Balance

In the forest, the two werewolves fought like madmen. Claws raked across flesh, and their elongated wolf muzzles tore into each other without hesitation.

Every attack, every movement, was aimed at taking the other's life.

Adam could clearly feel that Jin's attacks truly meant to kill him.

Covered in wounds, Adam roared and charged at Jin once more. All his schemes and plans had vanished from his mind. He had only one thought now: defeat the man before him.

Jin showed no weakness either. Laughing wildly, he charged at Adam, and the two collided.

From the impact, Adam staggered backward, flailing his arms to steady his center of gravity. But in the end, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Moonlight filtered through the leaves and spilled across his face. Perhaps the sight stirred something in him; through the tracing of his bloodline, a similar memory was awakened.

His skin dissolved away over most of his body, Adam crawled across the muddy ground. Both legs and one arm were broken, leaving him with only one arm stretched out before him to drag himself onward.

Though his body had long been shattered beyond repair and his strength utterly spent, Adam, with only one arm left, still moved forward. It was during that time that Adam's will broke through the obstruction, and for the first time, he sensed his bloodline and transformed into a werewolf.

Now, it seemed to be just like then, with moonlight shining down upon him.

"Bless you, my child. May you live in lasting peace and health." Someone murmured softly, their words full of hope and tenderness. Then came more voices, words that struck directly at his soul.

"Do not forget your mission—the mission of the family."

"Fight on forever."

"Never stop!"

"Follow in the footsteps of me, Ralph Ronnie Trinder."

"..."

The older the voices, the more indistinct they became. It was as though thousands upon thousands were speaking, pouring out their beliefs and convictions. Yet they merely spoke, before turning into power that seeped into every part of Adam's body.

Under that power, Adam's soul seemed to break past its limits. Every memory became nourishment. Time, space, and everything in the world twisted into nothingness, while only his soul traveled through it all.

At that moment, Adam seemed to possess another field of vision, as though he stood in the void. Within that void, through that unique vision, Adam saw himself lying in the forest, saw the roads of his previous life filled with passing vehicles, and saw worlds of every shape and kind.

Then his soul began to fall, returning once more to his body. Like a feather, the falling soul landed upon a scale, and that tiny weight seemed to awaken his body.

Adam bared his teeth and rose to his feet. His dark crimson eyes fixed on Jin, and an indescribable pressure descended upon him. At that moment, Adam's presence seemed almost tangible as it burst forth from his body.

From Jin's sensory perspective, indescribable currents of aura swirled rapidly around Adam, like clouds winding around him, like an invisible thing wrapping him within.

Just as Jin's presence could become a black-smoke werewolf within the sensory illusion, Adam's presence now blossomed in a far more conspicuous manner. He did not even need to activate the sensory illusion to directly interfere with another's senses.

Is this the ability he awakened? Jin felt the oppressive force of that indescribable presence, but he was somewhat disappointed.

The ability was not bad, but it could not be called among the very best.

Could it be that his ancestors were not strong enough? Jin guessed. The classification of purebred werewolves was rather interesting. Any werewolf born from a womb was considered purebred, because upon awakening their bloodline, they could trace back through their direct ancestors and receive their blessings.

Some purebred werewolves, however, had parents who were both not purebred. In that case, the ancestors they could trace back to went no further than their own parents.

To a certain extent, the stronger one's ancestors and the more generations one could trace back, the greater the power gained through that tracing. The stronger the ability eventually formed by excavating one's personal talents would be as well.

Before Jin could think further, his train of thought was interrupted, because the battle was not over.

With a terrifying presence around him, Adam's figure vanished in an instant, darting rapidly through the trees.

A shadow pounced straight at Jin. Jin turned and slashed with a claw, and the figure shattered into pieces as branches and leaves flew everywhere. Yet Adam suddenly appeared before Jin.

As he watched Adam's hand swing toward him, Jin prepared to block, only to find that his own hand was a beat too slow. Claws brushed across Jin's chest, leaving three deep gashes that exposed bone.

