CH 82: IDLE DAYS
Having woken up and taken care of the house that day, the next few days seemed to pass by in a flash for Adam with how busy he suddenly became with everything.
Before he knew it, it had already been three days since he fought against the Mercenaries with his shapeshifter friend Natasha.
One thing to note about was that he had still received no call from the police.
This was quite surprising for Adam. After all, while he wasn't necessarily a key witness, they should have still been quite curious about the serial murder case. Even though he refused to talk without the presence of a lawyer, he should have been called to the police station to give a statement, at the very least, about what he witnessed that night during his run-in with the serial killer.
In the end, he simply chalked it up to his luck or the work of Yui. He was, of course, more leaning towards Yui working on the background so that there were no troubles for him on the police's side. As for the LAPPD, the supernatural police task force, they showed no signs of calling him either.
During those few days, Adam had been slowly adapting to his new life after the mass killing he had enacted. He would sometimes have flashes of intense nightmares, but all things considered, his guilt was not constantly eating at him anymore.
The discussion he had with his mother, Cecilia, certainly helped him greatly and she would constantly tell him stories about her life as a hunter, making him understand how common death was in the supernatural world. So common that it was not unlike eating or sleeping. Death was a way of life for the Supernaturals.
Anyways, during those three days, the first thing he noticed was that the population of supernatural creatures in his university was quite higher than he would have ever imagined it to be. It seemed that around 5~10% of the student population was related to the supernatural side of the world.
The vast majority were humans who had opened their heart chakra. Adam always avoided them and made sure they would not notice his presence and status. He did not wish for needless complications after all.
Outside of hunter, he had even seen a witch and even many shapeshifters. Shapeshifters were in reality Eartly supernatural creatures with the largest populations. The most common type of them were terrestrial creatures like werewolves or werecats. But he had even seen a Mermaid-type shapeshifter once while using his powers of observation.
She was a beautiful Latina woman with hips to die for and from how she gave him her number with a coquettish smile trudging her lips, it seemed that he didn't leave her indifferent either.
From what Natasha had told him, mermaids weren't particularly powerful, but they all opened the Throat Chakra. This was why their voice was filled with hypnotic powers and said power was amplified while singing.
It seemed that most of the greatest idols were related to the mermaids in one way or another.
Mermaids in the past were man-eaters. Both figuratively and literally. Nowadays they didn't sink ships as much, but they were still dangerous.
This knowledge made Adam hesitate greatly about any attempts to have sex with a mermaid. Dying because he was fucking one would be too shameful and didn't know what could happen if he somehow reincarnated in her stomach.
Of course, since that one was on the campus, it means she was not a man-eater. But…Was giving it a try really worth it? Adam had never been so tormented by a question.
Sexy human-eating mermaids aside, he had briefly wondered why he could see no vampires among the supernatural creatures. However, he received the answer to that question when Natasha told him that ever since the rumors that Jack the Ripper was a vampire started to spread, the other vampires immediately started laying low to avoid the heat.
In the first place, most vampires could not walk out under the sun without burning to death. Only true Daywalkers were exempt from this rule.
So what did Adam do during those three days?
His program was pretty simple. Each hour was carefully planned for maximum efficiency and even sleep was reduced to merely two hours. Thanks to his body, he was able to muscle through it without having many problems. Though he could feel that he had reached his limits.
Wake up at 5 am, train with Cecilia, or alone by running, or just have a simple spar session with her.
Adam thought that with his power [The World, he would be able to fight at least on equal footing with her, but he realized fast that reality was full of disappointment.
No matter how he attacked, even if he used his telekinesis, he was simply unable to even touch her.
It was only after becoming stronger that he understood just how much stronger Cecilia was.
After his morning routine, he would shower and then leave his home for the campus where he would use his split mind in order to study and follow the class at the same time or he would go to the library to have a calm mind and atmosphere for himself and study alone.
Psychology was a fascinating subject and he thought that it would be quite useful to pick it up. He surmised that it could even help in his Law career.
While doing this, he continuously used the [Eyes of Truth] to increase his mastery of the skill.
Sometimes Sae would sneak into the corner he was occupying and study with him or sometimes he would spend some time with Natasha and learn more about the supernatural world from her.
Finally, during the night he would still study on one side and meditate while moving different objects with his second mind. He would do so unti am in the morning then sleep and the cycle would begin anew for another gruesome day.
It was extremely busy, but rather than feeling tired, Adam had to admit that he felt quite good instead.
His growth was slow. But he was ready for that. It was only three days after all. Expecting another explosive growth would be far too greedy of him.
But the more he grew, as slow as it was, the more determined he became to grow even stronger.
The one thing worth noting from all of this was that he was absorbing knowledge at an extremely fast rate thanks to the synergy of his three skills.
[Accelerated Perception]
[Parallel Thinking]
And finally,
[Eidetic Memory]
This was the memory skill he ended up buying by using his stockpile of Karma.
When Genesis sent him the list, he had seen many interesting skills related to memory. But most of them seemed like pitfalls.
For example, the skill—
[Hyperthymesia]
It was a B-rank skill. Higher ranked than the [Eidetic Memory] skill he bought in the end but for someone like him destined to live very long, it was simply a trap.
The skill had two defining characteristics — Spending an excessive amount of time thinking about one's past and then displaying an extraordinary ability to recall specific events from one's past.
It was a condition that lead people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail.
In a way, by having this skill, Adam would basically be able to see past events in a replay-like video in his mind and even in a third perspective when paired with his unique ability — [The World]...
It was great. But what about in ten years, or even longer?
Adam finally settled for [Eidetic Memory] for one simple reason. The greatest drawback of this skill was possible death by brain hemorrhage after absorbing too much information too fast.
For anyone else, this would be pretty damning. But for him?
Thanks to his condition, he was able to use this skill to its full potential. Even when he did die, the biggest problem for him would be to simply make sure to not stain the books he borrowed with blood.
Still, Adam could now proudly say that he had studied to death — literally. After buying the skill, he only had 60 Karma left, but it was still worth it. From now on, he didn't think he would need any more skills in the immediate future and he could focus on saving Karma to open his third chakra pathway— The Throat Chakra.
He was slowly building up the base he would need for his next visit to the Nexus – The Library of Akasha.
Tomorrow, he will start searching for the vampire.
But his mother had been clear. Vampires basically stood at the peak when it came to Earthly Supernatural creatures.
An average vampire would be stronger than an average shapeshifter or dwarf.
Going against such a monster without any preparation would be simply too foolish.
This was why— Tonight, he was going to enter the Library.
It would be his third visit to the domain that changed everything for him.
CH 83: ENTER
For Adam, the only way to gain even more time was to enter the library and last even longer than he did during his previous visit.
The last time he entered the Library, he was only able to last approximately 3 weeks before he reached his limits and had to leave the Nexus.
But this was when he had basically no power, no Prana whatsoever, and had merely one major chakra opened.
Be it in terms of skills or experience or even mindset, the current him was completely different from the past him that had entered the Library.
He had survived the assimilation of the great Celestial— Buddha and died more than a hundred times during his gruesome training to open all of his minor veins.
He had already greatly expanded the power of his mind through the opening of his Crown Chakra and even unlocked his unique ability— The World.
He didn't know how long he could last during his ensuing visit but surely at least two months should be manageable for him, right?
'Genesis.'
[I cannot analyze how much time you will be able to survive. Too many variables are present for me to give a correct analysis. But as an estimation, if you do the same thing you did last time, you should be able to stay for 3 to 4 months.]
Adam whistled at the news and was immediately shushed by the Librarian— a relatively tall man with a harsh face.
Adam immediately mouthed his apologies and the librarian nodded and went back to do his work.
Adam had been a regular visitor recently and either way, just one mistake wouldn't be enough to ask him to leave.
Once Adam was sure that everything was alright once more.
He focused once again on the matter at hand.
The last time, he had just read a few books with nothing of note among them. The fact that it took three weeks for him to do that was quite surprising but now his goal wasn't to just read.
'The current part I can access is only the lowest floor of the library. The knowledge that place holds is tied to the present technology.'
Of course, this would be quite useful for him but not so much that he should waste his time there.
'Genesis. What about if I just revise the information I have in my memory currently.'
Thanks to his recently acquired ability the Eidetic Memory, it was like he had an entire library in his mind that could be accessed at any moment.
Of course, like any memory, there would be some inconsistency with the literal text. But what he was trying to recall were just the books he would be reading inside the Library.
[If you do not read any book but only focus on reviewing the information you have in mind….]
Genesis stayed silent for a while.
[I do not know.]
For the first time, Adam could feel something akin to embarrassment emanating from Genesis' voice.
[No one has tried something like this. Ever. After all, no one could hope to have near unlimited access to the Nexus like you.]
Who would give up on the chance to obtain unlimited knowledge just to review old knowledge?
Adam mused. It was true that he could obtain skills by reading books in the library.
Even though they were just D-rank skills like Appraisal, the fact of the matter was that he could obtain many skills without actually having to pay any Karma.
But Adam had realized this in his fight with the Mercenaries.
The World alone was without a shadow of a doubt the greatest and most versatile skill he wielded in his arsenal.
Not just because it was an S-Rank skill in the making, but also because of the potential it had to surpass its ranking and soar higher into the EX category.
Right now, any skills he obtained should be used with the intention of strengthening his unique ability— The World.
This was his true goal of entering the library this time.
Adam thought so as he focused on the book about gravity and its mechanisms.
'Now then, Newton my old friend, I hope you will enlighten me.'
Next to the book in his hands were books about atomic fission, the relativity of time, thermodynamics, string theory, and understanding of different dimensions.
He didn't know how helpful those theories would be for him in the future.
After all, the understanding humans had of those laws was in constant evolution even as he read about them.
Once Adam had access to higher-level books in the library he would definitely try to read the higher-level theories those books contained if his current experiment succeeded.
For now, though, he had no results. But since he was able to affect the law of inertia in his domain and based on the description, this means that logically speaking… This could work.
'Man, I am taking so much copium with this.'
Adam chuckled bitterly. He would be quite disappointed if it failed.
But it was worth taking the risk. The results would be astounding if he were to succeed.
For the few students in the library who knew Adam, they could only look on with bewilderment at those books filling his table.
After all, wasn't Adam supposed to be a law student?
They were destined to go home and be still completely confused about what they saw today.
—
As usual, with his busy schedule, time went past extremely fast.
Before he knew it, the afternoon was already upon him and the librarian gently asked him to leave so that he could lock the library.
Adam nodded and brought the books back to the shelves he got them from before leaving the library premise. He had already memorized most of the content and he could easily study it at ease at home.
Once outside, Adam stretched a little before starting his walk back home.
In the past, he would walk until the bus stop, but ever since he awakened his power, he took the habit of simply walking back to his house without the use of any transportation.
This gave him a good workout that was not too straining on his body. Walking a few kilometers was nothing since his endurance surpassed that of a Marathon champion by far.
As such, when he reached home, he was barely sweating and his breath was still completely stable.
"I am back!"
He opened the door and shouted, only to crouch down immediately as a knife passed by where his head previously was.
Adam showed no expression of surprise but simply waved his hand and brought back the blade to his hand using his telekinesis.
"Seriously? What if I had someone behind me?"
"Heh, I may not have your Domain, but don't underestimate my senses."
Cecilia showed a smug expression as she walked up to him and took the knife that was embedded in the corner of the door.
"You should have caught it with your power. How can you easily block bullets otherwise?"
Cecilia grinned as she spoke those horrifying words. Since Adam was already a human sniper rifle, Cecilia wished to train his ability to defend himself.
The day he could use a telekinetic wall to stop all offensive attacks would be the day Adam becomes a true monster in her opinion.
"You seem to be in a good mood. What gives?"
Adam shrugged as he walked into the living room and plopped on the Sofa.
He was mentally tired and did not wish to speak much but Cecilia's joy was basically radiating on her face. He didn't even need to use his Eyes of Empathy to see that fact.
"Well. An old friend of mine decided to come to visit me. He should be here by tomorrow?"
Adam was about to make a joke about how he thought she had no friends outside of Shuri, but then he remembered that he was the reason for her not having more friends. As she had to leave her old life behind to raise him up.
He wisely stopped himself from using that retort and said instead, "Could I know who he is?"
Cecilia looked up, a smile hanging on her face, "The best blacksmith in the human world."
She chuckled, "Also a stubborn and stupid old man with a tough exterior but a tender heart."
In the past, Makarov and his family had been kidnapped by an Evil cult that considered his weapons to be blasphemy to the gods.
After all, Makarov had never hidden his ambition to create a true Legendary weapon.
No one had accepted the mission as it was suicidal and most of the Zodiacs were too busy to move.
Furthermore, the Zodiacs of a country weren't really allowed to enter another country without permission. It was considered an act of aggression as they were close to walking tactical weapons.
In the end, the only one who accepted the mission was her.
Her goal had never been to save Makarov. But simply to massacre all the cultists.
Which she did.
Even then, Makarov became a dear friend and he always considered that he owed her his life.
"When he comes, he will be able to give you your weapon."
Once Adam received a proper weapon, things would change completely for him.
Once he comes back from his visit to the Library, it will be time to receive an official license. Ideally a hunter's license as well.
"Oh… Interesting."
Cecilia noticed that Adam seemed quite nervous.
"Something happened again?"
"Not yet."
He sighed, "I think I am ready. I will enter tonight."
Adam imagined what would happen if he woke up and suddenly felt the backslash of months without eating or sleeping.
"Please don't open the door of my room. No matter what…"
This was a sight he did not wish his mother to witness.
—
That night,
[Do you wish to enter the Library?]
[Y/N]
[Warning, this action will consume One free pass]
[Number of Passes Available: 1x Bronze Rank Pass.]
"Use one pass."
Adam's body slowly grew limps as the number of passes available went from 1 to 0 and his mind entered that legendary Nexus for the third time.
CH 84: DANGEROUS WOMAN
The sensation of transitioning between the physical world and whatever place the Library was at was still slightly disorienting to him. Even with all the powers he gained and the training he underwent.
Thankfully he was now quite used to it. And he was getting more and more used to the feeling with each visit to the Nexus of the worlds.
But even then…
"No matter how I look at it, this place always astounds me."
He was only in the so-called Bronze section of this place. The lowest possible place of access. Just imagining how big the other sections of the Library could be made him feel how small and insignificant he truly was.
He looked at his surroundings, once his dizziness settled away, before slowly realizing something.
"Huh…? Akasha?"
There was no one next to him this time around.
'Where could she be?'
The beautiful Librarian that proclaimed herself to be The Fool was not present this time. He was quite surprised at first due to her absence. But then, he realized that just because she had been present the first two times he entered the Library did not mean that she would always be there for him.
'I guess she should be gaining knowledge on the higher floors or something.'
He nodded to himself after coming to that realization and began to walk in the Bronze section of the never-ending Library, passing by the rows and rows of books that seemed to have no end to them even in this insignificant low section of this heavenly place.
'Well, now what should I do first?'
This was quite the complication that he had suddenly fallen into…
He knew that Akasha's wisdom and knowledge should be close to unparalleled in this place. Having a discussion with her would be incredibly useful and if she was willing to help him out, then it would help him avoid some possible mistakes along the road.
He stopped at a section of the Library that seemed to pertain to magical studies.
'Witches and Warlocks can manipulate physical phenomena through the contract with their Gods and Spirits.'
The magic that one of the people he killed recently used was quite intriguing to him. If he could create a Prana shield, it could be very useful to him in the future.
"Ah…"
He was about to take a book out of the thick and infinitely long bookshelf when he suddenly felt a presence behind him as a breath tickled his ears,
'How!?'
A shiver ran down his spine as he immediately jumped away from the shelf to put some distance between himself and whoever was present.
"Hi!"
When he finally turned back, what he saw greatly surprised him.
Where he had been standing previously was a young and delicate woman who was smiling at him while waving her hand.
If she was compared to the Librarian, Akasha, the two women made a startling contrast to each other. Their features were quite similar and they could both be considered to be unparalleled beauties and, in fact, nearly sisters if looked closely. But if one was to be compared to the day, then the other was definitely the personification of night.
Clad in an entirely black robe that barely managed to hide her explosive figure, her brown skin, and dark eyes gave her an alluring presence as if she was a seductress whose simple words could make male and female alike fall in the throes of passion.
"Who are you?"
Adam frowned as he used his Eyes of Truth on reflex but he immediately found himself regretting that decision greatly…
『 Name: ?
Affiliation: ?
Alias: ?
Race: Primogenitor
Age: ?
Stats: ? 』
He groaned out loud and immediately closed his eyes and moved his face away from her general direction. He felt like he had just received a shock to his very soul for daring to gaze at the woman in front of her. It was as though the person he had tried to gaze at was something or someone that should never be witnessed without the permission of said person. Just doing that would be the most cardinal sin since the beginning of time.
"Oh my. This was quite rude, you know? Trying to peep at a lady is a no-no, don't you know?"
The woman smiled and advanced toward him with graceful and hypnotic steps.
"Though, I am sorry for startling you like that. At least, be careful of who you are trying to look at when outside of Earth. If I wished for it, you would have lost your eyes right here and now."
She giggled alluringly as she delivered those words, "Then again, I guess for the son of Cain, this would not matter. Just one death and everything will be good as new, right?"
Adam opened his eyes wide at her words. He was about to speak but he forced himself to calm down.
Taking an action here without giving it a thought would give him no answer. Since the woman seemed to be showing a facade of politeness, then he would play along with her as she wishes.
"I apologize. As you said, I was startled by your presence and acted on reflex. My name is Adam Gospel. May I ask yours?"
"Oh my. How polite of you. Though, I must say, whoever named you really has a bad taste in names. Haha, Adam. What an accursed name that is to my ears."
The woman seemed to talk to herself as her smile grew rigid for an imperceptible instant. Clearly, the name Adam brought her no good memories.
She then sighed and gave a curtsey filled with allure and grace. Her heavy breast giggled softly and her position emphasized her cleavage clearly to the onlookers. Even though she was acting like a noblewoman, the aura she oozed would make even the greatest courtesan bow in defeat to her lasciviousness.
"I am Lilith. The one and only. I guess in a way, I am your step-grandmother. How fun. Don't you think, so, Adam~?"
Her tongue rolled as she mouthed the name, Adam. Her smile was sweet but Adam could see the edge that was ever present in her voice.
They said that in nature, the more colorful something was, the deadlier it could be and Adam was forced to admit that this perfectly described this woman. She was like a beautiful rose in a garden hiding its thorn or like the enchanting myriad-colored venomous snake of the legends.
Unfathomably dangerous and Unequally beautiful.
Adam had been prepared for many things after reentering this place.
But this…. This went beyond all belief and expectations he had of this place.
Lilith.
While in many versions, the first one created was Eve, created from the ribs of Adam after he was put to sleep, Lilith appeared in some versions of the Jews' scriptures.
She was created to serve Adam but she rebelled against the Divine Order and fled to the red sea while being chased by three angels who threatened to kill her should she not submit to her destiny.
In the Kabbalah, she was created alongside Samael who would later become Adam-Belial and they married. In that version, she received a divine curse that made it so that all her children would be stillborn. She ended up killing herself and received the power to kill the children of Adam.
In a third version and perhaps the most memorable one, she was supposed to be in reality the snake who ensnared Eve and made her eat the apple from the tree of wisdom and knowledge. She was also the one who incited Cain to kill Abel, broke the marriage of Adam and Eve, and used the semen of Adam to give birth to numerous children over 130 years. [1]
In the end, she became the first succubus and the first night demon. Giving birth to demons whose sole goal was to seduce men or women and bring them towards their destruction.
No matter which version was real, Adam knew that there was one thing that was always clear about this devilish woman.
Lilith's hatred and desire for revenge toward Prime Adam and his lineage [2] over all the grief she received in her life and even in death.
Even in the version where she was not linked to Prime Adam, mainly the Mesôpotamien ones, she was still a vicious demon who would seduce men and make sure to kill the babies in the stomach of their mothers.
Adam suddenly felt quite unsafe in this place.
Lilith had never directly attacked anyone in the myths. But at the end of the day, those myths were just humans' records. Their accuracy left much to be desired. But no matter what myth it was and no matter how unreliable they may be, all of them centered around one opinion.
She was the first and most dangerous woman in existence.
[1] In the last version. Basically, Adam stopped having a relationship with Eve after Cain killed Abel. So Adam masturbated for 130 years alone and Lilith used that to give birth to demons. Lilith is originally a Mesopotamian goddess related to the Wind. The three versions are more or less accurate but I cut many details to avoid this becoming a mythology lesson.
[2]: My mc is called Adam and there is Adam who is the father of Cain. Gotta make a difference.
CH 85: WARNING AND OTAKU (1)
A gentle and elegant yet somewhat mocking laugh left Lilith's lips.
"Ohoho, dear me~ Did I scare you there? Why are you suddenly so tense?"
Adam took a deep breath, taking a hold of his erratic emotions, and his thoughts began to accelerate.
Lilith in the myths was truly a dangerous woman but she rarely attacked someone directly. Adam may be from the lineage of Prime Adam, the father of Cain and the first human, but she had never hurt any of them. She would use lies and deceit to have what she wished.
A human who was more devilish than a true devil. That was how Lilith was depicted in the mythos.
Of course, nothing said that she was the true Lilith or that the myth of Lilith was actually real in the first place. But currently, there was just one thing that mattered to him.
When he released the breath he had been holding onto for a while, he was noticeably more relaxed and calm. His lips formed a calm and good-natured smile as he gave a somewhat awkward but still proper bow in answer to her curtsey. As a modern man and an ordinary one at that, he was not used to the tradition of the nobility.
"I am sorry if I may have appeared rude to you, madam. Your presence was simply a bit too overwhelming for me."
Lilith's eyes twinkled with a sheen of emotions as she looked at Adam and scrutinized his reactions.
"Unlike your grandfather, you are a funny guy, I must say."
To her reply, the only thing Adam could do was cough awkwardly in response. He had never really thought about it as he unconsciously always avoided thinking about his father's side. But when one went back at it, his paternal grandfather was literally the first human to have ever existed in reality.
Just how long had this business been ongoing, he idly wondered. He was not even able to wager a guess at this point.
"I do not exactly like or even know much about my father's side of the family."
Lilith smirked after hearing him respond, "I guess Cain can not really be considered as the model father of the year. Or the millennia for that matter."
She took a few steps toward him and only stopped when she was standing right in front of Adam. A sultry light shone in her eyes as she examined him from head to toe.
Adam felt a weird chill run through his spine seeing Lilith glance at her like that. It was as though he had been completely stripped naked and even the deepest part of his self was being observed by the woman in front of him. But, he was completely unable to do anything to prevent it.
"Oh? You noticed already? I used something equivalent to your Eyes of Truth on you. Though at a much lower level. After all, I am pretty far from enlightenment in the mind realm."
She then directed an innocent smile toward him, a smile that could only make Adam even more vigilant about her, "You aren't angry at me, right? After all, you are the one who used it on me first."
Adam could not complain about the injustice of her argument nor did he even want to.
In the end, he could simply sigh and keep responding to her in a polite tone, "I am sorry. Every second in this place is extremely precious to me. Do you have anything, in particular, you wish to say to me? If not then I will have to leave."
Lilith showed a surprised expression on her face before nodding her head, "Limited time? With your…"
She stopped herself from speaking further and just nodded as though she had finally come to an understanding. "I see. Indeed, it has yet to awaken in you. I guess this is why you still felt so much like a human rather than what you should be. Huh, interesting."
Adam frowned. He hated when people came out of nowhere, gave half sentences then vanished like it wasn't their problem after creating it in the first place.
It was even more particularly annoying for him because he felt like what she was about to say there was an important piece of information about him that he desperately sought for…
"Your frustrated expression is so cute~ Honestly, I wouldn't mind telling you about this. In fact, there is nothing I do not know about Cain and the power as well as the curse that flows in your blood. But I have no particular incentive to answer you now do I?"
His eyes narrowed in thought and he spoke, not forgetting to be polite to her still, "What do you want?"
"Give me your book— Genesis. You have something that should not be in the hands of a mere kid."
She licked her lips and grinned as she spoke those terrifying words and looked at his body with those eyes of hers, ones that were able to see through him like nothing, trying to find where Genesis might be.
It was then… Her eyes slowly enlarged and the expression of surprise on her face became much more genuine than anything she had shown to him till now.
"You… You already partially assimilated with it?"
This time her words, her tone, her face, everything about her seemed much much more genuine. Her expression— it was a mix of both wonder and disappointment as well as a sort of expectation for something that eluded the young boy.
Adam didn't even try to use his Eyes of Emphaty on her. He had not forgotten the warning she had given him. Lilith had been calm and polite to him until now. Albeit a little provoking and a bit of a tease. He didn't know if it would stay this way if he ignored her warning once again.
"That crazy woman seriously went and did it, huh?"
Lilith nodded and turned around cheerfully, having seemingly lost all interest in the continuity of their discussion.
"Ah."
She then stopped and turned around.
"Let me give you a piece of advice. Of course, whether you listen to it or not is up to you…"
CH 86: WARNING AND OTAKU (2)
Lilith smiled and spoke in a soft tone, "Firstly. Absolutely never let anyone know about your book. Mortals do not and will not understand but most Celestials or Primogenitors who learn you have one of the [Keys] will come at you with everything they got and will not stop until they die or get the book from you."
She laughed heartily. "You are lucky I am not much interested in power. Otherwise, I would also be tempted to give it a try. That's how lucrative your Key is.
"Secondly, your curse has yet to show its true power. This is a punishment that Cain had never managed to get rid of even after all these millennia and still suffers from it even now. No death, no rest, and not even the right to fall into insanity. Endless and unrestrained agony. For all eternity."
She gave him a look of genuine pity before leaving once more, "I would say good luck. But luck will change nothing in your current predicament. I hope that when we see each other next time, you won't be in despair. I hope the best for you, Adam."
She waved her hands, leaving a new series of questions for Adam to ponder and wrack his brain upon.
"Oh. Wait."
Adam looked up again as he saw Lilith coming back to him with her characteristic coquettish smile.
Adam's eye twitched seeing her like this.
'Is this woman playing around with me?'
"Hahah~ Don't show such a face, will you? I am quite a scatterbrain. I have many avatars doing different things in different worlds. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to keep track of all the information they send me all the time."
'Why is she talking like some device which is running on a bad internet connection?'
Lilith laughed openly and spoke out her final thoughts, "I have one Avatar on earth doing some interesting things. So I thought about it and…"
Adam sighed, "What exactly?"
"When you go back. Meet my contractor. She is a witch."
Supernatural beings could sign contracts with humans and give them their blessings and powers.
"Earth has more than 8 billion people, how high are the chances that I will meet your contractor?"
"Higher than you would think. After all, you have already met her."
Adam filtered this information at rapid speeds. He had seen a few witches in his university but he doubted this was what she was talking about.
Suddenly, a name naturally came into his mind, "Bridget…?"
"I like smart men like you."
She grinned delightfully. "That Avatar of mine is trying an interesting experiment with little Bridget there. Meet them. I am sure she can help you. Of course, the price they will ask will be different than what I did just now."
"Why do you talk as if you and your avatar are different?"
"Because we are. Each of my avatars has its own identity and I only receive their memories every time. No matter what they do and what decision they make. I don't control them and they live a life of their own."
She looked at him with pity once again before leaving. But, not before saying some final words to him. "Trust me. After you live for a few centuries, you will start to understand. In fact, especially for you, it will be even worse."
After giving him her piece, Lilith vanished from the spot. This time she did not come again. She had truly said everything she had to say to him right now.
—
After Lilith left, Adam stayed silent for a while. He did not know how much of what Lilith had divulged to him was true. He did not know if anything of it was even true or just pure lies and deceit. And honestly, he may never be able to find out.
He understood now why Bridget had shown a sudden interest in him during her visit.
'Well, this changes nothing of my immediate goals.'
Grow stronger here. Kill the vampire and come back once again to grow stronger.
As for meeting Bridget, he would try to be careful about the eventual meeting with her. Having a witch as a mentor would certainly be useful for him. But he knew nothing about her.
'Now then, what to do…'
He was about to turn around and start training when a voice stopped him.
"Adam?"
'Why is everyone able to slip past my senses in this place?'
He recognized the voice to belong to the woman called Akasha. Though, now that he knew about Lilith, Adam had an inkling about her true identity.
He turned toward the source of the voice but was immediately left speechless at what he witnessed.
The graceful silver-haired lady with an air of nobility and mysteriousness was no more.
What he found was a woman clad in a loose and baggy T-shirt and white panty while holding onto what looked like a manga in her hand.
There were dark circles below her eyes and her hair looked like it had not been taken care of for months.
He looked around, wondering if this woman was some kind of twin of the true Akasha, but when he realized that this was not the case, he covered cupped his face in complete and utter surprise.
'Just what the hell happened while I was away?'
How did the regal woman with the air of a queen transform in this slovenly appearance?
Akasha's eyes lit up when she recognized him and she approached him with great strides before taking his hand in hers,
"Thank you!"
"Huh… You are welcome…? But… Why…?"
Adam shook his head at her sudden joy and appreciation, confused about the reason behind it…
She nodded as if she understood his bewilderment.
"I am sorry. I must have surprised you. It's just that I felt the need to thank you for having opened the gate to a new world for me."
Adam slowly began to connect the dots as a foreboding feeling rose in his chest,
'Don't tell me?'
"After our last discussion, I was intrigued by this form of entertainment called anime."
'Ah…'
"I was a little hesitant at first. I thought it was just a waste of time. But. My, oh my, what a surprise."
'Oh God! What have I done…'
"Now I realize that anime actually hides a deep and intriguing culture. I lament at my past self who ignored this wonderful creation."
Her eyes sparkled with an unconcealed feeling of joy and enlightenment. As if she had realized the greatest truth in the world.
"Humans are truly the greatest beings when it comes to entertainment."
"How… How long have you been watching and reading this content?"
"Hmmm?"
She seemed quite surprised at his question and tilted her head to ponder about the answer, "Two or three hundred years I guess?"
Adam had the urge to facepalm himself as he realized that he had most likely created the oldest Otaku in existence.
'Truly… What have I done…?'
CH 87: PRICE OF KNOWLEDGE (1)
Adam sighed slightly as he observed the slovenly woman in front of him. One could even say that she was radiating happiness while she was talking about Anime culture.
It was a pretty different sight from the somewhat languid and tired face she had shown to him every time they had met each other previously.
'In the first place, is there even enough anime or manga or novels to read for so long?'
He was able to assimilate a great number of books just by having his new skills. And they were not even higher-ranked skills. He doubted a Celestial, or at least what he thought to be a Celestial would have difficulty reading much faster than him.
Furthermore, mangas were not a particularly old form of entertainment, when all things considered, and anime was an even more recent innovation. [1]
As if guessing his questions she answered him in a cheerful tone, "I watched anime from the future."
'Damn…'
He had truly created the ultimate Otaku. One who could never be stopped by mere cliffhangers.
The one who could see all ends.
Adam smiled as he thought about it all, "I'm happy that you found something to enjoy your time with."
At the end of the day, there was nothing wrong with enjoying whatever new hobbies one had.
"Enjoying, huh? Indeed, I can say that I am enjoying this hobby of mine quite a bit."
She gave a rueful smile, one mixed with a myriad of emotions.
"You will understand this in the future. But when you reach our age, time seems to come to a crawl or accelerate so fast that it becomes meaningless. Years pass in the blink of an eye. Centuries are barely enough for a nap and sleep lasts for thousands of years with no signs of ending."
She shook her head, "In order to enjoy this new hobby, I had to slow down my computing ability as much as possible and even have to give myself a human body. I guess I am thankful for how humans never stop to enjoy themselves and having fun in their lives."
She gave a wistful smile at that thought, "I guess, in a certain way, Mortality is humanity's greatest curse but at the same time greatest gift.
"Time for you is still very meaningful. I am happy you accepted to waste some of your time with me by hearing my ramblings. So, without further ado, let's go back to important matters, shall we?"
She shook her head and waved her hands. Light shone and covered her body with an incandescent glow. When the light vanished a few moments after, the slovenly woman and the prime otaku Adam had seen in her were no more.
She was wearing a regal white dress, her fair skin seemed to shine under the light of the Library and her long silver hair was so beautiful that it never stopped leaving Adam mesmerized. Looking at her eyes, one would have the feeling that they were falling into a sea of light and wisdom.
"I am the Librarian of the Nexus. Once again, I welcome you to this wonderful place."
Adam looked at her with curious eyes. How so beautiful and regal. At the same time, how so very distant. The way she looked when in full otaku mode was quite a disappointing sight but he had to admit that it made him feel closer to her even if by a little. She looked more personal and human in her Otaku appearance. Now, however, she was back to her distant, unapproachable self.
Akasha gave a gentle smile as she observed him more closely, "You had a startling growth, it seems."
In her current form, she was able to observe the flow of energy coming from Adam and while it was negligible when compared to divine beings, this would be an unfair comparison for someone who had awakened to their powers only recently.
"I did, huh…"
"You also opened The Crown. Impressive."
She showed quite a bit of a surprise at this achievement of his. After all, she could see that he had obtained that power alone without using any Karma or external means.
This would drastically lower the price for the subsequent Chakra that needed to be opened by him. Who knows? He might be able to get another enlightenment and open another major Chakra by himself too.
Finally… "Hmm?"
Her eyes twinkled in doubt and bewilderment when she focused on the domain around Adam.
"A Divine Kingdom?"
She then tilted her head. A small frown etched between her eyes.
'No. This is different. Huh?'
This time she was truly and completely astonished by Adam's powers. It wasn't as if she was all-knowing. But still…
She mused by herself in silence but Adam did not miss her earlier words,
"What do you mean by Divine Kingdom?"
The woman looked up, before shaking her head, "Well, it isn't some deep knowledge so I guess I can tell you about this, at least."
"Adam… What do you think gods are?"
She beckoned to him with her hand and began to walk through the shelves until they reached a section about Theology but then shook her head with a sigh.
She had forgotten for a second that this was the Bronze level. There would be no books on the truth about gods in this place.
"Gods are in short energy given form and mixed with one or a few concepts that hold existence."
She laughed slightly, "Be it the primordial gods, who can live off the energy of the universe itself, or second-generation gods, who need the power of faith and worship to sustain themselves, they are all one and the same and true to this definition. They all have this one thing. That one place where they can bring out their full powers— The Divine Kingdom."
CH 88: PRICE OF KNOWLEDGE (2)
The divine Kingdom. The place of power where gods were nearly invincible.
Even a minor god could fight a more powerful god if it was in that place.
It was only there that they could be truly said to be nearly omnipotent.
Outside of it,
"Even so, at the end of the day, gods are limited by the concepts they have when outside of their kingdoms. A god of thunder can only use thunder. A god of light can only use light. Your powers though… I feel like it can do much much more."
'Is this the power of Origin?'
She shook her head once more, trying to divert herself from thinking much about that, "You should train that power well. It might help you to elevate yourself to a higher existence and become a Celestial."
Thunder rumbled in the far distance and sparks appeared around Akasha, startling Adam,
"Are you alright?"
He knew this was a pretty stupid question as even though she was seemingly getting electrocuted, she showed no obvious discomfort.
"Do not worry. I have simply spoken a little more than I should have."
She waved her hand to dismiss the sparks and the rumbling of lightning and thunder stopped as well.
The Storm of Causality was warning her from divulging more of the gods' secrets.
With her current power, it would be easy to ignore such a weak storm. But if she did, it would surely alert the gods and they would try to find out what happened for a Storm to occur in the first place.
'They don't need to know about his existence yet.'
This was her way of giving him some protection in the earlier stage.
After the massacre Cain wrought into the Divine Realm, she was sure that many gods would be unhappy to see a second Cain come into existence.
Of course, sooner or later, the gods would find out about his existence but by then he should have become strong enough that the Storm of Causality would be too powerful for the gods to directly intervene.
She shook her head and began to walk away. She had said as much as she could to him. Now everything was up to Adam.
"Wait, please."
She turned around, "Is there something else you want to speak about?"
She wished she could go back watching a few more anime. It was one about angels.
Those anime always made her laugh with how they beautified angels when in reality, seeing the true form of an angel would be enough to make any human lose their mind. [1]
Adam had no idea about what she was thinking, but this wouldn't stop him.
"I have. So many questions. Like what deal did you make with my mom? Or what is Cain's goal? But there is one thing I must speak of first."
She stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.
"You remember, right? The last time I came, we made a bet. You told me that you would reward me if I managed to find out your true name." [1]
"Ah… Indeed. I did say that. So, did you manage to find out?"
Adam smiled and spoke in a confident tone, "I had an inkling, but after meeting Lilith, I am sure of it now. You… You are Eve, aren't you?"
Eve. [2]
Officially considered the first woman to have ever existed in the scripture.
If Lilith was the vicious evil woman who would stop at nothing for revenge, then Eve was considered the beautiful, gentle but naive woman who caused the entire human race to be cursed and cast out of Eden's Garden.
It was hard to say if the depiction of one was better than the other when all things considered. After all, Eve represented sin and seduction.
Eve was supposedly born from Adam's ribs after the latter was put in an artificial sleep.
Like the stories about Lilith, there were a few versions of the one around Eve.
The most known one was the one that placed Eve as the one who committed the first sin by disobeying God after being manipulated by the snake and eating the fruit of knowledge. In this version, Eve and subsequently all the women were cursed to suffer pain in childbirth.
What bothered Adam though, was the fact that humans were chased out of the garden so that they did not eat the Fruit of Immortality after eating the Fruit of Knowledge.
But if this woman in front of him was really Eve then, she seemed to be pretty immortal in his opinion.
Hearing this, Akasha gave a meaningful smile,
"You are right. I am Eve."
She clapped, "Congratulations. You found the right answer."
"But…"
"You must be wondering why I am still alive, right?"
She gave a low laugh as she turned around and opened her arm wide.
"Since I sought knowledge despite all the interdiction, then I was cursed to seek knowledge for all eternity."
She clenched her hand…
"This place is both my greatest dream and my most dreadful nightmare."
She seemed to emanate a bleak aura, one filled with despondency and melancholy.
"This library…is my paradise…and also, my prison."
—
[1]: Angels are energy being with no fixed form. Nowadays they are depicted in human form in art. But the earliest descriptions of angels in the bible are pretty scary. Like, the first thing they say all say when they 'appear' or speak to humans is: Be not afraid.
[2]: CH 25: PRANA.
CH 89: APOLOGIES AND GIFTS
Adam's expression became quite subsided when he saw how she expressed herself.
A gilded prison. One which at first glance seemed like a perfect place but in the end was nothing more than a place of pain and suffering for the one living there.
"Don't show this expression. You see Adam. Our family is quite the cursed one."
Adam gave a bitter smile at this understatement.
"If you are still alive, does that mean Adam as well? I am talking about the first."
"Hum…Honestly, I don't know."
