The moment he gazed upon the black door, its edges started to glow, small Latin symbols forming numbers that counted to thirteen lit up.

“Woah, what’s going on?” Ryan held his gun while gazing at the door with wide eyes, his hands trembling at the sight of something so bizarre.

Beneath the door a black moss bubbled and leaked, the sound of a metronome sounding with a mind-numbing echo

Tik-Tok!

Tik-Tok!

Tik-Tok!

“Nikolai, we should get out of here!”

Risa’s eyes dilated as she grabbed Nikolai’s arm, squeezing tightly.

He noticed the hairs on her arms starting to stand on edges along with slight bumps along her skin, a reaction of fear and danger.

‘…’

Nikolai’s eyes narrowed.

He grasped Risa’s hand and pulled her into his chest, stroking her back with a stern gaze at the door.

‘Hm?’

Behind him, he could hear shuffling feet and growling approaching from behind them. The remaining ghouls fleeing from the other group as the sound of gunfire and clashing blades echoed from the distant tunnels.

“The other group will be here soon, what should we do?”

Maria’s voice remained still and calm, her eyes gazing at the door oozing interest, excitement, and her feet inched closer to the door, which caused Nikolai to become vigilant.

The scent of the air started to change, becoming something similar to that of honey-sweet smell.

His eyes became half-lidded, blinking several times and rubbing his face with one hand, forcing himself to regain focus and attention on the situation before him.

‘She’s not human, this scent reminds me of Kumiko!’

Ryan’s eyes fluttered before he collapsed to the ground with a thud. A loud snort came from his nose, showing he’d fallen into an immediate slumber. Maria chuckled beneath her breath, gazing at him with amusement.

“Don’t worry about Ryan, we can’t have a human ruining everything, now can we?”

Maria’s form transformed, her long fluffy golden ears and two fluffy tails swaying behind her, as she stepped towards the door, only for Nikolai to stand ahead of her, with his eyes narrowed.

“So you were an inferior kitsune.”

“…”

Nikolai sighed heavily as Risa gripped his coat sleeve tightly, pressing herself against his back, struggling to keep them open, after the sudden attack from Maria.

“How dare you!” Maria’s throat released an aggressive growl.

“You werewolves are so stupid, believing every you are the pinnacle of the world. “She glanced toward the door behind them.

“When I learned that people from the agency would be coming, I was ecstatic… if I eat your heart, I’ll ascend once more,” her tail wagged as if excited, gazing hungrily at the two in front of her.

He examined her body, his eyes turning black, the aura, and emotions filling her body becoming visible as his lips curled into a vicious grin.

Clack!

‘Fear, Anxiety, Anger… How interesting.’

Despite her aggressive front, the moment Maria saw Nikolai’s smile she shuddered slightly, stepping away from him.

Even though Nikolai stood still, his hands in his pockets, a sense of dread filled her heart, as if a sword hung above her head waiting to drop.

“Little bitch, you should kneel and beg for forgiveness, before I rip you apart.” Nikolai’s eyes shone with a fierce red light, his hair flickering and swaying from his growing aura, like a small gust growing into a storm. His blood started surging within his veins and even Risa stopped her acting, an insidious grin on her lips.

“W-What?” Maria’s voice trembled, as the four tails behind Risa appeared clear, her hair turning black as she slipped from Nikolai’s grasp, and stood in front of Maria.

“You dare place eyes on my man? Are you in heat already?”

“Don’t be so cruel, Risa.” Nikolai’s voice became a guttural snarl, his body transforming into a black werewolf, his silky fur like midnight, along with a pair of pure black pupils. Even the sclera vanished, this form a first for Nikolai, almost completely formed with his Evil god’s blood.

A power he never used before, exploding forth as a thick, tangible black aura.

“Hmph,” Maria huffed, despite her trembling body.

Her hands and feet grew numb, the pressure exerted upon her, feeling as if she could die at any moment. She needed to attack or suffer death.

“T-The agency! My patron won’t allow it!”

“Oh?” An amused, yet terrifying smirk appeared on the wolf’s maw, his eyes narrowing into slits as the pressure became unbearable for the fox. Her knees buckled and forced her to kneel before him.

Clack!

The final symbol glowed, and the lock clicked. The black moss which oozed beneath the door disappeared, showing a clean black marble door as the entire structure shook.

Risa stepped forward, her daggers shining as the fox trembled at Nikolai’s enormous presence. A sickly sweet aroma began to ooze from her pores and seep onto the ground, urine pooling beneath her pants and trickling onto the stone floor below. Her face twitching uncontrollably, tears rolling down her cheeks from terror.

“It’s true, those fucking wolves… they’ve created a monster, an abomination!” Maria’s words became quick, crazed and her eyes darted from side to side, fixated on Nikolai’s frame reaching close to three metres tall.

