Become A Character Who Dies Within Three Chapters

Louis's ears twitched slightly. He acted as if he hadn't noticed anything, slowly strolling around the laboratory. His eyes landed on the violently torn-apart experiment table—it was hard to imagine just how much strength Sylus had. It truly made one feel a bit of reluctant admiration.

At that very moment, behind Louis, Athena's headless body suddenly stiffened. It swayed as it rose to its feet, like a broken toy forced into rigid motion.

Louis turned back, one hand covering his chest, wearing a look of mock panic as he exclaimed:

"My God, a corpse rising! Could it be that the era of zombies is upon us? I'm truly so terribly frightened!"

He chuckled, watching Athena with keen interest.

From her neck, tiny silver particles began to appear. They clustered together, dense like a liquid stream, rapidly shaping themselves into a head!

The silver mass quickly crystallized—forming eyes, a nose, a mouth, even long hair. It looked almost identical to Athena before but bore no skin tone. The silver sheen could not hide the truth that it was merely machinery.

Louis couldn't help but raise a brow. Athena's talent was truly undeniable. By her own ability, she had already touched upon the foundational techniques of Luna and Lucas. Even though it was only at the initial stage, it was enough to grant her heaven-defying power.

With this technology, even if she lost her heart, Athena could recreate one independently and return to life with her will intact. But Sylus had deliberately crushed her head—the most precious part of her.

So now, the only thing left in "Athena" was a single lingering instinct.

"Kill… Sylus… kill… Sylus…"

She repeated the words endlessly, staggering as she turned around.

But just then, a bullet was suddenly shot toward her! Though her movements had been stiff before, Athena avoided it with impossibly swift reflexes.

Her head rotated 180 degrees, mechanical eyes locking onto Louis, radiating an unnerving, icy aura.

Louis chuckled:

"Kill Sylus. What a pity—I can't allow you to do that. He still has to destroy the Aurellan family. If you want to kill Sylus, you'll have to step over my corpse first!"

The moment he finished speaking, Athena's stiff body shot toward him like an arrow! Louis could see every movement she made, yet his body lacked the speed and reflexes to respond!

Athena slammed into him directly, pinning him against the wall.

Bang!

The deafening sound echoed, and Louis was inevitable part of it was his spine cracking.

Cold sweat broke out across his face. The pain was unbearable, forcing his brows to knit together as he muttered:

"It really hurts, Athena. You've always been the one to hurt me, and I can't even retaliate against you—not even a little."

Athena gave no reply. Her lips kept repeating the exact words—kill Sylus, kill Sylus—clearly the last fragment of her will.

"What a shame. You were the one who stole my first kiss, but in the end, the only one you remember is Sylus." Louis spoke as though jealous, his face full of mock humor.

Perhaps he really had gone mad. Or maybe it was because of what he was about to do that he already felt insane—hence the empty, meaningless words.

Athena's hand suddenly rose, clamping tightly around Louis's throat.

Louis could feel Athena's grip tightening, the pain sending his mind spiraling into sudden unconsciousness. Yet he didn't even struggle. Instead, he lifted a hand and gently touched Athena's face, speaking with heavy breaths:

"But it's fine… destroying the machine body… that you poured all your effort into creating… is enough."

Beneath the underground laboratory, the overwhelming battle raged on. Meanwhile, above, in his own room, Joshua was too terrified to sit still. He paced back and forth, his heels striking the floor with sharp clacks that only heightened his anxiety and fear.

He was afraid his sister had returned and would strip away all his rights… no, knowing Athena's nature, she would definitely kill him. After all, she was that cruel, that heartless… she would never care about something as fragile as family bonds!

Just the thought of it made Joshua tremble uncontrollably. Yet he didn't know that what he feared would never pass. Something far more terrifying was on its way…

Bang!

The door was suddenly kicked open with a resounding crash, making Joshua flinch so violently that he toppled to the ground.

He quickly dropped to his knees, shutting his eyes in terror, pleading:

"No, sister, I didn't mean to do it! It was all because of the elders—they deceived me, they dared to challenge your authority, and I was foolish enough to listen to them! Yes, and Louis too—Louis wanted to save Sylus, so he tricked me into helping him find the map to your underground laboratory! He truly seduced me, it's his fault! Sister, sister, please forgive me, forgive me! I'll never be deceived again, I—"

Joshua rattled on without pause, his trembling voice matching how his body shook.

"Repeat it. What did Louis do?"

The cold, deep voice cut through the air, making Joshua jolt. He panicked and lifted his head—only to see Sylus standing there, eyes lowered upon him, gaze colder than ice.

Joshua shuddered. If Sylus was here, then where would Athena be?

A horrifying thought flashed through his mind, but he quickly calmed down.

Sylus had served the Aurellan family for a long time. If Joshua proved more reasonable than Athena, would Sylus continue to serve him and the family?

Clinging to that hope, Joshua forced a smile:

"Sylus, Athena doesn't know her place, but I am the perfect master. I'll certainly—"

Before he could finish, Sylus suddenly reached out, seized Joshua by the throat, and lifted him high into the air with a crushing grip.

Joshua felt pain lance through his neck, the pressure threatening to snap it at any moment. Terror surged through him.

He thrashed helplessly in midair, but his strength was nothing compared to Sylus's.

"I'll ask again. What did Louis do?"

At this moment, Joshua was so terrified his soul felt like it would fly out of his body. He spoke at the fastest speed he could muster, afraid Sylus would crush him to death on the spot. He might be cruel, but in the face of sheer power, his cruelty meant nothing—it only worked against the weak:

"Louis… Louis wanted to find you, so he cooperated with me! He broke into Athena's office, and then G tore him apart!"

"I truly had nothing to do with imprisoning you, Sylus. Please spare me!"

Joshua wept as he begged, utterly unaware that the hand gripping his neck was trembling so violently it seemed barely restrained.

Suddenly, Sylus swung his arm, and Joshua's body was hurled straight into the wall! The impact left him writhing in agony, eyes rolling back, looking as though he might die at any moment.

Sylus clutched his own head. Waves of stabbing pain pierced through his skull, as if his brain were being shredded apart—so unbearable it drew a guttural roar from his throat.

Everything before his eyes split into countless fractured illusions—even Joshua lying on the ground multiplied into three versions.

The dizziness, the pain—he was about to collapse. No, not yet. At the very least, these people had to die. All of them. Dead, every last one!

Sylus staggered forward, each step echoing like a war drum against Joshua's racing heart. Joshua saw Sylus's hand reaching out, groping like a blind man's, and a spark of hope flickered in his eyes. He wanted to run!

But in that instant, Sylus seized him again, the tightening grip on his neck so suffocating that Joshua screamed:

"You always wanted to throw Louis into Leo's cage, didn't you?"

Joshua shook his head frantically, struggling to form words, but Sylus's grip crushed down so hard he could no longer speak—a miracle he was even still breathing.

Sylus's eyes blazed crimson, blood vessels bulging as though they would burst:

"You and your sister—she shouldn't have died so quickly. You both should have savored hell before death finally took you!"