Thwack! Thud! Brawk-!
Two entangled monsters swung their fists at each other, intent on delivering a death blow.
The punches and kicks that split the air were eerily similar in form.
Though they had the twisted forms of monsters, they utilized the same martial arts techniques.
Crash!
Deflecting each other's attacks,
Bang!
Their fists, infused with a red energy, crossed paths,
Swoosh-!
Then both were engulfed in a red aura, making them even more intimidating.
"..."
Kuilan stared in astonishment, mouth agape, at the spectacle of martial arts on display that was far superior to his own.
"What's with you? For someone looking like that, you're pretty good, huh?"
Lunared remarked, a satisfied grin on his face.
It was the first time he'd seen a descendant employ the martial art he'd developed to such a high level. Lunared was genuinely elated.
Then, the wolf monster—Kureha—responded in a muffled voice.
"I am the Sect Leader."
"What?"
"I am the forty-third Sect Leader of the Leaf Tribe."
With a swift motion, Kureha crossed his fists and bowed briefly.
"It is an honor to meet the founder. Though I never expected the founder to be... such a monstrous mess."
"..."
After a moment's silence, Lunared burst into hearty laughter and lunged forward.
"Why don't you take a look in the mirror first, forty-third?!"
The two wolf-monsters frenziedly exchanged blows. But as if on cue, they both simultaneously retreated,
And then— they assumed identical stances.
Both firmly planted their feet, crouched low, left hand forward in a parrying position, right hand balled into a fist at chest level.
With a demeanor suggesting they were about to unleash their deadliest move, the two monsters locked eyes.
Kuilan, having watched from the side, had an inkling about the lethal posture they were in.
That's when the wolf monster—Kureha—stole a fleeting glance at Kuilan.
Then, he gave a subtle nod.
Almost as if to say, 'Watch and learn...'
Whoosh-!
In the next instant,
The two wolf-monsters, charging with a powerful step forward, vanished from view.
They were moving so swiftly it seemed as though they'd disappeared from the world.
Having leaped through space, the two wolf-monsters thrust their fists at each other.
Lunared's fist aimed for the very center of Kureha's chest,
While Kureha's fist targeted Lunared's left chest.
Secret Technique.
Heart-Cutting Windwolf.
Boom...!
Neither evaded. Both delivered their fatal blows right into each other's chests.
Blood spewed simultaneously from the mouths of the two wolf-monsters.
However, whereas Kureha grimaced in evident pain, Lunared chuckled triumphantly.
"You fool! You learned the technique wrong! The Heart-Cutting Windwolf aims for the soul core, not the physical body! Aiming for the heart and not the soul core?"
"..."
"Moreover, I've already lost that heart! My other heart is on the opposite side! Your aim was off from the start!"
Pain evident on his face, Kureha began to waver, leaning onto Lunared as if to collapse.
Lunared laughed, confident in his victory,
"...No. I aimed correctly."
Crunch!
Kureha lunged, biting deeply into Lunared's throat.
Dark blood surged. Desperately latching on, Kureha gulped down the blood of Lunared.
'What the hell is he doing?!'
Annoyed, Lunared forcefully shoved Kureha off him. Kureha stumbled back, a look of malevolence on his face.
'After a high-level martial arts duel like that, and now he resorts to this kind of lowly act...'
Lunared looked at the trail of dark blood that connected from his throat to Kureha's mouth and clicked his tongue in disgust.
So this was his last-ditch effort...
'...?'
What Lunared saw next was incomprehensible.
From his neck wound, a continual stream of dark blood was escaping.
Panicking, Lunared tried to stop the flow with his hand, but the blood kept seeping through his fingers. It traveled through the air and-
Was sucked directly into Kureha's mouth.
'What the...?!'
"Ever since becoming a werewolf, I've come to understand,"
Kureha, even while half-destroyed and nearing death, smiled slyly.
"My organs twisted and rearranged. Pushing aside the human heart, a new wolf heart emerged."
'...?!'
"The left side is the wolf's. The right, the human's."
Kureha pointed to the left side of Lunared's chest.
