“And yes, I’m worried about the exact same thing. No amount of sorcery or meditation would keep a person’s heart beating for five centuries unless the hearts that beat in their chests now don’t belong to them, or there’s something else at play that we’re unaware of.” Teivel sighed. “Either way, history is repeating itself—what happened five centuries ago is happening again now.”Darius bit his lip and frowned deeply. Then, he said, “What should we do to prevent the situation from worsening? I honestly have no idea how to proceed from here; I thought I’d eradicated the black-robed people, yet here they are, appearing before me again.”Teivel laughed, but it wasn’t mocking. He said, “They can’t be eradicated—not in the way you think, anyway—because no one could’ve stopped the mastermind after I died. I know my opponent well, and he must’ve thrown himself into expanding his forces after my death. He’s extremely conscientious, and not even his death would put a halt to this organization’s
James stiffened but still tried his best to keep his smile in place. “I haven’t seen your father’s friends in a long while, especially after your parents died. They all had their reasons for leaving.” He took a deep breath; Darius could tell he was upset. James continued, “At the time, I couldn’t accept your father’s death and would’ve appreciated having them around—at least it’d make me feel like he was still alive. I know they weren’t obligated to do anything, but they didn’t even bother attending the funeral. Yet here they are, years later, talking to you about their relationship with your father. I refuse to believe a word they say!” He tried to keep his fury at bay but still couldn’t help trembling. “You can’t trust them fully, so remember to take their words with a grain of salt. After all, there’s no guaranteeing they didn’t befriend your father with a hidden agenda; who knows what they’ve been up to all these years?”Darius had never heard James speak so much before; he was ob
“Don’t worry, they can’t see me. We’ll be fine as long as you don’t join me in mid-air,” Teivel said.Darius exhaled, put his hands behind his back, and looked at the scene before him quietly. There was rat blood everywhere, along with some bits and pieces of flesh. He felt his stomach churning, so he held his breath and levitated, joining Teivel in mid-air. “Sir, I see a mixture of anger and sorrow in your eyes.”Teivel shut his eyes and nodded. “Yeah. I used a secret technique to go through their memories; they’ve been through more than they should’ve before they were put to sleep. They were suffering various hardships when I met them, and when I brought them back with me, the oldest wasn’t even seven. I raised them and taught them to read and write, but I definitely didn’t teach them meditation. I only wanted them to live ordinary lives. Besides, most of them weren’t suited to become enlightened martial artists, which is why I was surprised to see that they’d taken that path. At fi
Teivel needed a quiet place where no one would disturb him. Darius waited until he could no longer sense Teivel before landing on the ground. When he did so, the black-robed people slowly opened their eyes and returned to their senses. Some of them started vomiting when they saw the rat blood and scattered parts around them, but this didn’t affect Darius. He said, “I’m sorry to have stumbled upon your secret like this.” The people settled down and trained their gazes on him. He smiled and said, “I think it’s an issue that needs to be resolved.”The leader of the group stepped forward to block the others from view and said lowly, “Everything’s up for discussion as long as you don’t let Mr. Teivel know about this.”Darius raised an eyebrow. “Unfortunately, he already knows.” The leader became ashen at his words, but rage started to burn in his eyes. However, a few seconds later, it was extinguished, and he slumped, dropping his eyes to the ground. Darius’ lips twitched at this. “If yo
The woman remained rooted to the spot, looking shell-shocked. Darius intended to play along and act like he didn’t know what was happening, but he wanted so badly to laugh at the woman’s terrible acting. Besides, no maid employed by the Reid family would wear thigh-high stockings while working. Still, he knew he had to pretend everything was fine. He put on an angry look and growled, “I’m disgusted by your presence, so you’d better stay away from me!” At his words, the woman’s face became ashen. He tapped his fingers on the edge of the bathtub, wondering whether he’d been too harsh. Would she be able to continue with her act? His lips twitched as he shut his eyes and said, “Remember not to wear anything other than the proper uniform when you come to work next time…no matter how good it looks on you.”Darius sensed her surprise and pleasure at his words and heard footsteps approaching him. He frowned imperceptibly and was about to warn her off when Teivel’s voice blared in his mind. “
Darius raised an eyebrow. He grabbed the woman by the neck and flung her into the bathtub, making her gasp as she tried to catch her breath. He ignored her, put his pants on, and placed a hand on the doorknob. In his mind, the Reid family’s villa was a place for him to relax and be at peace, but it seemed he was wrong. He opened the door to see Erin standing there, and his lips twitched. “I thought you’d be waiting outside.” He didn’t have a shirt on because his wardrobe was outside.Obviously, Erin didn’t expect to see him like this. She flushed and turned away from him but couldn’t bring herself to walk away—it was as if her feet were glued to the floor. Then again, perhaps her brain had stopped functioning and couldn’t tell her legs to move. Either way, she didn’t leave.Darius seemed surprised at this, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he strode past her and into the wardrobe, reemerging when he had a robe on. He asked calmly, “What happened?”Erin quickly regained her composure
Darius pointed at the bathroom as he spoke. “You can check the bathroom if you want. It’s the same as all the other bathrooms, and nothing here can allow me to upload anything online.” He looked at Bruce, who still looked like he had something to say. As an enlightened martial artist, he immediately knew what Bruce was thinking, and his lips twitched. Darius gave Bruce a helpless look and said, “Look, the cameras have nothing to do with me.”Bruce immediately sighed in relief. Darius curbed the urge to roll his eyes and turned to look at the woman while tapping his fingers on the couch’s armrest. The atmosphere became so tense that Bruce dropped his head again, looking at the floor. After a few seconds, Darius said, “Bruce.” It made Bruce shudder and lower his head even more. He couldn’t imagine what Darius was about to say and sweat beaded on his forehead. Darius ignored his roiling emotions and said, “You should look into how this woman sneaked in here and made her way to my room.”
