>“What’s so great about being a virgin, this one is a virgin as well!”
…
I was just thinking it...I definitely didn’t expect you to answer like that...wait, now’s not the time for this. I should be inspecting my new powers instead and taking care of Dawson.
The powers I gained were more complex this time around due to that unexpected mutation. Based on “This One”’s words, I seemed to have gotten some kind of blessing from the original sin of Envy which means I’ve gained some new powers apart from my fire and darkness magic.
Unfortunately, I no longer had the time to slowly a.n.a.lyze these changes. Because of my sudden evolution, Dawson gave up on catching the grimoire and instead turned his bloodshot eyes onto me. That’s right, bloodshot. I don’t know when but his eyes had turned blood red. Reflected clearly within them was a sort of b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l quality you would only see in a wild animal.
“You’ve evolved?” He asked. However, before I could answer, he let forth a long sinister laugh, salivating profusely as he said: “Ahh, you seem rather tasty right now.”
“...” Does this “eat” refer to the more traditional form of “eat” or the other kind of “eat”, both maybe? And what’s with that salivating? There’s practically a tiny pool of drool at your feet right now. You’ve got to take care of your image man, you’re one of those “cool guys” after all.
“Awooo!”
Woah, my tsukkomis seemed to be working overtime this time around, they even drove the man insane.
Dawson immediately pounced on me after that strange howl.
Thanks to my evolution, my strength and speed had gained a significant boost, especially on the agility front which had been boosted to unprecedented heights. While Dawson’s speed was still as swift as ever, I was able to handle his attacks by a comfortable margin now.
Well, comfortable wasn’t exactly true either. It’s just that he had entered some sort of frenzied state which made his punches a lot more haphazard as if they were thrown by a beginner or worse. His opening motion was simply too large and the pause between each attack was so long I could comfortably dodge them while still having time to predict his next move.
Thus, no matter how many times he tried to punch me or kick me, none of them were able to damage me. However, dodging was all I could manage as his attack speed seemed to be getting a lot faster by the second.
d.a.m.n, that punch nearly grazed my face just now. At this rate, I’m going to be the one in danger.
By now, our dance of death had already taken us a full circle around the clearing yet there was still no end in sight. During this time, all his punches had missed me but trying to dodge them took up every bit of focus I had, leaving nothing for offense.
Just when it felt like I was about to be overwhelmed by his relentless attacks, he suddenly stopped. His arms hung limply by his side as he leaned forward and began panting heavily, letting forth a loud gasp each time he breathed.
“Devil...don’t you find the moon particularly beautiful today...”
As those perplexing words left his word, his body began trembling violently. It started with his torso, his limbs and mouth elongating itself, then the hairs on his body rapidly grew out before my very eyes, taking on a greyish hue as they became thicker and longer. His ears shifted to the top of his head and tapered out to a point.
At the end, his elongated mouth had a taken a lupine form with rows of razor sharp teeth...this...I’ve seen this before...it’s just like Habona’s demonic werewolf form...Dawson is a...a werewolf?!
That’s right! It all made sense now. Not only did he possess the ability to train wolves, he even knew of Shadowfang which originated from the Prison of the Dead and used to belong to Habona...no wait, Shadowfang’s original owner was Habona’s mother who she mentioned was a werewolf…
Those fur st.i.tched into the bandit’s clothes...those were probably shaved off his own body!
I lifted my head and stared at the rising moon. It was a full moon…
According to legends, werewolves were forcibly transformed during the full moon due to a curse from their ancestor, Nightblade. This curse was also the source of their fearsome strength. During this period, their emotions would go berserk and slowly affect their mental state. Some signs included: their actions becoming simpler, more violent and their rationality would start to disappear. I heard there were even some werewolves who couldn’t remember what they did during a full moon!
Back when Eddison mentioned that Dawson had once killed a four-star warrior, we all began guessing that he might have advanced into the next tier. Yet during the battle at Plateau Village, his performance seemed a bit lacking.
Yes, he managed to suppress George but only by a margin. He seemed a lot weaker than the four-star we were expecting. So, this was the reason why…
A werewolf’s transformation gave it frightening strength and speed along with a monstrous regeneration ability. Seeing as he was at the peak of three-stars to begin with, it was only natural that his werewolf form could take on and kill a four-star warrior.
So that’s why he seemed a little dim tonight...he was on the verge of transforming!
“Do you know why I chose to steal Shadowfang today...it’s because today’s full moon would give me boundless strength!”
That was the last lucid statement issued by Dawson. As those words left his fanged mouth, he completed his transformation into a werewolf. A werewolf covered from head to toe in gray fur and stood at a towering 2.5 meter. By now, the leather armor he wore had already been forcefully torn apart by his expanded body.
