Niki''s eyes widened, and he instantly began to force all three bloodlines together, but instead of transforming, he guided the glistening ck blood essence into his eyes. Since this bloodline was called Devil Wolf, when tranted, his mind gave it a new name, like the other two.


    ''Because of its beautiful obsidian colour and the way it washes over the other bloodlines with a powerful force and fills me with such power, yet as soon as it appears, it wanes rapidly... Obsidian Tide?''


    Thus, the Obsidian Tide surged through Niki''s body like a veritable ocean of blood, converging around his eyes. They transformed into a striking ck with a silver ring and red pupils, a unique amalgamation of all three bloodlines.


    His body and hair, however, remained unchanged.Because he focused only on his eyes, Niki discovered something amazing.


    The figure of Mari lingered within the pink energy, but now he could see both the pink energy from souls and the distant energy emitted from various races.


    ''Is this a manifestation of what the Lupus Diabolus can do?''


    Unlike his ability to use the vampiric blood of the Báthory that could see emotions and feelings, this showed an aura of power. The weakening light around Mari made him realise it was probably her soul fading after losing her life.


    "It seems you''re going to vanish," Niki spoke with a t voice. He didn''t feel the same as in the past, but the bitter feeling of knowing that she would vanish forever caused him to feel a chaotic sense of sorrow.


    The pink formation of the soul couldn''t speak, yet because of his Báthory bloodline art, he could understand its intention and feelings...


    I''m sorry.


    Forgive me.


    I was never human...


    Do you hate me for being a doll?


    I was happy being with you.


    Don''t feel guilty, ok?


    I''m finally free.


    Thank you.


    Bye Bye.


    Nik—


    Before thest feelings could form, the cloud of pink soul dispersed. A small sphere like a pearl that hid in the centre of the cloud shattered. The surface was stained ck, with the insides a beautiful pink colour like the soul power that faded.


    He didn''t really care anymore but understood the moment the ck energy was removed from her soul force, and everything changed from her attitude and atmosphere.


    ''The Faust n... We don''t seem able to exist in the same world.''


    [Are you alright, Niki?]


    A soft voice, like a mother, worried their child would break down if they spoke any louder, a feeling as if delicate hands were stroking his cheek. Niki could see the purple lighting from the ne around his neck.


    Suddenly, he coudl see the ghostly figure of his mother, but more solid and filled with detail than the weak, faded image of Mari.


    [It seems she was born sick, then sold to the Faust family as an experimental doll...]


    While Niki listened to his mother, who seemed to have been able to understand the soul of Mari better, tell him of what happened, the Arena began to empty.


    This was thest duel for three hours, and they would not force a fighter to leave since Niki would be teleported out in a few minutes.


    ''I see...''


    The words of Elizabeth wereforting, yet they didn''t affect Niki as much as he thought. Although he felt great regret towards Mari and what happened, his past and present seemed to have different levels of importance.


    ''She probably suffered, right?''


    [...]


    Herck of answer made him realise all the other feelings that her soul form tried to hide: anguish, despair, and the desperate wish to be saved... It was a bitter feeling to ept. Like learning his mother had died in misery and pain to save his life.


    Niki stood up, staggering before he fell onto the teleport panel. His hair and body were soaked with blood. He looked at the silver-red coloured weapon inside his chest while taking the sheath. The Faust emblem was gone—it seemed to have burned off the moment she died, maybe their attempt to cut ties with a work of failure.


    "If it was another ce or family... You might have been saved," Niki murmured as the teleportation formation activated, causing his surroundings to be white.


    Niki saw a sh of a man, one whose appearance seemed simr to his own. It was himself but younger.


    A distant memory in the middle of S-City, where he watched Mari run away. It felt like they exchanged nces before the younger Niki walked past him, tapping his shoulder and whispering.


    "It''s okay now, we''re finally free. I''ll take these feelings with me and chase after her."


    In that strange dreamlike memory, he saw the figure of himself catch up with Mari, and while they wereughing together, slowly they vanished.


    However, he felt like something from within him also vanished at that moment—his regret, doubts and hesitation vanished, and a feeling of peace and relief flowed through him as he suddenly muttered. "Goodbye, I am fine now. So take care."


    "Huh?!"


    ''Was that Mari and me?''


    He suddenly snapped awake when he tried to make sense of the dream. Niki felt dazed, greeted by the dark apartment. His body sprawled on the sofa, with the wakizashi dropped beside him and his body wrapped in bandages and a small box which reminded him of the Arena''s gift from earlier today, the one that gave him the armour.


