His Obsession His Redemption

Welcome To This World

A sharp knock sounded against Serena’s door. Before she could offer a word, the heavy wood swung open.

A young woman stood on the threshold, her gaze unyielding and her tone razor-sharp. “Come out.”

Serena looked at her, her voice barely a whisper. “Where are we going?”

“The boss says your presence is required at the gang center,” the girl replied coldly. She stepped aside, gesturing to the hallway with a curt flick of her chin. “Come.”

Serena slowly stood and followed her into the corridor. The further they walked, the more the quiet atmosphere of her room gave way to a rising, chaotic din.

When they stepped out onto the upper level of the gang center, Serena froze. The room was enormous, lined with tiered balconies and surrounded by mobsters watching from every corner. Men were fighting on the stairs, taking swings at one another, their harsh laughter echoing against the high ceilings. The moment Serena walked in, dozens of cold eyes shifted toward her.

Serena lowered her gaze, her hands trembling at her sides.

The girl glanced back at her. “Don’t mind them. Just avoid their glaring and stay close to me.”

Serena nodded quickly, sticking close as they moved to a vantage point along the railing. From there, she could look straight down into the main ring.

The massive double doors at the far end burst open. Two men were dragged into the square, already bloody, exhausted, and battered from an earlier beat-down. They were thrown brutally onto the floor.

Immediately, the chaotic room fell pitch-silent.

Lucian entered, flanked by Adrian. He walked toward the center with slow, deliberate authority before taking his seat. He leveled a frigid stare at the two bleeding men.

“What are your names?” Lucian asked.

The first man swallowed hard. “Marco.”

“And you?”

“Leon.”

Lucian leaned back, his expression unreadable. “Who sent you?”

Neither man answered.

“Who sent you?” Lucian repeated, his voice dropping an octave. When silence met him again, he gestured to his men. “Force them into the center.”

Guards lunged forward, shoving both spies into the middle of the open floor.

Lucian looked down at them coldly. “You wanted to enter Inferno and gather information, so you understand the price of being caught. Now, you must fight until one of you is dead. Kill one, and the other lives longer.”

The two spies dropped to their knees, begging frantically. “Please! Have mercy!”

Lucian raised a single hand, instantly cutting off their screams. “One of you will have a sweet, easy death by the hands of your accomplice. The survivor will get the chance to live in this world longer. Decide between yourselves who it will be.”

Lucian drew his gun and fired a single shot straight into the air.

The roar of the gunshot set the men off. Driven by pure terror, Marco and Leon lunged at each other.

Serena flinched, pining for a breath of fresh air as her throat tightened. A heavy stone was hurled into the ring. Marco scrambled for it, grabbing the rock and swinging it toward Leon’s skull. Leon saw the attack coming, dodged sideways, and delivered a desperate kick that knocked the stone out of the ring.

They continued to tear at each other, bleeding profusely. Moments later, an iron hook was tossed into the center. Leon snatched it up and drove it viciously into Marco’s abdomen. Marco let out a terrifying, guttural scream as the hook pierced his stomach, yet he fought back, forcing Leon to throw the hook aside as they crashed back onto the floor.

The crowd erupted into wild cheering and raucous laughter, treating the gruesome spectacle like mere entertainment. Serena stood frozen, her entire body shaking and convulsing. During the brutal brawl, fingers were severed, blood splashed onto the concrete, and bone cracked, but the crowd only roared louder. She felt so sick she thought she might faint, but she forced herself to hold still—terrified of what would happen to her if she collapsed in front of these monsters.

Finally, a gun containing a single bullet was thrown into the square.

Both men scrambled for it, knocking it back and forth across the blood-slicked floor. Leon managed to pin Marco down, grab the gun, and press it to his partner's chest. He pulled the trigger.

BANG.

Marco dropped dead.

The gang members screamed and cheered in approval. There was no emotion, no flinching in Lucian’s dark eyes.

Leon sat over the corpse, weeping hysterically, yet a look of pure relief washed over his battered face. He looked up at Lucian, gasping for breath. “I killed him! Thank you... I can go now, right?”

Lucian slowly stood up and stepped into the ring. “I said the one who died first would have an easier death from his accomplice, while the second gets to live longer than him. That doesn’t mean I said you were free. You will just live longer.”

Leon’s relief shattered into sheer horror.

Lucian lunged forward, grabbing the man tightly by the throat and lifting him upward. “Who sent you?”

“I... I can’t talk!” Leon choked out.

Lucian gestured to the guards, who brought forward a smoking container of high-grade acid. Before the man could scream, Lucian plunged Leon’s face directly into the hot chemical and pulled him back out.

Serena gasped, horror flooding her chest as the skin on the man's face peeled away, raw and dripping. She turned around, desperate to run.

“You go nowhere!” Lucian’s voice boomed across the hall.

Every head in the room snapped toward Serena.

Lucian stared directly at her, his voice absolute.

“Stand firm. Keep watching.”