West Tivian, Coal Ash District.
In the afternoon, on the outskirts of the Coal Ash District, the loud noise erupting from the mansion attracted the attention of the scattered pedestrians nearby. The other Hunters who had been arranged to disperse and stand guard immediately began to evacuate the surrounding ordinary people, but the noise was too loud, attracting too many people, and they couldn't handle it all at once. So, a few Black Rank Wind Art Users among them, seeing this, simply used their abilities to stir up dust again around the mansion, and thick clouds of dust rose again, blocking the sight of ordinary mortals.
While these Hunter team members were secretly providing protection, they looked towards the mansion with its continuous anomalies, very confused as to why the two Captains' infiltration had been exposed so quickly. After all, they were both Chalk """Shadow""".
However, at the center of this dust, the commotion within the mansion became increasingly violent. As the noise grew louder, the mansion's originally tightly closed windows and doors began to be shattered and broken open by strong air currents, one by one. Glass shards and furniture fragments were blown out of the windows by the strong wind, and occasionally even severed limbs or injured servants were among them. At least three Chalk Rank individuals were clashing, causing severe damage to the interior of the mansion.
Far from the mansion, on top of a tall building, Ed and Adele continued to watch the vague outline of the mansion looming above the spreading dust. Adele spoke with an anxious expression.
"Those guys are fighting inside. Now is our chance. Your flesh puppet is already inside the mansion, right? Have you found any trace of my teacher?"
"No, my flesh puppet is currently searching the ground floor of the mansion. It discovered the mansion's dungeon, which is very bloody and contains many prisoners, many ritual tools and magic arrays, but no one like your teacher has been seen. The destructive power of those few guys on the upper floors is too strong, there's no way to go up."
Ed said in a low voice to Adele. Adele had previously told Ed about her teacher's characteristics, but Dorothy hadn't found anyone similar. Listening to Ed's words, Adele frowned slightly and murmured.
"Perhaps... my teacher is locked in some secret room, and ordinary methods can't get in?"
"That's possible, but in that case, we'll have to get the relevant information from Alex. Right now, he's fighting fiercely with those two Hunters. We need to observe the specific situation a bit more."
Ed said calmly. Listening to Ed's words, Adele thought for a moment and then nodded slightly.
"Okay... then let's wait for a bit."
Dorothy and Adele chose to continue waiting, and just then, the mansion within the dust also began to change. As the battle inside the mansion became more intense, the noise grew louder. In addition to the roaring wind that broke through the windows and doors on the lower floors, the increasingly intense noise was accompanied by vibrations. Under successive tremors, cracks began to appear in the mansion's walls, and the roof even began to collapse.
"Boom!"
Finally, after a loud bang, a large section of one of the mansion's walls exploded, and a corner of the building collapsed extensively. From within the dust, a tragic howl burst forth, and a massive figure, two stories tall, rushed out from the dust. It had black fur, wolf-like claws and a head, and a long tail behind it. This was an out-and-out giant beast, the Werewolf that Alex had transformed into.
At this moment, this huge black Werewolf had quite a few terrifying wounds on its body; dense bloodstains covered almost its entire body. Its eye sockets were red, its face was furious, one claw gripped a cloth-wrapped staff, and the other claw held a middle-aged man with a mustache—that was the Captain Edmund had called from headquarters earlier.
"Die! Black Dog!"
Howling, Alex, in his Werewolf form, was about to directly crush the person in his hand, and just then, from the massive opening in the mansion wall, a gust of wind burst out, and a figure rapidly attacked Alex. After passing by his arm, the arm that held the mustached Captain exploded with a thick mist of blood; the entire thick arm was almost severed by the wind. When the figure stopped, it revealed Edmund's appearance.
Amid painful screams, Alex's hand involuntarily loosened, and the mustached Captain, freed from restraint, immediately counterattacked. He raised the staff in his hand and gave Alex a close-range air blast. Alex, already covered in wounds, was directly sent flying by this air blast, falling miserably onto the ground in the mansion's courtyard. Edmund followed with a wind blade, cutting a deep, bone-revealing bloodstain on Alex's body, but this still did not incapacitate the already battered Alex. The extraordinarily strong vitality possessed by a Chalk Rank """Cup""" is not so easily defeated.
Seeing this situation, Edmund and the mustached Captain prepared to press their advantage and continue their strong attack, while Alex took the lead. After staggering to his feet, he opened his bloody maw forward and let out a sharp, loud howl. This was the Werewolf's Fear Howl, which could cause all enemies within range to flee and retreat due to fear.
