The red-light district never truly slept.

The mornings were busy, but the nights got even busier.

Neon lights flashed wildly from every direction, painting the streets in deep reds, blues, and purples. Smoke filled the air from every corner, mixed with the scent of alcohol, perfume, sweat, and cheap cigarettes.

Courtesans leaned against walls and street poles, calling out to every man who passed by, some bold enough to grab onto sleeves and shoulders with playful laughs.

Nicholas walked through it all with both hands buried in his coat pockets, completely unbothered.

Selena walked beside him, her sharp gaze scanning the surroundings with practiced caution. Her expression only grew worse the deeper they entered.

"I have to ask," Selena finally muttered, glancing sideways at him. "Where exactly are you hiding all those weapons?"

Nicholas raised a brow behind the X Glasses. "Interior compartments."

"I watched Dana hand you enough weapons to start a war, and somehow your coat still looks normal." Selena narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "That’s disturbing."

"It’s practical."

"Same thing in your case."

Nicholas ignored the jab.

The two moved through the crowd carefully, avoiding unnecessary attention. Selena clearly didn’t want people swarming around them, especially not in a place like this.

"Try not to draw attention to yourself," Selena warned quietly.

"You’re walking beside a man wearing a black coat and futuristic glasses in the middle of a red-light district," Nicholas replied calmly. "I think we’re past that point."

Selena’s lips twitched with irritation.

As they continued walking, a large neon sign soon came into view ahead of them.

DRACO NIDUM

A seductive female silhouette lazily laid across the glowing letters.

Selena frowned immediately. "Disgusting."

Nicholas barely paid attention to the sign.

The moment they stepped closer to the building, a strange feeling crawled up his spine.

His instincts sharpened instantly.

It felt like eyes were staring directly at him.

Nicholas’ gaze snapped upward almost immediately toward the towering skyscraper overlooking the district.

Nothing.

Only darkness and the faint glow of distant lights.

His eyes lingered for a few seconds longer before he finally looked away.

The moment he did—

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows above.

Vixen stared silently at the two from atop the skyscraper, the wind blowing against her white cape.

Her gaze lingered on Selena first.

’A supervisor...’

She recognized Selena almost immediately. Supervisors carried themselves differently from ordinary heroes, and Vixen had worked with enough association personnel to notice one on sight.

But the man beside her?

Vixen frowned slightly.

She’d never seen him before.

’A New hero? Why’s he dressed that way?’ She thought raising a brow in absolute confusion.

But what unsettled her wasn’t the outfit.

It was the fact that he’d looked directly toward her moments ago.

There had been no sound.

No movement.

No reason for him to notice her presence.

Yet he’d still looked up.

’Who exactly is he?’

Her gaze slowly shifted toward the brothel beneath they’d entered.

Even from up above, something about the building felt wrong, ’Seems they’re here for the mission as well.’ Vixen thought with a deep frown.

The information she’d received before arriving clearly stated it was a mafia-related mission involving trafficking and illegal activities.

But there was something else here.

Something much worse.

Vixen’s expression tightened.

There was a suspected high-level Impure inside the building.

And that information had never been added to the forum.

Which meant Selena and the unknown hero below most likely believed this was just an ordinary mafia cleanup mission.

’If it’s a newbie hero, this isn’t going to be good for them’ She thought, her forehead creased in worry, ’I should ask the team’

Her hand slowly moved toward the telecom attached near her collar.

She wanted to request permission to interfere.

But the moment the thought came, she already imagined Councillor Richard’s reply.

"Wait for the media."

Vixen gritted her teeth.

Her hand slowly moved away from the telecom.

’If something happens... I’ll move.’

Her gaze locked back onto the two below.

Meanwhile, Nicholas and Selena had already entered the brothel.

The smell hit them instantly.

Alcohol.

Beer.

Smoke.

Perfume.

Sweat.

The entire place was dimly lit with aggressive red neon lights spilling across the walls and floor.

Women in revealing clothes moved around the building laughing, pouring drinks into cups and sitting across the laps of different men.

Music echoed softly through the room.

The moment Nicholas and Selena entered, two large guards immediately approached them.

Their expressions carried obvious hostility.

"What do you want?" one of them asked coldly.

Selena calmly reached into her coat, pulling out her association badge.

"A-rank Supervisor from the Hero Association," she said professionally. "I want to speak with whoever runs this place."

The moment those words left her mouth—

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed behind the X Glasses.

A black cloud-like miasma slowly began creeping through the room.

It slithered through cracks and corners unnaturally, like living smoke.

His eyes sharpened instantly.

It looked exactly like the dark cloud that had hovered above him during his awakening.

Then—

A deep croaked voice echoed directly into everyones heads.

"Kill them."

The atmosphere shifted instantly.

Every man in the brothel slowly stood up at the same time.

Chairs scraped loudly against the floor.

Some pulled out knives.

Others gripped broken bottles.

Even the guards by the entrance reached for guns hidden beneath their jackets. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Selena’s expression changed immediately.

"What the hell—"

"Step back."

Nicholas voice came out calm.

Selena frowned. "Wait a second—"

"Step back, Supervisor."

His tone remained flat and emotionless.

Only then did Selena fully notice it.

Everyone in the brothel had surrounded them.

None of them looked normal anymore.

Their eyes looked empty.

Cold.

Like puppets waiting for orders.

Selena quickly reached toward her weapon. "Everyone calm down! You’re interfering with an official Hero Association inves—"

Nobody listened.

Above the building, Vixen’s eyes narrowed sharply.

She was already preparing to move—

But then Nicholas stepped forward.

Positioning himself directly in front of Selena.

"Stand back, Supervisor..." Nicholas said calmly.

His hands slowly slipped out of his coat pockets.

"So you don’t get caught up in this."