Eve shrugged. "My life as a Human ended when I was around 800 years old. Then I was imprisoned here. From the books I read, Adam lived until he was 930 years old. I think he should be in heaven now. " [1]
She seemed quite uncaring about the destiny of her husband. But when you thought about it, this was quite understandable.
He doubted their marriage was the happiest one.
"Either way, I quite like it here. I guess it's basically like being given a service for the community."
"Heh. So what now? Should I call you Grandmother? Grandma?"
Even though he was joking, Adam felt a headache when he remembered once again that he was the direct grandson of the first two humans to ever exist.
Eve was taken aback at first but then laughed out loud, "While l I not particularly mind being called so. I would rather be simply called by my name. It has been quite a long time since someone other than that woman called me thus."
Her laugh was elegant and filled with joy.
Adam wasn't the first of her grandchildren to visit this place. But he was the first to be so cheeky and she liked it.
She was sure that sooner or later he would change. Power and Time always change people.
In a few hundred years, the cheeky boy in front of her would be no more. So she wished to savor those short hundred years in peace.
She stopped laughing and waved her hand at him so that he came closer.
"Since you found the answer. I will give you your rewards as I promised. This is even better since you have the Crown Chakra currently. But first, I need to apologize."
"I used your mother's love for you to further my own agenda."
Eve spoke candidly but there was a genuine apology in her eyes.
"She wished to stop your transformation and though I gave her one solution, I knew she would fail. After all, some destinies are absolute. This is why–."
A map appeared in her hand.
" — Take this."
Adam opened the map that had a golden apple drawn on the back.
"In many mythological societies, there exist different versions of the Fruit of Longevity or immortality."
"The first and most known ones besides the Apple from Eden are the peaches of immortality from the garden of the Queen Mother of the West. Even though I know the way, I will not tell you. After all, for a mortal, eating those peaches would only bring suffering." [2]
"...What do you mean?"
"Immortality, you see, is both a gift and a curse. For true immortality to happen, both the body and the Soul must be immortal."
She continued absentmindedly, "The fruit of immortality of the Heaven court only gives three thousand years of life. But you see… No human soul can withstand this. In the end, they will simply become mindless husks as their bodies continue to still wander."
This was the price of immortality for humans.
"There is also the fact that after your father wreaked havoc in Heaven alongside the Stone Monkey, the guard surrounding those peaches was increased."
Adam felt so confused as so much information was thrown at him one after another.
He was surprised to hear that Cain seemed to have fought alongside Sun Wukong.
This made him wonder exactly how powerful Cain was.
But now wasn't the time.
He was being given a way to save his mother.
"Where does this map lead exactly?"
Eve grinned, "Your mother has deep Karmic ties with one specific mythological group. That is the Nordic gods."
She then pointed at the map, "After the last cycle of Ragnarok, a fragment of Idunn's garden fell in Midgard. Earth if you will. This is a map of that place. Once your mother obtains the Golden apple, her body will go back to what it once was and even more." [3]
Of course, he will have to go at a specific time and place but she was sure that by then, he would be much stronger and able to succeed.
Adam felt his breathing become difficult.
The map in his hand suddenly felt so much heavier.
This was literally the lifeline of his mother.
"Thanks. This truly a beautiful reward."
"Huh? What do you mean."
She seemed truly confused, "This is not your reward. This is simply a way for me to wipe out the Karma between me and your mother. With this, I have repaid my debt."
As for your reward, she beckoned him to approach her.
—-
When Adam approached, she pointed a finger and gently touched his forehead.
"Adam, what do you think Primogenitors are?"
It was clearly a rhetorical question as she did not wait for him to answer.
"Primogenitor you see. Represent an imperfect version of what humanity once was. The most supreme and most perfect being created by God in his image. That is what we once were."
As she spoke, a certain pride came into her voice,
"Listen to my voice, close your eyes, and focus."
Adam did what he was told and soon, he felt like he was being sent into the far past.
"We are the last creation made on the sixth day and as such we are the holiest. The ones made in His image.
"When we were created, we received one simple truth.
"Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground."
Her voice sounded ethereal as if coming from all places at once and filling his entire being.
He could feel his blood boiling as a power he did not know seemed to finally awaken.
"Listen Adam. Even though we have fallen. There is one truth that can never vanish.
"Human…Are the Supreme being of the world."
"We are Kings. We are Sovereign and nothing can change this."
[Innate Authorities awakened.]
[Domination
Rank: A
Description: The power to rule all creatures on earth.
Effect 1: Animals of nature will never hurt you.
Effect 2: It's possible to tame animals of nature and make them submit to you.
Effect 3: There is a low probability of Supernatural creatures being compelled to follow you if you suppress them.]
Eve smiled as she looked at the book of Genesis floating in front of Adam. This should have been it.
A power that laid dormant in their blood. In the past, that power was an Ex ranked skill, and with it, they could make even the highest celestial submit to them.
Sadly it went and degraded quite a bit. But even so, it was quite a powerful skill.
'Well, this should be pretty useful for him.'
It was when she was thinking about it.
A powerful aura wrapped around Adam as the book begins to tremble.
The page turned as new information appeared,
[The power of Origin reacts to the apparition of Domination.]
[A new skill is being generated.]
[Name: ?
Rank: S
Description: Analysis still continuing but determined the skill to be one close to Dragon Fear.
Effect: Need further analysis.]
CH 90: CHOICE
Adam felt like he was floating in a dream. His consciousness was faint and he felt his surroundings hazy.
He was in a world of darkness filled with nothing but blood and death.
It was a suffocating world but at the same time, it was as if he was finally home. As if this place was completely part of him.
—A beast was waking up.
.
.
.
When Adam opened his eyes, he realized that he was still standing in front of Eve.
He somehow felt like he was still walking on clouds but this sensation swiftly vanished.
Shaking his head, he asked carefully,
"How long was I out?"
This was the first thing he needed to know. He had a tight schedule and losing too much time would be a shame.
"I guess the equivalent of 72h."
Adam let out a sigh of relief. Three days weren't too bad. Furthermore, he did not know why, but he felt extremely refreshed right now.
Eve looked at Adam with an expression mixed between surprise and wonder.
"Hum…Did something happen?"
"Looks at your skills."
Adam did as he was told and opened Genesis.
The first skill, [Domination] was definitely very interesting.
Adam didn't know how useful it would be, but just not having to fear normal animals was already a great benefit.
He could even tame them.
'Do Humans count as animals?'
This was something worth pondering and testing. After all, humans were scientifically classified as animals.
As for the second skill,
"Genesis was finally able to analyze the skill in the time you were unconscious. I guess now you just have to name it."
Adam looked at the new skill
he obtained it with fascination.
This was the second skill he had obtained from his innate Origin skill.
[Name: ?
Rank: S
Description: A power that can instill fear in others. Anyone with a willpower lower than the user can be affected
Effect 1: When the skill takes effect, the ones affected will be paralyzed for a certain time depending on their willpower.
Effect 2: When the difference in power and willpower is too large. The one affected might be stunned and faint.
Effect 3: As long as the skill takes effect. The ones will receive various debuffs.
Effect 4: This is a wide-scale skill and further amplified when used in The World.]
Adam's eye twitched. This went beyond what he could have hoped. It was clear how superior S-ranked skills were from all the effects given.
He could already imagine how he could use it in a fight.
Slow down the enemy with his telekinetic power. Use the new skills when they are paralyzed and pierce them with his combination technique.
Even if it couldn't stop powerful people, at the very least it could affect them. As long as their willpower wasn't higher than his.
Adam breathed deeply and asked,
"What is Origin exactly."
"I do not know."
Eve was serious this time. The experiments Cain made were mostly secret.
No one knew exactly why he was creating them or what power they exactly had.
Of course, Eve had a few ideas about the reason he created them
But either way, it was clear that Adam was different and was becoming stronger at a fast pass.
"You need to understand Adam. All Primogenitors created by Cain have something special. You are the first and even the Akasha library has no record of your skills before you actually create them."
She looked up, "The Akasha library can record all knowledge, future, present and past. But – People like you are Singularities whose Fate is hard to predict."
She smiled, "Only you can find what the power of Origin truly is and everything it entails. I am sure you can do it."
She gently patted his head.
Adam had to admit that he felt slightly warm.
He did not know what Eve's true goal was.
Was she using him to escape her prison?
Did she have other more sinister goals?
He didn't know. But for now…He would not hesitate in taking what she offered.
Once the moment passed, Eve took away her hand and muttered.
"Genesis told me you wanted to train by reviewing the book you read on earth.
"As much as it's a good idea. It's a waste of time. Even if a book written on earth had the exact same content as one written here, you would assimilate the knowledge far faster by reading the book here. As they are written by the laws of the world."
When you read a book in the Akasha library, what you obtained was the essence itself.
A book appeared in her hand. A book Adam recognized.
[Appraisal]
"Take this for example. From what Lilith told me this is a skill that is taught in some sort of academy. Only senior students can learn this and even then most witches fail. Those who do need a year or more."
She grinned, "You perfectly learned this in less than three weeks."
Adam understood, "Of course, I believe your natural talent helped greatly. Buy still you should know how unreasonable going from 1 year to 3 weeks is."
Adam looked around,
"If what you are saying is true then…just how many skills do you have?"
Eve shook her head, "Less than you would think actually. All skills we learn let a mark on our souls. There is a limit to that."
The only way to go beyond that limit was to open the five secret Chakra.[1]
She gazed at the floating book of Genesis before taking her eyes away.
"So, what will you do now? The choice is yours."
Adam pondered silently.
His goal in coming to this place was to gain time and improve his control of The World rather than truly obtaining new skills.
He also wished to train a little more and perhaps assimilate the fighting skills Cecilia was relentlessly beating in him.
But the word of Eve made sense.
'I still have one more occasion.'
He needed power. More power. Only then could he be sure to kill that Vampire.
Once this was done, he could live his life in leisure as he focused on accumulating money and finding wherever the Garden of Idunn was.
As such,
"Please, help me find books about the Four fundamental forces of nature and one about Gravity itself."
"Interesting."
Eve nodded, glad to see Adam listen to her advice. She too wished to see exactly how far Adam could go on this path.
If he could truly use all the forces…Then he would truly be Cain strongest and most complete creation.
Already, unlike his other children, he was the closest to humanity and he was showing the greatest potential.
—
[1]: Well in our reality those chakras aren't "Secret". Basically, there are 12 main chakras.
The first 7 are those in our body. Going from the Root Chakra (Muladhara) to the Crown Chakra (Sahasrara.)
The other five are outside the body.
They are the Earth Star Chakra, The Soul Star Chakra, the Universal Chakra, The Galactic Chakra, and the Divine Gateway Chakra.
Not gonna lie. The one who named this really a pro. Those names sound badass.
CH 91: FOUR FORCES OF NATURE
The four fundamental forces of nature were Gravity, Electromagnetism, Weak Nuclear force, and Strong Nuclear force. [1]
All along, Adam's first objective was to have control over one of those forces.
In theory, any power of nature taken to the extreme could change the surface. A simple breeze could become a tornado, ice, and snow could bring the ice age. The calm sea could become a Tsunami or the stable earth brings Earthquakes.
Out of the four main forces, the reason why Adam chose Gravity was that in a way, it was the weakest out of them all at the start.
But it was also the most versatile and useful for him from the get-to-go as it would be very useful with his Telekinetic power.
He would even be able to fly if he could lower the gravity around his body and by controlling gravity, Adam would be less helpless if facing someone in close combat.
In the same way, while gravity was the weakest force at the atomic level, it was the strongest force at the astronomical scale.
The second one he would learn, if possible, was Electromagnetism.
In today's world filled with technology, simply having a weak control over this force would make him a danger.
As for Strong and Weak Nuclear forces. Adam knew that it entailed a subtle control over atoms and molecules.
But his control wasn't even subtle enough to hold things he could see.
There was also the fact that he was simply wary of using such a power that could quickly go wrong.
Even if he could survive a nuclear explosion, he would be the cause of millions of Death and generation of deformity if he made a mistake.
Like this, Adam began to read and study.
From the simple application and understanding of the four forces to a deeper explanation about the gravitational force that was present everywhere.
But even while he was reading, Adam did not forget to train his power.
He would read two books at the same time using his [Parallel Thinking] and turning the pages with his telekinetic power.
He would also keep them floating as well as keeping all the books around him.
It was quite straining to do so. But the more he continued the easier it became for him.
What was gravity?
Gravity was the force that holds the planets in orbit around the sun and what keeps the moon in orbit around Earth.
The gravitational pull of the moon pulls the seas towards it, causing ocean tides. Gravity creates stars and planets by pulling together the material from which they are made. Gravity not only pulls on mass but also on light.
It was a universal force and perhaps the most important one.
Unlike what many thought, the one who first discovered gravity and created theories around it was none other than Galileo Galilei.
He had discovered that all objects tended to accelerate equally in free fall and he finally put forth the [Basic Principle of Relativity]
It was only later that Isaac Newton established his law of [Universal Gravitation.]
This work was refined by Albert Einstein who established the Special and General Theories of Relativity. Which added Time, Space and Light in the already complex system that was Gravity.
From the simple reality of an Apple falling to the ground, or our planet's rotation around the Sun, to more complex concepts like [Gravitational redshift], [Gravitational Time Dilation], [Black Holes] and so many more concept.
Gravity…was one of the very forces that keeps all life on earth from being nonexistent.
Adam closed his eyes.
His vision was obstructed as blood was leaking out of them.
He had read and read like there was no tomorrow.
Theories upon theories were memorized and assimilated in his brain.
Did he understand them all?
No. Not even close. He felt like he was barely scratching the surface. After all, memorizing and understanding were two different concepts.
But, even then – Adam smiled.
He withdrew his telekinetic power but the books that were floating did not fall immediately.
They were falling far more slowly than they should have.
The smile on his face stretched further as he did not even care about wiping the blood away.
"Congratulations."
Adam nodded, "I can only barely lower the weight now. But I succeeded."
He sighed. He knew that he had reached his limits. His brain hurt so much that he felt like it was about to explode.
He seriously felt like he didn't wish to ever read a book again in his life or at least not for some time.
"You should be happy. What you did was no different from creating a skill out of an ordinary book. This is impressive."
Unlike [Appraisal], the books Adam read were not skill books.
There was no one who could derivate a Skill out of them without at least already possessing power related to gravity.
[The World]
In fact, rather than saying that Adam learned a new skill, it would be more accurate to say that he had learned how to better use his already existing one.
'A power that allows him to use all force. How fraudulent.'
She knew that this was a power that stepped in the territory of gods.
For now, he could only cover around fifty meters.
But what about the future?
How far could he go and how much could he eventually do?
'Should I give him more Free passes?'
She had not told this to Adam but those passes were created by using her own Karma.
By the simple virtue of her existence as Eve, the first woman to have ever existed and the mother of humanity, her amount of Karma could not be calculated by any standard.
Even then, freely letting a mortal enter the Library was costly. This Karma was essential as it protected her from many gods who were not exactly happy with her and her management of the Library.
Whether or not this was a prison for her did not matter to them.
'Well. I will try to see what I can do.'
This was the first proper grandson that didn't infuriate her or act like they were the king of the world.
She hoped that he would keep his innocence for a much longer time and she was also willing to invest in his future.
After all, if he could reach Cain's level of power…
Adam could not guess Eve's thoughts and even if he could, he wouldn't mind. After all, nothing was truly free in this world.
He was happy about his new control over gravity.
Even if he couldn't control abstract concepts like space and time, just the four fundamental forces were more than enough.
Gravity alone if he could reach the potential peak would make him extremely dangerous.
"Well, rather than the potential future. I have a more immediate problem."
Eve smiled, "You have been reading for two months."
Adam covered his face as he felt his consciousness slowly cloud.
He knew that he was about to leave and wake up in reality.
A reality where his body would receive the equivalent of no food or water for two months.
CH 92: SLOWLY
[K-Town – Wild Hunt Bar]
In an office room inside the gilded bar, sitting behind her desk, Feng Huang Yui was listening to the person speaking from the other side of the phone while three girls were simultaneously working on her nails, feet, and hair.
The three girls had rather ordinary features, very common to Asian people, but they were still quite charming and cute if one took a closer look. Asian people, especially girls, always had that cute charm to them that was not easily encountered in a place like LA.
The voice on the other side of the phone call seemed quite calm and composed.
But their speech had a edge that could be felt sometimes in their tone clearly indicating that the individual was soon hitting the limit of their patience.
"I perfectly understand your hurry with this matter. But do not worry. We will give you the best of the best. Trust me, the wait will surely be worth it."
She listened silently to the individual's reply before nodding in understanding, "I know. The one sent to you will be of around the same age as you and will not shame you during the dinner party. I promise you that."
She grinned charmingly as she responded in a sweet and polite tone, "And a good day to you as well and I once again apologize for the inconvenience and delay."
Her charming smile graced her lips and stayed still in its place until the end of the call. But once the connection was cut off from the other side…
"Fuck!"
The moment she heard the news of the call being disconnected, unhesitatingly, she threw away the phone against the wall— shattering the piece of equipment into a million pieces.
The fact that the girls didn't stop working even after such a violent reaction from her was a testament to their work ethic and experience.
The one who called her previously was a pretty polite young woman who needed someone to escort her to a very very important party. One that would determine her fate.
The fact that said young woman was also the daughter of one of the greatest leaders of the Russian Mafia based in Los Angeles also increased how important Yui saw this deal as. This was one of the game changer clients. Just like how Bridget had been for them at the previous party.
More than anything, however, she had already given her word about finding someone as she had been asked to and if there was one thing that Yui hated the most in this world, it was going back on her words.
Sadly, because of all the recent events, she had been swamped with a mountain load of work and unable to live up to the promise she had made with the polite woman.
Someone knocked lightly before entering, just in time to see the pitiful phone get destroyed.
"You seem angry, boss."
"Oh… I am surprised that you came to this absurd conclusion. Can't you just feel how joyful I am feeling right now?"
Yui's lips stretched to form a sarcastic laugh as Nikola entered the office as soon as the scene of destruction had ensured.
As always, Nikola was draped in her traditional black butter uniform and was wearing a red shirt with a red necktie beneath the traditional butler vest.
Her equally pale-red short hair gave her an even more tomboyish look.
Nikola shrugged her shoulders in response to Yui's sarcastic show, "I believe I found something that will interest you and put you back in a good mood."
Yui was definitely intrigued by her claims.
She needed some good news urgently. This week had been overall draining and a waste of her time.
"We were able to find the whereabouts of that vampire."
Immediately, Yui felt like the cloud in the gray skies had finally parted and gave place to sunshine after a long long time.
"Finally!"
An entire fucking week was wasted chasing after that undead bastard. Until now, they had been unable to find the slightest clues…
'Wait a minute.'
She stretched her right hand, beckoning with it for Nikola to show her the document related to the clues of the serial murderer.
At first, everything was good and logical with the report. It was a thorough investigation that fully outlined every particular detail in a fantastic and cumulative way.
But, the more she read through the report, the more her smile and excitement diminished. In the end, she couldn't help but leak a tone of boiling rage out of her mouth as she spoke…
"So it's a trap."
The report made no logical sense whatsoever even though it was a very good report.
There was nothing wrong with the composition, just the content was something that was out of the norm. For someone who had been able to avoid and escape from all the nets they placed until now, he would not get found out so easily and in such a convenient manner.
"Indeed. There is no doubt that this is a trap. The question here, however, is…for whom, really?"
Yui sighed and closed her eyes shut with a note of lethargy and one of the three girls who had been silent until now simply started massaging Yui's temples with her expert skills.
Meanwhile, the other two girls switched to massaging her calves with their skillful hands in the hopes of alleviating even a bit of the lethargy that their mistress might be feeling.
"Hah… Thanks, girls. You really know my body better than me."
They simply giggled and blushed slightly at her words. They knew very well what Yui was insinuating. After all, they sometimes did way more than a simple massage for her.
Nikola seeing this shook her head and went to take a seat. She knew that when Yui was thinking about complicated topics, she would simply stop talking about them while her brain worked on overdrive.
Rather than disturbing her, it was better for her to stay silent and wait until she received her orders.
Once again, Yui did not disappoint.
Her brain was currently working in overdrive as she was trying to make the connections, finding the missing link so to speak.
In the end, she came to a simple conclusion…
"We aren't the only ones doing the hunting."
Theresa Kaminari had already proposed her opinion that the Vampire was acting too organized to simply be a baby or just a crazy stray.
'Is Theresa herself the goal? or simply just someone from the Department?'
She mused silently in her mind.
Theresa was a Director. Even Yui did not know if she could face someone who was crazy enough to try to lure a Director in a trap. It was necessary to re evaluate her involvement in this whole affair.
In the end, it seemed like she would have to move personally and also call the Alberdini and the Paranormal department for backup and countermeasures.
There was no way in hell she was going to be the one to take all the risks.
"Also, before I forget again, did you send Adam his money?"
Even though they had not been able to open up during this week as all her personnel were busy, the revenue from the first night was still pretty startling for an upstart place such as theirs.
Adam may have not reached the highest rank, but thanks to Bridget Bishop spending money on a good and more importantly— expensive, bottle of wine, Adam was still able to pull in a pretty generous amount.
Nikola shrugged her shoulders, "Do not worry. I may not like him very much, but I respect the results he has achieved. His money should reach him by the end of the day."
"Good."
Yui would have been quite disappointed in Nikola if she blocked or delayed this transfer. There was nothing more ugly than useless pettiness, after all.
"Now… I need to make a few phone calls and prepare for the operation ahead. Go warn Mammoth and prepare our stock of silver bullets and holy water. We are going to hunt down that bitch as soon as we can. Trap or not."
Soon, they would get rid of that pesky vampire and she would finally be able to go back to her main activity.
Making a shit ton of money and increasing her influence.
Nikola nodded but hesitated a little before leaving for her task. Her expression showed her mental struggle but in the end, she couldn't help but ask the question that had been troubling her for a while already…
"I have seen some of Adam's files when I was sending him the money."
Yui looked up, her eyes growing a little cold with each letter that came out of Nikola's mouth…
"And?"
"The new director. Doesn't she…?"
"You want to know if she is interested in a young man like Adam or not, I presume…"
Yui interrupted Nikola with a gentle smile, which forced her to gulp down whatever she was about to confirm with her boss.
In the end, she simply nodded without speaking further about her thoughts, "Indeed. I thought it would be worth giving it a try?"
"Haha. I would like to give it a try too. Now please do as I ordered you."
It was only after Nikola left that Yui relaxed and closed her eyes in delight, "Yes. There. I have been feeling some pain in my back lately."
A massage was truly such a heavenly thing. As for the fact that the Director strangely looked like Adam's mother?
This wasn't her problem, to begin with. Her only goal was Adam's well-being, after all.
CH 93: POSSIBLE GRAVITY TRAINING?
[LA International Airport]
It was already the next day after Adam woke up from his slumber and his visit to the Library of Akasha.
Even though months went by inside the Nexus, only a few hours passed by in the real world. But this changed nothing about his inevitable destiny.
Adam died once again due to the effect of the time dilation coming back at him in full force. Eve had made it clear and he already experienced it last time.
Even though only a few hours went by in the real world, when he comes back, his body would act as if he went through the whole four months. This mean No food and no water for that amount of time.
Obviously, like last time, the only possible results was Death.
The good thing, as sad as it may be, was that dying from 3 weeks of famine or four months of famine was the same regardless. So the pain did not particularly increase or decrease this time around.
He just hated the feeling of feeling like there was absolutely nothing in his stomach, not even the juices that constituted that place. It was painful, scary, sickening, and honestly traumatizing. It was a feeling that could simply not be described with mere words.
Thankfully, he was able to push back those feelings behind as he went to take a bath and finally slept for the rest of the night.
This was a necessary sleep and recuperation time for him as he was mentally and physically drained after all the studying he had to do back in the Library.
Once the morning came up, Cecilia excitedly pushed him around by asking him to follow her to the airport to receive her friend.
She even rented a large car for this occasion and now was waiting with him outside of the airport for the arrival of her old friend during her days as a hunter.
He initially insisted that she wait in the car, but she wouldn't accept his proposal no matter what so he had to relent.
'Genesis, show me my current status.'
『 Name: Adam Gospel
Affiliation: N/A
Alias: N/A
Race: Primogenitor
Age: 21
Weakness: Curse of Cain (Undergoing Evolution)
Acquired Power: Book of Genesis
Innate Authority: [Origin] || [Domination]
Unique Skill: [The World] || [Fear]
Skills: [Eyes of Truth] || [Parallel Thinking] || [Accelerated Perception] || [Silver Tongue] || [Eidetic Memory]
Overall Combat Capacity: C+
Remark: Your rank is lower than what it should be. You should start working on your existing skills rather than adding more of them so as to reach your full potential before aiming for greater heights. 』
His status panel had changed drastically compared to what it once was when he first opened the book of genesis to look at his parameters.
It was hard to believe that all of this was the result of just one week of intense training.
'Well, I guess it isn't exactly one week, per se.'
Around five months in total in the Library and if you added the experience he gathered from Buddha's life, then it went to a few decades at the very least.
Adam was once again thankful for the help Genesis brought to him.
The skill [Fear] was the name of the new skill he had acquired due to his innate authority – Origin – reacting with his other innate authority resulting in the birth of a Unique skill. Initially, he wished to call it [Predator Aura] or something along those lines. But he had been too embarrassed to go through with it.
In the end, the only thing that bothered Adam was the scathing but sadly truthful remark he had once again received from his status board.
He knew that he should be able to do so much more with his powers. But it wasn't a problem. At least, he had the foundation and his control of Gravity was slowly increasing and enhancing with his rigorous training.
"Say mom, do you think training under gravity would help me accelerate my growth?"
Cecilia, who had been listening to music, looked at Adam like he was some sort of a maniac before guffawing out loud.
"Well, I can understand where you are coming from. It isn't like you are the first one to think about something like that. There were indeed artificial gravitational chambers used for training strength in the past."
She continued, "Well, from the get go, forget about the 100G or 200G stuff. While I think there are some monsters who could withstand it and I believe I could do the same using Prana, the moment I take my Prana away, I will become a sight-restricted PG-18 scene element as I paint the floor with my blood, guts, and mushed up body."
Adam grimaced at the weird image Cecilia conjured within him with her words. He was sure that he never wished to witness such a scene in his life.
"Realistically. A human can barely survive in the 2G and 3G would be enough to make them faint and even for a powerful hunter, training in 3 to 4G without Prana is the limit. So the project was deemed a failure for a while." [1]
"I feel like there is a But somewhere in there."
"There are butts everywhere my dear son."
Adam threw a deadpan look at Cecilia after her cheap attempt at a joke, "Mom…Seriously? This is the best you came up with?"
Cecilia at least had the shame to cough and look aside, "So, as I was saying."
She continued nonchalantly as if the previous episode never happened but she could not meet eyes with Adam as she still felt some amount of shame due to her previous lame attempt at a joke, "Training strength and speed was deemed to be useless. But, using 2 or 3G, it's possible for hunters to train their motor skills to a great degree. In fact, your mother, and by that I mean Mei, had to go through such training to master the Lightning Sword Art."
Adam mused. He didn't really need training in motor skills. At least he thought he didn't. It wasn't like he was moving much when using his power.
But if the plan he had in mind worked, it would be very useful.
Adam didn't have much experience fighting in the supernatural world, but he knew very well that no matter what kind of fight it was, staying put without moving was asking for a beating.
Thanks to his new control over gravity, it would be possible to move even faster and also slow down the enemy.
Even if he couldn't apply much gravity now, what if he constantly changed the gravity to bother his opponent? This would be the nightmare for any close combat fighter trying to reach him.
Adam was thinking about a variety of tactics and viable strategies when he felt Cecilia's heartbeat accelerate.
He looked up, and from afar, he could see two large men, one old and young walking towards them.
He had an inkling that these two were the one they were waiting for and his Eye of Truth confirmed this.
[Name: Makarov Björn Ulvaeus
Affiliation: Hunter Association; Sons of Ivaldi;
Alias: Godly Smith, Human dwarf, Metal's whisperer.
Race: Human
Age: 78
Stats: Unable to showcase due to the low proficiency of the skill…]
[Name: Viktor Andersson
Affiliation: Makarov Björn Ulvaeus
Alias: N/A
Race: Human
Age: 26
Stats: Unable to showcase due to the low proficiency of the skill…]
CH 94: MAKAROV AND VIKTOR
[LA International Airport]
Backtracking to a bit earlier in the past, when both Viktor and Makarov stepped out of the airplane, they ignored the fact that how some people were obviously stepping aside when they got closer to them.
Makaraov was wearing a pair of black glasses and a black suit that made him look like some bouncer from a bar and Viktor wasn't dressed much differently from his grandson.
All the way from the airport, Viktor kept scratching his face, which caused Makarov to growl out some words in annoyance…
"Stop touching ya face, boy. You are attracting unneeded attention."
Viktor was only able to provide a sheepish smile in response. He was sure that their appearance already attracted enough attention as is but, in the end, he listened to his grandfather's words like the good grandson that he was.
"I am sorry. I'm just feeling a little itchy in my jaws."
"You will get used to it. Can't have you showing your true face now, can we?"
"Heh…What about you then?"
"Ya think if I didn't use the potion like you the flight would have been peaceful?"
Makaravo scoffed at Viktor. Even though he had officially retired from the blacksmithing scene, the moment he stepped outside of his territory, he would be hounded by the government or wannabe hunters from rich families wishing for a custom weapon. If worse comes to worst, his whereabouts would be leaked to criminals and the number that actually wanted to put a slave spell on him or simply kill him was just too many to count.
For traveling purposes, not only did he use an appearance-changing potion that was concocted by his little girl, a witch who specialized more in traditional alchemy, but he also had to use one of the many fake documents he had on hand.
"But… Will your friend be able to recognize us in our disguise?"
"Don't worry. She will know."
Makarov did not explain more and simply walked outside after they took their luggage from the luggage acquisition section.
At first, they were pretty lost about where to go but it didn't take long for them to find the people who were waiting for the arrival of the passengers.
Viktor looked up at the two people standing close to a car. One was a beautiful but pale woman with scarlet red hair and the second was a rather handsome young man.
He had no time to study the young man's features more deeply as the red-haired woman strode towards them with a confident grin on her enchanting yet somewhat sickly face…
"Old man. This face makes you look pretty scary, you know?"
"Hahaha. Your natural face is what is scary."
The two chuckled before Makarov hugged Cecilia tightly, "It's good to see ya, lass. I really thought you died in a ditch or something."
Cecilia patted the strong back of her old friend, "I am quite alright, old man."
They separated from their hug as Makarov scanned Cecilia up and down and the more he did so, the deeper the frown stretching above his scary mask became…
"You… What happened to you, girl?"
He hadn't noticed her condition at first. But the Cecilia standing in front of them right now was so frail that it went beyond his comprehension.
Cecilia as he remembered was like the sun. Her Prana always burnt with unequaled power and vigor while her aura would make people instinctively realize that they were standing in front of someone they should not mess with.
Cecilia was the incarnation of brutality and pure unadulterated power. Even tearing a few Dullahan apart or destroying a few death knights barehanded was just like having breakfast for her. Too common to be mentioned.
But now… Now Cecilia was like a dried lamp with a flickering light inside— ready to vanish at any moment.
"How are…"
"Let's talk about that later over a drink, shall we?"
Makarov scrutinized Cecilia's eyes before nodding in acceptance. He took a deep breath and calmed down his saddened heart.
"Very well. But I swear if you bring some wimpy drink out I am going to riot."
"Don't worry. I have something set aside that should satisfy you."
Cecilia took a few steps back and looked at the young man accompanying Makarov. She squinted her eyes slightly as she was searching through her memory for the identity of the youth.
"Is this…?"
"Yeah. It's my grandson. The one you saved alongside me and my family."
Makarov ruffled Viktor's hair before grinning at the young man standing next to Cecilia. His eyebrow rose in surprise when he noticed the obvious Japanese features and a face that was closer to someone else he remembered from his old memories.
'Hmmm…'
"Is it your lad? A little scrawny, isn't he?"
Cecilia's mouth stretched to form a toothy grin as she patted Adam on the back, causing him to take a few steps forward due to the impact of her violent patting,
"Yeah. It's Adam and don't just look at his appearance, you would be surprised by what he is capable of."
Makarov tilted his head in confusion before giving a second and more profound look at Adam. Trying to see him for what he really was. Now that he looked at it more clearly…
He could indeed notice something weird from the boy. Even though Adam did not have a bulky frame, his muscles seemed to be full of explosive power.
"Definitely interesting, yea…"
Adam advanced further and finally introduced himself to the foreign guests, "Hi. It's the first time I have met one of mom's friends so I don't really know what to say. Thanks for coming here, I guess."
Makarov looked at Adam and then at Cecilia. He continued that back and forth for a few times as obvious disbelief shone in his eyes. "Tell me the truth. Did you kidnap that kid from somewhere? Otherwise, there's no way you can raise such a polite lad."
"Hey. I would like to let you know I raised him quite well."
Adam smiled as he watched Cecilia banter with the old man who would make some bodybuilders question their reason for existence and advanced toward Viktor.
"Hi. I am Adam."
Viktor scratched his chin, still a little uncomfortable and also a little shy.
Despite how big he was, Viktor was quite shy when dealing with people his age. After all, in his village, there was basically no one close to his age with whom he could play.
He was also busy taking lessons from his grandfather so he didn't even have time to make friends with the few people his age.
"Viktor."
He immediately winced at the gruff way his introduction came out. But Adam was not offended.
He could see the halo behind Viktor and Makarov due to his skills.
Viktor's was a deep green and Makarov's was also a green with a hint of gold treading along the edges.
"I feel like the two of us will become good friends."
He brought his hand forward for a handshake to which Viktor answered with a big hearty smile.
CH 95: BIG OR SMALL
The car they had taken was too small for the four of them and their luggage. So they had to work around this by calling and renting an SUV.
Adam thought that he would take Viktor in the first car while Cecilia would go with Makarov and catch up with him.
But it was actually the opposite.
This was how Adam found himself alone in the small car with that giant grandpa while driving silently.
The road was open and thankfully, while there was some traffic jams, it wasn't as bad as it could be during rush hour.
Even though they were in November, the weather was quite beautiful with an ideal temperature.
"Oh… It has been a while since I visited LA or the USA in general. But I remember now why I avoided this country like the plague."
Adam was quite intrigued by the sudden topic as he had thought that they would stay silent all the way.
Since the old man had spoken, Adam obviously could not stay silent, "Why is it so?"
"Nothin', I just dislike crowded cities. Too many people. Everyone ignoring each other. Walking while looking down at their phones, not even looking up at the beautiful sky and thanking the gods for another beautiful day."
Makarov shook his head, "Ever since humans learned how to create light, they forgot how dangerous the dark is. Rather than working together, egoism and individualism are prioritized."
Adam looked at Makarov as he spoke dispassionately about this. It seemed like rather than true outrage,
"You seem tired."
"Heh…You are perspective. I like that. You need all your wits when fighting."
Makarov laughed. "Do you want to listen to the rambling of an old man? If you don't we can just listen to whatever music is popular these days."
Adam shrugged, "I don't really like modern music."
"Haha…"
The old man grinned and ruffled Adam's hair, "You are truly a good lad. Cecilia did a good job."
Makarov's hand was big enough to nearly cover all of Adam's head.
Feeling this large hand on his head, Adam had to admit that he felt quite weird. All his life, Adam had been raised by Cecilia and sometime Shuri. Cecilia had given her all, playing a mother, father, and every role possible to make him feel at ease.
But there was no doubt that when he was younger, he sometimes wondered what it would feel like to have a man in his life. Cecilia did not seem interested in any relationship ever since she had him.
He did not know how his life would have been different if he had a father or someone playing that role. He would have certainly been different. But whether this would have been for the better or the worse was something to debate.
Makarov had this grandfather aura that made people feel at ease immediately once they spoke to him.
The two of them spoke about simple things. Mostly Makarov complained about a few things but conceded that some changes were good and necessary.
But if there was one thing that was clear it was that he did not like the current state of Hunter.
"See boy. I seem like an old stubborn man when I say this but hunters nowadays aren't good."
"Is it that bad? Like how hunters are weaker than the past?"
Makarov laughed but shook his head, "In terms of individual power. Hunters nowadays aren't inferior to even legends of the past. We have stronger weapons and better technology. At least, I believe that hunters nowadays lose to no hunter from the Age of Men."
Unlike the normal subdivision of history used by humans. The hunters divided History in four Great Eras.
The Lost Era.
The Age of Gods.
The Age of Spirits
The Age of Men.
During the Age of Men, most special monsters such a Dragons or Fairy slowly vanished from the surface of the earth.
"Adam. Even though Humans nowadays are more powerful than even some heroes from the age of Spirits, we would never be able to face the same trials."
Nowadays all hunters want to upgrade their strength by any means.
They would not hesitate to even improve their bodies by replacing their flesh with cold and hard iron.
But this thirst for power was simply for their own good and not the good of humanity as a whole.
Makarov knew that this kind of person were always the fastest one to run when shit really hit the fan.
The one who spoke the loudest would always go back and hide like the cowards they were.
"I don't make weapons for cowards."
Cowards were dastardly but at least they could help a little.
"I don't make weapons for traitors of humanity either."
Makarov liked the initiative to become closer to the supernatural world. He had been very close to the dwarves and joined their groups.
He had even discussed it with a few elves. Even though those elves had a stick so far up their arses he wondered how they could sit.
But what he hated more than anything where humans ready to sacrifice other humans in the search of greater power.
"I will be honest with ya kid. Cecilia asked me a favor for your weapon. I could just make a good one and go. But I don't do shit like that."
He was lying. Whatever happened, he would never be able to create a weapon after this.
But Adam didn't need to know that.
"I want to know you better. I want to see how you move. How you fight. How you think? What your convictions are."
Adam stayed silent, "To judge whether I am Worthy of your weapon or something?"
"Nah. To judge exactly what kind of weapon you need."
Makarov grinned, "Also to judge you a little."
He laughed out loud.
This would be his last masterpiece. He would take his time to create the most perfect weapon possible.
"So tell me, Adam."
Now there was one important thing. The very first question he needed to ask to better understand the boy.
"Do you like them big or small?"
Adam coughed and nearly hit the brakes.
"You are speaking about weapons, right?"
Makarov gave a sly grin as he drawled, "Of course. What else could I be talking about?"
Adam was speechless. It was hard to put this joking old man with the previous serious one.
He realized now that only someone with a strong personality could become Cecilia's friend.
CH 96: A PART OF THE TRUTH
The rest of the drive home proceeded without much problem as Adam continued to have some discussions with Makarov.
He had expected Makarov to ask more deep questions that would paint a picture of him in his mind. Like what were his convictions or his goals in life?
But unexpectedly, there were no such heavy questions or the feeling of interrogation in their discussion.
