Night came quickly and from the top of the wall, Azel stood silently… watching the slums below with sharp eyes.

Beside him stood Captain Rhun, his expression was stern as he cocked his rifle… He was ready to hunt.

"You'll need to stay back," Azel said without turning, his gaze was fixed on the rooftops. "I'll handle the extermination."

Rhun frowned. "I need to get revenge for the people I lost."

"Leave that to me," Azel said calmly. "You should organize your soldiers and reinforce the walls. We don't know how many of them there are."

The captain's grip on his rifle tightened.

For a moment, it looked like he would argue, but then he exhaled heavily and lowered the weapon.

He wasn't a coward, but deep down, he knew Azel wasn't someone he could follow into that fight.

The young man was strong...

"…Alright," Rhun muttered reluctantly.

His voice softened. "I've got a wife and kids. Can't be dying a second time."

He turned to his men and raised his voice. "Watch the walls! Eyes sharp and triggers ready!"

The soldiers scattered into positions along the battlements.

Rhun stayed for a moment, glancing at Azel one last time before heading toward the command post.

Azel let out a small sigh of relief.

'That's one less thing to worry about.'

He closed his eyes and stretched out his senses.

The world darkened around him, and then he could feel…

He could feel the slums…

It was like standing in a sea of moving light.

Most of the signatures were faint which meant these belonged to ordinary humans going about their night.

But then, far to the center of the town, he could sense something.

Dark mana.

'Found you,' he thought.

Werewolves were creatures of the night, their power drawn from the corruption of dark mana itself.

And that corruption was weak to holy energy which gave Azel the upper hand, well that was if he needed to use it.

He opened his eyes.

Then he jumped.

Rhun watched but Azel never touched the ground, he shot off the wall and literally vanished… he was moving faster than a bullet!

"Will my daughter move like that if she joins the Academy someday?" he murmured to himself in awe.

…

Azel moved like lightning, crossing rooftops in seconds.

His boots barely touched the tiles as he propelled himself forward, leaping from one building to the next.

To be able to move like this, he poured aura into his heart to increase the rate at which blood flowed and then also to all of his muscles.

'I should get there just as it's about to finish transforming,' he thought, increasing his speed.

He followed the trail of corrupted mana until he reached a wide clearing at the heart of the district.

There, on the cracked stone street below, a young man lay twitching violently.

His clothes were torn and dusty but his body was contorting in unnatural ways.

Bones cracked audibly as his muscles expanded, his skin rippling beneath layers of sprouting fur.

His human face stretched forward and his jaw grew longer while nose sharpened into a snout.

Azel dropped from above like a meteor.

His foot collided with the man's face, slamming him into the ground with a loud thud.

Dust exploded outward from the impact.

The transformation stopped mid-way. The man's body spasmed, then began to shrink back.

The fur receded, the monstrous claws retracting into trembling human fingers.

Azel straightened.

"What's the point of waiting for you to finish?" he muttered. "I'm not going to risk lives just to beat you at your best."

The young man coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "Wh… what did you… do?" he rasped.

"I interrupted your transformation," Azel said simply. "You'll be unable to move for a while."

The man's breathing was ragged, but his body refused to obey him…

"Now," Azel continued, kneeling down slightly, "your next answer decides whether you live or die."

The man didn't speak.

"Where's the gate to Lycas?"

The werewolf froze.

His pupils dilated, and for a moment, fear flushed through his face… It was almost like Azel said something cursed.

The silence stretched for several seconds before the man managed to speak, voice hoarse. "Why would a human… how would a human even know about Lycas?"

"Because I plan to rule over you," Azel said coldly.

The man's body shuddered.

The air thickened as a dark aura burst from his skin. His eyes turned blood-red, veins bulging around them as his teeth sharpened into fangs.

"Oh, come on…" Azel muttered.

The werewolf's body exploded in size, bones snapping as limbs twisted and stretched.

His clothes completely tore apart, giving way to sleek, silver fur that shimmered beneath the moonlight.

The creature rose to its full height… over eight feet tall.

Its arms were long, ending in hands tipped with black claws, each looked menacing under the moon's glow.

Its snout protruded forward and rows of jagged teeth showed as it growled.

The silver of its fur caught the moonlight perfectly, making it look beautiful… in a horrifying way.

Then it howled.

Azel didn't move.

He simply reached into his storage ring and drew his weapon… A bone sword.

The werewolf lunged forward but Azel was already gone.

In a single motion, he stepped forward, his blade flashing with aura.

A thin line of light traced through the air and then sound followed.

Slash!

The werewolf stopped mid-lunge.

Its claws hung in the air for a moment before both arms fell cleanly from its shoulders, landing with twin thuds on the dirt.

Blood sprayed like fountains onto the ground.

The creature let out a strangled cry and collapsed to its knees.

The fur receded once more, the monstrous form melting back into that of the same young man who was now pale and trembling.

He stared at the stumps of his arms, his face contorted in pain and disbelief.

Azel walked closer and raised his bone sword, resting it just against the man's throat.

"Give me one reason," Azel said softly, "why I shouldn't kill you right now."

The werewolf gasped for air.

"You… you need me," he managed to rasp. "To get into Lycas…"

Azel smirked. "The gate to Lycas is in the Gravegrounds, isn't it?"

The man's eyes widened in shock.

His pupils trembled. "H-how… how do you know that?"

The man opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came.

"Goodbye," Azel said quietly.

And with that, there was a sharp slashing sound.

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