Adele returned home and found her father sitting quietly on the old sofa, flipping through an ancient book that seemed to have come from Kayden's library.
She greeted him calmly, and Arthur returned the greeting.
Without lifting his eyes from the page, he said, "I know what you did."
Adele froze. "How?"
Arthur gently closed the book and placed it aside before finally looking at her. "There are always flaws, no matter how careful a person is."
Adele had left nothing exposed or so she thought. But she knew her father was no ordinary man. He was someone who saw things others could not.
She said nothing and simply went upstairs to her room.
— Two days until the end of the month —
On a suffocating gray morning, Arbella woke up exhausted, as if sleep had merely been a brief pause in the chaos. Before she could fully open her eyes, she noticed unusual activity throughout the house.
Servants and members of the organization had gathered in the courtyard. They spoke in hushed voices, their expressions tense.
Arbella hurried downstairs and found Sean standing in the living room overlooking the garden.
Approaching him, she asked in confusion, "What's going on? Why are all these people here?"
Shon hesitated before pointing outside. "See for yourself."
Arbella stepped into the garden. The sun was hidden behind heavy clouds.
She looked toward the tree…Then froze.
Her eyes widened in horror.
There, beneath the massive tree where she used to sit during summer afternoons, a corpse swayed in the wind. Friedrich's corpse.
Hanging like a rag doll, suspended by rough ropes. A trembling gasp escaped her lips. "Take him down… immediately!"
She moved closer. "What happened?! Who did this?!"
Shon answered, "We found him… like this."
That answer wasn't enough. Arbella's gaze searched for the truth, not empty words Nearby, Isildar let out a sigh as if he were watching a stage play.
"In truth, Friedrich was a rotten man. He lured women in and forced them into submission as if they were his servants. He never dared approach you because you were strong, but that doesn't excuse anything. Besides, I don't pity him. Neither should you."
Arbella sat heavily on a stone bench and pressed both hands against her head.
"Bury him." Then she abruptly stood and returned to her room.
A few minutes later, she came back carrying a bag stuffed with clothes. Her voice allowed no argument. "I'm leaving this cursed place. Right now. I don't care about your plans anymore. I'm done."
Shon immediately protested. "But everyone is waiting for the new materials… for the ritual and the sacrifice!"
Arbella snapped. "Shon , if you want to survive, come with me. No one should die here anymore. I don't want those stupid materials. If you insist on staying in this curse, then I won't leave you behind I'll drag you out myself."
Then she turned toward a maid. "Bring all of his belongings and clothes."
Shon sat down again. Deep inside, he knew Arbella wasn't trying to control him. She genuinely believed leaving was the only path to survival. "Don't force me… I'll come with you. No need to use your abilities."
Before departing, Arbella looked at Isildar. "Aren't you coming with us?"
Isildar pointed toward the door. "The air here is polluted. You're right. Hugo was right as well… I'll definitely leave."
He walked toward the exit with slow, measured steps.
When he reached the doorway, he suddenly stopped. Turning slightly, he looked at them with an expression devoid of regret.
Only deadly pity remained.
Then he spoke softly, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade through flesh.
"In truth… I've already reached the Reflection Stage. I no longer need any of you."
"There's something else I forgot to tell you."
His gaze swept across them. "The rumor about the twins… and everything that happened afterward. None of it was a coincidence."
A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Everything was planned from the very beginning."
Then he slowly raised a hand to his forehead, as if drawing an invisible cross.
His voice deepened, filled with strange devotion. "Long live our lord, Edmaniel."
He opened the door and left. The atmosphere he left behind felt heavier than before, as though the house had lost part of its soul.
Arbella stood frozen. "Edmaniel?"
Shon raised his voice. "Wasn't he serving Lady Eleanor?!"
"He's a traitor," Arbella replied, clenching her fist.
Then she turned away and left , Shon silently followed behind her.
Elsewhere, within the slums…
Colton wandered through the streets like a man searching for something he had lost.