Makarov just asked relatively simple and normal questions while trying to understand him on a deeper level without making him uncomfortable about it. He also wanted to know where he came from.
He whistled out loud when Adam told him he was studying to become a lawyer and clapped his big hands to encourage him in his studies.
From what he relayed to him, it seems like many hunters actively hid their true identities in the real world when working and led kind of a double life. A normal one with their families and friends and on the flip side, the life they led as hunters.
It was normal. Even cops and judges could sometimes receive retaliation from criminals. Even though what their jobs entailed was just the detention and judgment of individuals.
For hunters whose job was to simply kill and root out the supernatural threats that haunted the world, 8 out 10 times, the degree of retaliation they received was much higher and deadlier than anything any human job could hope to entail.
This was how the world worked. This was also why hunters received quite a bit of money as payment for their hunts.
Official hunters could be related to the Paranormal department of their countries or they could also opt-out to work independently. Some hunters specialized in exploration and adventuring, while others like Makarov were more focused on working with monster materials to create a multitude of items.
Makarov even talked about gourmet hunters who would search for the best supernatural ingredients in the world to create the best buff-inducing food with overwhelming effects.
Children from rich hunter families were basically fed the best elixirs and the greatest food possible from the start of their hunter journey, making it so that they had quite a bit of advantage compared to other unprivileged hunters. This was also one of the reasons why clans and families were so good at producing strong individuals consistently.
Small talk like this between them continued on until they finally reached their destination. Thanks to Makarov, he had been able to get a deeper insight into the hunter community of the present times as a whole. He was positive that this bit of information would help him greatly in future scenarios.
Knowledge was power. This was a motto that Adam had made his lifelong goal to abide by. Even if he was cursed as stupid in the future because of his way of living, he believed it was still worthwhile. After all, the demarcation line between a madman and a prodigy was finer than what most were aware of.
"This is a cozy-looking house."
When the two cars pulled over in front of their apartment, Makarov looked at the small house and commented in a positive light. He could see that it was well-built and beautiful with nothing extra. The beauty of this property was relayed in its simplicity.
A simple house for a simple family—
Well, not really that simple if one were to dig deep but that didn't matter…
"Is it your way of saying my house is small?"
"Well… I doubt there will be much space for two big men like us in there."
Cecilia chortled out loud and brought them inside the relatively small house.
"Adam, please help Viktor put the baggage in the Guest room. I need to talk with Makarov in private."
Adam simply shrugged in acknowledgment and motioned the gentle giant to follow him to the Guest room. Which resulted in Cecilia and Makarov together and they climbed the stairs to reach a particular room.
'As expected, huh…'
The room in question was the one where Mei Kaminari was enshrined. Cecilia said nothing as she led him and closed the door behind them.
Makarov also asked nothing of Cecilia. He simply walked up to the altar and sat down to pay his respects to the departed woman.
While he wasn't close to the girl, he knew that she was an exceptional hunter. A person who always gave her all to protect the common people without being blinded by greed or a desire to become some sort of celebrity. Neither seeking attention nor asking for acknowledgment. A lone wolf.
A cold and lonely blade.
The two of them stayed silent for one minute straight. Both of them were praying and asking for the betterment of the soul of the wonderful and brave woman.
In the end, after observing one minute of silence, Makarov couldn't help but question…
"Can I ask what happened?"
Cecilia continued to stay silent for a while and Makarov did not interrupt her silence with further questioning. In the end, she gave her answer,
"This is not my secret to share so I cannot go into details."
Even though she knew everything about Adam and his origins, she had no right nor did she wish to spread his true origin from his paternal side.
She believed in Makarov and knew that the man was a staunch ally of peace between the different species. A pretty ironic reality when one realized that many of those going against the so-called peace he preached and worked for to uphold all his life had weapons created by he himself.
In the end, anything related to Cain was bound to bring a change to the world. So, she deemed it better to be kept a secret.
"What I can say though is that Adam is indeed Mei's biological son."
She wished for Adam to return back to his roots sooner or later. This meant visiting Japan and entering the main family.
Makarov frowned at her words. This situation was becoming pretty complicated, far more than what he initially of it. He had no doubt that once politics was involved things always progressively turned to a worse fate.
"Well, either way, his ancestry doesn't change much to my plan. Once I get to know him better, I will create the weapon."
When Makarov decided to create a unique weapon, he would take his time to observe all the smallest details possible for the one who would use it.
This went beyond simply taking a few measurements of the body.
Not only would he measure the body proportions, but he would also calculate, the strength, speed, and motor reflexes of the individual. Even establishing a complete phycological record to understand what might plague their minds and how to use or destroy those plagues.
Creating weapons or armor was an art that started with rather tiring but worthwhile work.
"So, what is your opinion for now?"
"Heh, he is alright. I do not feel much passion from him. I can see that he isn't really happy about becoming a hunter or maybe simply doesn't care about it. But, I still like his personality. At least for now."
Makarov grinned, "Now I will go, I need to find a good place to open our forge."
CH 97: MAGICAL GATE
When Adam and Viktor started to take out the luggage, Adam was quite surprised to notice that there was next to no equipment in the luggage they carried with them.
From what Cecilia had relayed to him they were here to make a weapon for him. He doubted that they could create a weapon like that in the basement of the house with absolutely no equipment but at the same time, it wasn't as if he understood how Prana-filled weapons were created, in the first place.
For all he knew, perhaps they were created out of nothing.
Thanks to how light everything in the luggage was, they were able to finish the task of unloading the items pretty fast.
"So… Now what?"
"Now laddie… We work the magic."
Makarov grinned wide, showing his pristine white teeth, as he walked behind them and inspected everything.
Once he was satisfied, he nodded and took two of the luggage out from the pile before walking down with Cecilia.
"Come. I am sure you will be quite surprised by what I am about to show you."
The more mysterious they acted, the more intrigued he became with everything.
—
When they entered the basement of their home, both Makarov and Viktor started their work.
For starters, they reached the farthest wall of the underground room and touched it slightly as if they were judging the quality of the wall. Once they were satisfied with whatever the hell they were inspecting from the standard wall, Makarov took out a chalk from one of the pieces of luggage and started drawing something on the wall. Meanwhile, Viktor took out what seemed to look like a large shawl out of somewhere.
The drawing of the art continued for ten minutes straight and when the circle was finally finished, even Adam had to admit that he felt a little dizzy trying to remember all the shapes of architecture and the drawings that were drawn in the middle of the shapes.
It was extremely complex and he admired how dexterous Makarov had been to be able to dish something like this out in just ten minutes.
"This, you see, is a magic circle created by the Dwarves. Those midgets may act like uncouth brawlers, but when it comes to things like these they are extremely dexterous and competent."
The old man chuckled as he put back the chalk and received the shawl alongside a few nails made wholly out of wood as well as a hammer that also seemingly looked to be made out of some wood. It was a bit confusing.
"This a construct made by a spider monster. Very resistant and filled with Prana so it's extremely useful when it comes to rituals. As for the wooden equipment, heh, even though it may look like this but these fragile-looking things are as hard as the hardest metal you can find on earth. They have a really complicated name in the Dwarven tongue but I simply call them metal wood."
Makarov laughed and once the shawl was draped and fixated by the nail over the previously drawn circle.
He took a vial filled with red liquid of an unknown yet magical substance, judging from the eerie glow it was giving off,
"This is where it becomes interesting. This vial is filled with my blood and a few ingredients. Only the ones who had been recognized by the dwarves can obtain such a vial and learn how to draw this circle. This also means that without their approval, learning this circle is utterly useless as it just won't respond and would remain just a complex geometrical shape on the wall."
He chuckled as he gave a pointed look at Viktor, causing the latter to blush, "I was just a kid. It didn't even work out, in the end."
Makarov snorted, "Be happy that it didn't work. Those nasty guys put a trap so if you actually succeeded, you would have been sent to a rather dreadful and deadly place."
By now, Adam was able to understand that they were drawing something akin to a portal.
Makarov stopped teasing his grandson and took a small brush, dipped it in the blood-filled vial, and started to draw again.
The circle was nearly identical to the previous one but since he had a perfect memory, Adam was able to notice some subtle differences in the emplacement of a few shapes and images and the addition of a few new signs.
"The first circle is fixed and used to open the gate. The second circle will always change depending on your actual position. Even moving a few centimeters on the side would need completely new coordinates and all of these are things only dwarves know about."
"This seems rather complicated."
Makarov shook his head at Adam's words, "The dwarves are the most peaceful out of all earthly supernatural creatures. They are also the weakest and most easily deceived. All they wish for is to mold metal. Now tell me, what would you do if you saw a bunch of small and weak guys who could create weapons of mass destruction for anyone and everyone?"
"Hah…"
"Indeed. Either get them to work for you or make sure they can work for no one else."
Sadness colored his voice as he continued drawing and spoke about the dreadful circumstances of the dwarves, "The Dwarves' history is filled with mass exodus, slavery, mass genocide, and the like. So they all fled undergrounds and created ways for them to move fast and hide in special bunkers when it was dangerous."
He then laughed, "Well, nowadays things are a little easier for them. So they started creating those gates. I am pretty sure they even sold a few more customized ones that were not connected to the dwarven network."
He was able to complete the circle while joking around and once the work was done, he stretched his bones.
"Sigh, I am getting old. Viktor, we should work on your initiation soon. I can't always be the one to open this."
Unlike what Adam imagined, Viktor did not show a happy face at those words. He simply let out a sigh and stood up.
"Let's do this."
The pair placed their hands on the new circle and slowly started pouring Prana into it.
Light flashed, blinding everyone for a while, and when it slowly stopped, at the place where the shawl was, now stood a rusty-looking door.
Makarov nodded, "This isn't an emergency gate. So the full calibration will take a few days. So in the meantime…Why don't you show Viktor some sights around LA? My boy was never really able to leave his village until now."
Adam looked up and down toward the shy giant that was Viktor and thought for a while.
Who could help him visit the interesting places of LA, do some shopping with him and perhaps go to a few clubs and show him the steps for a few dances?
The answer was more than evident when all things were considered.
"Excuse me a sec."
Taking out his phone. Adam wrote a simple message,
[Sae, I choose you.]
Adam knew that he wasn't the best for an outing like this. Only a wild Sae was up to the task.
The answer came as fast as he had thought of messaging the girl.
[What is the mission?]
He grinned, this was going to be fun. At the same time he thought of Natasha and Alberto. Mainly Alberto. The man had not been coming to school for nearly a week now.
At first, he wasn't worried. Skipping a few times was normal. But now he wondered if he should pay him a visit.
[Hey, Alberto, are you free now for an outing?]
He also sent the same message to Natasha. Generally, he was the one skipping activities like this. It was a first for him.
CH 98: I AM A MORON
A few minutes after Adam sent the message, he directly received an answer from Natasha who expressed that she would come. Sae was already raring to go and asked the time and place of the meeting.
The only problem was Alberto who did not answer any of his messages. He also tried to call but his call would simply be redirected no matter what he did.
Thinking like this there was nothing Adam could do. He just hoped that whatever Alberto was doing, it wasn't a problem too big.
Once everything was good, Cecilia and Makarov decided to go walk outside a little while Adam told Viktor to start preparing himself.
The plan all things considered was pretty simple. Go out in one or two hours, meet the girls at the square, go shopping a little, perhaps watch a movie or sightsee then if everyone was still up for it, go to a club when the night comes.
It was a simple and solid program with a wide opening for any possible changes.
Currently, Adam was alone in his bathroom and wiping himself off after a lengthy hot bath when he heard his phone ringing.
Curious, he continued to wipe the water while he 'Looked' at the screen of his phone and activated it with the code.
He was surprised when he noticed that it was a message from the bank.
But what surprised him more than anything was the notification about the money,
[$5000 was just sent to your account.]
Adam tilted his head as he wondered who the fuck was trying to prank him or trick him with some fake message.
When the phone started vibrating as a call from an unknown number tried to join him, he immediately snorted.
He was sure now that it was some sort of con man trying to rip him off.
Even though this didn't happen as much nowadays, con artists would always find a way to take money from people by cheating them and acting like victims.
But since he was feeling pretty curious now, he decided to take the call after all, it might be a funny episode.
"Hello"
[This is Nikola. Did you receive the money?]
A calm voice came from the other side. Even though it was a littles different because of the sound of the transmitter, he directly recognized the source.
Adam immediately wiped away all trace of amusement and spoke clearly,
"I did. Though I admit I thought it was some scammer."
Adam was honestly quite surprised. For many people, even $3500 dollars was quite a lot. [1]
The average person spent around that amount of money to live for a month. It wouldn't be a super extravagant life but it would still be one with a roof above your head.
Now he had made nearly double of that and all of this– in one night? Or rather more like a few hours of simply discussing with a few women.
He wanted to ask if the results were accurate but in the end he simply sighed.
"Thanks for sending it. I will talk to Yui."
He could feel the way the breath of the Nikola hitched. It seemed like she truly wanted to remonstrate him.
Perhaps hating how he lightly called her boss, Yui.
But in the end, there was nothing she could do.
[Prepare yourself. We should open again Normal next week. Though don't expect revenue like this one everyday if you don't work hard.]
In the end, it was impossible for Yui to entirely take care of this business. She had many different things she needed to do or try.
Nikola was the representative and as such, the results of the Bar would directly reflect on her.
She wished she could tell Adam to get lost. As having someone so inexperienced was a pain. But she respected Yui's opinion and would do nothing as long as Adam worked.
When Adam heard about the new of the approaching opening, he was quite excited.
He now had other ways to make money. He was sure that working as a hunter would be more lucrative.
But working as a Host now was both a quick way for him to make money but also a way to increase his influence.
If he could get to become closer with a few influential women, it could help make many things easier in his life.
Even beyond that,
'Bridget Bishop.'
Adam did not forget Lilith's advice. For now he was not particularly interested in meeting that Witch.
But in the future, when he could better protect himself or become able to flee faster in front of danger, he would seek her out.
He wondered if she could teach him Magic. He wished to know what was the main differences between magic and the power in his domain.
—
After a good shower, Adam came down to see that Viktor was already ready.
"Sorry man, my shower took a little too long."
"Don't worry."
Viktor shook his head to which Adam grinned, "Truly a man of few words. Anyway, let's go. We rented the car for 24h it would be a shame to not use it."
Viktor wasn't the only one in dire need of clothes.
In the past, he had never cared about how he looked. So clothes didn't matter.
But now this changed and he realized that outside of the suits Yui, then Aleksandra gave to him, he had no other particularly decent clothes.
"Ohh. So Adam finally gonna dress up? I remember I had to fight tooth and nail to bring you to department store for clothes."
Adam groaned and ignored Cecilia who grinning at him while munching on an apple.
He looked at the apple blankly before uttering a curse.
"I am a goddamn moron."
Cecilia tilted her head, "Why the sudden self, realization?"
She joked a little, but when she saw his expression, the smile faded from her face.
Cecilia was someone who could always differentiate between the appropriate moment for joking and the one for being serious.
She had the distinct impression that she had to be serious this time.
Adam hesitated a little then sighed, "Later. Let's speak about that when I come back. It's good new…At least I believe it is."
Adam finally remembered about the map Eve gave him.
Because of his death as soon as he returned, following Cecilia to the airport as soon as he woke up, his brain must have been quite shambled.
It was only after seeing the apple that he remembered the Map in his mind engraved with the design of a golden apple.
This also helped him realize that just because he had a perfect memory did not actually mean that he had all his memories constantly floating in his mind.
Adam gave a look at Cecilia. Before looking at Viktor.
He had obtained a nap that would indicate a plate in northern Europe most likely, or as close as to where the Vikings must have initially lived.
Just one day before two actual north Europeans who had deep links with the dwarves spoken in Nordic myth and who were indebted to his mother came to their house.
Coincidence?
Adam did not think so.
CH 99: EDGE
[Natasha's House — Underground Dungeon]
Deep under the mini castle that was Natasha's home was the dungeon of horrors Aleksandra used to torture the victims they needed information out of.
This torture room's latest resident was a mercenary hunter going by the codename of Smoker, the leader of the Edge Mercenaries.
"Well, I must say, You were certainly a tough nut to crack."
Unlike what one would think, Smoker's current appearance was completely spotless. No one could find even a drop of blood in his clothes even if they were to search with a microscope. In no way did he look like someone who had gone through a heavy torture session.
But the ground below him was littered with blood and gore. Proof that something horrible did indeed happen to him not long ago.
Aleksandra meanwhile, was wiping and cleaning her now bloody tools. She was very careful with the way she used the towel. So much so that one had the impression she was taking care of her greatest lover.
It was only after it was done that she gave another glance toward Smoker. She advanced towards him and took a chair before sitting face to face with the now broken man.
Smoker's face was haggard, his expression was somewhat lost but he seemed still able to think for himself.
Raising his head with difficulty, he looked at the beautiful black-haired woman sitting in front of him with a smile tugged on her mature yet beautiful sustenance. That beautiful and enchanting face of a mature lady was, in fact, hiding a vicious and merciless monster.
Those last few days had been hell for him. Not only did he suffer from psychological torture, but also the guilt of dying and leaving nearly all his companions. As if that wasn't enough, she would inflict him the greatest pain while never asking him anything after.
Indeed, even to this day, she had still not asked anything from him. He had an inkling about what she wanted and he had even been ready to answer her.
But— There were no questions. None whatsoever.
Torture and endless torture and when he was about to reach the brink and attain the sweet release of death, he would be healed by a priest and a new round of agony and suffering would start.
"You are… A sadistic bitch."
"Heh… You should blame the inquisition. I was trained following their program."
She gave a light laugh and licked her lips.
"Very well, my friend. Now I will ask you three important questions. 1) Where is your remaining ally? 2) What was the exact goal? 3) Who ordered you to come?"
She asked once and stayed silent, crossing her feet, she waited for him to speak.
"I want you to promise you will let go of Transporter.."
"Such a thoughtful leader. Very nice. But it won't change the reality. Now tell me."
Smoke resigned himself to his destiny, "At least… Give them the money they deserve."
He knew that the amount of money he had stored away was nothing for big people like them. He also knew that by telling them about this now, he was basically giving them his entire handle. But such a thing didn't have any importance right now. It was a necessary gamble that he needed to make.
"Money? You mean your secret stash?"
"No. Another one."
"Hmm… I usually don't make deals. But I like you. Let's do it."
Smoker gave a bitter smile. To think the well-being of his friend's family was just something that would be resolved on a whim of a woman.
Smoker began to speak as he gave all the information he obtained when they received the commission.
They had hacked the information base thanks to Diary's powers and had made sure to know who their employer was.
Aleksandra stopped smirking when she heard the information that was being relayed to her by the man. What she hated more than anything were stupid young masters who could only think with their dicks.
The Clan was mostly active in Los Angeles and Russia. They had close to nothing linking them with the Native wolves in Las Vegas.
If the young man had challenged Natasha to a duel and won the bout, then there was nothing she could do about this. She might even have respected the man for his courage to challenge her Lady for her hand in marriage and coming out triumphant.
'Are people looking down on us now?'
Did they grow too soft? Or was it because they were not as renowned in America as they were in Russia?
Either way….
'I guess we can use it.'
Las Vegas was a true land of opportunity and like a dog finding a bone, there was no way she would let this chance slip out of her hand. If they could dip their hands in the honey jar and share the revenue, this would increase their influence in California and America as a whole.
When Smoker finished explaining everything his head slumped a little. He knew that he had outlived his usefulness now. There was no other way for him to escape his inevitable fate. It was time for his demise. And he was ready for it.
"Smoker… No, I should call you, Mark…. Mark, would you like to have a smoke?"
Smoker gave a low chuckle as he looked at the hand holding a big cigar.
He knew very well the meaning behind this. Since it was so. At least he would go down with some dignity.
Taking the cigar from her hand, he looked as she lit it up.
His hazy gaze seemed to be fixated on the horizon as memories of the past replayed in his head.
They all had dreams. They were all rejected by society. People from the slums who had lost everything dear to them because of the Supernatural creatures and as a result obtained the power to "see" through the Veil covering this world.
They grew up in this harsh hardened world. They had no means to become powerful hunters as they did not have a great family supporting them. But each of them worked hard in their own way and they continued to grow until they were recognized and respected by the world.
He took a deep breath of the cigar, inhaling the smoke with it, and ignored Aleksandra as she stood up and walked behind him.
[You know, where I am from we have a saying — Legends aren't remembered by how they live but rather by how they died. Only by dying in the most epic way possible can one be remembered for eternity.]
He grinned when he remembered what Diary told him when they were still newbie mercenaries and nearly died during a particularly daunting mission.
[So, if we die, let's all die in a cool way at least, right?]
Smoker exhaled as he felt the cold and hard iron against the back of his head.
"Seems like none of us are going to become legends, my friends."
Bang!
Aleksandra did not flinch as blood and brain matter splattered all over her face and clothes.
Her expression was cold and impassive as she looked down at the corpse that now had a large hole in the head.
She looked up at the surveillance camera above…
"Call the cleaning crew and prepare a bath and new clothes for me."
There was not even a ripple in her heart as she walked out. She had simply done and seen too much in her long life to still be affected by such a meager scene.
When she walked out, a maid was holding a towel for her.
"Thanks. Where is the Lady?"
"Miss Natasha just went out a few moments ago. It seems that she received a call from her friend."
"I see."
Her icy and indifferent expression melted as though it was all a lie. Only the news of her Lady could make her smile with joy.
"I hope she will have fun."
This was a somewhat normal day in the life of a devoted maid.
CH 100: SADNESS/JOY
[Los Angeles]
Somewhere in the sewers of Los Angeles, a man was sitting amidst the filth while breathing hard.
His hair was in disarray, his trench coat was dirtied by a mixture of filth and blood and his gaze was empty.
Sometimes, the man would groan in pain. During those moments, his blood would pulsate and shine through his skin, giving an eerie mixte of red and white light.
The right arm of the man looked like an abomination. The same went for his entire right side. Covered in wiggling and decaying flesh, giving a nauseous and putrid odor.
The odor of a rotting body.
*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*
The man was dying. He knew this more than anything else.
'Not yet. Just a little more.'
His trembling left hand fumbled in his pocket until he found what he was searching. A capsule and a syringe.
He planted the syringe in his deformed arm without hesitation and watched a the red liquid was injected until the last drop.
"Hah…"
Invonlatiruly, the man release a moan of relief as he felt his hazy mind clear up. The deformed hand wiggled grotesquely before finally going back to nearly normal.
He swayed as he stood up with great effort. He had one last syringe. He hesitated a little. The pain was simply too much. He wished he could use the last one now and put an end to that pain.
But in the end, all of this would be temporary.
He brought his hand to the bronze locket around his neck. In the past, it had been of silver but he had to give up on it.
"Soon. Just a little more. Please give me your strength."
He closed his eyes. Thinking of a past that would never come back.
Tears streamed from his face as his determination was rekindled all anew.
In the end, did not use it. He remembered once again why he was fighting. Why he had accepted this suicide mission and why he did not fear his approaching end.
'The result of the experiment will be compromised if I am not at my peak.'
Soon, he would fight. This would be the last fight but as long as he could give his all, the main team would be able to have accurate results. This would mean that fewer people would end up like him. He needed to use that syringe at the most appropriate moment rather than just selfishly calm his pain
'For humanity.'
For the betterment of humanity, sacrifice was necessary, and if his death could help
lower this number then it was all the more worth it.
He began to walk, his feet stepping in the filthy water but he did not care. He was only focused on his goal.
For humanity and for them.
He would not hesitate to fall into hell if necessary.
This was the road he had chosen all those years ago after he was made to realize his own powerlessness and lost everything.
—-
[Los Angeles; Little Tokyo.]
Driving in the car with Viktor sitting in the passenger seat, Adam verified the GPS localization on the monitor of the car before slowly stopping.
Like Chinatown or Korea Town, Little Tokyo was a district of Los Angeles predominated by a population of Asian descent. Also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, it was an ethnically Japanese American district in downtown Los Angeles and the heart of the largest Japanese-American population in North America.
It was also the Territory of one of Adam's acquaintances. Someone he was not truly at ease with and generally tried to avoid.
'Well, not like the chance of us meeting are high.'
At its peak, Little Tokyo had approximately 30,000 Japanese Americans living in the area. Furthermore, it was a district that was visited by many lovers of Japanese culture. Thanks to that, the traffic was extremely high.
The goal for this outing was the Weller Court shopping mall. This was the dream place for all Otaku so he wasn't surprised that Sae wanted to meet in this place.
"How are you feeling?"
Viktor looked all around and shrugged, "Nothing particular. Just a little too many people walking around. Weird to see."
Even as he said this and tried to appear nonchalant, Adam could see the light of excitement in the eyes of the large young man.
"You know we are here to have fun, right? So relax. None of my friends will judge you."
There was nothing wrong with being excited and looking around when you visited a new place. Anyone who thought the opposite and mocked the one who was genuinely having fun was just a bitter person who needed to feel important by demeaning other people.
Viktor relaxed a little and sighed, "Thanks."
He gave a graceful smile at Adam. He wasn't a complete country bumpkin. But it was true that going from his relatively small village to a super huge city made him feel sensitive.
It didn't help that the fake mask was itching and fraying his nerve.
"If you don't feel too well, we can go back you know? I was a little insensitive. The flight must have been tiring."
Even though they were hunters they should still feel tired. The flight from Sweden to America was nearly 10 hours long.
Viktor did not even have the time to sleep a little before being dragged by him.
'I am pretty inattentive today.'
Adam scolded himself. First with the Map and now this. He hoped that this wouldn't happen again.
"Don't worry. I am used to working on metals for more than 24 hours without any pause. Compared to that, this is nothing and honestly, I am pretty excited."
Adam patted Viktor's shoulder once they reached a good parking emplacement.
"Let's go. Be ready to be exhausted though. We are about to meet a true imp."
"My my, even though I am so graciously giving my time to you."
Adam grinned as he turned around. This time he had not been caught off guard as he had felt her presence and spoke intentionally.
"I guess I should call you a charming spirit rather than an imp?"
"Well, this would be much better."
Sae laughed as she hugged him before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"I hope you are ready to see how this charming spirit will have fun."
The mischievous smile on her face gave many innuendoes in her sentence.
Adam knew this was going to be a memorable day.
CH 101: PLAIN VS MOUNTAIN (1)
[Los Angeles — Little Tokyo]
Standing in the parking space, Adam gave a hug to Sae before looking down at what she was wearing for today's gathering.
"Cosplay?"
"Heh indeed. There is a small gathering today so I decide to participate. What do you think?"
Sae twirled causing Adam to whistle out loud in appreciation. She was wearing a red miniskirt with a sleeveless pink kimono on top. On the right side of her hips was a yokai fox mask attached to what seemed to be a placeholder and on her left side were two swords attached to the sheath on her hips.
Sae had also dyed her hair pink for today and added fake fox hair above her head.
Adam nodded, "It's pretty stylish. Though… By the way, your skirt is a bit… Did you…?"
She was a little surprised but then a large grin split her face, "My, my… Feeling possessive much?"
Sae laughed but made sure to stop the teasing in time when Adam's reply registered in her ears, "Indeed I am."
She was shocked by Adam's frankness. Left speechless, her face was covered in a deep blush before she began to cough to hide her embarrassment, "Don't worry. I am wearing shorts underneath."
The atmosphere between the two became a little strange but Sae who was searching for a way to change the topic finally noticed Viktor who was standing on the other side of the car with an uncomfortable expression on his face.
"Oh my gosh! Look at my manners. I am sorry for not noticing you before now. Are you a friend of Adam?"
She laughed as she approached Viktor and reached her hand forward for a handshake.
"Ah… Yeah. I am Viktor."
"Happy to meet you Viktor. I guess you are the reason that this shut-in finally decided to walk out rather than staying cooped up at home. Good job."
"Hey, I can hear you, you know?"
"I know. I know. But I also know that I am simply spitting out facts."
"Ugh…"
Adam could say nothing to her rebuttal. It was the truth that prior to recent events, he was basically a shut-in. Only going out to University and his part-time job before coming back home and entering his room for further studies.
It wasn't really the healthiest of lifestyles out there, now that he thought about it…
"Hmm… Are you two perhaps…"
Viktor didn't really know how to finish his sentence. Looking at the way those two were interacting, he felt like he was looking at some long-time friends bantering like no tomorrow in front of him. But at the same time, the words they exchanged between them a few moments ago, made all of this really weird and confusing for him. Those were words only people who were dating each other would be willing to speak, and that too so candidly, as they did
"Oh, do we look like we are couples?"
Sae grinned as she held Adam's arms, causing him to feel the full softness of her massive breasts.
"Well, we aren't. Let's just say we are special friends. Haha."
Viktor looked lost as he had a hard time understanding where this conversation was leading to. Still, he wasn't a clueless young man either. So, he was able to trace the ambiguity in Sae's answer. And due to this understanding, he chose to remain silent about it and roll with the flow.
"Well, we wasted enough time already. Shall we go?"
Sae asked but Adam tilted his head in confusion at that proposal, "I thought we were also supposed to meet Natasha here?"
"Heh… Forget that airport runaway. We will have more fun without her."
They were stopped in their tracks before they could even leave the place as a large car stopped not far from them and from which a golden-haired Russian girl walked out.
Unlike usual, she was not wearing her jeans and T-shirt attire but a more elegant black robe that stopped a little above her knee and accentuated her natural beauty.
She did not have the fullness of Sae's voluptuous body, But she had a kind of frail and enchanting body that would make many people gulp in appreciation.
The girl looked around for a while before her eyes finally landed on the trio. A smile formed on her lips as she waved at them and started to approach their location.
When Natasha finally arrived, Sae clicked her tongue, "Tsk. A little more and we would have been able to have fun without you."
"Beat it, midget."
She flipped the bird to Sae in an elegant way before chuckling and giving a hug to Adam.
"How have you been?"
"Pretty well, all things considered."
'Oh…?'
Sae's eyes narrowed as she observed the interaction between the two. She had already vaguely noticed it during class, but ever since a few days ago, the relationship between Adam and Natasha seemed to have changed somewhat.
Now she was all the more sure of it… Adam was quite warmer with Natasha but the way Natasha was looking at him…
'This is….'
Sae didn't really know what she was feeling right now. Her speculation might be wrong but something was telling her that she wasn't. Somehow… she was certain that she could feel the budding emotions of attraction within Natasha.
"You two became quite close, huh?"
Natasha grinned, "We have always been close."
Invisible sparks seemed to clash between the two as they smiled at each other with meaningful expressions.
Meanwhile, observing all this from the side was Viktor.
"Ah…"
Viktor looked between Adam and Sae a few times then looked at Natasha before finally looking again at the bitterly smiling Adam.
This reminded him one day of a conversation he had with his mom after seeing her watch a drama.
Why did she watch something fictive that could never happen in real life?
His mother then answered, Trust me, Dramas are inspired by events of real life.
He hadn't believed her then. But now,
'Mother was indeed right.'
He realized once again that as a child, it was necessary to listen to the wisdom of the elders. They had seen and experienced more of the world than him after all.
'Ma, I will never doubt you again.'
—
After Adam broke the tense situation, he introduced Viktor to Natasha who answered in kind.
She frowned a little at first when she saw him, but in the end, said nothing more. Adam summarized that she had detected that he was a Hunter. Or at least was a human able to use Prana.
The reason Natasha was not bothered was that werewolves and shapeshifters in general with the power of contamination through their bites were rarely racist or discriminatory, unlike vampires. They might care about pure blood. But they also knew that all humans could potentially become one of them and hunters were the best for that.
There was also the simple fact that Natasha did not think of humans as inferior. The ones who controlled the world in the light currently were humans. She did not know why this status quo was unchanged but this meant Humans had the power to threaten them.
Finally and for the simplest reason. He was Adam's guest.
She wasn't willing to upset Adam.
CH 102: PLAIN VS MOUNTAIN (2)
It wasn't the first time Adam had come to Little Tokyo. After all, he was half-Japanese himself. Even if he couldn't go to the land of Japan he could at least take a look, right?
Little Tokyo was truly worthy of its name. Be it from a cultural or touristic standpoint, it was one of the most visited places in LA.
Adam determined that this also came from the numerous Otaku like events that were organized.
While walking with Sae, sometimes they would be stopped by people asking to take pictures.
Unlike what many seemed to believe, the ones who did this were extremely polite and in fact even a little hesitant.
This wasn't a bunch of thirsty men who never touched a woman leering at them while breathing hard like beasts. But a group of people who were simply trying to share their passion.
Sae wasn't the only one being asked for pictures. Be it Adam with handsome face, Viktor with his strong and well-proportioned body, or the beautiful Natasha, everyone seemed quite fascinated with them.
Adam in particular was attracting the attention of many and by the time they even reached the Weller Court shopping mall. He already had more than 10 numbers and a few more snaps
"See? I said you would be popular once you stopped wearing your weird clothes."
Sae chuckled when she saw this but otherwise did not show any particular reaction unlike with Natasha.
For Sae, the situation was pretty simple. Her current relationship with Adam was not really that of lovers.
It hanged on the fact that neither of them had any official partner.
As long as Adam didn't enter any meaningful relationship, then she had no problem.
Natasha though, was a different matter.
Adam shrugged as he put the numbers he received on paper in his pocket and looked at the bewildered Viktor.
"What you gonna do? That brown-haired girl seemed quite smitten with you."
"I…I don't know."
The girls in the city were really brazen and without scruples.
Viktor observed his worldview shattering again.
But the brown-haired girl was indeed was pretty cute.
When a few had asked for pictures there was that particularly bold girl who did not hesitate to make her intentions clear.
It was quite bewildering.
But once again — She was pretty cute.
Viktor realized the power hormones had over the mind of young men.
Natasha shrugged, "Once we finish the shopping. We will go clubbing during the night. You could invite her."
Viktor hesitated a little before nodding.
He definitely did not have this in mind when he came with his grandfather to America.
He thought this would be a solemn day and that for weeks, everything would be silent. But here he was speaking about going to a club with a date.
This was certainly promising. At the very least, this would make for an interesting experience.
"Well, guys we finally arrived. So, shall we have fun?"
—-
When they reached the shopping center, Sae began to navigate like she was a pro.
Wherever she went, cashier and shopkeeper would wave or nods at her and she would salute or simply joke around a few times.
It was clear that she was extremely well-known and liked in this place.
"This is because of my father."
Sae shrugged, "Some of the gangs in this place take what people call Protection Insurance from the people here. If you refused, well it wouldn't end well."
She gave a forced smile, "Dad worked tirelessly and Managed to greatly increase the security and drive away the small gang."
Adam nodded. The small gangs were generally the most stupid and prone to brutality.
In the first place, big gangs would rarely rely on protection money. Yui for example had a great part of K-Town under her control but she extorted no one.
Not because she couldn't or because her morality stopped her. But simply because the meager revenue wasn't worth the eventual trouble that could follow.
"Your father is really a good cop."
"Hehe…if they gave more money I would have worked as a Detective."
Sae laughed. She wanted money. Not out of any particular deep reason.
She just wanted to be rich. Like anybody she wished to reach a point where she had nothing she lacked and could have whatever she wanted.
They stopped at a particular store. It wasn't a branded one as those could go for ridiculous prices.
Natasha knew she could buy anything they wanted if she decided to do but she was not stupid enough to do that.
All this would result in hurting their pride and making this outing less enjoyable.
"Okay, guys. Now let's play."
Sae eyes were shining as she looked at Adam and Viktor.
She had never been a fan of playing with dolls and Barbie. But now she had two mannequins she could do as she wished with.
—-
One truth Adam realized was that…Shopping could be very exciting and fun when you were in a group.
Initially, he had gone with the impression that he would be bored out of his mind or tired.
But it was surprisingly fun.
Finding an appropriate size for Viktor that wouldn't suffer because of his muscles.
Laughing when Sae gave them mismatched clothes intentionally.
Acting like they were top models and doing a show while the clerks and some of the attendants looked at him with fervor.
It was a moment Adam could have never imagined himself participating at in the past.
Of course, they did not stop at one store.
One for shirt, one for pants. Shoes, watches, and even underwear.
Be it modern or classic. They tried it all.
The girls were also interested. But Natasha's dress was probably enough to buy half of the store or more and Sae didn't wish to change out of her costume.
Putting that thing on had been quite a pain.
Viktor was definitely not feeling as good as Adam and Sae noticed this. She knew that the poor boy should be suffering from jet lag and the tiredness of a flight.
This outing was mainly for him and she wasn't so engrossed in shopping she would force him to have a bad time.
"Shall we wrap it up?"
She asked and everyone nodded.
Taking out her phone, she wondered whether they should go for a movie or for lunch.
"Let's go eat a little. I know this restaurant. They do magic with Beacon, vegetables, and noodles."
Japanese had long since mastered the art of eating large quantities of actually good and healthy food and while they weren't in Japan, that restaurant was an authentic Japanese restaurant.
Adam also felt quite hungry. As for Viktor, there was no way he could refuse this proposal.
Like this the three of them begin walking toward the restaurant while Sae continued to speak and introduce different monuments to Viktor.
She had the knack for keeping the conversation lively and interesting and even though Viktor was figuratively two times taller than her, one would think she was leading a child.
Taking a few steps back, Natasha spoke quietly to Adam,
"We were finally able to obtain all the information."
Adam frowned a little but nodded. He honestly didn't wish to be more entangled in this situation.
But he knew that it was already too late.
"So, who attacked you?"
"I don't know yet. Sasha only sent me a message to tell me it was done. Speaking about sensitive information through the phone is forbidden."
She had already left the house by the time Aleksandra finished so all she received was an update.
For more precise information, she would have to wait. No phone could ever be secure enough.
Humans had a knack for technology that was hard to surpass.
"Well, at least this is one thing done. Once you know who targeted you, the situation should be easier to manage."
A dagger in the back was more dangerous than a spear coming from the front.
At least this was something he had read in a novel.
"If you know your enemy and know yourself you need not to fear the results of hundred battles."
Natasha chortled, "Heh, so you read Sun Tzu?"
"Recently started. I am interested in psychology."
"Psychology?"
Adam shrugged, "It could be helpful in our career. Better understanding our clients or the judge and jury."
Natasha nodded. Basic psychology classes were indeed part of the curriculum. But it was only basic. There was not much one could really learn without devoting a great amount of time and energy.
"I guess there is a reason Sae called you 'Book' in the past."
He grinned, "I like learning and now I have even more reason to."
Natasha stayed silent as she observed Adam's profile. The sun was shining and illuminated his profile. He had a boyish but confident smile.
She felt some heat spread through her face as her heartbeat accelerated noticeably when she remembered the oath she took.
If she had to be honest. Adam had many good points. His physical appearance aside, that was top-notch.
He was a hunter who made a contract with a god and he was someone loyal who didn't hesitate to put his life in danger for her.
