Chapter 124: Viktor vs. Lucian
Midnight howls split the air—
a demonic night, wolves on the hunt.
The sudden roar of wolves brought the council proceedings to a violent halt.
"Lycans!" Viktor rose abruptly, eyes fixed on the pale full moon beyond the window.
Crash!
Before he could react, the glass exploded inward.
Black-furred werewolves burst through the shattered windows, one after another.
To be honest, William found Lucian's tactics a little strange.
As a Lycan, he could move freely during the day—
so why choose to attack at night?
Then again, perhaps selling him a massive stockpile of UV bullets had inflated Lucian's confidence to reckless levels.
As that thought crossed William's mind, the sharp rattle of automatic gunfire erupted outside.
The battle had already begun.
Even though Amelia had anticipated a Lycan assault, she couldn't help but feel a surge of tension.
Despite William standing protectively in front of her, she still reached up and pulled a sword from the wall, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
But it quickly became clear—
The Lycans' true targets were the other councilors, not Amelia's faction.
Not a single werewolf charged in their direction.
On the opposite side of the hall, Viktor had already drawn his own blade and thrown himself into combat.
A thousand years of warfare showed itself in every movement.
To him, cutting down Lycans was no different than harvesting crops.
Heads flew.
Limbs were severed.
Black blood splattered across the stone floor.
Yet before long, a single figure caught Viktor's attention.
A tall silhouette, skin dark as obsidian, long hair hanging loose—
his features eerily familiar.
Slowly, the blackened skin receded, revealing a human form beneath.
A face Viktor knew all too well.
"Long time no see, Viktor," the man said, smiling as though greeting an old friend.
"How have you been? Still enjoying yourself?"
Lucian had arrived.
Lucian completely ignored the bullets flying toward him, as well as the councilors scrambling in panic all around.
"Lucian… how is this possible?!" Viktor roared.
"Hahahaha! Viktor, you really should take a good look at your face right now."
This—this moment—was exactly what Lucian had been waiting for.
The abomination Viktor had schemed against, feared, and guarded against for centuries had still come into being.
That alone filled Lucian with intoxicating satisfaction.
You fear hybrids like demons, Viktor?
Then I'll become one.
Watching from the sidelines, William honestly couldn't quite understand this brand of revenge.
"Half vampire, half werewolf—and stronger than both!" Lucian sneered, extending the blade hidden in his sleeve and pointing it straight at Viktor.
"Well? Surprised?"
Though shaken, Viktor's thousand years of combat experience kicked in immediately.
His longsword flashed as he engaged Lucian head-on.
"You shameless slave!" Viktor snarled.
"You dare commit such an abomination? You are a stain upon the bloodline!"
He was furious—furious enough to want Lucian dead on the spot.
But Lucian, now a hybrid, finally possessed power equal to Viktor's.
If his thirst for revenge weren't so immediate—if he had waited a century or two—
the hybrid's growth potential alone would likely have let him crush Viktor with a single blow.
No need for this risky confrontation at all.
Before long, the rest of the council chamber was completely cleared.
Other than Amelia's faction—who had withdrawn quietly under William's prior arrangements—everyone else was either dead or fleeing.
Her forces had been equipped with silver-powder ammunition, courtesy of William.
Cain had only produced a small batch of such rounds for Selene in the past, never enough to arm Viktor's Death Dealers en masse.
But William had the armory system.
The money from the bank robbery had instantly turned Amelia's forces into a fully armed unit.
Even against Lycans driven mad by bloodlust, they could still fight back.
As for casualties—
William had no intention of letting the werewolf population grow unchecked.
They were far too volatile, far too difficult to control.
Unlike vampires, who could be bound by rules, laws, and hierarchy.
Reducing the size of the wolf pack was, in his eyes, a feature—not a flaw.
Now, only two combatants remained in the chamber.
Viktor.
Lucian.
The Death Dealers were dead or gone.
The remaining Lycans had withdrawn.
A few berserk wolves had tried to attack William and Amelia—
but they were cut down effortlessly.
With Master Swordsman Experience, William's blade was no less lethal than Viktor's.
As the fight dragged on, Lucian's raw power began to show its limits.
Stat-wise, he was stronger.
But experience favored Viktor.
Seeing Viktor seize an opening and raise his sword for a killing blow—
William spoke calmly:
"Amelia. Stop him."
Amelia moved like a specter.
Her blade intercepted Viktor's sword mid-swing.
Clang!
Silver crashed against silver, sparks exploding outward.
Viktor's eyes went wide.
"Amelia! What do you think you're doing?!"
Of all the betrayals he had imagined, this had never crossed his mind.
Lucian, snapping back to reality after nearly dying, didn't hesitate.
Seeing Viktor momentarily restrained, he surged forward to finish him.
His body darkened instantly, transforming into his half-wolf, half-wraith form.
Just as his claws were about to strike Viktor's head—
Clang!
A rusted iron chain shot up from the floor, wrapping tightly around Lucian's right arm.
Metal screeched as Lucian struggled, the chain rattling violently.
He instinctively looked toward William.
The look in his eyes screamed a single question:
What the hell are you doing?
Viktor seized the moment, moving to strike Lucian down.
Normally, Amelia—though equal in experience—was weaker than Viktor in both speed and strength.
After all, Viktor had been the one who turned her.
But today was different.
She carried a mutated Undead · X-Variant within her.
It didn't make her stronger than Viktor—but it narrowed the gap.
The cost was clear.
Her metal control couldn't be used for anything else.
All of it went into reinforcing her sword strikes.
Still—
better to strengthen a fighting style she had mastered
than gamble on one she hadn't.
Defeating Viktor outright might be impossible.
But locking him into a stalemate?
They could fight for days without a clear winner.
Viktor glared at her, voice cold and furious.
"Amelia… what are you doing?
Are you betraying your own kind now as well?"
…
(Special thanks to Abdenour_Kr)