Puncher felt his world falling apart from what the man in front of him was implying; he was forced to hear every honeyed word that the man said to him while at the same time, he was looking upon himself, remembering all the people he had lost in his life and how they were taken away from him. Everything he did was just for the sake of family and friends—people he was willing to kill or die for the sake of serving his faction.
He couldn't even breathe properly at this moment, as even his unwavering loyalty to the cause had begun to fail him from this very moment, his body and mind trembling as he was unable to keep his calm and composed demeanor, feeling like he was drowning in a sea of emotions, unsure of what to do with his life anymore.
In this moment, the tears begin to fall down his cheeks, subconsciously letting go of the fleeing Garnet and dropping his assault rife as he falls down on his knees, making him question his very existence for simply getting himself into this mess, wishing that he had never met Adam in the first place, wishing that he didn't let his hatred get the better of him, and simply letting the words spoken by Adam run through his mind, hearing him say those very words once again.
"How many deaths will your comrades suffer if you continue this path? How long until your family is gone, too?" Saying the words with a stern voice, taking another smoke while looking down at him, "It's futile; everything is pointless in what you do. The only thing that can change is your own way of thinking."
Adam spoke those influencing words with much coldness and truth that even made Puncher reconsider his very choices, having never met someone who would see through him to the very heart of his own actions, an action that was deemed pointless by others. No one could understand his dilemma at all except for this man.
Puncher hated that he was always the weakling in every situation, being forced to submit to authority without question or resistance. He is nothing but a puppet to those in power, taking orders without care of their consequences, making him lose the very thing he had lost. All of the friends he made kept dying after every mission they were forced to partake in.
It is something that he cannot take back, no matter how hard he tries to prevent it; something that happened on its own and can only be a result of actions taken by the very people they serve under. This is why he becomes nothing but a puppet in the first place, obeying their every command like a good dog.
Continuing his speech, Adam let out another strike in his mind, completely changing the young man's perception of the faction he faithfully served under. "You are just a slave to them," he said, knowing exactly what was going on with him. "They are only using you to bring themselves up in status." His eyes looked down at the human with a cold stare, showing how serious he is about this.
"And worse yet, they killed one of your friends."
Puncher's mouth hung open while his eyes were wide as he couldn't believe what Adam had just said, unable to take his word for it but still wondering if it was true or not. That very statement had struck his heart with immense power, making him believe it even more. "How do you know about that?" That was the only thing he could say at this moment.
The charismatic man sighs, nodding with a look of sympathy for him, "Do you know anyone here in peculiar? Someone you consider to be a comrade or even a friend?" Adam asked, not giving away a hint of his knowledge about this, just looking at him with fake care and understanding in the templar's eyes.
Adam has been working on the individual's weaknesses to weaken them while making them question their very own existence, not only studying his body language but also scanning him by using the elements of Puncher's appearance to arrive at astonishingly accurate conclusions about his past or personality altogether.
Hesitant at first but eventually speaking the truth, "yes, he's someone who I looked up to," the young man said while staring down at the floor, remembering how they first met and everything that led to this very moment, "he is a bald man with a burn patch on his face, armed with a warhammer." The details were accurate in Adam's hypothesis, having now placed the puzzle together in completeness.
"They killed him," the former psychologist said in the most blunt manner possible, not holding anything back from this statement, as Puncher felt like his heart was being torn apart when hearing those words from Adam, wanting to deny what he had just said to him, but that only meant that Adam was right all along.
"I saw it," he said, "they used you to get rid of him, using you as a pawn and even humiliating you; they used you to kill your comrade and forced you to believe that you are responsible for his death," his stare becoming sharper while showing how serious he is in this moment, "it's sad but true, the comrades you served wanted all the glory of themselves."
It is a lie but a convincing fabrication nonetheless, always carefully manipulating words to help weaken the very core of Puncher's beliefs, saying that they had killed one of his comrades in order to make him more susceptible to his own mind games and control, knowing that Puncher will lose all of his faith in those very individuals he served under once he hears this, not that Adam even needed to do so.
"How was I so stupid?" Grabbing his rifle and standing up with anger flowing in him, he said, "They were all traitors! Thugs, thieves, and killers! The only thing they cared about was themselves!" With revenge fueling his heart, he ran past them and out to this very room, prepared to avenge his cowardice and kill the dirty traitors that had backstabbed him.
