Chapter 62 — Crimson Instinct

◽Inside the House◽
Aksel let out a tired sigh.「It’d be faster if I showed you instead.」JJ remained frozen for a moment before exhaling.「…Yeah. Sure.」Emil’s voice cut in sharply.「Du går ikke inn på rommet til moren din.」(“You are not going into your mother’s room.”)
The air changed. JJ’s posture straightened—and in an instant, his cognac pupils ignited into crimson.Aksel staggered back in shock. Emil felt his breath catch in his throat, as if the glare alone could kill him.Psyc stepped forward.
「Now listen here, you little fuck.」His voice was low—dangerously calm.「I’m going to check on her. And I swear—if you had anything to do with her getting hurt… you’ll regret it.」
Emil stood frozen, terror locking his limbs in place.
【Hmm… Aksel had a point. His dad’s soft—but not the vulnerable kind of soft.】Psyc noted coldly.
Aksel glanced at Psyc.「Hurry.」「Yeah, yeah—don’t rush me.」Psyc replied, rolling his eyes.
◽In Hedda’s Room◽
Ingrid gently dried her mother’s body with a cloth.「Det virker som de har sluttet å krangle.」(“Seems like they stopped arguing.”)「 Ja, men jeg lurer på hvem de snakket om.」(“Yeah, but I wonder who they were talking about.”)Ingrid sighed, clearly used to it.「Sannsynligvis Aksel som klandrer pappa for det som skjedde med deg igjen.」(“Probably Aksel blaming Dad for what happened to you again.”)
The door opened.Aksel entered—followed by Psyc.
Ingrid tensed instantly.「Hvem er denne personen?」(“Who is this person?”)「Ikke bekymre deg, han er en venn.」(“Don’t worry, he’s a friend.”) Aksel answered.Ingrid discreetly reached for a knife.「Hvordan vet du det?」(“How do you know?”)
「Hey, Aunt Hedda… what happened to you?」
The moment the words left his mouth—Psyc vanished.JJ stood in his place, cognac eyes filled with grief.
「Please, Aunt Hedda. Tell me who did this… so I can make them pay.」Hedda smiled faintly. Though blind, she recognized the voice instantly.「Maryson… is that you? You sound older.」「Yeah… I grew up.」JJ replied with a sad chuckle.Hedda laughed softly.「Then the NWO’s plan to cultivate your power for themselves must’ve failed.」「Of course.」JJ said, masking his pain.「You know they could never do it like me.」「True.」Hedda scoffed.「But as you can see… I’ve been through worse.」「Not for long.」JJ said firmly.Hedda frowned.「What?」
Without warning—JJ injected her with a syringe.Light pulsed through her body.Bruises faded. Wounds sealed. Nerves healed.Aksel and Ingrid froze in shock.
Hedda blinked.「…I can see.」She looked around the room.「Aksel. Ingrid.」Her gaze settled on JJ, and she chuckled.「Cognac brown… if I’m not mistaken.」「Yeah. One of a kind—don’t forget that.」JJ smiled softly.「Good to know you still remember your arguments with Mom.」
Aksel and Ingrid tackled Hedda in a tight embrace.
She laughed warmly.「Alright, I get it—you missed me. Now get off.」They obeyed reluctantly.Ingrid eyed JJ suspiciously.「Så… er dette den ekte ‘Maryson’?」(“So… is this the real ‘Maryson’?”)Hedda nodded.「Ja. Og hvis han ville drepe deg, hadde du allerede vært død.」(“Yes. And if he wanted you dead, you’d already be dead.”)「Han kan vel ikke være så sterk, kan han?」(“He can’t really be that strong, right?”) Ingrid insisted.Aksel answered grimly.「Skuddet jeg avfyrte tidligere var ikke et varselskudd. Det finnes ikke mange mennesker som sier ‘ikke bom’ når du holder dem i våpenets sikte.」(“The shot I fired earlier wasn’t a warning shot. There aren’t many people who tell you not to miss when you’ve got them at gunpoint.”)「^Wow… det er sinnssykt.^」(“Wow… that’s insane.”) Ingrid said, letting go of her knife.JJ shifted awkwardly.「Uh… not to ruin the family moment, but Aunt Hedda—I need to know what happened here.」Hedda nodded.「Ingrid, vi lager noe å spise. Han må være sulten. Aksel, du kan underholde ham imens.」(“Ingrid, let’s prepare something to eat. He must be hungry. Aksel, you can keep him company.”)
They nodded.
She turned to JJ.「And Maryson—you don’t mind staying for lunch, do you?」JJ smiled.「Yeah. I don’t mind.」
◽30 Minutes Later — Living Room◽
「So that’s why you’re so good with guns.」JJ chuckled.Aksel grinned proudly.「Yeah, but my big sister Astrid is even better with an axe.」「Hmm… is that so?」JJ said curiously.
Without warning—An axe flew straight at JJ’s head. JJ dodged.Caught it. Leapt to his feet.Astrid was already charging—jumping into an overhead strike with a second axe.CLANG.JJ blocked it effortlessly, eyes gleaming with interest.
「JJ Samuels. Nice to meet you.」「Hold kjeft.」(“Shut up.”)JJ smiled.「I’ll take that as a greeting.」
Astrid shifted her grip and swung upward—CLANK.Blocked again. She jumped back, creating distance.
【Han er godt trent… hvem i helvete er denne fyren?】(“He’s well trained… who the hell is this guy?”) Astrid thought.
JJ hurled the axe at her.Astrid blocked—but the recoil broke her guard.JJ closed the gap instantly.
【Faen… han er ikke bare sterk, han er rask også.】(“Shit… he’s not just strong, he’s fast too.”) 
JJ slipped behind her and wrapped his arms around hers, locking her in place.
He chuckled.「Wow—you’re taller than your siblings. But now that we’re calm, let’s start over. I’m JJ Samuels. And you are—」「Tch.」Astrid struggled furiously.JJ laughed.「Don’t bother. You’re just wasting energy. If you get out, it’ll seriously damage my reputation as the Constrictor.」He glanced at Aksel.「Little help?」
「Oh—right.」Aksel nodded.「Astrid, dette er Maryson. Den ekte Maryson som mor alltid snakket om.」(“Astrid, this is Maryson. The real Maryson Mother always talked about.”)Astrid said in denial.「^LØGN!^」(“LIES!”)A familiar voice cut in.「Hvem er det som lager så mye bråk?^」(“Who’s making all this noise?”)
Hedda entered, holding a tray.
Astrid froze.「Mo-mor… du går?」(“Mo-mother… you’re walking?”)「Ja, det gjør jeg.」(“Yes, I am.”) She glanced at the axes… then at JJ holding Astrid.「^Åh.^」A slow, wicked smirk appeared. 「Aksel, la oss gå. Det ser ut som søsteren din og hennes fremtidige ektemann skal pare seg—og ganske aggressivt også.」(“Aksel, let’s go. It looks like your sister and her future husband are about to mate—and quite aggressively, it seems.”)Astrid’s face turned scarlet.「Hva?!」(“What?!”)