A deep shock was painted on Victor's face upon hearing Admiral Fay Foss's words. He whispered to himself, trembling: "How can I kill my friend and teacher, Nicholas?"
He turned slowly, and his gaze met the Admiral's steady eyes.
Victor said in a trembling yet firm voice: "I cannot do it. Is there no other way to return him to his normal self?"
The Admiral shook his head slowly, with a sorrowful tone: "Unfortunately, there is not. In his condition... death is the only mercy to end his suffering."
A heavy silence prevailed for moments, before the Admiral's gaze suddenly shifted to the massive black shadow that was still exhaling cold vapor beside Victor.
Then the Admiral asked, his eyes gleaming with a strange curiosity: "Tell me, boy, is that serpent... yours?"
Victor looked at the majestic creature and replied: "Yes... it emerged from the power of the necklace."
Admiral Fay Foss smiled a faint, mysterious smile and said: "It seems you have finally learned how to summon the true essence of the necklace."
Victor shook his head, still confused by what had happened, and answered: "I do not know, sir... I believe it was merely an automatic response born of my anger."
Admiral Fay Foss said firmly: "Stay close to William and do not leave him; I will deal with Nicholas myself. Since William is still alive, Nicholas may target him again, so do not leave him alone. When I call upon you, send the serpent to aid me. Do you understand, Victor?"
Victor replied briefly: "Yes."
Suddenly, Admiral Fay Foss launched himself toward Nicholas, activating **«The Path of Nightmares»**.
In that instant, a crimson light, dark as congealed blood, emanated from his necklace, filling the place with a dense, strange mist of an aberrant color unrelated to any known hues. As the mist spread, a terrifying sound filled the area; like the wailing of beings enduring unbearable pain in an eternal, endless darkness, reverberating across the horizons and piercing through bones.
Strange-looking chains appeared through the mist, as if forged in ancient times. The chains shot forth rapidly toward the Admiral, who seized them with skill, whereupon they coiled around him like an ancient shield.
He then looked at Nicholas, smiled a mysterious smile, and said in a voice wavering between mercy and awe: "It is time for you to return to what you once were."
He then looked at Nicholas, smiled a mysterious smile, and said in a voice wavering between mercy and awe: "It is time for you to return to what you once were."
Suddenly, the chains pounced like starving beasts. One of them coiled tightly around Nicholas's neck, dragging him violently to the ground with a thud. Before Nicholas could resist, the Admiral delivered a painful blow with the iron head of a chain to his forehead, followed swiftly by another to his jaw.
It was not a random assault, but a precise and painful attack aimed at **shattering the Black Aura Focus** that had seized his mind. Victor heard a dry sound resembling bone cracking, and saw blood flowing from Nicholas's mouth, staining his face, while the Admiral's eyes remained steady, knowing no pity, as if saying silently: *"Pain is the only price for healing."*