“You…?! Lady Asellus, just what do you think you’re doing…do you realize this act of yours is tantamount to…treason?!” (Wourein)

“Be it as it may; this human you speak of now is far too important to my goal for you to kill. I’ll protect him even if it means making an enemy out of the entire Werewolves Clan!” (Asellus)

“In that case, I’ll take you down along with me instead!” (Wourein)

With the remainder of his strength, Wourein lifts his left arm and smashes it down towards Asellus with a back fist. With no regards for his life or death, that one strike of his can be said to contain every single ounce of his energy.

However, even with that and his status as the strongest werewolf, Wourein had over-draft his strength severely with two consecutive [Bloodfury] and from regenerating an entire arm. Hence, that final attack of his only has strength comparable to one of his normal attacks.

Using the remaining arm, Asellus unleashes a palm strike to counter the incoming back fist, cancelling the force of the attack completely. With a quick motion she pulls out her other arm with a twist, and blood spills out of the huge gap that now exist in Wourein’s body.

“…So, this is…it for me, huh…? Death…from combat…this is not a…bad way to…leave…” (Wourein)

As his knees fell to the ground, Wourein entire body collapses onto the floor and never moved again. The Werewolf Lord, Wourein, has passed on.

“My Lord…this can’t be true…” (Werewolf)

“Lord Wourein can’t be dead, he has survived more battles and killed more than any of us…there’s no way the strongest among us will fall in a place like this…it can’t be!” (Elite Werewolf)

The werewolves that are still conscious and had witness the fall of their leader howls sadly towards the heavens. A few of them carries a look of fury within their eyes that is shot towards us, but most of them are simply demoralized and lost the will to fight on.

After all, even after he risked everything to kill us, only for him to be the one dead instead, how can the likes of them have any chance of defeating us? Furthermore, many of them are still significantly injured from my [Devastating Earth Wave].

After a moment of hesitation, the elite werewolves make their decision – to retreat. Carrying the injured, they sped off back to their lands in a flash. Even as they retreat, some of them did so very unwillingly, from the glares that they gave us as they look back one last time before they ran off.

“Thank goodness, I was afraid that we’ll need to fight through all of them-Huh?” (Asellus)

As Asellus breathe a sigh of relief and sits on the ground, Wourein’s body began to glow in a faint light.  He even appears…slightly transparent?

Almost immediately after, he disintegrates into countless sparkling particles and they rush towards Asellus. The particles of light enter Asellus body and her body starts giving out of soft radiant glow. Her face is filled with a mixture of shock and disbelief, as well as a tinge of amazement. She closes her eyes and her face is filled with the look of concentration, as the glow become brighter than before.

What’s happening? As far as I know, werewolves do not disintegrate into light particles after they die, so this shouldn’t be anything do to with Wourein. If that’s the case, it should be something to do with Asellus?

Could it possibly be…?

Without understanding completely what is going on, I did not dare to approach her, fearing that I may interfere with anything that can happen.

Soon after, the glow becomes dimmer and dimmer, and eventually it simply fades away into the sunlight. She looks the same as she has always been, but her entire presence feels completely different from before. It is as though as there is a different being under the skin that I know as Asellus.

Slowly, she opens her eyes.

“Asellus, what just happened? Could it possibly be…?” (Gideon)

“Yes, it is what you are thinking. I’ve just seemed to have undergone my second [Absorption].” (Asellus)

I felt as though as I just got struck by a bolt of lightning. Even though I had suspected as much, that confirmation from Asellus is still rather shocking, to say the least. To think that we achieved the second absorption and it is none other than Wourein, one of the [Six Pillars]!

For Mystics, it is known that the stronger the entity absorbed, the greater the boost in benefits. With that being said, I can’t really think of any possible stronger “material” for absorption other than a member of the [Six Pillars] or any of the human [Heroes].

Even if the entity is as strong as those mentioned, the chances of [Absorption] occurring is still exceedingly low. For example, killing a hundred A-ranked monsters may not even trigger a single [Absorption]. Even if the entity is a powerhouse of the level of [Six Pillars] or [Heroes], the chance of [Absorption] will be still lower than one out of ten.

