Chapter 844: What is your true nature?
Seeing the woman with long red hair spreading her wings and snarling at her, Maya's instincts went wild. Unlike Victor, whom she felt pure submission for, the woman next to her made her instincts 'fight' against her as if she had seen another Alpha trying to enter her territory.
Maya's body hair bristled, and she growled at Scathach, refusing to accept this woman's nonsense.
Dragon or not, she would not bow her head to another woman!
Of course, this thought was only in Maya's head, and the rest of her Clan was trying to disappear or pretend they didn't exist.
Seeing Maya's 'challenge,' Scathach's irritation practically tripled several times over, her dragon eyes narrowed, and pure pressure fell around her.
Even though Maya felt she was weaker than Scathach, she still didn't bow her head, her pride fighting against that woman.
Victor observed all of this with neutral and amused eyes. 'I understand... Unlike me, who seems to instill submission in all species, this trait is not shared among my "children"...' Academic thoughts crossed Victor's mind.
'Hmm, I think it's something like this?' Victor's eyes shimmered in a crimson violet hue, and he spoke in a neutral tone with no change in his voice:
"Enough."
The two women immediately shivered and looked at Victor cautiously, their gazes becoming more submissive.
Even though he hadn't put much emotion into his voice, the two women felt the weight of the world bearing down on them.
It was as if they couldn't defy that being.
Before Victor could say anything else, Scathach growled and regained her composure, huffing at Victor and turning away.
Maya, on the other hand, couldn't easily shake off her 'submissive' state as Scathach did and took almost half a second longer than her.
Victor looked at this with neutral eyes:
'... I understand, it seems to be the same ability I had when I was a Progenitor of vampires, but this blood submission also seems to be shared with other beings because I am a dragon progenitor... This is quite enlightening.'
He easily realized that his 'features' as a Vampire Progenitor had been completely altered to encompass various sets of species, not just vampires and dragons.
Dragons were the pinnacle of species... That phrase needs to be rephrased a bit. It's not the dragons that are the pinnacle of species, but their Progenitor.
This ability was proof of those words.
Maya couldn't resist him, but she managed to do so with Scathach. Even though they were both dragons of the same species, Victor was still on a higher level than Scathach.
"You haven't answered my question, Maya Elizabeth Lykos." Instead of saying anything useless, Victor decided to return to the matter at hand. "Why aren't you helping your 'king'?"
"... The Lykos Clan serves the werewolf monarch. At a time when that position is in doubt due to two competent monarchs, the Lykos Clan will not take sides."
"That is a law that has existed since ancient times when this society was not even built yet."
"I, as Matriarch, judged both to be competent, so the Lykos Clan will not help anyone."
"Hmm~." Victor looked at Adam. "Do you think the same way, Old Man?"
"....." Adam remained silent and said nothing. Johnny, who was next to him, tried to say something, but a single glance from Victor silenced him.
"He doesn't have to think about it. He has no choice. Before being a General, he is a werewolf of the Lykos Clan," Maya spoke for Adam.
Victor looked at Maya with his eyes shimmering in crimson violet and spoke neutrally, "I am not talking to you."
Maya shuddered under Victor's gaze and lowered her head slightly, a small gesture that shocked everyone in her Clan.
Victor briefly glanced at Volk and Tasha's fight and then turned back to Adam. "Speak."
"... I... I don't want to get involved in this."
"Why? Aren't you loyal to the werewolf king?" Victor asked.
Adam briefly looked at his mother and then sighed, "It's not that, Victor."
Members of his Clan, including Maya, shivered slightly when they heard Adam speak Victor's name so casually. They looked at Victor for any negative reaction, but when they saw that he didn't react negatively, they breathed a sigh of relief.
As always, Victor observed this with academic interest. It was interesting to see how the wolves were reacting to his presence, especially Maya, who was practically devouring him with her eyes; she didn't seem to be thinking about her husbands now.
Although this view was interesting, Victor was more interested in why someone as loyal as Adam was doing nothing now. He highly doubted that it was out of fear of Maya; Adam could be just as stubborn as he wanted, and he knew the old man well enough to know that.
"The problem is that Volk has become something I don't recognize anymore."
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Asking for help from the Vampires? Acting like a coward? Do I need to go on?"
