Chapter 120 – The Loving Father Cherishes His Children
BOOM—!
The explosion thundered through the entire bank.
Every employee present froze as if their brains had crashed.
Robbing a bank was already rare enough.
But this?
Early morning.
Before opening hours.
The armored truck hadn't even left yet.
Seven or eight heavily armed security escorts were still on site.
This was the moment when the bank's security was at its absolute strongest.
And someone chose now to rob it?
They couldn't comprehend it.
But training kicked in.
Staff immediately scrambled behind reinforced counters and safety partitions, slammed the silent alarm, and hurried to drag loose cash back toward the vault.
The armed escorts entered combat mode without hesitation.
Quick tactical hand signals.
Formation spread.
Weapons raised.
But in the face of overwhelming power, resistance was nothing more than the twitching of ants before a boot.
BANG.
The reinforced blast-proof steel door was sent flying inward like scrap metal.
Something none of them could possibly understand.
But for William?
Under [Metal Manipulation], all he needed was to distort the structural integrity of the door—
Then switch to [Undead · Wolf-Vampire Hybrid Subspecies].
Kicking it in was effortless.
The moment he stepped inside, he gave them no chance to react.
Under his control, every firearm in the room trembled—
Then violently tore free from their owners' hands.
The guns spun midair—
And turned toward their former wielders.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Gunfire echoed in synchronized bursts.
The armed escorts collapsed one after another.
"AAAAAHHHH—!!"
The sudden carnage shattered the composure of several female employees. They dropped to the floor, screaming, clutching their heads.
William had no patience for it.
One pistol floated forward, hovering before the loudest screamer's face.
BANG.
Silence.
The remaining women instantly clamped their hands over their mouths.
Fear choked the air, but not a single sound followed.
William's voice was calm. Measured.
"I have no interest in harming you."
He glanced around the room casually.
"As long as you don't stand in my way."
He gestured toward the vault area.
"Now. Take every unit of currency out of the safe. Stack it here."
He paused, his tone almost gentle.
"The Loving Father deeply cherishes his children."
And today—
He was simply collecting tithes.
William pointed calmly at the empty space before him.
Several long seconds passed.
No one moved.
He sighed.
The floating guns shifted slightly—metal pressing harder against trembling foreheads.
That was enough.
Reality snapped back into place for them.
One by one, the employees began hauling sealed cash containers out of the armored truck, stacking them exactly where William had indicated.
His storage space—five cubic meters.
Not small.
But not large either.
In fact, it couldn't even hold half the money from the truck before reaching capacity.
"Such a shame," William muttered.
He glanced at the piles that wouldn't fit.
"Though the money I leave behind won't be evenly divided anyway. Let it be."
What the Budapest police chose to do with the remaining cash was no longer his concern.
---
Outside, sirens wailed.
Police vehicles had already surrounded the bank.
William had no interest in slaughtering ordinary officers.
Switching into his half-wolf, half-vampire hybrid state, he exploded forward—
Moving faster than the human eye could track.
He tore through the perimeter in a blur.
Moments later, he was astride his KTM, engine roaring as he vanished down the street.
The police couldn't match his speed—
But they did see him escape on the motorcycle.
Unfortunately for them, surveillance technology in this era wasn't advanced enough for efficient tracking.
They scrambled back into their patrol cars, sirens blazing, chasing in the direction he had fled.
---
After shaking the pursuit, William didn't return to the castle.
Instead, following directions provided by Andreas Tanis' confinement location, he arrived at an isolated bunker complex.
A rusted iron gate blocked the entrance, heavy chains sealing it shut.
William waved his hand casually.
[Metal Manipulation]
The chains snapped like brittle twine.
The gate creaked open.
Inside, the entrance was constructed in the shape of a massive cross.
Dark humor, apparently.
Imprisoning a vampire beneath a cruciform structure.
Yet the so-called "punishment" was laughable.
Tanis hadn't suffered.
He lived in indulgence—endless feasting and debauchery with vampire courtesans.
In exchange for supplying Lucian with UV ammunition, he received steady blood supplies and even ancient werewolves guarding the perimeter.
Ironically, Tanis might have been living better than most vampires.
Clank. Clank.
William paused between the outer gate and inner bunker.
Listening.
Chains rattled.
Suddenly—
An ancient werewolf lunged at him.
But the iron collar around its neck halted it mid-charge.
William raised a single hand.
The creature froze in midair.
Its massive claws scraped uselessly at the collar.
Struggling.
Furious.
Curious, William studied it.
With a flick of his wrist, the chains behind it lashed forward, wrapping tightly around its limbs.
Only once it was fully restrained did he approach.
He placed a hand on the beast.
[Undead · Ancient Wolf Subspecies]
Interesting.
Different from Lycan virus strains.
So—
If he removed this strain…
Would these ancient werewolves revert to human form?
He activated [Disease Transfer].
The virus was extracted.
Instantly, the hulking creature began shrinking—
Muscle collapsing inward—
Bones restructuring—
Until a human man lay kneeling in its place.
The collar now hung uselessly loose around his neck.
No longer a threat.
William casually tossed aside the chains.
Then—
To his surprise—
The man dropped fully to his knees and bowed deeply.
A string of unfamiliar, archaic words spilled from his mouth.
William frowned.
"I don't understand your language."
He turned to leave.
Just a human.
Irrelevant.
But then—
In broken English, halting and rough:
"Divine one… please accept me… as your servant."
"You freed me from rage."
"You drove the demon from my flesh."
"Grant me a chance… to serve you."
Ah.
Fifth century origin.
To such a man, this could only be divine intervention.
"You retained awareness while possessed?" William asked.
"Yes, my lord. I saw everything. I remember everything. But the rage… the power… I could not control it."
"You freed me from chaos. Please… take in this wretched soul."
The man crawled forward and prostrated himself completely.
William considered.
He had no reason to refuse.
Ancient warriors.
Unclaimed loyalties.
Perfect material for a personal guard.
And so—
The familiar tone returned.
"Lost lamb," William said solemnly.
"I am the Loving Father."
"The mortal vessel of the God of Plague and Pestilence."
"I accept your faith."
"The Father cherishes His children."
"Through faith comes blessing."
"The demon's power is uncontrollable—but beneath divine will, it shall be tamed."
He placed his palm upon the man's head.
And transferred a strand of [Undead · Wolf-Vampire Hybrid Subspecies] into his body.
---