"Too predictable!"

Not once. Not once has Adam come even close to hitting Clementine… and Clementine wasn't shy at all in calling it out as she dodged another one of his clumsy swings with the massive sword.

And once again, before he could recover, she thrust the ninjato toward his left eye, stopping just an inch from the iris. The blade trembled there for a heartbeat, close enough that he could see his own reflection in the steel.

Then she spun, her leg whipping around to strike him in the temple… and she didn't hold back at all.

The kick sent Adam sprawling. He rolled across the polished marble, each impact jarring and dislocating his bones, until he slammed into one of the columns with enough force to crack the ancient stone.

He could feel his vision darken as he hit the back of his head, but Clementine wasn't finished.

She rushed forward, knee driving up to meet his face when he tried to stand. The impact was brutal—Adam felt his nose shatter, blood spraying across the marble as his head snapped back into the column. The stone cracked further, the crevices crawling like spiderwebs.

"I… didn't kill you, right?" Clementine worriedly asked, as if she didn't just do that with the actual intent of killing him.

Adam's neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, bone jutting through the skin. His face was mangled beyond recognition, crushed and broken. But Clementine stepped back, never taking her eyes off him, watching with fascination as his head corrected itself.

The bone receded. The skin knitted together. His face reformed as if nothing had happened.

She had been bashing Adam's head for more than an hour now, and she still couldn't get used to seeing him heal. Initially, when Adam told her of his insane regenerative abilities, she thought it would take several minutes or hours at least. But this?

Adam practically healed almost instantly right in front of her. For him to say "he just heals" was an understatement, and he had completely downplayed his abilities.

At this point, from her observation, he was practically immortal. And then, the same thought that horrified Dr. Aniston also soon settled inside her—if he could do this… just how much of a monster would he be once he becomes a Hero?

Just thinking about it caused him to hold his breath.

"Ugh…"

"Are you okay?" Clementine asked, taking a step back as Adam stood.

Adam glanced at her, sighing as he gazed down at the red mess that was his outfit. Aside from his back, there was no part of his outfit that wasn't covered in blood.

"You're… not going to make me pay for this, right?" He asked while wiping his face wit the back of his hand.

"N—" And before Clementine could say anything, Adam suddenly spat blood directly at her face before darting behind her, arms wrapping around her throat. He wasn't trying to choke her, that was impossible. What he was doing, however, was trying to cover his mouth and nose.

Clementine was shocked for a moment, but she was also sort of proud of what he did. But of course, the reward for that was her grabbing his arms and throwing her weight forward. Adam flew over her shoulder and slammed into the marble floor, his body bouncing once before settling down.

"That was new," Clementine said while wiping the blood from her face. "You should—?!"

And once again, she was interrupted as Adam swept his legs around her ankles, sending her tumbling to the ground beside him.

He scrambled on top of her and drew back his fist, aiming for her face. But at the last second, he redirected the punch to slam into the marble beside her head instead. The stone cracked under the impact.

"Oho…?" Clementine looked up at him and smirked. "You're really starting to impress me, but…"

"Kh!"

She drove the pommel of her blade into his ribs… once again without holding her strength back. Adam curled from the pain, but Clementine didn't seem to care as she pushed him to the side.

"Pff…" She snorted as she pushed herself to her feet, dusting off her white pants. Take a break. And next time, please just punch me. You already spat on me anyway. And I like that, by the way. It—wait."

She paused, her eyes twitching when she realized how that sounded. "I… didn't mean it that way. English is not my main language."

English was, in fact, her main language. She spoke it before her own native tongue. But of course, she wasn't going to say that.

"Sorry." Adam sat up, still catching his breath. "It doesn't feel right to hit you."

"You—" Clementine laughed, shaking her head in disbelief as she walked away. "Just how gentle can one person be? I've smashed your face in several times, but you still don't want to retaliate? Are you a masochist?"

