Unlike the last deformed monstrosity Felix had to fight, what stood before him resembled a bear—a bipedal bear, to be precise. Thick black fur covered every inch of his body, barely hiding the massive muscles beneath. In his powerful jaw were pointed fangs sharp enough to sever even the most sturdy of armours. The bear stood on its hind legs while its front claws were like razors, able to render metal. The gang leader was already two meters high, but this bear seemed to have doubled in size. Even the high ceiling couldn't contain him as his head brushed against it. Sofia looked puzzled while Felix frowned.

The bear growled while madness overflowed from the dark recesses of his eyes. Drool foamed in the corner of its jaw before dribbling to the floor. Sofia felt her legs buckle under the intensity of his glare; she was rooted in place, struck by fear. She gritted her teeth and shook her head, trying to expunge the fear from her heart. Fortunately, Felix's voice snapped her out of it.

"Get back!" he shouted, propping up his weapon.

Sofia hurriedly retreated just as the beast pounced. Despite its massive size, its movements were nimble. The speed with which it carried itself made it almost impossible for Felix to evade its blows. The bear used its massive hardened claws to attack, while Felix had no choice but to parry them with his sword. Sparks flew from the metal as the two forces met. Felix's weapon sang a strident sound while cracks formed on its surface before shattering in a rain of metal from the immense force.

Pieces of the blade flew in all directions. Felix shielded his head with his arms, blocking the deadly shrapnel while a few fragments lodged themselves in his torso. He was lucky that the shards avoided his vitals, but the bleeding would make the fight difficult. Some shards flew towards the creature but were repelled by his blanket of thick fur, leaving it unscathed.

Without a weapon, the battle was entirely one-sided. Felix's eye glowed brighter, enhancing his speed even further. Dark red markings appeared on his neck as if escaping from the cover of his shirt. The beast was predictable as it mainly acted on instinct. Felix could avoid the bear's strikes but only with much difficulty. Sweat poured out of his pores as the pain of his injury and effort threatened to overwhelm him. He tried to staunch the bleeding to little effect. His mind raced, trying to find a chance for survival. No standard weapons could deal with this. He quickly scanned the room and had an idea.

The fortress seemed sturdy but had been abandoned for far too long. The exterior walls were ragged and broken, while the load-sustaining pillars had started to rot. This room was located in the middle of the fortress. While most of the walls were made of wood, one was made of stone, which supported the upper floors. Long and deep cracks littered the stone wall and the load-bearing beams above. It was poised to fall down with the slightest of impacts. Felix was cool-headed despite his predicament and carefully chose his target.

The beast, unable to reach its prey, grew restless and enraged. It kept charging forward, just like a raging bull, flailing its arms in an attempt to rip Felix apart. Felix carefully positioned himself before the wall, under the largest crevice, and waited. Moments later, the beast rushed towards him head first, his maw wide open, striving to devour him.

Just as they were about to collide, Felix dove under the bear's serrated cavity, rolling between his rear paws before sprinting away. The bear couldn't stop its charge in time and rammed the wall. The impact dislodged most of the stones that held it in place. Missing the support of the wall below, the second-floor support beam couldn't withstand the weight and came crashing down onto the beast, pinning it to the floor. Rubble fell, burying it underneath.

"Is... is it dead?" Sofia asked as Felix caught his breath.

Felix only barely managed to avoid the collapse. He sat on the bed, tending to his wounds while keeping a careful watch over the rubble. He noticed slight movements within the mound; stone fragments tumbled from its summit due to vibrations originating from its depths.

"Probably not. Those types of beasts are quite resilient. It will take much more than that to take it down," he said.

A massive paw emerged from the debris and swiped at Felix; the beast was still conscious. It trashed around, trying to free itself while roaring in anger. More and more pebbles fell from the mound while the beam trembled.

"Why is it different from the ones before?" Sofia asked, scrutinizing the creature while helping Felix tend to his wounds.

He pondered a bit before answering.

"That's the real use of that pill. It enables those with a somewhat pure bloodline to achieve what is referred to as a full bloom."

"A... full bloom," Sofia repeated, puzzled.

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"It's a term the kingdom's military uses for those who can fully awaken their bloodlines. See that thing in front of us? This form is a manifestation of his bloodline. His ancestor probably mixed with a bear bloodline at some point, and with the aid of the pill, his bloodline bloomed."

"Something wrong?" Sofia asked as she saw the look on Felix's face.

"Full bloom users are quite rare," Felix replied. "It takes more than just a pure bloodline to achieve it. Do you know how the military classifies bloodline users?" Sofia shook her head before Felix continued, "Rank, purity, compatibility. All three are needed for full bloom. Long story short, this guy is lacking in all three and has yet to achieve full bloom. This is too bizarre, even with the aid of the pill. Something else must be at work here."

Sofia looked at the struggling beast again, asking, "What do we do with it now?"

