A fluorescent light flickered on the ceiling of the underground garage. The air was damp and cold. Lyra had converted the abandoned garage into a temporary safe house.Lyra paced in front of the open door of the black van. She chewed her thumbnail anxiously, her eyes fixed on the back seat."Are you sure he's not breathing?" Lyra asked. Her voice trembled in the silence."I've checked three times," Fenrir answered firmly. The large man sat on a wooden crate, one hand still holding the bandage on his back. "His heart has stopped.""This is insane," Lyra cursed under her breath. She ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "He's dead again. The plan is a total failure.""Calm down," Fenrir chided. "His body is processing Marcus's soul. That's not a simple process for a human.""But he is human," Lyra shot back. "You saw his veins turn black. His mortal body wasn't designed to contain that much infernal energy. His organs could explode."Fenrir fell silent. He knew Lyra was right. The

A projector screen glowed on the concrete wall of Umbra Capital's underground headquarters. Its white light illuminated the photograph of a middle-aged man. The man in the photo wore an expensive silk suit and a deeply arrogant smile."Allow me to introduce our first target," Lyra said, shattering the silence. She tapped a few keys on her laptop. "His name is William Henderson."Xavier sat leaning back in an iron chair at the head of the table. In his hand, he held a ceramic mug of black coffee. The coffee had just been brewed with boiling water. Thick steam billowed from the surface of the dark liquid.Xavier's skin was in direct contact with the scorching ceramic, but his face remained a flat mask. No heat registered in his palm. His nerves, his sense of touch, were truly dead, a consequence of his infernal contract.He drank the coffee in a single, long swallow. It tasted of nothing, like drinking bland water. This invisible torment continued to chip away at the last of his sanity.

William Henderson’s eyes bulged, the veins turning a furious red. His mouth opened wide but no air came in. He grabbed at Xavier’s hand on his collar. The old man’s grip was pathetically weak."Please... me..." Henderson rasped, his voice choked."Your time is up," Xavier said without mercy.Xavier yanked his hand away. With that motion, a thick, black smoke spewed violently from Henderson’s mouth and nose. The smoke snaked through the air and slammed directly into Xavier’s chest.It was the CEO's foul soul.Henderson’s body instantly went rigid. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. He collapsed onto the carpeted floor with a soft thud. There was no more breath. No more life. The master of Aristhos logistics was dead, an expression of pure horror frozen on his face.But this victory demanded a terrible price.The moment the black smoke entered him, Xavier’s body reacted with brutal rejection. Thick, dark veins immediately bulged on his neck and face.Xavier staggered backward. He c

The dull thud of electronic music pulsed from behind a set of gold-inlaid double doors. A wild party was raging inside the luxurious fiftieth-floor penthouse.In the outer hallway, two security guards in black uniforms stood with bored expressions. Short-barreled rifles were slung over their shoulders."A hell of a party," the first guard said, lighting a cigarette. "People are panicking about the stock market, and our boss is busy hiring dozens of girls for the night.""Let him be," the second guard replied. He leaned against the marble wall. "As long as we get paid. Rich people can do whatever they want. You got a light?""Here," the first guard said, offering his lighter.Suddenly, a gigantic man stepped out from the shadows of the corridor. The man wore the same security uniform as they did. The uniform was stretched taut over his massive muscles."Hey," the second guard called out. He frowned. "Who the hell are you? I've never seen your face on the night shift roster."The giant

Lyra's fingers danced across her laptop keyboard. The blue light from the monitor illuminated her cynical smile. Lines of computer code flowed like a river, breaching the security systems of global banks.Xavier stood behind Lyra's chair. He stared at the screen, his expression as cold as ice. In his hand, he held a glass of straight whiskey. He downed the hard liquor in a single swallow.The whiskey flowed down his throat. Xavier paused for a moment. He waited for the burning sensation of the alcohol to hit his chest. But there was nothing. The potent spirit tasted as bland as tap water. His sense of taste was completely dead.Xavier placed the empty glass on the table with a slow, deliberate motion. He swallowed the agonizing frustration, burying it in the darkest corner of his soul. He refocused on his mission of revenge."Status," Xavier commanded, his tone absolute."Access granted, Boss," Lyra reported. She hit the enter key with a satisfying thud. "I've just locked eight of Ric