Beneath the photo, a short message appeared: *A single parasite has been removed. Now, there is only you and me, Sovereign.*
Ethan crushed his watch until the screen cracked. He knew this wasn't a message of peace. It was a message that Maestro K had just discarded all restraints. No more rules, no more intermediaries.
Suddenly, gunfire erupted in the distance, from the direction of the Thorne estate.
Ethan flinched, his entire body going rigid. "Clara!"
He no longer thought about his car. With superhuman speed, Ethan ran through the forest, tearing through the darkness toward the only person left who gave him a reason to stay human in this damned world.
But in the shadows behind him, a man wearing a white porcelain mask emerged from behind a tree, watching Ethan's retreating back wit
