End of Training, Return and confrontation

[Nine years later]

Nine long years had passed since Lycaon had been taken to the Lykos Manor, disappearing completely from the people's radar and the other clans. Rumors had quickly spread throughout Samar regarding his mysterious training, supposedly taking place in a colossal coliseum the size of an entire neighborhood. These rumors only fueled the concern and discontent of several clans, who believed that the Lykos clan was unduly favoring the prince.

However, these clans were far from the truth. In reality, there was no one in all of Samar who harbored as negative feelings toward the prince as the members of the Lykos clan themselves. And this animosity was entirely attributable to one person: Maya Elisabeth Lykos, the matriarch of this ancient clan.

Since the very beginning of Lycaon's training under her tutelage, Maya had never missed an opportunity to extol the prince's genius, even at times belittling her own children and descendants, sowing seeds of discord within the family. All of this had ultimately led to the current situation.

[Lykos Manor]

The day was radiant, bathing the Lykos Manor in its welcome light. In front of the majestic coliseum, over twenty young members of the Lykos clan had gathered, each eagerly awaiting the sight of Lycaon, whose rumors of prodigious strength had circulated throughout the clan. Their common goal, although kept secret, was to test the prince under the guise of friendly training, but more importantly, to prove their worth to their mother and matriarch.

Among them, mocking murmurs and laughter filled the air. Their faces bore confident expressions, most of them being arrogant werewolves, convinced of their superiority.

Alex, a young man with tousled black hair, stood at the center of attention. He wore a mischievous smile and had a natural leadership aura. "Alright, guys, we've waited nine years for this, so let's make the most of it! Prince Lycaon might be strong, but he can't compete with us, right ?"

Others burst into laughter, approving of the prospect of a friendly challenge. They began discussing the best way to approach Lycaon, sharing whimsical ideas about how to vent their frustrations.

Meanwhile, Maria, the one who had a memorable encounter with Lycaon nine years ago, stood slightly apart from the group waiting in front of the coliseum. She was a strikingly beautiful werewolf.

Her long snow-white hair framed a face with delicate features. Her eyes were a deep blue, reminiscent of a calm lake. Maria had an athletic and slender figure, a testament to her discipline and rigorous training over the years. Her demeanor was filled with quiet confidence, and her smile revealed a hint of amusement. She wore clothing that blended style and practicality, reflecting her determined and adventurous nature. Maria was clearly eager to witness firsthand the prince's progress, knowing that these nine years of training would have transformed him into a vastly different person from the one she had challenged long ago.

Marcus, an athletic young man with a tanned complexion, made a suggestion. "Maybe we should invite other clan members to observe."

The members nodded, finding the idea appealing. Alex was about to call the rest of the clan members when someone in the group pointed at the coliseum's entrance.

A silence fell over the group, and all eyes were on the coliseum's entrance. Alex furrowed his brow, his muscles tensing under an invisible pressure. "What's this?" he muttered, struggling to maintain his composure.

Then, as the awaited door finally swung open, the sensation grew even more overwhelming. It was as if thousands of ants were crawling on their skin, causing uncontrollable shivers. An immense thirst for blood seemed to wash over them, a malevolent presence that made the hairs on their necks stand on end.

Unconsciously, the majority of them transformed in an instant, their heightened senses frantically seeking the source of this oppression. They took a step back, their instincts screaming that they should keep their distance from whatever lay behind the door. Even Maria, who had stayed apart from the group, was not exempt.

A small minority, less prepared, had already collapsed under the pressure, overwhelmed by the suddenly oppressive atmosphere.

Then, that was when they saw him.

A strikingly beautiful young man with silver, disheveled hair emerged from the darkness. His face bore an almost feral smile as he approached the group. His now imposing figure completely contrasted with the darkness, revealing a height of around 210 cm.

He wore thick canvas pants and a silver linen shirt, slightly open at the collar, revealing his sun-bronzed, muscular chest. Over this, he donned a dark velvet coat draped over his back. With each step he took, the pressure intensified.

"Ah, finally some fresh air," he murmured in a voice that sounded soft but resonated like thunder in the ears of everyone present.

Maya soon appeared behind him, playfully hitting the young man on the head. "You're scaring the children," she said teasingly and emphasized the word "children."

Lycaon seemed to become aware of the aura he was emitting. Immediately, the invisible pressure that weighed on the clan members vanished, as if it had never existed, while Lycaon reined in his bloodlust.

He flashed a teasing smile in response to Maya's words, his face returning to a friendly expression.

He turned to the members of the Lykos clan who stared at him with a mixture of wariness and fascination.

"So, what do we have here?" he declared, scrutinizing each member of the group.

Alex, the charismatic young man with tousled black hair, hesitated for a moment before speaking, and his transformation, along with that of the others, receded.

