The old man, who had been writhing in agony a moment ago, seemed to recover almost instantly. His face returned to normal as he stood up, panting lightly. "I must deal with these people myself."
"Understood," Glen nodded, glancing at the old man's chest. "What's that?"
"It's a demon I've contracted with."
"A demon?" Glen raised an eyebrow. "Isn't there usually a hefty price to pay for something like that? You…"
"I can bear the cost," the old man interrupted, already taking steps in the direction from which their attackers had appeared.
What kind of grudge does he have? Why go to such extremes? Glen fell silent and followed the old man, his curiosity still lingering.
In a simple wooden hut, an old man with hunched shoulders and wings like dried bones muttered to himself. His hair resembled dry straw, his teeth almost gone, and his skin looked sun-dried and cracked. He leaned heavily on a gnarled staff, a glowing green potion jar emitting a faint eerie light beside him.
"Are they knights or mages?" he murmured.
"Neither should be able to find this place," a shadowy, middle-aged man in plain clothes, standing behind him, said, his voice filled with confusion.
This man was none other than the black mage who had made a deal with Murphy.
"Such a pity," the old man sighed, his voice tinged with regret. "Those puppets followed me for so long, only to be destroyed so easily." He paused and asked, "Has anyone else returned? Dake?"
"They're still being chased by knights, those idiots," Dake grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"Heh... they brought this on themselves," the old man chuckled darkly. "But now, I need you to take care of our uninvited guests. It's so unpleasant being disturbed like this."
"Such a hassle!" Dake complained loudly as he pushed open the creaky door of the wooden hut. "I'll make them regret ever coming here!"
"Old man, aren't you worried they'll escape?" Glen asked, watching the old man stride ahead with an unhurried pace.
"They won't run," the old man replied confidently. "In their eyes, we're just foolish intruders."
Suddenly—Boom!—a cloud of purple-black mist shot out from the dense forest ahead, speeding straight toward the old man!
The old man reacted swiftly, dodging the mist just in time. The attack missed him by a hair, but it was heading straight for Glen!
Glen twisted his head and easily dodged the blast.
"You're unlucky," a voice hissed from the mist as a figure cloaked in ominous dark energy emerged. "You've encountered me, and this will be the most painful experience of your lives!"
Glen's eyes widened as he saw the figure step forward, the intense aura of dark magic surrounding him. "A… Level 4 Dark Mage?!"
The old man, who had just risen from the ground, now wore an unusually serious expression. "A Level 4 mage… this is dangerous."
"Level 4 mages are that strong?" Glen asked, genuinely curious.
"Ugh! I hate ignorant mortals like you! You'll soon see just how powerful a Level 4 mage can be when you face the great Dake!" The dark mage's anger flared, clearly irritated by Glen's casual demeanor.
Before the old man could answer, Dake had already erupted with fury. His hands rose high into the air, and in a flash, a complex rune circle formed beneath his feet. He began chanting an incantation, his voice booming with malice.
"Watch out!" the old man suddenly shouted at Glen.
A chilling feeling of being locked onto surged within Glen's chest. Without hesitation, he lowered his center of gravity and shot forward like a cannonball, charging straight at the dark mage mid-cast!
"Heh… foolish!" Dake sneered, watching Glen rush toward him. He lifted his hands again, and from the ground, a tree sapling suddenly sprouted and expanded violently, enveloping both Glen and the old man.
Glen felt countless sharp needles pierce his body, their strength pulling at his blood with horrifying force. His body tensed, but instead of panicking, he called upon his wolf poison, which surged through his veins, activating to attack the tree. He controlled it, directing the poison to destroy the tree's internal structure.
The monstrous tree, manipulated by Dake's dark magic, began to crack, its limbs snapping and breaking as Glen's poison ravaged it from the inside. The tree collapsed in on itself, crumbling into pieces as if it had no control over its own existence.
Glen emerged from the wreckage just as Dake was already preparing his next spell. With a swing of his arm, a terrifying electric chain shot forward, crackling with violent energy, and whipped toward Glen's waist!
Reacting quickly, Glen sprang to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. His right hand grew fur, and wolf claws extended out from his fingers, cutting through the air with a deadly shriek as they slashed at Dake's face.
The electric chain slammed into the trees behind them with a deafening crash, destroying everything in its path. The force of the impact drowned out the sound of Glen's claws colliding with the dark mage's protective magic.
"A werewolf? Ha! With your flimsy claws, you—" Dake's mocking laughter faltered as he watched Glen's movement.
In the blink of an eye, Glen's form blurred in front of Dake, his claws coming dangerously close to the dark mage's face, almost appearing as afterimages.
Dake's shield faltered under the pressure. Glen's claws had already pierced through the magical barrier, and with one final, forceful swipe, Dake's face was gripped and crushed beneath Glen's hand.
Before Dake could even react, his skull was slammed into the earth with bone-crushing force, and blood poured from his head, seeping through Glen's fingers.
The old man approached slowly, casting a glance at the barely conscious dark mage, his voice carrying a hint of melancholy. "So much untapped destructive power, yet he's already lost…"
"Even if he had used it, the result would have been the same. I didn't use my full strength either," Glen replied, brushing off his hands with a nonchalant air.
"Your transformation... is it just into a werewolf? Does it affect your personality too?" The old man eyed Glen's arm, which was already regenerating.
"Who knows…" Glen muttered evasively.
The old man's curiosity seemed to grow, more so than he let on. According to what he knew, werewolves didn't have the ability to partially transform. All documented werewolves had only two forms: human and wolf. Moreover, each transformation was painful and took several seconds. But Glen's transformation was seamless and painless—nothing like what he had heard about before.
"Forget it. We need to go. This guy isn't your real target, is he? There's someone else you're after, right?" Glen said, sniffing the air as he detected another presence.
The old man nodded calmly. "No need to pursue him further. The real target has already escaped, no doubt about it."
Glen's gaze hardened as he followed the old man, but a thought nagged at him. Was the real threat yet to come?