Natasha was not some shy maiden who would act demurely if she found someone she was interested in. She was a wolf. She would be the one to even propose if it was necessary.
But two things made her hesitate.
For one, her position in the pack was ambiguous and anyone who became her mate would be subjected to many trials.
As for the second thing,
"Hey, Adam…Is Sae your girlfriend?"
CH 103: PACIFIC PARK
Viktor who was talking with Sae as he explained some part of his life without alluding too much to the supernatural twitched a little.
As a hunter, while not really a fighter, he still had the basic increase in senses and went through a systematic training to become able to handle 'common' threats until help came.
After what happened in the past, his grandfather had decided that a blacksmith should be able to defend himself to avoid falling into a situation where they were simply pushovers and got killed.
This was why—He was able to hear the hushed voices of Natasha and Adam.
'Real live dramas are really dangerous.'
He gave a look toward Sae, she was a cute pixie-like girl. Though some of her proportions went against this. Then there was Natasha. Another pretty girl and if he wasn't wrong, she certainly wasn't human.
Viktor felt the urge to facepalm. He felt like he was the third—Fourth? wheel in a very complicated date or was serving as a cushion.
He decided to distract himself a little,
"By the way, this is cosplay, right? Is it an original character?"
"This? Heh, it's based on an urban legend that circulating recently."
Sae chuckled, "It seems like some masked heroine moving around and beating bad guys or something. There aren't any pictures but the descriptions are pretty detailed so I gave it a try."
"An urban legend…"
Viktor smile stiffened. What was an urban legend for humans was, 8/10, a true supernatural event that they had simply been unable to completely process.
'If this cosplay is accurate. Hum… an [~S.K~] armors?'
That woman was the only one he knew who would create mini skirts or Kimino and everyday clothes and change them into armor.
She always had a certain sense of fashion and hated movement obstructive and large bulky armor.
Viktor scratched his head, then again this was all a speculation. Even if 80% were true tales, there was still the 20% chance of it truly being nothing but an urban legend made for fun.
'Well, let's hope this won't create any problem.'
—-
On Adam's side, after hearing Natasha's question, he frowned a little then sighed, "We have a special relationship. That's all I am willing to say now."
"But you are not in a couple."
"...I guess you can say so."
"Very well. That was all I needed to know."
Natasha grinned and walked faster until she reached Sae and placed her arm around her shoulder.
"So, tell me, midget. What other plans do you have?"
"Well, I have many plans. But everything depends on Viktor. Do you want something more cultural? Fun? or perhaps…"
The movement she made with her hands was obscene enough for Viktor to understand the meaning.
Sae laughed at the embarrassed expression the shy young man showed. LA had many places where males could receive 'interesting' service.
She didn't know their emplacement personally, but she knew they were easy to find on by using the Map.
Viktor looked around. Truth be told, he was not really interested in culture. The whole of America was the country with the weakest link to mythology in general. The few links they had were tied to the Maya and Aztecs who were more prevalent in Mexico.
There were also myths developed by the Native tribes. But most of them were lost and buried in the sand of time.
Once they started working, he would be in the room for a long time and he knew that in the end, his grandfather would lose something important. Either his power or his life.
What he wished for now…Was just to have fun. To unwind and relax.
"I want to have fun."
Sae nodded. "Well, then guys. I guess it's time to do one last shopping…"
"What are you speaking about?"
"Swimsuit. We are going to the pacific park."
—-
[Santa Monica; Pacific Park]
Santa Monica was one of Los Angeles's cities and Pacific park was one of the most frequented places there.
It was an oceanfront amusement park. The park, located on the Santa Monica Pier, looked directly out on the Pacific Ocean, in the direction of Catalina Island.
"This is the only amusement park directly located on the West Coast of the United States located on a pier and LA's only admission-free park."
Sae explained from behind while she sat with Natasha in the back seat. In the end, they decided to take the car Adam came with. Natasha meanwhile had already called someone to come and take her car.
"Still, this is pretty far."
The distance from Little Tokyo to Pacific Park took 40 mn to cover. Adam sighed as he thought about all the time wasted.
"Well, gotta move more to have fun. We can stay there all day and they have pretty good attractions. Pretty girls all around walking in Bikinis, Good attraction ride. Good food and the sea. What to not like?"
"You seriously sound like an old pervert you know."
Natasha laughed, "Speaking of, Viktor you are from Sweden right, won't it be boring for you to visit a beach?"
"Well, the place I am from is close to the sea indeed. But it isn't exactly friendly for family activities. It's cold and dangerous. Though some people do use it for cold baths in winter."
"Brrr. Cold bath. Can't be me." Sae shuddered but Natasha chortled, "With all the useless fat you have on your chest I am sure you should be cold-proof."
"Heh, then I can guess with your flat board you must be a genius in natation or something. You know, less friction or should I say no friction at all?"
The two growled at each other, giving the impression that a small cat was facing a massive dog.
Adam sighed, "Quiet you two. I feel like a father driving with his troublesome Kids on the back."
"Ohhh! Does that man Viktor the wife?"
Viktor choked on the bottle. "Sorry."
Adam shook his head, took out a tissue, and gave it to him, "Don't worry. If you stay a while, you will get used to Sae's weird jokes."
"Haha…"
All Viktor could do was give an awkward laugh as he looked outside and watched the street. Far in the distance, he could see the iconic large Hollywood words on the hills.
He had seen it in a few shows, so it was pretty interesting to see them in person.
"We can visit Hollywood later if you want. Through this time you will have to ask Natasha. You should see her house. This was the first time I see true living maid. I was shocked."
Natasha shrugged at Sae's words. "You two are welcomes to come whenever you want. Though I doubt I will be a good guide. I don't know much outside of my house."
Natasha was still pretty new in America all things considered. Spending much of her life in Russia and after coming here, she couldn't exactly just walk around.
Even now, she was sure that she had a few bodyguards following her. In the past, she had been able to chase them away, but after what happened recently, she couldn't exactly say now.
"Anyways guys…We are finally here. So, let's have some fun shall we?"
Sae laughed when Adam finally stopped the car.
She hadn't been entirely honest with her reason for coming to this park. There were a few things she had always wanted to try and it seemed like this would be the perfect occasion for her.
She wished to try this initially in the previous shop hall, but with her cosplay, it would have been too much a pain.
Now though…
'Heheh…This is going to be fun.'
Natasha gave a look filled with confusion at Sae. One moment everything was normal but suddenly, Sae was releasing so much pheromone.
Natasha knew pretty well what this new scent means.
Sae was currently in heat.
'Don't tell me.'
She looked at Adam and Sae, remembering what they did the last time they escaped classes.
It seemed like her friend wished to do the same again.
CH 104: CHOOSING A SWIMSUIT
Natasha's sensitive nose had once again hit the bullseye. Sae had quite a nefarious plan in mind for their visit to the park and in the excited state she was right now, there was no way she was not going to put it into action. Though, everything would depend on whether or not Adam was willing to follow her in her crusade of debauchery.
After entering through the front gate of the attraction park, the four of them directly went to a shop in order to buy some swimsuits for the occasion. It was a park primarily themed after the sea, after all, so there were many interesting activities that required them to delve into the water. And for that reason, they needed to dress up to meet the requirements.
The shop they entered had a wide range of both male and female swimsuits alike aligned throughout the interior of the building and Adam had an eye opener about the reality of the fact that— the less skin a swimsuit would cover, the more it would cost. It made absolutely no sense to him.
The price was inversely proportional to the amount of fabric.
'Can this one even be called a swimsuit? Then again, What is a swimsuit, in the first place?'
Adam began to ask himself existential questions at the sight of what could only be called a bunch of strings put together to form something in the shape of a swimsuit. At this level, there was basically no difference between wearing it or walking utterly buck naked.
"Oh, as I thought, you have interesting tastes. Do you want me to wear this?"
Adam couldn't help but chuckle after hearing Sae's words, "Never. At least not outside."
Sae was once again startled at how blunt and blatant Adam was in his possessiveness and clear desire to limit how much she showed to others. This made her quite happy if she had to be honest. If one's partner showed no such feeling toward you, then there was something wrong taking place in the relationship between them.
Though, the problem here was that the two of them weren't officially a couple yet.
Of course, she would never in a million years wear that string swimsuit to go to the beach. She liked cute clothes and somewhat sexy clothes. But there were limits even she wouldn't dare to cross.
"So I guess… As long as it's just the two of us, it's alright?"
The smile Adam kept was all the answer Sae needed.
She chuckled and decided to keep this one in mind. She loved that Adam was as kinky as her and she could already imagine the interesting plays they could do with this particular clothing in hand.
"Will you help me choose a swimsuit then?"
Adam's brows rose at her request. He looked around the store, observing the surroundings. The store in question was quite far from the main road so there were not many people inside. The clerks were clearly not a bit interested in a group of students so they were chatting and laughing together while neglecting their work.
Viktor was searching for a swimsuit that could actually fit his large build while Natasha was having a hard time finding a good swimsuit for sadly two specific reasons that were embedded in her chest.
When Sae snickered, Natasha did not even turn around as she flipped a bird to Sae. That one snicker told enough about what she was laughing about.
In the end, Adam just shrugged…
"Well, why not?"
—
In the end, Adam settled for a pink bikini that went well with Sae's current dyed hair color. Adam was possessive, true, but this didn't mean he wished to force Sae to show absolutely no skin at all. That would enter the realm of extreme possessiveness and he didn't wish to become like that.
Sae took the fabric and entered a booth at the far end of the store but a few seconds later, she called to him.
"Adam, I need help, please."
"Hmmm?"
He approached and asked, "What the matter?"
"Come in."
He hesitated briefly but in the end, simply went inside without thinking too much about it. He had already chosen his own piece of clothing and was currently wearing his own shorts. After all, he was not a tall mass of muscle like Viktor and unlike Natasha, he didn't need to protect his chest.
When he entered he could see Sae wearing the lower part of her swimsuit. But she seemed to have some problem with the upper part of the clothing. The changing room was large, all things considered, with a full-body mirror on the side where Sae was facing.
"Could you help me adjust it?"
It seemed clear that Sae's large breasts were giving quite a fight against the piece of clothing and were thus refusing to comply with her wishes.
Adam was quite lost about what to do in this situation, "Sae, seriously?"
There was only one way to adjust something that was akin to a bra and from the grin on her face in the large mirror, Sae knew exactly what she was asking for.
Adam had two choices right now. Ignore Sae and walk away from the room, effectively refusing to be a part of her carnal mischief. There was nothing that would happen with this decision and all Sae would do was shrug and lament about the lost occasion to have some fun. He was sure she wouldn't mind his indifference.
Or alternatively, he could have some interesting fun with her and see how far Sae was actually willing to go in this scenario.
The struggle between the two choices did not last as long as Adam wished it would have.
He had long since realized this, but in terms of kinks, he was not behind Sae by much. There were many things he wanted to try and while this wasn't one of those, it was quite appealing to him, nonetheless. He was starting to think there was something wrong with him too at this point.
'Yeah. I am just doing this for Karma.'
Adam tried to rationalize his decisions as best as he was able to. After all, he had indeed not been able to farm much Karma during his extended study period as he didn't have time to become intimate with Sae.
Adam bit his lips as he actively spread his domain to cover the place and make sure that this time he was not surprised by the arrival of unwanted members.
He approached Sae from behind and asked quietly in her ears, "So, how do you want me to help you?"
His voice was filled with suppressed desire, whispering heavily in her ears, as he placed his hands on her hips causing Sae to shudder in ecstasy and delight. Her eyes flashed with unprecedented desire and hunger.
She had a beautiful body, a slim form with a heavy top and bottom. She had everything to attract and seduce a man and Adam was not immune to her charms.
Sae was filled with excitement like never before. She could feel her heart beating furiously against her chest. This was different from what happened at school. Now— they were in another public place, with their friends not far from them and a few strangers mingling in the surrounding.
'Hah…'
She took a deep and shaky breath as Adam's hand slowly moved up and down her curves but never left her mid-section and could only close her eyes when he bent down and bit her earlobe while breathing hot breathes in her ear,
"I am waiting for your instruction. How should I help you?"
Sae never imagined that a man's voice could be so sensual. The answer was clear from the start.
CH 105: SAE (7) [R18]
Adam's hands slowly moved up and down along her midriff as he caressed Sae's navel, warming her up considerably. Thanks to the difference in height, he was able to perfectly target the place he wished to his large hands brought her a certain comfort.
Sae leaked out a sigh of repressed desire and pure ecstasy at his act. It was just his hands running along her skin but her brain was already working furiously as raunchy scenes flashed in her mind, and excited her further. Inevitably making her even hornier and filled with carnal emotions and wanton desires. She knew that what she was doing was bad. Using a public space for such a thing was wrong and this was why—It was the more exciting.
"My breasts are higher, you know?"
She chuckled a little but indirectly urged him to do more. She wanted to feel even more of his touch.
"Hmm, I do. I guess I do need to move a bit higher to help you out."
Adam bit her earlobe lightly as his hand gingerly reached up until they were under her voluminous breasts, digging into the gap of the underside of her beautiful round wonders, lifting them up slightly.
"I must say, those seem really heavy to bear."
"You have no idea."
Sae chuckled. Big breasts were the hopes and dreams of all men but nightmares for the women who had them. Sweaty, heavy, and finding fitting clothes was hard and bothersome, to say the least.
But, in moments like this one, where she shared intimacy with her man, her beloved partner, she was glad she had a body that excited the opposite sex so much.
She closed her eyes as she felt Adam caress her breasts with his moderately large hands through the fabric of the tight swimsuit and her breath became rougher as anticipation continued to rise within her body from the very depths of her womb. It was a desperate desire to be filled by Adam's member, to feel that heavenly sensation of being full once more.
Slowly very slowly, his mischievous hands approached her nipples,
'Yes yes yes yes~'
But just as he was about to pinch them, he stopped midway…
'No!'
She shuddered when he planted a kiss on her nape with a grin on his face as he spoke in a husky tone, "It seems like our dear Sae is disappointed."
Adam chuckled menacingly and continued moving his hands all around her body. He was not just moving his hand randomly.
By using his Eyes of Truth, he was able to see through her body and follow the trail of all of her weak points. Akin to buttons that could maximize her horniness and pleasure. He could literally see the flow of her blood and the places where her body needed a massage that could both relax and stimulate her.
Adam decided then and there that he really needed a book about massages and acupuncture techniques in the future.
But now he was doing very well with just following along his instincts and the trail of her pleasure points.
'Sadly we don't have much time right now. Otherwise, I would play around some more with this imp.'
He renewed his kisses on her slender nape, sometimes nibbling her ears and sometimes massaging her breasts roughly using moderately skilled movements. Her tits were too large to fit in a single hand, yet they were also unbelievably sensitive and pillowy to the touch. It was almost addictive to play around with them.
The anticipation that Adam was bringing to Sae was almost killing her. Already, she could feel the bottom of her swimsuit becoming thoroughly drenched in her own sticky juices. It was a testament to her desire of being packed by a thick rod, namely Adam's, then and there.
This was why… When Adam finally pinched her breasts— white colored Sae's world as her mind went blank with all her repressed pleasure.
"Ah…"
Adam blocked her incoming moans by turning her and kissing her directly. Her body shuddered again and again while her love juices leaked through the fabric of her swimsuit and trailed down her legs. Her breasts were pressed against his warm and sturdy chest and she felt like he was enveloping her completely as he hugged her with a possessive might.
Sae could have never imagined that this alone would be enough for her to reach a climax. She did not understand why this was happening, but the more she had sex with Adam, the more sensitive her body became. As if her body was adapting to him and anticipating his touch.
Her thoughts were cut short as Adam's tongue slipped past her lips and began to wrestle with hers. The two battled and exchanged saliva to establish dominance.
Adam was also quite surprised by the situation. He had known that she loved having her breasts caressed, but he had never imagined that this would be enough to make her cum and that too with such vigor. It was possible that the fact that she was having her tits caressed in public made turned more turned on than she usually would by such a situation.
From their last experience, Adam knew that Sae had quite the exhibitionist fetish.
The kiss deepened and a new heat spread through her body even though she had climaxed mere moments ago.
"Adam~"
Sae could only mutter his name as she felt his hands play around with the string of her top and take it off. Now her beautiful breasts were bare in all their glory for him to see, admire, and do as his heart desired.
She looked dazzled as he bent down and put her cherry colored tips in his mouth, He sucked at one of the unveiled nipples and areolae as if he was a baby searching for the sweet milk of his mother, causing her body to jerk with bolts of ecstasy.
"Please~..."
Her youthful lips let out a cry so cute that you would never expect it from someone who likes to act like such a tease. Her cries of pleasure helped arouse him as well but Adam knew that they could not allow themselves to be heard by others.
'I wonder. Can I perhaps muffle or outright stop sound from propagating with the use of my domain?'
Adam knew that gravity could affect light and sound waves. Theoretically, it was possible for him to become invisible and make no sound whatsoever. For light, it was a little difficult but for sound, all he needed was to change the density of gravity in his surrounding which then would affect the sound propagation.
'Well, another thing to try later, I guess.'
Who would have thought that having a sexy moment with a girl would help him find different ways to use his power?
For now, though, they had to do it the good old-fashioned way.
"Lower your voice."
"Ahh… I-I'm not trying to make any sound! But, I can't help it, so you'll just have to be gentler with me, okay~?"
She seemed embarrassed to have her wanton moans being pointed out because she blushed and pouted her lips. Adam chuckled as he found her even cuter.
"Then… How about this?"
He just grinned at the thought as he began oh-so-gently licking at her stiff nipple.
When he licked that wet pink tip with a feathery touch, she shook her pink hair and covered her mouth to stifle her moans. Adam attacked her sensitive spots relentlessly.
He massaged her breasts and attacked her nipples with his tongue, and brought his other hand below to caress her secret garden that was covered by the fabric of the thin piece of clothing.
"More~ Please~"
Sae muttered low enough for only Adam to hear. She lifted up her boobs and squished them together while pushing the nipples out for him to suck. It was so cute that he could not help but comply with her wishes.
Holding the two orbs, Adam bit down on the two nipples at the same time and pinched the small pink jewel down below still covered by the fabric.
Sae shuddered and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
She could not scream at the release of her orgasm as the pleasure she received had been simply too strong for her to handle. Her mind automatically shut down and collapsed making her like a ragdoll with cut-out strings.
CH 106: SAE (8) [R18]
When Sae came back to herself she was still reeling from the powerful orgasm that rocked her body and mind. She couldn't believe that an orgasm had caused her to pass out like that. It was simply absurd.
"How long was I out for?"
"Just a few seconds, don't worry."
Adam grinned before kissing her on her forehead, "Let's get out now, shall we?"
"But…"
She looked down in the direction of his groin. One could see the curved shape of his hardened penis through the folds of the swimsuit that he was wearing right now.
"We will have more time for this later. We already wasted too much time fooling around. Also, it will be quite complicated to hide it if I were to cum here."
"Don't worry about that. I prepared for something like that ahead of time."
She kneeled in front of Adam and shushed him to not speak as she lowered his swimming trunks down to reveal the contents within. The manly scent coming from him and this large penis in her sight made her gulp down her saliva with desire and an aching sense of anticipation.
She was reminded once again that this grotesque looking thing in all its ginormous glory had entered her body many times before. It was still such a mystery for her. How her small and lithe body was able to house such a sizeable rod was beyond her…
But all of that did not matter to her at the moment. What mattered was that she wanted to please him as much as he had pleased her. She wanted to deliver as much pleasure as he had driven in her mind if not more.
"Leave everything to me."
She had been moaning so much due to him and even fainted just a moment ago, but now she only gave him a triumphant smile, squeezed his erect dick in her hand, and began stroking it with a backhand grip.
He felt all the blood in his body heat up as her warm hand moved back and forth along his thick shaft. Her handjob also sent a sweet tingling through his crotch and his penis throbbed in time with the movements of her dainty fingers coursing along the length with a delectable grip.
"Ahh… If you do that…"
He had managed to suppress his desires since they were in a public space, but her actions and the way she was stimulating the desire inside him were making him want to have sex anyway. Consequences be damned.
"That's fine with me. If you want to do it…then let's just do it. To tell you the truth… I can't wait to have you inside me."
Her milky tits jiggled in front of his eyes in tandem with her delightful handjob. The giant breasts defied gravity to stick straight out towards him and the tips were already hard and erect as if hoping to draw his eyes and seduce him in their hypnotic trance. Her face was flushed red and lowered in embarrassment. For all she had done, it seemed that she still had a sense of shame somewhere inside her.
"You are really daring, you know that?"
"I just have to avoid being too loud, right?"
She gave him an impish smile while whispering in an embarrassing manner. Her mind was once again clouded by her desire for his seed and his wonderful rod. She did not know why she was being so outgoing and so fearless but she wanted to have him more than anything else at this moment. Her desire for his touch and his embrace was so dominant that it was overriding all her senses and reasonings.
'Okay, Let's just do it. Don't think about anything else.'
Lately, she had been watching some new videos and reading books about blowjobs and how to stimulate your partner. Now that she had more experience on the subject, she was able to filter the exaggeration and focus on the good ideas that she could try out and seemed plausible. Unlike in the past when she just took everything at face value, she was now able to distinguish between the possible and plausible. Which only helped her to polish her sexual techniques further.
Sae buried her face in his crotch and took the bulbous head into her mouth. The tip of her rough tongue surrounded his hard cock with a warmth and sense of feeling different from her hand. So much pleasure raced through his body due to her actions that he was rendered immobile.
Her pink hair shook as she moved her head back and forth and skillfully ran her tongue along the head and shaft of the rod, rubbing saliva over it. She also formed a ring with her soft lips to stroke the surface of his erection and sucked in her cheeks while sucking and bobbing her head along the throbbing rod's length.
All of her focus was concentrated on the cock moving in and out of her mouth.
She kept her teeth apart to avoid hurting the fragile member and pressed her lips together. She knew she had to be looking extremely silly right now, but she felt no desire to stop her actions.
Her saliva made all sorts of naughty, sloppy, and messy sounds as her tongue stroked, poked, pushed, and licked the head to invoke as much stimulus as she could possibly stir in her partner.
After poking at the tip, she pressed her full tongue against the base. After supporting the base with her hand, she shifted her tongue to the shaft and coated the entire length with her drool.
Then she once again started gobbling the shaft up and Adam watched with wonder and amazement as his penis slowly vanished inside her mouth until his full length was deep inside the depths of her throat.
'I really conquered my gag reflex. Yay~'
Sae was happy that she had not gagged after taking the full length of his sizeable member. She loved the feeling of having his full length inside of her mouth and throat.
She squeezed her lips tight and pulled her head back up along the length of his penis. Then she swallowed it all again. From there, she repeated the process in a rhythmic motion.
The rhythmic motion of her head picked up speed with each passing moment. She could tell that his trembling penis had grown to the bursting point inside her mouth.
For Adam, holding it in any longer was simply not possible. He felt the pleasure in his lower body taking over the control of his mind.
"I am going to cum."
Sae immediately stopped her movement and placed her hand around the base of his penis.
"Not so fast."
Adam twitched and trembled due to her abrupt act.
Sae had read that edging was one of the best ways to bring pleasure to your partner and she wouldn't miss this chance.
She kept the pressure firm until she was sure that he would not come anymore and flashed him a toothy, impish grin.
"We really don't have much time."
"Don't worry. Let's focus on the present. You liked my tit-job the last time around, right? Let's do it again."
She grinned, lifted her breasts with both of her hands, and pressed them in towards each other with the boy's fully-erect penis in between the wonderful globes of fat. The smooth and springy texture of her voluminous breasts surrounded his searing hot crotch. The warm and firm pressure of her pillowy and extraordinary tits was so pleasant that he could not help but groan under his breath from this wonderful sensation.
She pressed her breasts together and stroked his rod while turning up her eyes toward him. Seeing his reaction, Sae happily narrowed her eyes. Her cheeks looked a bit flushed and she seemed to be breathing a little heavily.
—And as she moved her boobs up and down, the precum dribbled from his penis and made her movements more smooth and pleasuring.
A sweet aroma rose in the changing room and the speed of the titty friction rose as the precum acted as a wonderful lubricant to supplement her carnal actions. The breasts bounced nicely atop his towering crotch, rubbing the rod between them all the while.
Sae held her mouth shut to restrain her wanting voice filled with desire and excitement, but she could not stop the occasional longing breaths from escaping her lips and nose. Even though he was the one receiving a service from her, it seemed that she was as excited as he was. That fact only aroused him further.
He wanted to experience this pleasure even longer, but he also felt the urge to expel all of his desire right away. It was a very contradictory feeling but his desire for release was getting stronger than the urge to experience her service.
But just as he was about to cum again, Sae once again stopped her movements and held his throbbing nod by the base.
"Sae…"
His words sounded like a growl but Sae simply shook her head and stood up. Turning around, she placed her hands on the wall and slightly shook her butt encased in the pink swimsuit in a seductive gesture.
Her legs were already drenched in her sexual fluids and her face was flushed crimson from the heat and desire that was filling her head and mind.
"Here…"
This was an invitation like nothing he had ever received in his life and Adam was not about to refuse it.
He approached her and gently caressed her plump and pillowy heart-shaped ass before nudging the swimsuit aside, giving him a direct view of her secret garden leaking out the fountain of her desire.
It was finally time for the main course.
CH 107: SAE (9) [R18]
Feeling his rough hands take a firm and tight hold of her hips, Sae's body shuddered when something hard and hot touched the sensitive edges of her quivering slit. She anticipated his entrance but Adam did not immediately penetrate her.
He moved her hips rhythmically around to rub her slit against the tip of his penis over and over again. She heard the stickiness of her love juices and felt her inner flesh longing for his erect and sizable cock.
She understood that Adam was giving her payback for what she did earlier as she had also teased him by not letting him ejaculate.
She whined and shook her ass, trying to get him to put his searing shaft inside her quivering snatch but Adam ignored her movements and gripped her hips tightly to put a stop to her fidgeting.
"You were teasing me pretty well a few moments ago, right? Now, what should I do with you?"
"Adam~"
Adam grinned but stopped playing around with her. He was about to move in to penetrate her quivering quim when he felt someone enter the zone he had created in their surroundings.
'Natasha…'
Adam was then reminded that Natasha was a werewolf. A shapeshifter with supernatural senses. She should have been able to hear them or at least smell everything that happened inside this room.
'Oh…'
Now he had two choices before him.
Stop here or continue.
His emotion warred against his reason but in the end, he choose to just continue. He had a fine ass in front of him and Sae was literally begging him to fuck her and tag along with her to fly in the clouds of pleasure. There was no way in hell he would stop as long as it wasn't the clerk coming to check in on them.
He pushed his hips forward, skewering her tight hole with his massive thick rod.
His erect cock was swallowed by her soft and squirming vaginal flesh until the full length had vanished inside her warm and comforting snatch. Thanks to the extensive teasing, the hot stake penetrated her with ease and felt like it was several times deeper than usual.
Sae's eyes rolled back a little while she climaxed hard just from the act of penetration alone. She had already been on the brink of her release while giving him a blowjob followed by a lengthy titjob and this had just been the last straw for her to lose herself in the throes of pleasure.
Adam grunted as he felt her small and tight entrance tighten even further around him and violently tremble as her body was also wracked with intense bouts of euphoria in the form of a massive orgasm. He was tempted to simply let go and cum then and there but it wouldn't be fun if that were to be the case.
At the same time, since Natasha was in his domain, he was able to see her and unlike the angry or weirded-out expression he had expected, he could see a deep flush forming on her snow-white face. Giving her face the resemblance of a ripe tomato. In fact, if her hair would've been a shade of green then there would've been no difference.
Anyways, using his Eyes of Empathy, he was able to see that Natasha's current aura was colored in a shade of deep and dark pink. Nearly as pink as Sae's own lustful countenance.
"Enjoying the show, are we?"
He muttered low enough that even Sae could hear nothing but he was sure that Natasha would be able to pick it up using her senses.
As he thought, her ears twitched a little after his words and she seemed startled by his knowledge of her eavesdropping, but she chose to not leave from the spot. It seemed that she was fully intent on listening on to the end and Adam decided that it was her choice to do as she wished.
Adam slowly began to withdraw his member until all but the tip was out of Sae's snatch then he strengthened the grip on her hips and stuck his dick in her from behind with a single thrust, reaching deep inside her depths. Sae covered her mouth with her hands and arched her back with a sudden jerk as his rod was smoothly swallowed by her sticky feminine lips and his hips bumped against her soft and pillowy butt, forming an awe inspiring and tantalizing sight.
He then started moving seriously. He used rhythmic movements of his hips, and gyrating motions to pound at her sensitive depths from behind.
His penis moved in and out of her vagina, sending pleasure racing through her lithe body like an electric shock each and every time the stake entered and stimulated her delicious spots.
The rough and sticky folds of her vagina sucked and squeezed at every contour of his thick and stone-hard rod.
His instincts told him to thrust his hips like a crazy lunatic and release every last drop of his seed deep inside her, packing her womb full of his seeds and marking it in his colors. He, however, desperately held back that urge since he knew that the joys of teasing a woman and giving her the greatest pleasure were far greater than the momentary release his hasty thoughts would bring him right now.
Sae did not just let herself be done as pleased by her partner. Responding to his movement, she also began to move her butt to meet his eager thrusts with her own twerking motions.
They danced the oldest dance in the world as the pleasure they shared reached higher and higher levels.
"Let's change positions."
Without taking out his dick, Adam lifted Sae up and turned her around so that she was now facing him.
With her eyes hazed with lust, she gave a sloppy smile as she hugged him with her legs and her arms went around his neck before she began kissing him in the sloppiest and messiest ways possible.
When he stuck his tongue between her half-open lips, she responded with her own tongue. Their tongues tangled and their saliva mixed while heated air escaped from between their lips.
With one hand supporting her ass, he brought his other hand to her enormous boobs. His heart was pounding at the unusual situation of having sex facing each other in such a cramped space outdoors.
He stopped moving while adjusting their position, but her vaginal walls had squeezed his cock tight the entire time. He obeyed his desire to feel more of that pleasure and began to move his hips while trying his best not to make too much noise.
"Nhh!"
Her moans were muffled by the passionate kiss. With every thrust, her hair shook, sexy muffled moans escaped her lips, and her body writhed while he enjoyed her soft tits.
He had only just started moving again, but he could feel the hot desire rising from deep within his pelvis. He sucked at her tongue and enjoyed stirring up her vaginal flesh to distract himself from that ejaculatory desire.
They had been kissing so intensely that they forgot to breathe, but she finally pulled away to get some fresh air and then glared at him for the suffering he was causing her.
But her face was entirely melted and flushed out to the ears and she could not even hope to suppress her moans if they did not continue.
He kept his hips and hand moving to enjoy her body to the fullest.
They called each other's names softly. Their bodies were growing hotter and hotter with arousal and the room grew hotter with them. But the heat and resulting thirst did not feel at all unpleasant. In fact, the pleasure of her hot body against him was the only thing on his mind. His arm tensed around her extended thighs and his hips began to thrust even harder into her aching womb.
Having sweaty sex in a public place turned her on so much that she began moving her lower body to deepen their union. Her vaginal flesh was already squeezing him tight, but now it also moved in the most wonderful way that seemed to be timed perfectly with the rhythm of his thrusts.
"I am about to cum."
Hearing that he was close, she tightened her arms around his neck to pull her face toward his.
Their bodies pressed even closer together and her vagina tightly squeezed him to make him cum even faster.
"Okay, let's cum together."
He sealed her mouth with a kiss as asked by her quivering eyes and thrust his hips to greedily devour the pleasure. Pussy and cock rubbed together on the verge of climax and they arrived at their limits just as the head kissed the cervix.
Semen raced up his urethra and shot out deep inside her vagina, filling her up to the brim.
Since they were joined while still standing, the semen filling her vagina, flowed back out, and dripped down her inner thighs before landing on the floor.
"So much…"
Sae was positively delirious now. He lowered her legs to the floor while basking in the afterglow of orgasm but her legs trembled so much that she could not even stand upright.
Her mind become even more heated up as she felt a small surge of energy flash in her body. But she simply shook her head and observed the mess they had done.
"This…"
It seemed like they had been a little too crazy with their act this time around.
"Should we run?"
Adam gave a bitter smile. He also noticed Natasha's absence from the region of his domain.
'I really need to work on my self-control in the future.'
He sighed but suddenly frowned a little when he felt a small emanation of Prana from the girl in his embrace.
'What the…'
He used his Eyes of Truth on Sae and what he saw surprised him.
『 Name: Sae Kirishima
Affiliation: none
Alias: none
Race: Human/? (Undergoing Awakening of a Dormant Bloodline)
Age: 21 』
'What the hell is this?'
CH 108: SHIT!
『 Name: Sae Kirishima
Affiliation: None
Alias: None
Race: Human/? (Undergoing Awakening of a Dormant Bloodline)
Age: 21 』
Adam's expression hardened slightly at the sight of the information floating in front of his eyes.
"Adam, is there a problem?"
"Haha, nah. More importantly, we now need to clean this up fast."
Sae blushed heavily as she looked down at the scenery and aftermath of their carnal union. She immediately went to her bag to take a few tissues out as well as a sanitary pad for herself.
"I will go take a shower anyway."
She gave him her debit card for him to pay for the swimsuit but Adam waved his hand and handed it back to her. He had participated in the act of staining her underwear so the least he could do was pay for the piece of clothing.
Sae hesitated slightly, wondering if it would be right for Adam to pay for it when it was herself that had started this fiasco, but in the end, she did not insist and complied with his will as she walked out of the changing room before fleeing the hell out toward the shower room.
When Adam walked up to the clerk, he could see that the young woman was giving him a meaningful smile while he paid for the swimsuit.
Adam immediately understood that they hadn't been as discreet as they thought they had been with their little carnal act. He groaned in his mind, admonishing himself for not being able to plan out the situation in a more secretive way, and took out a few more bills to add as tips. Simple bribery to keep the clerk's mouth shut about this incident.
Even though the woman had asked for nothing, he thought that it was the least he could do for the things they did in the room and for her to seal her lips about this indecent act of theirs. There was also the fact that someone would have to clean this room later.
Thinking about all of this, he felt quite apologetic.
"Thanks and sorry for everything."
The woman was surprised by the money that was provided to her. It was clear that she wasn't expecting anything from him when she looked at him with a knowing gaze. As such she just giggled to herself as she shook her head,
"Thanks for the tip. But you should be more careful in the future. You never know, even walls have ears, after all."
Adam could only respond with an awkward smile as he hastened to leave the premise. He felt like he would die of shame if he were to stay in this place any longer.
While all of this fiasco was taking place, Adam's second mind was computing at full speed, trying to understand just what the hell had happened with Sae for her to show such changes.
The Eyes of Truth had been pretty clear about her situation but this was why he was all the more confused about it.
Why did Sae suddenly awaken some kind of dormant bloodline? Just what was the trigger for her to awaken? He needed to find the answers to these crucial questions.
'Genesis, do you have any information about this?'
[Humans are promiscuous by nature and they are able to have children with basically all supernatural races.]
'Oh…'
Adam was left speechless by the information that was provided to him in response. He remembered how in the past God flooded the entire world after a few angels started having children with humans. The almighty wasn't particularly happy with that act of theirs.
[Indeed. Cambions, Nephilims, Changelings, Damphirs and so many more [1]. Humans have mingled with supernatural creatures since time immemorial and many cases of powerful humans were noted to be hybrids. For instance, the great sage Merlin who was actually a Cambion [2].]
'So Sae is someone like that?'
[Not exactly. After a few generations, hybrids mostly lose their power until they become completely dormant. The children might be a little more sensitive to the supernatural but they might not even be able to see through the Veil even in their lifetimes. It seems your woman was the same case. But now… Her bloodline has started to awaken…and you are most likely the cause.]
Adam groaned and writhed after hearing this info. The only thing he did with Sae was to have sex and cum inside her.
If that was the case… If that was really the reason for her awakening…
He covered his face in exasperation…
'What the hell kind of hentai development is this?'
Now he had to wonder what he would do with Sae. Sooner or later she would awaken to whatever other part of her bloodline was and like him— Her life would completely change.
Even though he did not know he had such power, it was nonetheless his fault and he had to take responsibility for this one way or another.
Adam could only form a bitter smile as he cupped his face with his hands…
'Now. How do I reveal this to her…'
It wasn't everyday one had to announce to their friend that they were most likely descendants of a supernatural being.
—
A few moments later, Adam decided to put the question aside. Just for today, at least, he would not think about anything that was too complicated. He would just have fun and enjoy the day with his friends as was originally planned.
He went to the shower as well to wash his sweaty and smelly body and then found Natasha standing near with an awkward smile drawn on her face while waiting for them.
From what she said, a few girls had started chatting up with Viktor after seeing him without a shirt and the poor boy had been whisked away by the group of young and nubile, smoking hot girls in bikini bottoms. Adam wasn't too worried about his new friend. Viktor was a big man and he knew where the house was. He could find his way back home if needed.
Sae was still taking a shower so only Natasha and Adam were standing together in a still silent and awkward atmosphere.
"Soo… Yeah."
Adam coughed slightly and was about to blabber something, but was stopped by Natasha, "Let's just forget whatever happened."
Her face was quite red as she said but she did not want to dwell too much on her eavesdropping her two friends having sex.
His eyebrows rose in surprise but he only shrugged in response. He wasn't particularly ashamed about his acts and if Natasha didn't want to talk about it then it was all the better for him.
He then gave a good look at the girl next to him.
Natasha was a relatively tall woman with a lithe body. Even though Sae always mocked the size of her chest, it wasn't as if there was nothing there. Natasha still had small but beautiful curves. The comparison between the two was just unfair.
Natasha had what Adam would call a ballerina's body and currently she was wearing a white one-piece swimsuit that outlined her graceful form pretty well. She had a certain artistic beauty to her as if she was a work of art and Adam realized once again how beautiful his friend was.
"A little late to say this, but your swimsuit is beautiful. You look really cute right now."
"Cute?" She looked down and grinned. "I guess I am quite lacking compared to Sae."
Adam chuckled, "I do find you attractive. I was just told that telling a woman that she is sexy can be seen as harassment."
"So… Teasing a young and innocent maiden while going at it with a girl in a changing room isn't harassment?"
"Well… I am not the one who called you there now, was I?"
"It is a public space."
"*Ahem* Don't mind the small details."
The two laughed lightly and the awkwardness in the air was immediately dispelled. They started chatting and joking around but the more time passed the more a growing uneasiness started to grow in both their heart.
Adam frowned as he looked around. The park which should have been filled with laughter and cry of children having fun or adults moving and discussing was slowly crawling to a halt.
The air felt heavy and suffocating and everyone started to look eat each other with uneasiness. Like how some animals could predict incoming calamities, all those present here could feel it.
Something was not right.
Something was about to happen.
The sound of the sea vanished. The birds flying in the sky quieted down. The small breeze stopped.
