The Heart System

Chapter 456: Chapter 456

I hammered on Ivy’s door with the desperation of a man who had everything to lose. The neighbors below shrieked at the racket, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t. Chase had Mana’s backing—a sliver of a goddess’s power—and that meant Ivy was a walking target. If he could twist her mind into hating me, he could twist her into ending herself.

The door swung open, Ivy’s face twisted in fury. Before she could utter a syllable, I shoved her back, my palms hitting her chest hard enough to send her stumbling onto the floor. I stepped inside, slamming the door shut. My heart ached for the rough treatment, but survival took precedence over manners.

"Listen to me," I commanded. The anger in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a dull, hypnotic pink glow. "Get up."

"Yes..." she droned, rising like a marionette.

I paced the room, rubbing my face until my skin burned. The mental hold I had was temporary, a fragile barrier against the nightmare Chase had planted. "What do you think about Chase?" I asked.

"He is my boyfriend," she replied, her voice flat. "He’s been framed by Evan."

"And what about Evan?"

"Fake friend."

"Fake friend," I spat, kicking a chair. "Of course. He’s already dug into her head."

I had to move her. Somewhere safe. Somewhere Chase couldn’t reach. My mind went to Cora, then flickered to Anotta. I grabbed my phone, Jasmine’s phone, and dialed.

"Jasmine?" Anotta’s voice was smooth, but I cut her off.

"It’s Evan. I need help. Now."

"You sound... frantic," she noted.

"Chase Bellings. He’s a monster, Anotta. He manipulates his patients into suicide and films the aftermath. I’ve lost my proof, and now he’s coming for Ivy. I need her gone. I need her safe until I end him."

There was a pause. "That is quite the morning report, Mr. Marlowe."

"Can you do it? She’s brainwashed. She thinks he’s a saint."

"I’ll help," Anotta said, her tone shifting to business. "But there will be a price, Evan. A steep one."

"Whatever. Just get her out of here. I’m sending the location."

"Consider it done. She just won a ’surprise’ vacation to our new resort in Nevada. A Nuppia loyalty sweepstakes. We’ll handle the logistics."

"Thank you," I breathed.

"But also..."

She stopped.

"Also what?"

No answer.

"Hello? Anotta?"

The line went silent. Not a hang-up. Silence.

I looked out the window. The world had turned a sickly, bruised green. The falling snow froze mid-air, jagged white crystals suspended in a dead sky. Time Stop. And I hadn’t triggered it.

"Ivy?" I turned around, but the room was empty. She hadn’t just walked away; she had vanished. "IVY!"

"Teleported," a voice drawled. Dierella was lounging on the couch, looking bored. "High-level spatial magic. Seems our ’friend’ Mana has been very generous with her gifts to Chase."

"Where did he take her?" I growled, my hands shaking.

"Probably somewhere he can enjoy his prize," she shrugged. "Sorry, kid."

"FUCK!" I slammed my fists into the dining table, the wood groaning.

Then, a spark. Ivy’s watch. The GPS tracker I’d synced with her account. I still remembered her username and password, hell, I was the one who paired it with her phone years ago.

I scrambled with the app, my thumbs fumbling over the screen. As the data loaded, I realised something. Her watch’s ping was... coming from the penthouse. The hotel I was staying at.

The world around me flickered. The apartment walls bled into something else. The hallway dissolved.

I wasn’t in the street. I was in my own penthouse bedroom.

The sight made my stomach turn. Jasmine, Nala, Delilah, Kim, Ivy, Minne, and Tessa were all there—stripped bare, bound to the bedframe with thick cord, their mouths sealed with tape. Their eyes were wide, filled with a terror that hit me like a physical blow.

Chase stood before them in his boxers, his face twisted with a manic, slobbering hunger.

"Evan, Evan, Evan," a voice whispered. A cool, graceful hand landed on my shoulder. I spun around to see Mana. She wore a floor-length black dress that seemed to swallow the light, her eyes sparkling with malicious amusement. "You really thought you could win against a goddess?"

"Can I fuck them yet?" Chase asked, saliva literally dripping from his chin onto the floor. "I want them. All of them."

"Not yet, my dear subject," Mana purred.

"Mana," I rasped, my voice breaking. "No, no, no, no. No. Please. Let them go. Take me instead."

She leaned in, her lips brushing my ear. "You know why this is happening, Evan. You know the cost of defiance."

"I’ll do it," I said, the words like ash in my mouth. "I’ll be your subject. Just don’t let him touch them."

"Oh, no," Mana said, stepping back with a mock-offended gasp. "I wouldn’t want to force you. I want everyone to know this was your choice." She tilted her head. "Say it. Out loud. Tell me I’m not forcing you."

"You’re... you’re not forcing me," I whispered. "Please."

"Wonderful."

"Now?" Chase barked, stepping toward Ivy. "Can I fuck them now? I wanna rip open the pregnant ones first."

Mana’s expression shifted in an instant. The playful goddess vanished, replaced by a look of pure, icy disgust. She turned to Chase, her eyes narrowing. "You really are a filthy little creature," she murmured.

She stepped toward him and placed her palm lightly on the crown of his head. She gave me a warm, beautiful smile, one that didn’t reach her predatory eyes, and then she simply pressed down her hand.

The sound was like a mountain collapsing.

Mana’s hand didn’t just push; it obliterated. Her palm moved downward with the slow, inevitable force of a hydraulic press. Chase didn’t even have time to scream. I watched in horrific detail as his skull shattered, his spine snapped like dry kindling, and his entire ribcage exploded outward. Her hand traveled through his chest, sending his heart skittering across the floor like a wet stone, painting the walls in a spray of crimson.

She continued the motion until her hand reached the floor, leaving nothing of Chase Bellings but a flattened, unrecognizable smear of gore and shattered bone.

Mana stood in the middle of the carnage, blood splattered across her porcelain cheek. She closed her eyes, got up, basking in the silence, then looked at me with that fake, terrifying warmth.

"Thank you, Evan," she whispered. "You and I..." She reached up, licking a drop of Chase’s blood off her thumb with a slow flick of her tongue. Her eyes glowed with a dark, satisfied light. "we are going to have so much fucking fun."

Then... everything went dark.

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Evan Marlowe [Level 17]

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Age:21

Height: 180 cm

Weight: 76 kg

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EXP 8335 / 9922

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