She grabbed a pair of towels from a rack near the weapons, tossing one to Adam along with a bottle of water. She also opened a bottle for herself, but only to wash her face with it—what she did drink, however, was the other bottle next to the water.

Alcohol, again.

"You're… drinking again?" Adam squinted as he approached her, drinking his water. "Why do you drink so much? Is your liver still okay?"

"What the—Guekh!" Clementine almost choked on the liquor, sputtering with laughter. She couldn't even speak, needing to cough out all the alcohol inside her mouth.

And when she recovered, she patted Adam's shoulder several times, each pat harder than the last, nearly knocking him over.

"You're funny, huh?" she said, sighing as she shook her head. As for Adam, he could really only wonder what was so funny about what he said.

"I don't want to spend time in this world sober."

"Does it have anything to do with your Hero ability?"

Clementine paused, the bottle touching her lips as she looked at him. For a moment, there was a flicker of sadness in her eyes, but she just shrugged.

"Yes," she said casually. "The alcohol dampens it."

She took another long drink before continuing. "I think you, of all people, should be aware of this—our… gifts are both a curse and a blessing. In my case, my power lets me know people's intent. I can't really control it."

"You can read minds?" Adam asked with wide eyes.

"No," she replied with a bitter smile. "If I could read minds, I would have been rated much higher during the Hero registration test. The Witness of Shadows, that's what the Game called me. What I can read is whether people are up to no good, whether they're hiding something, things like that. But I can also feel and experience what they're feeling, in a way. It's a double-edged sword."

She looked directly into his eyes. "Your mind is peaceful... but at the same time, there's such pain and sadness in you that I've never seen in other people."

"Oh?" Adam looked away. "Please don't try to read me then. I… wouldn't want you to feel what I experienced."

"Ew. "Clementine cringed at his words, her entire body shaking. "You should avoid being too nice. And that's what the alcohol is for."

She chugged the rest of the bottle after that, then, without warning… smashed it against Adam's face.

"Oho?" To her surprise, however, Adam managed to block it with his arm.

Adam then tilted his head to the side, looked her in the eyes, and said the same words she used on him.

"Too predictable."

"Oh, yeah?" Clementine smirked, then punched him squarely in the face without mercy. Adam dropped backward onto the marble with a satisfying thud. Well, satisfying for her, that is.

"Alright." She cracked her knuckles. "Time for round two."

***

"Shit…"

Several hours later, Adam walked alone through the castle's vast hallways. He rotated his arm curiously—he knew he was fully healed, but this was the first time he still felt like something was wrong.

Had Clementine beaten him so badly that he could still feel it?

He stretched his neck, sighing as he looked at the enormous paintings lining the walls. Though Clementine had told him about each one, there were so many that he couldn't remember which was which.

Where's the dining room?

He glanced back, thinking there should be direction signs or at least a map somewhere. Clementine had told him dinner was at seven, and he didn't want to be late. Unfortunately for him, he forgot to ask where it was.

He looked down at his clothes, sighing at the luxury he was wearing. He'd never known clothes could be this soft, light, and breathable all at once—the white long-sleeved shirt and beige pants felt like wearing clouds.

Even the shoes made it feel like he wasn't wearing anything.

And while he was busy admiring his clothes and getting lost, he heard footsteps approaching from ahead. It was Louis, the cousin, talking on his phone. But as soon as he spotted Adam, he waved and smiled.

"Ah, American!" Louis greeted him cheerfully. Adam waved back and nodded.

"What are you doing here?" Louis laughed as they drew closer, shaking his head. "Are you lost?"

"Yes." Adam sighed. "I'm looking for the dining room."

"You already walked past it," Louis said with amusement. "I'm heading the same way. We should go together."

"Oh…" Adam glanced back, turning around to walk with Louis.

"You call yourself Adam, correct?" Louis asked. "I'm Louis, Clementine's cousin. It is very nice to finally talk to you, Patient Zero."

"...Huh?"

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