A boy raised by a demon king and a dragon king seems to be peerless in his school life.

Volume 11 Chapter 8 Memories at the bottom

—This is the deep-seated memory of a certain young man.

“You’re creepy, you know.”

“Huh? I don’t hear any voices like that.”

“I think you should graduate from that kind of thing sooner.”

Kids of the same age said this one after another, treating him like a pariah.

His family loved him, but they didn’t understand him and didn’t really listen to his claims seriously.

“It’s true! I can hear the voices!”

The vampire Viness had been hearing strange voices since he was a child.

Voices that sounded like they came from the depths of the earth, low and menacing.

Regardless of time or place, those voices spoke to him.

“――――Seek the darkness. Become one with the darkness.”

“I shall be your servant.”

“Surrender yourself to the darkness.”

He was haunted by these voices, unable to get proper sleep and slowly succumbing to mental distress.

It was agonizing. He wanted to talk to someone, to share his troubles, to be heard. However, no one around him would listen seriously.

His spirit continued to weaken. He tried to resist the voices, but it seemed he couldn’t hold on much longer.

“I can’t go on like this… I have to do something…”

After much agonizing, he chose the path of becoming a clown.

“I am a servant of the darkness. I shall cut down anything that obstructs the path with a crimson blade!”

It was a desperate plan.

Following the instructions of the mysterious voices, he acted like a servant of darkness and convinced those around him that he was ‘that kind of person.’

As a result, he was able to talk about the voices naturally.

Of course, nobody believed his words. However, just being able to speak relieved his heart.

By speaking about it, his determination to not succumb to those voices grew stronger.

In this way, while somehow managing to endure, he eventually stopped hearing the voices.

However, Viness didn’t cease his actions.

――――It wasn’t giving up. Someday, they would come for him again.

…because there was an inexplicable conviction.

However, a long time had passed since he last heard the voice.

Viness had stored that event deep in the recesses of his memory.

But… on the ship, he heard that ‘voice’ again.

The fact that he saw past events in his dream when he lost consciousness was likely the cause.

“…I remembered something unpleasant.”

Rubbing his head, Viness rises by himself.

He woke up in the middle of a forest. There was no one around. It seemed he was alone.

“Where is this? I’m sure I was on a ship last… Ouch!”

Feeling a sharp pain in his head like a needle, Viness contorts his expression.

It’s as if he’s drunk, his head swirling and losing his sense of balance.

Even standing becomes difficult, and he staggers as he walks.

“Water…”

Half-unconsciously, he seeks water to quench his severely dry throat.

This place is literally an island surrounded by the sea. It’s unlikely to easily find drinkable water.

However… after walking for a while, the forest opens up, and behold, a well appears.

…an old, neglected well.

Hurriedly, Viness rushes to the well and opens the lid covering it.

“Get out of the way!”

He lifts the rock on top of the lid and removes the talisman sealing it.

Normally, he would question these actions, but at this moment, Viness doesn’t find them peculiar at all.

For the sole purpose of quenching his intense thirst, he opens the ‘seal’ of the well.

Unaware that the dryness in his throat had been induced by the entity that had been communicating with him all along.

“Ah…”

The moment he opens the well, it emerges from its deep depths.

Entirely black, thick, and moist, it had a shape resembling an octopus tentacle.

This tentacle-like entity, astonishingly, wraps around Viness’s body, attempting to drag him into the well with incredible force.

“―”

Without a chance to resist, Viness is dragged into the depths of the well.

His voice vanishes into the bottom of the well, and once again, silence descends upon the scene.

◇

Volume 11 Chapter 9 Composure and Confidence

“Haahhh!!”

Ruisha screamed, repeatedly pounding his fists.

Though less precise than usual, his strikes were imbued with more power. They were effective even against Captain Bat’s tough, bony physique.

“Heh, not bad at all. It really gets under my bones.”

Feeling the pain for the first time in a while, Bat laughed with delight.

Encountering a strong opponent was rare in the depths of the dark sea.

Bat made no attempt to defend himself, instead taking all of Ruisha’s attacks head-on.

Dodging was unnecessary. That’s what he thought.

“Then, it’s my turn!”

In retaliation, Bat swung a powerful blow.

Aiming for the body, Ruisha intercepted the fist by crossing his arms.

Bat’s punch boasted a power akin to a cannon, yet Ruisha was able to block it.

With the unleashed “violence” within his body, Ruisha’s strength had greatly increased. This meant an enhancement not only in attack power but also in defense.

“What’s wrong? Is this all you’ve got, Captain Bat?”

