Chapter 121: Expanding the Arsenal
The power of the hybrid surged into his body.
Slowly, his skin darkened.
Bones expanded.
His frame grew slightly larger.
Sharp claws extended from his fingers.
Both eyes turned completely black.
But only for a brief moment.
Soon, he mastered the power and returned to human form.
"Thank you for your blessing, my Lord!"
In truth, raw power itself mattered little to him.
After a thousand years of madness, regaining clarity and reason was what bound him to William with absolute loyalty.
"What's your name?"
William realized only now that he had never asked.
"My Lord… before becoming a werewolf, I was merely a nameless serf."
Hearing this, William didn't bother inventing a name.
"In that case, you'll be Number One from now on."
Number One's existence sparked William's interest in the other ancient werewolves held here.
"Go find your companions," William said calmly.
"Bring them all to me.
The benevolent Loving Father does not wish for them to remain trapped in eternal madness."
At once, Number One dropped to his knees again, overcome with emotion.
"Loving Father! Praise the Father! Praise the divine! Praise you—
the Loving Father's walker in the mortal world!
I—Number One—swear eternal devotion, worship, and faith to the Loving Father!"
William observed his fervor silently.
He had no intention of stopping this religious fanaticism—
especially when he was the object of worship.
Rising to his feet, Number One relied on his memories from his time as a werewolf and rushed into the tunnel network.
Not long after, one ancient werewolf after another was brought before William.
Each was cleansed.
Each was transformed into a half-werewolf, half-vampire hybrid.
As for names—
They followed the sequence.
Number Two.
Number Three.
All the way to Number Eight.
Eight ancient werewolves in total.
Eight souls rescued from madness.
They stood naked, filthy, yet reborn.
Every single one now a hybrid.
Unarmed, even Victor himself wouldn't be able to defeat a single one of them.
---
Meanwhile, deeper within the bunker…
Tanis was still indulging himself.
Entangled with two vampire women clad in black lingerie, he remained blissfully unaware that every guard outside had already defected.
To be honest, Tanis lived in obscene luxury.
The place where he indulged himself was an enormous bed—large enough to accommodate dozens of bodies.
And over the past three centuries, this was hardly a rare occurrence.
Lucian merely needed to provide him with human girls.
Whether they became food or toys depended entirely on Tanis' mood.
But today—
Tanis' good days had come to an end.
A deep rumbling echoed through the bunker.
The massive gate began to open.
The sudden sound jolted Tanis out of his lustful haze.
Panic flashed across his face as he stared toward the entrance.
Scrambling clumsily, he tried to reach for the handgun resting on a nearby cabinet—
Just as his hand was about to touch the pistol—
The gun suddenly lifted itself into the air and flew toward the doorway.
William caught it effortlessly.
"Tanis, I strongly advise you not to entertain any foolish ideas. I'm not here to cause trouble."
William glanced over the modified handgun in his hand.
It wasn't as refined as Selene's.
With little interest, he casually tossed it aside.
Tanis couldn't make sense of the situation at all.
He stared at William, swallowing hard, desperately searching his mental catalogue for any clue to the man's identity.
Someone capable of manipulating objects with sheer willpower was definitely not an unknown nobody.
"Who… who are you?"
He grabbed a robe nearby and wrapped it around himself.
"Who I am isn't important," William replied calmly.
"What matters is that I need your UV ammunition—everything except .45 caliber."
As he spoke, William exchanged a .45 UV round from the Armory Shop and held it up.
Silver-powder bullets could be developed by the Death Dealers' weapons division—5.56, 7.62, and other standard calibers wouldn't be a problem.
But UV rounds were different.
Only Tanis could provide those.
If he had the Death Dealers manufacture them, some clever bastard might eventually piece together what he was planning.
"I don't know what you're talking about. What UV bullets?"
Tanis tried to bluff his way through.
Unfortunately for him, he was terrible at hiding his thoughts.
As he spoke, his eyes unconsciously flicked toward a certain direction—
Each time stopping halfway, forcibly refocusing, and darting back to William in obvious avoidance.
Seeing this, William tilted his head slightly and smiled.
Number One immediately understood.
Following Tanis' line of sight, he searched the area and soon uncovered a UV-bullet canister machine hidden behind a curtain.
"I—I can explain!" Tanis blurted out as soon as he realized he'd been exposed.
"Relax. I'm not here to settle scores."
William smiled again, flashing his white teeth.
---
Ten minutes later.
Tanis and his vampire companions were completely unharmed.
They posed no threat to William's objectives, and he had no reason to kill them.
With his business concluded, William prepared to leave.
However, with Numbers One through Eight now accompanying him, his motorcycle clearly wasn't enough.
Tanis, conveniently, owned no vehicles or transportation of any kind.
So the solution was simple.
William rode ahead on his bike.
Numbers One through Eight followed on foot.
Hybrid bodies ran fast—very fast.
Keeping up wasn't an issue.
Before leaving, William also took the documents detailing the construction of William the First's prison—the facility that once held the progenitor of the Lycans.
Those records explained why Viktor had exterminated Selene's entire family.
They were also the final key to completely turning Selene against Viktor.
Given the current situation, there was no guarantee that Kraven would be willing to tell her the truth himself.
---
By the time the group returned to the castle, dusk was approaching.
When Number One and Number Two pushed open the castle gates—
Every vampire inside stared at William with longing in their eyes.
Clearly, his act of walking openly beneath the sun earlier that day had already spread throughout the castle.
Even Viktor and Amelia were standing in the center of the hall.
"William, was it?"
Viktor's tone was cold and arrogant.
William's ability to walk in daylight instantly brought a certain legend to Viktor's mind—
Half werewolf. Half vampire. Stronger than both.
"Care to explain," Viktor asked,
"why you are able to walk beneath the sun?"
Unlike Amelia's faction, Viktor's followers knew nothing about William's so-called divinity.
"I have no obligation to explain anything to you, Elder Viktor."
William's voice was flat.
Calling him "Elder" was merely a courtesy—meant to ensure power transferred smoothly to Amelia later.
William's disrespect made Viktor feel his authority had been trampled.
But William belonged to Amelia.
And Amelia, as a warlord of the same era, was Viktor's equal—not his subordinate.
Viktor couldn't directly demand punishment.
Instead, he turned to her, his tone edged with accusation.
"Amelia, is this how your people conduct themselves?"
Amelia smiled faintly, mirroring William's style.
"How my people conduct themselves is none of your concern, Viktor."
With that, she turned and walked upstairs.
For now, William was nominally aligned with Amelia—something akin to a favored consort.
To prevent Viktor from causing trouble, William didn't linger elsewhere and followed Amelia upstairs without hesitation.