MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Adam was sitting on a bench and feeding the birds when a red-haired girl wearing a suit, black pants, and a pair of black gloves approached him.

"You are late."

Adam looked up and gave her a wane smile, "I know. But I was in a charming company when Yui suddenly messaged me."

He didn't hide the innuendo in his words. Clearly, she was being much less charming company.

Nikola simply shrugged and sat next to him. She made sure to keep some distance between them and started to tap on her phone, imputing a code. Only then did she take out a small case with a pair of glasses in them?

"How secure are we?"

Adam looked up and gently moved his finger, twisting gravity all around him to stop the sounds from spreading,

"They will be unable to hear us and for anyone looking we will just look like we are seating and minding our own business."

Nikola grunted a little. She had to admit that this particular power was impressive no matter how many times she witnessed it.

'He is truly dangerous.'

While she was wary of Adam, she held no particular hatred against him. She knew that Adam had officially accepted to join the gang. This means that from now on, the two of them were truly working comrades rather than the earlier ambiguous position Adam had in the organization.

"Take this."

"And this is?"

Adam looked at a pair of glasses with curiosity. He didn't need to adjust his eyesight and from the small amount of Prana he could feel from this, it was clearly not normal.

"This is a special gadget that we commissioned. The model is pretty old since it's military-grade but it will do for now."

Obtaining those had not been easy. But there was always a way in the market. Adam equipped them after inspecting them and making sure that there was no problem and the result astounded him.

"This...."

After blinking rapidly a blue flashing light covered his vision before slowly, a blue screen started to flood the glasses.

A loading screen took away his vision before being replaced by a large number of files.

On the side he could see the picture of a man, it was an ordinary white man who seemed like a normal middle-aged man that could be seen everywhere.

"This is Eric, he is also called Big Eric. He is the leader of one of the gangs under us."

Adam nodded as he read the bio of the man. It was extremely detailed, going from his past to his present, passing by the number of children he had and where they were hiding as well as many secrets.

"So, why I am looking at the picture of this man?"

"You should have an inkling."

"Elimination?"

"Not quite."

Nikola leaned backward and looked up at the sky, "Extermination. Big Eric seems to have eyes bigger than his stomach. He has been divulging small information to our concurrency until now."

She laughed quietly, "In the past, we didn't mind and in fact even fed him some false information to help mislead them. But he went a step too far..."

"So now it's time to cut him and his gang?"

"Pretty much. It was judged that we needed to make an example to avoid such a phenomenon ever. At least 25% of the group betrayed us out of their free will. We need to weed them out and make clear to the others that betrayal means death."

Nikola ground her teeth slightly. For her, Yui was no different from her lord and savior. Yui saved her from a life of servitude in the hands of the organization she was once part of.

Adam looked quietly at the name of Eric as well as the information about his subordinates. If he followed this mission, this would be the first time he would truly kill someone who he had no grudge or no reason to kill.

'Did this go against my conscience?'

Adam took out the pack and took out a cigarette.

"Can I use one?"

"Be my guest."

Adam grinned and the spark between his fingers was all he needed to light it up.

'Oh?'

He had expected many things. But this was truly not something that came even close to what Mammoth once gave him.

He did not cough nor feel like he was lacking. In fact, he felt better than ever before. Not only did his mind feel sharper but,

'It has grown?'

It was only a few centimeters but he could distinctly feel like his domain was growing and more than anything, the amount of information he was able to compute increased greatly.

'I need to use those during combat.'

He knew that this would be a game-changer if he used those things while fighting. This would make everything far easier for him.

Now that his mind was calmer, he started to realize that he actually did not care much about death. Even if he was forced to be the executor.

'This is the choice I made.'

pαndα`noνɐ1--сoМ Yui was a kind woman in front of him, but this did not mean this was her whole nature. Humans were beings with a hundred masks and would wear one depending on who they were facing.

The greatest killer might be a kind father.

Yui was a criminal and she was not some small-time criminal but someone with a great deal of influence. The number of crimes under her name were countless and the blood on her hand could never be washed away even if she bathed for years.

Until now, Adam had been more of a bystander or simply a passerby. He dipped his toes in her world without ever fully committing.

But once he took this mission, there would be no going back. He would never be able to hide under the veil of innocence or self-defense and revenge. This would be true calculated murder.

Adam breathed in deeply and looked languidly at the sky before releasing the smoke in the air.

'The choice was more than evident.'

"When is the operation?"

"We move tonight after midnight."

"I see..." Adam shook his head to which Nikola frowned, "You refuse?"

"I accept the mission. I just will not do it with you guys."

He stood up and adjusted the pair of glasses, "Send all the information in this gadget and tell Yui that I will do it alone. You guys can follow for the clean up."

"You!"

Nikola stood up in surprise but could only curse when Adam vanished from her vision. She knew that he was using his illusion trick again.

But there was nothing she could do but stamp her feet in frustration before sighing. Taking her phone, she imputed Yui's number.

"Boss. We have an issue."

[What is the matter?]

"Adam accepted to participate in the mission."

[I can sense a but...]

"But he decided to do it alone."

On the other side, Yui stayed silent as she heard this and closed her eyes. If she had to be honest. This had been a test from her and she had hoped he would fail.

This was in a way the last out she had given him. But since Adam made his decision and stuck with it, then she would stop treating him like a child that needed to be coddled.

She closed her eyes and thought for a while.

"Very well. Call all the members of the Garden. I think it's time for all of you guys and even for me to see him at work."

In the underworld, might make right. This was even more so when the supernatural was concerned.

Adam had no reputation as a criminal and this might bring some problems later on in the organization even if he was technically a founding member.

As such,

'He just has to amaze all of them.'

She had felt with her instincts, but Adam was very strong and he would make sure they would understand this.

This was the best time to confirm once again her eye for talent.

----

Meanwhile, after leaving Nikola alone, Adam walked aimlessly until he reached a hotel. It was a rather high-level-looking one. But with the money he had received from Yui, he could easily afford to stay here for some time, much less simply a night.

As expected of a high-class hotel, the lobby was top notch and while they were a little hesitant at first, they didn't hesitate to give him a beautiful suit after he showed he could pay for it.

He also didn't miss the way the receptionist looked at him. The invitation was so clear that he could understand it even without her speaking.

Adam nodded at her and made a sign that he would call her later. Having some meaningless fun with a beautiful and sexy woman was something worth thinking about later.

Now though, he had to focus.

Taking out his phone, he briefly talked to Cecilia and told her how he passed the test and succeeded. There were many things he wanted to say but he couldn't talk about such sensitive issues on a phone.

"I will be sleeping outside tonight Mom. We can celebrate my success tomorrow."

Cecilia hesitated for a moment before finally sighing, "You are not a kid anymore. I understand. Do what you believe you have to do."

Adam smiled quietly and extinguished the cigarette.

"I will. Thanks."

He stopped the call and went ahead to take a shower before going back to lying down on the bed.

It was barely afternoon so he still had a long time. He closed his eyes slowly and thought.

'I wish to enter the Bronze section of the library.'

He would make sure that once he came back, he would be even stronger.