Chapter 119: The Shock Brought by the Daywalker
"Hello there, Michael."
William looked at him, flashing that familiar row of pearly white teeth.
"Who are you? Where is this place? What do you want from me?!"
Michael wasn't stupid. By now, he'd realized William was no random passerby.
This wasn't some simple case of mistaking someone in a subway station.
"That's… a long story," William said thoughtfully.
"To save my saliva, why don't you just take a nap first?"
Before Michael could react, William struck with a sharp chop to the neck.
Michael collapsed instantly.
---
Using the gene inside Michael's body, William produced another batch of [Undead · Werewolf–Vampire Hybrid Subspecies] viruses.
This time, his goal was clear.
A force that was directly loyal to him.
Not believers bound by faith,
not mercenaries bound by contracts.
Faith-based followers had limits—there were things they could never be ordered to do.
As for Lucian's werewolves, their flaw was even more obvious.
Like hired guns, when forced to choose between completing a mission and saving their own skins, they would almost always choose survival.
After extracting everything he needed, William found himself facing an annoying problem.
What to do with Michael?
Letting him live meant trouble.
Once Lucian appeared publicly, both vampires and werewolves would learn of the existence of hybrids.
Viktor feared hybrids.
That didn't mean everyone else would.
If some ambitious schemer captured Michael and turned himself into a hybrid, Amelia's rule would immediately be threatened.
It could even trigger internal rebellion among the werewolves.
After weighing all possibilities, the conclusion was simple.
Michael had to die.
Once and for all.
William sighed softly.
"Michael… you were a good man. Unfortunately, you were standing in my way."
Crack.
William twisted—and snapped Michael's neck cleanly.
---
[Ding! Plot Character Michael Corvin has died.
Congratulations, Host has gained Energy Points: 144,000.]
---
"…Wait a second, System," William frowned.
"Michael's dead, so why isn't Selene's quest completed?"
"And also—he's the protagonist. How is his soul not a high-grade soul?"
[Michael Corvin is not a high-grade soul.]
"Then tell me—who is considered a high-grade soul in this world?"
[The Ancient One, Dormammu, Odin, Jean Grey (Phoenix Force state), etc.]
"…."
"…."
"…Okay."
William went silent.
That answer hit harder than any revelation that night.
William fell silent.
How many times had the difficulty just skyrocketed?
Killing those existences?
At his current level, that was nothing but a fantasy.
"System," William asked unwillingly, "aside from extracting high-tier energy from high-grade souls… is there any other way?"
He really wasn't ready to give this up.
Hunting those beings was absurdly dangerous.
Playing it safe was still the better option.
"Don't tell me there isn't one. In the Shameless world, sure—no problem, I accept that it was a mundane setting. But this is a supernatural world.
We've got the MCU. We've got mutants. Who knows how many other worlds are fused in here?
System, you'd better answer carefully."
The system could only sigh in silent resignation.
[Infinity Stones, the Phoenix Force, and similar existences may be exchanged for high-grade energy points.]
William's face instantly fell.
Infinity Stones?
Objects that every heavyweight in the universe had their eyes on.
Plotting against the Infinity Stones?
Was he tired of living?
…But then again, thinking it through—
Thanos had stayed obediently in the shadows for centuries.
Only after Odin, the Ancient One, and others fell did he finally step onto the stage.
So maybe…
Maybe there was a window.
"Possible," William muttered, "but for now, I'll deal with the vampire–werewolf mess first."
With that thought, he left the room.
The sun had already begun climbing over the horizon.
Inside the castle, most doors and windows were tightly sealed, preventing sunlight from spilling in and burning its residents.
"Dispose of the body inside," William said as he paused at the doorway.
"Burn it. Reduce it to ashes."
"Understood, my lord."
Amelia's personal guard straightened at once.
William patted his shoulder and walked away.
---
The Great Hall
William headed toward the main gate.
It was tightly shut.
When he reached out to open it, none of the Death Dealers dared stop him.
Rumors had already spread throughout the castle—that this stranger had spent four or five hours alone with Amelia in her chambers.
Even Viktor, still recovering in the Awakening Chamber, had heard whispers.
That alone was enough to make everyone wary of William.
"The sun is already up!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Kraven arrived just in time.
After receiving Erica's report, he had rushed over, determined to size this man up.
In his mind, William was the same type as himself.
No—worse.
Kraven merely coveted the Elder's adopted daughter.
This man had gone straight for the Elder herself.
Instantly, Kraven marked William as his greatest rival in the vampire power structure.
"Kraven," William said calmly, "if I were you, I'd cherish the little time you have left."
Ignoring his obstruction, William pushed the massive doors open.
Creeeeak—
The sound was harsh and piercing.
Nearby vampires recoiled in panic, scrambling away from the incoming sunlight.
At the exact moment the doors opened, William retracted the [Undead · Bat Subspecies] virus from his body.
Returning to his human state, he stepped fully into the sunlight—
Unharmed.
That scene was witnessed by every vampire hiding in the shadows of the hall.
William's back, bathed in sunlight, looked almost… enviable.
"See you tonight, Kraven."
He deliberately opened the doors just wide enough for himself to pass through, then stopped in the sunlight and glanced back at Kraven in the darkness.
BANG.
The doors slammed shut.
"Impossible! That's impossible! How could this be?!"
Kraven roared in helpless fury.
Not just him—every vampire present struggled to accept what they'd seen.
Being condemned to eternal darkness was a shared fate for vampires who had lived for centuries.
And now—
A daywalker had appeared.
Jealousy and madness spread through the hall.
To stand beneath the sun was the deepest, most forbidden longing of every vampire.
Their chaos no longer concerned William.
He had things to do.
After all, he still planned to stir up trouble at the Three Clans Council.
---
He pulled out his KTM 390.
Ignition.
Gear engaged.
Throttle twisted.
The bike roared toward downtown Budapest.
Soon, William stopped in front of a large building.
He couldn't read the Hungarian signage—
But the English map clearly marked it as a commercial bank.
"System," William asked, "can Hungarian forints be used in the Military Store?"
[Yes.]
William smiled.
The streets were nearly empty, and he had no interest in disguises.
He pulled an M4 from his storage space, then casually purchased a fragmentation grenade from the Military Store.
Inside the bank, although it wasn't officially open yet, staff were already at work.
They were unloading boxes of cash from a freshly arrived armored truck.
Then—
A deafening explosion rang out.