A few seconds passed before Eren finally spoke up, his voice calm yet cautious.
"I must admit, you make an unusual offer... for a boy your age."
Luca added, "You speak as if you've signed a contract with a demon before."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I have. But this one, I want to see the details."
Eren took a breath, then stood up. "We can't approve everything now. Proposals like this must be submitted to the NEXARIS central council-especially the legal and bioanomaly oversight sections."
"How long?" asked Liam, his expression flat.
"Less than 48 hours," Luca replied quickly. "But in the meantime, consider yourself our honored guest. We won't treat him like a prisoner anymore."
"As long as you keep your word," Liam replies coldly, "I'll keep mine too."
Then he stood up, straightening the dark gray suit he was wearing. "If the meeting is over, I want to see the sun."
The back door of the room suddenly opened automatically. The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard entering. A cold aura burst in along with the figure of a tall middle-aged man, dressed in a flawless obsidian-colored suit. His face was sharp, the look in his eyes carried the impression of absolute power-not just an ordinary leader.
Eren and Luca stood up immediately. There was no signal, just the instinctive reflexes of men who realized they were in the presence of the top of the hierarchy.
"Executive Director," Luca said quietly, bowing respectfully.
The man stepped to the front of the table, standing directly in front of Liam.
"So... you are William Louren," he said in a low, heavy voice-full of pressure but sounding friendly.
Liam looked at the man warily. "And you are...?"
"Adrien Calbourne. Executive Director of NEXARIS Global."
Liam gave a small nod. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." He extended his hand, keeping his demeanor polite even as his whole body's instincts screamed alert.
Adrien smiled slightly. "Yes... let's 'get acquainted'."
In an instant, the smile disappeared. A swift movement-faster than an ordinary human-and Adrien's hand grabbed Liam's wrist, twisting his body with tremendous force.
BRAAKK!
Liam was thrown onto the glass table, his body hitting the hard surface. Before he could react, his left hand was pulled up, his right followed-pressed above his head.
A small metal blade emerged from the sleeve of Adrien's suit, and with one practiced motion, he plunged it into the side of Liam's left shoulder, locking the position. The wound wasn't fatal-but it was painful enough to bear.
Liam winced, trying to resist. But his body... felt heavy. His energy flow was blocked. He tried to activate regenerative cells-failed. Tried to stimulate muscle movement through bioresonance-no reaction.
"...What are you...?" Liam whispered, his eyes wide.
Adrien looked down, his face just an inch away from Liam's who was sprawled out on the table.
"You think because you're special, you can bargain with us all you want?" Adrien whispered. His voice was cold as steel. "You don't know who's really in control yet."
Liam groaned, trying to break free. But his body seemed numb under this man's grip.
Adrien continued to stare intently, his eyes burning smoothly with an unfamiliar turquoise tinge. "You think you're special, William? NEXARIS has known beings like you... long before you were born."
Adrien pressed the knife deeper, almost to the bone. Then whispered something softly in his ear, "You think because you're special, you can't be touched?"
Eren stood up from the chair, almost shouting, "Sir Adrien! That's enough-!"
But Luca raised a hand, stopping him.
Adrien looked up at Liam, and began to bend the teenager's arm slowly until his shoulder joint made a small cracking sound. The pain was close to insane.
"Calm down. I haven't killed you yet. Just wanted to make sure of something..." he said softly, then pulled out the knife with a quick jerk.
Liam coughed, blood flowing from the wound on his shoulder.
"A chill ran through the wound, not because of the blood... but because he knew: he was completely helpless." But strangely, his ability was dormant. There was no regeneration. No increase in strength. No wild rage like usual. It was... empty.
Adrien stood up straight. "This knife, Liam... is made from the same meteor fragment that your entity came from. It neutralized you. Killed the 'Octarion' in your body-temporarily."
Liam did not reply. His eyes were full of hatred... and unavoidable fear.
Adrien turned around, sheathing his knife again.
"We all have our place in the food chain, William. This is just a reminder that you're... not at the top yet."
Without answering Liam tried to lift his body, but Adrien's grip was as hard as steel. "If you want to work together," Adrien hissed softly in Liam's ear, "you have to understand who's in control."
Then, in one fell swoop, Adrien pulled the knife from the table and released his grip. Liam collapsed back into a sitting position, his breathing still ragged.
Adrien stood up straight, slipping the knife back in. "Now, we can continue the discussion... as two equal parties."
Liam looked at Adrien, this time with a different expression-not fear, but a much deeper sense of wariness. He realized just how small he was in the face of NEXARIS' true power.
Adrien walked back to his chair, as if nothing had happened.
Shaking off some dust from his coat, "let us continue this negotiation. With cooler heads."
"Point one... formal partnership," Adrien began, his fingers sweeping across the screen with military precision. "You want to be recognized as an independent entity, not a subject. This is... negotiable. Independent bioanomalous status is unusual, but not impossible. However, with a clause of full supervision from our side. At least for the first 12 months."
Liam did not answer. He just nodded once slowly. He held back a sigh, making sure Adrien didn't get any pleasure from seeing him weak.
Adrien continued, "Point two. Limited access to NEXARIS laboratories and databases. Given your intellectual capacity... I can agree to this, provided our auditing system can see all your digital activity in real-time. You won't be able to hide your foul intentions, even if you tried."
Liam looked at him straight. "I have no intention of cheating. If I wanted to attack NEXARIS... I would have done it long before sitting in this chair."
That remark earned Luca a sharp glance. But Adrien only smiled slightly.
"Point three..." Adrien snorted softly. "This is the most annoying. You want free time. Space to 'live'. Not in a prison or a surveillance room. This..." He turned to Eren, then back to Liam, "could be considered. But it's impossible to completely escape tracking."
Adrien leaned in, resting his elbows on the table. "Starting tonight, a chip-with a passive system, no direct transmission-will be installed in your hump. It only stores data, and does not send signals. We will access the data every twenty-four hours to confirm your whereabouts."
Liam frowned. "So I'm still being watched?"
"Not watched," Adrien replied calmly. "Monitored. Without intervention. Unless you try to escape or destroy the system."
"And if I refuse?" asked Liam, almost in a whisper.
Adrien gave him a flat look. "Then the wound on your shoulder will only be the beginning."
Silence fell over the room for a few seconds before Adrien looked back at the screen.
"Points four and five... concern the right to refuse direct experimentation and the right to request private security intervention..." Adrien shook his head lightly. "It's still too early. Those will be reviewed based on your behavior over the next three months."
"Behavior?" repeated Liam, squinting.
"We want to see if this vengeful boy can coexist... or is just waiting for the time to become an enemy in the blanket," Adrien said flatly. "So from now on, you're being tested."
Liam looked down for a moment. His shoulder still felt hot, the pulsing blood flowing from his wound seemed to reinforce every word Adrien said-that he was far from 'in charge'.
But when he looked back into the man's eyes, his expression was no longer fearful.
"I'll get through those three months," he said. "And when you realize that I'm not a threat... I want my rights. All my rights."
Adrien didn't answer immediately. He just looked at Liam, assessing. Measuring.
Then he closed the tablet, patting it lightly.
"We'll see, William Louren. The world is already full of special creatures. But few survive the claws of power."
He stood up, his jacket swaying lightly with his movements. Before leaving, he leaned closer to Liam once more, then whispered softly:
"And remember... if I can neutralize you once, I can do it again. Anytime."