Near the entrance, one of the three men spoke quietly.
"Hey, Doffy… her Dream Walk ability is impressive."
The second nodded calmly. "She trapped Kal effortlessly."
"We grab him," he added, voice steady. "And return to the Kingdom."
Doffy didn't respond immediately.
He simply walked forward.
Above them, the door of Room Three opened.
The blonde woman stepped out.
Composed.
Unhurried.
In her hand,Kal's watch.
She moved down the corridor and disappeared into another room without looking back.
Moments later, Kal came outside the room.
He didn't jump.
Didn't panic.
He looked around with controlled movements, masking the tremor in his breath.
Empty.
No blonde woman.
No threat in sight.
He stood.
Adjusted his dress.
Walked out.
Each step measured.
Unhurried.
He descended the stairs toward the dance floor as if nothing had happened.
Music swallowed him again.
Lights flashed.
He scanned once.
Twice.
Then, without lingering,
He exited the club gracefully through the exit door.
No running.
No hesitation.
Just absence.
...
Room Twenty.
Clare lay back against the silk cushions, reading data flickering across her watch.
A faint smile touched her lips.
"For a brat… you really are a devil, aren't you, Kal?"
She closed her eyes briefly.
"Seems I don't need a man after all."
Her voice softened.
"I'll bail myself out."
She rested.
Not asleep.
Just conserving energy.
Back at the reception.
Doffy approached the desk.
The receptionist wore a fitted black satin dress with subtle gold threading at the hem
elegant, tailored, unmistakably expensive. Even her posture reflected the club's exclusivity.
"Excuse me, Miss," Doffy said gently.
She looked up.
And froze.
His red eyes met hers.
Not glowing.
Not threatening.
Just… steady.
Her breathing changed first.
Then her posture.
Her shoulders softened.
Her lips parted slightly.
The faint flush that rises when someone feels suddenly chosen bloomed across her cheeks.
Love at first sight wasn't dramatic.
It was quiet surrender.
"How… how can I help you, sir?" she asked, voice warmer than before.
Doffy smiled.
Measured.
Magnetic.
"May I know where to find Room Three? I have a friend to meet."
"Oh,of course."
She pressed a button immediately, almost eager to please.
A male attendant in crisp formal attire approached.
"Please guide our guests to Room Three."
The attendant bowed slightly. "This way, sir."
The three followed him.
Unhurried.
Calm.
Hunters who knew the prey couldn't run far.
Meanwhile,the blonde woman returned to Room Three.
Closed the door behind her.
"Hey, bitch," she muttered lightly. "I fulfilled my contract."
She twirled Kal's watch between her fingers.
Her grin widened.
Inside her thoughts,
"I promised to spare your life."
"I promised to keep your secret."
"I promised to help you catch the cheater."
"I never promised they wouldn't kill you."
"That's not breaking a vow," she whispered to herself.
She turned,
Expecting Kal.
Instead,she saw someone else.
A woman standing near the balcony.
White hair cascading like moonlight.
Silver eyes reflecting nothing.
The temperature in the room dropped.
The air grew heavy.
Oppressive.
The blonde woman's grin faded.
"...You."
The atmosphere shifted.
Not violent.
Not loud.
Just absolute.
Like standing before something ancient.
And watching.
"What are you doing here?" the blonde woman asked, eyes narrowing as she looked at Clare.
Clare stepped forward calmly.
"Just here to return the favor," she replied with a faint smirk.
"Is that so?"
The blonde woman's smile tightened.
In one smooth motion, she turned to bolt for the door,but Clare was faster.
Her hand shot forward, covering the woman's mouth before she could scream.
She pulled her back violently, pinning her against the wall.
"I want to hear your scream," Clare whispered into her ear. "But I won't."
Her grip tightened.
"Take this as thanks… for doing our job."
The air vibrated once.
A dull, suppressed sound.
And then,silence.
On the staircase,
Doffy and his men ascended toward Room Three.
Calm.
Focused.
Halfway down,Doffy paused.
