Chapter 78: Instinct

'I always felt it since before meeting Selene.'In the depths of a dark memory, the image of a black-haired young man beating someone in the slums on a dark evening.

A cheap knife fell to the ground with blood oozing from a deep gash in the young man's arm, yet despite the thug's loss of resistance. The boy continued to hit the thug's face with a twisted smile on his lips.

'From the beginning, there were feelings that would overwhelm me and take over my body when faced with dangerous situations.'

Images of countless fights flew through the young man's mind, school, high school, college, the military, countless fights and moments where his excessive desire to crush the opponent led to dangerous situations and consequences.

'No matter who scolded me, if someone crossed my path or became aggressive... A dark feeling would well up, my mind would become foggy, and then they would be lying on the floor, usually bleeding or quivering.'

'Maybe that's why Ryan was such a good friend, because when he was around... I didn't feel those feelings even when treated like dirt. Because he would get angry for me and beat them before I could...'

A memory of his father sitting beside him after he broke another man's jaw before throwing him out of the first-floor window of the training barracks.

Several months later, after a long disciplinary and legal process, he found himself thinking back to the memory of his father sitting beside him. The young man's rage died down, his feelings of anger replaced with worry and a calm sense of regret.

'The stupid fight between me and that fool, at first it was a joke, but somewhere along the line, the fight became serious, and I almost crippled him.'

Meanwhile, beside him, his father would always remain silent with a faint smile.

"Remember, Nikolai, you cannot always rely on your instincts in this world. One day, those dark, aggressive feelings will put you and your loved ones in danger unless you have the power to protect them."

"So for your own sake, until you need them. I am going to seal those feelings away."

'Thankfully, that idiot forgave me and admitted he shouldn't have said things about my mother.'

After the first months in military training, barely escaping a severe punishment thanks to a year of hard work, disciplinary action and earning the forgiveness of the victim, Nikolai's dark feelings seemed to vanish into the abyss.

'That's right... Father told me these feelings weren't good unless I had the power to back them up!'

The foggy memories began to clear, and a cheering of voices and screams, along with the arrogant voice of a female, echoed in Nikolai's ears.

'What's going on?' He thought to himself while his focus began to return.

"Oh my god?! The challenger wins!" Queen Tsukino's voice echoed with a slight tinge of shock as her body swung across the arena ceiling to appeal to the fans.

In the centre of the arena, a bloody corpse lay on its back, and black coagulated blood spread like a small pond while a handsome male mounted the deformed monster, his fists covered in flesh and black blood.

'I won the fight?'

Nikolai felt a sense of confusion after he realised who the face resembled. It was like the entire world became dark—his blood boiled in rage as he thought back to everything this face caused him to suffer until he found himself thinking back to his past.

"The first match of this exciting gauntlet is over~ now then! Only in the second battle can our brutal werewolf crush the second monster like the first?! Place your bets now~ you have five minutes before the battle starts!"

'Five minutes... okay..... Eliza... what happened?'

[You lost control; suddenly, you began to fight like a wild beast...]

Images and memories began to play inside his mind while the arena workers came to him and dragged the deformed corpse of Daiki Kwon away.

The state of his body was like someone had just put him through a hydraulic press. Nikolai's eyes closed, a smile on his face while he counted down to the next fight. He remembered the feeling and bliss of fighting the monster without holding back, biting, ripping, tearing and crushing the monster using his purple energy.

'Killing Daiki Kwon in monster form seems to have increased both my physical and Mental aura by an average of five points1...'

He decided to call the energy Soul Power as it was a combination of energies related to his body and spirit. Nikolai used his Soul Power to not only enhance his body's physical abilities but to empower the passive ability of his divination blood art.

'It seems that my power is different from the Jhin clan, yet their energy seems to stem from the soul too, but doesn't that mean that all Monster ability and arts would basically stem from the same source? Either mind, body or soul?'

"There is just under a minute remaining~ It looks like a grudge match will be had! The broken Hound seems to have been picked up by the Faust family and has taken a new life!"

Nikolai looked to the opposite cage and sighed before standing up and brushing the hardened blood from his body.

The strange phenomenon of his stamina and body restoring after killing an enemy once again restored him to near perfect as he looked at the Dark Hound opposite him.

"What did they do to you..." A slight tone of compassion left Nikolai's lips looking at the Hound he fought earlier in the day.

The Dark Hound's body was now the same size as during its demonisation; thick purple veins bulged from his overly thick muscles and bald legs. Nikolai's eyes narrowed, noticing that the right eye of the hound was destroyed, yet the other now was pure black.

'They didn't even let you die in peace... Damned Faust family, why do I feel like you are suffering?'

