That night, Adam conquered his own city.
The moon hung above Adamopolis like a silent witness as laughter echoed through the wilderness—low, calm, and terrifyingly controlled.
Somewhere along the walls, a soldier whispered in fear.
"That's not strategy… that's slaughter."
And from that night on, another name began to spread.
The Great Military Strategist.
Adam never believed walls could stop him.
Walls only worked against enemies who attacked them.
So he didn't.
He removed the army instead.
The enemy's main force had already been lured miles away, chasing ghosts across the wilderness. What remained inside the city was the weakest link from the very beginning—Eve's angelic supporter.
Irina.
Soft-hearted. Hesitant. Predictable.
Adam needed only minutes.
A few quiet words.A carefully chosen truth.Just enough emotional pressure.
When Adam stepped back, the angel was already trembling.
"…If this prevents bloodshed," Irina whispered.
She floated toward the western gate.
And opened it.
At the same time, chaos erupted elsewhere.
A dozen men crawled through distant bushes, hurling stones against the far walls. Guards shouted. Muskets fired blindly into darkness. Shadows became enemies. Orders collided with panic.
By the time realization came—
Adam was already moving.
"Now."
He surged forward.
The western gates parted just enough for a man to slip through. Adam entered first. His soldiers followed like a flood breaking through cracked stone.
Three stunned guards barely reacted before they were dragged down and bound.
Within minutes, more than a hundred warriors poured into Adamopolis.
The city had fallen before it even knew it was under attack.
"Up the walls!" Adam ordered.
No hesitation. No prolonged fighting.
Groups moved in packs—three, five at most. Anyone resisting was seized and thrown screaming from the battlements.
Adam climbed alongside them, blood streaking his face, eyes burning with ruthless clarity.
"Casualties aren't the objective!" he roared."Speed is! Buy me time!"
Victory was never about killing.
It was about control.
Less than an hour later, all four gates were sealed from within.
The enemy army still hadn't returned.
Adam left fifty men guarding the walls and assigned Irina as messenger command. Then he turned toward the heart of the city.
He raised his crude war club.
"Target," he said coldly.
"Eve's castle."
"Loot it!" the soldiers howled.
Adam's expression darkened instantly.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
Victory had shattered discipline. His primitive immortal army scattered through the streets, kicking open doors, grabbing valuables, chasing terrified civilians.
God-tier enemies were manageable.
Pig-tier allies were not.
Adam pressed his fingers against his temples and exhaled slowly.
Fine.
The castle first.
Order could come later.
High above the city, Eve watched the chaos from her tower.
Fires flickered across Adamopolis.
Her city.
His victory.
"It seems," she said quietly, "we've already lost."
Blaze Thirteen stepped forward, fists clenched.
"Then we fight to the end."
Eve didn't answer.
Results mattered more than bravery.
Moments later—
The doors exploded open.
Adam entered with only a handful of men.
Blaze Thirteen charged.
He lasted three seconds.
Then he was dragged to the balcony and thrown into the night below.
The remaining guards fled.
The doors slammed shut.
Silence fell.
Only Adam and Eve remained.
Adam walked forward slowly, breathing hard.
Clothes torn. Blood at his lip. Hair wild.
Victorious.
"You lost," he said.
No accusation.
Just fact.
Eve met his gaze calmly.
"What you won," she replied, "was force. Not agreement."
Adam picked up the documents on the table and dropped them before her.
"You supported the coup."
"I supported change," she answered. "They forced my hand. You left no space for opposition."
Adam laughed softly.
Without her guidance, those citizens wouldn't even possess the vocabulary written on these pages.
This rebellion had language.
Structure.
Vision.
All hers.
"You tested me," Adam said.
"I tested humanity," Eve corrected."One ruler… or shared governance."
That was the moment she crossed the line.
Adam sat down and drank her untouched tea in one motion.
"I ruled alone for twenty years," he said calmly."And civilization survived."
"I can accelerate it," Eve replied quickly."Science. Education. Technology. We could—"
"No."
Adam stood.
The word landed like judgment.
"Competence without obedience," he said quietly, "is disaster."
He stepped closer.
"People like you must be handled early."
For the first time—
Eve hesitated.
"You wouldn't dare," she whispered. "Thousands support me."
Adam smiled.
"Easy."
"I adopt your reforms publicly."
"I give them everything they want."
He leaned closer.
"And tomorrow… who do they thank?"
Color drained from her face.
This world had no elections.
No safeguards.
Only power.
And Adam had held absolute power for twenty years.
She had mistaken restraint for limitation.
Adam stopped inches from her.
Outside, Adamopolis erupted in chaotic celebration.
No guards came.
No angels descended.
No one interrupted.
Eve's heartbeat thundered in her ears as realization finally settled in.
Tonight—
humanity had chosen its ruler.
And it wasn't her.