For a moment…The world seemingly grew entirely silent.
Then they all looked up. As a supreme presence ordered them to. Alarms blared in Adam's mind as he looked up at the sky.
"What the…"
Natasha looked up as well and her expression was similar to Adam's. One of bewilderment and a creeping feeling of fear.
After all — The blue sky had vanished and was completely dyed in a deep shade of crimson.
Furthermore, an ominous magic circle appeared where the Sun should have been.
The circle depicted the image of a monster with a snake' tail and three heads.
It had the head of a man spitting fire, the head of a sheep, and the head of a bull. The monster was riding a lion that had the wings of a dragon.
Just looking at this image was enough for Adam to feel like vomiting and made his mind hazy. Voices blared in his head, spewing words like curses he could not understand.
He immediately caught Natasha and forced her to look down while he did the same.
"Don't look up!"
Someone shouted —- He recognized Viktor's voice. Sadly, his intervention had the opposite effect as more people looked up at the red sky and the crimson magical circle. Adam had no time to care about all of this though since the book of Genesis opened and something he had not seen in a while appeared once more in front of his eyes.
[Epic Ordeal: White Knight.
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Save everyone from certain death and flee from this place. Otherwise, something worse than Death might happen to you.
Reward: + 5000 Karma || 1 Free pass to the Silver Section of the Library.
Notice: The final reward will be diminished by 10 karma for every death
Mission: Save People 495/500]
[Epic Ordeal: Grey Knight.
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Focus on the heart of the matter. Find the culprit, kill him, and end this before it's too late.
Reward: +10000 Karma || 1 Free pass to the silver section.]
[Epic Ordeal: Black Knight
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Be part of the Chaos.
Reward: +10000 Karma || 1 Free pass to the silver section.
Notice: For every person you kill, you will receive an additional 20 Karma.
Mission: 0/495]
Reading the prompt. Adam closed his eyes.
'Shit!'
So much for a peaceful day.
CH 109: RITUAL
[Pacific Park]
A few moments before the incident that ensued utter chaos in the surroundings…
Walking on the surface with a trench coat over his body, his head low and a large hat on top, a man with his entire body covered from head to toe in clothing strolled around in the park.
From the humans' perspective, all they could see was a homeless man with an atrocious stench leaking out of his body.
Some gave insulting comments toward him and most just ignored him but, as always, there was a small minority that would only be happy by trampling the weak on their feet.
"Hey, old man. You should leave this place, you are smelling like shit."
It happened after turning into a rather deserted corner of the Park. The man wearing the coat looked up as five young men who looked like they were either high school students or young university students accompanied by a young black-haired woman, seemingly in her late twenties, wearing a white bikini were cleaning up the food on the grass after they had a short break for a snack in this area.
They had clearly chosen this place in order to not be disturbed in this busy park. The man had done the same since he was in search of a place to protect himself from the sun.
They could have just passed their way, but one of the young men held his nose and waved his hand, a gesture to show how disgusted he was by the stench pervading the air courtesy of the overly-covered man.
The other four chuckled uncomfortably, clearly not really at ease with the current situation.
Looking at them with tired eyes, the man was completely expressionless.
In his eyes, all he could see was a bunch of animals. Worth nothing more than being devoured by him for his cause.
Those people were the dregs of humanity. A part that needed to be removed for humanity to thrive.
People who did evil and people who watched on, not participating but not helping either, acting like the false hypocrites they were.
"Hey, dude. Didn't you hear me? Leave!"
One of the boys advanced and tried to push him away but all this resulted in was the young man being shoved backward while the one in the trench coat staying still in its place, immovable like a boulder.
The group of teens was startled and some started laughing at their friend, telling him that he was a weak ass for not being able to push such a scrawny-looking man.
The one in question didn't seem to be able to accept this situation and again advanced toward the silent man but this time he was clearly angry and ready to beat him up.
"Now you've done it."
He was about to swing his fist but was stopped by the young woman as she stepped in front of him to dissuade him from doing what was wrong.
"Guys, please stop this. Let's just get out of here."
Her voice was firm as she spoke those lines. The delinquent-looking man tsked under his breath and shrugged his shoulders…
"I was just joking around. Let's go guys."
"Wait…"
The woman shook her head and approached the homeless man with a kind and awkward smile on her face…
"I am sorry about earlier. My little brother went too far. If you don't mind, I would like to invite you for a brief lunch with us as an apology."
"Hey!"
"Stop this for once. Stop acting like a fucking child. I didn't even ask you to apologize."
The girl's shout startled the delinquent boy, infuriating him to no end. But in the end, there was nothing he could do.
"So, will you come with us? Once again I would like to apologize. By the way, Mike, since you are such a brat come and apologize to him."
"Sis, seriously?"
"Mike…"
"Sigh…"
The young man scratched his head, clearly reluctant and indignant about this matter. But in the end, he stretched his hand forward for a handshake with the end.
"I'm sorry. Let's shake it off. I was in the wrong."
The 'homeless' man ignored him and looked around. This was indeed the best place to end it all. He had been slowly placing sacrifices to point in this direction and now all he needed was one last sacrifice to finish the ritual.
Those hunters would never think that a vampire like him would walk out during the day like this.
Water, birds, sun, and November. The ideal moment to enact the calling.
"Then it shall be you."
Everything was ready for the 'His' descent.
"What in the fu— argh!"
The young delinquent had had no time to understand what was happening before his hand was twisted beyond recognition.
His scream startled his friends.
"You bastard!"
The woman took a step back in horror and dread at the sight of her brother's mangled arms, while his four friends, witnessing this sight, snarled before rushing at him all at once. There was no such thing as fair fights in the streets, they had no weapons on them but their fists were more than enough.
—At least that should have been the case if the one they faced was a normal man or even a normal 'human'.
Splash~
Blood splattered. Heads soared high in the sky and four bodies slumped on the ground simultaneously.
The homeless man looked down at the one he had broken the arms of. The face of the young man was stained with disbelief as the blood of his friend splashed on his face. So much so that…he even forgot the pain emanating from his mangled arm.
"You… Argh! Sis, it hurts!"
He could only scream as the hand of the homeless man he had provoked, covered his entire face. The fingers tightened all around his skull, only leaving a gap for his eyes to see the expressionless and indifferent face of the man he had provoked.
"Please stop! Let's go of my brother!"
The woman tried to make the murderer let go by catching his arm. But her struggle was futile and meaningless.
"Please! Anyone!? Help!"
No matter what she did, no matter how much she screamed… He did not let go and she could only watch in horror as his hand continued to tighten around the head of her young brother, slowly deforming it in an inhumane display of strength.
"Argh…"
At first, the young man screamed and tried to fight back but soon it was clear that it was impossible to escape his inevitable faith with sheer power alone. He tried to beg, apologized in a broken voice, cried like a toddler, and screamed his lungs out.
But it was all for naught. His destiny was already sealed from the start.
The hand carved through his face like a knife cutting butter. His cheekbones broke down and were crushed like powder. His jawbone was fractured and broken. His eyes popped out of their sockets and fell to the ground. This continued until his entire head was reduced to mush after exploding like a balloon under the inhuman strength of the trench coat wearing man.
A mixture of brain matter, bones, flesh, and other fluids splashed all around while his eyeballs kept rolling on the ground.
The young man slumped on the ground. He was no more a part of this world.
The vampire breathed deeply. The odor of blood gave him such a rush and deep thirst for blood. He brought his hand to his lips and licked the blood and flesh splattered on top. Vampires did not eat flesh, unlike ghouls. But as he was, anything that had blood in it was a delicacy of the highest degree.
His eyes rolled as he groaned in ecstasy. Meanwhile, the young woman plopped on the ground in silence. Her expression was completely stunned and blank. Her brain had shut down as she continued to look down at the headless body of her brother and his friends.
"Young woman, are you alright?"
She looked up as the homeless man gave her a kind smile while giving her a gentlemanly bow…
"I am sorry you had to see something like that."
He approached her and she immediately screamed instinctually as she tried to move backward. A yellow puddle formed below her on the ground but she had no time to care for the unsightly display. She wanted to leave. She wanted to flee. This was just a nightmare that she wanted to wake up from.
She turned around and crawled away, her legs, unable to give birth to the strength necessary for her to stand up and flee.
"I am truly sorry."
The man caught her by the leg and made sure that she was face to face with him once more.
"Let me go!"
Her pleas fell on deaf ears as the vampire asked with the kindest smile he could muster…
"Are you a virgin?"
The woman was plopped on her ass, her eyes were trembling as tears fell unceasingly. She could not understand what was happening in front of her.
"I am asking a question, aren't I? Do not make me repeat myself."
The woman finally shook her head hurriedly, "I… I am not."
Her voice trembled as she said that line, her brain trying to escape the nightmarish reality that was in front of her.
Sadly…
"Good."
The creepy smile on the face of the man was enough for the woman to understand her fate. For this ceremony, it was important for the woman to be a non-virgin.
"I usually try to give them one last good memory but I am sadly unable to do so this time."
Horror flickered in her eyes as she saw him lower his pants. She had no time to answer as she felt a weight on her body. She tried to fight back but nothing she could do was able to thwart the inhumane strength of the man.
Her eyes grew vacant as she looked up at the clear sky. Her body shook and tears streamed down her face as she felt him enter inside her.
How long did this last for? She did not know. Even as the man released his filthy seed inside her depths, she did not move nor did she respond. Her mind was too far broken for her to put up any retaliation or display any form of resistance.
Her scarred mentality had simply decided to shut down. Fleeing in the deepest parts of her psyche.
Standing up, the man looked down at his handiwork and nodded in glee. He moved his hand inside his coat gently gazing at the last syringe he could use then moved to another pocket, taking out a red page that seemed to have been torn from a book of depraved origins.
He took a deep shaky breath. Simply holding the page made him feel like his mind was about to break. It was a page from the Codex Gigas [1]. Depicting a twisted evil ritual to summon a devil by using the womb of a woman filled with the seed of a monster. Before this, it was necessary to sacrifice five women and use the sixth as the mother of the devil on the 6th day of the week.
After all — Six was the number of the devil. It was also on the 6th day that humans were created.
Finally, after a long long wait… The moment came.
This page had been soaked in the blood, and proof of the copulation he had with all the prostitutes he had killed until now.
He approached his latest victim and placed the page on her stomach approximately around the place where her womb would be.
His eyes filled with tears as madness run amok in his face and his twisted mind.
The past him would have never done something like this. Something so uncouth and blasphemous. The experiment had affected his psyche way too much for him to be able to distinguish anything anymore. All he had left for him was his goal and his purpose. He was long past the path of no return. He was sure that he would burn in hell for his transgressions.
But it was alright…
"Everything for humanity…"
Sacrificing a few to bring salvation to the many.
He sighed as he consoled himself with that knowledge…
"Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken." [2]
His words spread in the air and the smell of sulfur rose from who knows where. The air became heavy as the name of the Prince of Hell— Asmodeus, the Prince of Lust was called at that moment.
The page shone, and a pillar of light shot out into the sky, covering it in an ominous crimson hue.
A magical red circle, depicting a hexagram of devilish origins, formed above in the sky and subsequently on the stomach of the immobile woman.
"Argh!"
The woman screamed, her consciousness returning, as the page slowly entered her body while the circle on her body seemed to have been carved and seared on her very flesh.
Her previously flat stomach started to swell slightly, giving the impression that she had become a few weeks pregnant in a matter of a few seconds.
In the sky, the image of a monster with the tail of a snake and three distinctive heads manifested from the deepest pits of hell.
It had the head of a man spitting fire, the head of an ominous sheep, and the head of a ravenous bull. The monster was riding a lion that had the wings of a dragon.
Once he was sure that everything was finally ready…
There was no going back anymore. He had placed all the pieces in their rightful places. Summoning a demon during its strongest month in the place that weakened him the most in all the realms.
Now— All he had to do was wait for the Director to come. His plans were finally coming to fruition.
—
[1]: The Codex Giga. Also known as The Devil Bible is the largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript in the world, at a length of 92 cm (36 in). The manuscript was created in the early 13th century by a man named Herman the Recluse in the Benedictine monastery of Podlažice near Chrudim in the Czech Republic. The gist of the story is… A monk broke his vow and was sentenced to death. So he swore to write a Bible to honor the monastery in one night. One that would hold all human knowledge. By midnight, the dude realized he was fucked so he made a pact with the devil. The devil completed the manuscript, and the monk added the devil's picture out of gratitude for his aid. In tests to recreate the work, it is estimated that reproducing only the calligraphy, without the illustrations or embellishments, would have taken twenty years of non-stop writing
[2] Asmodeus or Asmoday is a Demon Prince of Lust. He is ranked 32 in the Ars Goetia and in the [Malleus Maleficarum].
It's said that he is at his strongest in November. At the same time, he hates Water and Bird because it reminds him of God.
He was summoned by Solomon to help him build a temple and his enemy is Angel Raphael. Finally, in some depictions, he married Lilith. This isn't the case in my story as you will soon see.
The sentence "Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken" I used is supposedly the true phrase used to summon him. The ritual used is totally different as I created my own ritual for this chapter.
CH 110: MOVEMENTS
What exactly were devils?
Devils were one of the greatest curses of the supernatural world. They were generally referred to as Fallen Celestial beings who were sent to the deepest part of hell after the failed Rebellion of the Light Bringer— Lucifer Morningstar.
In Hell, 72 devils stood tall as the great pillars that sustained the realm, and out of them all, 7 reigned above everyone else, holding power comparable to gods in the respective circle of hells they held dominion over. [1]
King Asmoday— Asmodeus the Prince of Lust and Lechery. A being that was not inferior to any god from the myths and the absolute ruler of the Second Circle of Hell. The place where those who committed fornications were generally sent to.
The moment the Vampire started the ritual to call and summon one of the Seven Princes inside a mortal's flesh…
The world itself seemed to react and reject the entry of this unholy being. Godly entities were forbidden from descending into this world with their true bodies, after all. It was one of the most fundamental rules that were holding this world in place.
—
[Los Angeles — LAPPD]
The moment the crimson-red circle flashed in the sky, sirens resounded in the underground headquarters of the LAPPD task force.
As the governmental force that was protecting Los Angeles, the paranormal had a special city-wide city detector that would react whenever a spike of Prana surpassed a certain level inside the city.
For the guards on shift today, it should have been a normal day of boring and tedious work. But, looking at the alert, they couldn't help but shudder in their spots.
"Shit! What the hell is going on!?"
"A Calamity class? No, not yet. We need to move fast and intercept this!"
"Call the director fast and inform the church."
"But… The church might not cooperate with us."
"Fuck! Tell those holier than thou bastards that if they don't move their ass we might have a repeat of what happened in London."
The guard who had received the order to call the church gulped and began to perforate cold sweat from all over.
Nearly three decades ago, a Demon King class calamitous being, Surtr, was summoned to the city of London. Even though the summoning was only partial, it still brought the opening of the gate of Muspelheim, resulting in a great fire that cost the lives of more than twenty thousand people. It is still recorded in the history of the Supernatural as one of the most unholy phenomena of all time.
A Zodiac was sent to quell the chaos and despite the resulting tens of thousands of deaths, the operation was considered a great success by the majority.
This was what a Calamity class event represented to the people of the Supernatural. It was a dark and gruesome event where even hundreds of thousands or even millions of people might die worthlessly if the correct measurements haven't been taken at the right time.
Since then, the paranormal department had the right to forcibly constrict all hunters and any supernatural beings that were allied with them or were even registered in their network if it was to prevent a Calamity class event from taking place.
"If we have any witches or warlocks from the Academy, make sure they help in keeping people out of the Park. We will bring the full force of—"
"—Captain!"
"What!?"
The captain growled out loud. He was really about to lose his mind due to this chaos, so he didn't have the mentality to deal with insubordination. However, the subordinate that rushed inside the room, screaming at the top of his lungs, with his sweat-covered face was too shocked to care about his misdeeds.
"We just received reports. The four families are simultaneously being attacked by the Cultists and the Vampire Thralls. They will be unable to send reinforcements any time soon. In fact, they are unable to both fight with them and protect the civilians so we might need to send help if we want to tone down the casualties."
The captain groaned visibly at hearing this unbelievable news. But thinking about it, he could understand their plight.
The four families were, in the end, criminal organizations. They did not receive systematic training in how to assure the security of civilians during a crisis situation and would thus be unable to assure their safety.
'Shit! why the hell are those crazy bastards acting up right now!?'
Even though Cultists were crazy to their very last member, they generally avoided attacking big cities with a Director and the accompanying organized Supernatural society that kept crimes and disorder in check.
But now… It was clear that this was a calculated strike aimed at the thought of using the divide and conquer principle.
'Fuck! Just what the hell is going on today!?'
"Send the message to the Director. The final decision will be hers."
He did not have absolute confidence in this new Director of theirs since she was quite young and might have gotten her position thanks to her ties with the Kaminari family…
Now though, he had no choice but to believe in her to get them out of this predicament.
—
On the other side of the city of Los Angeles, in the neighborhood of Adam's home, Cecilia suddenly frowned as she looked up at the ceiling and scanned the skies far into the horizon.
She was currently in the basement of her home, working on a training regimen for herself and Adam while speaking with Makarov. But all of a sudden, she got a bad premonition. A feeling that something was wrong. Something dangerous was about to befall someone she loved and cared for.
Acting on her instincts, she dialed Adam's phone number but frowned when she saw that the number was not going through. Her doubts heightened with that result.
She was now surer than ever that something bad was happening to Adam. It reminded her of an event of the past that she wished to forget but was never able to as it was imprinted on her mind. The one that allowed her to become renowned as the Vermillion Knight. The event that plagued her to this day.
'Adam is in danger.'
The problem now was… Just where was he?
'He said that he would be going to Little Tokyo with Sae and Viktor. Let's start from there.'
"All right, let's go out then."
She stood up and went ahead to rummage through a few long staffs that were held together in a corner of the room until she took out an ebony-hued Staff of unique design and aesthetics.
'This is it….'
Makarov showed a face of consternation as he looked at the Black Staff, one of his greatest creations, being treated as mere trash to be stored in the basement of all things.
He sighed and asked in a serious voice, "I don't know what happened but I believe in your beastly instincts. What is the matter exactly?"
It only took a few moments for him to discern that something was wrong from seeing Cecelia's change of expression and her subsequent actions.
In the end, he sighed, "This is why I don't like walking out. So, what shall we do?"
"You stay here while I go and see what the hell is happening with my son. The house is protected by a barrier that repels evil beings and masks the presence of the Supernatural. So there will be no problem on your end."
Makarov did not insist on coming with her. He was but only a blacksmith. He knew how to fight and fend for himself but it would obviously be far inferior to what Cecilia could do and deal with. By following her, he would only become an additional hindrance. He wasn't willing to become dead weight.
'Viktor, my grandson, I hope you are alright…'
He would never forgive himself if anything happened to his grandson.
"You seem eerily calm despite knowing your son might be in danger."
Cecilia smiled thinly, "Had it been a few weeks ago, I would have been worried sick right about now. But the current Adam is strong. I have faith that he can keep himself alive, at the very least."
He was also immortal. But this was something she couldn't exactly say now, could she?
Cecilia tightened her grip on her trusty staff, the sleeping form of her strongest weapon to date.
Her blood boiled as the situation once again reminded her of the events of the distant past. One of her darkest memories after the loss of her family. What most considered to be her origin was something that she desperately wished to forget but could never part with. The smell of charred flesh and agonizing soul-wrenching voices of the people being burned alive still haunted her in her sleep.
In her current situation, it was impossible to reproduce the feat she accomplished all those years ago. But…
'My heart is still strong.'
She could still do it. She had been training and increasing her reserves of Prana since her heart was not suppressing Adam's curse anymore.
The damages could not be healed and she had to be careful with her output.
Even then, it should be more than enough to handle anything the Supernatural could throw at her…
"Take this."
"Hmm?"
Makarov walked away and came back with a phone and a briefcase. An odd combination to give to someone who was about to go out to battle. So, Cecilia couldn't help but tilt her head and look at him with a quizzical expression.
"This phone has the coordinates of Viktor at all times. If he is still with Adam, it will be easy to find them and track them down."
Makarov went through too much shit to not have a way to locate his family in case of emergencies and this experience proved him to be right for thinking up such countermeasures.
"As for this…"
He looked down at the suitcase with a complicated expression.
"It's a state of the art [~S.K~] battlesuit."
—
While Cecilia was preparing herself for battle after a long long time…
Theresa was riding her bike at life-threatening levels of speed as she cruised through the LA traffic with Makoto standing on the helms of the bike behind her while holding a sword drenched in blood with cold unfeeling eyes.
"Makoto, are they all dead?"
"Yes. Please, stay on alert, master. We have a bunch of bastards to kill on the way."
"Understood, my protege…"
Theresa grinned visibly. The engine of the superbike growled before the vehicle accelerated further with blazing speeds that could kill normal people with the wind pressure alone as they zoomed toward the location of the Pacific Park.
The situation may be dangerous but as a hunter who swore to protect humanity and a survivor from the Cultists' rampages. It was her duty to fight.
And she would never shirk away from that…
CH 111: SAINTESS
『 Epic Ordeal: White Knight.
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Save everyone from certain death and flee from this place. Otherwise, something worse than Death might happen to you.
Reward: + 5000 Karma || 1 Free pass to the Silver Section of the Library.
Notice: The final reward will be diminished by 10 Karma for every death.
Mission: Save People 495/500 』
『 Epic Ordeal: Grey Knight.
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Focus on the heart of the matter. Find the culprit, kill him, and end this before it's too late.
Reward: +10000 Karma || 1 Free Pass to the Silver section of the Library. 』
『 Epic Ordeal: Black Knight
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Be part of the Chaos.
Reward: +10000 Karma || 1 Free Pass to the Silver section of the Library.
Notice: For every person you kill, you will receive an additional 20 Karma.
Mission: 0/495 』
Adam immediately used his Accelerated Thinking skill to heighten his senses and information gathering abilities. The world around him seemed to have come to a standstill with the activation of his heightened perception. This skill was quite a burden on his mind and body when used in conjecture with his other skills. However, when simply used in a standalone fashion he was able to take the burden put on his mind.
White Knight… Grey Knight… Black Knight…
This was not the first time he had received quests, or ordeals as Genesis liked to term them, with such names from the Book. The same had happened after the second time he came back from the Library and had to choose between Protecting Sae or not.
He had already noticed this fact. But rather than traditional quests and riddles, the Book seemed to be giving him moral tests to judge his personality.
He was more than a bit bemused by this realization, but he was not really able to do anything about it. For now, he had to make a choice. He did not focus on any of the rewards but instead thought about the situation itself.
Something big and positively horrifying was about to take place. Adam did not have deep knowledge about demonology, something he would have to work on after surviving through this ordeal, but just from the malevolent crest imprinted in the sky and the way the people started groaning and screaming with its arrival, he knew that this was very bad news for them.
'Think Adam! Think!'
There were 500 people inside the park at the moment. And 5 had already met their demise. Could he search and protect more than 400 people all by himself?
If his domain had been larger, he could have fancied the thought of trying that option. But currently, it only evolved enough to cover a measly area of a hundred square meters. At an estimate, the Park was more than fifteen thousand square meters at the very least. There were more chances for it to be more with the underground facilities and who knows what else infrastructure that was inside this place.
'Mission impossible, it seems.'
He had neither the authority nor the capability and training necessary to keep so many people away from harm's reach while escaping himself. So the White Knight quest would be extremely hard for him to do. But — Saving a few people was still possible.
For the ordeal called Black Knight, he didn't even need to think about it. Adam was ready to kill the people who had attacked him first. But he hadn't devolved into a psychopathic monster who would kill innocent people just to gather Karma and earn benefits.
In the end, this left him with only two options.
Flee alone with his friends in tow while perhaps trying to protect as many people as possible by choosing the White Knight.
Choose the Grey Knight options and fight for their survival.
'Okay. Let's move. First, I need to find Sae.'
The slowed-down world went back to normal as Adam canceled his skill. The skill had already drawn a lot of his mental strength, and he had a slight headache that thankfully subsided as fast as it arrived.
"Natasha. Take Viktor and let's search for Sae."
Natasha groaned visibly. She was still reeling from the small look she had given to the magical circle. It was corrupting her mind.
"We need to move fast. This circle is spreading mental corruption. There are high chances that all the people here will either become crazy or worse— change into monsters."
Adam's expression distorted slightly at her remark. If he had access to the EX-ranked skill— Telepathy, he might have been able to do something about this mental corruption. Alas, he didn't.
'Fuck…'
He immediately started running on his feet and reached Viktor in a matter of a few seconds. The tall young man was speaking hurriedly with a black-haired girl who seemed to be in her twenties and a middle-aged man.
The two were also wearing swimsuits and had a watch on their wrists. They had likely come here to have a fun day at the Park and like them, they had been embroiled in this situation.
"Adam! It's good that you are here. This is Jhon Miller and Louis Thompson. They are official hunters!"
Adam glanced at the two after hearing that news. It was the first time he was close enough to official hunters to have a discussion with them.
But his eyes couldn't help but twitch slightly when he inspected them through his Eyes of Truth.
『 Name: Oscar Rodriguez
Affiliation: Hunter Association
Alias: none
Race: Human
Age: 38 』
『 Name: Susanne Brown
Affiliation: Hunter Association
Alias: none
Race: Human
Age: 27 』
He immediately switched to using the Eyes of Empathy and from their color, he realized that while they weren't hostile, they had a Yellow color surrounding their bodies, giving out a feeling of wariness.
He immediately understood their situation. In this place with an event such as this, believing in anyone was foolish and now they knew his name and potentially that of Natasha's, and obviously Viktor's as well.
'Sigh…'
"Hello, young friends. Now the situation we have here is quite tight. If we are lucky, there will be a few more hunters around. Why don't we work together to get out of this predicament, huh…"
Adam frowned. They were obviously experienced hunters. He did not know how strong they were nor what power they had and it was why he was all the more careful about mixing in with this bunch.
Hunters got their power from working in groups, after all.
"I have a friend I want to find. Will you help us?"
The two could only respond with an awkward and forced look and that was all it took for Adam to understand their intent.
"I understand. Then, I think it's better to work separately. We will try to protect the people on our side if we can."
The male hunter groaned and looked around, "The problem is the mental corruption, honestly. Currently, it's only a headache and the majority of them are stunned and too out of it to move. But if nothing is done soon, the situation will become worse. Far far worse."
"Hmm, excuse me."
A girl approached them from the distance. She was a cute girl with long pinkish-red hair that reached her waist and pure gem-like pure pink-colored eyes.
It was a color like no other, and needless to say, it made her as unique as one could be. Hell, people would think that she was cosplaying like Sae at the unusuality of her appearance.
She was wearing a long shirt that covered her whole body and beneath it was what looked like a pristine white one-piece swimsuit.
『 Name: Elysia Castitas
Affiliation: Vatican
Alias: Saintess || Holy Daughter || One of the Seven
Race: Human
Age: 18 』
Her face was flushed red and the two hunters moved clearly to protect her as they stood between her and them but she shook her head to dissuade their behavior, "Now isn't the time for secrets. It must be God's will that we found ourselves here in this place and in this harrowing situation."
She placed her hands together and Adam's brows couldn't help but twitch as he literally saw light Bloom behind her with that gesture.
When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with a powerful and pure luster, unlike anything Adam had seen in the Supernatural world.
"The unholy being who wishes to trespass our world is The Prince of Lust. His dominion has already started to spread its depraved form of chaos.
"It's now impossible for normal humans to leave this place as they will all become sacrifices for the army of Asmodeus.
"We need to stop his descent at any and all costs. Otherwise, the life of all the innocents here will be forfeited and a legion of demons in human skins will walk on this world."
Her voice seemed to contain infinite gentleness and holiness. But her words made the situation all the more hellish for everyone present.
"If the demon descends in a body… Can we save them?"
She could only provide a sad smile in response and shook her head with a strained sigh.
Adam understood now what the Black Knight Ordeal truly entailed.
He breathed deeply at the revelation. Saving people was, of course, a good thing and he was not against it. But everything had a priority attached to it.
"What exactly do you propose that we do in this situation?"
"I can create a sanctuary that will protect people from corruption. Once I do so, however, I will be unable to move or leave that place. If you choose to stay with us, we will need to hold on until help comes our way."
Everyone gave her a look of awe. Normal people couldn't leave this place but they certainly could.
This meant that she was willingly putting her life in danger in order to save and protect the people here.
'I guess if she had the book she would have immediately chosen the White Knight Quest without even batting an eyelid.'
"You are not telling us to stay here, are you?"
"Who am I to decide what others must do? My faith and conviction are mine and mine alone. I cannot and will not ever force anyone to take the same risks as I do."
Looking at the young girl in front of him who seemed to have infinite courage within her small frame, Adam closed his eyes and finally made his decision…
CH 112: GARDEN
In the end, Adam made one simple decision on his part…
"Natasha, take Viktor with you, find Sae then leave this place.
"What!?"
"Adam!?"
"Stop. We don't have much time to discuss anything right now. Viktor, you are not a fighter. If you stay with us, we will have to protect you. Let me be clear here. Your grandfather entrusted you to me the moment we went out. Your security is of paramount importance."
Adam looked up at the skies above. Already, the weather was starting to change for the worse. The sea was stirring and the wind was picking up progressively. It felt like a tornado would cover this place at any moment.
The shouts and screams of human beings were increasing with each passing second.
"Sae is in an even worse situation. It's because of us that she is in this place."
Natasha couldn't help but groan at this situation, "But… Normal humans [1] can't…"
"Don't worry about that. Try to get her out. If it's impossible, then come back and use the protection of this place to your advantage."
"You… You are quite shameless."
Adam ignored the man's ridiculing voice and words. Sae was not truly a human anymore. So she should be able to leave this place with them. Thankfully even if she wasn't, there was a lifeline at this place to save them.
"Natasha…"
He looked deeply into the eyes of the shapeshifting girl, "I believe in you. I leave their protection in your hands."
Natasha fought tooth and nail, or was it fangs and claws, to protect him even though she thought he was dead during their time of peril. She was a powerful fighter and he knew he could believe in her to handle this mission.
"You are really unfair, you know?"
"Hey… You know, I have been listening to you talk for some time already. But isn't this a little too much? You are basically telling us to die while you flee with your friends? Aren't you ashamed as a hunter?"
Adam sighed visibly and directed a cold stare toward the woman who interrupted them.
"Let me correct some assumptions of yours. Firstly… I am not a hunter and neither am I your subordinate so you don't get to say that to me."
[Fear]
A frigid aura spread from his body as the center, causing the woman to take a step back and cold sweat to drench her back. She felt like she was not facing a young boy anymore but a large and hungry feral beast ready to devour her to the bone.
"Secondly… I am not fleeing from this place."
She was not the only one to be startled by his aura. Even Natasha narrowed her eyes sharply while Viktor seemed to be paralyzed on the spot. The other hunter placed his hand on his watch on reflex. The only one who seemed unaffected by his skill was the so-called Saintess but Adam was not surprised by her immunity.
For someone who was ready to die for others and sacrifice herself to this extent… He doubted fear was even part of their dictionary. But did that really matter to him? In the first place, he just wanted to make them understand that they were not pushovers that they could control and monopolize as they wished. He was not about to let themselves be used like puppets.
He looked up at the sky again, thinking about a crazy idea he had been harboring from the moment he learned how to control Gravity.
"I am not going to flee. Rather — I am going to fly."
Adam ignored the dumbfounded gazes that were literally seemed to be asking "What the hell is this bastard saying?" and focused on his powers.
It was a multitasking feat that suited his Parallel Thinking skill.
The others could only watch on as his feet slowly began to leave the ground and continued to go up until he was two meters above them already.
Opening his eyes Adam couldn't help but sigh out loud…
'This is actually easier than I thought.'
The first thing he did was lower the gravity surrounding him.
W=Mg. The most fundamental principle of weight.
It was far easier for him to lower gravity than actually increase it and he was able to lower it to around a third of his body. effectively dividing his weight by three.
'If it's like that, then I can help more people…'
"I will go search for people I can save and bring them here. If I find the ritual place, I will try to stop it if I can. If I can't, at least I will have found the location for when help comes."
He did not wait for more answers and continued to fly up into the air.
Whoosh. He accelerated and left their vision altogether.
—
Looking at him flying in the air, Natasha clenched her fists before exhaling a shaky breath.
"Viktor, let's go."
She gave a glance at the two hunters and the Saintess before speaking, "I will come back and help protect this place once I have secured the safety of my friends."
Elysia, who had been looking in the direction where Adam flew immediately glanced at Natasha after hearing her speak and clasped her hand. A large smile spread on her face as she looked at Natasha with kind eyes, "Your friendship is truly a beautiful spectacle. I wish you luck."
She kneeled and placed her hands together, and a golden light began to emit from her body, entirely covering her being in a pure and holy light.
"Truly, this is fate that brought me to this place. Don't you think so — Lailah [2]"
A pillar of golden light shot out in the sky as she muttered that name and a large dome began to cover the place with a holy radiance. But she knew that this was not enough.
In order to protect the people here from the pollution of a godlike being like Asmodeus, they needed more than just a makeshift barrier.
She brought a finger to her lips and savagely bit on it with absolutely no hesitation. Pain shot through her brain but she paid no mind to it.
If this pain could help her save and protect more people, she would suffer ten times or a hundred times more if necessary.
"Saintess!"
She directed a fierce glance at the two guards shouting at her to seemingly stop. As if daring them to even try stopping her. Gone was the gentleness and the calm smile that perpetually graced the girl's lips. There was only resolution left on her face.
She continued to bite her finger until blood splashed on the ground. Only then did she stop her bloody act.
Lowering her head, she muttered a prayer to the gods above,
"I call down, the Sacred Sanctuary. [Garden of Eden]"
The projection of hell, the odor of sulfur, and the groans of humans all vanished in an instant.
What replaced it was the projection of a beautiful world covering a radius of more than three hundred meters, filled with chants and the projection of a green pasture. The air was refreshing, free of all pollution. It was as if a place straight out of fantasy had appeared.
Chains filled with thorns shot out from the ground and covered the hands and feet of Elysia, drawing even more blood to seemingly sustain this place carved out from paradise.
"You…"
"Heheh… I did say I wouldn't be able to move once I started, right? Now go. I believe you will come back."
Natasha growled slightly at this sight before nodding. Now wasn't the time to leave herself to her emotions.
Her eyes shone with a red luster as she pulled Viktor and flashed away from this place.
Now alone with her two guards, Elysia gave them a small smile,
"You are not leaving?"
The two looked at each other before speaking, "You are putting us in a difficult position. If anything happens to you, the Vatican will take the Association as responsible. Your life is more valuable than all the people here."
The man, whose true name was Oscar, was blunt. They were hunters. Not heroes. They could not save everyone and sometimes they had to make sacrifices.
The life of a woman who could make a contract with an Archangel was too precious to lose just to save a few hundred people.
Even though her blood was being drained from her body and her expression was pale, Elysia showed a simple and calm countenance,
"I am the only one who can judge the worth of my life. I believe this is the most basic freedom."
She would never ask anyone to sacrifice themselves for her ideals and in the same way, she would reject anyone who wanted to stop her from sacrificing herself for her ideals.
Sussane gave a pleading look toward Oscar who could only sigh, "This is why I hate dealing with kids. You guys are too vigorous. Fuck it. Let's do it."
He touched the watch on his hand and a large futuristic armor formed around his previously naked body.
Seeing this, Sussane grinned and did the same.
"We will fight with you."
As the two said this, they looked far ahead. Portals had started to appear outside the gardens.
Hundreds of hands flayed around as if trying to tear everything apart. Thousands of eyes appeared, making anyone looking at them feel goosebumps.
The Legion of hell was coming down on earth to invoke Chaos.
CH 113: HELLISH SIGHTS
The moment Natasha left the confines of the Garden of Eden, the skill created by Elysia to carve a holy sanctuary in this place, she immediately cursed in her mind as she realized how bad the situation had become and was becoming outside of the sanctuary.
'Shit.'
She cursed vehemently at the nonsensical sight that was hanging in front of her. Unlike godly entities of the supernatural world, as long as the appropriate price was paid and the one doing the summoning was skilled enough, hordes of grunts could easily be summoned by just about any skilled person.
'Are we facing some kind of old monster? Fuck this shit!'
She cursed once again, not knowing what else to do after what she was seeing. Humans who had the talent and power necessary to bring godly entities into this world were few and far between. It was something even the summoners from the Faust family, the most renowned Summoner family among the Supernaturals, wouldn't be able to do without paying a huge price.
No matter where she looked, the world was gradually changing and morphing into a demonic land.
Corruption. This wasn't just a mental process that transpired in living entities. It was in fact, a physical concept that could be superimposed on reality, as the godly entities – bearing that concept – brought its territory down with him to the mortal world.
This result was sometimes temporary but most of the time it was permanent. Even if they managed to solve this problem, Pacific Park would never open its gate again and the whole zone would become off-limits due to being inflicted with corruption.
"Viktor, can you hold on for a bit?"
Viktor was still feeling down about being forced to leave this place but he understood that Adam had made the most rational judgment after taking into account their fighting capabilities. He was aware of the reality that he was basically a burden in this scenario. He understood, yes, but that didn't mean that he wasn't sad and frustrated about that reality.
"I am alright. Let's find Sae. Even if we can't bring her out of this hell hole, we should bring her to that nun and the sanctuary she created."
Viktor only knew Sae for a few hours, but he had learned enough about her to understand that she was a kind and hyperactive young woman. Though a little bit shameless. Viktor was beginning to see her as a friend and he would be quite sad to see someone he knew and saw as a friend died like that.
"Very well."
'The space has already started to change.'
Natasha hid the worry she was feeling in her heart. Normally, with her speed, she should have reached the changing room in a few seconds. But there was still nothing in sight even after traveling for some time.
She could feel that the space was slowly stretching and expanding beyond the initial area that it originally had.
"Viktor. Be ready. This is going to be dangerous."
Red portals opened and a vision of horrors was revealed beyond them as hundreds of hands and eyes opened from the dimension beyond.
'Ugh.'
Natasha felt like she was about to throw up just from looking at that sight. This was something that went beyond the understanding of mere mortals like them.
People kept groaning and screaming all around but some of them… began to rise from the ground. Their faces were distorted with pain and hysteria, as well as a blend of malevolent and dark emotions. Soon, they cackled, uttering words she could not understand with her ears but each word seemed to attack her mind and tried to corrupt and erode her conscience.
They were demons. Possessing the body of humans after devouring their souls. Those human souls would suffer eternal torment under the blasphemous beings from the deepest depths of Hell.
Natasha mourned inwardly for the poor humans who were for all purposes — Dead.
Today should have been a happy day for them. A day of relaxation as they went out with their friends, family, or lovers, and even close acquaintances. But all of this was a story of the past now. There was no more for them left in this world.
