Chapter 53: The Heart That Still Beats

The portal opened onto an empty street.

Daemon stepped out and closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in the familiar night air of Earth.

The distant sound of traffic, the faint glow of streetlights, the ordinary weight of this world all of it settled over him at once.

"No matter where I go..." he muttered quietly, "this place still feels like home."

He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and started walking in the direction of his house. For the first time in a long while, there was no immediate battle, no dungeon pressure, no unfamiliar sky above him. Just a quiet street and the thought of finally resting.

Then the System’s alert cut through his thoughts like a blade.

[Warning]

[Host: Victoria Hale is heavily injured.]

[Immediate support is required, or her life may be in danger.]

Daemon’s expression changed instantly.

His steps stopped. The calm that had settled over him vanished without a trace.

He was about to activate a communication skill when her voice suddenly echoed inside his head weak, strained, and far too familiar.

Daemon... Daemon, where are you...?

He didn’t hesitate.

He try to teleport to her location immediately then froze as a critical restriction came back to him.

Bond Teleport.

Three times per day.

Only to the location of a Soul-Bonded Wife.

Victoria was not bonded yet.

His face darkened.

For a brief second, frustration and fear tangled together in his chest. If he couldn’t reach her in time

Then another System notification appeared.

[Notice]

[Victoria Hale is already registered as a Soul-Bonded Wife.]

[Teleportation is available.]

Daemon’s eyes widened slightly.

When did that happen?

He only knew about Sana. He had never initiated a Soul Bond with Victoria. There had been no ceremony, no confirmation, no System prompt that he remembered accepting.

But this was not the time to question it.

"Activate Bond Teleport — Victoria’s location."

Light swallowed him whole.

The next instant, Daemon appeared in the middle of the corrupted forest.

The air here was heavy, thick with the lingering stench of burned insects and unstable energy. Victoria was on the ground only a short distance away, barely conscious, her red hair messy against the dirt.

Without wasting a second, he pulled her into his arms and carried her farther from the active battlefield.

He set her down carefully against a relatively intact tree and took out a healing potion he had never used before. Supporting her head with one hand, he helped her drink it slowly.

Her injuries were serious. Blood still stained parts of her clothes, and her breathing was uneven. But the curse had not activated.

The crimson pendant resting against her chest still carried a faint glow proof that it had blocked the fatal strike at the critical moment.

Daemon exhaled in quiet relief.

He then requested a Harmony Bracelet from the System.

A simple but elegant band appeared in his hand, pulsing with soft energy. He gently fastened it around her wrist.

Victoria’s brows furrowed slightly. She didn’t fully understand what it was, but she could feel a faint stabilizing current flow into her body similar to the pendant, yet different in nature.

Before she could speak, a broken voice rose from the wreckage nearby.

Vael was standing again.

Half of his face was burned black.

Patches of charred insect remains still clung weakly to his shoulders and arms, but most of his living armor had already been reduced to ash.

His posture was unstable, and every breath looked painful. He looked like a complete mess.

Then, suddenly, he started crying.

"Victoria... I’m sorry. I didn’t want to kill you. I wanted to save you..."

His expression twisted violently a second later, grief vanishing under something far colder.

"Don’t interfere while I’m here. Stand there and watch how I handle this."

His face shifted again.

"No... I said don’t do anything to her"

"kael, I told you to shut your mouth!"

He punched himself hard across the face. The impact made his body stagger, but he didn’t stop Another blow followed, then another, as if two people were fighting for control of the same flesh.

Victoria’s eyes narrowed as she watched the scene unfold. The rapid changes in tone, expression, and posture made the truth clear.

Kael’s personality had split.

Daemon stared at the man beating himself with a dark, unreadable expression.

"It doesn’t matter if he has a split personality or not," he said coldly. "Today, he’s going to die. How dare he try to kill you."

His voice shifted slightly for a brief moment deeper, heavier, almost unfamiliar, before returning to normal. Daemon didn’t notice the change.

Victoria did.

She forced herself up with Daemon’s support, one hand gripping his arm until her balance stabilized.

In a low voice, she quickly explained what she had understood about Kael’s condition, the conflicting speech, the self-harm, the clear division between the one who wanted to protect her and the one who wanted her dead.

Daemon only nodded once. His killing intent did not fade in the slightest.

"Distract him," he said quietly. "I need time to gather a larger Inferno blast."

Victoria nodded.

She stepped forward even while injured, blood energy flickering weakly around her hands.

Spears of condensed blood formed and shot forward, forcing the unstable man to dodge and counter.

Every time his expression flipped between personalities, his movements became slightly disordered. The protective side hesitated. The violent side overcommitted.

That opening was enough.

Daemon’s arm blazed with violent crimson-black fire. The flames twisted tighter and denser until they formed a massive fireball that distorted the air around it.

Heat scorched the nearby ground, and the pressure made the leaves above them curl.

"Now!"

Victoria leapt back.

Daemon hurled the Inferno blast forward.

The fireball slammed into Kael and exploded on impact. Flames completely engulfed his body. This time there was no insect armor left to protect him.

His scream tore through the forest as the fire burned him alive, reducing what remained of his insect-covered form to charred flesh and collapsing ash.

When the flames finally died down, only a barely recognizable body remained on the blackened ground.

Moments later, hurried footsteps approached from the trees. Lucien, Kang Min-jae, and the remaining Hunters arrived at the scene, their expressions tightening the moment they saw the aftermath.

Kang Min-jae immediately moved closer to inspect the burned body. After a few seconds, his expression hardened.

"...He’s still alive."

Everyone tensed.

Kael’s lips moved weakly. His voice was broken and faint, but the words were clear enough to reach them.

"My original heart... is still alive... under Ashford Central Subway Station..."

His breathing grew even weaker.

"Once it bursts... everyone there will be corrupted..."

Silence fell over the group.

Daemon and Victoria’s expressions changed at the same time.

The man lying in front of them was only a fragment.

His true heart was still beating beneath one of the busiest subway stations in Ashford City

and it was a ticking bomb.