    ''I fell asleep?''


    Although he was confused, Niki was also aware of the toll the three fights had taken on him. However, the surprise came from the fact that he had dreamt, or maybe it was a vision. Rather, when he copsed made him feel a little confused.


    [Fufu, you dropped the moment you stepped into the light... Then that little princess took care of you. Her face was priceless.]


    Even though he wondered about the meaning behind his strange dream, the sound of knocking on his door caused Niki to get up.


    ''I must''ve slept for a few hours. What time is it anyway?''


    Wrapping the wakizashi and tucking it into the belt, Niki rushed to the door and opened it. Outside stood a young girl who was slightly taller than his shoulders appeared. She wore a luxurious outfit and held a small box with a ss lid. Inside were two bottles and what seemed to be a card.


    "Dear Competitor, please ept your rewards from the Faust n after your victory. I am Reph, one of the many Arena concierges working throughout the many worlds in the Nexus." Her gaze was respectful, with a clear voice and a polite tone.


    Although she seemed to have whiskers and narrow slit-shaped pupils, Niki didn''t judge and reached out for his reward. "Thank you for the hard work, Miss Reph."


    "You''re wee," she replied with a gentle smile. "Please take a look at the letter first. You can find more information about the gift, and it even includes some uses if you are unsure of how to use the powder and medicine."


    ''Interesting, the Arena is really handy.'' Niki thought to himself, then closed the door after Reph bowed and left with a gentle smile. He looked at the card first and noticed it was a coupon for 15000 gold.


    "Didn''t I only win 5,000 for winning?"


    [Read the note, maybe?]


    ''Good thinking.''


    —Along with the confirmed rewards, a member of the VIP boxes bet on your fight and deposited the winnings to you as a polite gesture for the entertaining evening, with a small message.


    "I feel exhrated and young again after seeing your struggle tonight. Please keep up the hard work, young man!"


    Regards


    Signed: A V B


    ***


    After reading the note, he then realised that the initials of the money were identical to the old man who gave him the armour.


    ''So it seems that Alphonse Veran Báthory is determined to support me, or at least seeks to connect with me at some level... What do you think, mother?''


    [Ah... I never knew my father had such a sly side. Normally, he would juste directly and do things by force. I wonder what changed him so much.]


    Niki turned to face his mother, the ghostly image now visible when using the Obsidian Tide along with his eyes. However, it felt painful to maintain for a long time, as right now, he felt like small des were pricking the surface of his eye.


    ''I won''t release this until my limit... although it hurts, if I keep training, will I be able to keep my body in a semi-awakened state constantly?''


    [It should be possible, but doesn''t it hurt? Is seeing this ghostly body worth that much effort?]


    He couldn''t respond instantly because it was a little embarrassing when he could see his mother''s beautiful face and how she reacted to his words. It also meant he started speaking to her with more respect and stopped answering back.


    ''Showing such a tearful face is unfair, mother...''


    [Fufu~ my son cannot beat his mother, just like Ivan!]


    "Should I save these items now?" Niki wondered looking at the bottles in the box, because of the transformation of his body, he was apletely different person. Although there were slight differences in power between him and Nikita, which made him believe both of them were lying about their ages.


    ''I can at least sense their power now... Selene''s body is weaker than mine, but her blood aura... it''s huge!''


    Thanks to the sight of these ck pupils, he could see the aura from the next room—although her body''s blue aura represented her physical strength. Her dark vermillion aura was almost filling half the room while she sat quietly!


    [Well, don''t rush. Take things slowly. It''s scary that your abilities are changing at such a rate. Is it your ck bloodline that allows you to evolve even the skills you inherited from me and your father?]


    ''I think so... the way you used to show me information using that projection has now turned into something that appears in my mind... and anytime I check someone, it will tell me what I want to know in Selene or Nikita''s voice!''


    [Haha, I see. How unfair! You don''t need my help anymore. Mother is so sad.]


    ''...''


    Niki looked at the two bottles and wondered if they would be more suited to Sarah or whoever he chose as his other squire.


    ''The second one should be someone who will help protect me and what I value, not a supporting type like Sarah who will do only business. Maybe a guard for Sarah when she grows thepany instead... I should keep my eye out for talents.''


    [True, those items wouldn''t have any effect on you anymore~ hahaha!]


    [Ah~ but don''t think of selling them, okay?]


    He could only nod. Her ghostly body seemed able to fly around his body with roughly a five-metre range.


    However, he wondered, did this mean that she was always watching him like this?