My senses are being suppressed by his presence. Yet his speed and strength have both increased greatly... Jin reached out and seized Adam's other incoming fist. The tremendous force forced his body back a step, his feet bracing against the ground before he could steady himself.

Before Jin could react, a horrifying presence erupted at full force, charging directly at his soul. All his battle calculations were thrown into disarray, and his senses seemed to shut down completely in an instant.

When his senses expanded again, he saw Adam lifting a fallen tree with both hands. Turning on his feet, Adam spun and swung the trunk, smashing it directly into him.

His body flew sideways, dragging a long trail across the ground.

Adam released the tree, sending it flying away. Leaning forward, he sprang up fiercely, his landing point precisely where Jin lay on the ground.

Too green. Jumping like that— Before Jin could finish the thought, Adam's presence exploded completely, pressing down on him as though it had substance and sealing off both his thoughts and senses.

As though descending from the heavens, Adam came down. The moment that presence dispersed, he used the momentum of his fall to wildly rake Jin on the ground with both claws. Blood splattered everywhere, and even his internal organs were exposed.

One hand reached straight into Jin's chest cavity, pulled out his heart, and gripped it in his palm.

Adam threw back his head and howled at the sky.

His claws tightened. The heart shattered under the immense force, but what sprayed out was no longer blood—it was a great mass of black smoke.

That black smoke drifted behind Adam.

Straddling the corpse, Adam twisted around and looked back, only to see another Jin appear. Black smoke poured from the corpse beneath him in great quantities, and it rapidly collapsed into a pile of dirt.

"Round two?" Jin asked with his head tilted. He grinned as though smiling, his scarlet eyes fixed on Adam. Black smoke coiled around him, making him look like a wicked ghost risen from hell.

"If you're not dead, how could I stop?" Adam rose to his feet, that indescribable presence spilling from his body once more.

The presence that erupted this time was even stronger. Even without entering a sensory state, the naked eye could see countless phantoms surrounding Adam.

As he moved, they all surged forward like a tide, making the leaves rustle beneath that overwhelming presence.

Illusions even appeared in Jin's eyes. It was as though golden light spilled over the mortal world, while angels, saints, and divine beasts emerged one after another, battering against Jin's mind.

"You're a werewolf, so why the hell are you making angel illusions?" Black smoke wrapped around Jin and turned into spears, piercing each of the surging phantoms one by one. But in the next moment, the illusions vanished, and Adam was already before him.

Jin had no time to think. He threw a punch at Adam.

Adam lowered his body, then shot skyward the next instant. One palm extended to seize Jin's incoming fist. Borrowing that force, he spun, and his palm became a hand blade that slashed upward with the motion.

His hand swept across Jin's neck, leaving behind a long line of blood.

"You learned that pretty quickly." That hand-blade strike was precisely the move Jin had used earlier to slash Adam's jaw askew, and now Adam had used it against him.

A great mass of black smoke surged out, wrapping around Jin's neck where a huge hole had been torn open. It also caught Adam, who was falling to one side after swinging his hand blade.

Jin's gaze settled on the wounds all over Adam's body. Perhaps because the battle had been too intense, those wounds had split open again. Blood flowed freely, showing no sign of stopping.

"This time, you win." Jin raised both hands. "I surrender!"

Black smoke surged forth and wrapped around Adam's body, covering his wounds to stop the bleeding and setting his dislocated bones back into place.

"I... won't... accept..." Adam still tried to struggle, but his vision blurred. His body seemed to lose all strength, and in the end, he lost consciousness and fell asleep.

His werewolf form rapidly faded, returning him to human appearance.

Jin reached out and caught him, slinging him over one shoulder. Letting out a breath, he headed toward the slums. As he walked, the corners of his mouth split into a smile. Just as he was about to burst into laughter, his expression twisted fiercely, and he reached up to touch his neck.

"He really hit hard."