Yarlyn took his time pacing over before his eyes curved with joy at Darius. “Long time no see, Darius.”Edward took several steps backward before realization hit him, and his mouth rounded into a big O-shape. He pointed a trembling finger at Yarlyn, stuttering, “Y-You’re…”“Didn’t think it would take you this long to realize who I am.” Laughter rumbled from Shelvin’s throat. He placed his hands behind his back while walking toward Darius and sighing deeply. “Yarlyn Weiss sacrificed his life. He condensed his remaining black, gaseous life force and used it to heal you, Darius. However, you said you didn’t need it and stopped him. At the time, he still had a slight chance of retracting his life force to survive, but he gave it up—because he was more than ready to die when you first asked for his name. At that point, he’d decided he didn’t want to continue living in torment. Thus, when you said you didn’t need his life force, he immediately transferred it and every last drop of his stre
“Indeed, we all saw it happen, but we won’t feel sad over it.” The man gulped before carefully looking up at Darius through his lashes. He then spoke with the utmost caution, not wanting to upset Darius. “We were already upset long before today, as we knew this would happen—” His voice began to shake. “—He told us this was the likely outcome and said he would’ve ended his life with his bare hands even if you guys didn’t kill him.”His trembled so much that tears gathered in the brim of his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. After that, he continued, “My boss said his presence would get in the way of us pledging our loyalty to you, and he couldn’t guarantee whether you’d accept all of us if he’s in the picture. Not only that, but he mentioned being alive was a painful chore anyway.”The man stopped crying at that point. He lifted his head to meet Darius’ gaze while explaining, “My boss said this is the best outcome, so we shouldn’t be angry at anyone.”With that, he turned to look
Darius placed one hand on the collar of Edward’s shirt. “So, you don’t have to be upset. Besides, many others take more than a month to learn where to place their life force before they can even float for a second.”Edward’s eyes sparkled as he raised his head to meet Darius’ eyes. It felt like the wind tickled his eyes, causing them to tear up. So, he shut his eyes and mouth. Still, his eyes kept tingling so much that he cried. Edward only realized the wind had stopped after he wiped away all his tears. That was when something clicked in his mind, and he looked ahead, his pupils dilating in shock; things had turned out as he thought. Edward stiffly turned to look at Darius and stuttered, “S-Sir, that’s incredible! We arrived here in such a short time!”Darius stopped walking, turned, and pursed his lips at Edward. “You’ve always been a cold person from the moment we met. But now? Well, it seems you’re capable of more emotions—some of which are unnecessary.”That snapped Edward to hi
The security guard responded, “We don’t need to do all of that. Many people are willing to help us defend our reputation.”Alicia’s brows narrowed with displeasure as she snapped, “What on earth do you mean? Explain yourself now!”Her frosty gaze pierced into the security guard, causing the latter’s breathing to quicken.Despite how nervous the security guard felt, he mustered the courage to show Alicia his phone while locking eyes with her. “Yes, Miss Alicia. Please look at these online posts. They’re all praising us.”On the phone were several online posts that read, “Woah! That Darius Reid guy shocks me. He looks so young, yet he took down the rotten Gillette family like it’s nothing!”“Almiron City feels safer to live in by the day. The place is a little run down, but it’s always been this way.”“I disagree. Our lives in the city are much better now that those horrible people in power are gone. Darius is cooler than any superhero out there!”“As a fellow student, Darius chose to p
“Well then, I’ll entrust Bridget’s health to you.” Darius smiled. He then headed straight downstairs without giving Shelvin a chance to reply. “Now, I’ve got many other things to sort out.”Shelvin stood at the stairway and waited until Darius left his sight before returning to Bridget’s room.…When Darius arrived at the second floor, he had placed his hands in his pockets and had a little pep in his step. It was not long before he heard the sound of someone breathing in the hallway. Raising his head, he curiously quirked a brow at Alicia, who stood before him. “I’d like to know why you’re appearing before me again.”Sensing no anger in Darius’ tone or face, Alicia relaxed her jaw before saying, “I’m sorry, sir. I forgot to tell you something—”She was too afraid to meet his eyes, so her head hung low with shame.Darius kept his hands in his pocket in a relaxed manner as he already knew Alicia’s motive. Three things were running through his mind as he thought, “Firstly, Alicia must’
Darius knew those footsteps belonged to Alicia. He turned toward the door, and as expected, a knock came before two minutes passed. He calmly stated, “Come in. The door’s not locked.”Alicia had come to say the same thing Erin did earlier. She opened the door and exclaimed, “Sir, have you seen the situation online?”“I saw it,” Darius replied with a smile. He leaned against the balcony railing and said, “But you don’t have to worry. The person behind this was so rushed that he’d never wait for us to make our move. He’ll probably arrive soon.”That was when one of the hotel’s security guards came to speak with Alicia. His face creased with anxiety as he said, “Miss Alicia, someone sent an invitation to Mr. Reid. They told me to deliver it to him ASAP. Otherwise, I’d regret not doing it and have to pay a hefty price.”The guard kept his gaze on the ground, not daring to say anything more as he could tell Alicia was glaring daggers at him. However, two people had given him a thick wad of
“Those two families were decent, but they shared the fruits of their labors with their relatives. Unfortunately, none of those relatives are good people,” Darius thought while sighing and leaning against his chair. He had just shut his eyes when some footsteps drew close. Edward brought a man in a tuxedo and a top hat into the room.The man stopped before Darius’ desk, taking off his hat to pay respects to Darius before the latter could speak. “Mr. Reid, my employer, Kate, instructed me to deliver this invite. She would like you to meet her. The matter regarding the head of the Anderson family will also be discussed during the meeting.”While saying that, he straightened his body and met Darius’ gaze with a conflicted expression.Although Darius kept his eyes closed, he could sense the former’s clashing emotions. He did not bother opening his eyes when he replied, “No one can eavesdrop or spread information to the outside world from this hotel without my approval. So, feel free to sp
“For some reason, Mr. Reid seems so terrifying! It’s as though he’s the keeper of hell who’s come to earth to claim a lost soul!” Edward thought.Darius opened his eyes, his attention snapping toward the door at once. “Come in.”Only then did Edward try to take a step forward and peek out from behind the door with a smile. “S-Sir, I just wanted to know your decision since both invites state the events take place tomorrow night.”“Right, I’ve decided to go to neither.” Darius nodded while speaking as if he could not care less. He then tossed the invites onto the desk ahead. Leaning comfortably against his chair, he crossed one leg over the other and appeared relaxed.Standing before the desk was Edward, whose mouth had opened so widely that he could catch flies with it. He could not understand a single thing that Darius had in mind, so he kept parting his lips, but no words came.Darius’ patience ran out after the former did that several times. Irritated by the delayed response, he de