'I have no other choice. Forgive me!'
Natasha's claws gleamed in a razor-sharp light and the red brimming in her eyes deepened as she readied herself for what she was about to do.
"Are you going to kill them?"
Natasha frowned at Viktor's stiff words, "You won't say something stupid like we should spare them, right?"
Viktor had a conflicted expression on his face. It seemed that Natasha had hit the bullseye. He could see the demons wearing human skins.
Old men and women, young fit boys and girls in the prime of their ages, and even little children who knew nothing of the world and should have been immersed in their own worlds.
The demons were indiscriminating in their possessions. He knew that they were doomed. But perhaps? Just a little… There was still hope inside him that they could be saved.
Viktor closed his eyes. Remembering the words of wisdom imparted to him by his Grandfather. In the world of hunters, kindness was the right of the strong. The weak had only one goal and that was to survive.
"Do as you need."
He felt something in him die slightly as he leaked out those horrible words. He did not know whether it was a good or a bad thing for him but he mourned for that lost self all the same.
Soon, screams of agony and pain resounded as Natasha fought with the possessed demonic humans.
'Sick sadistic bastards!'
Demons would not feel pain in a body that wasn't theirs. They would simply be sent back to hell after having their possessed bodies destroyed. They were intentionally making those sounds to hurt her conscience. To affect her mentality and make her hesitate in killing these humans.
But Natasha knew for certain that hesitation would only lead to one outcome for her –– Death. The demons were growing in both strength and numbers and soon there would be so many of them that she would not be able to handle their onslaught. She could not afford to waste more time.
In the end, after a long trail of bloodshed, Natasha found herself in the changing room where Sae went after her tryst with Adam.
—There was no one there.
—––
What did it feel like to fly in the skies above?
This was a long dream that any and all humans had at least once in their lives. Soaring high in the sky, feeling the wind brushing past their skin, and breathing the absolute freedom that seemed to permeate the air all around. To realize this dream, humans created planes, then went on to create extreme sports such as sky diving— a sport that entailed the person jumping from high altitudes using a plane or any other flying vehicle while wearing a parachute.
All of this was very exciting, exhilarating even. But it didn't change the reality of their circumstances. It wasn't a true flight into the infinite skies. One was just sitting in a flying machine and the second was just a cooler way of falling down, it even had the word for falling on the name of the sport.
For Adam, however, it was different as he had realized this dream with his own strength and the first thing he realized was that.
Flying was a very painful feeling.
'Fuck.'
He had made a mistake in accelerating too fast and ended up facing the full brunt of wind resistance which made him feel like he was just about to die at any moment.
There were a lot of things he needed to keep in mind while flying.
Firstly, he had to keep his stability in the sky to avoid staying in an awkward position. Then he had to protect himself from the wind resistance that was just about to rip his skin off mere moments ago. He felt like he had hit a solid wall after accelerating beyond a certain point and he realized one truth of physic.
The faster something went, the slower it would become as the resistance applied to it exponentially increased. Adam had felt the truth of viscosity. He had to intuitively, lower his gravity, keep a constant gravitational field to maintain that lower gravity around him, move his body, stabilize his body, protect his body from air friction, accelerate his body, then keep a look at his surroundings to save and help people in need.
Perhaps in the future, he would be able to do all those actions instinctively, but for now, he felt like a baby that was learning just the steps to how to stand up on his two feet and walk with them.
The sad thing was, Adam wasn't really given much time to think about his flying skills.
He had to move fast. He was still undecided about the whole thing but he wanted to at least help save a few more people.
No matter how fast he moved, people would still die. Already, the vision down below was akin to hell.
Demons in human skins were moving around in various positions. Some were fighting, tearing each other apart down to the very last bone before eating each other. Some were acting in the most indecent ways possible. Doing things Adam could not even describe with his words. Act of utter and complete perversion.
Adam felt like tears were about to stream down his eyes at the inhumane and profane actions that were being conducted down below. Not even toddlers and children were spared from the cruelty of the blasphemous demons.
This…
'Bastards!'
He gritted his teeth so hard that blood flowed from his lips and gums. He wanted to go down right now and kill them all for doing such acts.
But… This would be attacking the tree and ignoring the forest.
Asmodeus, the Demon Prince of Lust. His dominion was slowly spreading around this place. Killing them now would only be a temporary measure. He needed to stay calm and rational. He needed to stay as composed as possible and act in the most logical way possible.
'I need to find the ritualist first.'
Even if he couldn't fight. Even if he couldn't win. He had to find that bastard's location. He had to at least know where the person responsible was in order to share the information with them.
Adam began to fly higher in altitude. He hesitated from doing this action from the start due to several glaring issues. For one, he was putting himself in a dangerous situation as he was easy to spot in the high skies where the crest of Asmodeus was located. But more importantly, he could see that the higher he went, the more affected he was by the constantly spreading corruption. Already his mind was getting blurry with profane and blasphemous thoughts.
But Adam fought those thoughts. Fought that feeling with his absurdly high willpower. There was a reason he went so high.
[Hawk Eyes] + [Eyes of Emphaty.] + [Appraisal]
The Eyes of Truth that held all those skills was not limited by his domain alone. A hawk could spot his prey from miles ahead.
'Where are you?'
He knew that it was a dangerous gamble. He remembered the warning Lilith had given him. Trying to use his Eyes of Truth on Celestial supernatural beings meant that they would be able to pinpoint his position or even retaliate against his scanning.
『 Name: Mark Lee (Hkshala)
Affiliation: N/A (Legion of Asmodeus)
Alias: N/A
Race: Human (Demon)
Age: 30 (598) 』
『 Name: Zoe Thompson (Hkdapsasa)
Affiliation: N/A (Legion of Asmodeus)
Alias: N/A
Race: Human (Demon)
Age: 8 (376) 』
.
.
.
Names after names were filtered in his mind and because of his Eidetic memory, were now engraved in his brain, never to be forgotten. From young babies to people reaching their 80s. He could simultaneously see the information of the humans and the information of the demons possessing them at the same time.
It hurt. His heart felt overwhelmed by the sight and the over-drafting of his skills. But he did not stop. Sadly, no matter how searched, he seemed to be unable to find the one he wanted to find.
'What should I do?'
It was when he was starting to lose all hope, a name caught his attention. Something he would have never thought was possible.
『 Name: Sae Kirishima (Lilith)
Affiliation: None (?)
Alias: N/A (?)
Race: Cambion (Succubus)
Age: 21 (?) 』
A feminine voice resounded in his head…
[Come down, boy. I allowed you to take a peek at my information. Don't you think you need to take responsibility?]
It was a voice Adam would recognize no matter what — the voice of Lilith.
[I believe we can make a deal.]
CH 114: DEAL
『 Name: Sae Kirishima (Lilith)
Affiliation: None (?)
Alias: N/A (?)
Race: Cambion (Succubus)
Age: 21 (?) 』
The moment Adam saw the information reflect on his retina, he immediately saw red in his eyes as his mind went blank with rage.
His aura blazed as he flew at top speed toward the source of the name, reaching that place instantly despite the distance dividing him from the source.
"Lilith! What have you done!?"
His vehement roar, filled with his wrath and agony, was followed by the stirring of a great storm of innumerable forces and a powerful hand made of pure telekinetic powers grabbed Sae, slowly bringing her toward him.
"Ohh… I didn't think that my little talk would elicit such a response from you."
Lilith showed no signs of worries on her, or rather Sae's, face despite the storm of mystical power that was brimming in the air surrounding them due to Adam's burst of emotions.
This was not her body, after all. And knowing the information about the body she was occupying she was sure that he wouldn't be willing to hurt it either.
"Though you should calm down for a bit. You are hurting her."
Silence fell between the two for a while, but she could feel that the telekinetic hand that was restraining her in the air was slowly loosening somewhat with her words, making her smile.
"Speak."
"My, my~ Where is the young and polite lad from the last time we met?"
Soon, Adam's right eye began to glow with a golden luster, which surprised Lilith and caused her to shrug her shoulders,
"Alright, alright… I will stop teasing you. You're no fun."
Once Adam's eyes went back to their normal color she directed a sly smile toward him as she spoke in a coquettish tone, "Well, firstly don't you worry about her. Unlike those poor bastards who had their souls devoured by those imbeciles, I simply possessed her for a short period of time without harming her in any way. She is my descendant, after all. I won't hurt my own blood for no reason."
Sae had the bloodline of a Lilim, one of the two Succubus races she had created with the help of Prime Adam's Bloodline.
"Her bloodline would have never awakened in a normal situation with how thin the concentration of it was. But I guess she must have received something from you, right~?"
As she spoke that line with a coquettish note, she looked down at a particular part of Adam and smiled an indecent smile, "Knowing my history… This is quite ironic actually. Don't you think so, Adam~?"
The way she pronounced his name had a certain mocking tone to it that irritated him to no end.
In a normal situation, Adam would have felt slightly embarrassed by the indication of her words. But currently, all he cared about was the situation at hand and so his irritation was justified.
He didn't know much about souls, but he doubted having the soul of a woman as old as the history of creation itself in your body would be very helpful for Sae even if Lilith mentioned that she wasn't putting her at any risk with her possession.
"What do you want? Speak."
Adam knew that he should calm down right now and act rationally. He had no knowledge of exorcism and he didn't know what Lilith could do to Sae's body if she got mad. But the whole situation wasn't really helping her much with that task.
"Heh~ What I want is pretty simple, actually. As I mentioned… Make a deal with me…."
"...Are you threatening me with her body?"
"Of course not. I have already said that I am causing no harm to her with my possession and can guarantee that I will not hurt her in any way, shape, or form, be it directly or indirectly. In fact, my presence in her body will only be beneficial to her as it will strengthen her soul and bloodline the more I stay with her."
"How can I trust you?"
"Adam… Devils don't lie. We mislead. We omit the truth. We twist facts and information in such a way that could lead us to the most profit. But…We absolutely never lie. There is nothing more sacred than a contract for us. Trust me on that."
Adam's brows furrowed into a deep frown at her words. Hearing a devil talk about the concepts of sacredness and trust was incredibly funny to him. But there was one thing that he gleamed from her words.
'She is not a devil now, is she?'
Adam did not voice those words out loud. It was only speculation on his part. But in his understanding, Devils were all fallen angels. Lilith was a human at her core no matter what she became later on.
The problem was that, even if he put this in the open, nothing would change. He wouldn't be able to magically trust Lilith but there was nothing he could do in this situation either. There was no need to tear off all masks of cordiality between them.
"Very well. I will hear you out. What do you want?"
Making a deal with the devil. Adam made sure to be careful with his words. Lilith was thousands of times more experienced than him with her age and wisdom. If he was not careful, she would and could toy endlessly with him as she desired.
"What I want is, as I mentioned, very simple."
She pointed toward the sky where the mark of Asmodeus was slowly spreading and occupying more and more area…
"I want to devour his authority."
It was time for her to get back what she was originally promised.
—
On the other side of the Park that now resembled the pits of hell,
After helplessly searching for Sae for who knows how long, tears brimmed at the corner of Natasha's eyes as the emotions of loss and pain overwhelmed her mind. This meant that her dear friend Sae… had most likely been possessed or was already dead somewhere in this space.
There were no other options.
She looked down briefly before catching Viktor with her hands and speaking to him in a shaky voice…
"Let's… go…"
Her eyes were completely dyed in red, and this time not just because of her transformation. However, she could not let herself be bogged down by useless sentimentality right now, not in this situation. She had to at least make sure that Viktor was safe.
Viktor tried to argue with her. But, looking at Natasha's body drenched in blood and the expression of sadness and pain marring her face, he closed his mouth.
He had only known Sae for less than a day. Natasha had been friends with the cheerful woman for years already.
This decision would be much more difficult and heavy for her than for him. He had no right to speak of anything else in such a situation.
It didn't take long for Natasha to find the exit. She could see a slight red membrane of Prana where the gate should be. She understood now why no humans could pass through without having Prana.
She placed her hand against the wall and had to push hard with the use of her explosive Prana to finally pass through the blockade.
The moment they stepped on the other side, Natasha and Viktor took a deep breath of the open air of the natural world. Natasha would have never imagined that the polluted air of Los Angeles would feel so sweet to her.
But her happiness was short-lived,
"Ooh~ I would have never thought someone would walk out of that hellhole. Though I guess it's a godsend that you did. Now then, you two, why don't you identify yourself?"
Right in front of Natasha, a group of armed men all wearing power armor that hid their identities was standing with weapons ready in her hand. But the blazon of the LAPPD could be seen quite clearly.
Seeing all the weapons pointed at them, they were forced to raise their hand in surrender. Natasha did not fear the armed men. What she feared, was the red-haired woman standing in front of her with her arm crossed beneath her bountiful chest.
"I am Natasha Antonovna Nikitina, a member of the Great Wolves, the man behind is my friend, Viktor. The situation is very urgent."
"It is, isn't it?"
All around, one could see people in priest's clothes kneeling on the dirt-covered ground and praying, while men and women wearing black clothes were chanting spells. It was a surreal sight of Warlocks and Witches working in unison with people from the side of the church.
This scene showed how dire the current situation had become.
"We managed to slightly restrain the propagation of the domain but this is only a temporary measure. So, can you tell me what's really happening inside?"
"Yes…"
The sooner she explained the faster she could go back to help Adam and find Sae. Deep down, she still hoped that she was wrong and that Sae was still alive somewhere in that piece carved out of hell.
As such, she relayed to her everything she knew about this situation. From the circle in the sky to the presence of the saintess and the descent of the demons in this world and the subsequent corruption that had spread inside.
The more she listened, the deeper Theresa's frown became. In the end, she swept her hair behind and nodded with a stiff face. There was only one question she had for the wolf girl, "Will you go back in?"
"I will."
Her answer was immediate. There was no hesitation in her voice and the resolve in her eyes was more than enough to explain everything to her.
"Makoto. Follow her in and help them deal with the ritual."
Makoto's grip tightened around her sword. She could feel a malicious gaze from all around this corrupted plane. Without a doubt, someone was observing them and forcibly keeping Theresa in this place.
If Theresa entered, then all the people here would most likely get killed.
This event was becoming bigger and bigger with each passing second. It was too organized. Too well planned.
In the end, though, there was only one answer she could and would give.
"Understood."
She was the Lightning Blade. She had reached the rank of an Executor. Her role was very simple, all things considered.
It was to smite all evil in her sight.
CH 115: CHOICE
Adam and Lilith both flew into the sky, rushing in the direction Lilith was pointing toward.
"The space had been affected and manipulated due to the all-encompassing corruption spouting out of the dimension beyond. You won't be able to find the one who made the contract with Asmodeus in such a situation. But luckily, it just so happens that I share the same domain and concept as that lecherous bastard."
The park could not be recognized any longer. The different attractions that constituted the inside of the park were distorted beyond belief and twisted into different weird shapes and sizes. The demonic laughter of the monsters below filled the stifling sulfur-infused air. It was a macabre scene that couldn't even appear in one's worst nightmares. No depiction of hell could come close to the scene that was surrounding the duo.
It made one wonder just how so much sin and chaos could exist in one place.
In the end, they finally reached a corridor. More than a hundred demons were standing quietly in silence, scattered all around the widely stretched corridor. All the demonic beings infesting this place had a blank gaze riveting toward the end of the hallway.
"Are you ready? The one guarding this place is quite strong. I opened the Chakras of this body but it's too weak to be of much help for long. I will help you deal a decisive blow, but you will have to do much of the fighting yourself."
"Don't worry about that. You do what you have to do and keep Sae safe."
Adam took a deep breath and invoked the Book in his mind.
'Genesis…'
[...]
'I have decided.'
[...Are you absolutely certain?]
For the first time since the book and he was pitted together, Genesis hesitated in carrying out a task. The time the sentient spirit spent with Adam had been incredibly short compared to its long long existence. Genesis could not feel between good and evil. But he could understand the difference that lay between them. That was why, what Adam was hoping to choose was all the more bewildering to the spirit.
『 Epic Ordeal: Grey Knight
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Focus on the heart of the matter. Find the culprit, kill him, and end this before it's too late.
Reward: +10000 Karma || 1 Free Pass to the Silver section of the Library. 』
Even if Adam had chosen the Grey Knight option, he would have been forced to fight the demons. But… At the very least, he would have had the excuse that he was not seeing humans as just Karma points to farm in that scenario. and the decision wouldn't have weighed heavily in his conscience. He would have mourned for the lives lost but he wouldn't blame himself as he had to do what he had to do.
『 Epic Ordeal: White Knight
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Save everyone from certain death and flee from this place. Otherwise, something worse than Death might happen to you.
Reward: + 5000 Karma || 1 Free pass to the Silver Section of the Library.
Notice: The final reward will be diminished by 10 Karma for every death.
Mission: Save People 210/500 』
By choosing the White Knight ordeal, he could have hidden even deeper under the veil of a good person. After all, the saintess could save a certain number of people using her sanctuary and Adam could have surely capitalized on that to add on to his Karma and even feel good about his deeds.
'I have been too complacent in my decisions.'
Even though Adam had the Book with him, he had never really tried to exploit it in the maximum efficient way possible. He had been passively gathering Karma through random quests or moments or trysts that he had with Sae.
There were so many ways he could have tried to farm for Karma even while absorbing knowledge.
More Karma meant more skills. It translated to more power. the potential to save years of training and hard work.
If he had been stronger… If he had been faster… If he had more skills under his belt.
He would never know what would have happened if any one of those scenarios had been true.
This world… was a dark world where any fucked up thing could happen to anyone at any moment. No one would wait for him to grow up and vanquish them with just the appropriate level of power and skills. The enemies wouldn't progressively send stronger enemies for him to beat them and use to grow out like a protagonist in a goody two shoes kind of story. He had to have the will to go all out in order to save everyone he loved, to not lose anyone that he held dear. He had to choose the most profitable path… Starting now.
[I choose the Black Knight ordeal.]
『 Epic Ordeal: Black Knight
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Be part of the Chaos.
Reward: +10000 Karma || 1 Free Pass to the Silver section of the Library.
Notice: For every person you kill, you will receive an additional 20 Karma.
Mission: 0/495 』[1]
Adam's eyes became cold and unfeeling as a golden luster shone on his right eye.
His breath steadied and he stopped looking at the people down below as humans. They were nothing but monsters that needed to be exterminated as soon as possible.
Their appearance mattered not to him.
'There are only demons in front of me.'
They were just enemies that he needed to destroy to get out of this shitty situation and save Sae.
The more Adam self-hypnotized himself using such logic, the colder the atmosphere around him became.
Finally…
Boom~!
A large boulder was sent his way at life-threatening speeds, but once it entered his domain it lost all its speed and began floating around him like it was orbiting a celestial body in space with Adam as the center.
"All of you should just die."
He crushed the boulder into small pieces using his telekinetic powers and then, by making use of the debris, threw all of the small pieces toward the enemies at nearly the speed of sound. Almost akin to large bullets being hurled at more speed than they could ever hope to reach through a gun.
There was no need for deep calculations for doing something so barbaric. What followed suit was just utter and complete decimation of all enemies in front and he didn't even need to aim at them due to the size and quantity of materials.
As if they were gunned down by a machine gun, the hordes of demons died swiftly as their heads exploded into mush and their limbs were torn apart by the large-sized stone bullets.
But enough time had gone by. Those demons were not as weak as humans anymore.
Whoosh~
Adam immediately dropped to the ground, after hearing the approaching noise, avoiding a stream of jet-black fire that was spewed at the location he was levitating. Staying in the air took way too much of his computation abilities anyway and he needed every bit of focus he could muster to plow through these monsters.
The moment he touched the ground, Adam started to walk toward the end of the corridor.
The demons surrounded him from all sides, but he did not care about them and kept walking with firm and confident steps as he activated one of his newest powers.
[Fear]
An intense aura of destruction began to spread in the atmosphere with the activation of his skill. Even though the demonic beings should not have been scared as they were just inhabiting a human body, Some of them couldn't help but become immobilized due to the advent of this mysterious power.
Adam was angry. Angry at himself for his weakness. Angry at the world for this fucked up injustice and more than anything… He was angry at those demonic bastards for forcing him to do things that he did not wish to do.
"Laugh. Why don't you laugh, motherfuckers?"
They were more than a hundred demons, facing just one man. But none of them could move a single step due to the unknown force binding them down. The weight of his aura induced by Fear mixed in with the sudden increase in gravity made sure of that fact.
Adam was currently in a strange state, he felt like his control over gravity was slowly getting smoother and more intricate with each passing second in this heightened state. Ideas he had read in the Library but had not been able to digest within his mind were now beginning to become clear and concise at a rapid pace. He was able to further his understanding of the concept of Gravity at breakneck speeds.
Some demons started to flee, deciding that winning against him was simply impossible.
But —
[Reverse Gravity — Attraction]
By changing the point of gravity in his domain to him as the center, they were all unable to leave but were instead slowly being dragged towards him.
Adam knew that he was currently limited by the amount of force he could apply and the lack of a weapon he could use to cut them down but he did not care about those facts.
All he needed to do was just push them down.
[Gravity Increase x2]
All the demons kneeled simultaneously with the increase of the pressure surrounding them. Unable to move, the human bodies, limiting their ability to resist the all-encompassing suppression of gravity.
He pushed down again. Intending to turn their bodies into mush and gory meat slabs.
[Gravity Increase x4]
Groans leaked, and blood flowed incessantly from their eyes, ears, and nostrils as the blood vessel in their bodies began to rupture with the increased pressure of gravitational force.
This was his current limit. He could not increase the gravity more than this without probably killing himself in the process. But it wasn't a significant problem for him.
Gravity was not his sole power.
His telekinetic powers spread all around, covering all of their heads, and with a snap of his fingers…
Snap~!
All of their heads were crushed and turned into a gory mess of flesh, bones, brain matter, and all kinds of bodily fluids.
A river of blood covered the grounds as all kinds of gory materials covered the ground of the corridor.
In front of Adam, the number of mobs that would act as cannon fodders didn't matter much.
The moment they entered his domain, the only outcome for them was death.
Adam closed his eyes as the odor of death filled all of his senses. He would never forget this scene for the rest of his life. His perfect memory would make sure that he remembered every single detail down to the smallest instance.
'I wonder if I should start searching for a psychologist.'
"Hahah."
A small laugh leaked out of his mouth. One of derision and self-mockery.
This day was truly turning out to be a shitty one.
He continued to walk. But this was not the end for him.
Some of the body began to wriggle. Bits of blood and flesh started fusing together until a veritable being that was more than three meters high was created in front.
It was a monster with a shape that could not be described, dozens of faces fused in a ball of flash, with contorted expressions of pain and suffering. Hundreds of wigglings hands and legs were placed haphazardly all around. A guttural voice was leaking out of the grotesque being that seemed to have come straight out of hell.
It was a veritable aberration from one's worst nightmares. Just watching it as the eyeballs all moved around before stopping at him made goosebumps crawl all over his skin. It was truly a creature of horrors.
Voices of lamentation and regret at their current state followed while another part started to curse at him.
It was all his fault for their current situation.
He should have saved them.
He should have tried to protect them.
He was the monster.
One without guilt or hesitations.
The wail of a baby followed by the cries of young boys and girls could be heard, and the lamentations of the old and sickly never stopped.
Adam received the full malice of all those people at point-blank range.
"They are just remnants from the malice of those demons. They are already dead."
The words of Lilith brought no consolation to Adam. But he never stopped moving his feet even for a second. He was revulsed and disgusted. Their words, filled with cursed magic constantly attacked his psyche but Adam did not waver in the face of this monstrosity.
"I am sorry."
He acknowledged his weakness. He wished he could have done so much more.
But… There was only one thing he could do.
"I will make sure the one responsible will pay."
It was just for self-satisfaction. Punishing the culprit would not bring back the dead nor would it save the souls that were devoured.
It was just for self-protection. Killing the culprit was necessary for him to survive and stop the ritual from being completed.
In the end — This was nothing more than hypocrisy. Words uttered to protect his heart from the pain he was currently feeling.
"Let's go."
This time, Lilith stayed silent as she observed the back of Adam and simply followed behind.
She could see sparks of electricity slowly forming around the boy. It seemed he had unlocked a new power… Sadly, at what cost?
'How fascinating.'
Truly, Earth was a treasure trove.
CH 116: QLIPHOTH
After dealing with those monstrosities that seemed to be endless, the quest updated on its own with the book manifesting before him and telling him about the changes in the ordeal.
[Epic Ordeal: Black Knight
Description: A crazy lunatic is about to summon a Demon King. Be part of the Chaos.
Reward: +10000 Karma || 1 Free Pass to the Silver section of the Library.
Notice: For every person you kill, you will receive an additional 20 Karma.
Mission: 110/495]
Adam's hand trembled slightly at the sight of the updated ordeal that was presented in front of his eyes. 110 people who should have been living a beautiful life and had come to the park with their loved ones in order to have fun and spend the day in leisure and laughter were now lost forever due to his intervention.
If he had to be honest, the only thing Adam wished right now was that he could simply close his eyes and forget about this whole ordeal forever. But he knew that he couldn't do that, he couldn't run away from his reality. Playing the ostrich was never the solution and it eventually backfired without a single miss. Escapism was never the answer to any question.
"You do know that those people were already dead, right?"
"I know."
Adam's voice was curt and to the point. He stopped himself and his agitation and took a deep breath before replying in a softer tone, "Sorry, and thank you for trying to lessen my guilt."
It didn't matter that Lilith was a devil. Adam decided that he should never let his emotions be the reason for him to lash out at people who were actually trying to help him.
-Even if said person just happened to be a powerful devil or human or whatever who most likely did far worse things in their lifetime.
'Sigh.'
Adam took another deep breath. Even though the odor of blood and flesh as well as the detestable, sulfur induced, odor of hell was still lingering in his nose, he knew that he had to breathe deeply and relax his mind. He had to ready himself for his future opponents.
Adam knew that he was about to face someone who was crazy enough to make a ritual that implicated hundreds of people. Perhaps that person even had a team with him to stop anyone from disturbing the ritual.
There was also the fact that there was someone like Lilith behind him. He didn't know how much she could be actually trusted and he didn't know if helping her become stronger would actually be a good idea in the long run. Thinking clearly, there were really many things he was unaware or unsure about. And that thought frustrated him to no end. But there was only one thing he cared about at this moment.
"Sae... Is she... Is she alright?"
"She is perfectly safe. Don't worry about her. I have promised you, didn't I?"
She was indeed safe and sound. But her being alright was not really the most accurate way to describe her condition. Not that Lilith would say this to Adam right now. The longer she stayed in this body, the stronger Sae would become. But there were clear limits to artificially stretching the capability of the soul and body like this.
Like how lifting a weight too heavy might cause one to pull a muscle or two or even have a snapped tendon. Sae was soon approaching the limit.
Because of this, she had to actively keep Sae conscious and active in her sub-conscientious mind. This meant that the poor girl had a front-row seat in witnessing firsthand the horror of the supernatural world and the brutality of her friend and lover.
'Well. This is good for her.'
Lilith's children and descendants were basically her legions of Hell. Obviously, the training and upbringing they received were very strict.
"Though we should accelerate if you don't want to face a Prince of Hell in your current state of power. It will only lead to your death if you were to do something like that."
Lilith shrugged, "Let me be clear. If this mission of stopping the ritual is a failure I will immediately leave. Fighting Asmodeus with such a weak body would only mean losing some of my Authority or even a part of my being. Can't have that now, can we?"
"...Why do you want this authority?"
"Because it was mine in the first place."
Lilith sneered. Saying this expression on Sae's face made for a certain dissonance would be saying it too lightly. And this fact disturbed Adam deeply.
He turned around and continued to walk with Sae. The more they approached their goal, the more the world seemed to have changed.
At a certain point, they were not in a place filled with concrete anymore, but well and truly in what looked to be another dimension.
Crimson grotesque walls appeared all around them, giving the impression that they were made out of wiggling flesh, still bleeding.
The walls were filled with festering wounds, showing a disgusting yellow color of pus and rotten flesh, filling the corridor with the nauseous odor of death and decay.
Adam could already feel his strength slowly leaving him as hazy thoughts continued to fill his mind,
'I want to...'
He looked at Sae (Lilith). He knew her body more intimately than anyone else. There was nearly no place he had not covered with his juices and now, she was possessed by Lilith.
How could would it feel to have -
"Ugh..."
Adam shook his head to shush those delirious imaginations. Those intrusive thoughts were becoming harder to repress.
"Heh. We can have sex as much as you want later. But now, let's deal with this problem."
She was the incarnation of Lust created by the True Lilith. For her, Lust was something as natural as eating. A need that needed to be satiated when possible.
Adam ignored the enticing words that Lilith was trying to enamor him with and focused on keeping his mind open and free from the restraints of lust...
"This is the 2nd Hell. Where Lust is the ruling authority. I am surprised a human like you managed to suppress those things. Then again, with your lineage, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised."
Lilith grinned, a myth was being reenacted in front of her and she found it quite interesting.
Like how Cain fought a horde of demons blocking his path toward the circles of hell, Adam was now doing the same.
In the end, Adam was able to completely suppress those thoughts and the two were able to continue until one stopped in front of a giant door on which what looked like an inverted tree was carved on it. [1]
A complicated expression flashed through Lilth's mind when she gazed at the door. Eleven name carved in blood and right there, just below the name at the top - was a name that had been erased.
"We finally reached our destination."
Her expression of loss vanished and she steeled herself for what was to come. All her existence had been a long battle for herself.
She had lost what was once hers. It was time to recuperate it.
When Sol touched the door, for an instant he felt something flash in his mind but it went so fast it was hard to pinpoint exactly what happened.
Then the door finally opened wide -Showing Adam that horror came in all forms and shape.
CH 117: FIGHT
"People Say there is no greater evil than the devils, hah. Those people make me laugh. The devils? Sure those bastards are quite the pain to deal with. But — It's only after witnessing the horrors that humans are able to inflict on each other that to that anyone would understand — Some humans can be kinder than the gods…. Many humans are eviler than the Devils themselves and the worse of the worse are those who hide this evilness under a hypocritical mask of kindness and duty." —
Virgo Zodiac; Anastasia [The Blind Maiden]
—-
When he pushed the door and entered the room that definitely should not have existed in this place, Adam had steeled his mind. He had thought that he was ready for anything they could throw at him, he could feel a new power surging in him, and this had boosted his confidence in handling the problem that would come.
But, when he finally entered, he was surprised.
Unlike the corridor outside that was seemingly made out of rotting flesh, The room looked like the interior of a prim and proper temple. There was no disgusting odor of hell, no cries nor mocking laugh of demons.
For an instant, Adam even briefly wondered if he was lost or if he entered the wrong place.
He shouldn't have.
The next moment, row and row of lamps lit up one after another, bathing the whole temple in light.
Before each lamp was a twisted sculpture of Asmodeus, the Prince of lust, the row of sculptures led straight toward the center of the Temple that seemed to be both small and infinitely large.
At the very center — This was where he saw them.
The first one was a black-haired male with a pale complexion and a deformed right arm wearing a trench coat. The pressure and Prana of the man was something Adam had never felt from anyone outside of Aleksandra. It was so heavy, that Adam would have felt suffocated if he had focused on the man.
But…How could he focus on that Man with the sight that greeted him?
Next to the man was a young woman or what looked like a young woman. As for humans, they had nothing but shape.
[Name: Zoe Baker
Affiliation: N/A
Alias: N/A
Race: Human (Cursed Womb)
Age: 26
Stats: Unable to showcase due to the low proficiency of the skill…]
Her face and body were completely deformed, becoming purplish as if blood could not flow correctly to reach the limbs and the head. The legs of the woman were spread wide, showing white traces that Adam easily recognized as semen, a mixture of weird and disgusting black blood was also flowing from her ravaged place.
Her stomach was huge. Clearly the stomach of pregnant woman. But it was so grotesque it was nauseous. A large belly that seemed like it could have more than twelve babies in it, a deformed form that looked more like a tumor than anything else.
Sometimes, the stomach would bulge, as if something was kicking from the interior and the woman would twitch, before letting out a disgusting moan that sounded more animalish than human.
'Ah…'
Adam was transfixed.
'Haha.'
He thought he had seen it all. But once again —
"This…"
—He was shown once again that there was no limit to the horror of this world.
"Adam! Snap out of it!"
*Swoosh*
Adam was only given a moment to respond. Immediately he accelerated himself and by applicating the same technique he used to launch the guided bullets when he faced those mercenaries, he was able to go from 0 to maximum speed by ignoring inertia.
Even then, he was not able to completely escape from the sudden ambush, a long gash formed on his chest and his blood splashed on the ground.
The one who initiated the attack did not relent. He stretched forward his deformed right arm and the arm elongated like rubber and rushed at Adam, ready to splatter him on the ground.
"Adam!"
Bang!
It was stopped by a barrier that appeared between it and Adam. Cracks formed on the barrier but it was enough to give Adam enough time to gather back his composure.
*Huff* *Huff*
Adam took a deep breath and looked at the man in front of him. Even though he recognized that he had been distracted by the horrible sight of the poor woman, there was no denying that he had been blitzed by the man.
[Name: Richard Carter
Affiliation: Lab #23
Alias: Perfect Soldier, Discarded Soldier, Lab rat, Failed Experiment, Jack The Ripper
Race: Human/Elder Vampire (Chimera)
Age: 48
Stats: Unable to showcase due to the low proficiency of the skill…]
'Jack the Ripper…'
Who would have thought that his old enemy and the source of the first quest he received were the cause of this morbid situation?
[1st Ordeal: Fear — The most primordial emotion
Description: Immortal you may be. But getting killed is still an insult to your title. Find your killer and give him a taste of his own medicine by killing him.
Reward: 1 free pass to enter the Records…]
'Is this what they call fate?'
Adam sighed. Now he had to keep his mind sharp.
"Thanks for the save…"
"Don't be. Just focus. This man doesn't seems easy."
Lilith huffed quietly as she observed Adam's wound.
'He isn't healing.'
Her eye narrowed in thought. But then she nodded. She remembered the information she received from the main body.
All along, she had been wondering why Adam was so weak compared to his other siblings. Now she understood that the curse seemed different from the one his siblings received.
'Oh my…Did he receive Cain's Curse itself? Does this mean he is a true child of Cain?'
This was the kind of news that would shake heaven and many pantheons if it was spread. If so, Adam had the potential to become more dangerous than she initially thought. She had to revise her plans slightly.
"Now then, boy. Why don't you stop banging so hard at my barrier, your thing is not strong enough to push pass it."
Lilith muttered with a sultry smile as she mocked the man beyond her barrier, causing him to stop momentarily.
"Where is The director?"
'Director?'
The man looked at their expression and seemingly and his eyes narrowed.
"I see. You are not my target. You are just nuisances."
The eyes of the man became scarlet red and the odor of blood began to spread in the surroundings.
The muscle of bulged and he grew in height, going past the two meters, and muscles grew so much, even the best bodybuilder would look down in shame.
"Blood art!?"
Lilith was startled but she soon calmed down as she realized that it was just blood manipulation.
Only True Ancestor vampires could use Blood art. If it had been one, then there would have been no hope of victory. But even the current situation seemed quite hopeless.
Lilith hurriedly transmitted the information to Adam through her mind.
[Listen Adam. Blood manipulation is only possible at the Elder level. This means he is more or less superior to an Executor. Do you have any weapon that can hurt him?]
Adam gave a bitter smile.
"I don't have any weapon."
His answer was followed by a roar as the barrier Lilith placed exploded and the giant vampire rushed at him while causing the ground to shake with each step he took.
His smile became even more bitter. He could already feel this fight was going to be a pain.
CH 118: TRAP
Adam was not an Otaku. But he was still quite an avid reader of manga. This was why there was a certain pattern he had noticed in the fights.
Whenever two oppositions would meet, one would always start talking about their plan, explain their powers, or share their motivations for doing whatever the hell they were doing.
Adam always knew that something like that was bullshit in real life. He had fought too many times in the ring to not know about that fact. And he was proven right once again during the attack of the mercenaries and even this time he was proven right again.
The only hint the vampire had given out to them till now was that he was chasing after the Director. Outside of that, there was no other talk, no preamble about their motives, nor any small exchanges of their views.
The moment the vampire realized that they were not the people he was waiting for, he entered the equivalent of the second phase in a boss fight, that you would encounter in games, without any hesitation or wait.
The worst thing in all of this was— Adam had basically nothing that could inflict damage on the bloodsucking maniac of a monster.
Bang~!
The moment Richard pushed through the cracks and practically rushed at him after tearing apart the barrier like it was a mere piece of paper, Adam immediately realized that he would not be able to stop him by using his powers. Trying to use his telekinesis or gravity on him seemed an utterly hopeless endeavor.
'Focus.'
Even as the time slowed down to a crawl in the realms of his perception, Richard still moved fast enough that he felt like there was no change in his perception at all. Adam immediately started to control the surrounding gravity with the intention of leveling up the field for them as much as he was able to.
Gravity Manipulation :: Increase x2 | Decrease x3 | Increase x3 | Decrease x2
The space between him and the bloodsucking lunatic immediately changed into an unequal gravitational field of horrors. The gravity twisted and distorted so much that it was hard to even position oneself accurately in this horrific field.
'Fuck, this is taking much more energy than I thought it would.'
He felt like his brain was about to fry after using this principle of gravity manipulation. But the result was at least positive.
Richard opened his eyes wide when he felt the gravity suddenly increase from his perspective, messing up his pace and body's rhythm. But when he actually pushed to accelerate for the second step, he actually floated slightly only to be ruthlessly pressed down on the second step.
"Damn!"
He had no other choice but to halt at that spot due to this weird phenomenon. As a veteran fighter, he was immediately able to understand that he was facing a crowd-control type fighter. These types of enemies were amongst the most troublesome opponents. At the same time, it was impossible to control such a field without a large strain on the body so he was sure that the boy wouldn't be able to keep this up for long.
Blood boiled in his body as he opened his mouth wide in an inhumane display.
Rooaaar! [1]
He screamed, or more like roared, akin to a savage beast.
"Ugh."
"Ah."
Adam had no time to react as the sound literally blasted into his skull. Lilith was faring better. As restricted as she was with this body, there was no way she was able to save herself from this sudden attack. All she could only focus on right now was to direct all the prana in this body to protect her ears.
Adam's ears started to bleed, he realized that his eardrums were now down for the count. Vertigo and nausea struck his mind, causing him to lose all the focus he had been building up. His balance was broken and he felt like the earth was turning all around him due to his ears rupturing because of the surprise attack. [2]
The only thing he could hear now was a strident siffle noise that was akin to digital noise.
'Shit!'
He tried to get back control of his body, but for an instant— he was unable to regain enough control and awareness to keep track of his enemies.
That instant was all Richard needed to deal a fatal blow.
