MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Before leaving, Makarov and Viktor had asked to take his measurement and started working on the weapon they would make for him.

As was mentioned before, Makarov was still searching for certain materials to imbue into the Divine weapon and taking measurements of his skills and style to incorporate into the weapon style. For that reason, before creating the Divine weapon, Viktor would first create a few weapons for him to use as spares.

Leaving the pair of grandfather and grandson alone to work in peace, the Gospels took the car and went on the road for a drive.

The ride was quiet and the atmosphere was somewhat solemn and heavy.

Cecilia was wearing a long pair of jeans accompanied by a cream-white T-shirt on the top as well as a baseball cap on her head. Her red hair was tied into a ponytail, giving her a more boyish style than her usual mature and serious vibe.

She had a lollipop in her mouth as she drove calmly with one hand on the wheel and the other fiddling with the car system.

"Music?"

Adam shook his head in denial, "Not interested. I think we need to first talk about the map that was given to me by the bookkeeper of the Library."

Cecilia and Eve had once made a bet on Adam. Even though this bet was more akin to Eve's plan of using Cecilia to make sure he awakened at the right time.

Cecilia chuckled at his words, "The map won't leave and my heart won't heal instantly. So there's no rush."

"Mom."

"Sigh. Let's take it slowly, okay? It isn't like I am going to die any time soon. As long as I don't strain…"

"But you did strain yourself already, didn't you?"

"..."

"To help me, you had to fight again and use your powers. That surely put a considerable strain on your weak Heart Chakra."

Silence came back into the car. Only this time, it was much heavier and a bit more ambiguous than before with Adam's expressionless face spouting out those words in a slightly agitated tone.

"It was just an Elder Vampire. Well, not really an elder vampire. But…"

Cecilia tried to defend herself but in the end gave up looking at the expressionless face of her son, "Anyways. Let's focus on the moment we have here, okay? We can talk about that map once you get your license."

He frowned slightly at her attempts to invade this crucial talk, but he knew more than anyone that she was even more stubborn than him. So, he knew that he had to put this matter off for another time.

"Okay, how does this go exactly?"

"I will try to make things simple for you."

Happy to see that the discussion was now back on track again, she began to explain the ways of the Supernatural.

There were two types of licenses. The first one was more akin to a civil ID.

"This license is mandatory for all people past a certain level of power. It's proof that you are recognized by the state as a citizen who pauses no danger. It also gives insight into the potential level of danger that might be necessary should you prove to be dangerous."

Adam was dumbfounded. As funny as it seemed, this ID was indeed necessary. Even more so when one traveled.

To obtain it, it was necessary to fill in basic information about your race, power, age, and so on. Then one had to pass a psychological test to determine one's tendencies.

"You are different as you can lock your Prana. But if someone with your level of power enters another country without permission, you will be considered a danger and will be immediately apprehended by the Supernatural task forces of that country or the state in which you entered. Well, that really depends on the level of your threat but we'll get back on that later…"

He frowned, "This didn't stop that man named Richard though."

"Well, as always no system is perfect."

She laughed bitterly and continued.

If the first license was an ID mandatory for all, the second one was optional and could only be obtained by a select few.

"A true hunter license. That one superseded the ID and gave many rights to the wielder."

Not all humans who had the Heart Chakra were considered hunters and only those who surpassed a level of power and/or knowledge could obtain that license.

With it as a base, it was possible to travel to any country free of charge and stay there as long as you wanted. All countries welcomed hunters and the power of a country was directly correlated to the number of hunters and the highest level of hunters they had inside the country.

It also allowed one to carry weapons, take large loans at low rates, obtain secret information, and much much more.

"Normally, the Hunter exam takes place twice a year, and while there are no limits to the number of attempts, one can only take the test once every two years. At least that's how it is in this country."

She turned the car and gave the middle finger at a man that was blowing the klaxon behind her nonstop,

"Where I was before I was rudely interrupted? Hmmm, yeah. Anyway, this is a national exam you know. Very big something blablabah. Only 10% of the applicants succeed every year or something. You know how it goes."

"So, I will take the exam today?"

"Nah. The next exam is in December. Nothing better than the taste of failure to go with Christmas haha."

Adam frowned, "So… What are we doing out here if the exam is in one month?"

"Nepotism, my dear son. The true and almighty power of Nepotism can open all doors for you even when they are iron doors of unimaginable durability."

Adam couldn't help but facepalm as Cecilia laughed out loud. The car finally stopped in front of a large building.

The Wilshire Grand Center.

———

Completed in 2017, the Wilshire Grand Center was the tallest skyscraper in the west of Chicago with a height of 335.3 meters. It was mixed with a shopping mall, hotel, offices, and restaurant while being covered by quite an impressive surface.

The moment they entered the building, Adam immediately focused on muting some of the information he was receiving from The World.

There were so many people around him currently that he feared he might go crazy if he didn't pay attention sufficiently.

When they reached the elevators, Adam noticed that all but one of them had been occupied.

It was as if people were unable to notice it as they walked their way and waited for other elevators to come back.

"Cloaking device. This will be common for you in the future. Since humans without Prana cannot perceive the Supernatural, there are many such constructions entirely covered in Magic or Prana to make it completely invisible to the normal eyes."

The elevator was quite spacious but with nothing particularly noteworthy in the interior.

"Which floor do we go up to?"

Cecilia grinned as she pushed the buttons in a special order.

"This is just in case someone who understands can see through the veil to actually enter. They need a special code. As for the floor? We aren't going up… We are going down."

———

All the while the elevator was going down, Adam felt like he was going through some magical adventure.

Then again, he kinda was going through something like that…

"How deep is it?"

"Hmm… I honestly don't know. Twenty? Thirty meters maybe? It's hard to say. The one in Japan was around 25 meters so I guess it's the same here too."

She shook her head, "This was mainly done by the Dwarves. They and the Elves are the only two primogenitor races that can be called allies to us."

This caused Adam to enter deep thoughts…

"Other Primogenitor races are accepted, nay tolerated. The same way they tolerate us. This also goes for werewolves and any other special race we might know nothing about."

She gave him a meaningful glance as she continued.

"The stance of humanity is pretty clear. We are basically in a cold war. Neither sides want to really tear off the mask of peace and many Pro peace militants are trying to bring true peace but… Do you think a sheep and a wolf can become friends?"

Her voice was calm and a smile formed on her face, "I believe it's possible. But not many do so."

She grinned as she ruffled his hair. It had taken her raising Adam and seeing him as her son to put down her prejudice against other supernatural races.

Most hunters were humans who had survived near-death events caused by the supernatural creatures.

Asking them to be friendly was very hard and many hunters simply considered all supernatural creatures to be killed on sight.

"So, who is the sheep and who is the wolf?"

Adam grinned and Cecilia mirrored his grin.

This was the eternal question of this world.

She didn't know what Adam would become in the future. If he would become a saint or a monster.

But whatever choice he ended up making, she would be damned if her son was considered a sheep.

Ding~!

A melodious sound filled the elevator as it finally reached the final floor.

"Mom. How much should I show during the exam?"

"How much do you think is enough to make them lose their mind?"

A simple question was given a very simple answer.

They simply bumped their fists afterward.

This was the first time he would truly face the hunter community.

He would make sure that they could only look at him in awe and respect.