Bruce looked at him calmly. “Perhaps you’ll consider telling me why you’re here if you don’t want to die.”The man burst into laughter. Darius frowned and said, “Bruce, take him away so you can question him later.” Bruce immediately reached out to grab the man, and his speed made Darius’ eyes light up. As expected, Bruce was a martial artist who seemed more proficient than everyone present, including Darius. This made Darius want nothing more than to spar with him, but this obviously wasn’t the right time for that. He tried his best to suppress the urge to pounce on Bruce.At this moment, Edward and Bridget showed up. From their footsteps and breathing, Darius could tell they had run all the way here, which made him raise an eyebrow. He turned to look at the door and said, “Bruce, hold on.” Bruce didn’t know why Darius had suddenly stopped him, but he did as told, and turned to look at Darius, whose brows were tightly furrowed. He’d never seen such a grim look on Darius’ face before a
"If you hadn't picked on me, I wouldn't have ended up like this. No matter how wealthy I've become, I'll never be able to take these black robes off!" The mysterious man's voice was shaky. He was extremely agitated.James frowned at that. He said curiously, "You keep saying I've done you wrong, but everything I did to you was what you did to others. I only gave you a taste of your own medicine."The mysterious man's breathing sped up when he heard that. He barked out a laugh and sneered, "I'll be honest with you. I never thought I'd have the chance to meet someone as dumb as you again."He shook his head. "I find it hard to imagine what your grandson will do when he sees you like this." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door was kicked open with a loud bang. The man was caught off guard. He looked at Darius as his body trembled violently.Darius frowned when he saw this. It was completely different from what he'd imagined. He narrowed his eyes at the mysterious man, his
Gabriel smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll return to my workstation and prepare a proposal on what to do with Noah."Darius nodded and smiled. "Good. That's all I ever wanted." He turned to leave. "You need to get to work, and I need to return to my hotel to get some rest."Gabriel stopped. Darius' words made him hesitate. "I'm sorry to be asking this because I don't think it's my place, but it's probably better for me to ask anyway. I don't remember there being any hotels nearby."You should head home if you wanna get some rest. I don't understand why you're heading to a hotel to rest."Darius raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. He turned with his hands behind his back to look at Gabriel helplessly. "I don't know how to feel about what you've just said. You're making me think you're a little silly. Wouldn't I know how to search for a hotel?"It won't take you long to prepare a proposal, but it'll take me ages to get home from here." Darius turned and left.Gabriel's lips twitc
"Because you realized the risk was far greater than what you were comfortable with," Darius said calmly.But Noah started trembling. He looked at Darius in terror. He didn't expect Darius to see right through him after some simple back-and-forth. His eyes widened in fear.Everything that was happening now made him feel like he was dreaming. Noah had only been a step away from success, yet Darius had ruined everything.Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at Darius. "I've said everything there is to say. I'm the lowest rung on this ladder, and I only have one purpose for being here. It's to make you come under the authorities' control. Once you're here, my mission's accomplished."Someone else from the authorities will be here to deal with you, but that has nothing to do with me. They wouldn't have told me about it, anyway."Darius put his hands behind his back without saying anything. He turned to leave. Noah's eyes widened as he stared in fear at Darius' back.Darius didn't see this, bu
When Darius straightened up, his face became devoid of emotion. He said calmly, "I've wasted too much time on you. Now, I only want frank answers. Otherwise, I'll punish you for every lie that you tell me. I don't see any hope in your eyes, but let's see whether you prove me wrong."Darius paused, then continued, "I've already said something similar once. That was a chance I gave you. From this moment onward, I want you to know that I won't repeat myself because I believe you've had enough time to prepare yourself."Gabriel stood beside him and put his hands behind his back as his lips twitched. He'd thought about the various reasons for Darius repeating himself. But the one thing that hadn't occurred to him was that Darius had done it to give Noah time to prepare.Gabriel felt like applauding Darius, but the rational side of him stopped him from doing so. His rationality told him he'd be in for trouble if he were to do that, so he only looked at Darius with a smile.Darius sensed Ga