Whoosh~ A spear of blood formed in his hand and then was thrown off at a speed so high it broke the sound barrier with impunity.
Lilith hurriedly created another barrier but it could not even slow down the spear as it rushed and impaled Adam like a skewer propelling backward until his back hit the wall near the door.
Bang~!
"Well, that should do it."
Richard stretched slightly after finishing off one of the pests. Even though his powers were constantly deteriorating and he needed to use the syringe he had hidden to get back into top shape, he had been created for fighting with a Director in mind. There was no way he was going to
'Is it Bronze tier? Silver? I must say, young people nowadays are truly talented.'
If given a few more years, that boy would have undoubtedly become a Gold tier or even an Executor. In the end, though, a talent that had yet to be realized did not amount to anything at all.
"Now then, you are pretty calm for someone who just saw their friend die so helplessly in front of them, aren't you?"
He turned toward the young girl who was clad in a skimpy bikini. He could feel a weird force emanating from her that was a bit incongruent with her existence.
She seemed to be incomparably weaker than the young man he had just killed but at the same time, it felt like she held a great deal of power inside of her too. It was a weird oxymoron that only heightened his vigilance.
His instincts were screaming at him that she was more dangerous than the young man if she was left unchecked.
"Heh…We aren't really friends."
She pointed at him with her slender hands and gestured to him to come forward in a provocative manner…
"Come on big man~ Let me see if your size makes up for your techniques."
"Your provocations are futile."
Another blood spear formed in his hand as he rushed at Lilith but all she did was just grin at him with a sultry smile tugging her lips.
The two began to fight in earnest at close range combat. The succubi did not excel in strength-based fights but Lilith had been around since the dawn of time.
She had fought with just about everything that could be fought in this world. Monsters. Devils. Demons. Angels. Gods and so many more.
She did not have access to her full strength but this did not affect her experience.
'Tch. I can't use my authority either, otherwise, that coward will flee from this domain.'
Asmodeus had hidden from her for eons now. Even for her, it was impossible to attack a Prince of Hell in their very own territory. In that place, they were no different from gods and had absolute and perfect control of the full place. This was not something that could be surpassed with simply a small difference of power. She wasn't as crazy as Cains after all.
The current situation was a golden opportunity for her— an opportunity that she could not and would not miss.
Boom~!
Like shadows dancing in the dark, the two moved to kill the other. It was a battle dance of the highest degree where Lilith had to take into account each and every possible detail as the slightest mistake would cause harm to this body.
Pushing a punch that was reaching to crush her skull, Lilith was not surprised when a spike of blood immediately jumped from his arms and tried to impale her then and there. She had already created a simple barrier just sturdy enough for her to jump away before it was crushed by the sneak attack.
'Hmm… He is using his powers quite well.'
The first mistake many people made when fighting beings like a vampire or a shapeshifter, was to fall for their physical appearance.
For all they looked like humans, vampires were still monsters and the range of motions they had at their disposal was infinitely larger than whatever a human could even imagine they were able to do.
After all, for them, breaking a few bones just to strike someone was next to nothing. It could heal in an instant anyways.
But this one here was still predominantly fighting like a human.
"I wonder… Who is the crazy bastard that tried to replicate vampires this time?"
In all generations, there was always that one bastard who dabbled in the forbidden path and tried to create experimental subjects like this one here — They always failed, in the end though,
Richard's brows twitched after hearing Lilith's words.
"Bullseye, huh? You humans are always the same. Always chasing after the forbidden and cursed powers. How funny— then again, I totally understand it though."
Richard growled menacingly. As a soldier created for the one and only task of fighting and fighting alone, he would have simply shut up and continued to fight in this situation. In any other circumstance, that is. He knew that Lilith was trying to bait him into spilling what he knew.
But he couldn't help himself. His mind was currently too fragile for him to just control himself.
He had suffered so much and sacrificed way too much already. There was no way he could accept someone belittling his beliefs.
"What do you know!?"
He roared and screamed, meanwhile, his deformed hand began to grow larger and became more menacing. Looking more like the clawed paws of a monster than anything else.
"You supernatural creatures can never understand the weakness we humans are bestowed from birth!
"With this… We will finally surpass all of you. We, humans, will be able to stand at a higher level than you wretched beings and truly suppress all supernatural creatures, creating a world free from all of you filthy monsters!"
"Hah… So you are that kind of person."
The light of interest in her eyes immediately dimmed before vanishing completely.
She gave a humorless laugh. She was one of the first humans to have ever existed on this plane. Even though her mindset had changed considerably after her transformation, she doubted many could understand humanity more than she, herself.
Lilith was the first to acknowledge that fact.
She was evil…
She was an amoral being who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. She was a petty woman who refused to bow down to anyone and who would take revenge for even the smallest slights toward her.
She was a power-hungry being who wanted to stand at the very top of this plane. She was a lustful, greedy monster.
All of this — She recognized.
This was why…. What she hated the most in this world were righteous hypocritical bastards like the one in front of him.
"So you decided to do this for humanity?"
She waved her hand nonchalantly toward the gate,
"Kill innocent people. Rape women, summon an evil god. I suppose in your brain… All this convoluted mess is some part of a greater plan that will bring good or something fruitful? Heh… Hahaha. Oh my gosh…"
Lilith laughed hysterically, "Man. Did you know that once… Humans had so many sins that God itself decided to erase the entire human race. [3] Let this sink inside that small rotten brain of yours, you filthy mongrel."
Humans were capable of the greatest evil in the world. Be it back before the flood or with Sodom and Gomorrah. [4] It was a proven fact that history was the greatest witness of.
Richard was about to answer in anger when he suddenly felt that something was off. His reason finally suppressed his emotions.
The reason he was buying time was that it was helpful to him for the arrival of the being he summoned into this realm. But why was this woman buying time then?
Richard immediately turned around and his eyes widened when he saw the young man that should have died reaching close to the Cursed Womb and striking at her.
"Bastard!"
—
On Adam's side, listening to the scream of that monster, he could only laugh and attack without hesitation toward the womb of the deformed woman. Well intent on killing and putting that poor woman out of her misery.
From the start, Adam knew that he had no chance of winning against that monstrous being. He simply did not have the weapon or the method necessary to kill such a powerful monster.
But… Did he even need to win in the first place?
Means and Objectives.
His main objective wasn't to kill the vampire. It was simply to stop this unholy ritual.
'I am sorry.'
Adam immediately gathered all the power he could, gravity, telekinesis, and even his physical strength, and simultaneously launched a tri-infused attack to crush the belly of the deformed woman.
This was the end. This whole debacle would finally come to a close with this strike of his..
Such a hope bloomed in Adam's mind.
It was until the eyes of the woman swirled in his direction and a malevolent grin stretched on her face that all his hope crashed down in its entirety….
'Ah…'
The world seemed to stop as light engulfed his whole being.
—
[1] For better imagery, imagine what Uvogin from Hunter x Hunter did. If you didn't watch it then try finding it on youtube. Search Uvogin scream or something.
[2]: An interesting point to note is that the ear not only helps with hearing but also helps us maintain our bodies' balance and equilibrium. Without the ear, we would not be able to balance our bodies with respect to the earth's gravitational pull.
[3]: So for those who know a little about the bible, humans of old had an incredible lifespan. Adam lived for 930 years. Methuselah lived for 967 years. So yeah basically all humans from Adam to Noah lived nearly for a thousand-year. Noah lived 600 years before the flood. It was when humanity was at an all-time high in the sins department. I mean. We only live for like 60-80 years nowadays per generation and look at what we do. Now imagine what we could do with ten times that lifespan. So yeah. God was pissed and when Angels decided to come fuck humans and give birth to Nephilim, God said enough was enough and decided to wipe out everything with a flood. He said he regretted creating humanity and they were beings filled with sin. But he gave one last chance to humanity— Noah.
Noah made the arc and all that, put a pair of every animal then waited for the annihilation of humanity. Then he lived 350 more years after that. After him, all humans went from living nearly 1K to being limited to 100+ years. Less time to live means less time to sin.
[4]: Now this one is legit funny and sad at the same time. This is a very summarized version. Basically, Two cities were so wicked and sinful that God decided to erase them. Abraham begged God. So God gave them a chance. He sent two angels and said that if 10 righteous people could be found in the cities, the two cities would be spared. Guess the result? Hah. Anyways it ended with another rain. But this time it was a Rain of fire and sulfur. Weirdly, once again one family was spared. The father and his two daughters minus his wife. The wife was dumb so she did something stupid and got changed into a pillar of salt.
CH 119: WHAT IF...?
*Ugh*
"...dam… Ada..."
Adam felt that his mind had become heavy. He could feel someone shaking him. Feel that someone was calling him. But…
"Adam!"
—
The sun was rising high in the sky and the happy song of birds greeting the morning sun was ringing all around.
Adam snapped his eyes open and looked at the ceiling above. His head was still hazy and felt rather heavy.
"Adam, you finally woke up? Still, feeling a headache? I would have never thought that you would handle alcohol so badly."
"Wha…"
Adam looked up to gaze at the person talking to him. His mind was still a bit groggy and he was feeling shaky but he was starting to piece things together.
"Aunt… Shuri?"
"Oh… You still want to call me aunt after what happened last night? Then again, I guess we do need to ease Cecilia into this new situation we have between ourselves. Can't let her have a breakdown now, can you?"
'What the hell?'
Adam was not able to follow the conversation between them. He looked at the surroundings and was greeted with the sight of a familiar room. It was undoubtedly his own room.
But why…. Why was Shuri only clad in a white and unbuttoned shirt while standing in front of him?
'This.'
Adam grabbed his head and groaned out loud.
"Adam? Are you alright? Wait for a little while. I will go and bring some medicine for your headache."
She hurriedly walked toward the door but once she reached it, she stopped and sent him a grin, "By the way, I did not have the time to speak with you with how busy we were during the night but… Happy Birthday, Adam."
Adam could not listen to Shuri. Information filled his mind as he tried to remember whatever the hell he had been doing prior to his awakening.
He was… He was… Ahhh!
Pictures of what happened the night before flashed in his mind and Adam groaned while cupping his face as he leaned back on his bed in shame and embarrassment.
'Holy shit. I made love with Shuri while drunk.'
He immediately took out his phone and looked at the time and date on the lock screen.
[31/10/2030 || 8:45 am]
It was indeed his birthday.
Yesterday, he… Cecilia was… Images started forming in his head trying to remind him of something important but the door was suddenly opened, distracting him from his reminiscence.
When Shuri came back to the room with a coffee cup in her hand and medicine for his headache, she placed everything next to the bed and slipped into bed with him.
Her hot breath tickled his ears as she hugged him tightly into her round and full bosom.
"Yesterday was simply wonderful. I would have never thought that our relationship would change like that in just one day. But still, I don't regret any of it. I wish I could stay like this… forever, with you. What about you?"
Adam felt conflicted, bewildered, and lost, "I… I…"
He wanted to answer but his mouth refused to reciprocate the words.
In the end, he shook his head to chase away the stray thoughts that were constantly trying to gnaw at his mind.
"Sorry. Still feeling a little groggy."
The disappointed glance Shuri sent his way made him feel slightly guilty. He knew what this looked like to her. It was akin to him discarding her after having his way with her last night, but his mind was still in the clouds and he needed some time to get his bearings before he could reply to that question of hers.
"Where is mom, by the way?"
"Hah… Your mother is still at the hospital."
Adam shivered with fright and a growing sense of despair, "Is she…Is her heart, alright?"
"Heart?" Shuri gave him a weird glance, "The doctor already said she was just suffering from stress. So they decided to keep her for one more day."
Something was wrong. Something felt wrong. But… did it really matter?
"I… I see."
His mother was alright. He was alright. In fact, he was more than just alright. He had lost his virginity to his aunt, Shuri. Though should he say lover Shuri now? He idly wondered.
Adam wanted to ask her how this came to be. But he also felt slightly shy about this incident. After all, it wouldn't really be manly of him to pose such a question.
"You were great, you know? I would have never thought you would last so long and do it for as long as you did. Honestly, my back hurts a little after that wild night. Is this the power of youth?"
Adam blushed and coughed. He did not know why Shuri suddenly guessed what he was thinking but he liked what he was hearing.
"Well. I have a class today. What about you?"
What about him indeed?
—
A few hours later, Adam found himself at University. He remembered that today was supposed to be the Halloween party.
Sae had called him, asking for his help in organizing the party, and he thought that since he had nothing to do and Cecilia would be discharged soon, he had nothing to lose in accepting her call for help.
The party preparation was quite enjoyable, and Sae was a great organizer, ensuring everyone had fun even while working.
When the job finally ended, Adam sat on a chair after a tiring day of helping out and Sae approached him with a cold drink in hand.
"Interested?"
"Thanks."
"Hehe. Thank you. We were able to end this faster than intended due to your help."
The two drank in silence before Adam spoke up, "So today is the big day? You are finally going to confess to Steven?"
"Hmm… Nah… I have decided to give up on him."
"Hmm?"
"I mean. It's useless, right? Man. I really regret the time I spent chasing after that bastard. I should have given up even sooner."
This… Adam's brow furrowed a little. He could feel a greater dissonance with that statement. Was Sae… The kind of person to insult someone behind their back? To project her own faults on someone else?
"Adam?"
"You… No, nothing. I am just not feeling right."
"Heh… Understandable. Yesterday was your birthday, right? You must have been happy."
"*Ahem* Yeah. It was pretty great."
He didn't remember much but making love with Shuri was an S-grade gift in his mind.
'S-grade… Why suddenly? Did I plan some interesting games lately?'
He thought about it for a while but finding no answer he simply ignored it,
"Don't you think… The current atmosphere is really great?"
"What?"
"I mean. Today is your birthday. It's a special day. The day you were born. Go on… You can ask me anything~ I will give it to you, no matter what it is~"
"...Anything?"
Sae brushed his hand and gave him a meaningful smile, "Anything."
Adam felt tempted. Adam felt well and truly tempted. He could feel the emotion dripping in Sae's voice and knew it was an invitation to a series of delightful and fun activities.
But… He took his hand away from her grasp.
"Well. The day is still long. If you have nothing else to do for me. I think I will go to the hospital."
He walked away, ignoring the way Sae stared fixedly at his back. Her eyes— unblinking.
—
The ride to the hospital was short. When Adam finally reached his mother's room, he couldn't help but stop as nervousness took hold of him. His heartbeat couldn't help but accelerate slightly. Shuri said that the earlier diagnosis of the doctor was a mistake and that Cecilia was perfectly healthy.
But was it really the case?
When Adam hesitated more and more, the voice he longed to hear registered in his ears.
"Whoever is on the other side. Either enter or leave."
Adam laughed at himself and pushed the door open.
"How are you, mom?"
A beautiful red-haired woman with a healthy complexion gave him a lopsided grin as she directed a V for victory sign with her two fingers toward him.
"Never been better."
Adam could feel himself sigh in relief. There was indeed nothing wrong with her. His birthday had gone well, he ended up with Shuri, and Sae was making a pass at him.
All of those were unbelievable events that excited him greatly. But… More than anything else, knowing that his mother was alright and healthy was what mattered the most.
Adam approached Cecilia and hugged her tightly. "I am happy. Really happy."
Cecilia's face stretched to form a wide grin at her son's show of affection. "This is great, right? You wouldn't believe how relieved I was when the doctor made sure of the final tests and gave me the green light… I feel like I could bask at this moment forever… What about you…?"
Adam closed his eyes. Before muttering with an ambiguous voice… "Well… Perhaps for a little while?"
Cecilia's grin only grew wider at those words. "A little while is good, isn't it?"
CH 120: YOU CAN CALL ME...
A little while.
After that day... Adam felt like the world was his for him to take.
The next day he met Sae and learned the news about how Steven had now become a couple with someone else. He hooked up with Sae and entered into a steamy relationship with her.
He joined Shuri's firm as an intern with his long-time friend, now colleague, Natasha, and slowly a romance began to grow between them as well.
It was weird how Shuri simply acquiesced to all his other relationships with no problem on her side. Even Sae gave her blessings so he ended up entering a relationship with Natasha as well.
It was all very weird. The maid, Aleksandra was someone he would meet regularly when going with Natasha and having fun with her. But for some reason, he never ended up meeting with her parents. Something he chalked up to his father not being available.
The world continued to go on in this weird way.
His life became more and more wonderful with the passage of time.
Yui came to him with an idol and entertainment agency project and added him as an investor which helped him become a shareholder in the upstart company. It was a small company at first but it ended up becoming one of the biggest companies in America in the next few years.
This was followed by Shuri giving him more and more shares of her own company, which lead to him becoming the principal and highest shareholder of one of the biggest law firms in Los Angeles.
Life was great. More than just great. Everything he did would turn out to be a successful endeavor. He never faced any adversity nor ever lacked anything.
In two years, he went from being a small law student in a relatively middle-class family to being a multi-millionaire. He had so much money and influence that he did not know what to do with it.
In the third year. He finally talked to her again - Tsubasa Hanekawa. Yui's half-sister and perhaps his first crush when he was back in high school.
In the past, the relationship between them had not ended well for either of them for different small reasons that slowly accumulated until it exploded.
But with his current situation. He feared nothing and asked her out. Her answer was immediate as if she had always waited for him.
In the fourth year, Yui complained about how it was unfair that he simply went to her sister when she had always waited for him. So the two of them also hooked up.
In the fifth year, Shuri gave him one of the greatest news of his life- she was pregnant with his child. Adam was twenty-six years old when it happened.
Shuri's pregnancy seemed to have started a new wave of propagation as all his other women also became pregnant. They gave birth to healthy children and the family became all the merrier due to the ushering of the children.
In the seventh year, Adam officially married all of them. It was a great sensation as Polygamy wasn't exactly legal in America. But the influence of their family was simply too high for the government to do anything about it.
Natasha, Yui, and Tsubasa's parents were unable to attend for some reason. So Mammoth, Nikola, and Aleksandra took the role of their parents. For Shuri, she had long since divorced her husband, and Cecilia as his sole parent took care of him.
In the eighth year, Cecilia took him to Japan where he met his biological family. He did not remember the meeting he had with his grandfather. He remembered speaking to Cecilia's sister but not much about her personality.
But it was alright. The family accepted him. Overnight he became the young master of one of the â€" if not the â€" highest-ranked families in Japan.
It was an exhilarating sensation.
His success increased. His life became happier. His children grew into beautiful and well-mannered young men and women.
In the twentieth year...
Decades later...
More and more years went by as the world finally and truly changed.
Finally, at the ripe age of 95 years old, more than 70 years since all of this started.
Adam found himself lying down on his bed with all his loved ones surrounding him. His children had married and had children of their own. He loved his grandkids more than anything else.
The world had been at peace all this while with no war nor any major crime and he became one of the richest men in the world. Despite this, his children never fought for his wealth.
One after another, all his wives died naturally out of old age. Seeing them pass on was a sad and heart-wrenching sight. But he knew that they had all lived their fullest and passed on with a smile.
It was indeed a happy life.
It was now his turn to follow them on the way.
Now all he had to do was close his eyes and die with peace in his mind.
The children looked at him. The grandchildren looked at him. The world itself seemed to be looking at him. Waiting for the moment he would breathe his last.
Feeling the anticipation in the air. Adam gave a feeble smile and closed his eyes while raising his arm toward the sky.
Then... He showed a middle finger, seemingly mocking the whole world for its stupidity.
"Fuck you and your shitty dream."
Time seemed to come to a grinding halt as he uttered that line.
The beautiful and compassionate smile of his children vanished and slowly was filled with frowns then anger and malice as they lunged at him, ready to tear him apart.
Adam gave them a complicated look but with a simple wave of his hand... All of them vanished instantly.
A howl of anger came from the void and the details Adam had consciously ignored started to come back to the surface.
The world became blurrier and blurrier until all that was left was a single bed- the bed he was lying on. Moving up, the trace of time on his body slowly vanished until all that was left was a young man in his twenties wearing a simple tuxedo.
A door appeared out of nowhere and opened... Clearly, it was an invitation for him to enter.
On the other side was what looked like a ballroom. The people dancing had all wonderful smiles on their faces, they were empty smiles without an iota of emotion in them, and in the middle of all this debacle, stood Cecilia, sitting and drinking tea in a lethargic gait.
"Why don't you come closer."
Adam grinned, undeterred as he advanced. Whenever he did so, the ballroom would crack little by little and the people would start to vanish.
Until all that was left was a pure white void with only one table, two chairs, and the one who took the appearance of his mother.
"This is indeed surprising. So you really managed to take partial control of this dream."
"It is my dream after all. Don't you know that people who have lucid dreams can change the dream they're having as they wish?"
'Cecilia' stayed silent as she scrutinized his nonchalant smile, "Since when?"
Adam shrugged, "I would like to say from the start. But it would be a big fat lie so I won't. You really fooled me at first. I mean, an entire world where everything is great. My mom is healthy and I didn't enter the supernatural world. Woah, It was a truly beautiful dream. So yeah, I got ensnared in it before I knew it."
"But..."
"But nothing."
Adam grinned. "You seriously don't think I will tell you how to make better traps in the future, right?"
The way the face of 'Cecilia' contorted for an instant made him laugh with glee.
The truth of the matter was that the being in front of him made one mistake. The reason Adam liked the women in his life was their personalities. In the dream, Natasha and Sae never fought against each other.
Yui and Hanekawa were the perfect sisters. Cecilia did not act like a slob. Shuri did not nag at him when he did stupid things.
It was a beautiful world. A world where everything was perfect.
Too perfect...
That perfection in itself became a major flaw that allowed him to wake up.
Of course, there was another reason. He had already experienced something like this before while opening his Crown Chakra and compared to the life he lived as Buddha, this dream was simply too flimsy to get a hold of his psyche.
"It was gradual but I think I woke up around when I went to Japan."
"Then... Why only break out now?"
"Why indeed."
Why did he stay so long in this world even though he had realized it was just a dream?
Was it because he wanted to bathe in this fake happiness a little more?
It was partially so. This world was showing him his deepest desires becoming true. If he had no longing for such a world, he would not be human.
But... There was another and much more practical reason for this choice.
Adam gave a mysterious smile and tapped the table with his finger.
Ripples started to spread from that single tap as the world started to change and now the two of them found themselves in a basement.
While 'Cecilia' was attached to a cross.
"Firstly, I do not like you using that appearance."
He snapped his finger and the figure changed to a random androgynous person. It was a beautiful person. But Adam simply ignored their appearance and even the shock that was evident in their eyes.
"You...Who are you? How did you obtain complete control over this dream?"
"Who am I?"
Adam grinned. A long hat appeared on his head, a white mask with an ambiguous and widely stretched smile covered his face and a cane appeared in his hand.
"I have a few names now. But thanks to you. I obtained a new one."
Adam gave a theatrical bow as he chuckled beneath the confines of his mask.
[The power of Origin resonates and gives birth to a new Skill]
"You can call me - The Magician."
〠Name: The Magician
Description: A skill born from analyzing the Authority of Asmodeus the Prince of Lust.
Effect 1: You obtain control over dreams and illusions.
Remarks: This a potential EX-ranked skill, currently classified as only S rank. Further analysis is recommended. ã€
"The Magician, huh?"
'Cecilia' or rather Asmodeus stayed eerily silent even as more than hundreds of swords impaled him.
He looked deeply at the masked man in front of him and nodded his head.
In all the eons of his existence, it was the first time someone had broken free of the dream he had created.
"I will remember you."
"So will I."
As those words fell, Asmodeus was decapitated.
The dream world broke with that action.
CH 121: I WILL YOU SHOW YOU
Back in the real world, Lilith was not surprised when she heard about Adam's reckless plan. She had already summarized that he had inherited Cain's true curse. Which would mean that he was a true immortal being like his father.
The moment she saw him move stealthily, she hesitated slightly at his reckless action but in the end, decided to not stop him. Even though she might lose the occasion to steal Asmodeus's Authority, just making sure he didn't come to earth and become stronger was enough for her in itself.
This weird contradiction between her feelings and rationality of it all caused a lapse in judgment and she had forgotten one small thing.
Devils were cunning bastards who always had one trick or two hidden up their sleeves. It was ironic that a being as old as time herself could make such a mistake but she did and she would curse herself endlessly for that.
The moment the boy touched the body of the Cursed Womb, a flash covered the two before a shadow started to spread from her body to his.
"Adam!"
A cry came not from her but from behind, an aura of frost and a scent she recognized all too well followed the desperate cry of the girl. It was then followed by a howl as a huge wolf barreled through the hallway and entered the room with her fangs bared.
Next to the wolf was a silver-haired woman clad in a white and black kimono and the ethereal girl was holding a sword in her hand, giving off an aura that could easily make one suffocate with its intensity.
Everything started to change so fast and the situation became progressively so complicated that the ones involved were unable to register and process this situation.
The vampire, after seeing that Adam was paralyzed, lunged at him in order to end this situation once and for all but was promptly swatted away by the wolf's paws.
Lilith immediately rushed toward the body of the Cursed Womb. She wanted to know what happened to Adam after that eerie flash of light. Death of the body was nothing but if his soul was to be corrupted then, Eve would have her skin. She did not wish to make the usually demure women angry. She could be quite scary if she wanted to.
As for the Silver-haired girl… She simply unsheathed her sword and a terrifying sword aura rushed out into the surroundings.
Thunder rumbled and a clash ensued.
—-
Richard could feel the hold he had on his sanity crumble a little more every second. He was already on borrowed time and the situation was going worse as more people came.
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Why are so many bastards coming one after another!? Where is the Director!?'
If he did not fight the director to show his might and obtain accurate data, even more useless sacrifices would be necessary in the future. He couldn't have that. He really couldn't have that.
Those blasphemous bastards were stopping him from realizing the glorious purpose that was to bring humanity to a new age of glory and power.
"Bastard!"
Richard roared and his form soon changed, becoming more compact and faster than ever before. He rushed at the wolf, ready to tear the blasphemous shapeshifter apart but was forced to stop in his tracks when he felt a huge wave of power coming at him from the side.
"Argh!"
He blocked the attack coming at him but it was not without a price. He screamed as the power of thunder and lightning seeped into his body, burning him down from within.
'A Divine Weapon!'
He cursed endlessly in his mind. Even though it was only a sealed divine weapon, it was still not something he could afford to mess with in his current body and limited capabilities.
"You… You are an executor."
"I am the Lightning Blade."
Richard cursed again and again after being informed of that fact. A titled Executor.
This was not in the information he received. The girl that followed the Director was supposed to just be a member of a branch family and a disciple of the Director. How could a branch family member receive one of the most prestigious titles among the executors? It was simply unbelievable for the man.
He also looked at the giant white wolf. The power to manipulate the elements. Those eerie and bloodthirsty red eyes. This was without a doubt an alpha. One who was comparable to a Vampire Ancestor.
He didn't know why this one here seemed to be so weak, however. But it did not change his current situation.
He could only have been able to fight them all at his peak. Not in his current deteriorated state.
"You are getting distracted, monster."
His instincts flared with alarm signals as he nearly had no time to react as he moved slightly away to dodge a dangerous blow. Pain registered once again when he felt the blade of the sword dig into his flesh and leave a long gash that spanned from his collarbone to his hips.
Had he been a little bit slower, he would have lost his head completely.
What followed was a series of clashes against the expressionless girl. But no matter what he did, Richard felt like he was slowly being cornered like a rat with her exquisite techniques and the aura of her sealed Divine Weapon.
'How the hell is this girl even human!?'
He was in utter disbelief of this phenomenon. She was not overpowering him, no. She was a little faster than him but not by much either. No matter how one looked at him, he was superior to her in almost all stats throughout the board.
But… But…
He could not see the trajectory of her attacks. Could not fight the strength behind her slashes. Every time he tried to use his blood manipulation arts, she would interrupt him at the exact moment.
It was like a dance. It was a form of art. There was a deadly beauty that could be found in all her movements. Rendering him completely helpless and unable to bring his full power.
He then realized a very simple truth.
The difference in stats between them was almost negligible but he was still superior. He had the power of an Elder Vampire and she was nothing but a human.
This means only one thing…The difference in skills was like the difference between heaven and earth.
He did not know what kind of training a young girl like her must have received but this went beyond what he could perceive with his mind. How could a human be so powerful was truly beyond him…
'Fuck!'
Whoosh~
He moved away from her slash but he miscalculated a vital element. He just realized that his body was covered in frost. He had been so focused on the silver-haired girl that he had ignored the obvious second monster that was prowling in the dark.
Looking in the direction of the wolf, he could see a malevolent expression filled with glee and malice stretch her jaws into a maniacal grin. Unknowingly, his sense had dulled too much for him to perceive her attacks.
The Lightning Blade did not miss this occasion and with a flick of her sword, blood splashed and his deformed arm soared in the sky, cleanly severed.
Richard held his scream. The pain was out of this world. The power of Lightning had always been very effective against the creatures of the night and this was showing in this fight against this monstrous girl.
His hair stood erect and he immediately covered his body with a blood cocoon as a sort of last-ditch defensive move. This action saved him great trouble as he felt a tremendous force swat him on the ground like he was a mere fly.
The claws and fangs of werewolves were deadly weapons and while they normally could not hurt a vampire permanently, things became different when elemental manipulation was involved in the mix.
He could feel the cold slip inside his blood cocoon, slowly freezing it and making it more brittle.
At any time now, the cocoon would be broken and he would face the onslaught of that crazy swordswoman and the monstrous alpha wolf.
'What are my chances of survival?'
If things did not change, then none. He would simply die like this. Like a sinner. Having accomplished nothing but senseless murder and brutal hysterical atrocities against the very humans he sought to save.
'Ugh.'
The wounds he was inflicted with wiggled, his flesh was trying to heal but the energy of the blade made it impossible for it to heal instantly. Not even silver could do something like this. He could not regenerate his arm or any wounds. He was slowly growing weaker.
He realized it then in his bones—
'Ah…Am I going to die? Like this?'
But this did not register in his mind anymore. He had caused the death and suffering of so many people already. He had committed acts so vile that he knew that hell was the inevitable destination for him after his death.
He did not fear death. Neither did he fear his inevitable outcome in the afterlife. The very concept of fear was discarded by him the moment he went to the operation table to get himself turned into the abominable monster that he now was.
There was just one thing left. A primal fear that he was unable to discard. What he truly feared now was a meaningless death without accomplishing anything.
Crack~
The sound of the blood cocoon reminded him of his progressively shattering reality and the dreams he held for the future of humanity. His time was limited. He had to make a decision right here and now.
'I have no other choice.'
It was sad that he could not fight a true Director, but a Titled Executioner with a Divine Weapon and an Alpha would make for more than sufficient foes to serve his purpose.
"Doctor… You can hear me right? Or whatever method you used to keep a tab on me."
He chuckled, "I will hold my part of the bargain. I might not be able to show my prowess to the world, but you will see… We are not failures… We are not mistakes… We will be the trailblazers for humanity's next evolution… As such— Please. Please. keep your promise"
He fumbled in his pocket and took out the last syringe. The moment the Cocoon was about to give in, he finally got rid of all hesitation and injected himself with the drug.
He felt like euphoria coursed through his vein.
He would show it. He would show it to them all.
Those were the last thoughts in his mind as insanity and violence overrun his mind, robbing him of his last dregs of humanity.
CH 122: BRUTALITY
When Lilth reached Adam, she could feel that the heart of the body she was inhabiting was thumping wildly against her chest.
'Calm down girl. Your man isn't dead... At least not yet;'
She could clearly see the black spot spreading from the body of the woman to Adam and it was gradually covering his whole body in the vestiges of its darkness.
'Dream Realm. Shit...'
Lilith hissed under her breath when she realized the identity of the phenomenon that occurred with Adam. Asmodeus had the same authority as her in this domain. More than Lust, this was a primordial power that could bring one to the very top of existence once mastered.
If Adam was really inside the dream realm, his chance of escaping was close to none.
'Then again. This isn't really the true Asmodeus. So, he can still survive.'
Like the current her, this was only a part of Asmodeus' true self and authority. No, even worse. At least she was still a complete Avatar of Lilith. Asmodeus should have only been able to send a small part of his will by using the Cursed Womb of a woman as his medium.
"No... We can't just separate them at this point. They are linked now. If we try to do it he will truly be trapped inside that realm for all eternity."
She sighed under her breath in frustration, "This is a fight only he can win. All by himself. There is nothing else we can do but wait and believe. Believe in his will to suppress that bastard."
She looked at Adam's visage, taking in all of his features down to the very last detail, and sighed a long sigh. The dark spot had covered more than half of his body already and it was slowly covering more of his being.
It seemed like the situation was very complicated.
'What should I do?'
It was then...
Thump~
Lilith closed her eyes as she felt the sudden surge of power in the air and cursed in a low voice. She didn't need to turn around to know what happened. She knew very well about their current circumstance from that aura alone. Everything just went to shit and beyond.
Natasha and Makoto immediately made some distance between themselves and the Vampire man and watched as the blood cocoon exploded and let out the source of that uneasiness.
[Blood Manipulation: Invincible Armor]
If before the man had at the very least the outward appearance of a humane, now all of that was gone like that had been a facade from the start. Ominous Black Blood covered his entire body from head to toe, giving the impression that one was facing a living armor.
His height diminished slightly, giving birth to even more speed and the hand that was cut off seemed to have been replaced.
Opening his mouth, stretching it as wide as possible...
ROOOOAAAR~!
Rooaarr~!
A bloody light bloomed out of the inhumane monster and the roar of a savage, bloodthirsty beast resonated in the air, causing the walls of the temple to tremble. This was not a sound attack this time. It was even difficult to know if the monster who had lost reason could think of using such a technique.
But the pressure and power that came off were such that it left no doubt in the mind of the two girls who were fighting.
'Should I use it?'
It was surprising. But at that very moment, the three women had the same thoughts. They were not left with much time to think.
Richard moved before they could come to a solid conclusion.
Saying that he was fast was an understatement. His body broke all laws of physic as it rushed in front of Makoto, fully intent on finishing her first as she was judged to be the greatest threat to him at this stage.
"Not on my watch, you bloodsucking fiend..."
A wall of ice was erected before the grotesque monster was able to touch Makoto. Even though it looked thin and easily breakable, it was something that was tough enough to even stop a shell from a tank with not even a scratch on being dealt to its surface.
Richard did not even register this wall as he broke through it like he was tearing simple paper with a razor-sharp blade.
It was only after he stopped in front of Makoto that the sound registered in his mind and he was able to realize that there was something in front of him that had been erected to obstruct his path to the blade-wielding girl. Too bad it was too weak.
BOOM~!
"Kuh."
All it took was one punch from the monster to send Makoto ruthlessly flying like a cannonball. But the girl did not let herself lose her bearing.
Flipping in the air, she stabbed her sword into the ground, setting a long trail as she forcibly slowed herself down and stopped herself from being splattered on the wall.
'Dominant arm useless. Broken. Critical Damage to the Body.'
Makoto did not change her expression as she took a view of her physical situation. It was clearly pretty bad but she was used to this level of pain. So she did not mind it a single bit. The problem was her loss of fighting prowess that would hinder her from achieving her mission.
As Richard was about to attack her again he was body-slammed by Natasha and the two monsters started to fight, providing enough time for Makoto to think up of a solution.
The situation was looking pretty bad for them. The enemy had mysteriously powered up and they were completely outclassed.
What to do in such a situation?
'Retreat seems necessary.'
She did not take long to arrive at this conclusion. The training she received was clear. Hunters were not heroes. There was nothing good about fighting down to your last breath. This only means that the next batch of fighters would enter with no information and most likely also be wiped out.
At least one of them had to survive and give the information about the failed raid. She pressed down her sword and forced herself to get up.
Even though she was called The Lightning Blade, her life was not particularly valuable. She was just a replacement. Someone who had been chosen because she was the only one suitable for the title rather than her pure talent for wielding the title. She was an expendable asset.
Cough~
Blood started to flow out of her lips as she forced herself to get her bearings. She had hurt her internal organs, and that became clear. Her chance of fleeing just lowered considerably. If it was so she had to change the plan.
"I will hold him back."
She muttered under her breath and then commanded in her characteristic emotionless tone, "You take the man you wanted to save and leave. Warn the Director about the situation at hand."
The moment she finished saying those words, she took out the blade and started to walk steadily. Accumulating energy as she prepared herself to unseal the sword. It was a true Divine Weapon with a seal for a reason. She was simply unable to unleash her full might without paying a considerable price.
She had no control over this phenomenon and she knew what her destiny would be. But she did not care. She was a blade no one wanted either way.
Natasha howled as Richard's punch nearly broke her back. Her body was thankfully much more sturdy than Makoto's and thanks to her sharper senses, she was able to hear the words Makoto muttered.
Natasha's fight against Richard was bloody. The monster seemed to have become vastly stronger than before, but at the cost of his sanity. Making him unable to use the techniques he should have been able to.
Thanks to this she was able to use her strength to match him, albeit slightly. But she knew that this situation could not last for long.
There was one way for her to fight on an equal footing with this monster. But she hesitated. If she made a mistake she would only become a mindless monster that would fight to the death like the one in front of her.
If before she wouldn't have hesitated, now that she saw what would be her eventual fate if she took this step, she realized that it would be a stupid decision. Makoto's proposal was a godsend but also a humiliation to her. She had to flee once at Adam's demand and she had to do it again?
Natasha growled like the beast that she was inside. Her wounded pride fought against her instinct and reasons.
In the end, though, reason won. An alpha could not sacrifice the entire pack for useless pride. Even though she was perhaps the weakest Alpha to have ever existed, this did not change the situation at hand.
Sae and Adam's safety took priority over her pride.
The two girls were about to make very difficult choices, ones that would change the flow of this battle without a shadow of a doubt.
Asmodeus' ritual was continuing and reaching its paroxysm. They were just a moment away before hell truly came down upon the earth.
Richard roared in excitement. Even with his dimly remaining sanity, he could feel the taste of victory and knew what it would entail.
But... In one moment... Everything changed.
Step~
The sound of someone entering the temple filled their ears. It was just one step. But-
They all felt it resonate in their minds and body.
They all stopped moving at the same time and turned in unison in the direction of the sound.
Then... They saw... It.
Someone clad from head to toe in crimson-red armor that hid their facial features. A feminine figure that seemed highly enticing and long crimson hair waving behind her in a ponytail.
In her hand, was a menacing large greatsword with sawteeth covering the entire edge of the humongous blade.
The figure walked quietly inside the heavy atmosphere. Compared to Richard and Natasha, she seemed so small that it was practically ridiculous. Compared to the entrance that Makoto showed, she seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary woman.
But... Almost instinctively, they all knew.
This was not something that should be fought.
This was not something they could even hope to touch.
Thanks to Natasha's powers, the entire temple had been filled with ice and snow. But for every step she took, the temperature seemed to rise with her steps. Bit by bit, until fire even started to spread as she left fiery steps behind in her wake.
