- A few moments earlier -
"Why don't you run away? Your mate is injured."
Benedict's words made the first direwolf turn to look at his mate, who, despite having a broken leg, struggled to his feet and growled viciously at Benedict.
Saliva dripped from the wolf's jaws, as did blood from his wound.
Just as the first direwolf backed away a few inches, the silver collar around his neck tightened, choking the enormous beast.
"So the collar keeps them prisoners. I thought it was a cooperative relationship."
The wolf decided to attack Benedict and follow his master's orders even though he was against it. This human smelled of danger. Just as his gaze returned to the human, some cloth covered his vision.
Ribbons of red thread like blood emerged from the sleeves of his hands. Before he could react, they wrapped around his snout and tightened with force.
The other end floated in the air and curled around the base of a cast-iron candlestick anchored to the wall with thick nails.
"Even if you escaped, I would have to chase you."
Benedict waved his hand in her direction, still holding a strip of the ribbon in his hand. The ribbon shrunk more and more, pulling the enormous wolf against the wall.
"Grrra!"
The direwolf growled and tried to back away on all fours. Benedict slowly approached the wolf.
Contrary to their appearance, the ribbons were as strong as high-strength steel. No matter how hard he pulled against them, there was no change, let alone damage to the fabric.
The wolf took advantage of the opportunity that the human was so close to him and swiped with his right paw directly at the human's face. Benedict calmly took a step back, and another fabric strap emerged from his sleeves, trapping the wolf's large paw.
Now he could only stand on three legs, and his thick neck was completely exposed. Benedict placed his hand on it and then stepped back a few metres.
*Applause!!!*
The fur on the great wolf's neck twisted in two different directions, left and right, and drops of blood splattered everywhere as each muscle fibre broke like threads in a rope.
*Crack!!!*
The head flew towards the wall, the blood-coloured strips still pulling in different directions, the body fell to the ground and the blood formed a small pool that stained the direwolf's fur crimson.
"Sorry, mate, but you'll get the same treatment."
The wounded wolf jumped on Benedict, just one bite would be enough to tear off his head.
The ribbon that had been trapping the dead direwolf's leg released the corpse and leapt into the air, wrapping itself around the wounded wolf's snout.
Benedict kicked him to the ground, placed his foot on his snout, and aimed his weapon directly at the wolf's eye.
*Bang!!!*
The resistance ceased immediately. Benedict bent down and took the silver collar from the corpse's neck. Its shape resembled multiple spikes intertwined in a complicated design.
Seigen Akai no Ito was the name of Benedict's relic, made by the warrior monk Musashino Enkku in 1168, inspired by the legend of the red thread of fate that binds the lives of two people destined to be together.
Originally pearl white in colour, the ribbons guided Enkku to find Hime (Princess) Akiko, daughter of a great Samurai. The ribbons covered her body during the night while she slept in her warm futon (bed) and carried her for miles to Enkku's temple, crossing forests, stone paths, rice fields and multiple houses.
The next morning, Enkku found Akiko right in front of his bed, or at least the remains of flesh caught between the fabric. Enkku was sentenced to Zanzai by Akiko's father, death by beheading. The Seigen Akai no Ito were enshrined in the temple until they disappeared one day.
"I thought you'd take longer with the big guy."
"It was a coincidence that I had the ideal method for dealing with him."
William was sitting on an old tree trunk, his jacket open and his T-shirt soaked in sweat.
""I'm interested in the necklaces worn by the Huargos. Would you like to make an exchange?"
"The collars are useless without the 'Master Crown', and the crown is useless without the collars."
Benedict lifted both Star Silver collars with his hand. The direwolf blood simply slid off the metal without leaving a stain.
William looked at the silver crown in his hand. It had originally been on the skull of one of the heads Damrock wore as an ornament on his belt. When one of the wolves tried to escape, Damrock would hold the entire head, and the collar would cut off the animal's breath.
"I have forty-one kobolds, two huargos, and a single cave troll."
"Four hill trolls, one cave troll, and one black-skinned troll king."
"Added to the collars, the crown, and the black iron armour, the reward for the trolls will be a few million."
William took a chocolate bar out of his pocket and began to eat it, which took more time and effort than he had initially imagined.
"Keep most of the money and the armour, I want the necklaces and this coin."
William tossed a silver coin, blackened by time, into the air. He had found it preserved in one of Grurk's leather pockets, hanging from a worn string around his neck.
"Deal. What will you do with the Troll King's leather? It's quite resistant to lacerations and projectile impacts."
"I only need enough for a trench coat. Do you want the rest?"
