Chapter 846: A 'good' woman.
"Hmm... Progenitor..."
"Just call me Victor, Bella. After all, you are Leona's aunt," Victor spoke.
'This is impossible,' Bella thought. She felt that if she called him so disrespectfully, her mother, or even Leona, would kill her. The proof of these thoughts was Maya's deadly glare.
Even though she wanted to score some brownie points with that man, she knew she had to follow a strict hierarchy, with her niece at the top and her mother coming right after.
'At this point, I don't even see my mother looking at her husbands anymore; it's clear to me how obsessed she is with that man,' Bella thought.
Using all the capacity of her brain to get out of this situation, she thought of a title that suited his position as the demon king, a being above all:
"Your Majesty."
'So she doesn't have the courage to challenge her mother, huh?' Victor sighed internally but showed nothing externally. Despite appearing 'clueless' about the situation, he knew very well what was happening. It seemed that his appearance had triggered some strange button in Maya.
Normally, he would be a little disturbed by this, but... He saw no reason to care. In fact, he liked that she was getting even crazier and more obsessed with him; it was even better.
'I think my dragon side has somehow affected me,' he realized his changes clearly. Before, even as a progenitor vampire, he still had 'remnants' of his humanity, but now?
He simply didn't see any of that. His humanity had evaporated from existence. He felt the same way as when Scathach 'gave him permission' to kill those police officers in the past.
An incongruity as if something in him had changed profoundly, and he wasn't sure what it was yet.
"Can you release my brother?" Bella asked.
"... Oh, I forgot," Victor said.
People broke into a cold sweat when they saw that he had casually 'forgotten' to release so much power.
When the pressure from Adam's body lifted, he looked at Victor with a slightly hostile look.
Adam stood up and looked at Victor. His eyes had a tone of challenge but also of respect. Once again, he realized how 'irrational' Victor's growth was. For someone who had known him since childhood, he was undoubtedly the most shocked.
In those minutes he spent under Victor's pressure, he couldn't do anything! NOTHING! He was a general of the werewolves, the one citizens said was the strongest, losing only to Volk, and he couldn't do anything!
'Strongest?' Adam scoffed internally. 'I'm far from being the strongest.' He wouldn't stand still while his daughter and her husband grew stronger. He didn't want to feel that sense of powerlessness again.
'Heh~?' Victor smiled slightly when he felt Adam's determination growing. 'It seems that indirectly, I influenced his growth... Not just him.' He looked at Connor.
'Hmm, someone sharp-minded but also lazy... Interesting.' It seemed that Maya's genes were more powerful than he thought. Looking around, he realized that most of her children were competent in some specific area. They were 'good' in Victor's view, but... It wasn't quite enough.
Victor's standards had grown significantly recently, and he sought only the most talented. Therefore, the only ones who had caught his attention were Connor, Bella, and a little girl with short snow-white hair.
"...." Victor looked at this girl who looked like a perfect copy of a younger Leona, with the only difference being that her skin color was closer to Maya's than Leona's pale skin.
Floating toward the girl, the members of the Lykos Clan unconsciously made way for him to pass. Those who wanted to stay to 'protect' the girl only received a stern look from Maya, which made them back off immediately.
Stopping close enough to look down at the girl, he asked:
"Are you afraid?"
"... N-No."
Victor smiled, showing to her and everyone that he saw through her lie.
The girl swallowed hard, her heart beating fast, and tears began to form in her eyes, but she still stood firm.
She was Maya's granddaughter; she wouldn't cry so easily!
"What's your name?"
"L-L-L-L-." She bit her tongue. "Ugh." She put her little hands on her mouth, and the tears around her face became more evident. Now, shame filled her little heart, and she almost cried out of embarrassment.
When the girl's parents were about to intervene, they stopped with just one look from Maya. They both bit their lips and didn't dare to move.
Maya nodded in satisfaction and looked back at Victor. Although she hadn't known him for long, she was sure of something.
Victor would not raise a hand against a child unless that child threatened him. He had the mindset of a warrior, and that was something Maya greatly respected about him.
"You didn't answer my question."
"... Liliana." She swallowed hard and continued with determined eyes. "Liliana Lykos, I'm the daughter of Rao Lykos and Ariana Lykos."
Victor looked at the man with long white hair with a serious expression and the woman next to him.