Footsteps behind him.
Soft.
Measured.
He turned slowly.
At the far end of the corridor stood a woman with white hair, her dress slightly disheveled as if she had just left a storm. Beside her walked a handsome man, composed, protective.
For a split second,the hallway felt colder.
The couple stopped.
The man cupped her face gently.
They kissed.
Slow.
Deliberate.
But something was wrong.
Doffy felt it.
Not in his eyes.
In his spine.
Like a predator sensing another predator pretending to be prey.
The man's posture was too controlled.
The woman's shoulders too steady for someone who had just fled.
It felt staged.
Carefully placed.
Doffy's heart skipped once.
Just once.
Then he turned away.
Ignored it.
And continued toward Room Three.
The attendant knocked.
No answer.
He pressed the bell again.
One of Doffy's men stiffened.
His nose twitched.
"This can't be…"
Without hesitation,he kicked the door.
The heavy reinforced wood burst inward with a violent crack.
The waiter staggered back, eyes wide.
"H-How...?" he stammered.
That door was carved from strong wood.
No one kicked those open.
His mouth opened and closed uselessly.
Fear crawled across his face.
Inside,the bed.
The sheets.
The headboard,and the blonde woman's body laid upon it.
Still.
Unmoving.
Positioned almost deliberately.
"Nina…"
One of the men rushed forward.
"Nina!"
They dropped beside the bed.
Shaking her shoulders.
Calling her name again and again.
Doffy stood at the doorway.
Frozen.
Red eyes scanning.
Trying to understand.
The waiter's breath became erratic.
"No… no… no…"
He stumbled backward and ran down the corridor.
"Security! Security!"
Below,panic spread faster than fire.
Whispers turned into screams.
People rushed for the exits.
Glasses shattered.
Bartenders abandoned the counters.
Women hurriedly pulled dresses over themselves, some barefoot, some half-dressed.
Security alarms triggered.
Within minutes,police vehicles surrounded the club.
Then more arrived.
Because of who owned this place.
Because of who invested in it.
Even military vehicles blocked the outer roads.
Blue and red lights painted the building in chaos.
In Room Three,Doffy's men were crying openly now.
Not composed.
Not hunters.
Just grieving.
"No… Nina… wake up…"
They clutched her lifeless hand.
Voices cracking.
Police officers entered carefully.
"Sir, please step back."
One officer placed a steady hand on Doffy's shoulder.
Another attempted to calm the two men, even pulling them into brief, firm embraces to stop them from spiraling.
An investigator knelt beside Doffy.
"I'm sorry for your loss," he said gently. "But we need your cooperation."
He swallowed.
"I promise you. She will get justice."
Doffy lifted his head slowly.
His red eyes met the investigator's.
The investigator's voice faltered mid-breath.
His throat tightened.
Words stopped forming.
For a split second,it felt like staring into something far deeper than grief.
Not shock.
Not sadness.
Calculation.
The investigator went quiet.
The room felt heavier.
And somewhere,Outside the chaos
A war had just quietly begun.
The club was sealed within minutes.
Police tape wrapped the entrance. Investors shouted into phones. Media vans began circling like vultures.
Inside, Nina's name was recorded.
Room Three , booked under her ID.
No secondary guest registered.
The officer in charge moved toward the CCTV control room.
It was a narrow chamber behind reinforced glass ,walls lined with stacked monitors showing every hallway, staircase, entrance, and balcony. Two security staff sat before a long console filled with switches, timestamp displays flickering in green digits.
"Rewind to twenty minutes before the disturbance," the officer ordered.
The footage rolled.
They watched Nina exit Room Three.
She didn't leave the floor.
Instead, she walked down the corridor and entered another room.
Minutes later,the man who had been with her calmly stepped out of Room Three.
Adjusted his cuffs.
Left the floor.
Exited the club.
After some time,Nina returned.
Entered Room Three.
The door shut.
No one else entered after that.
The officer frowned.
"What happened?" he murmured. "If she was alone inside… how was she killed?"