"Sure, I'll give you a bigger share of the reward in exchange for the skin."
Benedict tossed both necklaces to William. The red bandages had returned to his sleeves, wrapping themselves around his arms.
The black iron armour will be melted down and turned into small plates for the manufacture of bulletproof vests that are more resistant than the latest generation made of ballistic steel.
"Will you take care of the rest?"
Benedict nodded, then took off his glasses, revealing his eyes with two black halos around each pupil.
A characteristic feature of his Outcasts Class, just like William's golden hair.
"Anyway, I have to do the paperwork, supervise the disposal of the corpses, and see to the processing of the Troll King's hide."
"All right, see you later."
William walked out of the cave and spread his enormous wings in his Golden Eagle form. It took him only a few minutes to get back home.
The Stone Mansion.
"Hiyaaa!!!"
A girl screamed in terror as she ran out of the old, dilapidated house in the middle of the countryside, the chainsaw roaring as a burly man wearing a human skin mask ran after her.
"Uwa!! I missed the best part."
"The dinner scene? Nah, I prefer the ending when Leatherface dances with his chainsaw."
William sat on the sofa holding his plate of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and some coleslaw.
Victoria was watching the film sitting on a chair in the dining room. William had finished his bath and changed his clothes.
"Assuming I had an emblem I didn't like printed on my skin, is there any way to remove it?"
William pretended to ask casually, as he did not like the idea of an ugly troll attached to the skin of his left arm.
"An emblem of honour for something you don't like? Easy, you just have to perform a ceremony of suffering."
Victoria replied indifferently and continued with her dinner of pasta and a glass of wine.
"Interesting, how is it done?"
"Easy, you just have to... wait, show me!"
Victoria stopped her fork and stared at her younger brother.
*Sigh*
William sighed and then rolled up his shirt sleeve, revealing the white-armoured centipede coiled around his forearm.
"That's cool, why do you want to remove that one?"
"That's not the one I want to remove, it's this one."
William rolled up his other sleeve, revealing the huge black-skinned Troll sitting cross-legged.
"It doesn't look so bad, if it weren't for the nasty face, I'd keep it."
Victoria looked closely at the tattoo.
"To perform the ceremony, all you need is a dark room, three candles, and to carve a circle of souls in torment. Sit in the middle in the darkness and release the souls trapped in your skin."
"Try to rouse them from their calm state and direct their aggression towards the emblem of your choice. It will be noisy, but in a few minutes you will be rid of them."
- One day later. -
William took a deep breath. He was sitting in the lotus position, the candles burning around a chalk circle, the intricate Greek symbols forming complicated patterns inside and out.
William clasped his hands together and the three candles went out at once. In the darkness, the tattoos on William's skin began to move all over his body. Screams, howls and growls could be heard.
An Emblem of Honour is when a hunter traps a fragment of their prey's soul in their skin, along with fragments of their prey's strength and ferocity, demonstrating their skill as hunters.
Along with William's intention, the emblems of the Black Demon, the Imp King, and the White Widow focused their attention on the Troll King. William's skin bulged as the ink beasts formed a circle around him.
Soon Damrock's cries of pain filled the room, the last fragment of his soul screaming in agony as it was devoured.
The Silver Drake simply settled down to sleep more comfortably on William's broad back, seemingly oblivious to the commotion around him.
After about fifteen minutes, the screams and growls stopped completely, and the three candles lit up at once, illuminating the room.
Drops of black blood dripped from William's left arm, even though he had no wounds.
"Success?"
"It was more than a little noisy, but it worked."
William left the room with a smile of relief. Catherine was waiting for him just outside the door with her arms crossed.
"Fantastic, I'm glad you inherited something from me besides my eyes."
Catherine hugged William and rubbed his hair affectionately, her delicate lips smiling happily. Both he and Victoria would carry a trace of her with them forever.
"It will take me a few months to obtain the blood of the Scarlet-Scaled Dragon, so that I can activate your emblems of honour and your body can absorb the forces of the souls within you."
"The best opportunity will be at next year's Walpurgisnacht Auction."
Uriel's voice came from the hallway. The last reserve of dragon blood vials had been used up on his sister Victoria's Emblems. Eighteen unusual insect-like beasts decorated his sister's body, covering her back, arms, and legs.
The ceremony was originally created to select only the strongest species and discard the most useless ones. According to certain rumours, one of his mother's descendants ended up with several types of small goblins on his skin.
"If it weren't for your talent as a Skin Changer, I wouldn't let you get rid of a black-skinned Troll King. It would give you superhuman strength."