"Uh... Prince Lycaon, that was rather unexpected as a welcome. We heard you've been training for these nine years, and we, uh, came to offer you a welcome."

Other members nodded in agreement, but some still seemed disturbed by the previous experience.

Hearing these words, Lycaon's smile gradually faded, and the atmosphere changed once again.

"Hmph, coward," was his response as the members clenched their fists, perhaps confident in their abilities, but certainly not suicidal.

The man in front of them, however, sent constant danger signals through their bodies, despite his lack of bloodlust.

"But at least you have more balls than the others," Lycaon continued sarcastically, as he seemed to teleport in front of Maria.

In truth, he knew what intentions had initially driven these young people and had consciously let his bloodlust bear down on them to test their will and courage.

And needless to say, he was truly disappointed with their performance. But at least one person had not disappointed him.

Maria.

She was looking at him with a fascinated and defiant expression. Her eyes sparkled with a provocative gleam, as if she wanted to fight him here and now.

He leaned closer, his face inches from hers.

"Not now," he told her, amused by her reaction as she tried to maintain a neutral expression.

Maria, although feigning a neutral look, was completely disoriented by Lycaon's behavior. Whether it was his stature, his gestures, or even his tone, nothing matched the image she had of him. The boy she remembered was a man of few words who seemed too mature, but now he had this aura of slightly arrogant confidence about him and even

cracked jokes.

"You've changed," she said somewhat profoundly.

To which Lycaon simply shrugged.

"Try being alone and locked up with that lunatic, and you'll understand a bit," he replied, pointing a finger at Maya, who didn't seem to care about his words.

The other members of the group felt forgotten, seeing the interaction between Lycaon and their sister. The prince before them treated them as if they didn't exist.

And they were right.

Since they had abandoned their original plan, Lycaon no longer cared about them. To him, they were just a bunch of weaklings not worth his time. Something he didn't even try to hide.

Unable to take it anymore, Axel, who appeared to be the young leader of the group, returned and shouted loudly, as if trying to regain his composure. He wouldn't let himself be treated like trash by a brat who had barely grown out of his diapers a few years ago.

Maybe he was called "young," but that was only from a supernatural standpoint. To a normal human, he would be considered an elder; after all, he was currently 129 years old.

Building up momentum, he lunged directly at the prince with a rapid, martial arts-style punch.

Seeing the prince merely glance at him and not taking any defensive measures, he grew even more enraged.

"YOU. DARE. KEEP. THIS. ATTITUDE, YOU BASTARD!" he roared.

He was really going to kill this brat.

Compressed wind energy formed around his fists as he changed his technique, raining a flurry of punches at the prince's back at a dizzying speed.

"That will teach you, you damn cocky brat! Learn not to be arrogant in your next life... Huh?"

Axel stopped mid-sentence and nervously swallowed as he noticed that his punches had caused no damage to his target.

"What's happening?"

He felt like he had struck compressed iron.

"I... Impossible."

He couldn't believe that his attack hadn't caused any harm to the man in front of him. This was the Hundred Lightning Strikes technique, one in which he had particular confidence.

"In that case!"

Even denser energy than before began to accumulate on his fists, and his form shifted into that of a bipedal wolf.

"Try to resist this... Huh."

"When?"

A hand that belonged solely to Lycaon was placed on his shoulder. Oddly, Axel hadn't seen it during the action.

But even more odd was that he couldn't move anymore.

He struggled in vain to free himself from the firm grip, but he didn't budge an inch.

"Let go of me!" he yelled repeatedly.

"Pathetic," came Lycaon's voice again as Axel found himself becoming numb.

Lycaon paused in his Keysi fighting stance, his charged fist drawn back.

"In your next life, blame yourself for being weak," were the last words Axel heard as a fist resembling a cannonball struck his body.

The force of the punch was such that Lycaon's hand passed through his body like butter, triggering a shockwave along a kilometer-long line in front of him.

"Monster..." Axel muttered, his last breath escaping.

"Tsk," Lycaon grimaced with disgust as he withdrew his hand from the lifeless body. He casually shook his hand to rid it of the blood.

"So, who's next?" he asked calmly.

The other members of the group who had not been swept away by the previous shockwave retreated silently.

"Good, I think I'll take a bath," Lycaon continued and started walking in a random direction, as if he hadn't just taken a life. He didn't know the location of the bathrooms, but he didn't need to know. He knew he would eventually find one of the bathrooms in this gigantic manor.

At that moment, Maria was a bit perplexed. What had happened in that coliseum for Lycaon to take a life with such cold-bloodedness? Maybe she simply underestimated how much he had truly changed.

Maya, on the other hand, didn't know how to feel. If she had created this situation in the beginning, it was merely to motivate her children to train harder. She hadn't expected such an outcome. But as Lycaon had said, Axel could only blame himself for being weak. She didn't really care about his death, after all, she had over sixty husbands and her children numbered well over fifty.