Of course, knowing they were encountering a Werewolf, Edmund and the mustached Captain had definitely prepared. They had previously used talismans capable of resisting fear effects to buff themselves. Although Alex's fear momentarily caused them to feel timid and want to retreat, the degree was minimal and did not affect their actions.
However, Alex's means were not limited to this one. Seeing that his full-strength Fear Howl was resisted by Edmund and the other Captain, he immediately manipulated the staff in his hand, which now appeared very small. As the end of the cloth-wrapped staff emitted a faint glow, the tiny bit of timidity and desire to retreat in the hearts of Edmund and the other Captain was instantly stimulated and amplified. The urge to flee arose in their hearts, and under the influence of their internal emotions, they stopped their continued attack, floating backward with looks of panic, wanting to get away from Alex as quickly as possible.
Edmund and the other Captain's actions gave Alex a moment to catch his breath. He let out another howl, and this howl was different from the previous Fear Howl, more profound and prolonged, as if it were summoning something.
Accompanying Alex's second howl, those servants who had been blown out of the windows, covered in injuries but not yet completely dead, all showed abnormal reactions. They struggled and wailed in pain, their muscles began to swell, black down visibly grew on their bodies, their hands turned into sharp claws, and their mouths filled with sharp teeth.
Those of Alex's servants who were not yet dead quickly transformed into beastly forms under Alex's howl, pouncing towards Edmund and the mustached Captain who were in the process of retreating in fear.
"Alex is using his howl to turn his servants into beast-form individuals?" Dorothy was secretly startled when she saw this using the flesh puppet's surveillance, and then she manipulated Ed to speak to Adele beside him. Adele, unable to see the situation in the distance, pondered as she listened and spoke.
"This... seems to be Alex's ability as a Werewolf, Wildness Awakening. Those he awakens are not beast-form individuals who are Extraordinary, but beast-transformed people who are Extraordinary mutations."
"Beast-transformed people?"
"That's right, beast-transformed individuals... generally, if an ordinary person is bitten by an Extraordinary who is a Werewolf, they will be infected with wolf poison. Those infected with wolf poison usually seem fine, but as long as the Werewolf who bit them uses Wildness Awakening, they will be forcibly converted into beast-transformed people. These beast-transformed people are somewhat similar to the beast-form individuals of the Treading the Path of the Beast's Black Earth Stage. Their overall abilities are inferior to beast-form individuals but are above the ordinary Student Rank Thirsters.
"These beast-like humans are not Extraordinaries but mutated creatures produced under the influence of the Werewolf's extraordinary abilities. They only possess pure, primitive wildness and lack intelligence. Once someone infected with wolf poison is awakened and mutates, they can only turn into such beasts and cannot change back. Werewolves can control the beast-like humans they transform. The Wolf Blood Society often intentionally bites people to infect them with wolf poison, then threatens them into cooperation, or else they use the awakening to turn them into beasts."
Adele explained this to Ed. Listening to Adele's words, Dorothy felt a sudden realization, thinking to herself, 'This Werewolf actually has such an efficient ability to create subordinates. Ordinary people infected with wolf poison only need to be awakened to gain combat power surpassing that of a general Thirster. I wonder if using wolf poison consumes a lot of Spirituality.'
While thinking this, she continued to observe the battlefield in the distance. There, Edmund and the mustached Captain, who had been forced back by the enhanced fear, were surrounded by several beast-like humans. However, this posed no threat to them. Although the influence on their minds had not yet been removed, they easily used wind blades to cut down the attacking beast-like humans.
Just then, something unusual happened at the mansion behind them. From the dungeon exit on the first floor of the mansion, swarms of black beast-like humans surged out like a chrysalis, tearing and pouncing madly towards Edmund and them. The number of beast-like humans Edmund and they faced suddenly increased to dozens. The Captain, whose mind had not yet stabilized, was instantly overwhelmed by the dark, crazed beasts and was momentarily unable to cope.
These beast-like humans were transformed from the prisoners held in the mansion's dungeon. Besides being used as blood food, the prisoners he held were also a reserve force for unforeseen needs, a backup army Alex had accumulated over many years, his trump card. Now they were all used, solely to deal with Edmund and them.
Seeing Edmund and the mustached Captain submerged by the beast-like humans he had accumulated over many years, he did not step forward to attack with them. Instead, he seized this opportunity, turned around, and fled in the direction away from the mansion.
