CHAPTER 49: CH-49

Daniel grinded his teeth. "Don’t mention that woman’s name. That was years ago..."

The figure chuckled. "Alright, I’ll spare you the heartache, but remember: you only have three months to finish the serum. After that, we can finally begin the next phase."

Intently, I strained to catch their conversation—but then, the figure vanished, leaving only a faint trace of its rotten smell.

Teleportation? Or a stealth ability like mine? I couldn’t tell. Whatever it was, I was lucky I hadn’t made a move.

Under the bed, I waited a few more minutes, just to be safe.

Careful not to disturb even a single dust mote, I pushed myself upright.

Shadow Aura clung to me like a second skin, hiding my outline in the darkness.

The faint moonlight spilling through the curtains provided some light, revealing Daniel hunched in his chair, still trembling from the encounter.

I raised my hand, ready to pin him down right there—but his next action made me pause.

He reached for his desk and picked up a framed photograph.

A woman with brown hair and green eyes smiled back at me; she was really beautiful. Beside her, Daniel held a tiny boy—Ace, just a little child, his small hand clutching her sleeve.

Curiosity kept me rooted, but he simply stared at the photo for a minute before putting it back.

Next, he turned and opened his laptop.

For the most part, he buried himself in paperwork. Nothing seemed suspicious, and I saw no sign of anything related to the serum.

Impatient, I formed a dagger in my hand and inched it closer to his neck.

"Don’t move... or I’ll slit your throat," I warned, my voice muffled by the makeshift mask I made.

Daniel’s hands went still on the laptop’s keyboard.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Oh, interesting — you were all scared and anxious when you talked to that smelly freak, but now you’re full of spirit with your life in my hands. Tell me: what makes you more afraid of him than me?"

He took a breath, then answered.

"You don’t know who you’re messing with. If you’d seen that being, then you should understand that whoever I’m working for isn’t someone you want to cross."

I pretended to laugh.

"You really don’t understand your situation, do you? You’re terrified of that freak, but he didn’t even notice me standing right beside you. I heard every word about the serum. Loud and clear."

"You—" He tried to form a sentence, but it came out weak. "You were here? How—"

I tightened the blade a fraction, just enough for the threat to be felt rather than heard.

"How? Easy. I’m far stronger than that smelly freak. I could’ve killed him if I wanted, but my organization only sent me to gather information."

"So cooperate—unless you want your name in tomorrow’s obituaries."

"What do you want to know?" he gave in to my threats.

I didn’t answer right away—I wanted him to know I was in complete control of the situation.

He began to twitch, gulping air—so I made him meet my stare. The room dissolved into black; two green lights hung where my eyes should be, cold and deadly.

"Tell me who’s backing you — and don’t you dare lie. Say one thing wrong and you’re dead."

I activated the ’Castle card’ and layered it with Shadow Aura to squeeze every ounce of pressure onto him, threading in my persuasion ability on top.

Watching his face drain of color gave me confidence—but then, to my surprise, he didn’t just resist. For a split second, his eyes flared red.

[DING]

[Host — Target is under the influence of a more powerful ability, preventing him from speaking about certain topics.]

My smile faded. Whoever placed that block on him anticipated interrogation.

’System, is there a way to break through it?’ I asked inwardly.

[Negative, Host. The user who placed this block is at least S-Rank—possibly stronger. Your persuasion ability isn’t yet strong enough to override it.]

’So he’s immune to me, then?’

Cursed it. I hadn’t expected this. I was hoping to bend him to my will like a puppet—or erase his memory of this meeting entirely. Now, both were impossible.

But wait.

Being immune to my control didn’t make him untouchable. I could still get him to talk about everything else.

"I... I can’t answer you, even if I wanted—"

slap!

His head snapped sideways under the force of my hand, blood springing from his lips.

Before he could even process what happened, I slapped him again.

Then, I yanked his head up.

"If you’re not going to tell me about your backers, then at least explain why you killed your wife—and why you’d do the same to your own son."

He said nothing—just swallowed hard, trembling under the weight of question.

"If you refuse to answer, you serve no purpose. Goodbye."

I pushed the dagger until it drew blood.

He gasped, then finally talked "My wife... I had her killed for cheating on me. And her son... that was me resenting him for being born."

"Bullshit. From the way that freak spoke, this was bigger than jealousy. There’s more to it than you’re telling me."

"That’s it. That’s really the only reason," he insisted.

I’d had enough.

"You really don’t care about your life, do you? Fine. Then I’ll end it for real."

I drove the blade between his lips, the edge slicing into his cheek like it was tofu.

"I... I-it’s because of the secret she discovered," he mumbled, the words forced out around the blade pressing against his teeth.

"What secret?" I growled, shoving the blade deeper to make my point.

He was still hesitating.

I sighed, materializing a gun in my left hand and pressing the barrel against his forehead.

"Still trying to act tough? Let’s see which breaks first—your will or your skull."

"THE MERCER FAMILY IS A—"

BANG!

Daniel’s skull shattered in an instant. Blood and brain matter splattered across the walls and floor. His lifeless eyes stared at me while fragments of bone and tissue clung to the desk and curtains.

"How? I didn’t do this"

Questions swirled in my head, but none of them mattered. He was dead, and nothing could undo that.

’I need to get out of here.’

I activated Shadow Blend and slipped away from the crime scene. Instead of heading straight back to my room, I took a detour around the mansion, observing every hallway and corner for signs of movement.

After nearly an hour of silence, I finally returned to my room and waited for the breaking news.

The clock ticked on, each second stretching longer than the last. Any moment now, someone would discover the body.

From the start I had covered myself in Shadow, so there should be no fingerprints that could trace the death back to me. Still, it was nerve‑wracking.

Knock... knock.

I slowly opened the door. Standing there was the maid assigned to my daily needs. If I remembered correctly, Alice was off today.

"Young master Ace... your father..."

My chest tightened. This was it.

I needed to mourn convincingly—any slip, and suspicion would fall on me.

"Master Daniel asked you to join him for breakfast."