"I intended to destroy your wolf heart. Even if it was already shattered, it wouldn't matter. I would've struck it all the same, just in case."
"My wolf heart...? Why...?"
"To strip you of your control over the werewolf's blood."
Thick dark blood gushed out of Lunared's throat like water.
His strength rapidly faded. Facing this unfamiliar phenomenon, Lunared trembled in shock.
"What have you done, bastard?!"
"It's to bear it in your stead."
Kureha chuckled darkly.
"Your curse."
"What?"
"I am... the vessel that carries the curse of our entire clan."
Kureha slowly closed his eyes.
"You are my ancestor. Thus, you are also my kin. Naturally, I can bear the werewolf's curse you possess."
'...?!'
This was the strategy Ash proposed.
To steal the werewolf's curse from Lunared.
Kureha, being a vessel that could hold the curse of the entire clan, in theory, could also contain the curse of an ancestor.
Kureha had his doubts, but the strategy succeeded.
By shattering the wolf's heart and causing the loss of control over the werewolf's blood.
And by swallowing Lunared's blood directly, he activated the spell.
Hssssss...!
Not only from Lunared, but from all the werewolves that were still alive and attacking Crossroad.
The werewolf's curse was extracted and forcibly transferred into Kureha's body.
From all over Crossroad, tainted dark blood flew towards Kureha.
Kureha willingly swallowed the boiling dark blood.
Just as he had taken in the curse of his kin.
He now also embraced the revived curse of the ancestors.
"Stop it! Stop it now!"
Lunared's strength was rapidly depleting.
He tried to protect his curse, but he had already lost the wolf's heart that bonded the werewolf's blood and curse.
The moment he lost his heart as a punishment from the Demon King.
From that moment on, Lunared's curse was no longer his own.
"Is this how it ends? Me?"
Though Lunared had directly consumed the blood of the foreign god, becoming the first to wear the curse of the wolf, he had no means to counter Kureha's magic.
This was the last refuge discovered by his descendants who had suffered for centuries.
A secret technique devised by his descendants to escape from the curse of the wolf's blood.
Although it was a twisted direction, where one individual was sacrificed for the many, it was the culmination of wisdom refined over centuries of their lineage.
It was impossible that he, a being from the distant ancient times, could be sacrificed.
"Stop it!"
Lunared desperately tried to kill Kureha completely, attempting to cut off his magic,
Thud!
Kuilan intervened, swinging a punch that sent Lunared's jaw flying.
Crumpled, Lunared pathetically fell to his knees.
"No, no... this can't be...!"
The wolf's blood, the curse - that had made Lunared a top contender, a leader of a nightmare legion- was draining from his body.
Soon after, every curse left his body, and the power of the wolf disappeared.
"Ah... Ahhh..."
All that remained was an old man with gray hair and beard, withered and frail.
***
Walking towards the northern gate, I pondered.
'Look at it from the game's rules.'
Use every available means.
Circumvent, break, twist – find the rules' weakness.
A werewolf is a creature cursed into a monster from a human.
Conversely,
...If the curse could be removed, and they could be reverted back to humans,
The game's difficulty would drastically drop.
Scouts poured in with reports from all sides.
"The werewolves outside the southern wall are changing back to humans!"
"Even the werewolves who took hostages inside the city! They're suddenly turning into humans!"
"Suppress the humans who were werewolves at the central plaza!"
"We've captured two more in the alley behind the market!"
"Your Highness! A report!"
A scout, panting from the northern wall, reported.
"The enemy's army leader has also turned back into a human!"
"..."
"The only remaining monster outside the northern wall is a grotesque wolf beast that suddenly appeared! If we dispose of it, this defensive battle will end...!"
"Your Highness, what should we do now?!"
"Please give your orders!"
"Your Highness!"
I didn't respond, heading straight for the northern gate. The puzzled scouts followed behind.
Outside the northern wall,
"...Ah, senior."
Evangeline, with a weary face, leaning on the open city gate, turned to look at me. Her complexion was pale, perhaps due to injuries.
"The Wolf King... or what used to be, is tied up over there. And..."
Evangeline, pointing to the tied-up old man, moved her hand to the side.
