At that very moment, Eric's mother came running toward the docks, crying uncontrollably.
"Eric! Come back!ً Don't listen to him!"
"He's the devil himself!"
"Stay away from my son, Mathis! You bastard!"
Mathis was barely able to remain standing after everything Henry had done to him.
Fear flashed across his face.
A heartbeat later Henry's shadow fell over him.
A powerful kick slammed him back onto the ground.
Realizing the danger, Eric drew a pistol with trembling hands and fired.
He was no marksman.
One of the bullets nearly struck his own mother.
"You bastard!"
Henry roared. Instead of chasing Eric, he lunged at Mathis once more, repeatedly smashing the man's head against the wooden pier until his body finally went limp.
"Hold him."
Henry's sharp command cut through the chaos as he pointed toward the unconscious Mathis.
Eric's mother hurried over, dropping to her knees beside the motionless man.
The boat had already begun to pull away, but Henry didn't hesitate. He sprinted down the pier and leaped aboard with practiced precision. In a single motion, he snatched Eric's pistol from his hand and drove a powerful punch into his nose, sending his head snapping back before he crashed onto the wooden deck.
Eric's body slammed against the floorboards, the impact swallowed by the roar of waves crashing against the hull. The boat rocked beneath the relentless sea while the night wrapped everything in deceptive silence, broken only by the creaking of ropes and the distant hum of the engine.
Henry stood over him, catching his breath as the cold sea wind stung his face. Tightening his grip on the pistol, he aimed it directly at Erik's head as the man struggled to regain his balance.
"Where were you planning to go?"
Eric panted heavily, blood pouring from his nose. Avoiding Henry's eyes, he muttered in a trembling voice,
"None of your business…"
A cold smile crossed Henry's face. He crouched before him, pressing the muzzle of the pistol against his cheek.
"You know… I have every record on you. Everything. Even the registration numbers of every ship you've ever worked on. If you don't start talking now, I'll make you disappear into the sea, and no one will ever find your body."
Eric shuddered for a moment, but his stubbornness forced him to answer.
"Even if you kill me… you still won't get what you want."
Henry didn't respond immediately. He gazed out at the endless darkness stretching across the sea before shoving Eric's head toward the edge of the boat until he was only inches away from the freezing water.
"You're mistaken… I always get what I want."
Despite the pain, Eric managed a faint smile.
"That's what rich people always say."
At that moment, faint lights pierced the darkness of the sea, followed by the growing roar of an approaching engine that soon drowned out the sound of the waves.
Henry lifted his gaze toward the horizon, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"It seems we have some unexpected guests."
Eric spotted the boat as well. Seizing the opportunity, he tried to shove Henry away, but Henry's grip was like steel. He jammed the pistol into Eric's ribs until he gasped in pain.
"If you even think about doing something stupid, I'll throw you overboard."
The other boat drew close enough for the men's voices to carry across the water, accompanied by the unmistakable metallic sound of weapons being readied.
One of them shouted,
"Hand Eric over, and everything will be fine!"
A faint smile appeared on Henry's face.
"So… your friends finally showed up."
"They're not my friends," Eric answered quickly. "And if you stay here, you won't have time to regret it."
Henry glanced at Eric for a moment before looking back at the man and replying with complete simplicity.
"No."
Only a few meters separated the two boats now. One of the men raised his rifle and aimed it directly at Henry.
Without hesitation, Henry grabbed Eric by his jacket and pulled him in front of himself as a human shield, shouting over the crashing waves,
"Take one more step toward this boat, and he'll sink with you!"
Then he shoved Eric back onto the deck and sprang onto the other boat. The icy sea wind struck his face the instant he landed, but he didn't slow down. Still gripping Eric's pistol, he immediately aimed at the nearest target.
The gunshot echoed through the night.
The man standing beside the rifleman collapsed instantly.
Henry rushed the second man and smashed the side of his head with a swift, crushing blow, knocking him unconscious.
The rifleman smiled with quiet confidence as he raised his weapon once again.
"You're good… Experienced. But you're missing something."
Henry moved in a blur, dropping low and driving a powerful strike into the man's leg, forcing him to stagger. But just before Henry could pull the trigger again
His eyes slowly widened.
Beyond the restless waves, more lights emerged from the darkness, racing toward them at an unbelievable speed.
Another boat.
Its engine screamed through the night.
Henry drew a strained breath, as though he'd forgotten how to breathe. Tightening his grip around the pistol, he muttered bitterly,
"This isn't fair…"
"Ma'am, run!" Henry shouted over the roar of the sea.
But the woman simply shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving without my son…"
The approaching boat carried only a single figure.
Dressed entirely in black, the stranger wore a heavy cloak that concealed both his body and his face, leaving not a single feature visible. He stood still for a moment before a faint smile appeared beneath the hood. Then, with effortless grace, he leaped onto the boat where Henry stood.
The man spoke with a mocking tone.
"The world is incredibly small… You know that, don't you?"
For a brief moment, something about the man's voice felt strangely familiar to Henry. Then a faint smile spread across his face.
"You're the best demon I've ever met."
He let out a relieved breath, as though he had finally found an ally amidst the chaos.
The stranger raised a hand and pulled back his hood, revealing brown hair tinged with gold and bright, gleaming eyes.
It was Colton.
In his other hand rested a small metal box.
Slowly, he extended his hand, releasing only the slightest trace of his spiritual power but it was more than enough.
Within moments, every man aboard the boat collapsed unconscious.
Even Eric fell to the deck.
Henry straightened up, walked over to Eric, and hoisted him onto his shoulder.
