At 7:36 in the morning, they arrived at a mansion in Ark’s wealthy district. Thomas rang the doorbell. Standing before him was his first target.
’Seraphine Noctis, twenty years old; she works as a maid for the Doyle family. She only has two friends because she’s extrely antisocial, and her gift is called Symbiotic Evolution.’
Seraphine had short black hair with textured layers, and the inner strands were dyed light blue. She wore a black face mask and an elegant black maid outfit. The influence of modern gothic fashion was unmistakable.
"How may I help you?" Seraphine asked softly.
"Good morning, um, excuse . I ca to let you know I found a woman digging a hole with a shovel along one of the outer walls," he said, pointing behind him as Seraphine slowly stepped out of the mansion. "I don’t know if she’s soone you know or—"
"She isn’t."
"Oh, then that’s dangerous..."
"Umgh?!"
Thomas grabbed her from behind and imdiately covered her mouth, crushing the glass sphere filled with sedative. She struggled violently, digging her heels into the polished floor. Thomas made sure to restrain her without making noise; however, Seraphine’s veins turned black, standing out disturbingly against her pale skin.
She grew more aggressive and, with a brutal burst of force, leapt upward, slamming Thomas’s back against the ceiling. He let out a muffled groan but clung to her; he knew he would have to endure the pain and was determined not to let go.
Seraphine tried to grab his head as she moved backward. They both crashed onto their backs inside the mansion after slamming into the door. When Thomas ended up beneath Seraphine, he wrapped his legs around her waist and squeezed tightly.
Seraphine lifted him as if he weighed nothing and spun several tis before moving closer to a wall, making sure to slam him into it with brutal force. The impact was so violent that the wall gave way with a sharp crack.
The air was forced out of Thomas’s lungs, yet he still held onto her. Fortunately for him, the sedative only took ten seconds to take effect. Seraphine began to lose strength; her legs wobbled, and she collapsed unconscious.
Thomas coughed and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Damn... I think... she broke my ribs..."
With one eye half-open, he rolled onto his side and touched Seraphine’s shoulder while accepting the dostication through the system. He quickly bought a ladle from the shop and captured her body.
Thomas coughed as he forced himself to stand, each movent sending sharp pain through his ribs, and said in a hoarse voice,
"Good thing everything worked out... Thanks, Selene."
He limped to the door and closed it. After taking a few steps, he stopped. He glanced sideways at the security cara recording the entrance.
"Oh, shit..." He dropped to his knees to catch his breath and muttered, "I was planning to handle all this at the end of the day... but I guess this one’s staying."
He waited the five minutes the sedative lasted. Seraphine woke up confused, staring at Thomas and Selene in front of her. Before she could speak, Thomas hurried to forbid everything she was not allowed to do—the usual ritual he had perford with Selene and Elvira.
Selene simply sighed in displeasure, her arms crossed. Unlike her, Seraphine had no ti to ask questions, complain, or speak; Thomas imdiately gave her first order.
"Go to the security room, delete all of today’s recordings without leaving any trace, and lie about the damage to the wall. Say you caused it by throwing things with your gift. Now."
Seraphine stood up and walked deeper into the mansion, her expression confused. She couldn’t process what was happening. Thomas imdiately left the area, with Selene following him.
"Good thing you know how to handle won," Selene comnted as she walked beside him, arms crossed.
"I’ll talk to her later. Do you have her number?"
"Yeah. I took it while she was unconscious." She handed him her phone so he could save it.
’One down... eight to go. I need at least three today. There’s no room for mistakes.’
"Well, my plans got screwed over by that damn security cara," Thomas said.
"What do you an?"
"I was planning to use Seraphine’s gift to crush the others’ resistance and simplify everything, but I’ll have to go after another... vulnerable one... I almost lost my ribs for nothing." The pain stabbed him with every breath. "The next one is my last chance if I want to ta more today, so you’ll help by distracting her. I can’t confront her alone."
Selene snorted.
"Fine... just don’t put my life at risk."
◇◆◇
"Hi, I’m a little lost. I’m new to the area and wanted to ask for directions," Selene said with a rehearsed smile.
"I’m sorry, I don’t know the streets," the blonde woman replied with an awkward smile.
"What? How could you not recognize them? You’ve lived here your whole life."
