Chapter 58: Act 1: The Cursed Silver Blood

[Lethal Execution]—a Skill that could trigger fatal, massive hemorrhaging as long as a melee attack landed.

Blaze was confident he could instantly kill the Silver Werewolf before him, yet he couldn’t bring himself to strike.

The [Hunter] class’s hidden ability allowed for the Identification of the abilities and Skills of any Monster bearing the "Wild Beast" tag. The first Werewolf he had defeated was exactly that kind of Monster. However, the Werewolf before him displayed absolutely no information.

Glancing at Juliet’s silhouette on the second floor of the wooden cabin, the Werewolf began to whimper at Blaze.

"Ju...liet. Love... child..."

"There’s nothing wrong with Juliet’s body, and your child... is fine too." Gripping his Twisted Greatsword, Blaze walked toward the Werewolf, quickly entering their mutual attack range.

The Silver Werewolf showed no intention of resisting. Facing the searing waves of fire rolling off the Great Sword in Blaze’s hands, its eyes revealed fear, yet also a steadfast resolve.

The Twisted Greatsword swung down, only to halt a hair’s breadth from the Werewolf’s neck.

"You killed the young man named Romeo and took his place, didn’t you?"

The Werewolf opened its eyes in disbelief. It couldn’t see Blaze’s expression through the helmet; it could only make out a pair of chilling, golden eyes peering through the dark slit of the visor.

"No... I am... Romeo..." the Werewolf shook its head in Madness, struggling immensely to force a few words out of an unaccustomed throat.

"So you’re saying there never was a Romeo to begin with. You disguised yourself as a Human to get close to Juliet."

Blaze pressed the Twisted Greatsword closer to the creature’s neck. The Eight Fire Curse Poison had already begun to climb the Werewolf’s silvery-white fur with Greed.

The Werewolf firmly shook its head, but then hesitantly nodded.

At that moment, the dark clouds blanketing the sky gradually dispersed, allowing bright moonlight to spill down. Bathed in the moonlight, the Werewolf suddenly convulsed. Its fur shed and its muscles atrophied; the massive, burly creature transformed back into a young man, deflating like a punctured balloon.

It was the Human named Romeo whom he had seen during the day, except his original black hair had turned into the same silver hair he had in his Werewolf form.

"I am Romeo, a wandering Silver Believer." Having returned to his Human form, Romeo could finally speak fluently.

His now frail body trembled under the Twisted Greatsword, forcing Blaze to move the blade away slightly. Even though Romeo had just transformed from a Werewolf right in front of him, Blaze found it hard to imagine that this somewhat cowardly-looking man was the same imposing Silver Werewolf.

Most importantly, the [Arcadia Werewolf] tag above Romeo’s head had reverted to [Romeo].

"Are you a Human or a Werewolf?"

"R-Right now, I’m still H-Human."

That wasn’t a good answer at all.

Frustrated, Blaze scratched the back of his head. His sharp Hand Armor struck his helmet, creating dazzling sparks that fell onto Romeo, scalding him into a flinch.

Even if the Witch Hunting launched by the Deputy Lord had ulterior motives, it didn’t change the fact that Werewolves were adopting Human appearances and maintaining Stealth within the city. However, what Blaze saw now was an original Human turning into a Werewolf. This reminded him of the intelligence he received when he first encountered a Werewolf.

[Its appearance means the Curse has already begun to spread.]

"Can Werewolves infect Humans and turn them into Werewolves!?"

Romeo shook his head, but then nodded again. His weak, timid demeanor annoyed even Blaze.

"That is the punishment for a Silver Believer who violates their Faith."

A person appeared not far away—it was the Village Chief of Wolf Head Grass Village. Standing under the moonlight, the 86-year-old man’s hair had turned the exact same silvery-white as Romeo’s, and the Silver Badge in his hand sparkled brightly.

The moonlight pierced through the patterned gaps of the badge, casting a Werewolf’s Shadow on the ground.

"Come over and let’s talk, Lord Knight."

Blaze glanced at the wooden cabin. Audrey wouldn’t be resting tonight, and the chicken was sitting upright on the cabin’s roof, monitoring the surroundings. If there were any danger, he would notice it immediately.

Tapping his fingers against the hilt of his Twisted Greatsword, Blaze kept the blade pressed against Romeo’s neck. He didn’t know if he should trust them, but he only needed one question to find out the answer.

"Back then, why did you transform and expose yourself?"

"I-I heard a bear’s roar and thought you were in danger." Romeo was still trembling, but there was no trace of falsehood in his voice.

"...Put this on."

Blaze sheathed his Twisted Greatsword, took off the Nemean Lion Skin from his shoulders, and threw it over the guy who was completely naked from his transformation.

"Thank you," Romeo muttered softly. Draping the Lion Skin over himself, he used a tree trunk for support to stand up. The Lion Skin, which fit Blaze perfectly, made Romeo look like a child secretly wearing an adult’s clothes, dragging on the ground like a massive robe.

The Village Chief turned sideways and made an inviting gesture. Blaze let Romeo go first, following behind the two of them.

"Let’s talk as we walk," Blaze lowered his voice, forcing himself to sound like a battle-hardened Warrior.

"Then... where should I begin?" The Village Chief turned and pointed to the center of the village, where a statue of a cloaked Saint stood in a pose as if embracing the moon. "As expected, I should start from the beginning of the story, with Lai Kaion."

"A sacred wanderer from nowhere, the man who founded the Arcadia Kingdom. Audrey already told me all this."

"With that girl’s personality, she definitely wouldn’t have told you that Lai Kaion was of the great Silver Race, right?"

"There’s no evidence of that," Blaze shook his head. Beside him, Romeo was tightly wrapping the Nemean Lion Skin around himself to ward off the night’s chill.

"You’ve seen a Werewolf, haven’t you? As long as you’ve seen one, a Blessed One like you can definitely see the Curse on them."

Blaze remained silent. Werewolves were descendants of a legendary race and lived in this land that held traces of the Silver Race’s Priests. This almost equated to the fact that Werewolves were the descendants of the Silver Race.

The Village Chief smiled. This was a legend that only carried credibility when told by him, the oldest elder in Arcadia.

The legendary Silver Race was eternal and sacred, eternally worshipping the moon and eternally chasing after it.

One day, a member of the Silver Race got lost, arrived in a barren desert, and encountered a Human. Perhaps a beautiful story unfolded between them, but the ending was an absolute tragedy.

The sacred member of the Silver Race fell from grace. Just like silver tarnishing upon contact with air, they became tainted, losing their eternity and sanctity.

God became furious because of this and Cursed that member of the Silver Race, turning them into an ugly, savage Wild Beast.

Consequently, the blood of that member of the Silver Race lost its purity, becoming unbearably filthy.