Kayden walked behind him in silence. He didn't ask questions. He simply watched.
Although Kayden had been tasked with monitoring potential disasters, he had abandoned those duties for the moment and allowed himself to wander freely.
Eventually, boredom got the better of him.
Following Colton around aimlessly had become unbearable.
With a quiet sigh, he returned to his own business, deciding that staying any longer was a complete waste of time.
The sun was already setting when Colton finally returned. His face looked calm. His eyes did not.
"Speak," Kayden said without looking at him.
Colton took a deep breath. "In truth… I was searching for a suitable soul."
"To begin hunting."
Kayden slowly turned toward him. "What's the difference between you and the disasters? Both of you consume."
"So there's no difference. You're simply prejudiced."
The words weren't a stab. They were a chain tightening around Colton's neck. Colton froze. He didn't like those words. Not at all.
He stomped the ground and glanced at the passing people with contempt. "Damn trash."
Kayden raised an eyebrow. "How strange. You're insulting Kayden using my own words , He may have been trash once, but at least he was useful trash."
His tone held no offense. It sounded as though he were mocking Kayden, the world, and Colton all at once.
Colton crossed his arms and followed as Kayden resumed walking.
"Walk behind me," Kayden ordered. "And don't make a sound."
"You piece of trash…" Colton muttered.
"One day I'm going to punch you."
Yet moments later, he found himself smiling.
Kayden had a talent for getting under everyone's skin. Suddenly, Kayden tilted his head. "Is that… barking?" Colton stopped and looked around. There's No dogs.
When he turned back, Kayden was staring directly at him. His face remained expressionless , His eyes, however, sparkled with malicious amusement.
"You're annoying!" Colton finally exploded.
Kayden laughed. A loud, genuine laugh that sounded nothing like him. "I was only joking." Then his expression returned to normal. "Now tell me. What's the difference between you and them?"
Colton stared toward the horizon. "We don't need souls."
A smile slowly spread across his face. "I like seeing their expressions right before the end. I like that moment when everything collapses… when they realize there's no salvation." His voice grew colder. "The disasters do it to survive." A pause. "I survive to watch."
Kayden remained silent for a moment.
Then he quietly said, "In a way… that's fitting."
Another pause. "It gives you a reason. Even if it's a stupid one, But don't forget… you'll always be my number one."
They continued walking. "When will the hunt begin?"
Colton's smile widened. "Soon."
His voice dropped to a whisper. "I'll be back before you even reach home."
And he was. Before Kayden reached his front door, Colton was already waiting there.
"Welcome back, hunter." Kayden opened the door without stopping. As though he had merely returned from a casual stroll. But Colton froze. The look in Kayden's eyes.
That careless grin. That strange indifference. Something about it felt wrong. Dangerously wrong. For the first time, he wondered if his master had finally lost his mind.
Kayden was beginning to resemble a disaster more than a human.
At that moment, Henry stepped outside and noticed Colton standing motionless. "Why are you standing there like that?" he asked." Planning to become a statue? Impossible. You're not made of marble. Move. Adele's here."
Colton didn't answer.
In truth, he had no idea what was wrong with those twins. "What the hell is wrong with them?" If he stayed any longer, he might actually become a statue. So he quickly headed inside. The moment he saw Adele, however, the tension vanished.
His face brightened instantly.
For a brief moment, she felt more like family than anyone else. "Big sister…" The words almost escaped him.
Adele grabbed him by the arm with surprising force. "Colton! I'm so happy to see you!"
Her excitement was genuine. And as violent as ever.
Moments later, she dragged him straight to the training grounds.
Henry and Kayden sat in a corner, silently watching.
Unfortunately for them, they ended up joining the training session. Against their will.
At first, Kayden thought he could escape.
He regretted that assumption almost immediately.
Colton wasn't merciful. He was a larger, crazier, genetically enhanced version of Adele. With every blow, Kayden felt as though his bones were begging someone to end the nightmare.