The woman scratched her cheek with her tallic index finger, the result of a prosthetic. The tal glead under the sun like a mory that never healed.
"W-well... I don’t really pay attention to that stuff. I only know the route to my house."
’Evelyne Rosenthal, twenty-four years old. Forr heroine. She lost her arm in combat and took two years to get back on her feet. Now she’s retired—maybe depression... but her gift is still intact.’
Thomas appeared behind Evelyne. She was blonde, with long, straight hair; her golden gaze was serene—so calm and passive that anyone would think she would never hurt anyone or know how to defend herself.
Thomas lunged at her and shattered the sphere against her nose while blinding her with his own useless gift—a flashlight in his hand. Evelyne reacted instantly, grabbed him firmly, and with one clean, precise movent, threw him several ters away as if he weighed nothing.
Thomas slamd onto his back against a trash container with a tallic crash. He fell face-first onto the pavent, gasping for air.
Selene fell onto her backside because of Evelyne’s sudden movent. She pretended to be terrified and shouted,
"W-who the hell is that psycho?!"
Evelyne’s expression tightened just enough for her eyes to narrow; even so, she still looked so gentle it was almost endearing, though that was simply due to her natural features.
The forr heroine vanished in a blink, startling Selene. She grabbed Thomas by the back of his shirt collar, lifted him effortlessly off the ground, and shifted her grip to wrap her fingers around his neck.
She held him suspended while Thomas clawed at the air, unable to find footing.
’D-damn it... first my ribs and now my neck...’
"What were you trying to pull, villain? Do you really think a pathetic little man could do anything to ?"
Then she turned her head toward Selene. Selene raised an arm out of reflexive fear. Evelyne appeared in front of her with the sa speed and lifted her the sa way, gripping her by the collar.
"Wait, wait, wait! I don’t even know him!" Selene scread.
"You think I’m going to believe that? Girl, I’ve run into people like you dozens of tis. Don’t play innocent. You’re both going to prison—I’ll personally see to it."
"No, no, please! I have nothing to do with him, I swear! Y-you can check my social dia! You’ll see I’m an honest woman!"
Evelyne began to stagger. Her expression grew disoriented, and her pupils dilated sharply.
"What... did I...? Did I... let my guard down...?"
Her hands lost strength. Thomas and Selene fell to the ground. Evelyne dropped to her knees and, unable to resist the sedative, finally collapsed face-first.
Thomas coughed violently, bringing a hand to his neck. Selene scooted backward, still sitting, visibly trembling.
"W-w-what happened to her? D-did it work?"
"Of course it worked..." Thomas replied hoarsely. "It just needed ten seconds to kick in."
"Then why didn’t you tell before?! I almost pissed myself! I seriously thought my life was over! I hate you! I hate you!"
She crawled over to Thomas and started hitting him with her fists, striking with the ulnar edge of her hands instead of her knuckles.
"You idiot, you disgusting bastard!"
Thomas barely felt the blows. He knew that despite her anger, she wasn’t truly trying to hurt him. Forcing himself to stand, he approached Evelyne and, without a trace of hesitation, tad her by placing his hand on her head.
"Damn..." Thomas exhaled. "She... threw way too hard..."
He fell onto his side and ended up lying on his back, motionless for a few seconds. Selene approached him with a confused expression.
"A-are you okay?... Do you want to... call an ambulance or sothing?"
Thomas looked up at the sky with visible effort.
’I’m losing energy way too fast. I don’t feel like I’m about to pass out... Is it the effect of her gift? I doubt it; she only uses vibrations to intensify the impact of whatever she touches.’
In the distance, a flock of birds crossed the sky. The sun beat down harshly, and the heat was suffocating.
’At least I won’t have to ta heroines on my own anymore. I don’t know if they let their guard down around n who seem harmless or if Selene’s gift is really that powerful. Whatever the reason, her luck made everything easier today.’
Thomas turned his gaze toward the frightened Selene and spoke.
"Our team is growing. Good job, Selene."
He smiled tiredly and raised his fist for a bump.
Selene looked at him with absolute disgust and contempt, as if she were staring at a cockroach—sothing insignificant and repulsive.
"Gross. Don’t get happy over kidnapping won, idiot," she said, swatting his fist away with a sharp slap.
’Holy shit,’ Thomas thought.
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