And yet right there, Asellus has accomplished such an extraordinary feat. By absorbing Wourein, it will probably not be an exaggeration to say that the benefits she has received is worth more than two normal [Absorption]!

Such is the strength of those who belong at the very summit. How can anything else compare to the might of one who lords over his entire clan? No ordinary A-ranked, or even S-ranked monster can compare to it.

The only thing now I’m worrying about is the instability of the Werewolves Clan. Now that they have lost their leader, will there be someone else to take Wourein’s position? I’m not too familiar of the inside-outs of the happenings within any of the clan itself, but I do hope that they’ll be someone who can take on the position of the Werewolf Lord.

After all, it won’t be good if Del’thrush caught wind of this matter and tries to extend his bony fingers into the Werewolves Clan, and giving him more power within the [Six Pillars].

I’m also slightly concerned about Asellus’s sudden qualitative jump in strength and if she’s able to control it properly. However, we have been planning to go into Goan Forest either way, so fighting with monsters that she’ll find in the forest can be considered as good practice for her anyway.

“How do you feel right now?” (Gideon)

“Not too bad. The entire process feels almost exactly like my first [Absorption], so it’s not exactly new to me. But this time, the surge of power flowing through my very body is completely different. In terms of quality and quantity, this one outstrips my first [Absorption] by far.” (Asellus)

“That is but of course. How can you even begin to compare a member of the [Six Pillars] with the likes of a Grand Marshal Tiger? They are fast and powerful, sure, but the Werewolf Lord Wourein definitely outstrips them by far, no questions asked.” (Gideon)

“That’s true…ah, I just realised…isn’t it bad for me, a consort of the Mystic Lord Vergil, to kill the Werewolf Lord Wourein?” (Asellus)

Her face fills with worry as she starts to panic slightly.

“I mean, if the werewolves reports this to the Overlord, wouldn’t this cause no end of trouble for the Mystics? What if they suffer because of me?” (Asellus)

“Don’t worry too much about it; what’s done is done anyway. Also, I thought you hate Vergil, isn’t this a good way to create trouble for him?” (Gideon)

I try to console her with little success.

“Well yes, I do detest him…but I don’t really dislike the entire Mystic race as a whole. After all, after living with them for a whole year, I found that they aren’t really different from humans as well. We’re all entities with feelings; we laugh when we’re happy and cry when we’re sad. I do not wish for anyone of them to suffer.” (Asellus)

I can totally understand what she just said. After all, what she has been through is rather similar to what I have been through, except that she used to be a human and I used to be a demon.

“In any case, I doubt that they will report it immediately to the Overlord. After all, this issue matters to the pride of the werewolves. Now that Wourein is dead, their first priority should most probably be to elect the next strongest werewolf, and perhaps some laws and rules within the clan will change as well. This will hopefully buy us some time before an alert is sent to the entirety of the demons.” (Gideon)

Asellus face shines with comprehension, as she nods her head a few times. Then, she points to my hand, where I’m still holding onto the intricately designed wooden rod

“Speaking of which, just what is this wooden rod of yours? Why did Wourein have such a huge reaction after seeing it, to the point of risking his life to kill you?” (Asellus)

I look at the item in question, holding it up and observing it in different angles, hoping it can tell the tale.

Of course, I gained no further insights from it.

“I honestly don’t know…but I have an extremely wild guess.” (Gideon)

“What is it?” (Asellus)

Based on what Wourein said, I’m the son of a traitor and therefore I must be eliminated. Furthermore, there is a head of a wolf carved on the wooden rod. Adding two and two together, can it really be…?

“Can it possible be that…Gideon Silverwolf is actually a half-werewolf?” (Gideon)

—-

One day later, back in the lands where the Werewolves Clan lives and gathers, a group of werewolves return from their training. An entire group of more than a hundred, led by none other than the Werewolf Lord Wourein as well as a few elites, the training was supposed to be smooth sailing, as well as bringing back fresh hunts on the way back as food supplies.

However, not only is the hunt that’s brought back negligible, Wourein never came back with them as well.

Every single one of them who came back looks extremely crestfallen and demoralized.

Immediately after reaching their territories, the elite werewolves who were with the group rushes off, in order to gather the rest of the elite werewolves for an important meeting.

