Evelyn walks out of the canteen in a daze, a warm food container cradled in her hands, but her mind is far from the meal.
All she can see is Adam lying still on that hospital bed.
Today, he survived—he opened his eyes, spoke, even smiled a little. But what about tomorrow? What if she's not fast enough, not close enough, not there when something worse happens?
His injury tore away all doubt. She doesn't just like Adam. She may already love him.
And tonight, she's going to try—try to strip away the fake from their fake relationship.
She returns to his floor, heart pounding, but as she nears his room, two guards step forward to block her.
Before she can protest, Cassie grabs her arm and pulls her gently aside. "The captain and the demon hunters are questioning him," she whispers.
Evelyn nods, silent, clutching the container tighter.
Across the hall, Valen leans against the wall, eyes fixed on her.
Now he understands what people mean when they speak of love at first sight.
Pale blonde hair. Emerald eyes. That heart-shaped face. She's not just beautiful—she's unforgettable.
But she has a boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend. A strong one. A dangerous one.
Valen has demon blood—a Life Spider Demon bloodline, rare and potent—but he's never specialised in combat. His strength lies in healing, control, and conjuration. And yet Adam Taylor killed two Demon Conjurers.
A direct fight wouldn't just be reckless. It would be suicide.
Still… Valen doesn't give up easily.
He watches Evelyn's worried face, the way she holds Adam's food like it's the only thing she can do for him now, and he decides—he'll start with friendship. Maybe, someday, she'll give him a chance.
Six Star University had recently invited him to teach a guest course. He'd planned to reject it.
But now… now he'll accept.
Valen straightens the moment he sees the door to Adam's room swing open.
Captain Mike and the two demon hunters stride out, silent and grim. The captain signals the nearby officers, who quickly fall in line behind him as they leave. Evelyn and Cassie exchange a glance, then walk into the room. Valen follows them quietly.
Merin glances up, eyes meeting Evelyn's as she steps in carrying a warm container. She walks over and gently places it on his lap.
"I brought dumplings," she says softly.
Cassie pulls out a chair and sits. "Who attacked you?"
Merin lifts the lid, letting out a satisfied breath as the steam rises. "Don't know exactly who they were—just that they were Demon Hunters."
He picks up a dumpling, still steaming, and pops it into his mouth.
Evelyn frowns. "It's hot."
"I'm a Unification Realm martial artist," Merin replies, chewing. "Did you forget?"
Evelyn mutters, "No."
Just then, Valen steps in, holding his clipboard.
Merin glances at him. "Doctor, when can I leave?"
"Let me check your body," Valen replies, walking over.
Evelyn steps aside, and Merin sets the dumplings down on the table.
"What do I need to do?" Merin asks.
"Nothing," Valen answers.
He takes Merin's wrist, and from his thumb, silvery spider-web strands stretch out and latch onto Merin's skin. A faint green light pulses through the threads, flowing into Merin's body.
Merin feels a presence searching through him, careful, clinical. He doesn't resist—he knows this is part of the check-up.
After a few moments, the strands recede and vanish. Valen lets go of his wrist.
"You're already healed from the serious wounds," he says. "The rest will recover at home."
With that, Valen turns and leaves.
Five minutes later, Merin steps out of the room, walking slowly between Evelyn and Cassie.
Above them, the dark sky has begun to shift—the first light of dawn pushing through the night.
An hour later, Merin and Evelyn step out of the car. Cassie leans her head out of the window and calls, "Call me—I'll come pick you up."
Evelyn nods. "Okay."
Merin unlocks the door to his house and holds it open for Evelyn. She steps inside, and he follows. They separate—Evelyn heads toward the living room while Merin walks into the kitchen.
From the other room, Evelyn asks, "Can you think of any reason for the attack?"
Merin takes a sip of water and says casually, "The last attack on me was from the Morvain family."
There's a pause, then Evelyn's shocked voice cuts through. "You were attacked before?"
Merin answers nonchalantly, "Yeah. The day I joined the research centre."
Footsteps stomp into the kitchen. He looks up to see Evelyn's eyes blazing, anger sparking in her emerald gaze.
"You were attacked and didn't think to tell me?" she snaps.
Merin stares at her, distracted for a moment. Beautiful, he thinks. Even more so when she's furious.
She continues, voice rising, "Do I matter so little to you?"
Before he can speak, she cuts him off again. "I know our relationship is fake, but I thought at least we were friends."
Still, she doesn't let him reply.
"Or was that fake too?"
Merin waves his hands frantically. "No, no, no! It's not like that! I just… didn't think it was important. And I got so excited about the research institute, I forgot to mention it later."
She crosses her arms, lips tight, but stays silent.
After a beat, Merin asks, "Could the Morvain family really attack me even after I joined the research centre?"
Evelyn frowns. "I don't think it was the Morvain family."
Merin raises an eyebrow. "Why not? They've got power, influence, money… it'd be easy for them to hire two Demon Hunters at the Demon Conjurer level."
He isn't sure himself—whether it was the Morvain family or Tristan Morvain specifically who sent the killers—but according to Evelyn, they wouldn't.
"I learned from my father," Evelyn says, "those families that rose with technology are banned from learning anything about demons."
Merin thinks for a moment. "But demon worshippers could still contact them."
Evelyn shakes her head. "I don't know why, but even demon worshippers avoid them. They don't cooperate."
Merin crosses his arms. "Then why would the demon worshippers come after me?"
No answer comes.
A few minutes later, Merin steps into the bathroom to clean up. He turns on the water, lets it run over his hands and face.