"The last remaining beast is there, and Kuilan is shielding it, saying it's his brother..."
There, Kuilan could be seen sheltering the fallen beast, shouting loudly at the surrounding soldiers.
"..."
"Senior, could it really be..."
Without a word, I gently patted Evangeline's head, moving forward.
Chains bound the old man, but Godhand, the one who had tied him up, gave me a respectful bow as he saw me approach. I nodded in acknowledgment.
"Godhand."
"Your Majesty."
Godhand quietly stepped aside.
"Let's save our reunion greetings for later. We have more pressing matters to discuss."
"Thank you."
Passing Godhand, I stood in front of the old man.
He was old and frail, with snow-white hair.
Although he looked like an average human, his eerie crimson eyes were as fierce as those of a monster.
"Are you Lunared?"
I scoffed.
"You've lost your luster, Wolf King."
"..."
Gazing up at me with his lips tightly sealed, Lunared suddenly pleaded, "Spare me."
I narrowed my eyes, irritated.
"What?"
"I said spare me."
His audacity made me glare at him.
With a voice that was shockingly powerful for his frail frame, Lunared roared, "Now that the Wolf's curse is gone, I am a complete human!"
He thumped his chest, pointing to the heart within.
"This 'human heart' beating inside me is proof."
"..."
"If you are the commander of this frontline, protecting humans and killing monsters! Then kill that monster beside you! And save me, a human!"
Desperately, Lunared pointed to the monster lying on the ground... to Kureha.
Kuilan, who had been holding Kureha, gritted his teeth in anger.
"..."
Ignoring my silence, Lunared continued, "I too am a 'human' that you should protect, Player! Please spare me!"
"...You have a point."
He may have been resurrected from the dark depths of Lake Kingdom, but indeed, with the Wolf's curse gone, this old man was biologically a complete human.
However,
"But you are a monster."
I declared.
"I guarantee it. With utmost certainty, I can say, Lunared, you are not human. You are a perfect monster."
"Why?"
Lunared growled, "On what basis do you differentiate humans and monsters on this frontline?!"
"It's very clear."
I leaned in closer, staring straight into his eyes, and spat out the words,
"It's me."
"...?!"
"I am the rule of this frontline."
I had struggled for a long time.
I had hesitated for a long time.
But what I learned from this defense battle was,
Principles. Rules. Standards.
I had always been a good-natured player, loyally following the predetermined lines.
This time was no different. I tried to fit within a rational framework of principles and standards.
How naive.
Such a gullible fool.
"Thanks to you, Lunared, I've realized. Seeing you exploit loopholes and attack, I now understand the essence of this game."
There's a famous saying in card games.
The reason games have rules is to exploit what's not defined by the rules.
"I'll stand above the rules."
"What...?"
"I am the principle. I am the standard. I am the law."
No longer will I be bound by the rules of the game.
I will bypass the rules, twist them, establish them, and control them.
"I'll change the world according to my rules. So whether someone is human or a monster, I'll decide."
I concluded coldly.
"You're a monster, Lunared."
"..."
"You will die."
Immediately after,
"Pff, pffhahahahahaha!"
Lunared held his stomach and laughed.
With his body shaking uncontrollably, he seemed on the verge of departing from this world from the sheer force of his laughter. The surrounding heroes hesitated and backed away due to his eerie outburst.
With a frown, I asked, "Why are you laughing, monster?"
"Do you not understand even after declaring it yourself, human?"
After pausing his wild laughter,
The old man, once the Wolf King, glared at me and retorted, "It's because of the mindset of a tyrant!"
"..."
"You think you'll become the standard? You think you'll become the law? Countless rulers have desired just that! No matter the circumstances or reasons, they all believed in their goodness, making themselves into iron-willed leaders, thinking they would bring about a utopia!"
"..."
"But the result was always a tyrant! Without a single exception! From ancient times until now, not even one!"
"..."
"Do you truly intend to become that as well, human?"
"Yes."
I replied immediately.
"If standing above the rules for the sake of victory is what you call a tyrant..."
Taking a deep breath, steadying my heart,
I said,
"I'll gladly become a tyrant."