A white-haired man with glasses rang the doorbell of Adrian's house.
Riley opened the door slowly. Her eyes looked tired, her expression dull, as if she hadn't slept properly in days.
"Hello, mister… do you need anything?" she asked quietly.
"I am here to talk about Adrian," Lucius said, wearing a gentle, polite smile.
Riley's eyes lit up slightly.
"May I come in?" Lucius asked calmly.
"Oh… of course," Riley replied, her voice gaining a bit of energy.
She prepared tea, and soon they were sitting across from each other at the table, the room filled with an awkward silence.
"So… what did you want to say about Adrian?" Riley asked, her voice trembling with curiosity and hope.
"The thing is," Lucius said casually, "he has unfortunately died."
For a moment, Riley couldn't process his words.
Her face turned pale.
"What…?" her voice cracked. "How? He went to the door to see who rang the doorbell, and after that he… never returned…"
"The person who rang the doorbell was a very strong individual who wanted to kill Adrian," Lucius said calmly, as if he were talking about something trivial. "And he succeeded."
Riley's hands began to shake.
"Why…? Who would do such a thing…?" she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I don't know," Lucius replied indifferently. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. Goodbye."
He stood up, walked out of the house, and disappeared into the street without looking back.
Riley collapsed onto the floor.
She cried all night.
Lucius hadn't come to deliver news—he had come to witness her despair, to watch her heart shatter with his own eyes.
Meanwhile…
Anthony's fists moved like storms.
Punch after punch, strike after strike, his attacks filled the air, but Ella continued to dodge and block with elegant precision, her movements almost graceful. Their clash echoed through the corridors of the headquarters, metal and flesh colliding again and again.
After a long exchange, Ella finally found an opening.
Her dagger flashed.
The blade barely scratched Anthony's skin—but that was enough.
The poison spread instantly.
Anthony's legs trembled, and he dropped to his knees, his breathing becoming heavy.
"See?" Ella said with a faint smile as she slowly turned away. "That's why you should have accepted my offer. The poison will kill you within a few minutes."
"That much time… is enough for me to kill you," Anthony replied coldly.
Ella turned around.
Too late.
His fist smashed into her face, launching her straight into the wall and creating a deep crater. Blood spilled from her mouth as she coughed violently.
Anthony staggered forward, his body trembling from the poison, yet his eyes remained focused. He unleashed a relentless barrage of punches, each one landing directly on Ella's body. The impact shook the room, but his movements were slowly losing power.
Ella forced herself up and attempted to stab him again.
Anthony barely dodged, then slammed his elbow into her chest, sending her crashing into the ground. Before she could react, he struck her several more times and quickly reached into her pocket, pulling out a small vial.
The antidote.
Without hesitation, he drank it.
His breathing steadied slightly.
Still bleeding, still exhausted, Anthony turned and rushed forward, ignoring the pain in his body.
He had no time to waste.
Meanwhile…
Cosmic entered the final room of the basement.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw Adrian lying on a bed, surrounded by countless machines and wires connected to his body.
Without hesitation, Cosmic destroyed every device one by one. Sparks filled the room as the machines shut down. He rushed to Adrian's side and tried to wake him.
"Adrian…!"
No response.
His eyes remained closed.
Cosmic clenched his fists, then lifted Adrian carefully and carried him out of the room.
As he reached the hallway, Anthony appeared in front of him, his body covered in wounds.
"You killed her?" Cosmic asked, his gaze sharp.
"Yep," Anthony replied casually. He glanced at Adrian. "So this is the boy? Let me carry him. You do the fighting."
Cosmic smiled slightly.
"Fine. But we also need to check on Kenji."
Meanwhile…
On top of a tall building near the hero headquarters, Lucius stood quietly, watching everything from afar.
His eyes were calm.
"Hmm… that old man is quite troublesome," he murmured to himself. "And Anthony probably defeated Ella by now. At this rate, the hero headquarters will lose."
He adjusted his glasses slowly.
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"I suppose it's time to begin phase two of my plan."