MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Nikola hated to admit it, but she was feeling intimidated by Adam. The first thing she noticed was his face.

In the past, Adam had been a rather handsome boy. This was one of the reasons she had not been against him joining the Wild Hunt as a host. After all, even without experience, his face alone could do the job and make women happy by being near him and having small talk.

But now he was... way too handsome. She didn't know if the word handsome was enough to do him justice. His physical appearance itself hadn't changed much. But he had a sort of aura surrounding him-- a certain charm that she was sure would be deadly for many women.

This was the first clue for Nikola in understanding that something was wrong with Adam. But then... She felt 'it' in her bones.

For an assassin like her, it was necessary to know what kind of person was dangerous based only on their presence and the bloody killing aura surrounding them.

Most people, even hunters, could not understand this clearly. But the training she received made her particularly apt at sensing these kinds of things.

This was why she could see it with her eyes.

A bloody red veil was covering his body-- something that had been noticeably absent from him when she first saw him.

If the Adam she had seen for the first time was like a pure white sheet, now he looked like he had been treading in a sea of blood for an unknown length of time.

Her eyes twitched when she realized that his bloody aura was far higher than even hers and slightly equal to that of Mammoth who had been a professional soldier and went through many wars in his heyday.

'Just how many people did he kill for him to get such a bloody aura?'

Twenty? Fifty? Or perhaps even hundreds?

She simply felt suffocated by the mere thought. It had only been around three weeks since the last time they had seen each other.

His aura, his presence, and the feeling of being crushed by his power. It was worlds apart from anything she had felt from him three weeks ago.

"You... Are you really Adam?"

She asked with trepidation coloring her voice, ready to sound the alarm at any moment and buy time while the others evacuated.

Adam was first surprised by her reaction. Even more so when he saw her aura tinged in Yellow and Green switch instantly to a dangerous blend of Red and Yellow. Showing that she was progressively seeing him as an enemy.

He directed a complicated smile toward her when he partially realized what might be the source of her sudden wariness.

"I am indeed Adam and I mean no harm."

He laughed quietly at his talent for prose and slowly, very slowly raised his hands to show that he was unarmed.

This was quite ironic since not only was he armed but he also didn't need to move to actually attack her or even kill her this very instant.

Nikola hesitated slightly at his action. She could feel that her wariness subside very slightly due to that small action of his.

"Bring me to Yui, please."

Once again, Nikola felt like her worries were useless. She had no reason to doubt him. She should... Nikola shook her head, causing her mind to clear slightly, and immediately took a few steps back in shock.

Why would she let such a dangerous individual approach her Boss? This would be the stupidest thing a bodyguard could ever do...

"Go back."

Adam looked around, and he could see that they were starting to attract some attention. He sighed and nodded his head.

"Very well. I understand. See you soon."

She looked as Adam walked backward before leaving her vision.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she realized her face was covered in sweat. It was proof of the tension she had just felt. The only time she had been so tense was when she had tried to assassinate Yui back when she didn't work for her and was out to kill her.

'I have to tell the boss.'

She signaled the security guards and ordered them to reinforce the perimeter and hurriedly walked into the bar.

This time, since there was no super VIP present inside, Yui had not opted to go out and was working in the basement. The pile of paperwork had tremendously diminished thanks to her hard work and she was finally seeing the end of this job that had seemed endless to her not long before.

It was then that her door was suddenly opened wide and Nikola hurriedly rushed in with swift steps...

"Boss."

"Hmmm?"

Yui looked up in surprise at her assistant. Nikola was usually a very stoic woman, it was hard for her to show her emotions openly like she was doing right now.

"I have a report to make. It's about A--"

Both Yui and Nikola's expressions immediately changed and Nikola punched behind her by pure reflex even though she could see nothing behind.

Her attack ended up hitting nothing but the two of them were sure of one thing. There was someone else in the room.

"I am curious. How did you find me?"

The two of them looked up at the ceiling, where the voice they heard was emanating from. Space shimmered at that place and the light seemed to undulate as Adam appeared finally in front of them-- standing upside down on the ceiling above.

"Hi! I told you we would see each other soon, didn't I?"

He grinned and waved his hand in a jesting manner before landing in between the two.

"Boss. He is dangerous."

Yui looked at Adam quietly. She was not able to see the things Nikola was able to see due to her being an assassin. But she didn't need to. Her animalistic instincts were already making it clear to her just what was strange with him.

Adam was not someone she could underestimate, she was able to realize that fact.

'Those abilities are strange.'

But, unlike Nikola who was looking at Adam with wariness and vigilance, there was nothing but worry evident on Yui's face.

"Adam... What happened to you?"

She cared not about how Adam was able to become so powerful or so supernaturally attractive or anything of the sort.

She could practically see it in his eyes. The Adam in front of her was different from the one she once knew.

Those eyes were the eyes of someone who had been forced to grow after seeing things they never wanted to see. A smile may be present on his face, but it did not truly reach his eyes at any moment. He had lost his innocence and lost the true smile he would adorn in his boyish face.

She stood up and looked at him quietly,

"Nikola. Leave us."

"Boss!?"

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen, right Adam?"

Adam nodded his head, "Honestly I never wanted to make a fuss. But I understand the wariness that is directed at me. Anyways, I promise I won't try to do anything. But let's be honest. shall we...? Even if I did try to do something. What could you do?"

He taunted Nikola with a provoking smirk. He was very tempted to use some of his powers on her, but the simple skills he had already shown should be enough for her to understand that she wasn't his match. Even though her overall combat capacity was at B and only slightly lower than his.

Even then, Adam had not forgotten how she had come to him the first time they met.

Had she been legitimate in her worries?

Of course. Adam perfectly understood why she hadn't liked that he appear out of nowhere with no training in the such an important night.

Did this means he had no resentments?

Of course not.

Sometimes, pettiness would go a long way in keeping your mood high.

Her frustrated growls were like music to his ears. But eventually, under Yui's pointed gaze, she was forced to leave the room with reluctant steps.

Now alone, an awkward silence settled in the room.

"Tea or Coffee?"

"Hah... I will take a tea please."

"Very well. Take a seat and wait while I work on this. We need to discuss some things."

Yui went ahead and worked on preparing the tea while he hesitated slightly before sitting down on the sofa in the makeshift office.

Now that he could see her face to face, he realized that there were many things he did not know about Yui.

The most obvious being, of course, her true identity.

〒 Name: Feng Huan Yui

Affiliation: Heavenly Court; Wild Hunt;

Alias: The Sacrifice || Cursed Child || Black Tiger ||

Race: Hanyo [1]

Age: 28

Emotion: Ambiguous 〒

〒 Stats:

Strength: C

Speed: A

Dexterity: A

Endurance: B+

Prana: B

Charm: C+

Willpower: B+

Luck: E

Overall Combat Capability: S

Remarks: Let's be honest... You have an extremely high chance of dying if you fight her as you are. 〒

[1]: Hanyos are half Yokai.

(AN: So as always I will only show a character stat screen once and won't show it again without big changes made to it. Also from now on, since Adam is still unable to see skills related to others, those things simply won't appear. No need to tell every single time that he is unable to see them. As for the reason I didn't show Nikola status screen, it's simply because I have yet to decide if she is important enough to warrant one.

Future status screens when Adam evolves the Eye of Truth again will be a pain honestly. Need to find a way around it later.)