Darius raised an eyebrow and smiled. Then, he said, "You're too nervous, Gabriel. It makes it seem like you don't trust me. In truth, there's nothing for you to worry about."He stretched his neck and continued, "I know very well how bad the consequences of destroying this building will be. Aside from those silly regulations, I'll also need to pay for it. I might be wealthy, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy forking out a huge sum of money as compensation."Darius spread his hands and shrugged. At the same time, he pointed at the window and turned to look at Gabriel. Then, he said, "Look. The windows are perfectly fine. They're not even scratched. That shows my life force is non-destructive."That's why you have nothing to worry about. You can put your heart back into your chest."Gabriel straightened up and sighed in relief. Then, he gave Darius an embarrassed smile.Darius grinned but didn't say anything in response. He put his hands behind his back and turned to look at Noah. He sai
"We're classmates from the same major, too! We were interns at Dream Investment Group, remember? And we got kicked out on our first day. You broke my legs because of a tiny argument we had outside the building! The surveillance cameras captured all of this!" Noah cried.Darius tucked his hands into his pockets and rolled his eyes. Then, he said mockingly, "You're the biggest fool I've ever met. Do you think you're the only one who can tamper with the surveillance footage? Any footage that can be tampered with can also be restored."Noah's eyes widened in shock. He gulped and tried to think of a way to explain away the injuries Darius had inflicted on him. Still, he couldn't think of anything. Before he had the chance to think any further, Darius spoke.He said, "There's one thing you got right, though. Gabriel is on my side, so he'll stand up for me no matter what you say."Gabriel's lips twitched at that. He subconsciously opened his mouth to say something in return, but Darius bea
"And I don't think it's my job to make you see sense," Gabriel continued. He put his hands behind his back. He gave Noah a look that was an odd mixture of gentle iciness. "I've given you more than enough time and chances."Gabriel sighed. "It's obvious that you don't care for that, though. And so I think it's time for me to treat you as an officer should." He sat down on the other side of the desk again.Noah's face was white with fear. Gabriel acted like he didn't see this, though. He smiled. "As I mentioned, I gave you plenty of time and chances, but you didn't appreciate them."His gaze turned frosty. "If that's the case, I'm sure you won't object to me doing this per our guidelines."Noah cried, "No, wait! I don't know what Darius has promised you to make you side with him unconditionally, but there's no way I'll let you two get away with this. You have to make sure you do everything by the book. It's a reasonable request, and you have no right to turn me down!"He trembled viole
Gabriel put his hands behind his back as he looked at Noah with a smile. "Now, you've piqued my interest."Noah looked up at Gabriel. His voice was deep and hoarse as he said, "If you help me, I'll give you half of the Reid Consortium's assets once I get my hands on them. You should know that without me, there's no way you'll get a dime from the Reid Consortium."Gabriel snorted with laughter when he heard that. He straightened up and slowly circled Noah. He sounded mocking as he said, "You've lost me there. I tried to puzzle it out, but it doesn't make sense at all."Why would I want to get my hands on the Reid Consortium's fortune? Even without it, I'm perfectly independent. I don't need it to survive."Gabriel crossed his arms and looked at Noah mockingly. "Or maybe you're different from the rest of us. Maybe you'll die without the Reid Consortium's wealth." He smirked and gave Noah a sharp gaze.Noah raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're the one making me laugh now. I don't know
Gabriel sounded gentle, but everyone knew that was far from the truth. This was especially true for Noah, who sat across from him. He felt incredibly nervous. He shut his eyes and breathed rapidly.Noah never would've expected to still be in danger after being taken in by the authorities. He frowned and looked up at Gabriel. "So, are you determined to help Darius now?" His voice was shaky, and his eyes were wide because of his nerves.His emotions were clear as he looked at Gabriel. Gabriel bit his lip, feeling like he was about to laugh. To stop Noah from noticing, he quickly exhaled and sat down with one leg over the other. At the same time, he leaned forward to place his hands on the desk.He tapped his fingers on the desk quickly but rhythmically. Gabriel's eyes were devoid of emotion as he looked at Noah. "Tell me, Noah. What happened between you and Darius? Earlier, you said he was the one who injured you. Do you have any proof?"Because we checked the surveillance footage, a