Chapter 381: Chapter 381 The Man Behind Everything

Vanessa and Dickson could both tell from her tone that something had changed.

Lilith brushed her hair back, her eyes cold enough to make the air bite. She exhaled slowly, and the vapor of her breath hung in front of her face. “All right,” she said. “Playtime’s over.”

This time, she moved first.

One blink—and she was gone.

The creature turned, confused for the first time. A sharp crack filled the air, and suddenly it was lifted off the ground as an ice-coated boot smashed into its jaw. The hit was brutal, the kind that could snap a neck. The creature crashed into a wall, the surface exploding with shards of concrete and frost.

Before it could even fall, Lilith was there again. A trail of white mist followed her movements as she appeared midair and slammed both fists down into its chest, freezing the air around her hands in the process. The impact shook the entire vault.

The creature hit the ground hard enough to crack it. It tried to rise, but Lilith didn’t give it the chance.

She waved her hand, and dozens of ice spikes burst out from the ground beneath it, stabbing into its limbs. It roared in pain, the first sound it had made since resurrecting. The sound was deep, guttural, monstrous.

Lilith stepped closer, her boots crunching through the shattered ice.

The creature swung again, desperate now. She caught its fist with one hand this time. Its knuckles stopped inches from her face.

“Not bad,” she said, gripping tighter. Frost spread up its arm instantly, climbing its skin and freezing its shoulder in seconds.

The creature tried to pull back but couldn’t move. Its body trembled as more of it turned white, solid, cold.

Lilith looked him dead in the eyes. “You should’ve stayed dead.”

Then she twisted her arm and shattered the frozen limb with a sharp crack. The creature screamed.

She kicked it in the chest, sending it flying again, and raised her hand. The air around her dropped another ten degrees. Crystals formed midair, swirling like snow caught in a storm.

The creature stumbled up, only for Lilith to appear right in front of it again. She slammed her hand against its chest, and everything stopped.

The frost spread out fast, freezing the air itself, spreading across its entire body in seconds. It turned solid blue-white, frozen mid-breath, its eyes still open.

Lilith’s expression didn’t change. She clenched her hand into a fist.

The frozen body shattered into a thousand pieces, each chunk breaking into dust before hitting the ground.

Silence followed.

Only the faint sound of Dickson coughing in the background broke it.

He spat blood on the floor and grinned weakly. “Well… that’s one way to end it.”

Lilith didn’t reply. She stood there, looking at the shards of ice that used to be the creature, her breathing steady but her expression cold and unreadable.

Vanessa walked closer, her voice soft. “He’s gone?”

Lilith gave a short nod. “Completely.”

The frost started melting slowly, leaving the room damp and cold. The air finally felt breathable again.

Then they heard a sound.

A low, shaky breath.

They turned.

The leader of the robbers was still there, kneeling on the ground near the vault. He was pale, trembling, eyes wide with horror.

He looked from the shattered remains of the creature to Lilith. His lips moved but no sound came out. Then finally, his voice broke through, shaking with disbelief.

“You… you killed it,” he said quietly. “You actually killed it.”

He fell forward onto his hands, his breath ragged. His entire body trembled like someone had ripped his soul out.

He never thought anyone could defeat it. That thing was supposed to be unstoppable—his last weapon, his way out. But now, all that remained of it was frost melting into the cracks of the floor.

Lilith looked down at him, her tone calm and cutting. “You said blow the place up,” she said. “How’s that working out for you?”

He didn’t reply. He couldn’t.

He just knelt there, broken, powerless, staring at the floor as the cold continued to creep into his bones.

Vanessa teleported right in front of the leader. The man was already on his knees, sweat and blood mixing on his face. She bent down, grabbed a gun from the floor, and pressed it against his forehead. Her tone was cold but calm.

“Tell me what was in that vial.”

The man chuckled, a weak, broken laugh that didn’t fit the situation. His voice cracked as he looked up at her, his eyes filled with a kind of madness that came from giving up.

“What’s the difference?” he said, smiling like a man who had already accepted his death. “I’m gonna die whether I tell you or not.”

Vanessa frowned, her finger steady on the trigger. “Maybe if you tell the truth, we won’t kill you.”

The man laughed harder this time, like he found the whole thing funny. His shoulders shook as the laugh turned rough and dry. “You don’t get it,” he said between breaths. “I’m already dead. I was dead the moment you showed up. They won’t let me live.”