By the time all of them gathered in the meeting hall, the news of Wourein’s demise has already spread to most of the werewolves, causing quite the panic within the lands. Thankfully, with what little common sense they have left, none of them talked about the matter in public, and only between werewolves, which helps to control the spread of news to be known only by werewolves.

In the meeting hall, fifty elite werewolves gather. They are the strongest fifty out of the five hundred elite werewolves, each of them with the matching the strength of a hundred werewolves.

The strongest amongst them is known as Wilford. Second to only Wourein in terms of combat strength and experience, he is currently the most suitable candidate to take Wourein’s place. In fact, his strength is great enough that Wourein granted him the last name of Redfur, symbolizing the deep red fur colour of his.

As a deviant species, his red fur is uncommon but not unheard off. Being a deviant species of his kind has granted Wilford a boost in his potential growth and higher resistance to heat, giving him an advantage from the rest of his peers.

“Since we have all heard the news already, I do believe that there’s no point in discussing further. We have to deal with the issue at hand, and I believe that I’m most suitable as the next leader of the werewolves. Is there any objection from anyone?” (Wilford)

Forty plus werewolves begins to discuss matters among themselves, but none of them actually voice out any objections. After a while, the discussions become softer and quieter as more werewolves cease their discussions.

“I see that there is no one that objects. In that case, by the judgment of the strongest fifty, I shall hereby declare myself the next Werewolf Lord-” (Wilford)

“Just wait a second, Wilford. I believe that we have a…better candidate for the position of Werewolf Lord.”

From the opposite side of the table, another werewolf stands up.

“Ah Fenris, I should have known that it will be you. After all, you are the only one who dares challenge me again and again, despite knowing that you’ll always be number two.” (Wilford)

The werewolf who stood up is Fenris, the second strongest of the fifty. Although he isn’t a variant species, he has always trained twice as hard as the rest of his peers. This has led to him being nearly strong enough to constantly challenge Wilford for the position of the top elite.

“So, are you going to challenge me once again? Very well then; after all, nothing works better than a fight between the two strongest werewolves to solidify my position as the strongest.”  (Wilford)

As he says those words, Wilford had a repulsive smirk on his face.

“Thanks for volunteering yourself to me; no one else will doubt my judgement after I thrash you in front of all the other werewolves!” (Wilford)

“Don’t embarrass yourself, Wilford. I have never once said that the better candidate is me. I know my strengths and my limits, and if I am the one to fight you there’s only a twenty percent chance for me to best you. However, that does not mean you are the strongest here!” (Fenris)

Taunted by what Fenris says, the smirk that resides on Wilford’s face grows even uglier. He slams both his fist down onto the table, shocking those who sits around it.

“Oh? And do pray tell, who actually thinks that they are mightier than me, Wilford Redfur?!” (Wilford)

“…That would be me.”

Out of the blue, a figure walks into the meeting hall from an entrance nearest to Fenris. With a lush coat of silver fur and standing at the height of over two meters, the figure towers over every single one of the fifty elite werewolves.

When the fifty-first werewolf appears, the entire meeting hall went into chaos. Looks of both reverence and scorn are shot towards him, and almost instantly the werewolves are split into two distinct groups.

The two groups are split into nearly equal halves; one is with Wilford, and the other group stands by the silver werewolf and Fenris.

“Fenris…did you release that traitor out of his cell? So now that Lord Wourein is dead, you show no respect for him anymore and set free the traitor that he personally imprisoned! How dare you!” (Wilford)

“It is on the contrary, Wilford. Because Lord Wourein has fallen in battle, this is why it is of upmost importance to free those who have been wrongly imprisoned for something that can’t be even considered a crime!” (Fenris)

“THAT TRAITOR MATED WITH A HUMAN! Of all the beings that he choose to mate with, HE CHOSE ONE THAT IS OUR MORTAL ENEMY! If that can’t be considered a crime, that what is, Fenris?!” (Wilford)

Wilford roars out in fury, as both sides of the crowd gets increasingly agitated with every passing moment.

Author : Kiribou

Author’s note: Alright I’m finally not being lazy, and posting my work on this wordpress for the first time ever!

Hope it works out fine, so that I don’t have to edit again and again due to silly mistakes…

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