Alex was not stupid. He knew that he was one against two Chalks. If they fought head-on, he would never win. He had already suffered considerable injuries during the fight inside the mansion, and he had used up most of his talismans and extraordinary items, but he still couldn't reverse the disadvantage of two against one. Now he revealed his trump card to buy time and escape quickly.
Alex fled into the distance, and Dorothy's Corpse Puppet monitoring the battlefield also saw this scene. She immediately had Ed say to Adele:
"Alex has escaped. He is quite seriously injured and is currently fleeing northwest. The Hunter Captain is now tied up with a large number of beast-like humans. By the time they finish dealing with them, it's probably too late to catch up."
"He ran away? And he fought and is injured? I think our chance has come, Detective."
Listening to Ed's words, Adele spoke with a clear smile in her tone, and Ed also nodded in response.
"Yes, the information about your teacher can likely only be forced out of his own mouth. Now is the time, Miss Adele. I will guide you. You only need to pray to that being in your heart, and I can convey sound to you through Him.
"Please forgive me, my speed might not be able to keep up with you, so I can only wait here."
Ed said this to Adele. It was clearly the best time for Adele to take action and pursue Alex.
"Heh... You don't have to say that, Detective. You have already helped me a great deal to get to this point. It's time for me to move now. Just guide me."
Saying this, Adele prepared to leave the scene, but as she was about to go, Ed called out to her again.
"Wait a moment, Miss Adele. Although Alex is now at the end of his rope, based on his performance in the fight with the Hunter just now, there are some strange points. To be safe, I want to give you a little insurance."
"Insurance?"
Listening to Ed's words, Adele thought with some confusion, while Ed spoke mysteriously.
"Don't worry, it's just a small measure, it will be quick and won't harm you in any way." Under Dorothy's control, Ed smiled and said to Adele, and Adele immediately replied.
"At this point, of course I trust the Detective. Whatever measure it is, hurry up, we're running out of time."
Listening to Adele's words, Ed immediately stepped forward and performed some actions on Adele's body, then stepped back two steps. After everything was finished, she curiously rubbed her arm, then continued to look at Ed.
"Then, I'm leaving, Detective. Please guide me~"
Saying this, Adele smiled and blew a kiss to Ed, then turned and jumped down from the rooftop, leaping rapidly forward across various rooftops.
Watching this scene, Dorothy, still controlling everything from inside her carriage, couldn't help but be slightly stunned, then smiled and spoke.
"What a charming woman... What a pity..."
Dorothy murmured this. At this moment, she felt a little nostalgic for her male body again.
...
West Tivian suburbs, within a small woods.
In the afternoon, the not-so-dazzling sunlight filtered down in spots through the leaves of the trees in the woods. The massive figure of the Werewolf staggered from the distance, covered in wounds, and directly knelt on the ground.
Visibly, the Werewolf Alex's figure rapidly shrank, finally shrinking back to his original old man form. However, the wounds on his body did not disappear. He held the massive staff in his hand, propping himself on the ground, panting heavily.
"Why... why did those Black Dogs suddenly find me... Where did something go wrong, where did I expose my location..."
Panting, Alex murmured, but now was not the time for him to investigate these questions.
"Hoo... hoo... Never mind, I need to recover from my injuries quickly now, and then go find others... Ugh..."
As he spoke, the numerous wounds on Alex's body healed rapidly as he breathed. He was currently consuming the little accumulated "Cup" Spirituality left in his body, directly promoting the healing of his wounds. And just as he was concentrating on recovering, a sense of danger came from above him.
A swift shadow plummeted straight down from the tree canopy above Alex, seemingly intending to crush Alex into pieces. Alex urgently dodged the strike coming from above. Just as he was about to counterattack, a hand reached out directly in front of him and grabbed his neck. At this moment, he also saw the true face of his attacker and couldn't help but widen his eyes.
"A... Adele...!?"
"Hello there, Mr. Alex Crownde, it's been a long time since we last met..."
Gripping Alex's neck, Adele murmured in a cold tone. She had taken off her sunglasses, and the look in her eyes as she gazed at Alex held a killing intent Dorothy had never seen before.
"Heh... You didn't expect this, did you, for us to meet again like this? I haven't forgotten the arrogant look on your face when you barged into our dance hall back then..."
"Adele... you... calm down... we... we can talk... Ugh..."
"I don't want to waste words with you! Tell me, where is my teacher now? If you confess honestly, I can give you a quick death, otherwise, I guarantee you will experience what it means to wish you could die but cannot!"