Graveyard of the living

The Hydra's Heart

Livio held Celine tightly so she wouldn't fall, feeling her trembling against him. He gently took her to Loid's chair, covered her with his hoodie, and both Celine and Loid were shocked to see Livio wearing a vest underneath.

"So that's why the needle didn't penetrate," Loid said, realization dawning on his face.

"Yes," Livio replied, his voice calm. "You're not as surprised as I expected. I assume you knew I'd come here."

Loid nodded, a hint of frustration in his eyes. "You're right, but I never thought you'd outsmart me. Damn it, how?"

Livio walked closer to Loid, picking up the remote on his way and examining it briefly. "When I went to your room, you knowingly left a second phone on your table for me to see."

"I know that," Loid said, his voice rising. "But how the hell did you take out my robot guards?"

Livio smirked. "You got a message from Celine that night when I was there, right?"

Loid's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

Celine, listening intently, interrupted. "What text? I never sent any to Loid."

Loid's confusion deepened. "Then who sent the text?"

"I hacked Celine's phone and sent your main phone a message with a virus I developed," Livio explained. "Since I was there, you didn't read or watch the message carefully before clicking it, right?"

Loid's face turned red with anger. "You…!"

"Don't get angry," Livio said, showing his phone screen to Loid. "Let's finish this. I have all your data, from your friends' contacts to your personal texts and your deals. I wonder how your parents will react after seeing the hellish side of their son. I think they'll be proud."

"Don't even think about it," Loid growled.

"That's up to you," Livio replied calmly. "Stay away from us, and I'll take this secret to my grave."

Loid, feeling defeated, lowered his head. "What happened to my robots?"

"The same thing as your phone," Livio said.

Unable to respond, Loid kept his head down. Livio then picked up Celine and was about to leave the room when Loid, in desperation,
loosened his tied hands and
fired another needle from a second remote. The needle hit someone.

To Livio's horror, it was Celine who had covered him, taking the needle in her stomach. She was about to fall, but Livio caught her. His heart pounded as he pulled out the remote he had collected from Loid and fired it at him. The needle hit Loid in the shoulder, rendering him silent.

Livio immediately carried Celine to his car. As he drove to the hospital, he called Oberheuser.

"Where are you?" Livio asked urgently.

"In the hospital," Oberheuser replied. "Why are you asking?"

Livio explained the situation about the needle and paralysis.

"Don't worry," Oberheuser assured him. "Just bring her to the hospital quickly. Two robots will be waiting at the gate to bring you directly to the destination."

Meanwhile, a mysterious person watched the entire event through a spider camera, smiling. The scene ended with a butterfly weed flower on the head of a fox statue.

---

At the hospital, Oberheuser met Livio outside the emergency room. "Everything's fine now, relax," she said.

"I thought the top floor was only for Tenbu members," Livio remarked.

Oberheuser chuckled. "You moron, this is not the top floor. This is the penultimate floor. The top floor is only for Tenbu members, and this floor is for medical students of this college. They also need special care and treatment since these kids have potential and are irreplaceable. By the way, you can talk to her some other time because her friends will be here soon. I already informed them."

Livio sighed. "I will wait here. I don't think they will ask me anything."

Oberheuser shook her head. "You moron, the only one admitted here is Celine. If they see you here, they will figure out that something fishy is going on."

Livio stood up, feeling a bit lost. "What should I do then?"

As they were talking, Celine's friends, Himari and Teresa, arrived. They saw Oberheuser and Livio outside Celine's room.

"Mrs. Oberheuser, what's going on here?" Teresa asked.

"Who is he?" Himari added, looking at Livio.

Teresa glanced at Celine's room and then back at Livio. "Isn't Celine the only one admitted here?"

"Yes," Oberheuser confirmed.

Himari, realizing what Teresa was getting at, was shocked but then smiled. "That means you are…"

Livio, feeling the scrutiny, decided to leave. "Okay then, Oberheuser, I think I'll see you later. Bye."

As Livio walked away, Himari couldn't help but tease him. "So, you're the mysterious guy who's been hanging around. Should we be worried, or are you just here to make sure Celine gets extra care?"

Livio blushed. "I just…wanted to make sure she was okay. She's special."

Himari grinned. "Oh, I see. Special, huh? Well, Livio, you better treat her right. We'll be watching."

Livio nodded earnestly, feeling both embarrassed and determined. They visited their friend and left. That night, Livio stayed with Celine. On October 30, she was discharged. Livio gathered his courage and asked her out on a date.

---

**November 1: The Date**

On November 1, their date turned out to be an amusing and memorable day. First, Celine went to the wrong place. She had misunderstood Livio's directions and ended up at a quaint little bookshop instead of the café where they were supposed to meet.

Livio, arriving at the café and not finding Celine, called her. "Hey, where are you?"

Celine, looking around the cozy bookshop: "Um, surrounded by books? Where are you?"

Livio laughed, relieved but amused. "You're at the bookshop, aren't you? The café is two blocks down."

Celine giggled. "Oh, I see. Be right there!"

When they finally met up at the café, Livio couldn't help but tease her a bit. "Starting our date with a literary adventure, are we?"

Celine smiled, her cheeks a little pink. "I guess I was just too excited to see you."

At the restaurant, both tried too hard to impress each other and ended up messing things up. Livio, trying to pull out a chair for Celine, accidentally knocked over a vase. Celine, attempting to help clean up, slipped and nearly fell, but Livio caught her just in time.

The other patrons, initially annoyed by the commotion, started enjoying the spectacle as the couple's nervous antics continued. Livio tried to order the most sophisticated dish on the menu but mispronounced it horribly, causing both of them to burst into laughter.

"I swear, I'm usually not this clumsy," Celine said between giggles.

Livio, laughing, replied, "Me neither. I guess we bring out the best in each other."

Their waiter, trying to maintain a professional demeanor, couldn't help but chuckle at their sincere but awkward attempts to impress one another. As they continued their meal, their laughter and genuine connection became contagious, causing a ripple of smiles and chuckles among the other diners.

Toward the end of their meal, Livio took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to Celine's side. He got down on one knee and took her hand.

"Celine, these past few days have been a whirlwind, but they've also been some of the best of my life. Even in our clumsiness, I've never felt more sure. Will you be my girlfriend?"

The entire restaurant fell silent, and then erupted into applause as Celine nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Yes, Livio. I'd love to."

The manager approached them, complimenting their charming display and offering them dessert on the house.

As they left the restaurant, hand in hand, they felt a renewed sense of hope and excitement for the future, knowing they had found something truly special in each other.