Tenebrous Wolf

After spending two hours in the junkyard, breaking things here and there, Klaus finally decided to call it a day. With a satisfied smile, he leaped over the wall with ease and landed smoothly on the other side.

Hands in his pockets, he began the walk back to his apartment.

There were lots of discoveries he had made during his time in the junkyard.

During his time in the junkyard, he had made several discoveries.

As expected, even Ascendants had limits, especially a newly awakened Apprentice like himself. For instance, he could easily break apart and lift a sedan, but when it came to an abandoned school bus, he could only damage the body. Lifting it, even with his full strength, was impossible.

Certainly, a school bus was much heavier than a car.

A standard school bus weighed over 10,000 kilograms, while a regular car weighed over 1,500 kilograms, depending on the model. Smaller sedans could be lighter, around 1,200 kg, while larger ones could reach 2,000 kg. It was a good benchmark to understand where he stood in terms of raw power.

As for speed, he had managed to sprint from the park to the junkyard in mere moments. The distance between the two was roughly four kilometers, and he had covered it in less than thirty seconds, meaning he had easily surpassed 480 km/h.

A staggering 480 km/h. By comparison, the fastest human in recorded history, Usain Bolt, had only reached a top speed of 44.7 km/h.

If he entered the World Championships, he would shatter every record in existence, setting new ones that no ordinary human could ever hope to match. But, of course, that was impossible. Ascendants were strictly forbidden from participating in such events, it would throw the balance into complete disarray.

Not that he had any interest in running laps for a medal anyway.

Strength and agility has already been tested. My endurance is pretty high. I tried bench pressing using some heavy junk, but I'm still full of energy.

It would be good if I could stay there for a while longer, but I had to leave because I sensed movement.

Klaus recalled the subtle shifts he had picked up, faint presences moving within the junkyard. Perhaps it was the garbage disposal crew coming to drop off more scrap.

Needless to say, he didn't have some kind of supernatural sixth sense, but he had something just as good, his enhanced senses. His hearing had improved dramatically, allowing him to pick up the faintest of sounds. Since his entire body had been reconstructed and enhanced, it made sense that his five senses had improved as well.

But the most troublesome change was his sense of smell.

Compared to his other senses, his olfactory perception had heightened far more than expected. It was useful, but also a problem, especially in a place like a junkyard. The stench of rotting garbage had nearly overwhelmed him when he first arrived, forcing him to spend some time adjusting until he could filter it out.

It was certainly something that would take some getting used to.

So doesn't this mean I can track people by their scent now? Guess that makes me a tracker.

Klaus chuckled quietly at the thought.

Could be useful... if I ever decide to play detective.

Of course, he had no interest of becoming a detective.

But there was another problem he had to face.

Klaus shifted his gaze downward and frowned at the strong erection pressing against his pants.

"Dammit. I thought doing all that would calm me down, but nothing's worked so far."

He clicked his tongue.

Ever since that wild anal sex with Briar in his apartment, his body hadn't settled. To be precise, cleaning up the demoness afterward had only made things worse. If he hadn't forced himself to leave, he probably would've dragged her into round two without a second thought.

In fact, that was the other reason he had come out, to test his strength and burn off the heat building inside him. But clearly, it hadn't worked.

How the hell am I supposed to calm down now?

If anyone saw him like this, he was screwed, not to mention how utterly embarrassing it would be.

And as if the universe wanted to make things worse—

"Eh? Is that you, Klaus?"

His entire body froze.

Under the shadow of his hood, the color drained from his face.

Of all the times… why now?

Klaus swallowed and slowly turned toward the voice.

Standing behind him was a young woman carrying a bag of groceries.

She looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties, with short, vibrant orange hair framing her face, bangs resting just above her sky-blue eyes. Her pale skin stood in sharp contrast to the bold color of her outfit, but what stood out most was her slender and curvy figure.

He saw curves. Lots of them.

Her voluptuous figure was impossible to ignore— full, rounded thighs, wide hips, and a generous bust that strained against the fabric of her red tube top.

His eyes caught on a small, glinting belly button piercing, positioned just above the waistband of her light-wash denim shorts. The shorts hugged her hips snugly and ended mid-thigh, accentuating the shape of her legs.

If Briar had a well-pronounced pear-shaped figure, then this woman had an equally well-defined hourglass figure.

Of course, she didn't surpass Briar in sheer hip and thigh size, but compared to most women, she was undoubtedly on the curvier side.

And more importantly—

She was familiar.

It only took him a second to recognize her. Sasha.

His neighbor from the apartment complex across from his own.

The two stared at each other in silence, clearly shocked to see the other.

† †

"Oh my, I didn't expect us to run into each other like this. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"What are you talking about? My apartment is literally right across from yours."

"Exactly! We're neighbors, yet we haven't seen each other until today! Is that any way to treat your big sister?!"

"Please don't say things that could cause misunderstandings. My weak heart can't take it."

