After sending Yami off to deliver his letter, Viktor was currently sitting in his living room. For the most part, he kept to himself except when he was training Lorna, but right now she was right behind him giving him a shoulder massage.
She was applying extra pressure by circulating Mana through her hands along with her Magnetism. Otherwise, Viktor wouldn't be able to feel it since after he had become a Nephalem Werewolf, his skin and flesh had become like metal.
"Right there is good."
As Lorna squeezed down on his shoulders she sighed.
"You know, when I said I knew how to give massages that didn't mean I was offering."
He smirked as he looked up at the green-haired woman behind him.
"Really? I asked if you had any other skills and you blurted out that you knew how to give massages. I took that as an offer."
She shook her head as she moved down from his shoulders to his back. She pressed down harder since she didn't mind at all. Ever since she met Viktor, he had been a good mentor, but he was a loner.
Many people on the internet compared his actions to Batman since they both operated from the shadows with a brutal way of handling criminals. She wondered what the two would say if they met, but before she could ask they were interrupted.
Yami lept out of the shadows like a fish landing at Viktor's feet. When he did so, his form shifted into liquid darkness before reforming into his true wolf form. When he was back, he jumped up into Viktor's lap.
He flipped around onto his stomach so Viktor began to scratch his exposed belly.
"Did you have fun?"
"Bark."
Viktor nodded as Yami just said that he had a good time. Delivering letters was fun as it made him feel useful. Despite now being a wolf, Yami kept his dog-like dedication at least.
"Thanks, Yami, you're the best."
Lorna at that moment stopped rubbing his shoulders before walking around to stand in front of Viktor.
"So what is the plan this time, teleport them back here?"
Viktor shook his head as he really wanted this house to remain hidden. Part of him wanted to find a way to create the Fidelius Charm from Harry Potter. The ability to hide a place completely was so useful.
Since his library of magic was kept in this house, he didn't want it to get out of his control. As such, he was going to further conceal this house through even greater magical means.
"Nope, I will be going to the park myself. Of course, I will do so in full armor to conceal my identity. I won't be giving it out any time soon. I will talk to Barry, The Flash, and see what kind of person he is.
Plus, who knows we might even become decent acquaintances."
Lorna nodded.
"Understood. Until then, I will be in my room."
Lorna turned around and began to walk up the stairs to get to her room. When she was gone, he leaned back into his chair. He closed his eyes as he began to meditate once again. He once again retreated into his mind to reinforce his Mental Shields as his power had grown greatly since his transformation.
His knowledge was far too valuable to allow powerful telepaths to get to so his mind needed to be protected. He would continuously reinforce his mind until he would be able to protect his thoughts and memories from everyone.
While he padded up his mental defenses, time began to progress. His new Divine Energy made all his efforts far easier. By mixing the Holy and Cursed Energies into one thing he didn't have to differentiate from them.
When he was done with the reinforcement, he still had several hours till midnight. Viktor thought about it before he stood up from his chair with Yami still in his arms. He put the wolf down before he created one of his Light Shadow Swords.
He needed to see how his Divine Energy would work with his enchanting. He would need to practice to change out the wards and magical formations running through his house.
He also had to remake his Shadow Berserker Armor as now he could combine Light and Shadows. He also had to enchant the armor to make it permanent which just meant he had lots of things to do.
"I have much to do, but now, time is not an issue."
Yami barked as he and Viktor got to work on his enchanting work. Just like this, they spent the next hours with Guardenia who joined them in their research. When the time began to approach midnight, Viktor glanced at a dagger he created.
It was a large dagger about the size of a man's forearm and it had runes running through their blade. Lorna had come down to join him since she was his apprentice and where he went she needed to go.
However, when she did so, she saw the weapon he was holding with curiosity.
"What does that do?"
He smiled at her before he threw the dagger at her feet. Lorna flinched as it stabbed into her shadow by her feet.
"Try to walk away from that point?"
Lorna looked at the dagger stabbing her shadow before she did as he said. However, while she began to get away she found making distance hard. It was like she was being held back and the origin of that was the dagger stabbed into her shadow.
"I call them Black Keys, once they stab into the shadow of an individual they will restrain them to that point."
Lorna reached down and grabbed the dagger before she tried to pull it out. However, she found that she was unable to and that wasn't through physical means. it was pure magic that made Viktor smile.
He held his hand out which made the dagger fly back into his hand.
"These are going to make my future battles far easier. I practically am the shadows, but if I can make your own shadow your enemy, what can you do against me."
Lorna shook her head.
"You get scarier and scarier every day."
He smirked as from his shadow a new set of armor he created emerged. It was still a prototype, but much like his swords it was created through Shadows and Light and enchanted as well. Like his original set of armor, it was still black, but now it had a silvery shine to it.
