The World Is Mine For The Taking

I made my way down to the laboratory, where Zoey was still completely absorbed in her work. She looked so focused on her research that it almost seemed as though the rest of the world had completely disappeared around her. Papers, books, notes, and equipment were scattered across the room, yet she moved through all of it with practiced familiarity, never once breaking her concentration. Watching her work like that honestly made it feel as though nothing else existed except the problem she was trying to solve.

Considering that it was her own father we were preparing to fight, I couldn’t help feeling surprised by just how much effort she was pouring into everything. It wasn’t just ordinary hard work anymore. The dark circles beneath her eyes had become impossible to ignore, making it painfully obvious that she hadn’t been getting enough sleep lately. I knew I had been working myself pretty hard too, but compared to Zoey, it honestly felt like I had been taking things easy. She looked like someone who had completely thrown aside the idea of resting until everything was finally over.

Chloe, on the other hand, looked a lot more relaxed.

She had already fallen asleep on one of the nearby couches after what was probably hours of nonstop work. Judging from the ridiculous number of empty coffee cups sitting around her, I guessed she had been working just as hard as Zoey before finally reaching her limit. Eventually, even coffee had probably decided that enough was enough, and her body had simply forced her to get some sleep whether she wanted to or not. At least somebody in this room was getting some rest, even if she had practically collapsed into it.

"How do I even say this...?" I muttered while scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "I’m sorry for dragging you into all of this."

The moment Zoey heard those words, she quietly let out a small chuckle.

"Don’t be," she replied without taking her eyes off the documents in front of her. "During a war, people who absolutely refuse to lose naturally end up working until they stop keeping track of how many days have gone by. Besides, you haven’t exactly been getting enough rest yourself, have you? If that’s the case, then it’s only natural for someone working under you to do everything she can to carry out her responsibilities properly."

Well...

She wasn’t exactly wrong about that either.

Still, I definitely wasn’t about to tell her that I’d spent last night fucking Beelzebub while she had continued burying herself in research until her eyes were practically begging for sleep.

Some things were honestly better left unsaid if I wanted to keep the atmosphere peaceful.

While she continued writing down notes and examining whatever she had been studying, I simply stood there quietly and watched her work.

Several long moments passed without either of us saying another word.

Eventually, she must have noticed my gaze because the vein on her forehead slowly began twitching with irritation.

"What exactly are you doing over there?" she asked without looking away from her work.

"What?" I answered with an innocent expression. "Am I not allowed to watch you while you’re working?"

"There really isn’t anything entertaining about watching someone conduct research like this," she replied with an annoyed sigh.

"Maybe not," I admitted honestly.

I couldn’t help smiling a little anyway.

"But I still think it’s kind of endearing to watch."

She slowly let out another long sigh before rubbing her forehead.

"You are making me even more pissed off than I already was."

Well, I couldn’t really argue with that observation since she was probably right.

Even after hearing her complain, I still couldn’t bring myself to look away from her.

Something about watching her quietly work just felt strangely calming despite the situation we were in.

"You really don’t have to worry about me, you know," she said after another brief moment of silence.

Her words immediately made me pause.

"How can you even tell that I’m worried about you?" I asked while looking at her with genuine curiosity.

"I don’t know," she answered with a small shrug while continuing to write another line in her notebook. "I can just... tell somehow."

That honestly wasn’t much of an explanation for something like this.

Still, I couldn’t really deny that she had somehow figured me out anyway.

Maybe she had noticed it from the way I kept staring at her.

Maybe she had simply gotten used to reading my expressions after spending so much time around me.

Whatever the reason was, she had been completely right.

I really was worried about her.

We were getting ready to fight her own father.

Our goal wasn’t simply defeating him either.

We were planning to kill him.

Given everything surrounding this situation, it honestly would have been stranger if I hadn’t been worried about how she felt.

"My father willingly laid himself down on a bed knowing there was always a chance he would end up resting in it much sooner than he ever expected," she said quietly while keeping her hands busy with her work. "As his daughter, it’s only natural for me to stand against him if I believe the path he’s chosen is leading somewhere it never should."

Her voice never trembled.

Her expression never changed.

Determination like that wasn’t something you saw every day.

For some reason, I genuinely admired that part of her.

Most children would never even think about standing against their own parents.

Very few people could make that decision while fully understanding what the consequences would be afterward.

She had already accepted all of it.

"As I said before," she continued after noticing that I had started looking at her again, "you really don’t have to worry about me."

I slowly shook my head before answering her.

"I do have to worry about you."

She finally stopped writing and looked directly at me.

"I’m the one who’s going to kill your father."

I slowly raised one of my hands and stared down at my own fingers.

"These hands are going to be the ones that end his life."

The laboratory suddenly felt much quieter than it had just moments ago.

After hearing those words, Zoey slowly drew in a long, deep breath.

"If I can’t worry about you," I continued while meeting her gaze again, "then I’d end up becoming the same kind of person he is."

A bitter smile naturally appeared across my face before I quietly let out a sigh.

Although I knew that worrying by itself wasn’t magically going to make me a better person than him, I still couldn’t pretend those feelings weren’t there.

She stared at me for several seconds before finally letting out a quiet sigh of her own.

"You really do say some absolutely dumb things sometimes," she said with the faintest hint of amusement in her voice.

A small smile slowly appeared across her face.

"You’re not him."

Her voice became noticeably softer than before.

"So stop trying to compare yourself to someone like him."

She carefully placed the pen she had been holding onto the table before standing up from her chair.

"If you’re really that worried about me..."

She walked over without the slightest hesitation before stopping right in front of me.

Before I had any chance to react, she reached forward, grabbed me by the front of my necktie, and pulled me closer to her.

The movement happened so suddenly that my body didn’t even have enough time to respond.

Our faces ended up only inches apart from one another.

She quietly looked into my eyes for a brief moment without saying another word.

Then she gently pressed her lips against mine in a soft, lingering kiss.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but it still caught me completely off guard.

When she finally pulled away, she was still holding onto my necktie while looking directly into my eyes.

"You have to take responsibility for me."