When Liam finally woke up, he immediately realized his mistake.
"Ouch," he muttered, rubbing his stiff neck. His whole body felt sore, as if he'd slept on a chair without a backrest.
He looked down and realized he had indeed fallen asleep on a backless chair. Half of his upper body must've been resting on the table behind him.
As he slowly got up, every part of said body protested painfully. He glanced around. Everything was just as it had been before, but he couldn't hear the sound of the MAC guns firing.
"How long have I been asleep?" he wondered aloud. He checked the clock on the wall. It was the middle of the night.
Liam rubbed his eyes and headed to the sink. After splashing water on his face to wash away the sleepiness, he decided he needed a much-needed shower. On his way to the locker rooms, he passed through the reception area.
It was unusually quiet. Dr. Amber must have kept her word, as there were hardly any people waiting. Those who were there seemed barely injured; perhaps they were just waiting for relatives.
Liam took a moment to reflect on the calm atmosphere. It was quiet now, but how long until the next breach? How long until the outer district suffered another disaster, which may be at this very moment.
What were the military and the king doing about it?
He had no idea, and since he couldn't see the future, he decided to just keep moving forward.
After the shower, he felt refreshed. The exhaustion from the previous day lingered, but it was bearable. As he was about to put on a new coat, he paused.
Dr. Amber had given him the day off. No, she had practically ordered it. Liam stood there, bewildered.
"What do people do on a day off?" he wondered.
He thought of a few options, none of them particularly appealing. He could visit his family in District Eight, which he hadn't done in over a month. His sister was probably busy, but his mother might be home. However, the journey alone would eat up a lot of his available time. Besides, it was the middle of the night, so his mother was likely asleep.
He could ask Jax to go for a drink, but his friend was in the middle of training to become a palace guard and probably had little free time.
At night, there were no cinemas or other attractions open—and Liam was too young for a bar.
The more Liam thought about it, the more he realized how one-dimensional his life had become over the past year. Since the first breach a year ago, when he had dealt with the Hellhound and saved Jax from death, his life had taken a path he had hoped to avoid.
He had tried several times to find a way into the military, but it had led nowhere. His exceptional skills in medical training didn't help either. So, he ended up becoming a doctor.
But since then, that's all he had been. A doctor. Liam took out his phone and browsed the news. His expression darkened.
"So far, 2,102 victims... several missing..." he read from the latest report. But those were just the official numbers released by the council. The figures never told the whole story.
It didn't take Liam long to find more articles—not from the government, but from independant news stations. Headlines read: "Fourth Breach in a Year! What Is the King Doing?" or "Is This the End for Tarus?"
Seeing these, Liam couldn't help but furrow his brows. He knew the media often exaggerated, but there was a kernel of truth in their words.
People in the city were growing increasingly uneasy. Until now, everyone had been content to do their part, assured of protection in return. But if that safety couldn't be guranteed anymore, would the people rise up?
For now, the situation was relatively under control. After the recent breach, the King had addressed the people of Tarus, promising drastic measures to protect them. Liam wasn't quite sure what that was supposed to mean. If there were still things that could be done to kill the demons, why haven't we done it already?
The city's propaganda campaign was also working in full speed. Increasingly, posters and huge screens featuring the Cold Death were visible throughout the city, as if to reassure the citizens that humanity was still powerful and resilient.
Liam didn't know how long this facade would last. But it wasn't as if the people had much of a choice—without the King and the military, the city would have been lost long ago.
This thought solidified Liam's resolve. He hadn't been able to act on his plans until now, but today he had a day off, and it was still the middle of the night. There would be no better time.
"What do I have to lose?" he thought.
Liam made one last stop at Station Seven to ensure all important cabinets were locked. Then he exited the hospital through the back door.
The city was asleep. It was never truly dark, as the streetlights stayed on even at night, but the countless skyscrapers were mostly dark.
The streets were nearly deserted. Soldiers patrolled, but the cleanup work would resume only during the day.
For the first time since the breach, Liam had the chance to survey the damage. As he walked through the deserted streets, his mood darkened.
This breach seemed particularly bad. The reported numbers didn't tell the full story. Liam couldn't see everything, as many areas were still cordoned off for the removal of demon corpses.
But the areas he could see were already ravaged. The streets were pocked with craters from both demonic attacks and human weapons. Buildings lay in ruins.
The human bodies had already been removed, but the scene must have been horrific. Dried blood was still visibly splattered on the ground and walls.
Liam burned the sight into his memory.
A wave of frustration washed over him. He quickened his pace, heading toward the edge of the district. When he reached his destination, he sighed in relief. The building had been spared from the destruction.
He took out his keycard and entered. It was completely silent, but the automatic lights flickered on, revealing a long corridor with several large garage doors on either side. It was a private storage facility.
One of the few that provided private storage spaces. In a densely packed city like Tarus, such spaces were nearly priceless. Since the construction of the walls, space management had been a top priority.
The city had to accommodate a growing population. And when it got too crowded, bad things happened. Things like the outer district.
That's why even a medium-sized private storage space was extremely expensive. But being a doctor had one advantage: the pay was excellent.
And Liam could use every single unit of currency. He didn't spend on new clothes or extravagant food—instead, he lived in a small apartment near the hospital. And yet, his bank account was almost empty.
Admittedly, some of his money had gone toward his new cat... but that was an essential purchase!
The rest of his money, however, had gone toward a much different... and more dangerous cause.
Liam glanced over his shoulder. As expected, there was no one around at this hour. He held the keycard to the electronic lock, and the garage door slowly and noisily opened.
Behind it was everything he had collected in the past year, all under strict secrecy. He wasn't a fan of deceiving the authorities, but if he couldn't join the military, he had to take drastic measures.
This was his workshop, filled with everything he needed for the hunt.