“Nikolai’s not a monster!”

Thud!

Risa’s foot kicked the wolf to the ground, snapping her leg twice, breaking her nose with a brutal impact, before falling onto her back while convulsing.

“Don’t insult him! You fucking fox bitch!”

Maria cried out as Risa placed her weight on Maria’s chest and stomach, one hand pulling on her blonde hair while the other placed the sharp edge of her blade against Maria’s neck.

“I’m tired of all these bitches using their disgusting tricks and trying to take him away from me! You stink, whore!”

Risa’s eyes narrowed, her lips twisted into a vicious sneer, glaring at Maria with her glowing emerald eyes.

“Urk!” Suddenly, a thin line of crimson appeared along Maria’s throat and soon turned into a thick gash as crimson liquid spurted across the ground. Risa slit the whimpering vixen’s neck, throwing her against the ground with a powerful kick as she spat at her dying figure.

She squatted down, grasping Maria’s hair, and whispered in her ear.

“Now go, suffer in hell for eternity. Not only did you try to seduce my mate with your skanky scent, you dared to insult him.”

Click!

Woosh!

Before Risa could react, the door snapped open, and a blinding light enveloped the cavern. Nikolai’s arm stretched out to grab her but failed as thousands of black, sticky arms grasped onto his furry limbs and pulled him toward the portal.

“RISA!”

“E…eh? Nikolai?! Nikolai!”

As Risa screamed towards him, the arms and dragged him into the portal, his powerful body raged, trying to tear free. “Risa, grab my hand!” As Risa reached for his hand, the hands became more violent. Dozens more appeared and wrapped around his face, covering his mouth and nose.

No matter how much he tried, his muscles couldn’t break free. He watched as the figures started crawling up his body, pinning him down, squeezing harder. No matter how strong his body was, his muscles began to scream in pain.

They were dragging him through the doorway. What once seemed like a flat wall now appeared as an infinite well, threatening to swallow him whole.

Finally, the shadows engulfed him; the door slamming shut. And once again, they were sealed within their prison, returning to their eternal slumber once more. This time, however, the door cracked and collapsed into dust.

Bang!

A violent shake occurred on the ground as Risa watched with wide eyes at the black door which swallowed up Nikolai, her eyes trembling, as the door vanished… gone.

“N-Nikolai…” She shuddered, staring with disbelief at the spot where the door stood a moment ago, vanishing as if it were never there. Like a domestic cat, she dragged her claws along the rocky wall, scratching desperately.

She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly through her mouth and opened them again, seeing that it disappeared forever.

“Nikolai?”

A desolate voice, a low whimper from deep within her throat, escaped as her face wrinkled, struggling not to burst into tears.

‘It wasn’t a dream. What is this feeling inside me?’

She shook her head and took a deep breath.

The tunnel before her seemed so dark and menacing now without the company of her master and beloved man. She clenched her fists, wanting to kill Maria, but in the chaos the body vanished… only the blood stains remained, while even Ryan vanished from the spot.

Only Risa remained.

‘I have to let the other’s know!’

Despite the fear, panic and aching sense of loss in her chest, she bit her lip.

With a determined gaze, she made haste, running to the surface.

Meanwhile, in the chaotic darkness, thousands of shadows clamouring at each other for space as they pressed against Nikolai’s body.

Their strength overpowered the black werewolf as they wrapped around every inch of his skin until there was none visible. Slowly, their hands crept higher and higher until they were at his muzzle.

‘Damn bastards, let me go!’ He raged in his mind before his eyes snapped open, a sweet and delicious taste filling his throat sweet like candy, smooth like cream. The shadows poured into his mouth, a pungent, bitter stench making him cough.

It made his eyes burn as his entire body jerked with each convulsion. It didn’t stop pouring from the darkness into his mouth, slipping its way down into his chest. Each breath burned as if breathing in fire.

Elizabeth’s connection vanished.

His connection to Risa, Nikita, Selene and Kumiko vanished.

His blood art stopped working.

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Nikolai found himself kneeling in a pool of squishy dirt and in front of him a tower.

Tall and glorious, at least it might have been in the post, the white tower’s surface marred with corruption, broken stone and damage.

‘I’m becoming stronger?’

The pulsing shadows that overwhelmed him started to fuse with his body, becoming fuel and fodder for his black heart, which started to pulsate, throb and suddenly caused him to scream.

Nikolai grabbed at his chest, the pain like a furnace burning his innards, the Celestial, and Vermillion hearts for his vampire and werewolf bloodlines enveloped in the raging flame, as the black heart devoured them.

“Ugh… what’s happening…?”

『Grata, puer amissus』1

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep