The Price of Power

The silence broke as the blade left his hand. Contrary to their expectations, the blade didn't fall to the ground but instead flew forward before lodging itself into a man's head.

Sofia was stunned as the blade hit the man holding her. Despite the man hiding behind her, the blade still found its mark, only nicking the edge of Sofia's cheek in the process.

Sofia quickly retrieved the blade. However, the sword was deeply embedded into the man's skull; therefore, she had to muster considerable effort and time to dislodge it.

Meanwhile, Felix took advantage of the thugs' slow reaction time to procure a new sword from one of the gang members. Using his newfound weapon, Felix quickly made his way towards Sofia, making short work of the ones standing in his way.

Seeing their comrades cut down so quickly, most of them chose to run away. Some unlucky ones, however, were cut down by their boss as they turned to run.

"Anyone even thinking of running away will be cut down! Now get your asses in there and take him down!" he said furiously.

Only five remained of the more than a dozen men at the start. These five, however, were a cut above the rest. Felix was strong, but even he struggled to keep these five at bay.

Over time, Felix got used to their tactics and could finally fight back. He dealt light but continuous wounds to the men while avoiding injury himself.

What seemed like complex movements at first were refined further through battle, simplifying them to enhance the speed of his strike. Unable to keep pace with Felix, the men's injuries grew numerous.

Realizing that his men couldn't win, the boss entered the fray, taking centre stage. The five remaining men spread out to support him, while the boss became the main attacker.

Taken aback by the sudden change in formation, Felix was slow to react to the boss' kick. He barely had time to put up his guard as the force of the blow sent his body flying into the wall. Still reeling from the impact, he got back to his feet just in time to avoid an axe swing aimed at his head.

With his back against the wall, Felix lacked room to maneuver. His mind raced at lightning speed, trying to find a way to escape. Just as he ducked on instinct, trying to avoid another swing to his head, Felix also swung his sword, this time aiming for one of the thug's legs.

Although the sword was not as sharp as he would have liked, it managed to cut almost halfway through the man's leg. As the man fell to the ground, it left a hole in the thugs' formation, allowing Felix to leave safely.

While the men were battling, Sofia used the opportunity to reach for Felix's black sword, which stood on a pedestal on the other side of the bed. Unfortunately for her, a mysterious force prevented her as she reached to grab it. Try as she might, her hand couldn't come closer than a foot before being repelled.

An artifact, she thought. The boss had been looking for artifacts for a long time. It wouldn't surprise her if he had acquired a few of them. The origin and composition of the artifacts were mainly unknown. Even their effects and how to use them were barely understood by even the most brilliant of scholars. Trying to bypass the protection of an artifact seemed impossible for her, but she had to try anyway.

 While Sofia tried anything she could to reach the sword, the fight on the other side of the room started to settle down as the thugs grew tired. Elite as they might be for gangsters, they were no match in stamina for someone who had to fight for his life daily growing up. Their experience was just too far apart.

Of the five men, only two remained standing, the other three either dead or unconscious. Seeing the situation, the boss made a decision.

"Use the pills!" he ordered his man.

The two men hesitated for a second, but when they saw the look on their boss's face, they resigned themselves. Exhausted himself, Felix took advantage of the break in their attacks to catch his breath. Felix's eyes narrowed as the remaining men took out a small bottle from their clothes. From the bottles, the men retrieved a pill each.

The pills were round, no bigger than a grape, yet the energy they emitted was surprising. More than the energy he sensed, what made Felix tense up was the colour of the pill. He had seen this type of pill before. The blood-red glow of those pills was unmistakable.

Felix pounced, trying to stop the men from eating it. Unfortunately, his speed had decreased as his exhaustion mounted. He arrived too late. The pills were already in their mouths.

The men swallowed. Tremors arose from their bodies, and claws grew from their hands. Their bodies were deformed, and they lost all semblance of humanity.

Sofia saw the state of the two men, and she couldn't help but scream in horror. "What's that?! What's happening?!"

Felix used the brief moment before their transformations ended to swiftly behead one of them. He swung his sword towards the last one but was met with a giant claw. Before he was overwhelmed, Felix chose to retreat in front of Sofia.

Sofia stares at the grotesque creature while trembling in terror. Through sheer force of will, she could only mutter a single question, "What are those?"

While keeping his eyes on the creature, Felix answered. "Those pills are used to activate the power of one's bloodline. They were a common sight during the war six years ago."

"By turning them into monsters...?" she said with difficulty.

"Not really. It depends on your compatibility with your bloodline. It was never designed to be used on common people. The higher the purity of the bloodline, the higher the energy needed to activate it; therefore, the pills were highly concentrated. They were meant to be used by the elites of the Kingdom during dire situations."

"Indeed," the boss interrupted them. Once someone of common origin or with an impure bloodline swallows this pill, all of the parts that make up their bloodline will be activated at once, giving birth to the creature you see before you."

"That's horrible," Sofia said. "Any chance he will return to normal once the pill's effect is done?"

"None," Felix replied, a grim look on his face. "As I said, this isn't its intended use. This pill is dangerous even for royalty and wouldn't be used unless you are bound to die anyway. The only thing I can do is give him a quick death."

Felix's eyes started to glow a deep red as his irises became more reptilian. A strong force now emanated from his body as his exhaustion faded.

Felix kicked the ground firmly enough to destroy the floor tiles and propelled himself towards the beast. The beast did the same. They both clashed in the middle of the room as the boss watched in anticipation.

Although the beast's movements were simple, the force of the blow alone created a strong wind that made evading them quite hard. As Felix was pressed for time, he disregarded minor wounds to himself in order to slay the beast as fast as possible. As the battle raged on and injuries on both sides mounted, the beast's movement started to slow down.

Unsurprisingly, such transformation came at a significant cost. Although the beast gained strength and speed far surpassing its prior state, its body couldn't sustain such exaggerated movements, especially in its incomplete state.

This is also why Felix didn't let it catch its breath. By pushing it beyond what it was capable of, Felix ensured that it would self-destruct in time.

As the beast collapsed, its body started disintegrating until nothing but dust remained. Sofia watched in horror as all traces of its existence dissipated. She wondered why those men would take such a dangerous pill if that would be the result. Were they ignorant of the effects of the drug, or was there something worse in store for them if they didn't take it?

As she pondered, still shaken from the events, her gaze landed on the gang leader standing on the other side of the room. His face was calm. She expected him to be enraged or even be frightened, but somehow, his current state felt more frightening than the beast.

Felix also observed his last opponent as the boss approached the beast's remains before kicking the dust in the air.

"Trash..." he muttered, his voice filled with disdain. He reached into his clothes before pulling out the same bottle that the two guards had.

Felix pounced again, even faster this time, but again, he was too late. The pill had already entered the boss' mouth when a wave of energy emanated from his body, flinging Felix backwards.

Felix stopped himself by impaling his battered sword into the ground. As he came to a stop, the damaged blade finally gave out, snapping in half. Fortunately, many of his defeated opponents' weapons were already everywhere on the ground. He simply picked up another sword before getting ready for battle once again.

When the dust cleared, however, what he saw stunned him.