As his bulging chest heaved with each heavy breath, a terrifying growl could be heard echoing in the silent night, a growl so frightening it could terrify a weak-willed opponent into submission...so this was a werewolf!
This immediately reminded me of Habona and the way she tore through the horde of harpies like a terrifying juggernaut, bathing in their blood with each cleave while wearing a chilling smile on her face. It was as if a demon G.o.d had descended.
“Stand your ground, you have nothing to fear from this werewolf. Against a dimwit like him, all you have to remember is this: “Hold firm and kick his as*!”
That timely reminder did the trick, bringing me back to my senses and preventing a potential terror-induced retreat.
Got it, but can I really win against that monster?
“You can, believe in this one. Come, let this one teach you a new move. First stare directly into his eyes…”
“...” Into those eyes? I guess I don’t have any other choice but to believe in “This One”, do I? His speed was leagues above mine so escaping wasn’t even an option, all I could do now was pray...a.s.suming the G.o.ddess of Light didn’t mind that I was a devil.
Turning towards that bloodthirsty gaze, I forcefully suppressed the terror in me as I locked onto his bloodshot eyes, all the while ignoring the part of me that screamed for me to run.
“Very good, now you’d better calm yourself down. Imagine a terrifying monster, the scariest monster you can think of and make it quick. Then focus your will and channel your mana into that thought.”
Screw that, what’s with all the steps and how do you expect me to calm down in this situation?! And what do you mean by channelling my mana into that thought? Fine fine, I’ll do as you say...only because I want to live.
“Awooo!~~~”
Howling at the moon. That was the one thing every werewolf had to do after transforming. It was because of this habit that I was able to follow “This One”’s instructions. I would’ve probably been ripped to shreds if not for that particular quirk.
The scariest monster I could think of huh? Alright, if you’ll pardon my lack of imagination...the scariest thing I could think of now was...a dragon of course, an eastern dragon!
A cow’s head, a scaled mouth, antler horns, long whiskers, fish scales, a snake’s body and a pair of eagle claws...bigger, as huge as possible, vast enough to cover the heavens. That was the eastern, five-clawed, golden-scaled dragon that came to my mind.
“That’s a “dragon”? Why is it different from the dragon in this one’s memories? There’s no wings so how does it even fly? Forget it, at least it looks stronger than those lizards. We’ll go with that then. Now, focus your will into his eyes and picture...picture that “dragon” chasing after him.”
As I narrowed my eyes and began focusing on his, he had just finished his howling and proceeded to charge at me. With his hands and feet to the ground, he crouched down and kicked off with his muscular hind legs, his arms pushing him forward as he shot through the air in a b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l posture.
As his murderous gaze stared unblinkingly at me, we locked eyes…
I still didn’t get what she meant by “channel your mana into that thought” but at the very least, it seemed my body did. As that command flashed through my head, the magical energies in my body naturally condensed around that image. This motion came as naturally to me as breathing, like it was an innate part of me.
By now, the meat tank was less than ten paces away from me at which point, his seemingly unstoppable charge suddenly came to an abrupt halt. He turned to the side and whimpered weakly into the empty s.p.a.ce before him.
Yup, that was unmistakably a whimper.
What wild animals were known for weren’t their ferocity but rather their honed instincts that allowed them to detect danger and the strength of their opponents. Simply put, preying on the weak and avoiding the strong was their basic nature. This was especially so for animals living in the untamed wilds. Without this ability, they wouldn’t even be able to survive.
Right at this very moment, a fearsome golden dragon that blotted out the sky was glaring right at the whimpering wolfman. Beside it, the winds howled and the skies raged with thunder and lightning.
A bolt crashed into the ground beside his furry paws with a deafening crack, startling the werewolf. He was afraid. Right through to the deepest recesses of his heart, he was afraid. Dawson began quaking where he stood as his whimpering grew even weaker and shakier.
“The original sin, Envy, clan name, Leviathan. Each and every one of their members are born with a gift for illusions. Their complete form is a seven-star Greater Illusion Demon.”
“Who would’ve thought that this one would end up absorbing so much of your energy while she slept and who would’ve thought that returning some of this energy would cause this unexpected awakening of your second original sin...a devil with two original sins...that’s a rarity even in the infinitely long history of h.e.l.l. Who knows, you might just be some sort of gifted genius.”
Illusions...so you’re saying that Dawson was in the midst of a terrifying illusory world and couldn’t free himself from it?
“That’s right, because his transformation wiped out all of his intelligence and rationality, the success rate of your illusions had been boosted to an unimaginable level. Under normal circ.u.mstances, there’s no way a newbie like you could deceive him.”
Then how powerful can my illusions be?
“Once you’ve advanced to a high enough level, you can kill off an army directly with your illusions. Unfortunately, you still don’t have that ability so the task of killing this werewolf still has to be done by you. This one has no body after all.”
Finish him off, got it.