COVELENT: XenoTrait

The room felt thick with tension, the air heavy and stale.

"So why should I help you?" Jean’s voice was calm. He leaned back in his chair, one arm draped over the armrest, watching Felix with half-lidded eyes.

Felix stared at him for a long moment. "Because I can kill everyone here."

Jean chuckled, a low, dry sound. He leaned back further, his posture loose. "I don’t care about these people anyway."

Felix’s lips curled into a thin grin. "You’re such a good liar." His voice was soft. "If it wasn’t for the way your heart is pounding, I would’ve believed you."

Jean’s expression tightened. "I’m not lying. I don’t care about these people."

Felix tilted his head slowly. "Oh... there it is again."

Jean’s expression hardened.

"If you lie to me one more time," Felix said quietly, "I will kill them all in front of you."

Jean went pale, his face draining of color. "...Okay, okay. I’ll take you to headquarters."

Felix didn’t blink, his eyes reading every twitch.

"Good," said Felix. "Oh, and what’s your full name?"

"Jean Peckerson," he replied.

They moved outside.

Outside, the sky had darkened, clouds moving in. The air smelled like rain.

They got into a black car, windows tinted, engine already running. Felix sat in the back seat, staring out the window. Buildings slid past. Streetlights began to flicker on.

But his mind wasn’t there. It was elsewhere.

"Takakura," he pondered. "That man killed my parents."

The memory surfaced. There was smoke, his mother on her knees begging, "Please let him live." His father pleading, "He can be of help to you later, he is a smart boy." The gun fired twice. The father got shot in the head, and the mother dragged herself to Felix and hugged him, saying, "Shhh, it’s okay... it’s okay, you’re okay."

Felix’s jaw tightened as his reflection in the window stared back with hollow eyes.

The headquarters building was larger than the last one, steel and glass, guards at every entrance, cameras in every corner.

Jean led him inside. Their footsteps echoed off marble floors. Heavy security corridors stretched ahead, metal detectors, keycard doors, men in suits watching from behind dark glasses.

They stopped at a wooden door with a small brass nameplate.

Jean knocked and opened it. "Mr. Takakura, you have a visitor."

A voice came from inside. "Come in, but Jean, stay outside."

"Yes, sir!" Jean stepped back immediately, pulling the door closed behind Felix.

Felix entered alone.

The office was large, with bookshelves lining the walls, filled with leather-bound volumes that had probably never been read.

A desk at the far end, made of dark wood. Behind it, a man sat in a high-backed chair.

Felix’s eyes widened as he saw that Takakura had changed. He was older than he remembered.

Takakura gestured to a chair across from the desk.

"You are quite the interesting man, Felix."

Behind him, a screen turned on.

Footage appeared. Felix moving through the previous building at a pace fast enough for the camera to only see a blurry image, bodies dropping, guards crumpling.

Takakura smiled slightly. "You’ve become something impressive... almost like an animal."

He turned slightly in his chair.

"But I suppose that was the point of your serum, wasn’t it?"

Felix’s eyes locked onto Takakura.

"You talk too much for someone who is infected," Felix said quietly.

Takakura studied him for a long moment. "Sit down."

Felix obeyed, but slowly. His hands rested on the arms of the chair. His fingers curled around the edges.

Takakura leaned back. The leather creaked.

"What I want to know is whether your serum can save me from Mark 8."

Felix’s gaze dropped slightly. "Your face... no. Half your body is already crystallized."

Takakura didn’t react. His expression remained smooth, unreadable. "Can you help me or not?"

Felix leaned forward slightly. The chair creaked. "Shouldn’t you be in a hospital? Or better yet, dead?"

His voice dropped lower. "And even if I could help you... why would I help the man who killed my parents?"

Takakura paused. Then calmly said, "Family, huh?"

Felix’s fingers tightened under the table. His knuckles went white.

Takakura continued, "I can’t believe you’re still attached to something that happened before the Mark 8 outbreak."

