances through windows, clandestine rendezvous in hidden corners, and intrusion into private moments.

Scattered amidst the collaged masterpiece were handwritten notes clinging to certain pictures. Once tender and innocent, these declarations of love and possessiveness now carried an unnerving weight to them that was hard to look past.

Amidst the sea of captured memories, a solitary chair occupied the room's center.

Adorned with a plush cushion, its surface delicately embroidered with the letters A and T, the chair held a pink teddy bear on top— a prized possession of hers as it was the sole gift given by her beloved during their short relationship.

Approaching it, she hugged the teddy bear tightly, her gaze absent-mindedly drifting over the pictures.

How long had she restrained herself? The moment she was ordered to separate from Adam had been nothing short of a death sentence for her.

That was why she had chosen to seal the Jorogumo within her despite how dangerous it would have been according to her current capabilities.

As she contemplated, her pupils changed, taking on the shape akin to a spider's.

In an instant, her consciousness connected with a spider that resided many kilometers away.

Through this shared vision, she glimpsed at Adam's house.

This was the ability she had acquired— not only summoning special spiders with different attributes but also sharing her senses with any and all spiders within a certain range.

This was perhaps one of the most effective espionage techniques in the world, allowing her to observe and follow Adam for years without anyone suspecting a thing.

Thanks to these spiders, she knew nearly everything about Adam.

However, she regretted that her spiders couldn't enter his house, fearing that Adam's mother would sense their presence.

This prevented her from gazing upon his sleeping face— a true disappointment like none other.

But soon... Soon they would be reunited.

Meanwhile, in the depths of her soul, one spider shivered while making sure to stay as small and invisible as possible while avoiding the gaze of a much smaller spider.

One of the weak points of the sealing method was that the one doing the sealing needed to constantly fight against the corruption of the sealed being.

It was not strange for some of the shamans to become crazy and lose control, which was why the contract method was largely favored over the sealing one though the latter gave far more power to the wielder than what a mere contract could ever entail.

Tsubasa, though, never faced any such problem.

The reason was rather simple all things considered.

When the Jorogumo was first sealed in Tsubasa around 6 years ago— there was already nothing left in her to corrupt, only the darkness and malevolence to be accepted.

[1]: Tsuchigumo is a type of giant spider tarantula. They are known for their battles against Minamoto no Raiko, the one who defeated Shuten Doji. They possess the strength of an Oni and the speed of a tiger.

Note: In this story, Minamoto no Raiko is an ancestor of the Kaminari family.

[2]: Jorogumo, also known as "entangling newlywed women," is a spider yokai that can shape-shift into a beautiful woman. They are depicted as spider women who manipulate small fire-breathing spiders. They are often portrayed as evil creatures, tricking or devouring men. It is noteworthy how many yokai transform into women to corrupt or prey upon men.