Chapter 93: Leadership Comes With Responsibilities

Vanessa sat at the side of the medical bed, hands folded tightly in her lap, staring at Adam as if he might dissolve if she blinked.

No matter how many times she replayed his explanation in her head, it still felt unreal.

An experimental monster.

A mind geist.

Mind control.

Every piece fit too cleanly to be a lie, and the state of her own fractured memories was proof enough.

She had felt that blankness and felt herself lose time. There was no denying it anymore.

Slowly, Vanessa lowered her head.

“I’m truly sorry for what I did.”

Adam waved a hand dismissively.

“You don’t need to blame yourself. There was no way to know something like that was down there. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

His words were calm, even gentle, but they didn’t seem to reach her.

Vanessa still looked troubled, her shoulders stiff, the guilt refusing to loosen its grip.

Adam watched her for a moment, then sighed.

“Why don’t you make it up to me?”

Vanessa looked up.

Adam was standing, and from her seated position she had to tilt her head slightly to meet his gaze. He coughed once, clearly reconsidering his phrasing.

“You can just pay me,” he said.

“To ease your conscience.”

“Pay?” Vanessa echoed, blinking.

Adam shrugged.

“You feel bad about something that was beyond your control and want to make amends. I’m offering a practical solution.”

Silence stretched between them.

Vanessa stared at him, processing his, as Adam opened his mouth again.

“Or you can let it go and—”

“It’s fine,” she interrupted quickly.

“I’ll pay.”

Adam paused, looked at her, then sighed. “Okay. That’s fine.”

He turned and started walking away from the bedside.

Seeing him leave so casually only deepened her confusion.

“What about the payment?” Adam didn’t turn around.

“Don’t worry, I already took it while you were unconscious.”

Vanessa froze.

…the scythe.

She understood immediately.

A strange feeling settled in her chest, not relief exactly, not discomfort either. She didn’t feel good about the “payment,” but somehow it did ease the weight pressing down on her.

That was the nature of responsibility.

When things went wrong, even if it wasn’t your fault, you still carried the burden.

Adam couldn’t take that away from her. That was something Vanessa would have to confront on her own.

Adam slowed his steps and decided to give the manager some space. Whatever guilt she was wrestling with wasn’t something he could punch, cut, or bargain away. So he slipped out of the tent for some fresh air.

The moment he did, screams rang out.

Adam tensed on instinct.

But then he realized something was off.

These weren’t screams of panic or terror, the kind he had grown far too familiar with. These were loud, unrestrained, almost feral cries of joy.

Adam blinked, caught off guard.

His gaze shifted toward the arcade.

Men began stepping out of the building, clad head to toe in hazard suits, their movements heavy and deliberate.

A second later, several acolytes rushed toward them, clapping shoulders, shouting congratulations, some even laughing openly.

Understanding clicked.

They disabled the generator.

A small smile tugged at Adam’s lips.

But as his eyes lifted toward the sky, that smile froze.

The barrier was still there.

Adam wasn’t the only one who noticed. The acolytes celebrating moments ago slowed, their voices fading as confusion crept in.

Those who had rushed to congratulate the hazard-suited men stopped short, their expressions turning grim, but not the hopeless kind of grim from before.

This was… different.

Adam frowned.

What’s happening?

He didn’t have to wait long.

The leader of the disabling squad stepped forward and pulled off his hazard mask. Sweat drenched his hair, his face pale but steady as he addressed everyone gathered.

“We were able to disable the generator,”

No one spoke, as they all waited for the man to continue.

The man inhaled, then continued, his tone measured.

“But it seems the barrier had already reached a pseudo-stable state before we shut it down.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd.

One of the acolytes stepped forward sharply.

“What does that mean?”

The man’s jaw tightened.

“It means that even though the generator is no longer supplying power, the barrier won’t collapse immediately. It’s self-sustaining, for now.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed.

The man finished grimly,

“It’ll take time before it fully dissipates.”

Silence followed.

The situation had improved but it wasn’t over.

Not yet.

Adam clicked his tongue softly.

You can never have it too easy.

The thought had barely settled when realization struck him like a cold splash of water. His eyes sharpened, and he spoke up before anyone else could drown the moment in confusion.

“Excuse me.”

All eyes turned to him.

Bandages wrapped his torso, his clothes torn and stained, his condition screaming just came back from hell. A few acolytes straightened unconsciously. The man who had led the disabling squad recognized him immediately.

“Oh…Mr. Adam,” he said, respectful despite the chaos.

“What seems to be the problem?”

Adam didn’t waste time.

“What about Siren’s Swamp?” he asked bluntly. “We all know the generator wasn’t a standalone measure. It was part of a two-way plan. The explosion at the rift was the initiator, and the generator was what powered and stabilized the process.”

The words hit like a delayed shockwave.

Several acolytes stiffened.

Of course.

They all knew this, but their focus had been dragged toward the barrier’s persistence, blinding them to the other half of the equation.

Adam’s words snapped everything back into alignment.

The leader of the disabling squad inhaled sharply and started to respond.

“Regarding that…”

“Why don’t we discuss the details in a more proper setting.”

The calm, firm voice cut cleanly through the space.

Vanessa stepped out from between the tents.

​Her veil was back in place, her posture straight despite the exhaustion clinging to her.

Whatever turmoil she had endured earlier was buried deep, or so it seemed, replaced by the cool authority of someone used to carrying the weight of disasters.

She looked at Adam first, then turned her gaze toward the gathered acolytes

****

A/N: Hey guy, just wanted to let you know if we reach top 60 of the golden ticket ranking or get up to 800 power stones there will be a mass release.

Thank you for the support so far it is really encouraging.

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