MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

Please listen to this song as you read this chapter to enhance the immersive reading experience.

(AN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJo_3B5-1uk&ab_channel=Sekiryuutei)

———

Ever since he woke up after getting his heart pierced in that incident with the vampire and had his life completely changed in its entirety, with the introduction to the Supernatural world and his supernatural origins, Adam had always wondered what he would feel like after taking a life for the first time.

If he had to be honest, he had hoped that he could be like the heroes he grew up watching. The kind of people who could repay evil with kindness and who could make people love him simply by existing.

After all, who had never dreamed of being a hero in their lives? Being respected, and acclaimed by everyone.

But when he awakened his powers… He was startled to realize that, in reality, he could never be a hero.

Watching a hero spare an enemy and seeing how they become friends, later on, could certainly be heartwarming.

But the reality was not that kind to anyone. There were never moments when an enemy could become your unconditional ally and friend. That was only a pipe dream. Life was a constant struggle for survival.

Kill or be killed. That was the way of life.

Adam chose to kill and he would never regret his decision. Because if he didn't choose to kill then, all that remained for him to choose was the path of agony and despair as he lost everything.

He grasped his shivering hand and forced it to calm down. He forced his mind to get a hold of itself.

'I can go all philosophical later.'

The scene had become absolutely silent as Natasha watched Adam with stupefaction evident on her immaculate face.

But even while doing so she did not stop running for even an instant. It was understandable. After all, there was still a Sniper out there, waiting for them to slow down so that they can pack a bullet straight at their heads. Perhaps, there could be even more enemies waiting to ambush them. She couldn't be sure about it.

'Incoming!'

This time Natasha moved faster than he could even react and jumped on her right immediately hiding behind a large wall.

Bang—!

The asphalt broke under the shock of the bullet but Adam did not lose his concentration.

He now knew the relative direction from which he was being shot at. He was able to advance to the next step with that piece of tiny yet crucial information.

[Hawk Eyes] + [Eyes of Empathy]

He immediately noticed the sniper thanks to noticing the heightened hostility that was being emitted from that direction. That was definitely the location of the sniper.

'Around 500 or so meters away from here, huh…'

"Natasha. Can you distract him for a bit? I have a way to attack the sniper and kill him."

Natasha merely glanced at Adam after hearing that piece of information.

There were only three ways this could go.

One— he was lying and wanted to sacrifice her by using her as bait as he ran to save himself.

Two— he was serious but overestimated himself with whatever abilities he possessed.

Three— he was sure of his success and was genuinely asking for her help to take down the killer.

Since it was her fault they were in such a situation, Natasha decided to believe in him. Believe in her dear friend.

The fact that he just twisted the head of those four mercenaries earlier might have also played a role in giving her confidence in Adam but there was no need to divulge that information to anyone.

She placed him down on the ground and leveled herself to his eye level and gazed into those enchanting blue orbs of his.

"What should I do?"

"Give me a minute, ok?"

Adam scanned the warehouse but found nothing of interest.

He moved his mind towards the guns of those mercenaries who were already dead and took four of the bullets out of the weapon barrel.

'This should do it.'

He made sure that the movements of the bullets were not visible to the enemy and brought the bullets close to himself and Natasha.

Natasha watched all of this with wonder and confusion. She had seen many kinds of magic but it was the first time she had seen something like this. Was Adam a warlock or something? If she survived through this, which she very well hoped that she did, she would definitely ask Adam what the hell was up with him and his powers.

Adam paid no attention to her reactions as he started the rotation of the bullets.

'Accelerate.'

This was a more delicate operation than what he had been doing till now but he had to thank Cecilia for making him do those chores. This helped him in getting the handle on this operation

Soon, Natasha had to grind her teeth due to the noise she was registering in her sensitive ears. A grinding sound resonated as the rotation of the bullets continued to increase with each passing second. She felt like sparks would even come out if this continued as the friction with the air was increasing and she had a hard time looking at them without feeling slightly dizzy in the head.

"I am ready. The plan is simple. You play the bait and I will hunt the hunter."

Natasha grinned as she heard his confident tone. "If I die, I am going to haunt you for the rest of your life."

Adam wondered if he should take this threat seriously. It was a world where magic and the like existed after all. So ghosts should also be a possibility.

Natasha laughed out loud when she saw his bewildered face. This helped her release the tension that was building in her mind and body.

The bullets had been laced with silver without a doubt and since she was their target, there should also be some 'Wolfsbane' inside the shells too. If she got shot, her chances of dying were pretty high.

But she showed no fear on her face as she prepared herself.

'This is fun.'

