The silence didn’t last long.

Heavy footsteps soon started to echo throughout the corridor, which not only Lucien, but everyone else heard too.

Not one, two, or five.

At least fifteen of them.

With his heightened senses, Lucien quickly estimated the number at more than thirty sets of footsteps. And from the rhythm and his spiritual power, he could tell that six or seven of them were awakened.

Inside the apartment, everyone’s expressions worsened.

A few moments later, the whole group brought up by Aiden stopped outside his door.

And among them was Clara.

At her signal, two awakened men stepped forward immediately, both of them possessing physical enhancement talents.

Without wasting words, they slammed their fists and legs onto the simple-looking door one after another.

Bang!

The impact shook the ground beneath them, but the door still didn’t budge.

The two exchanged confused looks before deciding to activate their talents. Muscles swelled and veins bulged across their skin, one of the man’s entire body seemed to tighten as though every fiber of his body was being pushed beyond its limits.

The second one’s fingers thickened, and his palm grew drastically in size, looking like a fist of a gorilla that had been attached to a human body.

This time, both nodded and attacked simultaneously.

Boom!

The difference was apparent, and yet the result stayed the same as only two shallow dents appeared on the surface of the door.

Nothing more.

A strange silence fell over the corridor as even Clara struggled to understand how sturdy the door was.

Aiden narrowed his eyes as he felt something was wrong.

Using his talent, he probed the door and what he found froze him.

The door was covered in a layer of spiritual energy that seemed to have taken the shape of a honeycomb-like structure, the most defensive and sturdy shape possible.

And it didn’t stop there.

It covered the walls, the ceiling, and not to mention the floor.

The entire apartment seemed wrapped inside a single interconnected structure that was now protecting everyone staying inside it.

Interesting.

The corners of his lips curved upward, and instead of being worried, he seemed intrigued.

"KAEL."

The moment Aiden’s voice echoed from outside, Kael’s expression changed and without warning, he rushed toward the entrance.

"What are you doing?!" Mark shouted as he tried to stop him.

Whereas Andrew’s eyes widened in disbelief.

However, before Kael could even reach near the door, his body abruptly froze.

Three steps.

That was all it would take for him to open the door and allow everyone to enter, and yet he couldn’t do it.

It was as though an invisible force had locked every muscle of his being in place.

He struggled but his arms refused to move. The same was the case for his legs and other body parts as he couldn’t even blink.

The door was just a few steps away, yet it suddenly felt farther than it had ever been.

Lucien lowered his hand but still kept using his telekinesis that had pinned Kael in place.

The room fell silent.

The power Lucien showed was astonishing, but before the betrayal, it wasn’t anything important.

Andrew was the first to react, "So you were indeed a mole."

His voice was low and filled with disappointment as he glanced at his wife.

He had already chosen a side, but was it the same for his wife?

Meanwhile, Luna stood like a statue locked in place while tears streamed down her face.

Not because of the betrayal delivered by her own husband, but for the consequences awaiting her and Kael after he had betrayed them.

Lucien, however, paid little attention to them.

He wasn’t worried about what an unawakened couple could do to him.

His gaze had shifted toward the ferret sitting atop Emily’s head that kept staring intently at the walls of the house.

More specifically, it was staring at the defensive formation protecting the apartment.

It can feel the protective barrier.

This only ignited his curiosity for what a lineage was and how it worked, yet there were more pressing matters to consider for now. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Don’t worry everyone, as I already told you, no one will be able to enter this house—"

Click.

The sound was faint.

Yet in the dead silence, everyone heard it clearly.

Their heads snapped toward the entrance, only to see the door swing open from the inside.

For a brief moment, nobody understood what they were seeing because Aiden was standing beside the doorway.

Inside the apartment.

Lucien’s eyes widened as he too was left completely stunned for he hadn’t even imagined such a scene.

"How?" How could he bypass a spiritual barrier made from a talisman?

Aiden smiled faintly.

"I think you’ve underestimated me a lot."

That’s when realization struck Lucien.

Harmonic Shift.

The ability hadn’t merely allowed Kael to become invisible but had also allowed him to phase through the door — or the barrier itself.

Talents used spiritual power to work, and because the formation was constructed from spiritual energy, his ability could pass through it as well.

But now, it was already too late.

Clara and the four awakened combatants rushed inside immediately.

The remaining members stayed outside, blocking the corridor and cutting off any possible route of escape.

At once, a huge amount of pressure descended on Evelyn and Lucien’s shoulders.

And not giving them any time to react, the two physical talent users rushed forward while activating their talents once again.

"Sorry, but it seems you have underestimated me too."

Without warning, a counter-pressure pressed against Clara’s attack, giving Evelyn enough time to channel her own powers.

Whereas Lucien used his telekinesis ability once again.

The nailgun appeared behind him directly from his inventory and all the nails inside it started to float beside him.

The two physical awakeners slowed slightly upon noticing the nails floating around Lucien but they still rushed ahead.

The hesitation lasted for just a fraction of a second.

But that was more than enough as fifteen nails suddenly appeared near the ceiling and in the next moment, they shot downward.

Pfft!

Blood dripped from their ankles and neck as the two men’s expressions twisted in pain.

Their charge came to an abrupt halt but the damage was still not enough to injure them heavily, but they still stopped due to caution.

Only then did Clara and the others realize that the floating nails beside Lucien had merely been a distraction.

But someone else too had made his move in this mess.

Aiden had disappeared from the place where he was standing seconds before and was nowhere to be seen.