Then the door creaks.
Evelyn enters behind him.
------
Kieran, still hunched over his notes, hears the voice from behind him again—cold, sharp, and low.
"They failed."
His eyes widen. He whirls around, staring at the dark ripple of shadow clinging to the edge of his cabinet.
"How can they fail? They were two."
The shadow murmurs,
"He is stronger than we estimated."
Kieran clenches his jaw.
"So what now? Send more to kill him?"
"The Demon Hunters are already tracing the energy signature. If we move again too soon, they'll connect it to us."
Kieran's eyes narrow.
"Then use Tristan. Feed the task to him."
The voice shifts slightly, a new edge in its tone.
"Even that carries risk. One group of worshippers taking the task can be ignored. Two makes a pattern."
Kieran says tightly,
"Assassins take jobs all the time. Why would it matter?"
The voice replies,
"Because the Morvain family belongs to those cut off from demon knowledge. The Federation's curse blocks them. A second demon-linked job to Tristan will raise red flags."
Kieran sighs and leans back, frustrated.
"So what are you going to do?"
The shadow breathes softly.
"I have a plan. A longer game. You…"
It pauses.
"You try to connect with Evelyn."
Kieran turns sharply.
"Evelyn? Why her again?"
But the voice doesn't answer. The shadow pulls away, slithering like smoke through the cracks of the room. At a distance, beneath the swaying branches of a crooked tree, a vortex of black mist whirls to life.
From it, a woman rises—her form graceful, face veiled, presence cold. She walks forward without pause, her feet silent on the pavement, and steps onto the dim road ahead.
A sleek black car waits for her a few meters away, engine humming, headlights dim.
She opens the door and vanishes inside. The car pulls away into the night.
In the backseat, the woman fastens her belt as the city lights streak past the windows.
After a few minutes of silence, the driver finally speaks.
"We need to separate Adam from Evelyn before we make any real move. At least before we capture her."
The woman replies without looking up,
"With his current strength, killing Adam cleanly in this city won't be easy—not without attracting attention."
The driver nods grimly.
"At his level in the Unification Realm… he's top tier."
She hums in agreement.
"We also need to assess what kind of protection Evelyn has. I doubt the Manford family left her exposed."
The driver says,
"The boss gave us one year. One year to prepare, isolate her, and smuggle her out of the city unnoticed."
A pause. Then the woman—Mellisa—says,
"I have an idea. What if we use Tristan again?"
The driver's hands tighten on the wheel.
"Didn't we already decide that's too risky? If demon worshippers take his task again, it could draw suspicion."
Mellisa's voice is calm.
"It would… if he stays human. But what if he becomes a demon?"
The car jerks as the driver—Chris—slams the brakes in shock.
Mellisa lurches forward, but her seatbelt pulls her back with a snap.
"Careful, Chris."
Chris stares ahead, then accelerates again, voice taut.
"Mellisa… do you even hear yourself? You want to turn him?"
"He already wants to cultivate the Demon Hunter extraordinary path. He has no clue what it really is. We give him a summoning ritual. If he succeeds, he becomes a demon hunter. If he fails..."
She glances at him, eyes glinting.
"...he becomes a demon. And then, he's ours."
Chris exhales, silent for a beat, then nods.
"Fine. But we can't be seen contacting him. Not even once."
Mellisa smirks.
"We won't. We'll mail him the materials anonymously. No meeting, no trace."
The car disappears into a tunnel, headlights vanishing into the dark.
----
At noon, Merin disengages from Evelyn.
He looks at her sleeping face and wonders how everything between them has shifted.
He had accepted the change when she entered the bathroom, realising the path ahead would no longer be the same.
Back in the hospital room, when she cried, he had assumed it was all an act.
But somewhere in the back of his mind, the question lingered—what if she hadn't been acting?
And to that, his answer had been simple—let her take the lead.
He likes her, yes, but not enough to let that shift the foundation of their bond.
His goal, unchanged and unwavering, has always been to survive as long as possible.
To survive, he must stand at the peak of Martial Artists.
And that cannot be achieved by lying on a bed beside her.
He rises and begins to dress.
Outside in the backyard, Merin focuses on his breathing method.
He recalls how one in the upper Unification Realm should practice to reach the peak.
The lightning attribute he shows isn't born solely from the Karst crystal.
It is also a manifestation of his body's own bio-electricity.
His path is to raise his fire and ice knowledge to level nine and use them to refine his physical body.
A stronger body produces stronger bio-electricity.
And that same bio-electricity can serve as the cauldron to refine both the true energy of fire and ice with the body's outer vitality.
Vitality in the body exists in two forms—outer and inner.
They are connected, yet distinct.
Outer vitality governs healing, and even if damaged, it recovers with time.
Inner vitality affects one's lifespan, and once damaged, it is almost impossible to heal.
Yet both forms influence each other—advancement in one can pull the other forward, and regression can drag both down.
His first step is clear—complete the refinement of his body once his fire and ice knowledge reaches level four.
He thinks he should buy some healing potions—they could shorten the time needed for advancement.
I'm also out of groceries, he thinks.
Let's do this—take Evelyn to dinner.
They have confirmed their relationship; it's only right.
Tomorrow is Sunday, so she doesn't need to return to university immediately.
On the way back, he should buy some healing potions, groceries, and necessary items for bedroom activities.
I don't want to become a parent so quickly, he mutters in his mind.
But for now, it's still just noon—dinner is hours away.
So in the meantime, he should refine his body.
He sits cross-legged on the grass and begins.