Compared to the war she fought back in the icy plains, this can almost be called cute.

Adam watched as Natasha's teeth changed into canines that were too sharp to belong to a human. They were now wolf fangs, sharp enough to tear human flesh to shreds with even the most minimal pressure.

This was followed by her nails changing into claws and her eyes shining with a blue luster.

Adam could feel her Prana increase explosively and the air around her became wilder. As if he was facing a beast ready to pounce on her target.

The moment Adam gave her the signal *Boom* Natasha moved.

Adam felt like he lost track of her for a moment even though she was still inside his domain. This was how fast she was. The concrete caved in and cracked under the pressure exerted by her feet the moment she launched herself and she rushed so fast it seemed like she would break the speed of sound.

Adam then focused all his senses on his target.

His domain could only expand a few tens of meters but it was more than enough for what he had planned. He only needed Hawk Eyes to keep him in his line of sight now.

He could see absolutely everything. The target was a middle-aged man wearing a green uniform that felt like a suit belonging to an organization. He was crouching down on a building not far from here and was observing Natasha as she moved.

Adam could almost see the hesitation in the eyes of the man as he wondered if he should shoot now even though Natasha was moving alone. In the end, he decided to shoot and as such, sealed his fate.

The moment the sniper placed his finger on the trigger.

Adam felt like time itself seemed to have slowed down for him. His focus had been heightened so much that the world around him and everyone else seemed to move in slow motion.

It was so high that he could even see the flash of light and fire as the sniping rifle ejected the bullet after the trigger was pressed.

This was the moment Adam choose to attack.

"Goo!"

He roared as he launched the bullets under his control at the maximum speed he could bring them to with all his concentration.

He felt like he had broken a limit inside him. Like he was now entering a new level altogether. He poured all his pent-up energy and Prana into this attack, willing it to destroy his enemy with no pity or remorse.

The moment those bullets left his domain left The World they once again fell under the control of the laws of physics.

—Bang!!

The sounds they produced were almost deafening. The bullets immediately went over the speed of sound, going at nearly Mach 2.

Adam's eyes and nose were now bleeding. His vision was blurry with tinges of red near the edges. His breathing was rough and he felt like his brain was about to break apart as he felt a mighty headache settle in.

But he did not care. He could just die again later to get back to full health. All that mattered was taking down the enemy that threatened him first.

He gazed deeply at his target and it was only after seeing the bullets pierce the hunter's head, causing the brain of the sniper to explode like a watermelon, that Adam finally allowed himself to lose his focus.

He did it. He broke through his limits and took down an enemy that was very dangerous.

Perhaps he had the making of a Hero after all? A little bloody along the edges but well, not all heroes could be Boy Scouts after all.

He laughed. He definitely shouldn't be laughing right now but the situation he was currently in was so absurd that it was simply funny.

As if responding to his laugh, the Book of Genesis opened above Adam's head as Natasha began to run toward him, worry evident in her eyes at the sight of his bloodied self cackling like a deranged lunatic.

[New Skill Generated]

[Accelerated Perception

Rank: B

Description: Tremendously increases the perception of time of the user once he enters into a state of deep focus and concentration.]

Adam grinned as he read the description.

He didn't know who were the ones who had just attacked him, but he really had to thank them for helping him generate such a broken skill.

'May your soul rest in peace?'

He chortled. He was sure that his brain must have been damaged for him to laugh so much now or the adrenaline was wearing off so he was feeling the effects perhaps?

Well… Now was the time to ask Natasha what the hell was going on and why he had a lethal encounter with some assailants that seemed to have come straight from some gangster movie just now.

"Adam! Are you alright!?"

Natasha shook Adam, causing him to groan in pain from the massive headache that was wreaking havoc in his brain. "You think I would be alright after being shaken like this? Calm down, I am not dead."

'At least not yet.'

He truly needed a place to kill himself or something. He might have been joking before but he was sure that he had quite literally a few screws loose right now. Blood did not fall from your eyeballs and nose for no reason, after all.

"There's a mercenary who is still alive. Let's catch him and leave this place."

Natasha nodded and walked away, leaving Adam alone as he stayed down on the ground.

Now that the threat had passed and the adrenaline was wearing off, he was able to face what he had just done.

He had killed five men in cold blood and had crippled another one in order to obtain information from him.

What made him feel weird and a little squeamish was the fact that— he felt absolutely no remorse.

He finally realized that all the training he went through in order to open all his Chakra must have made him more desensitized toward death than he would have liked it to be.

Whether this was good or bad remained to be seen.

(AN: And so Adam's first fight ends. What is your opinion about it? Hope you liked it.)