Felix’s expression changed instantly, a crack in the mask.

His chair creaked as he leaned forward, his voice shaking with rage underneath.

"You don’t get to say anything about them. Not after what you did."

Takakura watched him carefully. His eyes didn’t waver.

"You’re still alive because of them," said Takakura.

Silence filled the room.

Felix’s eyes widened slightly.

Takakura continued, his voice gentle. "They begged me to keep you alive. Said you were intelligent... that one day you’d repay me."

Felix stood halfway from his chair. His body trembled with anger.

Takakura watched. "This is your chance to fulfill their promise."

"I will kill you," Felix thought.

Felix spoke slowly, each word measured. "It was their promise... not mine."

His eyes darkened. "And you forced it out of them."

He leaned forward, his face inches closer to Takakura’s.

"I swear to God... I will kill you... but right now... I need Markus Cain."

Takakura’s eyes narrowed slightly, the first real reaction. "Markus Cain?"

Felix nodded once.

"I’ll let you live for now. Only because you can lead me to him." His voice dropped into something deadly. "But understand this clearly."

A slight smile formed on Felix’s face. "As soon as I find Markus Cain... and I have everything I want from you..." His eyes lifted, meeting Takakura’s fully. "I will kill you... slowly so it hurts... without hesitation," Felix said angrily.

Takakura didn’t react. His face remained still, unreadable. Then he said calmly, "Then we understand each other."

Felix sat back down slowly. His hands rested on the armrests again.

Takakura asked, "Can you recreate the serum?"

Felix shook his head. "I don’t even know how I made it."

Takakura leaned forward. "Then your survival really was luck."

Felix didn’t respond. "Luck, huh? You don’t know the half of it... but you won’t be so lucky when I end you," he thought to himself.

Takakura’s voice sharpened. "Jean, bring the defect file."

The door opened. Jean stepped in, holding a tablet. He handed it to Felix without meeting his eyes, then retreated quickly.

Felix looked down at the screen. They all stood up to follow Jean.

His expression changed instantly. "Fifty-six...?"

His grip tightened on the tablet. The edges creaked.

"You tested it on fifty-six people..." He looked up. "And you didn’t stop."

Then he froze at one name. "Joel Jones. Seventeen and the only survivor."

Felix’s voice dropped to almost a whisper. "...So one lived."

Takakura nodded. "And killed another survivor... The others died."

Felix’s hands trembled slightly.

Takakura added, "We had to sedate Joel constantly. He’s losing his humanity the more he consumes animals."

Felix’s eyes narrowed. "You turned him into a weapon."

Takakura replied, "He did it to himself."

Felix snapped. "You made him like this."

The words cracked through the room.

Takakura’s voice went colder. "He’s just livestock now."

Felix’s breathing slowed. "You don’t get to call him that."

Takakura didn’t flinch. Instead, he asked, "Do you believe in fate?"

Felix did not answer.

"Takakura will die by my hands," he pondered.

Takakura continued, unbothered. "It was fate that I spared you."

Felix stood up slowly. The chair scraped against the floor.

"No." His voice was low. "You didn’t spare me... You made a mistake," said Felix.

Takakura smiled slightly.

Felix spoke again, clearer now. "You’ll help me deal with Markus Cain."

Then he leaned forward, planting his hands on the desk.

"But hear me clearly." His eyes locked onto Takakura.

"My condition is this: you stop all your gang operations, you stop your games, and you use your full resources, your entire funding system, to help me obtain anything I need."

He paused. His voice sharpened.

"Animals... rare species, anything I request."

His jaw tightened.

"And you do not refuse me. Ever!"

Silence stretched between them. The clock on the wall ticked.

Then Takakura replied, "...Accepted."

Jean stepped forward suddenly, his voice cutting through the stillness. "Mr. Takakura... Mr. Felix... we have reached Joel Jones’ containment room."

Felix turned toward the door.

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