He was launched into the air at least twice.
At one point, he crashed into a wall he hadn't even known existed.
By the end of it all, both Kayden and Henry were struggling to breathe, barely capable of standing.
As for Adele, she was dragging Henry across the floor by his leg as though she were hauling him toward an execution platform.
Suddenly, her voice echoed through the hall. "Did one of you dare bully Colton?! Which one of you declared war while I was away?!"
Henry and Kayden exchanged horrified looks.
It felt as though the end of the world had finally arrived.
Colton stopped moving and looked at Adele with a gaze filled with unspoken messages. Gratitude , Affection.
Even traces of old memories. Adele immediately noticed the look in his eyes.
Her tone shifted, though it lost none of its intensity. " Both of you need proper discipline."
At that moment, the twins realized something important. Perhaps the end of the world would not come at the hands of disasters. Nor wars. It would come at the hands of Adele.
She alone possessed the ability to erase an entire city under the noble title of "educational punishment."
Meanwhile, Colton stood off to the side, watching with shining eyes and quiet happiness.
As though he had finally returned to where he truly belonged.
During the punishment, Adele spoke calmly for the first time, her voice was steady and fearless.
She wasn't confessing. She was declaring , and told them how she had confronted Friedrich.
How she had stood against him alone.
And how she had hung his body from that tree, as though taking revenge on silence, fear, and betrayal itself.
She spoke with absolute certainty.
There was not a trace of regret in her voice. "He deserved it." Kayden spoke in a tired tone. There was neither sarcasm nor sympathy in his voice. What Adele had done seemed completely obvious to him.
Then he turned toward Henry and lightly nudged him with his elbow. Henry lowered his voice until it was barely audible. He was far too exhausted from Adele's torture and relentless beatings.
"He was the worst… and you're the strongest."
Kayden had expected something like this. He had expected someone to do something insane. What he had not expected was for that person to be Adel.
In his mind, Roger had always been the leading candidate for chaos. For destruction. For bloodshed.
Roger was crazy enough. But Adele…She had been the edge no one noticed.
And now, everything had changed , Kayden realized that madness was not merely a condition.
It was a bloodline. There was something in this family's blood that defied explanation.
Something like fire burning beneath the skin. A curse of madness running through their veins. Even so, there was something different about Henry. Kayden could feel it.
He could sense that Henry was hiding his true self with remarkable skill. Yet somehow…
He had to be pure. But what did "purity" even mean? Was it never making mistakes? Remaining clean-handed in a world filled with filth? Yet Henry had illegally purchased a corpse. A human corpse. Wasn't that wrong?Wasn't that corruption?
Kayden wondered silently.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to believe Henry had lost his purity.
At least not completely.
' Was purity absolute innocence? Or was it something else? Something more complicated? Perhaps it was recognizing wrongdoing rather than simply avoiding it. Perhaps it was the ability to remain human despite the shadows.Perhaps there were countless meanings in this world…' Kayden sank deeper into his thoughts. His eyes focused on nothing. Meanwhile, the siblings continued talking with Colton. Adele eventually noticed his distraction. That night, she informed them that they would all be entering a meditation session.
Her voice sounded calm But Kayden felt uneasy.
A faint pressure tightened around his chest. "We should inform the Commander…" he said hesitantly.
Before anyone could respond, Colton interrupted loudly. "I'll do your work instead!" He announced it as though he had accomplished something heroic.
Henry watched him in silence for a moment. Then a strange thought crossed his mind.
Colton was becoming more and more like Kayden. Even his arrogance carried the same mysterious edge.
The same edge that occasionally unsettled him.
After Kayden finally returned to his room, a secret meeting was held. Primarily out of fear that Adel might suddenly burst into the room as she usually did.
"She must not come in… no matter what happens." Henry whispered as he carefully closed the door. Then he pressed his back against the wood and added, "She appears out of nowhere… Like a ghost."