What the hell were they thinking?
This young man had just killed two veterans in front of them. He had torn out a man’s throat with his teeth. The person standing before them wasn’t a Hero.
He was a monster.
But contrary to their fears, Adam only sighed at them loudly in disappointment. His eyes, as if looking at something... pitiful. No, they are pitiful.
He was about to speak—but instead, he exhaled again and shook his head. And without another word, he ignored them completely.
He simply turned away, walking back to Grace and Samantha.
"Ignore them, Nathan."
Grace shot a glare at the others, and to Adam’s quiet amusement, even Samantha mimicked her.
"Hmm. I’m good at that."
Adam exhaled softly before reaching toward Grace’s neck. She flinched at first, but then realized—he wasn’t touching her. His hand hovered close, his gaze fixed on the marks left behind.
"I’m sorry that happened to you, Grace."
A shaky chuckle slipped from her lips. "You know...we sound like a broken record."
She was trembling, but instead of pulling away, she leaned into his palm, resting her cheek against the warmth of it.
"How about... we stop saying sorry?"
Adam closed his eyes and nodded. And after a few moments, he crouched down, turning his attention to Samantha, gently checking for any wounds.
"Does anything hurt?"
Samantha didn’t answer.
Instead, she lunged into his arms, clutching his shirt as fresh sobs racked her small body.
"It’s okay... It’s okay..."
Adam gently patted her back, his touch careful, soothing. "Does it hurt here?"
Samantha buried her face deeper into his chest and gave a small, fervent nod.
Adam continued rubbing gentle circles along her spine, testing for any pain. But when she didn’t flinch or cry out, he leaned away slightly and gave her a soft smile.
"You’ve been very brave. Y—"
And before Adam could finish his words, Samantha flinched as a heavy knock thundered against the door, followed by loud voices seeping in from the gaps.
"What’s going on in there!? We should go before the Administrator decides to burn us for doing nothing!"
"Something’s not right. They’re not responding."
The slams came harder.
The people outside were getting impatient.
Panic spread through the kitchen. The very same people who had heckled Adam moments ago now scrambled for cover, curling into themselves like frightened animals... again.
All except one.
The woman who had been the first to lash out at him rushed toward Adam.
"P-please, save us! I... I’ll do anything! You can do anything you want to me, just save—"
"Please stop." Adam’s voice was flat. Cold. Not even a trace of the gentleness from before remained, "I... don’t really like the noise that comes out of your mouth."
The woman stiffened, taken aback by his tone. "E-Excuse me?"
Adam didn’t answer. He simply shoved her aside and walked past her without another word.
He walked toward Donald’s corpse, where he knelt beside it in silence.
For a few moments, he just stared at the dead man’s face, lips moving in a quiet whisper only he could hear.
Then, with steady hands, he pushed the body aside and pulled out the back piece of Donald’s armor. He reassembled it with the front part, fitting it onto himself before picking up Donald’s sword.
Adam remained silent as he stood up and walked away, it was only until he reached the door that he paused. His fingers curled around the knob, and only then did he glance back at Grace and Samantha.
"I’ll be back." He said.
"Huh?"
Grace’s eyes widened. "Wait—don’t tell me you’re going out there!?"
Adam didn’t respond.
He only sighed. And then—he turned the knob.
The moment the door creaked open, the creeps outside gasped.
They stumbled back, eyes darting between the armor and his face. They were confused, right up until they saw the Red Halo above his head.
And that was when the screaming started.
Adam ignored them. He casually stepped out and calmly shut the door behind him—and the last thing that Grace saw was a blade being pushed through his stomach.
A blade pierced through his stomach.
And then, she heard the screams. The roars.
Very much a brutal and chaotic repeat of what happened to Jake.
And she didn’t know if she was just imagining it, but between the frenzied cries and the sounds of flesh being torn apart, she swore she heard Adam saying his favorite word: "I’m sorry."