"Hmm, but is that reason enough for you not to help him?" Victor pointed out. "What are you hiding, Adam?"
"....." Adam fell silent. He looked into Victor's eyes and shuddered internally when he realized that those eyes could see right through any facade he put up.
"Volk Fenrir... Wrong, my king ordered me not to do anything."
Maya and the members of her Clan looked at Adam in shock.
"Now, that's the Adam I know," Victor smiled slightly.
Victor highly doubted that Adam's loyalty would change so easily for such small reasons. Adam was a warrior and a loyal man, and that loyalty would last until Volk did something that directly harmed Adam or his principles.
Honestly, he was a man that even Victor wanted as his subordinate... Although that desire wasn't as strong as before, after all, he was already 'training' his own Adam.
'Speaking of which, he should be reaching the last city of Hell this month; let's see how his progress is afterward,' Victor thought.
"What was your order?"
"I can't say."
"Mm..." Victor's eyes shimmered slightly, and his wings expanded as crimson violet power slowly emanated from his body, causing pressure on all of the Lykos Clan.
"Damn monster... I look away, and he turns into something so terrifying," Adam thought, but he didn't avert his gaze from Victor and remained upright.
Even though the members of his Clan were warning Adam with their looks to submit, the werewolf general didn't listen to them. He stood firm and resolute in what he believed in. Another reason he did this was that he knew Victor.
He knew how Victor would react to being 'contradicted' by demonstrating his determination.
Victor's smile grew, and the pressure from his body disappeared as if it didn't exist. "Splendid. Such loyalty. Volk is truly a fortunate man."
Adam inwardly sighed for winning this 'bet,' even though he was sure of Victor's reaction. Honestly, it was a bet with a 50% chance of failure. After all, Victor had changed a lot, but despite the significant changes, he still wanted to bet on his 'essence'; he trusted that no matter how much he changed, his essence wouldn't change.
Victor wasn't that easily influenced; he was a very stubborn man. Fortunately, he won this bet, but he definitely wouldn't do it again.
Standing in front of the Progenitor of dragons wasn't a very pleasant experience for his old heart.
"Although I also pity Volk for having someone as cool as you."
Adam's eyebrow raised slightly at Victor's comment.
"What do you mean?"
"You are a loyal man, Adam. And I respect that... But, you're not a good subordinate."
"...." Adam's eyes shimmered in sky blue for a few seconds.
Victor didn't care about that and continued, "A good subordinate knows when to stop their boss when they're about to do something foolish, a good subordinate knows when to advise them when necessary, you don't just follow their orders, you help them too."
Victor's mind couldn't help but go back to Alexios Alioth, Natalia's father; that man was a true loyal subordinate.
"Instead of letting the situation get to this point, you should have advised him to stop... After all, from the beginning, he never had a chance to win."
Victor smiled gently, a smile that sent chills down the spines of all the wolves present. These enigmatic words only confirmed a suspicion they all had and that Maya had already confirmed - he was behind everything happening in Samar.
"Victor... How dare you-."
Victor simply raised an eyebrow at Adam, and at that moment, pressure hundreds of thousands of times greater fell upon the wolf, forcing him to lie on the ground.
He didn't even wait for Adam to finish his futile threats.
"Yes, I dare. Yes, I can do this. Yes, I will do this. Do the strong need to explain their actions to the weak?"
"....." Adam gritted his teeth.
"But... Considering that you are my father-in-law, a man I respect, as well as my ally, I will entertain you."
"I did what I did... Simply because Volk Fenrir is incompetent to be my 'ally.'"
Victor looked at the ongoing fight. "Tasha is more suitable to be the Alpha among the Alphas; she has a level head, knows how to make ruthless decisions when necessary, and... She hasn't reached her full potential, unlike her king."
"...." These words made Maya raise an eyebrow. 'Tasha hasn't reached her full potential?' She looked into Victor's eyes and wondered what those eyes could see that she couldn't.
As an ancient and experienced woman, she was a good judge of character and strength. She was sure Tasha had already reached her full potential. Tasha herself had said that she hadn't felt stronger in a long time.
"I can see the gears turning in that little head of yours, Maya." Victor's words snapped Maya out of her stupor.
