A Peacock Husband of Five Princesses by day, a Noble Assassin by Night

She retaliated, teleporting upward and conjuring hundreds of needles. "Blood Needle Rain."

With a motion of her hand, they were rained down upon him

Kael spun his daggers, creating a whirlwind of dark energy, each needle deflected or vaporized on contact.

"Haha, good. Very good… With you, I can go all out, haha…"

She laughed aloud, descending with claws cloaked in blood magic. But Kael caught her mid-air and drove his knee into her gut.

"Ack…"

She choked, eyes widened in shock as he hurled her down and crushed her chest under his boots.

"Hahaha… that's it… punish me more…" she laughed like a crazy person, coughing out blood. "Ahhh, is this love or what…" She looked at him like an infatuated person.

Her sudden turn of crazy personality even made Kael, in demonic form, surprised. He reached out to her and caught her throat, raising it to his eye level. "My true love…" Her face carrying an infatuation, she reached out to his face. But before they touched him, he raised his right arm and drove the dagger into her chest.

"Ack…" She let out a guttural groan before her head fell down. He casually tossed her away.

While she crashed to the ground, Kael walked to Nyx.

He crouched beside the injured beast, gently stroking the creature's head with his demonic claws. The cool wind rustled the desert palm trees, and for a moment, everything became eerily quiet.

Nyx stirred weakly, her black fur slicked with sweat and dirt. Its eyes met Kael's

A faint, trembling whimper escaped the creature's throat as Kael pulled her close. "Ever since we formed a contract, I have only treated you harshly. But from time to time, you have shown nothing but loyalty. To protect my secret, you sacrificed yourself. I'm sorry I…"

Before he could finish, a surge of strange energy began to pulse from Nyx. A faint silver glow radiated from within her chest, then spread across her entire body like a web of light.

Kael was pushed back at the same time.

"What's going on?"

Nyx whimpered again, but this time not from pain; its body trembled with emotion. Its memories played within her heart like a storm: its first meeting with Kael, the fear of his power, the awe of his strength… the generosity of providing meals to it daily, and most importantly, how Kael came to save it, and even hugged it and apologized for the first time, just those simple things are enough for a wolf to feel emotional.

For so long, Nyx had obeyed out of fear. But now…

"I feel," a voice rang out, not in the air, but in Kael's mind.

Kael froze for a moment

The light intensified.

Kael took another step back as Nyx's body twisted, expanded, and cracked. Bones restructured, fur melted into obsidian skin, and re-grew in silver. Her lithe, vulpine form became tall, humanoid, muscular, beastly, beautiful. Nine tails flared out behind her, no, his back, and fangs gleamed beneath a strong jaw.

Nyx stood as a nine-tailed werewolf, regal and terrifying, eyes filled with fierce loyalty and awakened sentience.

Nyx knelt down, with an arm resting on his thigh. "Master…"

Kael's mouth opened, then closed again. "Uhh… You're… male?"

"Umm… Yes." Nyx replied, blinking his eyes in wonder as if he was asking what was wrong with his gender.

"Then, why were you named Nyx?" Kael asked.

Nyx replied, "I… my father, Fenrir, desired a daughter. He didn't have one. So, he named the youngest, me, as Nyx."

"Umm… okay?" Kael feels weird.

Nyx blinked. "Umm… Master… there is something you should know."

"What?"

Nyx pointed his finger to the side. "That vampire isn't dead."

"Eh?" Kael looked to the side, watching the vampire slowly rising from the ground. Her injuries healed, and her crimson eyes glowed faintly with a smile on her face.

Kael frowned, clenching his fists to attack her.

However, the vampire lowered down again, one of her knees bent, and her hands touched the ground. A scarlet orb erupted from her and floated above her head. "You defeated me, my beloved master. Following the rules of my lineage, I now belong to you."

"I, Sith, former master of Crimson Castle, daughter of Akasha, acknowledge you as my lord of my body and soul. Accept my liege."

"Say, what!" Kael's eyes widened at her offer. He didn't know how to react at first.

But then, as the scarlet orb floated to him, the tattoo on his arm glowed, activating by itself. A powerful suction force erupted from it, absorbing the tattoo before Kael even reacted.

The tattoo hummed, its glow dimming back to normal, while a brand of a lotus flower appeared on the vampire's forehead.

The vampire rose to her feet. With her fingers interlocked, bringing them to her chest, she smiled as she asked. "My Lord, as a commemorative ceremony of our relationship, would you like to use this body to fulfill your lustful desires?"

Kael: "…"

A few hours passed.

Kael sat beneath the sparse shade of a palm, bandaging his forearm while Nyx slept nearby in its usual wolf form, curled protectively around the fire pit. Sith stood in the shadows. Due to the contract, her aura was also more controlled at the moment. People, at one glance, would take her as a normal woman who didn't have much mana, at all.

Kael unfurled a magic scroll and penned the message with quick strokes:

"All clear. Oasis secured. Vampire subdued. Nyx is safe.

Long story short: Vampire tried taming Nyx. Her bloodline caused the evolution of Nyx into a nine-tailed wolf, and the taming spell backfired. Now the vampire serves the wolf.

Go back to the cave and pick up our friends, come at dawn. I'm safe and sound. So, there's nothing to be worried about.

—Kael."

He sighed and leaned back.

Of course, it isn't the truth at all. At best, it is a half-truth. But, it's way better than admitting that he defeated the vampire and subdued her. It would seem ridiculous, no matter how one thinks.

So, once again, he dumped the credits of his actions onto Nyx, making himself a lucky person in the end.

He sent the same message to Mia, who somehow managed to reach the campsite by the time the message was sent through the communication scroll.

*

Dawn broke slowly over the desert horizon. Golden rays bathed the sand in warmth, casting long shadows from the palm trees encircling the oasis.

Kael sat on a bench at the water's edge when he heard their approach, light footsteps, cautious movements. He turned to see Mia, Shiera, Orin, and Leiza entering the camp.

They stopped at the sight of a shocking scene. Nyx was lying beside the fire like a massive silver guardian, and the vampire was kneeling and waving the palm tree branch and waving it like a royal handmaid while Kael was eating dates like royalty.

Mia blinked, bewildered. "What the…?"

Leiza and Shiera instantly took out their weapons to attack.

Kael smiled faintly at the sight. "Didn't you read my message? The battle is over. Relax. Sith is on our side."

To which Sith smiled, staring at Kael like an infatuated teenage girl. "Yes, Lord Kael is everything to me."

*Ahem* Kael coughed at that.

*Grrr*

Nyx also raised her head and growled a bit, as if it was reminding the vampire. Sith remembered the act she had to put and replied. "Of course, Nyx is my master. My master's friends are mine."

She went back to waving the palm tree branch.

Mia and others had their jaws drop, watching the scene, "The hell is this change of personality…"

Shiera, however, clicked her tongue. "This bastard... It isn't enough to charm women, now, he was charming even vampires... tch..."