[Because it is suffering, Faust uses a magic close to necromancy but something quite inferior. The Alchemy of their family is incomplete. They dream of creating the perfect existence from nothing, and that poor hound is being kept alive by their cruel medicine.]

'Do I have to kill it again?'

[Do you want it to keep suffering?]

"Alright, everyone~ my lovely paypigs have made Mother proud tonight. Let's see how the hound redeems itself with the power of the Faust Clan backing it up!"

Nikolai's eyes seemed to glow with a cruel light, yet he felt calm, the dark emotions and rage he felt so strongly when seeing Daiki's face vanish. Now, the anger and darkness lingered and spread throughout his body rather than gathering in his chest.

'Mother, I am going to end his suffering quickly.'

[Even if it exhausts you to use that form?]

'Ah... that hound fought me, and those bastards have stepped on its pride. I can feel the anguish and frustration coming from that dog.'

[Truly like your father... who said he was more like me... I proved you wrong, Ivan!]

He could not just feel the emotions from the beast from the moment he awakened from his memories but also saw the dark, misty aura that oozed from the Dark Hound's body.

At first he thought this might have been where the 'dark' came from, but he could see strange mist flowing from other people. He noticed different colours from bright pink for the ones the spider landed on, to the jet black of Queen Tsukino herself.

'Why can I see these things and feel their feelings?'

[This is your true blood art.]

[One unique to you that no other can have as the heir to our Royal bloodline. The other seems to have been an unawakened form, and you have also stolen your mother's ability somehow.]

'What do you mean?'

[Well, I said each of the Heirs would manifest the Báthory skill in unique forms... It's likely because you wore this pendant when you awakened that you've somehow taken both your mother's Unique skill, and now your skill has also finally been unsealed.]

Nikolai watched the Dark Hound slowly leave the cage, its body massive and bulging with muscles, but the way they writhed made him feel angry. The eye of his enemy was filled with nothing but pain and despair.

'So I have two skills?'

[The first skill is your ability to divine the future, and that amazing skill that helps you see and avoid blows. This is an evolved version of your mother's unique skill.]

[Second is the skill that you are using so naturally to see the emotions, feelings and shallow thoughts of your enemies, although you cannot read minds. Did you not use this power to make those two lovely females feel so good they fainted?]

'Ah... Now that you mention it this skill feels much easier to use than the other. It happens naturally like I am breathing, but for the one related to the future, I had to focus and actually desire to avoid the blows or see them at first.' Sёarch* The nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[Fufu~ I wonder if you will awaken two skills from the werewolf clan of your father, too.]

[You've already created a unique version of your father's Aura with that 'Moonlight Rend' if you can apply the moonlight aspect to your entire body and attacks—that's your father's special trademark, how his claws and limbs glow like the moon before he strikes to kill.]

'I see... the hound seems to want to fight. Let's talk more after this fight, Mother.'

[Aha~ I see you're not going to keep hiding it anymore?]

"Hmph... since you want to be put to rest, don't worry. I will end your suffering." Nikolai's voice was quiet, yet the soft vibrations seemed to reach the hound, which began to growl back at him, the colour of its aura turning pale gold, indicating its gratitude.

The next moment, the pair vanished from sight, lunging towards each other, a giant hound and a man-wolf covered in black fur about to clash.

[You are growing faster than I expected...]

[How lonely it is not being able to stroke your fluffy head...]

Nikolai wanted to retort about how he would one day make sure she could do so. However, before he learned more about spirits and could actually do this for her, he decided to remain quiet.

The moment their bodies came close, his black deformed claws deflected the hound's attack with a flick of silver light, causing its front leg to fly across the arena, severed clean like he used a master's blade.

Then pierced the hound's chest and grasped its heart with a single attack.

For a moment, they're hound's eye met with his, and he gave a small smile. "It's over, don't worry. I will devour everything."

With a disgusting squelch, his black claw crushed the huge heart of the beast before all the blood crystals within the beast's heart were swallowed into the black mouth of Nikolai's palm, a feeling of neither his Celestial nor Vermillion blood becoming purer and empowered.

Instead, the black bloodline that normally remained in slumber at the centre of his two hearts began to stir.

Nikolai felt something strange as both auras became unstable and started to attack each other, breaking their current state.

All because the crystals were neither red nor blue... but black!

"Argh.... what is this strange..... energy?! It's so cold..."

[Nikolai?!]

Before the entire arena, the slightly tanned skin of Nikolai turned pale grey before his transformation reverted, and he collapsed to his knees in the centre of the arena as black blood oozed from his nostril.

[Nikolai, what's wrong?!]