Behind them,Doffy stood quietly.
Almost unnoticed.
Hands in pockets.
Red eyes fixed on the screens.
He rubbed his chin slowly.
Then he saw something else.
Himself.
And his men walking toward Room Three.
And suddenly,he remembered the white-haired woman in the corridor.
The kiss.
The staged intimacy.
His heart skipped again.
He leaned closer to the officer.
Soft voice.
"Check the white-haired girl's room."
The officer hesitated, then signaled the guards.
They forced the door open.
Inside,a man's body.
Still.
Cold.
Doffy's mind went blank.
He had seen Clare walking with that same man.
Now he was dead.
"How…" Doffy whispered under his breath.
"Is this her ability?"
His jaw tightened.
"No one can have two abilities."
A cold breeze slipped through the cracked window.
His hair fluttered slightly.
For the first time,Doffy felt uncertainty.
Outside the club.
Under pale streetlights.
Clare and Kal walked away calmly.
Different clothes now.
Different identities.
Clare wore a short skirt, a white shirt slightly loose at the shoulders, a wig changing her silhouette completely.
Kal wore a green jacket, cargo pants, and a cap pulled low.
They didn't look back.
A police car sped past them toward the chaos.
Kal noticed something.
Clare's steps were uneven.
Subtle.
But there.
A slight falter.
Like someone walking after spinning too fast.
Is she drunk?
No.
She had spoken clearly moments ago.
The plan had been precise.
Then what,drawback?
He remembered Nina's paralysis after Dream Walk collapsed.
Abilities had costs.
Kal walked forward,
And suddenly hit a wall.
Not physically.
Mentally.
A wave of disorientation.
The streetlight above flickered on harshly.
Kal shut his eyes on reflex.
Clare didn't.
She stared straight into it.
Unblinking.
Wrong.
Something was wrong.
"It's better if we take a cab," Kal said gently, placing a hand on her arm.
"I'm fine," she replied.
Her voice was steady.
But her fingers trembled.
"Miss Clare."
"I said I'm fine."
"Stop pretending."
She tried to walk past him.
He grabbed her shoulders.
"We're not risking this."
"I don't need you babysitting me."
"Miss Clare..."
"I can handle myself."
Kal's jaw tightened.
"For once," he snapped, louder than he intended, "stop acting like you're invincible!"
She froze.
His chest rose sharply.
"I don't want to die," he said, voice breaking slightly. "And I don't want to lose you."
Silence.
"For you," he continued, swallowing hard, "I already put my hands in blood. Don't make that meaningless."
Her eyes flickered.
Anger surfaced first.
"How dare you?"
But before she could finish,
Kal shouted, his voice breaking at the edges.
"I want to live. And you need what's inside my head , the information. You may not like me. I don't know how you've handled everything so far, but right now I'm just another burden to you."
He swallowed, forcing himself to hold her gaze.
"If you still have any strength left, save it. We're going to need it. You might be alone… but I still have someone waiting for me to return."
A faint, bitter smile touched his lips.
"What about you, Miss Clare? Do you still think I'm talking nonsense? Then go ahead. Do it. If my protector decides to kill me, I doubt I'll survive anyway."
After hearing that her mind got clouded,she struggled once.
Twice.
Then, stopped.
Her forehead rested against his chest.
Her body felt lighter.
Like the fight inside her had drained.
For a second,
She allowed herself to lean on him.
Just a second.
Kal raised his hand.
A cab slowed.
They got in.
Inside the cab.
The driver glanced at them in the mirror.
"You two look young," he said casually. "What's the relationship?"
Kal forced a smile.
"She's my girlfriend."
He gulped subtly.
The car rolled forward,
Then suddenly stopped.
Clare stiffened.
Sweat beaded along her temple.
"What happened?" Kal asked.
"Checking ahead, sir," the driver replied. "Police inspection. I have to cooperate."
Blue lights reflected faintly ahead.
Kal's pulse spiked.
He looked at Clare.
Her breathing had become shallow.
Her hands clenched weakly against her thighs.