"You came at the perfect time… I'll make it up to you."
Without another word, he left the scattered boats behind on the dark sea. After contacting the police to deal with the remaining men, he headed back toward the station.
On the way, the woman walked beside Henry, glancing at her son every few moments. Her eyes refused to settle anywhere, and when she finally spoke, her voice was quiet yet utterly broken.
"He deserves to be punished… So why does my heart hurt this much?"
Henry turned his head slightly toward her. A faint smile crossed his face before he answered,
"That's only natural… If my mother were here, she'd probably beat me half to death."
Henry finished recounting the story with his usual bored expression before looking at Kayden. "Colton was there because of a weapon… I'm certain of it."
Kayden showed little interest on the surface, but deep down, he couldn't help feeling that Henry's mission had been far more exciting than his own.
He frowned and muttered sarcastically, "Why did I have to run into a pervert?"
There wasn't much time for jokes.
The carriage came to a stop, and the two stepped onto ground still damp from the cold morning mist.
Kayden lifted his gaze toward the university gates.
To him, they resembled the stone jaws of some enormous beast waiting to swallow him whole, and an overwhelming urge to turn around and go straight home gripped his chest.
He had barely begun to turn away when Henry seized his arm firmly. "I don't want to be late."
His tone left no room for argument.
At that instant, old memories flooded Kayden's mind like a roaring waterfall. Fragmented images and distorted voices crashed through his thoughts until a sharp pain throbbed in his temple.
He let out a heavy sigh.
Henry loosened his grip, allowing him to sit down at the university café instead.
Kayden settled into a cold wooden chair, resting his elbows on the table as he absentmindedly watched the steam rising from his coffee, while Henry gradually disappeared into the distance toward his destination.
Kayden noticed several passersby stealing quick glances at him, as though they had mistaken him for Henry.
He didn't mind.
If anything, part of him found it mildly amusing.
It wasn't long before he spotted a group of three people approaching through the bustle of the campus.
He watched them from afar, studying them quietly, until one of them suddenly turned and noticed him.
Surprise spread across the man's face.
He waved enthusiastically.
"Kayden!"
At first, Kayden pretended not to hear him. Only after a moment did he slowly turn his head as though searching for the source of the voice.
The instant he recognized him, he let out a brief, surprised sound. "Ah!" He immediately stood up, feigning excitement."Jay! It's been a long time."
The three approached, exchanged greetings with him, and took seats around the table.
Jay naturally took the lead.
With his brown hair, bright green eyes, and outgoing personality, warmth seemed to radiate from him, making conversation feel effortless.
To his left sat Willy, whose quiet nature rivaled perhaps even surpassed Kayden's own. Yet despite his reserved personality, he was well known throughout the university for his striking appearance: a sharply defined jawline, smoldering brown eyes, and blond hair.
The third was Gabriel.
His jet-black hair reached his neck, and his blue eyes carried a distant look. Kayden had always considered Gabriel an odd person.
Ironically, Gabriel thought exactly the same about Kayden.
Between them existed an unspoken understanding.
A silent agreement neither had ever acknowledged aloud, as though both had found comfort in the fact that neither had ever tried to break the silence between them.
After exchanging a few words, Willy asked curiously,
"So… how's your research going?"
Kayden took a slow breath before answering,
"Everything's still under development… but I've hit a bit of a wall."
Jay lowered his voice.
"We heard what happened."
Before Kayden could reply, Gabriel interrupted with a sarcastic grin.
"We're over that part… but seriously, why the hell were you chasing a girl? Do you have any idea how badly that ruined your reputation?"
Even Ren Yuan had wondered the exact same thing.
Kayden merely shrugged. "What's done is done."
Jay shook his head, repeating what everyone had been saying around campus.
"Everyone's talking about it."
At that moment, Kayden realized that these three idiots as he privately labeled them had actually been acquaintances of the real Kayden, even though they had never been particularly close.
"They're idiots," Willy said calmly, though the irritation in his eyes was unmistakable. "They talk like idiots… I wonder when this place will finally be rid of people like them."
Gabriel pointed at Kayden, laughing.
"So… you locked yourself away for an entire month!"
Kayden laughed as well, finding no reason to deny it.
"I was preparing a surprise… It just didn't work out."
The two of them laughed in a strangely synchronized way, as though sharing a joke only they understood, leaving Jay and Willy exchanging puzzled glances.
Then Jay suddenly remembered something.
A serious smile appeared on his face.
"By the way… I'll be leaving the university soon. I've finished my research Willy and Gabriel have finished theirs as well."
Kayden smiled and congratulated them without any fuss, though his voice was quieter than usual. He, too, had been among the first to complete his research, so he understood exactly what this transition meant.
Jay continued, his eyes carrying a trace of old memories, his smile caught somewhere between nostalgia and disbelief.
"We've known you since we were kids… You were a difficult child. Even though we came from the same social class, you always looked at us like we were idiots. But look at us now. Four idiots… and you're the biggest, craziest idiot of all."
Kayden slowly shook his head. "I'm happy to be here."
Jay continued, as though unwilling to let the conversation end. "Willy, Gabriel, and I always had the same teachers and studied in the same classes… But somehow, you were always there too. Honestly, I was surprised to see you here again. I guess… it was fate."
A faint smile touched Kayden's lips.
"Actually… It wasn't just a coincidence. I always liked showing up in the most random places."
Gabriel laughed again. "Just like us. So once we hand in our research, you're going to be seeing a lot more of me. Be ready… and don't run off or lock yourself in your room for another month. I know that won't be easy for you."
Kayden tilted his head slightly. "And what's supposed to be difficult?"