That word—they—made Vanessa pause. She stepped a little closer, pressing the gun harder against his head. “Who is they?” she asked.

But the man didn’t respond. His eyes had that distant look again, like he wasn’t really there anymore. He kept muttering to himself, words that didn’t make sense. Names. Numbers. Something about time running out.

“Hey,” Vanessa snapped, shaking his shoulder. “Who’s they?”

No answer. Just more nonsense.

Lilith finally stepped forward. She had been silent the whole time, just watching. Her expression was calm but focused, the kind that meant she was thinking about something deeper.

“Vanessa,” she said, her voice low and steady. “Teleport inside the vault.”

Vanessa turned to her, confused. “Why?”

Lilith crossed her arms and looked at the metal vault door behind the man. “Because I want to see what these men were willing to die for.”

For a moment, Vanessa just stared at her. Then she sighed and nodded. “Alright.”

She stood, lowered the gun, and walked past the kneeling man. Her eyes met Lilith’s one more time, then she placed her hand on the vault wheel. In a blink, she vanished.

Inside the vault, Vanessa appeared in silence. The air was cold and smelled like old metal and cash. She looked around slowly, her eyes scanning every corner.

There were piles of money stacked high against the walls, bundles upon bundles of fresh notes. In the middle, gold bars gleamed faintly under the dim lights. It looked like a treasure room from a dream—riches beyond anything she had ever seen in her life.

Vanessa walked forward, her boots crunching against the floor. She bent down and picked up a gold bar, staring at her reflection in it.

“Damn,” she muttered softly. “If I wasn’t with Lilith, I’d rob this place myself.”

But she quickly shook the thought off. This wasn’t about gold or money. The men weren’t willing to die for cash. There had to be something else.

She started searching.

She opened metal boxes, flipped through stacks of notes, even checked under the shelves. Every corner she looked into, every box she opened—it was all the same. Just money. Just gold.

After five minutes, she stopped and stood in the middle of the vault, hands on her hips.

“Seriously?” she muttered. “That’s it? All this chaos for pocket change?”

She turned her head, scanning the walls again. But there was nothing. No device. No strange energy source. Nothing hidden or glowing or out of place. Just pure wealth.

She frowned. The longer she stood there, the more it didn’t make sense. Why would those men be ready to die over gold and cash? And what did that vial have to do with anything?

Her thoughts circled faster, but she couldn’t find a clear answer.

Finally, she sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Lilith’s not gonna like this.”

She touched the vault door again, and in the next moment, she was gone.

Outside, she appeared right where she left—beside Lilith and Dickson.

Lilith looked at her the second she reappeared. “Well?”

Vanessa shook her head, her expression serious. “There’s nothing inside.”

Dickson raised an eyebrow. “Nothing? You mean like… empty?”

“No,” Vanessa said. “Not empty. Just gold and cash. That’s all.”

For a second, no one said anything. The air felt heavy. Lilith’s eyes narrowed as she glanced back at the vault.

“Strange,” she said quietly. “These men were ready to die for that? For money?”

Dickson scratched his head, confused. “Maybe they’re just dumb. I mean, people do crazy things for gold.”

Lilith didn’t reply. She just kept staring at the vault, lost in thought.

Vanessa looked down at the leader again. He was still on his knees, shaking slightly, muttering something they couldn’t make out. There was something in his voice—a hint of terror, not guilt.

She crouched down again and whispered, “What are you so afraid of?”

The man’s eyes darted toward her for a second, then away. His lips moved, but his voice was too low to hear.

Vanessa straightened up, frustration creeping in. “He’s gone,” she muttered. “He’s not even here anymore.”

Lilith’s gaze shifted from the vault to the man. Her jaw tightened, the same look she always got when something didn’t add up.

“This isn’t over,” she said finally. “Not by a long shot.”

The three of them stood there in silence for a moment, the sound of the distant fire crackling around the ruined facility. The vault, the man, the vial—it all felt connected, but none of them could see how yet.

Vanessa holstered the gun and glanced at Lilith. “So what now?”

Lilith didn’t answer immediately. Her eyes were still on the vault, the faintest hint of suspicion in her stare.

“Now,” she said slowly, “we find out who’s pulling the strings.”

The man let out one last weak laugh behind them, barely loud enough to hear.

And then he went quiet.

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