Chapter 555: [A Godless World] (23)
The voice in Ember’s head finally fell silent.
But before Ember could even let out a sigh of relief, it spoke again.
[Then I shall wait for the moment you place your faith in God.]
It said slowly, its tone unwavering.
[And when that day comes... you will call my name.]
Only then did the voice disappear completely. Ember frowned, though he couldn’t help quietly releasing the breath he’d been holding.
By then, they had already reached the corridor connecting the two buildings.
Staring at the bright crimson wooden door before them, Adrian couldn’t help but remark, "You can tell something’s wrong with it at a glance."
"In a place full of modern architecture like Lotus Park, there’s suddenly this blood-red wooden door sticking out. It couldn’t look more out of place."
"They’re far too arrogant," John said.
Adrian turned to him with a puzzled look. "So, John, where is everyone else? Why did you come here alone?"
"I ate them," Elle growled, glaring at Adrian in warning, clearly having no interest in explaining further.
Adrian merely grinned and leaned even closer to her, looking very much like someone deliberately teasing a dangerous dog.
Ember pulled Adrian back slightly and said in a low voice, "Careful. She might bite your nose off."
Elle: "..."
The growling instantly became even more pronounced.
Suddenly, John reached out and patted her on the head before speaking.
"I can’t keep track of everyone’s whereabouts. We split up once the death toll started rising."
He looked at Ember and smiled.
"Maybe you were right from the very beginning to act alone, Ember."
"Is that so? I thought you’d already killed them all," Adrian said without the slightest hesitation.
John couldn’t help frowning as he looked at him.
Before he could say another word, however, a brilliant golden flash streaked past them.
The next instant came the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart.
Elle and John, who had been standing there only a moment ago, were ripped apart by Adrian’s bare hands.
He threw Elle’s severed head onto the floor. Then he raised one foot and brought it down.
The crunch of shattering bone and the wet sound of her brain being crushed sent chills down anyone’s spine.
As for John, he didn’t even have time to scream.
The bones throughout his entire body were twisted and crushed into pulp, leaving him to collapse lifelessly onto the ground.
The whole thing took less than five seconds.
John was by no means weak, yet before Adrian, he was no more than an ant.
[What the fuck?! They were having a perfectly normal conversation one second ago!]
[I know Adrian always does whatever he wants without hesitation, but this is... ]
[I just came over from John’s livestream. What kind of monster is this Artist?!]
[So he’s a Heir?]
[Calling him a Heir doesn’t seem quite right. Ember’s the future Heir.]
[Adrian’s rank is probably even higher than a Heir. He feels more like Silvanus.]
Not only the viewers—even Ember hadn’t expected Adrian to do something like this.
He looked at the two corpses lying on the floor, then back at Adrian, momentarily at a loss for words.
Adrian simply smiled.
"Now, even if he wanted to, he can’t hurt you anymore."
"But he hadn’t even done anything..." Ember said, hesitation creeping into his voice for the first time.
For the first time, he doubted himself.
Ember wasn’t someone who slaughtered others indiscriminately. He wasn’t saying John was innocent—but at the very least, up until now, John hadn’t done anything to harm him.
He looked at Adrian, genuinely unsure which was more terrifying: whatever lay beyond the room before them... or the person standing in front of him.
Yet Adrian seemed completely oblivious. He merely looked at Ember with wide, innocent eyes.
"What is it? Aren’t you happy? Couldn’t you tell John wanted to hurt you?"
Facing Adrian’s smile, Ember realized something.
Adrian understood.
Adrian knew.
Perhaps better than anyone, Adrian was fully aware of how monstrous his own actions were.
It was simply that, in Adrian’s eyes, none of it mattered.
Ember swallowed before finally saying hoarsely,
"Don’t do that again, Adrian."
Adrian frowned.
"What’s wrong with you? He wanted to hurt you."
As he spoke, he took a step toward Ember.
"Are you giving me that look because of him?"
[Wait, wait, wait—please don’t eat Ember!]
[Adrian’s even harder to predict than Silvanus.]
[At least Silvanus openly acts like he’s evil. Adrian feels like he’s evil without even realizing he’s evil.]
[No way, he’s adorable.]
[What the fuck just slipped into the chat?]
[From the moment he swallowed that policewoman who led him and Ember outside without a second thought, I knew this day was coming.]
Ember didn’t step back.
He simply lowered his gaze and met Adrian’s eyes.
Is Adrian angry?
Is he going to kill me too?
No matter what Adrian wanted, he had never shown his intentions beforehand.
Ember silently clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
Yet in the end, not a single item was thrown.
Looking at Adrian’s eyelashes, damp with tears, Ember found himself speechless.
"What are you crying for?" he said helplessly. "The people you killed never even had the chance to cry."
Adrian only glared at him.
This time, he didn’t even bother smiling.
"I hate you."
[Damage dealt: zero.]
[I don’t think Ember even cares. LMAO.]
[Why do I suddenly feel bad for Adrian?]
Adrian didn’t spare Ember another glance.
He lifted one leg and kicked the crimson wooden door off its hinges before walking straight inside.
Ember didn’t even have time to call out to him.
All he could do was watch Adrian’s figure disappear into the dense black mist beyond the doorway.
Without the slightest hesitation, he rushed into the darkness after him.
Only after both of them had vanished did two skeletal limbs, resembling the legs of a giant spider, slowly emerge from the shadows.
They pierced straight through the two severed heads lying on the floor and dragged them into the black mist...
...just before the crimson door slammed shut completely.