172 I Am Staying

Nyissa felt extremely aggrieved and disappointed since everything she worked hard for and believed in for all these centuries turned out to be a lie, especially after seeing her own grandfather being a part of all this.

She and her clan had been following Oben Mou's teachings and rules without questioning them in the slightest, thinking that their ancestor knew best and that their mission was sacred.

But now, seeing everything, Nyissa could guess how the Blood Demon came to be. She heard Viktor calling out for his parents, and even if she saw that they were human, she could guess that Viktor and the couple had a family-like bond.

Even she couldn't help but feel sorry for him seeing his plight and also guilty for trying to judge him without hearing his side of the story.

"Nyissa...don't bother about them and take your grandfather's offer. Or your people are going to die for sure. I will take care of this," Viktor whispered to Nyissa, knowing how her mind might be in disarray right now and didn't want to see them die in vain.

Viktor was barely containing his rage, but he knew if he tried to break open the cage again, then he would only be giving Borin an advantage since he had no idea why but as a werewolf, any attacks using the cursed arts were affecting him severely.

He never felt so helpless and devastated as he was feeling right now, knowing that they had been suffering for all these years while he remained oblivious to it.

He could see from his father and mother's eyes that their consciousness was still present despite the horrifying torture they had undergone.

He was racking his brains to think of a way to free them, but the only best solution he could come up with was to wait till he became a vampire again.

But the stinging sensation in his mind was making it hard for him to control himself as he said, "Borin...It's high time I made sure you stay dead!"

"Hmph, a vampire-like you wants to kill me? What a joke!" Borin scoffed as he grabbed his hammer and prepared to meet Viktor's onslaught.

Viktor rushed towards him, and his eyes began to glow in a mystical blue, making Borin's expression confused for a moment though he wasn't able to think too much about it since Viktor was already in front of him and he had to swing his hammer to counter-attack.

The two continued to fight it out while Oben's gaze became heavy as he said, "This is the final time I will make this offer, Nyissa. If you foolishly refuse, then I can't help you or the ones that came with you. But one thing I can tell you is that nothing good will happen to you and your people if you stay here."

Nyissa clenched her fists so tight, her fingers began to dig into her skin. She, however, let out a defeated sigh and said, "You are right, grandfather. I will take the offer."

Oben's posture became a bit relaxed as he nodded and tapped his staff on the floor, making the air in front of Nyissa twist and contort till a black portal opened before them.

The portal's appearance was completely pitch black, but anyone could make out that Oben wasn't lying about sending them back to the real world.

Nyissa knew if he wanted to hurt them, he would already have. But he was instead trying to save them.

She couldn't understand why the person she revered and respected for so long would be a part of something so evil and sinistrous yet try to save them. This left her heart and mind in a complicated state.

"Ayana and you all should enter first," Nyissa said firmly as she looked at them.

Ayana glanced at her friends before glancing at Viktor fighting Borin with deep-seated rage. Borin raised his hammer and slammed down at Viktor, who raised his palm to meet his hammer.

"Hmph, fool!" Borin couldn't help but smile, seeing that Viktor was trying to stop his hammer with just his bare hand.

*THUK!* A dull sound of an iron-like hammer hitting against something even harder echoed as Viktor's hand barely moved back an inch as he stopped Borin's hammer.

"Now...my turn…" Viktor said with narrowed eyes as he slapped away his hammer and punched Borin in the stomach as ripples of shockwaves undulated through the whole place.

"Aargh!!" Borin felt as if an iron rod as heavy as a mountain was rammed into his stomach and was sent flying like a bullet till he crashed against the wall before falling down on the floor.

"Oh my god..." Ayana and even Nyissa were surprised to see how strong Viktor was since this strength was not present when he was fighting against the Ranars with them. Of course, the level of power and strength he displayed when he was trying to kill Nyissa was a different case for them since he was not really 'Viktor' at that time, according to them.

Even Oben couldn't help but turn his head, feeling the shockwaves hitting him though he remained unaffected.

However, his gaze narrowed when he saw that Viktor's eyes were glowing a radiant blue instead of crimson red as he had seen before. This left him puzzled as well, just as everyone else, including Nyissa, who was starting to feel that Viktor was even more of an enigma than she thought.

"Ayana, get in. Don't waste time by standing here any longer," Nyissa said, making Ayana come out of her daze.

Ayana wanted to fight with Viktor seeing that everything he said was right and that Borin was not the person they thought he was.

But she knew she would only be a liability by remaining here, and her fate would also be sealed since her ancestor didn't seem as if he would try to protect them in case they chose to stay.

However, seeing Viktor bashing away Borin and remembering his true strength from before made her feel hopeful that he would come out of this as the victor.

So she took a deep breath and stepped into the black portal along with her friends.

Oben's grip on his handle began to relax a bit, seeing them go in, and his gaze landed on Nyissa, wanting to see her go in as well.

However, after Ayana and her friends entered the portal, Nyissa also stepped forward, but just before she was about to enter the portal, she looked at Viktor walking towards Borin, who surprisingly got up with the support of his hammer and was looking at Viktor with a darkened gaze.

She then looked at the cages where the souls were being physically chained after horrible torture, especially the cage where the man and female were inside together and the ones Viktor cared about the most.

She knew that even if Viktor was able to defeat Borin, there was the question of her ancestor, whose power was said to be unfathomable, especially because of how determined he was in learning the Cursed Arts.

It was said that he could have lived longer if it weren't for cutting his own life short because of the forbidden arts he practiced to get stronger faster.

Remembering how Viktor was unable to break the cages, she knew as long as her grandfather was here, Viktor might not be able to free his parents.

"Nyissa, what are you waiting for?" Oben asked, seeing her standing before the portal with a glazed expression.

Nyissa steeled her resolve as she looked at Oben and said, "I am staying, grandfather."