"The pill only works for a limited time. Once its effects wear out, he'll return to normal and be weakened for a time..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard the stones shifting. The beast was slowly crawling out of the rubble. Sensing the incoming fight, Felix sought a weapon, but the ones littering the floor were low-quality and couldn't injure this beast. As Felix frantically scanned the room, he finally noticed the black blade beside Sofia.

"How did you retrieve this sword? I thought it was locked behind a relic," Felix asked, perplexed.

"I don't know, but after he took the pill, I went to check on it, and it had disappeared."

Felix took the blade and unsheathed it. The black sword was in pristine condition. The blade was clean, and its edge sharp. Felix caressed the blade as if touching a lover. The previous fights had made him miss his old partner. Felix rose to his feet while the beast finally crawled out of the rubble. As expected, it was unharmed. While trapped, the beast's rage kept increasing. As soon as it was free, it charged towards Felix. The beast forwent defence in favour of offence since it believed that Felix could not injure it. To its dismay, Felix's current weapon vastly differed from his previous ones.

The beast swiped with its claw, and Felix parried the blow with its blade. This time, however, the blade didn't break. Felix slid along the ground, reeling from the impact until he stomped, anchoring his foot into the wooden floor. The floor cracked and splintered, becoming a foothold for his advance. Blood seeped through the hastily wrapped bandages around his arms, but he paid them no mind. He rushed the beast again, swiping the paw aside, then striking at its wrist, severing it. Despite the hide and fur that had previously seemed impervious to blades, the black sword slid as if through butter as the paw fell. The missing limb enraged the beast even further. Not learning from its mistake, it swung its other claw at Felix. Needless to say, he parried the second blow, and the same thing happened.

Now missing both hands, the beast finally realized its predicament. It turned to flee, but those missing front paws wrecked its balance and caused it to fall backward. The beast flailed its severed limbs, flinging blood everywhere. Felix swerved between the falling pellets, avoiding them while approaching his opponent. The beast roared in anger and fear, but it fell on deaf ears as Felix cleanly cut the two remaining limbs, rendering the animal harmless.

Although the fight seemed easy, parrying those blows was more challenging than it looked. The concentration needed to cut through that hide exhausted him, and he fell to the ground, panting. He had made sure the beast couldn't move anymore. Felix rested on the floor while his eyes and aura finally returned to normal. The red marks present on his neck also receded until it faded from sight. As the shift happened, a jolt of pain spread throughout his whole body, almost causing him to fall unconscious. Felix tried his best not to let it show. Fortunately for him, Sofia was too busy ensuring the beast was incapacitated.

Once the pain left, Felix finally rose to his feet and approached the dying beast. Warm red blood flowed from the animal's body as it slowly reverted to its previous appearance. Soon, the body was human again.

"So you won.. huh," the leader said in disdain as he recovered his rationality.

Felix didn't feel compelled to put him out of his misery or even respond to his dying words, so he kept silent. Both men stared at each other until Sofia took hold of the limbless man's neck, shouting, "Where's my brother! What have you done to him!"

The man laughed despite the pain. He looked at Sofia with ridicule. Enraged, Sofia shook the man, screaming frantically, "WHERE IS HE!"

Felix put his hand on her shoulder. Sofia turned to face him before letting go of the dying man. He fell back to the floor, coughing up blood. As he lay dying, the man spoke, his words clear and sharp despite the breath of life leaving him, "He's not here anymore."

"WHERE!" Sofia screamed again. The man looked at her with scorn.

"Don't bother, little girl. Over a year ago, two men came for him. How they found out about him, I don't know, but they were aware that he possessed a special bloodline."

"What special bloodline?! It's just an ordinary snake."

"An ordinary snake?!" the man said, raising his voice. "No, you truly know nothing. What snake can compare to the legendary Hydra?" Sofia frowned but held her thoughts in her heart. After catching his breath, the man resumed, "They found him here and took him with them. I haven't heard from him since."

"Who were they?" Sofia asked.

"Who can say? Probably important people, judging from the governor's attitude."

"Why tell us all this?" Felix interrupted. "I doubt you discovered your conscience at death's door."

"Because it matters not," the man sneered. "You're not leaving here alive. Do you think I don't recognize this blade? Despite my current state, I was a soldier during the war. We've all heard of you and your black blade. Despite being from the Kingdom, you roamed the battlefield, dealing death indiscriminately. People even took to calling you the Black Death as you reaped lives like the plague, you traitor!" He coughed until a mass of blood was ejected from his mouth. Felix waited patiently for the man to breathe his last, uninterested in his ramblings.

"That relic you saw on the wall has two functions, a seal and an alarm that rings once the seal is broken. Who do you think that alarm was for!?" the man sneered. His laughter echoed as he took his last breath.

Sofia looked conflicted at the revelation, but a voice could be heard outside the compound before she could voice her doubts.

"Come out and lay your weapons down! You are surrounded!"