A blue light illuminated the dark room. Slowly, Nova materialized out of thin air. The light dimmed almost immediately, leaving the space to be brightened only by the glow of the full moon outside.
Nova studied the room’s for long, confirming it was indeed Mr. Halka’s bedroom. Without wasting a second, she walked over to the large wardrobe and opened it, revealing rows of neatly hung clothes and hats.
A cunning smile appeared on Nova’s lips. "Replace everything," she ordered softly. Instantly, the clothes vanished, and just as quickly, they reappeared, flawlessly arranged as if nothing had ever happened.
Nova smiled in satisfaction. "Since you enjoy gifting people poison, you must be extremely excited for this gift," she whispered to herself. She turned to leave, but suddenly paused, listening closely to the sounds outside the room. She easily recognized Mrs. Mira’s voice.
She sighed helplessly. "This soon to be mother-in-law of mine...," she murmured. In a flash, she vanished, reappearing right at the entrance of the main living room with her arms casually folded across her chest.
Alan clenched his fists tightly. Seeing his mother’s resolve already softening, he opened his mouth to speak, but Nova’s voice suddenly cut through the heavy tension.
"Hello, Mr. Halka. My apologies for interrupting such a nice family drama, but shouldn’t you make things clear to Mrs. Mira?" Nova said, stunning everyone in the room. "Actually, you have never once loved her. Not even by mistake. You are only keeping her by your side because she legally owns seventy-five percent of your wealth, isn’t that right?."
Dora was rooted to her chair. The moment she noticed Nova’s presence, she clenched her fists nervously until her knuckles turned bone white.
Mrs. Mira and Alan turned toward the entrance. Nova stood there, still dressed in her hoodie but without her mask. Both hands were tucked lazily into her pockets as she leaned against the doorframe.
Alan’s eyes widened in shock at her sudden appearance. Without him even noticing, his gaze softened as he stared at her.
Nova caught him staring and blew him an air kiss with a playful wink, her teasing smile never fading.
Alan immediately looked away, feeling his heart beating wildly beyond his control. "She’s married, but she’s still flirting with another man," he thought, his face flushing with heat.
Nova’s gaze drifted to the messy table nearby. Even from a distance, she could clearly see the files contained her personal information.
"Yo, Mr. Halka. You’re quite curious about me, aren’t you?" she commented, stepping forward to stand right beside Alan.
"What are you doing here?" Alan asked, his tone laced with genuine worry for her safety.
Nova chuckled softly. "What am I doing here? To return Mr. Halka’s gift, of course, with a little extra added on top. Mr. Halka, your daughter isn’t too badly injured, is she?" she asked, locking eyes with Dora, who looked as if she wanted to melt into the sofa to hide.
Mr. Halka glared at Nova, his brows knit tightly together. "You are that Nova girl," he said, studying her coldly. "You are the one who hurt my daughter?"
Nova rolled her eyes. "Don’t make it sound as if she’s on her deathbed. I haven’t even broken any of her arms yet. Why are you so worked up?" she laughed.
"You are a very brave little girl, but you have made the greatest mistake of your life. You never should have touched my daughter," Mr. Halka growled. "I originally planned to send my men after you, but here you are, delivering yourself right to my doorstep."
Suddenly, a security alarm beeped loudly, and several armed men rushed into the room.
Mrs. Mira’s brows furrowed. "What are you doing? Calling so many armed men to handle one little girl... aren’t you taking this too far, Kim?" she asked.
Mr. Halka snorted. "You need to stay out of this." His cold gaze remained fixed on Nova.
Alan immediately stepped in front of Nova, shielding her with his body as he glared defiantly at Mr. Halka. "I won’t allow you to touch her," he declared.
Nova smiled, tilting her head slightly. "Mrs. Mira, are you still doubting my words?" she murmured.
Mrs. Mira clenched her fists tightly but remained painfully silent.
Nova sighed and gently patted Alan’s back. "You should take your mother away to rest first," she whispered softly.
"But you..."
"I’ll be fine." A dark, dangerous smile spread across Nova’s lips. "Don’t worry."
Alan looked at his mother, then back at Nova. "I should get Mom out of here first, then come back to help her. If Mom stays here, it will only make things more complicated," he reasoned. Nodding in agreement, he quickly escorted his mother out of the room.
As the heavy door clicked shut, Nova finally raised her head. A wicked, villainous grin stretched across her face. "I guess I’ve bought enough time," she murmured to herself.
Dora, who had been shivering in her chair, forced herself to stand up, clinging tightly to her father’s arm.
"Just let her go, Dad!" Dora pleaded, trying to sound bold and careless, but her trembling voice betrayed her pure terror.
Mr. Halka’s anger only flared hotter. "Look at how terrified you’ve made my daughter! So what if you have Cassian backing you up? You are not leaving here alive today," he spat. He raised a hand toward his guards. "End her life!"
"Dad, no!" Dora screamed.
But it was too late. The men had already surrounded Nova, raising their guns and pointing them squarely at her head.
Nova let out a venomous chuckle, her eyes glowing with raw danger. "You’ve made a terrible mistake, Mr. Halka. I return that sentence to you"
Her gaze shifted to the armed men. Before a single finger could pull a trigger, she vanished from her spot, leaving behind nothing but a glitch of blue light.
When she reappeared, she was standing directly behind one of the men in black. Like a silent ghost, she grabbed his head and violently twisted his neck with her bare hands. The man’s body went stiff, and he collapsed to the floor, dead.
Horrified by the brutal scene, the remaining men immediately opened fire. But Nova had already vanished again.
She materialized behind another guard. This time, she clamped both hands onto his head and pulled with terrifying force, violently ripping his head cleanly from his body.
Hot blood from the man’s severed neck splashed across her face. Instead of disgust, her smile only grew wider and darker with pure, unhinged excitement.
"Mhm... Red is always the best. Haha!" Nova laughed darkly, tossing the severed head aside before vanishing once more.
The surviving men were completely paralyzed with fear. Even Mr. Halka couldn’t help but look around in sheer panic, utterly shocked by the bloody nightmare unfolding before his eyes.
"Looking for me?" Nova’s voice whispered right next to Mr. Halka’s ear.
The sound stunned him so deeply that his entire body began to shake uncontrollably.
"Don’t be scared," she whispered. "You won’t die tonight."
She laughed, the eerie sound echoing through the room like a thousand whistling winds. And then, the power cut out.
The room was plunged into absolute, suffocating darkness.