MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

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In a laboratory filled with the stench of potion, a young woman with green hair was slowly scribbling on a book while muttering to herself.

Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were bloodshot but outside of this, her body was perfectly clean.

The more she wrote, the more her eyes seemed to shine with a vigorous splendor. It was as if it was about to illuminate the whole room and her breath grew harsh and difficult.

It was as if she was in the middle of the greatest epiphany. Nothing could really describe what she was feeling.

"Doctor."

A voice interrupted her.

*Snap*

The pen in her hand broke as she clenched her hand. For an instant, a malevolent aura filled the room and the one who had interrupted her backed away with fear covering his face.

Taking a deep breath, the young woman sighed before ruffling her hair. It was only after exhaling and calming down that she turned to face the intruder.

"Why did you disturb me?"

The young man was sweating. He now understood why his co-worker had looked at him with pity when he was designed by the head searcher to come warn her.

"I am very sorry for disturbing you. I…"

"Go to the point. Do not make me waste my time."

"I. Yes! The young man you asked us to warn you about when he entered the building is present."

"Ah…"

Instantly the weight that had appeared in the room completely vanished. The young man released a sigh of relief as he felt like he had just gotten a second lease at life. It seemed like that if he had not given a good answer he would have lost this incredible chance.

"My. What should I do?"

Now though, he was presented with a horror of a different kind. Doctor Freud was very popular in the science and research department. Not only for obvious reasons such as her results and influence but also because of how young and beautiful she was.

A young and beautiful genius would always be appreciated wherever she went.

But there was another thing that made her popular and it was the cold face she perpetually had.

Doctor Piaget Freud never smiled at anyone outside of patients she was observing or clients who needed counseling. She was a cold woman with a heart of gold and this helped in creating a certain fan club behind her.

Now though, the young man was awestruck as he realized that his idol could, in reality, smile for something else rather than work-related reasons.

He could have never imagined that he would see her worry about her appearance and try to work on her hair just in order to meet a man.

This was certainly some big news and he didn't know what he should do with this.

"So…Do you plan to watch me while I shower?"

He immediately snapped out of his thoughts and apologized profusely before leaving.

Now alone, Medusa's girly disposition completely vanished. While she was excited about Adam coming to see her, there was no way she would act like some stupid young teen in love at her age.

But she knew that by doing so, soon rumor about her feeling for Adam would spread and this would make any future meeting far less suspicious. She did not wish to people to know that she was sponsoring him for now as this could give him more problems than necessary.

"Then again, me falling in love might also be problematic."

She chuckled and looked back at the information she was writing in her book. While it was sad, it seemed like she had to leave her research for now.

—--

When Adam entered the association, he was not surprised to see Mark coming at him at a brisk pace.

"So are you my butler or something?"

"Sadly, I do not think the name Mark is suitable for being a butler."

Adam chuckled, "I guess Sebastian or Alfred do sound better."

"Right?"

Mark shook his head before sharing a handshake with Adam.

"So, what brings you here? Don't you have a big mission in 10 days?"

Adam rose an eyebrow.

"I am your handler. So I have access to information like this. Though I must say, you are certainly starting strong. Your first mission and it's a joint one with you acting as the leader of a team."

"Hum…I guess this is indeed a little much. Perhaps I should start with some small mission?"

"Oh? You are serious?"

"Why?"

Adam immediately became wary as he saw Mark shining as he had just found a treasure.

"Ahem. It's just. Most hunters only go for missions that bring them results. As you know Hunters aren't heroes. They are more like mercenaries. They only move when wealth is involved and never for justice."

Adam tilted his head, "You remind me of someone. That person was also talking about justice every time."

"Well…"

Mark clenched his hands as he looked up absent-mindedly before giving a bitter smile, "The world would have far less tragedy if people were more concerned about justice. Even more so for the hunter."

He shook his head, "But I understand that I shouldn't impose my views on people. After all, not everyone is willing to sacrifice his life for justice, and people should never be forced to make sacrifices. This should come from the heart."

Adam looked at Mark. He could see that the man had lived a hard life and most likely faced his own set of hardships.

At the same time, now that he thought about it. Most humans who were not from special families, they needed to survive a supernatural event to become able to see through them.

There was a high chance that something of the like happened to Mark.

"Perhaps one day you will share your story over a drink."

Mark laughed out loud. "I would be more than happy to drink with a Gold Hunter."

"Also, while I certainly won't fight for justice. I think I am quite the desperado compared to other hunters. So, why don't you find some small good job for me."

Adam had many things he wanted to test.

What better place than a mission to test his power?

Getting paid while training and gaining some Karma along the way.

This was a perfect win-win.

"Speaking of. There is indeed a new mission. It's on the silver level."

"You already have something?"

"Yes. This is a mission we just received today because of some fuss yesterday."

Mark moved his finger and a picture appeared in the air. It took all the willpower of Adam to not twitch or look in surprise.

"There is a new man in the underworld and he is suspected to be at the Gold level. While we generally look the other way as long as Criminals don't go too far and affect Powerless people, this one is quite dangerous and it's necessary to at least have some basic information about him."

Mark frowned a little as he didn't really like how criminals were allowed to roam free but he knew that this was a necessary evil to assure security.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"Heh…"

Adam chuckled.

Should he chase after himself?

He never thought this would be something he would ask himself.