The sawteeth began to move, and a sound that seemed like a high-pitched scream filled the temple as a seemingly inextinguishable ember of fire covered the blade.
Makoto trembled and her eyes widened. Even though she could not see the face of the woman, she immediately recognized this demeanor.
The devil steps. The temperature that seemed to be taking away all the moisture in the atmosphere and this giant sword with one of the most eerie-looking blades that she had ever seen.
There was only one person in the entire world who could have all those things at the same time.
The tension was at an all-time high and finally, the beast could not stop himself anymore. It refused to bow down to such a small and frail being. Sanity had already left the beast, so it was not able to recognize the power of the behemoth before him.
ROOOOAAR~!
It roared its lung out and launched itself at the woman. With all its speed and weight, he punched, intending to bring the woman down as he did with the previous girl.
The pressure was so high that the ground caved in a radius of more than ten meters. His punch was so powerful that it was sure that it would have reduced the other woman to dust.
This was the best punch the monster could ever throw, packed with all its might.
"I guess I became truly weak. To think even someone like you dared to attack me."
The beast did not understand. Why did the punch not connect?
It was then that it realized - Its arm was already gone before he even knew it.
It was not just cut. But everything from the hand to the elbow was reduced to shreds before being burned down to mere cinders.
The monster roared in pain when it finally registered the event, blood formed all around him and transformed into hundreds of pike, ready to impale the woman from all sides but no sooner had they reached her that it started evaporating into nothingness.
He did not give up and swung with his other hand but that punch was simply blocked then its arm was crushed in her grasp.
She brought him down against her knee and hit him so hard that he blacked out for a solid second. What followed could not even be said to be a fight.
It was nothing more than a one sided beatdown. A scene that was akin to an adult disciplining a child.
Wham~!
She punched, punched, and punched. Her small fists felt like a sledgehammer with almighty force. Its skull was dented and broken slightly, its rib cage was destroyed like it was nothing. All remaining limbs were twisted and broken until they were completely useless.
It was a display of absolute and pure violence. So much so that one started to wonder who was truly the monster between the two.
"...Stop..."
The monster moaned and the woman indeed stopped after hearing its sound, slightly bending down to look at him.
"You are awake now?"
One could see the light of intelligence in its previously blurry eyes. This caused her to grin. "As I thought, a good beating is always the best alternative."
She did not wait for him to answer as she grabbed him by the jaws and tore it apart like it was just a sheet of paper.
She grabbed him and then started to walk in Adam's direction with a bit of a hasty gait. The ritual was at its peak. Any moment now and it would end, but she showed no worry.
She knew her son more than anyone else.
"I hope you had a good a nap there, son dearest."
Lilith, who had consciously taken a few steps back looked incredulously as the black spot on Adam's body started to vanish and the light of the ritual dimmed.
She looked up at the temple that slowly started to vanish and the surroundings that were slowly going back to normal.
This could only mean one thing.
As impossible as it seemed - Adam had managed to surpass Asmodeus in the Dream realm.
CH 123: DREAM AND DEATH
Adam watched as the world of dreams and illusions crumbled before him.
Even though he had obtained the so-called Power over dreams, there was no doubt in his mind that he would need a great deal of experience before being able to create something of the caliber of what Asmodeus had created to ensnare his soul.
This was why… There was one last thing he wanted to do.
He focused his mind — Dreams usually connected all of the sea of consciousness into one and there was one dream in particular that interested him.
He started to walk on an intangible path and a door appeared for him before long.
On the other side of the door, he could see a woman weeping in a dark place. There was no mistaking her identity. He recognized her as the woman who had served as Asmodeus's vessel.
He approached her slowly, even though he knew that she could not feel nor see him, and looked at her own dream, or rather nightmare, he still decided to be careful with her. The violence that was done to her was constantly being replayed in her mind, and the cruel loss of her family and friends was also being constantly replayed to intensify her agony.
In a way — This place was worse than hell or perhaps this was what could fall in the criterion of hell, in the first place. There was no real way to know at the moment.
"There is nothing I can do for you in the real world, miss."
The woman had to die. She was carrying the vessel of Asmodeus inside her. Be it from an overall standpoint, because he did not wish to see the advent of a demon prince on earth, or from a personnel standpoint, because he was now mortal enemy with said demon prince, Adam had to the realization long ago that he needed to make sure that this woman died.
He was once again reminded that he was no hero of justice. He did not have the power to save anyone. Only that to kill and destroy.
But… At the very least…
"Let me give you a peaceful dream and a good rest."
He moved his hands and the world started to change. Darkness was swept away and a bright blue sky appeared in exchange.
The memory she was experiencing was being rewritten and in the place where her brother attacked the man, a new scene played as Adam intervened and calmed him down before he could do anything untowardly to the man.
He met her in this newly created dream. Her name was Zoe. She apologized for the rudeness of her brother and the two became close.
They dated, fell in love, entered into a relationship, married, and had many children. Life wasn't perfect. There were some problems along the way but eventually, everything settled down and they were happy.
This world lasted for more than 80 years.
Now, sitting with Zoe at his side.
She gave a smile as she looked up at the starry sky. "I am really happy, you know?"
"Heh. Why the sudden gushing? You aren't a young lady anymore, you know?"
Zoe smirked and placed her feeble and old hand on his.
"Thank you. I guess I got a little greedy toward the end."
Adam stopped smiling and gently grasped the hand that overlapped his, "I guess I am not really good enough yet."
"Hahaha…"
She smiled. She may have been looking old but her smile was still beautiful. "Are you an angel?"
"In this case, I am more like a grim reaper or a simple trickster filled with hypocrisy trying to lighten my guilt."
She shook her head, "Whatever your reasons were… Thank you. Thanks for everything you did."
Her breath grew ragged, "I… What will happen to me after I die?"
Adam grew silent. He did not know about that. He was not privy to the way of heaven. Would she go to heaven or hell or somewhere else?
"Wherever you go… It will be a beautiful place, for a beautiful soul such as yours."
"Haha."
Tears streamed down her face, "Hug me one last time please."
He did as was asked. She was light, very much so. He hugged her tightly against his chest while her breath began to slow down.
"Even though it was a dream… It was really a blissful life."
Her eyes closed, her breath ceased, and slowly her body was reduced to dust until there was nothing left in his arms.
Death in the dream world meant death in reality.
Adam looked up, feeling lost. He had now lived through a lifetime's worth of memories for the third time. All of them were illusions. But unlike the previous two, he had not actively rejected this one. He may have been acting but he also immersed himself in this fake reality in order to give her the greatest happiness possible.
What was a dream when you truly thought about it? What was reality in its truest form? Was there really a difference between the two at one point?
'This power is dangerous.'
Adam sighed and stood up. His firm will allowed him to break free from the confusion that accompanied every illusion master.
'Now… It's time for me to leave.'
Adam stood up. He had won. He had beaten off a demon prince in his own game. He had killed the Cursed Womb and brought an end to the whole ritual.
But, he felt no joy. Only hollowness and a cold simmering rage which tried to fill the hollowness of his heart. Sadly, he couldn't even let that soothe his weary mind and heart.
—
His eyes slowly opened and Adam realized that he was now back in the real world.
He first looked at Zoe, in the real world her body was still a stuff of horrors. But her heart had gone still and all signs of life had vanished from her body.
Adam gently placed his hand over her face and closed her eyes.
"May you rest in peace, dear."
Adam did not believe in God. He believed in its existence, he didn't really have a choice in this matter now after all, but he had no faith. He knew once again that his actions were utterly useless. But this did not change his wish.
He stood up and looked around. Taking in the current scene, the girl named Makoto, Natasha in her wolf form, Lilith who was still in Sae's body, and then his eyes finally landed on the red armored figure that was releasing so much heat that it felt like she was born with a vendetta to burn everything down in this world.
'Mom?'
He was sure it was her even without using his ocular powers.
"We can talk later. Now, what will you do?"
She lightly moved her hand and threw the now awakened and weakened vampire toward him.
'Ah…'
Cecilia knew about his 1st ordeal and the reward he would get from killing this man. But in this instant— no such consideration entered Adam's mind.
All of this was this damn guy's fault.
It was because of him that he had to step into the Supernatural world, making his mother's pain and suffering completely meaningless.
If not for that man, the first dream world he had lived in may have been a possibility rather than a simple fleeting dream.
If not for that man, hundreds of people wouldn't have died in such a meaningless way and would not be condemned to an eternity of pain.
If not for him… Adam would not have to drench his hand in the blood of so many innocents.
If not for him… the innocent Zoe would still be alive.
'Hah…'
Adam saw visions of red in his eyes and his mind. Electricity coursed through the air and the vampire was caught up in the air by the usage of his telekinetic powers.
Lightning bloomed and wiped at the man. Adam had finally become able to bring forth electricity by manipulating Electromagnetism but he did not care about that for a single bit.
All he wanted was for the man to feel pain, pain, and even more pain. Endless agony should be his only truth.
Cecilia watched her son in silence. She could see the tears in the corner of his eyes. The rage in his depths and the self-hatred and guilt even more beneath the shell of his being. She could imagine what he must be feeling.
In fact — The whole scene currently felt so familiar to her that it was both hilarious and eerie.
Nearly forty years ago, she stood in Adam's place and Musashi stood in hers. She had always wondered why the old man did what he did, why he gave a choice to the two young girls who had witnessed the death of their parents.
She understood now.
"Adam…"
She brought her sword by the handle and gave it to him. She was the only one who could use Surtr's divine power. But even in its base form, it was still a Divine Weapon that could kill creatures of the night.
Adam took a hold of the weapon, the blade features immediately all vanished and the sword looked more like an ordinary greatsword.
He approached the man— the vampire called Richard. Adam's lightning had not been very strong. But it was enough to sear the armor that was coated over his body and bring him true pain. Furthermore, its wounds were healing rather slowly because of Cecilia's fire reducing its healing factor.
"You talked about humanity or whatever bullshit that you were spouting. Claiming that all of those were necessary sacrifices or some horse shit. I just want you to know. Everything you did was meaningless. I want you to feel our pain and anguished for yourself."
Adam's eyes began to glow as their gaze crossed and he placed a hand on the monster's hand.
"Kuh."
Adam leaked a groan. Now that he was doing it alone, it was far more difficult. He initially wished to enter the dream of the man and obtain some information but this proved to be useless.
So all Adam did was simple. He pushed in his pain.
The memory of the hundreds of deaths he had to go through. The feelings of fear and confusion that constantly plagued his mind. The guilt and constant worry that constantly killed him from the inside.
He imagined the most vicious nightmares possible.
All of his visions, all of his feelings, he pushed all of them inside the sick motherfucker.
Richard's jaw was broken so he could not speak. But one only needed to look at this body to imagine how much pain he was feeling right now.
It was only then that Adam felt satisfied enough and finally plunged the sword deep into its chest.
The result was immediate…. It was instant death.
'Now with this, everything is finished.'
Adam slumped on the ground, feeling light-headed.
The book of Genesis flew above him and reminded him of his achievements.
『 The 1st ordeal has been completed.
Reward: 1 free pass to the Bronze section of the Nexus.
Additional reward: 200 karma for making your enemy feel fear and despair in his last moments. 』
『 Epic Ordeal — Path of the Black knight has been completed.
Reward: 10000 Karma + 1 free pass for the silver section of the Library. 』
『 You killed a total of 112 people. 』
『 Additional reward:
2240 Karma for Killing 112 People in total
550 Karma for making all demons feel fear
50 Karma for making Zoe Baker feel love
300 Karma for making Zoe Baker feel faith 』
『 Total Karma Gained: 13340. 』
『 Current Total Karma: 13400. 』
This should have been it. But… The book was not finished yet.
Adam felt a surging pain burn his heart and his forehead felt hot and hurting, as if molten lava was being splashed on top of his head, melting it whole.
"Argh!"
Even for him, it was an unimaginable amount of pain.
『 For the first time, you have killed, not for survival or necessity but from a simple desire for revenge. 』
『 The curse of Cain reacts to the senseless murder and awakens the Stigma of the Immortal. 』
『 A new skill is generated. 』
『 Name: Death [1]
Rank: EX
Description: For you who can never face death, you obtained the power to bring death to others. The power to bring death even to the immortals. This was previously the Unique Skill bestowed to Cain as the Harbinger of Death. As his true son, this skill is now yours as well. 』
『 Warning: If immortals discover you have this power, your relationship with all of them may immediately turn hostile. 』
Adam was unable to look at all the messages that followed. The pain was simply too much for him to bear.
As such — He fainted on the spot.
This day was indeed one he would never be able to forget, even if he did not have a perfect memory.
[1]: Like The World and The Magician, Death is also one of the Major Arcana.
Basically it's
I- The Magician
XIII- Death
XXI- The World.
Yeah the Major Arcana are going to be a Major theme of the story. Bad pun. I know.
CH 124: REACTION
[?]
A mysterious meeting was taking place in a place that was recorded on no map.
Standing in the middle of a large conference room, a woman was observing the footage running on a big screen, and all around her, blurry holographic figures were doing the same in absolute silence.
The footage showed the fight between Adam and co against Richard from the perspective of the monster in the skin of a man.
The woman had a voluptuous figure, mesmerizing brown caramel colored skin, and was donned in a short black skirt, a white shirt, and an equally white lab coat over her shirt that covered her body but could do nothing to cover the curves of her sinful body.
Her face was covered with a featureless black mask on which the number 10 was engraved in the blood red color, giving an eerie touch to the otherwise luscious appearance of the woman.
Thanks to the mask, it was impossible to discern her expressions. Like a doll, she stood unmoving and if one did not look closely, one would not even feel that her chest was moving, making one have the impression that she was not even breathing.
But as the fight went on, while her reactions stayed stoic, those of the others became more and more pronounced, and finally, when the figure clad in a scarlet red armor and a flaming chainsaw blade appeared, audible gasps, and curses could be heard all around the wide conference room as they watched how the last intruder absolutely crushed the experimental subject that should have been able to fight a literal Director as an equal even if only for a limited amount of time.
When the footage finally ended with the death of Richard, silence completely lapsed in the room once again.
"Very well. This is the end of the experiment. Your thoughts?"
"Thoughts!?"
One of the figures couldn't help but scream, "You ask for our thoughts!? Did we not watch the same thing there!? We invested in a way to bring humans' evolution to the next step. I was already leery about having him fighting a Director. But what the hell was that!? Rape? Murder? Demonic summoning!?"
The last one came more as a shrill scream than anything. But even so, no one berated him for that.
Another of the figure spoke out after the outburst of the hysteric figure, "My friend may have been a little agitated in speaking like that, but I believe that the concerns he raised are more than valid. This matter went beyond what we were told and now that the summoning of a Demon and a Zodiac are part of this matter, we believe you owe us an explanation."
The woman stood calmly and listened to them berate her one after another. Her mind was calm like a still lake.
She knew very well that those people had no care about the means she had used. Without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, all the people gathered here were, in more ways than that was imaginable, even more horrible than the vilest of Demons.
In the end, those were nothing but the barks of bereaved dogs trying to find someone to throw the fault of this failure on.
She was clearly the easy target in their opinion.
"I sent all of you a special file. I believe that after you read it, the next meeting will be more agreeable between us."
She did not wait for them to answer and cut the communication that was connecting the individuals with her. Plunging the room into the dark completely until the screen was switched on once again.
She rewatched everything from the start. One time, two times, again, and again for hours on end. Alone, silently, like a machine. A doll with its sole purpose being the analysis of every single detail of the footage.
She would sometime pause and think of some things, rewind, or even accelerate… For everyone else seeing the scene, what would attract their attention would be the second group of intruders or more prominently the final one— the supposed Zodiac.
It was normal. After all, unlike the first group, the rest had been able to do a lot more and bring more depth into the fight. But for her, it was the first two individuals that created the most amount of mystery and intrigue in her mind.
"I cannot remember."
She noticed this after watching for the 100th time. No matter what she did, no matter how she tried, she would subconsciously try to not look at the girl that was wearing the bikini set. Trying to remember her face was pointless as well.
Obviously, this was not something possible with the advancement of technology. "Another godly entity was involved in the fight?"
She mused quietly as she took her notebook and began to scribble down. Asmodeus was a Prince of Hell, and the number of godly entities who would dare to face him was not incredibly high.
The number of those who would actually have a reason to do so was even lower and no matter how she looked, she did not think this person was related to Heaven or those gods on the side of the 'Good' and holy as they claimed to belong to.
This means a god with a neutral or evil alignment intervened in the fight.
"Another Prince of Hell? Or a demon who wants to steal 'His' authority?"
She was meticulous in not pronouncing His name. After all, at that level, they could feel it every time someone used their true name with the explicit knowledge of their existence. While they would generally simply ignore it, she did not want to take any risk in this subject. Surely after this debacle, Asmodeus would have a bone to pick with them.
She continued to scribble and narrowed it down to a few names, focusing on the Demonic beings' side.
Asmodeus had many authorities. Dream, Lust, Probability Manipulation, and even Architecture was added to the list of his authorities along with many minor ones.
She circled the word Lust and Dream as only those were the major authorities and worth the risk of offending this malevolent being.
In the end, she was able to narrow it down to four entities that were the most likely culprit in this matter.
"The four angels of prostitution?" [1]
She stopped and frowned beneath her mask, almost making it appear above due to the intensity of her emotions. Those were the most likely candidates and were all related to Dreams and Lust.
She did not write their names, however.
Lilith, Naamah, Agrat Bat Mahlat, and Eisheth Zenunim.
The four women who were once chosen by the Supreme Deity to join with Prime Adam, but refused those orders and fell into hell with Samael.
The voluptuous scientist mused slightly and erased Agrat Bat Mahlat from her mind. In some records of the Kabbalah she was recognized as the mother of Asmodeus and King David. [2]
She hesitated a little before erasing Lilith's name as well. Lilith was considered to be Asmodeus' wife and they had created the second generation of demonic children together. [3]
'No… I am in too much of a hurry.'
She calmed down and decided to think about it later.
Her attention finally focused on the second one that had intrigued her the most.
He was undoubtedly a Human, without a shadow of a doubt.
But…
"He died?"
They weren't just able to monitor Richard's vision, but all his senses as well as, undoubtedly from his point of view, the black haired boy had died when he was pierced by the attack.
Furthermore, he had his eardrums burst previously by the sound attack.
If so… How come he was completely healthy and well a few moments later.
'A warlock?'
She cropped out the picture of all the people she could recognize and sent them to the database.
She could already recognize the armored woman. Even if her face was hidden, even if more than twenty years went past, Legends like her could hardly be forgotten.
"Tell the hounds in LA to retire temporarily."
The experience itself was a failure but the data they had retrieved were extremely precious.
She pointed at the holographic map and the yellow zone that represented LA became entirely dyed in red.
She then looked at the map of Las Vegas. A large patch of mixed green and yellow covered the map.
She was not in charge of the plan in that place but she knew they needed to take careful steps after the current failure.
It was time to eliminate one of the greatest stumbling blocks on their path.
A cross mark appeared on a gray wolf that was in the yellow area.
They would start with him.
CH 125: END OF A LONG DAY
Looking at Adam as he fainted after killing the fake Vampire chimera, Cecilia grew worried and took him in her arms before he fell and was about to hit the ground.
She could feel the Prana raging inside his body and it seemed like some kind of evolution was taking place inside him that would change him at a fundamental level. This worried her deeply. But what worried her more than anything was the carnage she had witnessed on the way to this place.
From the way all those humans possessed by demons had died, she had no doubt that Adam was the one who killed them. And that realization ached her soul.
'My poor little boy. I am sorry that your incompetent mother couldn't come sooner.'
Cecilia endlessly cursed herself inwardly. The armor she was wearing now had surprised her more than a bit. They didn't have this kind of thing 20 years ago. It had allowed her to dramatically increase her physical prowess with only a meager quantity of Prana applied for shielding techniques.
Without the use of this new armor, it would have simply been impossible to use her powers as she did. Even then she had been greatly limited because of her defective heart.
She may have come in time to save him physically, but she did not know about the state of his psyche.
Perhaps it was time to put him in contact with a Psychiatrist. This was the only way she could think of to relieve the mind of her poor son.
Of course, she was not talking about the normal kind but those specialized in hunter related PTSDs.
'It's time to go.'
Hoisting Adam in her arms like a princess, she couldn't help but chuckle while walking away from the scene.
"Grrrr!"
She was stopped in her tracks by a large silver furred wolf blocking her way ahead.
"Back off."
Her voice was calm but cold and commanding. It would have been enough to bring many to their knees but even though Natasha was scared, even though her instincts were screaming at her to flee with her tail between her legs or lay down with her belly up in submission, she did not move and kept her hostility.
The standoff lasted for only a few seconds before a smile graced her lips.
"You should be Natasha. I have heard about you from Adam and now that I am seeing you for myself, I think I like you quite a bit."
She had heard Adam talking about Natasha in the past but it was only now that she was truly able to connect the dots and identify her origins.
"Greet Aleksandra for me, would you? She should still remember what happened between us."
She chuckled darkly at the thought and replied in a plain tone, "Adam is my son."
Natasha was utterly astonished at that remark. But now that she focused, she could indeed smell Adam's scent permeating her. A deep smell that could only permeate from those who were in close contact with him for a long long time.
How could she have imagined that the sickly mom of Adam was such a powerhouse? Just how many secrets did he have? Just how many more would she find out in the future? Her mind became a bit dizzy at that thought.
This time, Natasha only hesitated slightly before taking a few steps back and making way for Cecilia.
"Good. Also, take care of Viktor and bring him home, please. I can't really walk in front of all of them with Adam in my arms like this."
Cecilia nodded to herself and turned to look at Sae or rather Lilith. She knew about her the moment she had laid eyes on her, "I have a non-aggression pact with the witches. Don't make me break that."
"Hahaha."
Lilith simply responded with a hollow laugh. Not only had she taken a great risk to come on this plane, but she ended up with nothing and now a mere mortal was threatening her.
This was truly ridiculous but the most ridiculous thing was that she knew that she had to take this warning seriously.
It was impossible for her true body to land on the mortal world and as long as she could only bring her avatar, then things would be tricky for her in most cases.
"Don't worry. I made a deal with the boy. The girl whose body I am inhabiting right now is alright."
Cecilia ignored her and just walked away. She might have become more tolerant of supernatural creatures after she started raising Adam, but it was a little too much to ask her to be friendly to a demon.
Makoto, who had been standing on the side, opened her mouth many times, trying to say something but in the end, she could only shut up as she received a message in her mind from the woman she tried to communicate with difficulty.
[I will contact Theresa myself when I am ready. Tell her to not bother me or my son for now. As for what happened here? You can say whatever you want to her. I don't care.]
Delivering those words, Cecilia vanished from this place.
Back in the middle of the Park, a smile spread on Elysia's face as she observed the sky clear up.
The smile turned into a sad frown when she looked at the corpses strewn about all around outside of the barrier.
They had managed to save around two hundred people. This meant that even after a nigh Calamity class disaster event, only around 300 hundred people died.
Compared to other events of this level. where ten of thousands of people dying could only be seen as a great outcome, one could say that it was a miracle that was worthy of being written in the annals of history.
But for Elysia, the death of even one human was too much for her pure soul to bear. She did not see life as statistics but looked at each of them individually.
This was even worse in the current situation. She could not even pray for their souls to rest in peace since she knew they were all doomed for all eternity due to being possessed by these dastardly demons.
"Cease."
The holy light dimmed and she staggered for a while before she was able to stand up with great difficulty. Her body was completely covered in blood and her complexion was pale as a sheet of paper- the aftermath of using her Sanctuary.
"Good job you two."
The two hunters were too tired to speak. But she was sincere. She would make sure to reward them later. She knew very well that not everyone was like her. Not everyone would sacrifice their life simply for the satisfaction of saving others.
If there were no tangible benefits to following her, people would not listen to her. This was a simple reality she understood long ago.
Not only them. 'His name was Adam, right? What a beautiful name!'
A smile spread on her face as she made her decision. She did not know if he was the one who saved them all, but he still had to get rewarded as well. The courage he had shown in helping them was enough for her to think of rewarding the boy.
The boy had been intriguing and the angel in her seemed restless after observing him.
'What kind of secrets are you hiding?'
Theresa Kaminari was having a really bad day today. While she did show a sentiment of relief after seeing the ominous circle vanish, her heart was not feeling light as it was still heavy with the scenery surrounding her.
All around her, one could see hundreds of bodies laying down in a pool of blood and frost covering more than a hundred meters.
Her hand was holding her two guns and she was looking at the sky, wishing she could have a smoke to relieve the stress and anxiety building up inside of her.
Those bastards had been endless. Whenever she tried to enter, ten of them would attack the priest and mages holding down the spread of the magical circle.
Her eyes were ablaze with hatred.
How many people had to die due to those abominable bastards? How many innocent people were used for this sick plan?
'Cultist bastards!'
Theresa took a deep breath and released her aura. A white and icy mist followed her will as if her entire body was made out of the coldest ice in the world.
Remembering the day her life was destroyed made her blood boil with insurmountable rage and hatred. But she knew senseless anger would bring her nothing.
This was her first true mission as a Director. She was supposed to be the shield that protected people from a large event like this.
She had failed them miserably.
For now... All she could do was to make sure that the family of all the dead was taken care of appropriately.
Money could never bring the dead back to life. But it was necessary to still give some semblance of help to their wounded souls. Even if she had to go completely bankrupt due to it.
This was the least she could do.
She sighed once again, "Good job everyone. Time to wrap things up. Today was rough. It will soon become even more hectic. But this is our duty, right?"
"Yes, Madam!"
All the members of the LAPPD saluted her with all the vigor they could muster and even the priests and mages straightened themselves in a show of respect.
What they had witnessed was something beyond the limits of a human. Their eyes shone with unbridled admiration- as well as a little bit of fear, as they looked at this absurd woman.
Theresa ignored them and began to walk inside the Park. She knew Makoto was alive. She just needed to make sure her protegee didn't lose all her limbs.
"You can go home boy."
Viktor was surprised, "Madame."
"Just go home. Even though you are wearing a disguise, I already received a report about your arrival in LA. Well, mostly about your grandfather."
The only reason no one acted was very simple...
"There is only one reason for that old bastard to come here."
Only one person could make the greatest Blacksmith in the entire world move like this...
"Tell Cecilia that I will see her whenever she is ready."
She could wait. She had already waited for twenty years after all,
"Also tell that gorilla that I am going to shoot her in the head when I see her next."
She may be the little sister, but she still had the right to punish a naughty big sister.
"Finally... Tell her to not come with me if she doesn't have a very good excuse. I hate lies, but I hate sloppy lies even more."
On those words, she entered the park.
On that day, many people died. People mourned. The next day, riots spread all throughout America as people asked why the government did not take more appropriate measures to protect the people from heatstroke.
This had been the highest wave of death ever recorded in America due to a mere cause as this one. That too in this day and age.
Pacific Park closed down indefinitely. The cause of death for those people was described as a mass environmental hazard caused by poisonous gases coming from the cracked ground.
People screamed out bullshit like no tomorrow. Some spoke about theories of deep complot, terrorist attacks, and a new biochemical weapon that had gone wrong.
Some spoke about aliens' attacks or magic being involved. But those people were simply ignored and buried in the flow of information.
Like this, things continued to advance. Two days later people were already talking about it less and less.
Four days later, information about making students less indebted when paying for university fees and with lesser interest rates brought away a great part of the attention. One week later, the new album of the rising star, Ariel, managed to hit the top of the charts.
By then, people still talked about the sad events in LA, albeit on lesser margins. The world continued to advance as more and more people who were not directly affected lost interest and focused on entertainment.
This was the sad reality of this world. Even the Veil paled in face of the art of information manipulation that was mastered by those who holds the true power in this world.
As for Adam... Exactly one week later - He woke up.
130 INTERLUDE 3: DEPRESSION
The seven days that went by weren't just filled with merely riots and intense but meaningless discussions on the internet. There were a lot more intricate happenings going through beneath the charade of human violence in the name of protest.
For the people who were unrelated to this harrowing matter, it was just a piece of very sad news that they wished would have been great if it didn't take place. Nothing more, nothing less. But for those who were affected by this harrowing affair, it was not something that couldn't be taken lightly.
Shuri was one such person. Though it could be said that she had not been directly affected by this matter but it went without saying that as one of the greatest firms in LA, she had seen her workload increase exponentially due to all the variables and lawsuits that were created due to this incident.
Many families that lost someone dear to them in the incident of Pacific Park, contacted them in order to sue people responsible for the management and ownership of the Park as well as the states and ask for compensation and reparation to soothe their broken families.
This was well within their rights and Shuri had to ask for a collective operation to increase the weight of their voices.
But if she had to be honest, while she felt sad for those people, like any other human, what truly affected her the most was what happened to her personally due to this incident.
As a victim of this harrowing happening, Adam was now in a coma.
It was a very weird and dismal situation. She had just been planning on visiting Cecilia and preparing some breakfast since it was the weekend and she was able to spend her time with the people she cherished the most in the world. But alas, she soon learned that Adam had been present in the Park when the gas leak took place and while he didn't die due to the poisonous gas leak, he was still severely affected by the side effects of the hazardous incident.
Shuri had never felt her heart beat so violently against her chest before, not even when she heard about the heart condition of her best friend. Be it Adam, or even Cecilia, she realized once again how dependent she had become on those two people. They were her only true family and Adam was like the little bottle of sunshine that illuminated her dark and dismal life without a single shred of light to light it up. Well, before he and his mother came along that is.
There was a reason that she had decided to leave him everything she owned eventually, after all.
She nearly had a mental breakdown at the thought of losing him. She begged and screamed when she finally reached his home, asking Cecilia why the hell she wasn't sending Adam to the hospital to take care of him and figure out what was wrong with the boy.
But Cecilia had been adamant in her stance.
Shuri was not stupid. She didn't know what, she didn't know how, but after spending nearly 20 years with Cecilia, there was no way she didn't know that something was amiss with her best friend. That Cecilia was hiding a very big and deep secret from her all this time.
But until now she had always ignored that fact about her best friend. She had turned a blind eye because she thought it was not worth it to dig up whatever past Cecilia was trying to bury from the world. Everyone had their secrets after all.
But this… It had just been too much for her to endure anymore.
For the first time in their entire relationship, Shuri shouted at Cecilia with all her might. This wasn't some friendly banter. She shouted, cursed, and called her friend with every name and profanity that was possible to be uttered on this earth.
'You are so stupid. Fuck'
Shuri covered her face with her hands. She wouldn't have felt so bad, as she was feeling right now, if Cecilia had raised her voice as well. But, she did not do any of that. Cecilia only looked at her with an indifferent expression, neither giving excuses nor trying to argue with her.
But the emotions of pain in her eyes had been too raw and real. It was clear that she wanted to tell her something but for one reason or another, she was not able to convey them to her.
Cecilia loved Adam more than anyone else in the world. How could she willingly leave Adam at home if there wasn't an important reason behind it?
When she realized this fact, all the wind left her sail. She had acted childishly and hurt her only true friend. Shuri had never felt so small and stupid in all her life as she did now, but what could she do? She wasn't able to control herself when she saw Adam in such a condition.
It had been four days since then. She had left in a hurry… like a thief feeling too ashamed to face her longer.
She would sometimes write to ask how Adam was but outside of that, she could not face Cecilia anymore.
She was acting like a very bad friend.
'Fuck!'
Shuri took a third bottle of alcohol and began to fill her glasses with it.
The last few days had been rough on her. Very much so.
She had hurt her best friend, Adam was still in a coma, and she had received the final proof of her husband cheating on her.
He had a second family in japan. A virtuous wife who waited at home for him and even a three-year-old young girl.
She had expected that her husband had been cheating on her for quite a while. But… She had thought it would simply be a fling. Something with some top model or some younger girl easier to the eyes.
In a corner of her mind, she could have perhaps forgiven him for this. She understood that she worked like a maniac sometimes, and her husband could feel that she was not taking care of him or their relationship because of that.
She knew that this was just her acting as a pushover. But she had loved him for years and was willing to give him a second chance. Even if their marriage was never the same and trust once broken was even more difficult to build…
But this…
'Fuck.'
Shuri wanted to cry her soul out. No, she could already feel the tears streaming down her face.
He looked so happy. How long had it been since she saw such a sincere smile on his face?
Those photos and the information she had received had been no different than a knife plunging deep into her heart.
She felt miserable and she felt utterly alone. There was no one with whom she could share her pain at the moment and she couldn't show her pain outside as she had to keep a strong front to not be underestimated by her colleagues and rivals.
Her hazy eyes fell on a card. This had been sent to her around one week ago. Supposedly, it was a good place to relax and have some simple fun.
What was the name again?
She took the card and squinted her eyes slightly. The darkness of the room and the alcohol in her system were not helping her a single bit.
In the end, she was finally able to get a good read on the name engraved on the card.
The name was — Wild Hunt.
INTERLUDE 4: TRAUMA
[2 Days after the harrowing events of Pacific Park]
Knock~ Knock~
"Sae... Will you please open the door?"
Sitting alone in her room, at the house of her parents, Sae trembled intermittently when she heard the subtle knocking on the door of her room.
She was only able to calm herself down somewhat after hearing the voice of her mother, but even then, it was impossible to hide the goosebumps that went over her skin from just the simple event of hearing the knock on the door.
"I... I am alright. Please just leave me alone. Please..."
Sae sat with her back against the bedrest as she covered herself from head to toe with a blanket. The ambiance of the room was entirely plunged in stygian darkness with only the light of her computer lighting the room as the news about the events that happened in the Park kept replaying on the PC screen.
"Sae... You know you can talk to us about anything, right?"
'I can't...'
"I know I can, mom. There's just... nothing to talk about..."
Her thoughts and her words were completely contradictory but there was nothing else she could do or say about it.
"I am really alright, you know, haha... Just a little bit tired, that's all..."
One could hear the steps of someone shuffling in front of the door slightly followed by the sounds of receding footsteps, indicating that her mom was leaving. She could hear the voice of her parents arguing in the distance, which caused her to feel extremely guilty and anxious.
After all, her parents had never argued so loudly for as long as she could remember. She wanted to come down and tell them that she was feeling great, tell them that there was nothing wrong with her. Show them a wide smile to bring relief to them.
But...
"Hic~"
A sob leaked out from her lips and she covered herself with the blanket even more tightly. She was scared. She was lost. She did not know what was happening anymore.
'This...'
On that day. When she left Adam to go change, she felt her body growing hotter and hotter until she basically fainted at one point.
When she finally woke up, she realized that she had become a prisoner in her own body. A womanly voice that called herself Lilith told her that she was not a human but, in essence, a succubus.
This explained all the abnormally repressed sexual urges she had to deal with throughout her life.
Sae had felt like she was dreaming from that moment on. But it would be more accurate to call it a nightmare rather than a mere dream. A nightmare that was slowly proving to be her new reality.
"Ah...Please stop."
Those grotesque waves of laughter, the expressions of madness and absolute vile and evil that they all showed... All of those rotten and painful memories were engraved in her mind still.
She blocked her ears with her hands but she could still hear them loud and clear in her head. She closed her eyes but she could still see them in front of her. The scent of sulfur still entered her nose and the sticky feeling of blood covering her body would not leave no matter what she did.
"Hah~ Hah~ Hah~"
Her breath became ragged and hurried. She tried to gasp to relieve the feeling of stuffiness but she felt like her chest was still constricted by something heavy and burdensome. Her surroundings became faint and blurry. It was as if the walls were closing in on her, as if the room was becoming smaller with each passing second and was now about to crush her.
Nausea climbed through her throat and nose as her stomach churned violently. She would have already barfed if she hadn't already done it so many times there was literally nothing left for her stomach to give out.
Her consciousness was growing faint and she would have most likely fainted if her phone did not start ringing in front of her.
Suddenly, the room in the space seemed wider once again and breathing was once again possible.
She looked down at the phone, more specifically the caller that had saved her from fainting.
[Natasha]
Taking the phone in her trembling hands, she could see more than twenty missed calls and messages from Steven alone, and double that coming from Natasha.
Natasha. Her dear friend. Someone with whom she liked to bicker with for the slightest of things. They would mock and insult each other but she knew deep down that Natasha was her closest friend and there were few things she had never hesitated in sharing with her.
Sae thought that she knew nearly everything there was to know about Natasha.
Now though...
'Natasha is a werewolf...'
Just putting that reality in her thoughts made her feel like she was about to go crazy from a plethora of feelings that seemed to block her breathing.
A werewolf. A fucking werewolf.
She was some kind of demon hybrid. Natasha was a Werewolf and Adam...
Thinking of Adam, her heart settled down as a complicated expression filled her face. She had seen it... What he did. How he killed those people without any hesitation, an indifferent expression donning his face throughout.
She had also seen it. Behind his indifferent mask, the anguish and the pain that seemed to leak out of his eyes. The resolve and the anger that seemed to be filling the very depth of his soul.
Sae was confused.
Killing was bad. Murderers were sinners in the eyes of the law and religion as well as morals.
She should have felt revulsed of Adam. Scared even. She had been raised by cops and her best friend was from a family of lawyers. She herself was studying to become a lawyer in the future.
But- was what Adam did wrong?
Did he even kill humans in the first place? From what she understood, those people were already dead the moment they were possessed.
Moreover, Adam had not even tried to call her at all throughout these couple of days of sheer nightmare that she had been living through. Did he just not care?
She laughed at herself. It was sad how the opinion of Adam seemed to matter more than the horrors she had witnessed in that god forsaken place on that god forsaken day.
"Ugh..."
Her head hurs and she ignored the phone as it stopped ringing after some time. Her thoughts were all over the place and she had a hard time focusing on any one thing at the moment.
Rather... She simply did not wish to focus on anything right now. Just forget everything and everyone.
For whenever she did try to focus, those haunting scenes would come back to her and she would be even more lost.
There was so much she did not understand. So much she wanted to know.
But... who? To whom should she ask all of this?
It was then-
"My... What a pitiful child."
Sae opened her eyes wide and looked up.
There, floating in the air above her, was a woman clad in a long blue robe that was struggling its utmost to hide her voluptuous and glamorous body. Her long black hair that reached her back had a hint of purple at the tips and her jewel-like purple eyes shone like a star in the sky in her glamorous and gorgeous face.
"You... Who are you?"
Sae should have felt panicked. After all, some stranger woman had entered her room out of nowhere and was even flying in the air like she was in superwoman or something.
But strangely, all she could feel was a feeling of calmness wash over her.
"Who am I?"
The woman pointed at herself with a mischievous smile as she hovered down and came close enough to be able to pat Sae on her head with her outstretched hand...
"My name is Bridget Bishop and - I am a witch."
Her smile became more pronounced as she stretched her other hand toward her...
"Sae Kirishima. I come as the bearer of good news."
There was a letter adorned with golden engravings on that hand of hers.
"As the Headmaster, I come to ask if you would like to join our prestigious Academy."