As he left, Adam released a sigh of relief before throwing the cigar down on the floor and crushing it, having finally completed his manipulation of making the young man go on a killing spree against his comrades, something that he had planned and succeeded in doing by messing with people's psychology.
The first thought that came to his mind was his regret of having to smoke his cigar in front of his daughter, and the second was using the kids as distractions to have the chance of allowing them to escape unharmed while Puncher kept the invaders busy for the time being. Another addition to his list of guilt to remind himself of
"Adam?" Alucard's voice called out to him, resulting in his turning around and sighing tiredly, staring at their surprised faces from what he had done to the unfortunate young man, guilt he will carry by like the rest of his deeds that he did just to preserve his and those he cares about's lives for another day.
"Yeah, what?" His exhausted voice is all he could say, doing his best to hide the guilt and stress in his voice, hoping that they will not see right through him. "What were you thinking?" She shouted with wide eyes, not understanding why he had to do that in all places: "You could have gotten yourself killed because of him!"
A sad smile grew on his face. "It's nothing," he said while sighing, not even looking at her. "It was the only way to resolve this peacefully in my own terms," his voice becoming hoarse, a sign that he is slowly going down and needs rest soon. "No harm done, right?" Adam said with a hollow laugh, doing his best to keep up the facade in front of them.
The mistress stared at him in disbelief for a moment before looking at him with sadness and pity. "You idiot, she said, her voice cracking as tears began to fall down her cheeks. "What is the point of you protecting us if you are going to end up like this?" Running up to him before tightly hugging him as she began to cry, she said, "We thought we were going to lose you!"
When she said those words, Lilim followed suit and embraced her father, a sign of worry in her face as she cried along with the young mistress, having felt that her father was emotionally dying at this moment. Seeing their reactions, Adam only let out a painful smile, not saying anything before hugging them back, letting the world fade away from his mind.
A short distance away from them, Garnet is unable to stop herself from crying, covering her mouth with one hand in seeing this moment of family reunion, understanding what Adam had just done for them, and seeing the selfless side of his hardened nature. The man had truly sacrificed himself to keep those he cherishes safe and content.
Under his neat exterior is a compassionate person and family man with a strong sense of caring and a strong bond with those he cares about. His words of wisdom have been true and have made them understand how reality is, always trying to steer them away from danger, but now he is just another person in his own reality.
She understands why he is exhausted all the time: protecting those he loves and taking all the pain to himself so they won't get hurt, feeling all of the burdens he has taken on to not show his weakness to them. All those sleepless nights and overworking himself for the sake of them were all just to hide the insecurities he had inside him.
Garnet had misjudged him a bit, having thought of him as a selfish human being who cares about himself, but seeing this moment had given her a revolution in how wrong she was in thinking of him. It's rather admirable to see such a strong person sacrifice himself for others, trying to hide his weaknesses and true self from them, yet Adam is willing to go down in flames for their own good.
The reunion died down after a while as they retreated into their embrace. All three of them left the room in a quiet atmosphere; their left-over tears are now dry. Gathering their bearings and thoughts, Alucard only had one question in her mind that needed to be answered: "Don't you ever do that again without telling us your dumb plan!"
"Grooo..." Lilim agreed with her, nodding her head in show of approval, wanting to get confirmation first before throwing a tantrum at him. "Okay, I promise," Adam said with a chuckle, not saying anything more and letting them do their own thing, "I promise," he repeated while nodding his head, making it known that he will never do this again unless circumstances requires him so.
Its not everyday he can keep promise, especially when there is no guarantee that he can be uphold it for long. Sometimes, sacrifices need to be made and its his way of showing how he truly cares for them, never looking down on them or blaming them for what happen, seeing it as necessary to do so for their own good.
But it doesn't mean he will try for their sake, only if there is no other way, so this was one of those very few exceptions, having no other choice but to sacrifice himself in exchange for their own safety. The thought of dying for their own good had made Adam sick to his stomach, even now, he could still feel the taste of bitter in his mouth.
He might or not upheld the promise but Adam would surely value their lives over him because the people he loves is what truly matter to him, doing anything he can, especially from harm, seeing them suffer was one of the most painful things to see for him and Adam wouldn't dream of losing another family.