The enchantments on it were both internal and external allowing the suit to feed on shadows and light to repair itself. It could absorb impacts and redirect them, absorb magic from the atmosphere, and adapt to battle damage.
The armor flowed over his body slotting onto him piece by piece until his wolf-shaped helmet encased his head. The eye sockets glowed a bright crimson with what appeared to be crimson black veins flowing through every segment.
To complete the set, from his shadow emerged a large broadsword that crackled with lightning. He placed the sword on his back before glancing over at Lorna.
"What do you think?"
She walked around him to get a better look at the suit.
"It feels stronger."
That was an understatement so he decided to not press her.
"Come on, suit up. You too Yami."
Yami barked as the shadows and light flowed over him before he was encased in armor as well. Once he was armored as well, that just left Lorna who was already wearing the enchanted armor he made for her.
He would need to remake it as he had access to far better materials now. Regardless, when she covered her face that was all he needed.
"Let's go."
He waved his hand and a large magic circle glowed a deep crimson engraved with the motif of a winged wolf flashed around them. It teleported them directly to Central City Park where Viktor had asked to meet Barry and Iris.
Iris since she was a reporter and Barry since he wanted to meet a League member and another hero. When they arrived in Central City, they did so away from the center of the park. It was better if they kept a low profile since thanks to his nightly activities more people came out at night than before.
Now, they just had to wait for Iris and Barry who would be arriving soon.
---
Speaking of Iris and Barry, when the time began to approach the agreed-upon time they left their house together. To speed up the process, Barry picked up Iris as while the Speed Force focused on speed, it also increased his strength.
Otherside he would not be able to handle the extreme stress of running at his speed could apply to his body. Of course, he never ran at full speed with Iris, but still fast enough to cover quite a distance quickly.
That was how he allowed Iris to enjoy different spots around the world on her weekend. No one had to know, so once they reached Central City Park, he stopped in a quiet area to not be watched.
Barry quickly put Iris down who reached into her coat and pulled out her notebook. She also brought her phone to take pictures as she needed real proof this time. Her previous article was questions because of the lack of pictures.
Barry looked around and didn't see anything.
"How do we find him?"
Iris shrugged.
"Last time I just sat at a bench and his apprentice flew down to talk to me. Not sure if that is what we are going to do this time."
Barry was willing to run around the park at Super Speed to see if he could find Viktor, but he didn't have to. Thanks to his enhanced senses, Viktor could quickly spot them, especially Barry since his Super Speed wasn't exactly quite.
He reached out and grabbed Lorna by her arm before he jumped into his shadow. Yami jumped in after him and after a quick shadow jump, they reached Barry and Iris's location.
Viktor could easily jump from one of their shadows, but that could be creepy. Instead, he emerged with Lorna and Yami from the shadow of one of the lights in the park a small distance away.
While Barry and Iris were waiting, Viktor, Yami, and Lorna emerged from the shadows several meters away. Lorna from the look of it wasn't a big fan of shadow travel as the shadows were quite creepy.
However, she kept that to herself as Viktor made himself known.
"Behind you."
Barry and Iris both shot around and they saw Viktor standing a couple of meters away. Iris sighed in relief as she had gotten spooked.
"Balerion, it's nice to see you again."
Viktor nodded.
"The feeling is mutual miss West. I read your article, and I liked it, though I see the lack of a photo caused you some trouble."
That was an understatement as she had people calling her ethics into question. Many on the internet called her a liar making up stuff for likes and attention.
"Isn't that the truth?"
Lorna stayed a distance away while Viktor and Yami approached Barry and Iris. Barry looked Viktor up and down and could see why the criminals of Central City dreaded the shadows and the night.
"Nice to meet you, Balerion."
When Viktor reached them, he extended a claw gauntlet to Barry.
"Likewise."
Barry shook his hand and could feel the strength in Viktor's grip. When they released their grip, Viktor took a step back.
"Did you bring your suit?"
Barry raised his finger where he had the ring that kept his suit.
"Right here."
Viktor nodded.
"Ah, perfect. If you don't mind when we get done with the talks I would love to enchant it for you. Helping The Flash stop crime during the day is a worthwhile investment. Also, you really need some magical protection for your identity. It was very easy to find that out."
Barry cleared his voice as that was quite embarrassing.
"I see, I will appreciate the assistance."
Viktor nodded, but firs the turned to Iris.
"So, miss West, would you like a picture first? Or would you like to start the interview first?"
Iris raised her notepad as she preferred to get his words first.
"The interview, I can get the photo later."
Viktor was fine with that.
"Perfect ask your questions."
She was just glad he was open to talk as she had asked Barry to introduce her to Batman, but he refused. Both as Batman and as Bruce Wayne so she was glad to have someone else open to talk.
Regardless, it would help Viktor's popularity by showing he was open to talk and not a recluse. He would be in the spotlight more in the future to better start it on his own terms. For now, he waited as Iris asked her first question.