Klaus had followed Sasha into her apartment. She lived in the complex opposite his, also on the third floor, so it wasn't unusual for them to exchange occasional glances from their respective balconies in the mornings.

Right now, going back to his own place wasn't an option, not when a certain succubus was still fast asleep in his bed and given his current state.

Thankfully, he had locked the door before leaving, so he didn't have to worry about unexpected visitors stumbling in.

And even if Briar woke up, she wouldn't just wander outside.

She was a demon, after all. Straying from the safety of his apartment would be reckless, especially if someone happened to see her by accident.

Sasha made a face, clearly dissatisfied with his response, before dropping her bag of groceries onto the table and casually flopping onto the couch.

"Hmm..."

She grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV, switching from a news channel to a romance drama.

Then, reaching into one of her bags, she pulled out a can of beer.

Klaus narrowed his eyes.

Wait, that wasn't a grocery bag at all.

It was a bag filled with nothing but alcohol.

His gaze lingered for a moment before he let out a sigh as if disappointed. "I see. So you're drinking again."

"What about it?" she replied, cracking open the can without a care.

"If I remember correctly, didn't you say you quit?"

"And if I also remember correctly, you never officially became my daddy, did you? So why are you always on my neck about it?"

Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, it's just strange. One moment you're saying one thing, then doing the exact opposite the next." His gaze flickered to the beer in her hand. "By the way, do you even eat before drinking?"

"Why are you asking when you already know the answer?"

What kind of response was that? Klaus fell silent, realizing she had a point.

He already knew Sasha drank on an empty stomach, so asking about it was pointless.

Letting out another sigh, he turned and made his way to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he scanned its contents,

"Tch. There's barely anything in here... how does someone survive on just alcohol? Well, I guess I can make do with this."

Klaus wasn't all that surprised by the near-empty fridge.

Despite being twenty-six, Sasha was hopeless in the kitchen. No, calling it a lack of skill would be too kind, it was almost like she was cursed. No matter what she made, it always turned out awful.

He learned that the hard way.

One bite of her cooking had left him with five days of relentless diarrhea. Five. Fucking. Days!

Since then, he had sworn never to eat anything she cooked again!

She had even taken cooking classes multiple times, but no matter how much she tried, she never improved. Eventually, she gave up and resorted to ordering takeout whenever she was hungry.

Klaus grabbed the only fresh ingredients available, some eggs and a few vegetables, before shutting the fridge.

He pulled a pan from the rack and turned on the stove, cracking the eggs in one swift motion. The sizzling sound filled the quiet kitchen.

Behind him, Sasha lazily stretched on the couch, her gaze flickering toward the kitchen. "You're actually cooking? Damn, maybe I should marry you."

Klaus didn't even look up as he chopped the vegetables. "Bold of you to assume I'd accept."

Sasha smirked. "Oh? Then I guess I'll just have to seduce you."

"Please don't," he deadpanned.

With a chuckle, she took another sip of her beer and turned her attention back to the TV.

A few minutes later, Klaus placed a plate of scrambled eggs and sautéed vegetables in front of her. "Eat."

Sasha raised an eyebrow. "Are you my mother now?"

"Eat before you start guzzling more alcohol," he said, his voice carrying no room for argument.

She rolled her eyes but grabbed a fork anyway. "Fine, fine. But if I die from this, you're paying for my funeral."

Klaus took a seat across from her, watching as she took a bite. After a few moments, she gave a satisfied nod.

"Not bad. You could actually make a living off this."

"I'll pass."

Sasha continued eating, and for a while, the only sounds in the room were the TV and the occasional clink of her fork against the plate.

Eventually, she leaned back with a content sigh. "Alright, you win. I'll eat before I drink… sometimes."

"That wasn't the deal though."

Sasha just laughed,

"Well, I never agreed to any deal in the first place."

"I really should start charging you for this."

Sasha smirked playfully, swirling the beer in her hand.

"Careful. If you act too much like a good guy, I might actually fall for you. And if that happens, no matter where you run, I'll hunt you down and make you mine. Got it?"

"That sounds like a threat. In that case, I'll just call the cops and hand them your location."

"Haha! How scary~" Sasha giggled, taking another sip. "But it's pointless! You see, I don't just like young boys, I also devour them whole!"

"You damn omnivorous! Stop preying on young boys!"

Sasha grinned, completely unfazed, and continued drinking her beer.

Klaus shook his head, leaning back in his chair. No matter how much time passed, Sasha would always be Sasha.

That's right. She has always been like this.

In fact, he was relieved that she hadn't changed.

Sasha was someone he owed a lot to, and someone he was truly grateful for.

Back when he was struggling to make ends meet, unable to afford rent after losing the financial support of his parents, she had been the one to step in. She introduced him to the landlady of his current apartment, giving him a place to stay when he had nowhere else to go.

If not for her, he would have ended up completely homeless, with no roof over his head.

I guess my life isn't as bad as I thought, Klaus thought with a small smile tugging at his lips.