Chapter 409: Chapter 409

The lobby of the Samael building was sleek and modern, its glass walls reflecting the soft glow of the city lights outside. The group clustered together near a set of leather couches, the tension of the night settling in as they waited.

Penny glanced toward the elevators, then at the others. "We could just go up, you know," she suggested, her tone light but carrying that usual edge of energy that clung to her every word. "Why waste time sitting here when the action's obviously upstairs?"

Leo shifted uncomfortably, his hand resting against the arm of the couch. Something about the idea twisted in his gut, the faint warning of instinct scraping along the edge of his thoughts. He looked toward the elevators, then back at the group.

"No," he said finally, his voice even but firm. "We wait here. I don't know why, but going up right now feels like a bad idea."

Penny tilted her head, studying him with a faintly complicated expression. For a moment, she looked like she might argue, but then her lips curved into a slow, sassy smile.

"Well, you heard the leader," she said with mock gravity, her voice carrying more than a little teasing amusement. "If the fearless Leo says we wait, then we wait. He must be channeling his inner prophet or something."

Leo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as Rachel smirked at Penny's theatrics. Crystal's soft laugh filled the brief silence that followed, while Greg shook his head faintly, lips twitching like he was holding back a smile.

Minutes slipped by as the group waited, the faint hum of the lobby's lights filling the quiet space. Then, at last, the sound of footsteps broke through the stillness.

Adam strode into the lobby with Arachne at his side, her long coat swaying lightly with each step. Behind them walked Melanie, a professional smile fixed on her lips like a mask, though there was something in her eyes that made Rachel narrow her gaze almost immediately.

And then came Jeremy.

He was barely recognizable. Adam dragged him by one leg across the polished floor, the man's swollen, bloodied face catching the harsh lobby lighting. His clothes were torn, his teeth broken, his breathing shallow and ragged. He looked like someone who had been reduced from pride to ruin in the span of a single night.

Adam stopped in front of the group and, without ceremony, tossed Jeremy onto the floor. The body hit with a heavy thud, drawing silence from everyone watching.

Rachel's eyes, however, were locked onto Melanie.

She could feel it. The thick, twisting weight of dark desire rolling off the woman in waves. It coiled like smoke in the air, unmistakable in its depravity. Rachel's jaw tightened as realization sank in. Melanie's lust for Adam was suffocating, rotten at its core, and it hit Rachel with the cold clarity of someone recognizing a predator wearing human skin.

Melanie was just as much a monster as the broken man on the floor.

Adam crossed his arms, his expression flat. "Jeremy has been busy," he said, voice cutting through the silence. "He's been using people as test subjects. Trying to build a respawn beacon."

Jeremy stirred faintly, his head lifting just enough that his swollen eyes barely opened. His mouth moved, though only a mangled noise escaped, broken teeth and split lips making his words incomprehensible.

Lily frowned, arms folding lightly as she studied him. "I can understand why you beat him up this badly then," she said finally, her voice calm but firm.

Adam tilted his head toward her, one brow faintly raised. "I didn't beat him up because of this."

Greg blinked, glancing at Adam in confusion. "Then why? If he's not just some stranger, why beat your brother this badly?"

Adam's eyes flicked toward him, cold and matter of fact. "Half-brother," he corrected simply. His tone carried no warmth, no hesitation. "And I beat him up because he insulted my mother."

The words dropped like stone into water, rippling through the group as silence stretched.

Ethan pressed his lips together, fighting the smirk threatening to break through. His dog ears twitched faintly, betraying the laugh he was swallowing back.

Vivian stepped forward before anyone could speak. A soft glow of faint brown light rose around her hands, warm and steady, and then spread across Jeremy's battered body. Bruises faded. Bone knit. Skin closed where it had torn.

Jeremy gasped, his first real breath breaking through in a ragged sound as the swelling around his eyes eased enough for him to blink toward the group. His voice was cracked and thin when he finally spoke, but the words carried well enough to reach them all.

"The government… sponsored me," he rasped, each breath shallow. "The first respawn beacon… will be installed at the Academy. Soon."

For a moment, nobody spoke, the weight of his words settling over them like a storm cloud.

Rachel's eyes narrowed faintly, though her expression remained composed. "I doubt the government knew what you were doing to make it work," she said slowly, voice even.

She did not speak the rest of her thought, though it lingered sharp in the back of her mind.

At least, she hoped they didn't.

Jeremy coughed, his shoulders trembling as he lay back against the floor. Even now, he remained defiant, not willing to bow his head to anything or anyone. He was surprised that there was someone with enough sense in Adam's little group to know what was good for them and healing him. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on NoveI(F)ire.net

He didn't know the principle behind the horned womans healing but he didn't care. Once he was back on his feet and got ahold of his contact in the government, he would remember to pay back the favor...by giving her a spot next to him in his bed.

However, the faint brown light faded before he was back to one hundred percent. His eyes were filled with confusion as the woman smiled as she looked at Adam and said words that made Jeremy's blood run cold.

"Honestly, it looked like you weren't done beating this guys ass so I healed him for you~!"

Adam had a brief look of confusion before he began to smile from ear to ear. Vivian seemed to understand him suprpisingly despite having only just met not too long ago. She was right, He wasn't done with the asshole but he hadn't wanted to kill him.

Adam cracked his knuckles as he stepped towards Jeremy who began to sweat in fear once more.

"Time for Round Two!" Adam growled with venom dripping from every word