"Maya."
"Yes... They are my two children, not the most talented, but not the most useless either."
People around were once again shocked by how deeply they knew each other, as Maya understood Victor's question with just him calling her name? That didn't make sense.
Maya's children and grandchildren looked at their respective parents and saw their faces contorted with anger.
But what could they do? They were too scared to even announce their presence; because of that, they were doing their best to hide and become invisible.
"I see... A child of two ordinary parents but with a great future, huh." Somehow, this little girl reminded him of himself.
A child of two ordinary humans who had evolved to be the one above all species.
Victor's words made Maya and Adam's eyes widen, and Maya's suspicions grew again. She had been keeping an eye on this granddaughter because she had an 'instinct' that she would have Elizabeth's blood. It wouldn't be as strong as Leona's, which had been noticeable since childhood, but it wouldn't be weak like the other descendants either.
Victor lowered his hand and directed it towards Liliana.
Unconsciously, Liliana closed her eyes and waited... waited for any action he might take with her. To be honest, she was very afraid! Despite being smart for a 4-year-old, she was still just 4 years old! She really wanted to cry now.
When Victor's bare hand reached Liliana's head and gently stroked her head, all of the girl's worries vanished as if they had never existed. These emotions made her open her eyes and look up, confused.
When she saw the gentle smile on Victor's face, she felt a wave of comfort and warmth spreading through her body. Somehow, she felt the familiar sense that he was her 'family'... It was strange, but it wasn't a bad feeling.
So, she didn't hold back; she smiled gently and chuckled lightly. "Hehehe~"
This laughter made Victor's smile grow a little. "From today, you will be Liliana Elizabeth Lykos."
The moment Victor spoke those words, silence fell around the Lykos Clan.
"... Eh?" An expression of surprise appeared on the girl's face. Even if it wasn't as significant as the others, she would soon understand how important the name 'Elizabeth' was in her Clan.
While the members of the Lykos Clan were in shock, and even some were indignant at what they were witnessing, after all, what authority did Victor have to decide something like that? Unconsciously, these disapproving members looked to Maya for any reaction but were surprised when they saw Maya's shocked expression.
Why was Maya shocked? The explanation was simple; she clearly felt Elizabeth's blood growing inside the girl.
Adam, who was nearby, watching all of this, thought, 'A child named by the Dragon Progenitor himself... I wonder how strong she will become.'
"I expect great things from you, Liliana." He stroked her head a few more times and continued, "May the blessing of blood engulf your enemies in a sea of blood. And may the blessing of the dragon protect you from all natural lifeforms."
Metis opened her eyes wide when she felt a small amount of divine power leaving Victor's body and going into the girl.
'... H-How? How can he bless someone? He's not even a god yet!'
Despite not being a god, but rather a mortal, it was clear that Victor was far from being a normal mortal. After all, he had the blessings of hundreds of gods with him and was building his own divine power within him. Although he wasn't a proper god yet, as he still lacked a 'concept' for himself, he could still bless other beings.
Why could he do that? Metis didn't know, and even Victor himself didn't know. After his evolution, he was unaware of many things about himself, but one thing was certain.
The moment he achieved divinity, it wouldn't be a normal 'ascension'... After all, you couldn't expect normal from Victor.
He stroked her head one last time and stepped away.
"V-Victor, what are you..." Maya couldn't even finish her question because Victor was already close to her again at some point. A dome appeared around the two, preventing sound from escaping, and he spoke in her ear.
"I've given you a gem to shape. Be its master and learn through it what's missing in you... The master doesn't always evolve through training. Sometimes, the disciple teaches the master."
Victor's words weren't meaningless. Often, he saw his doubts being answered through the actions of the beings he trained. The same had happened with Scathach in the past.
The master learns from the disciple, and the disciple learns from the master. This phrase was very real.
Maya shivered in pleasure and desire when she heard Victor's voice so close to her. As soon as she finished hearing his words, a wave of happiness filled her heart; she had another gem within her Clan! How could she not be happy?
Victor held Maya's face and turned it toward him.
"Eh...?"
The celestial blue eyes met the dominant crimson-violet eyes, and Maya felt her legs go weak.
"Do a good performance, and I will awaken the Elizabeth genes in a being chosen personally by you."
