Unholy Player-Chapter 95: Missing Parts [BONUS]

Adyr came to the front door and reached into his pocket for the keys. Just as he was about to unlock it, the door opened from the inside.

"I heard the car and figured it was you," Selina said.

Dressed in a plain black one-piece dress, her midnight-purple hair loosely tied back, she looked simple, ordinary, even. But that simplicity only served to highlight her natural grace and quiet beauty. Still, her face was touched by a quiet sorrow.

"Your mother’s inside. She’s asleep," she added, stepping aside to let him in.

By the time she called Adyr, she was already at his home. She had come to check on Marielle in person. Given that her mother was the founder of the Angel Wing Foundation and that Selina herself was regularly involved in its operations, it wasn’t unusual for her to personally follow up on the well-being of employees. But this time was different. This wasn’t just protocol. It was about Adyr. The moment she received the report, she came without hesitation.

"Thank you for coming," Adyr said, slipping off his shoes as he stepped inside.

The living room was dimly lit, filled with the faint scent of antiseptic and something sweet—maybe the tea someone had made earlier. On the couch, Marielle lay under a thin blanket, her body still, her face pale. Her eyes were closed, and the slow, steady rise and fall of her chest showed she was in deep sleep.

Niva sat at their mother’s bedside in a small chair, her back slightly hunched, fingers clenched tightly in her lap. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, lashes still damp. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice Adyr until he was standing right beside her.

"Brother..." she whispered, lifting her head to look at him. Her voice cracked as she stood, moving toward him with slow, unsteady steps.

"She’s back," she whispered, then wrapped her arms around him, her words barely audible between quiet, broken sobs.

"She is," Adyr replied, holding her close. Her small body trembled in his arms—so light, so fragile.

"Son... welcome home." The voice came softly, but clearly.

Marielle had opened her eyes. Her skin was pale, her hair washed out and colorless, and the light in her pale blue eyes had faded. Yet despite it all, her voice held no trace of that frailty, calm and steady, as if trying to shield them from worry.

Niva quickly wiped her face and forced a smile when she saw her mother awake.

Adyr approached with the same calm expression and spoke gently. "Welcome back. How do you feel?"

Marielle paused for a moment, then answered without changing her expression. "Just a bit tired. The trip home took more out of me than I expected." But her voice trembled.

"I see. Then get some rest. You’ll need your strength," Adyr said, brushing her hair back softly. He watched as her eyes slowly shut again, and her breathing settled into a quiet rhythm. Before long, she had fallen back asleep.

"Brother..." Niva stepped closer. Tears welled up again in her bloodshot eyes. "She is..." She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat.

"I know," Adyr said quietly, his gaze fixed on Marielle’s arm—or rather, where it should have been.

Everything below the elbow was gone.

Niva stifled her sobs, trying not to wake their mother. As she trembled silently, Selina stepped up beside them and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don’t worry. She’s a strong woman... at least, from what I’ve seen," Selina said softly. "And with how far medical tech has come, there’s a good chance she’ll get her arm back."

She said it with practiced calm, the kind that was meant to reassure. But even she couldn’t fully believe it.

Because what Marielle had lost wasn’t just a limb.

It was the way she lost it. And that had taken something far deeper—something that wouldn’t be so easily restored.

Niva nodded, looking slightly more at ease. Of course, she didn’t know exactly what their mother had been through—Selina had told her only that Marielle had lost her arm during a skirmish.

But Adyr knew the truth. Clearly. Precisely.

Selina looked at him. He was silent—far too silent. But when their eyes met, her heightened [Sense] stirred to life. She could hear the weight of his silence, so loud it felt like it might rupture her ears.

"Thank you for coming, Selina," Adyr said in his usual composed tone.

Selina nodded, understanding the meaning behind his words. "I’ll come back again tomorrow to check. My mother said she’ll be here at first light. She was too busy today because of something urgent at the station."

The situation was far more serious than it appeared, and as the founder of the Angel Wing Foundation, her mother had been deeply involved.

It wasn’t just that the entire STF unit assigned to the mission had been wiped out by the terrorist group. Most of the Foundation personnel involved had also died. Only Marielle and a few others had returned, and each of them had come back missing a limb.

And their return hadn’t been luck. They were released deliberately—as a message to the city.

The severed limbs were the warning: stay out of our territory.

And there was no need to explain where those limbs had ended up. The one leading the group—the man known only by the nickname Cannibal—made that perfectly clear.

After Selina left, the room fell silent again.

"You need to eat something," Adyr said to his sister.

The table still held the food Selina had brought—among them, Niva’s favorite, cherry cake. But she didn’t seem interested.

"I’m not hungry. You eat."

Adyr sighed, then gently took her by the arms and lifted her from the chair she had clung to. Ignoring her quiet protests, he carried her to the table and sat her down.

"Why are you bullying me? Showing off your new mutant body or something?" Niva muttered, frowning. Adyr, carrying her like a pillow, had clearly caught her off guard.

"Well, as a big brother, it’s my job to tease my little sister," Adyr said with a small laugh, placing a piece of cake in front of her. Then, in a calmer tone,

"Eat something. Pull yourself together. Then go wash your face. If she wakes up and sees you like this, it’ll only make things harder for her."

Niva lowered her head and stared at the cake. She really didn’t have the appetite, especially not for something sweet. But her brother was right. She had to pull herself together.

She lifted her gaze. "At least give me some proper food."

Adyr chuckled and pulled out two containers from another bag—still warm, cheese pasta. He set the table again.

The two of them ate in silence. After clearing the table and tidying up, the hour had grown late. Niva curled up in the chair beside their mother, while Adyr laid out a floor mattress and made his bed there in the living room.

Marielle, helped by the medication, slept without stirring. Niva, worn down by exhaustion, drifted off soon after.

But Adyr...

That night, he saw the one nightmare he despised the most. freёnovelkiss.com

From the darkness, that familiar, ice-cold voice returned.

"Son."

This night would be anything but peaceful.

***

A/N: End of Volume I – The Chained