Chapter 36 : Beneath the Truth Café
Little by little, the everyday chaos began fading.
The laughter.
The teasing.
The dinners filled with pointless arguments.
For a while, everything felt almost normal.
And then—
The next day came.
Leo's phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered immediately.
"Sir," the voice said from the other side, tense and hurried. "We found the Silent Duchess team."
Leo's expression darkened instantly.
"I'm sending the location now. Get there as fast as you can."
"…Good work."
The call ended.
Within minutes, the entire team was moving.
The car cut through the empty streets at dangerous speed while silence filled the inside. No jokes. No unnecessary words.
Only tension.
Only mission.
Meanwhile—
Deep beneath the abandoned Truth Café, hidden under broken walls and underground tunnels, the atmosphere had already turned heavy.
Cold air moved through the dark passageways like breathing shadows.
The café above them was destroyed long ago.
Broken chairs. Cracked glass. Dust covering the floors.
A dead place.
And beneath it—
The real world existed.
The hidden one.
The place where everything had started.
Near enough to Realiana's college for the signal to reach.
Far enough for nobody to notice.
Valley Lilly stood still the moment she sensed them arriving.
Her eyes narrowed beneath the dim underground lights.
"They're here."
The others immediately moved.
The hacker grabbed the devices. The reporter collected files with shaking hands.
"Run," Silent Duchess ordered calmly.
No panic.
No fear.
Only cold control.
Then—
The tunnel exploded into chaos.
Leo's team broke in without hesitation.
Smith and Nick instantly chased after the escaping members, cutting through the narrow underground paths.
The hacker and reporter barely made it a few steps before being cornered.
Meanwhile—
Valley Lilly moved forward alone.
And blocked the rest.
Jhosen attacked first.
Then Jack.
Then Natasha.
Then Leo.
Four against one.
But Valley Lilly wasn't fighting to win.
She was fighting to stop them from getting closer.
Every movement was precise.
Every attack calculated.
She moved through them like flowing poison, pushing them back again and again despite the overwhelming pressure.
The underground tunnel echoed with heavy impacts and sharp breathing.
Cold air wrapped around everyone like death itself.
On the other side—
Silent Duchess faced Smith and Nick alone.
No words were exchanged.
Only violence.
Sharp movements.
Cold eyes.
The sound of metal against concrete.
Nick attacked fast.
Smith attacked smarter.
But Silent Duchess adapted to both with terrifying calmness.
Her black coat moved through the darkness like a shadow itself.
Back near the center tunnel—
Valley Lilly's breathing finally became uneven.
For the first time—
She was struggling.
Leo's training had made them monsters.
Every attack came sharper than before.
Faster.
More brutal.
Jhosen tried forcing her backward.
Natasha attacked from the side.
Jack blocked every escape route.
And then—
Leo moved.
Fast enough that even the air seemed to split.
His kick landed directly against Valley Lilly's stomach.
The impact sent her crashing violently into the concrete wall.
The entire tunnel shook.
Dust fell from above.
Silence followed.
Valley Lilly dropped to one knee, blood slowly slipping from the corner of her lips.
Leo walked toward her slowly.
Cold.
Unreadable.
His dark eyes stared down at her like judgment itself.
"How's this?" he asked quietly.
Valley Lilly tried to lift her head.
But her vision blurred.
Her eyes slowly closed.
And the underground tunnel fell into silence once again.