Chapter 59: Act 2: Werewolf Ballad

The first Silver King Lai Kaion had fifty sons. They all inherited the holiness of the Silver Race, and the Pure Blood flowing through their veins was as saintly as silver itself.

Born sacred and extraordinary, they possessed overwhelming Life Force under the moonlight and could transform into powerful Silver Werewolves.

Initially, this was a beautiful tale. The newborn Kingdom needed the protection of these mighty Silver Princes. But before the Arcadians even had time to sing their praises, and while the Werewolf statues were only half-built, the Curse erupted.

It started with the eldest prince. He suddenly grew bloodthirsty; his silver hair lost its luster, and his eyes turned as bloodshot as a Wild Beast’s. He died at Lai Kaion’s hands, and that corrupted Pure Blood began to corrode the flawless Kingdom. Then, the Curse spread among the Silver Princes like a plague. One after another, their tainted blood soaked Lai Kaion’s sacred white robes.

Some of the Silver Princes fled, degenerating into foul Wild Beasts that roamed the wilderness. Others journeyed to the first piece of Arcadian land that Lai Kaion had ever set foot on, sacrificing their Life Force to beg for the God’s forgiveness. In the end, Lai Kaion was left with only his daughter—the second Queen of Arcadia, the Silver Princess Callisto. Lai Kaion cursed his own blood, howling in sorrow beneath the moon. Ultimately, consumed by guilt and agony, he fell into an eternal slumber within the moon’s Shadow.

Did this story end in tragedy right then and there? No, it had only just begun. The Silver Princes each had fifty children, and those fifty children each had another fifty children. This corruption was passed down from generation to generation, echoing alongside the cries of newborn babes. Even after being diluted across hundreds of generations, the Curse—the defilement—continued to run through the veins of any Arcadians who inherited Lai Kaion’s Blood. The eternal night of howling Werewolves never ended.

"Such an absurd thing..."

"Is it absurd?" The Village Chief smiled with an exhaustion that Blaze, at his age, couldn’t possibly comprehend. "Where do you think Arcadia’s Werewolves come from?"

Blaze had no rebuttal. Monsters from any other region had the ability to reproduce, whether through mating or asexual reproduction. Werewolves were the sole exception. Perhaps they did possess the ability to reproduce, but they were perpetually trapped in Madness. Yet the number of Werewolves never decreased. At least, it never did before the Foreigners annihilated them en masse during the Witch Hunting.

The only logical explanation was that the Arcadians who inherited Lai Kaion’s Pure Blood triggered the Curse and transformed into Werewolves.

"The Silver Believers possess the dominant gene of the Pure Blood among the Arcadians, making them akin to the noble Silver Princes." The Village Chief pointed at Romeo. "They are Humans, yet they possess the ability to transform into Silver Werewolves. Even without transforming, their physical prowess far exceeds that of Ordinary People."

Romeo scratched his head in embarrassment at the sudden attention, exposing his frail physique. He sneezed in the chilly night breeze, splattering snot all over the Nemean Lion Skin.

Blaze’s eye twitched. It seemed he was going to have to bid this Lion Skin a permanent farewell.

The Village Chief fell silent for a moment, ignoring the mishap, and took out the moon emblem.

"The Silver Believers were originally attendants who followed the Arcadia Royal Family to sacrifice to the Moon God. However, with Lai Kaion’s death and the corruption of the Silver Princes, their purpose shifted to uncovering the origin of the Curse. ’The first piece of Arcadian land that Lai Kaion ever set foot on’ was one of their discoveries. This place goes by another name—the Sacrificial Stone Forest.

"We found traces of the Silver Race within the Sacrificial Stone Forest and uncovered the reason behind the Curse."

Blaze instinctively held his breath, waiting for the tragic, world-shaking secret behind the Arcadians’ Curse.

"Losing one’s purity. In other words, losing one’s virginity."

"COUGH, COUGH—"

For a moment, Blaze genuinely thought the Wolf Head Grass Village Chief was trying to piss him off to death. Here he was, taking everything so seriously, even agonizing over whether to hide these deep secrets from Herbie and Audrey. And the man actually chose this moment to mess with him by cracking a dirty joke. But his embarrassed and exasperated glare was met only with the Village Chief’s sigh.

"The Moon God is a God that symbolizes purity. Naturally, her followers must be pure as well."

"If Lai Kaion truly belonged to the legendary Silver Race, then the reason he was cursed by the God of his Faith was that he violated their sole creed. He..." Blaze couldn’t describe what he was feeling. He only felt that the answer the Silver Believers had found, the one he was about to say out loud, was incredibly absurd. "He fell in love with a Human and lost his purity."

"But, how could that be! Copulation is the only method for living creatures to reproduce and pass on their lineage."

The Village Chief’s seemingly ageless appearance served as the answer.

"As long as one doesn’t lose their purity, the Pure Blood within their body grants a lifespan far longer than an Ordinary Person’s. If this is true for people like us, who inherited only a faint trace of the Pure Blood, just imagine how eternal and sacred the true Silver Race must have been."

"Then what about the Silver Princess Callisto? Didn’t she give birth to the descendants of the Arcadia Clan?"

The Village Chief shook his head.

"She was only spared temporarily due to the fetus with Pure Blood flowing in her womb. Shortly after giving birth, she too turned into a Wild Beast as the Pure Blood within her body grew corrupted."

After losing their purity, men would quickly lose their sanity due to their degraded blood, gradually turning into Werewolves. Women would be temporarily spared due to the fetuses in their wombs, but they would still turn into Werewolves shortly after giving birth.

And all of this was simply because a man and a woman fell in love.

"Sir Knight, don’t look so sad." Romeo walked up to Blaze, tilting his head up to peer into those golden eyes through the slit in the helmet. The coldness and oppressive aura he had exuded earlier felt like a mere illusion. "Arcadians accepted this fact a long time ago."

"Then Audrey and Herbie..." Blaze pursed his lips, trying hard to compose himself.

"Herbie is just a regular Arcadian. Furthermore, she left Arcadia with Hermes’ Travel Hat when she was very young, so we Silver Believers never had the chance to relay this truth to her.

"Audrey doesn’t know either..." The Village Chief hesitated for a moment, revealing a smile that was hard to tell if it was out of relief or regret. "Although she inherited Lai Kaion’s Pure Blood, it’s a recessive gene, just like her mother’s. She’s no different from a normal Arcadian.

"Those of us who inherited the Pure Blood will continue to hide amongst the crowds. Even if we encounter Witch Hunting, they’ll simply think we are ’evil Werewolves disguised as Humans’. We will keep this secret hidden forever.

"No one would accept Arcadians who turn into Werewolves because of a Curse. This is the only way we can survive."

Blaze fell silent for a moment. He didn’t immediately feel pity for the Arcadians’ plight; his first thought was of Audrey.

"Will Audrey..."

"Yes." The Village Chief nodded, as if he knew exactly what Blaze was about to say. "Whether it’s dominant or recessive, in the end, they will all turn into Werewolves."