She could just be imagining it.
After all, she had just witnessed her kill two people in front of her.
She glanced at Donald and Joseph’s corpses, and her body flinched each time a brutal scream came from the outside.
"Why can’t you kill him!? He’s just one creep!"
"Why... why isn’t he dying!?"
"Grah!"
She could also hear Adam’s voice, screaming.
Samantha’s small body trembled as she recognized it too. Without a word, she covered her ears and buried her face against her mother’s thigh.
"Sweetie..." Grace bit her lip, stroking her daughter’s hair in a soothing rhythm. But the moment was shattered by a violent slam against the door.
She tensed. For a second, she thought someone was about to break in—
But the only thing that happened was the screams getting worse.
"R... run!"
"He’s a Hero! Everyone, run!"
"But he has a halo!?"
"Run!"
And soon, she heard it.The ground shook beneath them, metal trays and utensils clattering in their places as the kitchen trembled under the weight of hundreds of fleeing footsteps.
The chaos stretched on—then slowly, it faded.
Until all Grace could hear was a small groan.
Adam?
She rushed to the door, heart hammering in her chest as she slowly, carefully cracked the door open.
And then—the sight she saw made her forget how to breathe.
Adam also saw her peeking out. His single remaining eye widened, and with his severed arm still in his grasp, he lifted it toward her. His bones, protruding at her direction.
"Wait!" He screamed, "Don’t... don’t let her see me like this."
Half of his face was shaved clean off, exposing muscle and bone. With an agonized grunt, he reached up and pulled a knife out of his cheek.
Grace slammed the door shut.
Leaning against it, she forced a smile at Samantha, who had already started inching forward.
"Let’s... just give Mr. Nathan a minute, okay?"
She slid to the floor, forcing herself to stay calm.
One minute.
Just one.
She focused on her breathing—in, out, in, out—until the tremble in her limbs settled.
She could hear Adam groan, trying his best not to scream in pain.
And when she finally heard a sigh of relief, she opened the door again.
Adam was sitting in a chair now, his body whole again. His limbs were intact, his wounds gone—
As if the nightmare from moments ago had never happened.
"Nathan!"
Grace rushed forward, but the moment she stepped outside, she froze.
She was standing in it—the carnage.
Without thinking, she lifted Samantha into her arms, shielding her face from the horror.
"Mommy? What—"
"Shh. It’s okay, sweetie. Remember what Mommy said? Some things are only for adults to see."
She hadn’t noticed it before—hadn’t let herself notice because she was focused on Adam—but the entire restaurant was littered with corpses.
Her stomach lurched. A sharp, burning sensation clawed at her throat... but she swallowed it down.
She had to keep moving.
She stepped carefully, trying to avoid the carnage. But it was impossible.
Her foot slipped on something wet. A trail of intestines dangled from an overturned table. A man’s face lay on the floor, blank, lifeless.
And then—
Something worse.
Right next to where Adam had stood earlier.
A body.
Its eyes had been stabbed through by a shattered bone.
The corpse was actually cleaner than most of the others, but there was a thought that started to linger in Grace’s mind.
Was that... Adam’s arm? And out of all of the limbs and mangled flesh scattered everywhere, how much was actually Adam’s?
"Urgh—"
She swallowed hard, the taste of bile lingering on her tongue.
She couldn’t look at it anymore.
She turned her focus back to Adam, lowering herself beside him. Her voice was soft, urgent.
"Nathan... we should probably go."
Adam turned to her weakly, his breaths ragged, wheezing.
And then—
"Adam." He whispered.
Grace blinked. "Hmm?"
He swallowed, struggling to speak.
"My real name’s Adam."
For a moment, she just stared at him.
At his tired, broken face.
Then, finally—
She let out a breath.
A small, awkward smile found its way onto her lips as she looked around at the carnage surrounding them.
"Well, uhm..." she muttered, awkwardly..
"It’s... nice to meet you, Adam."