Despite how ruthless Adam could be, there was still one thing he couldn’t do: take a human life.
It wasn’t morality.
It wasn’t ethics.
It wasn’t so self-imposed code about right and wrong.
It was a psychological block.
One he felt carved into him the day he watched his mother stab herself to death.
Monsters were different. They were the objects and vessels into which his rage could be poured without resistance.
Killing them felt natural, necessary, even cleansing.
But humans?
Whenever it ca to killing another person, sothing inside his head flipped. Not a voice or fear. Just an uncontrollable shutdown. His body would hesitate, lock up, or instinctively choose an alternative path.
Adam could only attribute it to trauma.
Deep down, he didn’t believe killing a person was wrong.
He wasn’t naïve. He understood the world. He understood the necessity. But understanding sothing and being able to do it were two entirely different things.
Everyone had thought about killing soone at least once.
The idiot who stepped on you.
The bastard who cut in line.
The neighbor who kept yelling when you were trying to sleep.
The fool who ruined everything with their stupidity.
It might sound extre, but the thought itself was normal. Or at least, Adam believed it was.
And if it wasn’t, then maybe he really was insane.
The point was this:
When those thoughts crossed his mind, Adam always felt resistance.
Not from his conscience, but from his mind and no matter how much he tried to confront it or brute-force his way past, the block remained.
That was, until now.
Why am I even hesitating? Adam thought mad at himself more than anything.
All those other tis... they were just impulsive thoughts. But this? This is the real deal.
Looking at the man he’d just sent crashing into his colleague, Adam narrowed his eyes.
I can’t let a little trauma hold back.
The remaining goons, shaken but not broken, regained their footing. Anger and adrenaline replaced their shock as they charged at him again, weapons raised, spirits flaring.
Adam exhaled sharply.
I just have to see them like the vermin’s they are.
He let out a cold breath, closed his eyes for a mont and when he opened them, a cold light shone within his icy gaze.
And with that clarity, Adam surged forward once more, charging straight at the remaining goons with pure intent to kill.
Henry stood before the floating dark gem, its warped light reflecting faintly in his eyes as he watched his followers struggle to hold Adam back.
Why isn’t he killing them?
That thought vanished the next mont when Adam’s knife buried itself in a goon’s chest killing him instantly.
The way Adam was dismantling them, one after another, made it painfully clear Henry didn’t have ti to dwell on them.
He turned back to the gem, irritation twisting his expression.
"This stupid thing," he muttered. "Hurry up and activate."
In truth, Henry didn’t even know what it did.
And that wasn’t unusual.
From the day he was born, his life had never been about understanding why. Only what.
How he carried himself in public.
The endless training.
The hatred drilled into him for the Kelvins.
Everything had been an order. No explanations. No context. Only consequences if he failed.
That was how Henry’s life worked.
Orders, and nothing more.
Even now.
This gem.
Activating it in front of the breached rift.
Spreading false news about a Water Lily to lure other heirs into the sector and divert attention.
He hadn’t known the reason for any of it.
He still didn’t.
But he would do it anyway.
Because that was what he existed for, to serve the family. Nothing more.
Why did it suddenly beco quiet?
The silence drew Henry’s gaze back toward the fight, but he had no ti to process it before a fist swung toward his face.
Thump!
The impact stopped short, as a translucent barrier flared into existence, absorbing the blow with a dull, heavy sound.
Henry stared through the barrier.
Adam stood there.
All of Henry’s n were already dead.
Every single one.
Henry t Adam’s gaze, his eyes calm and devoid of fear.
"You operate fast."
Adam’s fist remained pressed against the barrier.
"I didn’t take you for the type to hide behind a barrier."
"What happened to your martial pride?"
Henry simply stared at him through the translucent wall.
"Martial pride is one thing," Henry replied calmly, "but foolishness is another."
Adam’s eyes narrowed.
"To be honest," Henry continued, "I never expected to be shocked the way I was today. Soone as unassuming as you, yet possessing this level of power... a perfect example of soone favored by heaven. It actually makes quite thrilled to—"
"Shut it."
Adam cut him off as his gaze turned cold.
"Don’t try to stall with pointless talk."
Henry looked at him closely.
Adam finally lowered his fist and took a step back from the barrier.
"And the fact that you’re trying to stall," he added evenly, "only tells one thing."
He paused.
"This barrier isn’t absolute."
Henry’s lips parted, about to respond, but Adam vanished.
Henry’s eyes snapped wide as he scanned around him.
Thump!
Henry’s gaze whipped to one side of the barrier.
No one was there.
Thump!
Another side.
This ti it was closer.
Thump!
The interval shortened.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
The impacts began coming every second, then faster.
Adam was moving at an astonishing speed.
He didn’t know exactly what generated the barrier, but he believed all barriers shared one weakness.
Durability.
Drain it fast enough, and it would hit zero.
Adam attacked without restraint.
With Rapid E, he could strike dozens of tis in a single mont. With his equipped talents not consuming stamina, exhaustion wasn’t a concern.
Every blow landed with maximum force, hamring the barrier from every possible angle.
It was relentless and unyielding.
And beyond stopping whatever Henry was trying to activate, there was another, far more personal motivation driving him.
As Adam struck again and again, a thought surfaced in his mind.
He still has that look.
Adam didn’t like the way Henry looked at him.
At first, he couldn’t put his finger on it. He had thought it was the usual arrogance or disdain a clan heir typically reserved for those beneath them.
But the more Adam watched him, the more the feeling curdled into sothing else entirely.
The best way to describe it... was like staring at a corpse.
Henry’s gaze was empty and emotionless. There was no hatred in it. No fear. No excitent. Even the anger he’d shown earlier to Small Dick and his master felt... rehearsed.
Adam had initially assud it was just another heir playing superiority gas. But now, standing here, hamring at the barrier while watching Henry through [Connect], he understood.
All of it was fake.
Perfectly acted, but fake nonetheless.
And Adam was sure of this for one simple reason.
Henry’s soul fla.
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