— "No need to be nervous. Alex didn't betray you!… I saw it through a vision!" — said the Messenger, her voice soft, yet firm.
Before silence could settle in the room, Adrian released a tiny fraction of his power. Just enough to smother everyone present with a crushing, suffocating presence — dense like hell itself.
— "So you know… that I will kill you."
The air turned heavier than lead. Even the furniture trembled.
— "Not even a Kill Count of 212,333 can withstand his presence," — whispered the Faceless Masked Man, eyes hidden behind the mask, body visibly tense.
The Messenger, forced to slightly bow under the pressure, glanced at Bruce, who was already kneeling, shaking, his eyes rolling. A subtle smile crossed her lips.
— "Calm down, or your man's going to pass out... I know many things, Adrian. Including… about Melisa. And your daughter, Aurora."
The atmosphere shifted.
All the pressure that had threatened to crush the room vanished.
Adrian froze, eyes wide — as if he'd been punched in the soul.
— "How does she know...? I've never told anyone… ever."
The Messenger adjusted herself in the armchair, relaxing as if the world wasn't on the edge of collapse.
— "This is only the beginning, Adrian Foster. The Society's true target... has always been you."
— "You think you can bend me with words? How do you know about my family?!"
— "I am the Messenger. The Prophetic Witch. I know the twisted paths of the Kill Counts. I see what's hidden. And I know what you desire most..." — she smiled. — "Redemption."
The table between them exploded into dust instantly.
Adrian didn't move. But his fury was a living, pulsating energy.
The Messenger just laughed in silence, savoring his temperament like a rare wine.
— "Such a dangerous man... I'm enjoying this more than I should."
— "The mark on my forehead hides more than numbers… it hides the void he left behind," — Adrian muttered, his voice heavy with pain and threat. — "Speak. Who are you? What is this damn Society? Before you become just another soul haunting me."
The woman leaned back again, crossing her legs with elegance.
— "My name is Mirtha. But I'm known as the Messenger. I know too many secrets. And for that... I ask to speak with Adrian Foster alone. What we'll discuss is confidential."
Bruce hesitated, worried. Sweat ran down his forehead.
— "Sir, I..."
— "Go, Bruce." — Adrian cut him off, without looking.
Then he turned to Alex and the Faceless Masked Man, eyes cold as stone:
— "And you two... still don't have my permission to be free."
Outside the room — Corridor
Bruce stepped out first, trying to keep composed. Just around the corner, he heard the sarcastic jab from the Masked Man:
— "What did you do to make a Kill Monster your guard dog, when you're just an elite bearer?"
Bruce ignored him. Alex didn't.
With a sudden movement, Alex slammed the Masked Man against the wall, his hand formed of dark energy clutching his throat like a demonic claw.
— "Shut up, you coward!" — Alex's eyes glowed with disgust. — "Still got one arm... wanna lose the other? You accept missions without knowing your enemy?!"
The Masked Man couldn't respond. The gap in Kill Count was massive — Alex, a Degenerate with 90,003 kills, versus him, a mere Phase 3. His throat only let out choked, useless sounds.
Bruce didn't flinch. His fire-coated revolver was already aimed at the two.
— "Enough." — his voice didn't waver. — "I don't care about your Kill Counts or grudges. I'm the one in command here."
Alex laughed. A dry, humorless sound.
— "Look at that... You've got some nerve."
His aura erupted — a living darkness that warped the air. The pressure made Bruce step back, but his expression didn't change.
"These bastards really are abnormal... I'll have to use my ace."
Bruce's hand disappeared into his pocket and returned with a red bullet — pulsing like a heart.
Alex froze.
— "What kind of ammo is that? The energy… it's immense."
Bruce said nothing. Just pulled the trigger.
TUM! TUM! TUM!
Fire bullets burst forward, but Alex was already moving, dropping the Masked Man. His body dissolved into shadow, charging like a black hurricane.
Bruce grinned.
At the last moment, he tossed the revolver into the air.
Alex didn't understand — until he saw a second gun rise from Bruce's waist.
— "Got you!"
The switch was so fast it looked like a magic trick. The airborne gun hadn't even landed when Bruce loaded the red bullet.
He was already airborne — "position swap."
Alex realized too late.
— "So that's your trick?!"
His shadow arm stretched like a spear, but the system screamed in his ears:
[☠️ System: DANGER!]
The red bullet fired.
The world froze for a second.
Then—
BOOM!!
Crimson flames and blue lightning devoured the corridor. The blast ripped through the walls. Alex was thrown back, his shadow arm shattered like glass.
The Masked Man, still on the ground, swallowed hard.
"Such destructive power... this is beyond me!"
The explosion echoed through the corridors, dragging with it the stench of burned flesh and molten metal.
And then... silence.