“Hehehe, quite the cheeky brat.”

Both of them exchanged punches at point-blank range, bone colliding with bone, the sound echoing around them.

Watching this from a slightly distant position was Cindy.

“Ruisha… just who are you, really?”

Though she possessed a royal emblem, she didn’t feel inclined to intervene in the battle unfolding before her.

She knew Captain Bat was strong—an infamous pirate who was both feared and admired by everything born of the sea. The legend that he had never lost a fight in his lifetime was still alive.

So, who was this young boy who could hold his own against him in a one-on-one confrontation?

Rubbing her aching body, Cindy pondered the question.

“Take this!!”

Bat roared and lunged at Ruisha.

Ruisha narrowly dodged the strike and landed a strong punch on his chest.

He had already landed numerous good attacks, but Bat showed no signs of going down. Doubt crept into Ruisha’s face—could he really defeat him at this rate?

“What’s the matter? Are you giving up already!?”

As Bat said this, he drove the tip of his right foot into the ground.

With the tip buried in the ground, he applied force to his right foot and delivered a front kick.

“Weigh anchor, anchor leg!”

A sharp front kick was released, shattering the ground. The momentum from breaking free of the ground added to the force of the strike, making it too fast for Ruisha to react.

“Ka—–!”

The sharp front kick, resembling an anchor, pierced into Ruisha’s abdomen.

He managed to prevent the worst-case scenario by tensing his abdominal muscles in the nick of time, but he still suffered significant internal damage. If he had been careless, he might have vomited the contents of his stomach.

“This…!”

“Hahaha! You endured that well! But my attack isn’t over yet!”

At first, they were evenly matched.

However, gradually, Ruisha began to be pushed back.

“Finisher! Barbaric Shell Barrage!”

“Kuh! Meteor Fist, Scatter!”

In response to Bat’s rapid succession of punches, Ruisha countered with his own flurry of punches.

Although the power of their exchange was evenly matched, Bat’s punches were more numerous. It was impossible to handle every attack, and some of Bat’s punches landed on Ruisha’s abdomen, sending him flying.

“Guu, ugh…”

Whipping his hurting body, Ruisha stood up.

The physical damage was substantial, but his determination remained unbroken.

He glared at Bat with eyes fierce like a wild beast.

“…So you can’t beat me after all, kid.”

“What did you say?”

In response to Bat’s words, Ruisha reacted with visible annoyance.

“Releasing your inner ferocity isn’t a bad idea. But right now, you’re being tossed around by that ferocity. So, the techniques you’ve honed with great effort can’t be effectively utilized.”

“…”

Hit right on the mark, Ruisha fell silent.

Though his physical abilities had improved, the precision of his techniques had significantly declined.

The reason he couldn’t react well to Bat’s attacks earlier was because of this.

“If surrendering to ferocity is all it takes, even a beast can do it. Show me how you ride it.”

“…What’s your intention? What do you gain from teaching me that?”

“I just like to have fun in a good brawl. There’s no deep meaning to it.”

“Hehe,” Bat chuckled.

It didn’t seem like he was devising any particular strategy.

“I forcefully restrain my ferocity and ride it. That suits my rough type. But you should be a different type. So, what do you think?”

“What I… should do?”

Ruisha asked himself.

How could he borrow strength without surrendering to his own ferocity?

In the first place, he wasn’t the type to enjoy conflict. He believed that if he could live without hurting others, there was nothing better than that.

So, did he lack ferocity, given his nature? No.

He enjoyed training his body and becoming stronger. Winning against others in tests, games, and even battles brought his joy. Even outside of combat, he found pleasure in connecting with a woman emotionally, engaging intimately, dominating, and making them submit.

Ruisha understood that ferocity was not inherently evil.

In essence, it was a primal, strong impulse present in everyone. Many people misuse this impulse for evil purposes, but the impulse itself was neither good nor bad.

Understanding this, Ruisha accepted his ferocity…

He accepted it, blended it with his reason, and became one with it.

Having achieved this, Ruisha regained his composure, yet within the depths of his eyes lay the ferocity.

“It seems like you’ve got it.”

“Bat-san, thanks to you. I appreciate it.”

“Enough with the thanks. Let’s continue. I gave you advice for that purpose.”

“Yes… understood.”

Ruisha took his stance.

Unlike before, his posture was solid.

“Here I go.”

A sharp kick was unleashed, hitting Bat’s abdomen.

Maintaining the precision of his technique, this strike carried tremendous power from unleashing his ferocity.