"Are you threatening me?" I asked again, my voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.


    Hayes''s eyes glinted with amusement. "Threatening? No. Consider it a promise."


    My patience snapped like a brittle twig. In one swift motion, I grabbed Hayes by the cor, pulling him close enough to see the cold fury in my eyes.


    "Let me make something perfectly clear," I growled. "I don''t respond well to promises that sound like threats."


    Hayes didn''t flinch. Instead, his lips curled into a smirk. "Such fire in you. The Covenant could harness that."


    I released him with a disgusted shove. "Get out. My answer is final."


    "Very well." Hayes straightened his cor with casual indifference. "Renner, we''re leaving."


    As they turned to walk away, I felt a sharp pulse of hostile intent. My divine sense red automatically, detecting the sudden shift in energy. Hayes''s hand moved in a blur, pulling something from his sleeve.


    I didn''t hesitate. The moment they showed hostile intent, any courtesy vanished.


    With blinding speed, I struck Renner first—the weaker target. My palm mmed into his chest, channeling concentrated energy directly into his heart meridian. His eyes widened in shock before the light faded from them permanently. <small ss="ref-6229f0">Your support at * keeps the series going.</small>


    He copsed without uttering a sound.


    Hayes froze mid-motion, clearly not expecting such decisive action. "You—"


    I didn''t give him time to finish. Spinning low, I swept his legs, following with an upward strike as he stumbled. But Hayes recovered with remarkable agility, confirming my suspicion that he was far more dangerous than he appeared.


    "Impressive reflexes," he snarled, all pretense of civility gone. "But futile."


    His hands formed intricate patterns in the air, dark energy coalescing between his fingers. "Halcroen''s Divine Needle!" he shouted.


    A thread-thin beam of ck light shot toward me. I twisted, but it still grazed my temple. Instantly, I felt something cold and foreign invade my divine sense.


    "You have three days," Hayesughed, backing away. "The needle is undetectable by normal means and fatal within three days. Not even you can extract it."


    Pain exploded behind my eyes, but I refused to show weakness. Instead, I channeled my rage into power.


    "Heaven Swallowing Skill," I whispered.


    The night air around us thickened as my body pulled energy from the surroundings. Hayes''s eyes widened as he felt his own power being drained.


    "Impossible!" he gasped.


    I moved faster than he could track, appearing behind him. My hand mped onto the back of his neck, fingers digging into precise pressure points.


    "You should have taken my rejection gracefully," I said softly.


    With a sharp twist, I ended his life. His body slumped to the ground beside his disciple''s.


    The immediate threat eliminated, I sank to one knee, clutching my head. The "needle" Hayes had mentioned was no bluff. I could feel it—a tiny ck spot in my divine sense, spreading slowly like poison.


    I needed to check on Eamon Greene first. As my security consultant, he should have detected these intruders. The fact that he hadn''t concerned me.


    I found him unconscious behind the house, a bleeding wound on his head. Relief washed over me when I detected his steady heartbeat. Hayes had merely incapacitated him rather than killing him—a mistake that had cost the Covenant adviser his life.


    After administering emergency treatment to Eamon, I returned to examine the ck spot in my divine sense. It was unlike any injury I''d encountered before—not physical, not quite spiritual, but somewhere in between.


    Using my medical knowledge, I managed to temporarily stabilize it, preventing it from spreading further. Butplete removal seemed beyond my current abilities.


    Three days, Hayes had said. Three days before it proved fatal.


    I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm. Three days was enough time to find a solution. I hadn''te this far to be defeated by a needle, no matter how divine it imed to be.


    More pressingly, I needed to deal with the bodies and strengthen my defenses. The protective formation I''d received from Jackson Harding was weakening—I''d felt it failing when Hayes and Renner invaded my home.


    Moving to my workshop, I began crafting a new defensive array using techniques I''d learned from ancient texts. Stone statues ced at cardinal points would channel and amplify my energy, creating a barrier that would alert me to any intrusion.


    As I worked through the night, I periodically checked the ck spot. It remained contained but showed disturbing resilience. Every attempt to dissolve it failed.


    By dawn, I had ced the final statue and waspleting the activation sequence when I sensed familiar auras approaching.


    William and ra Vance.


    I quickly finished the array and went to meet them, masking my difort from the needle''s effects.


    "Liam!" ra eximed, rushing forward with her usual enthusiasm. "We came to thank you again for the concert tickets! It was amazing!"


    William hung back, his experienced eyes scanning the area. He''d sensed something was wrong.


    "You have visitors?" he asked casually, but I caught the tension in his voice.


    "Had," I replied. "They won''t be bothering anyone again."


    ra''s smile faltered as she caught the exchange between us. William stepped forward, his hand resting instinctively on his sword.


    "ra, wait here," he instructed before following me inside.


    When he saw the two bodiesid out in my workshop, covered with sheets, he whistled softly.


    "You''ve been busy," he observed. "Anyone I should know about?"


    I pulled back the sheet from Hayes''s face. "This one called himself Arturo Hayes. An adviser to the Umbral Covenant."


    William''s face paled. "The Umbral Covenant? Are you certain?"


    "He was quite proud of the association," I replied dryly.


    William ran a hand through his hair, a nervous gesture I rarely saw from him. "Do you have any idea what you''ve done? The Umbral Covenant isn''t some local sect or family you can intimidate. They''re..." he trailed off, searching for words.


    "Dangerous?" I offered.


    "Beyond dangerous," William corrected. "They''re ancient. Secretive. Some say they''ve been pulling strings in the martial world for centuries."


    I gestured to Hayes''s corpse. "Not so invincible, it seems."


    "This isn''t a joke, Liam," William snapped. "Killing one member—even an adviser—won''t end it. It''ll only focus their attention on you."


    "They were already focused on me," I countered. "They wanted me to join them or hand over my pill forms."


    William stared at me in disbelief. "And you refused? To the Umbral Covenant?"


    "Should I have epted?" I asked, anger rising in my voice. "Be part of an organization that experiments on innocent people? That treats lives as disposable?"


    William sighed deeply. "No. But there are ways to refuse without making enemies."


    "Toote for that," I muttered, wincing as another wave of pain shot through my head.


    William caught the expression. "What''s wrong?"


    I hesitated, then decided honesty was necessary. "Hayes hit me with something called Halcroen''s Divine Needle before I killed him."


    "Show me," William demanded, his voice grave.


    I opened my divine sense to him, revealing the small ck spot slowly pulsating within.


    "Can you fix it?" I asked.


    William''s silence was answer enough.


    "I need to know what we''re facing," I said. "How did you end up provoking such an organization?"