Ch.17Mystic Eye Opening

The giant wings made of shadow gave me a brief moment of suspension in the air.

While I couldn’t freely fly through the sky, the ruined city offered plenty of footholds to use.

Tap-!

I stepped on a collapsed building and leaped up again.

As acceleration added to my reduced speed, I shot upward into the sky.

At that moment, I finally spotted my target.

A woman looking up at the sky with a surprised expression.

[82YearOldKingGeezer’sFinalStrike]

The owner of an appearance that didn’t match her username at all.

The weapon she held was limited to a long rifle.

No other users detected nearby.

She must have positioned herself in this remote location for sniping.

That was her mistake.

After momentarily hovering in mid-air, I swung my katana and dove downward.

Flap-!

The wings spread behind my back flapped loudly, adding to my speed.

“Ngh…!”

A groan escaped through her tightly clenched teeth.

The barrel of her extended rifle rose toward me.

A red target formed, aiming precisely at the space between my eyebrows.

This was practically future prediction level.

I moved the wings spread behind my back to change direction.

Whoosh-!

Bang-!

With a powerful wing beat, a gunshot rang out.

With the slightest difference, a white flash grazed past my cheek.

Her weapon, skills, equipment she was wearing—

All my assessments were complete.

She had absolutely no chance of defeating me.

Even if there were traps set below, the future wouldn’t change.

So I pressed forward.

Swoosh-!

As acceleration added to my falling speed, my opponent began turning with a desperate expression.

But it was already too late.

If she had turned away the moment she saw me, she might have had a slight chance of survival, but my katana was already extending toward her.

“Hik…!”

From top to bottom.

The moment my extended katana pierced through her head,

Her body crumpled to the ground, unable to withstand the impact.

Crack-!

Twisted and broken bones pierced through skin, and red blood flowed out.

Was it the vampire instinct that couldn’t be helped?

Watching the scene, I licked my lips.

[82YearOldKingGeezer’sFinalStrike]

↓

[Human Corpse]

The opponent’s information changed.

What had been a username changed to “Human Corpse,” and the description became simpler.

The system ruling this world had made its judgment.

The user impaled on my katana was no longer a living being.

I pulled my sword out of the corpse.

The blood on the blade was naturally absorbed through the shadows.

I wanted to drink all the blood from this corpse right here and now, but there were still three human users left.

Thinking of Hwang-gu and Aurel, I didn’t have time to be leisurely.

I spread my wings and leaped up once more.

Flap-!

***

“Hwang-gu. Follow me carefully…”

“Okay!”

Aurel moved cautiously, thinking of Charlotte.

If the opponent had been an ordinary human, Aurel would have joined the fight too.

Though she wanted to help Charlotte, Aurel’s level was only 12.

If she had rushed in to help Charlotte in the current situation, her head would have been blown off with a single shot.

Aurel and Hwang-gu moved extremely carefully.

They even lay flat on the ground, afraid their movements might be detected.

They moved a considerable distance that way.

Aurel looked back and sighed with relief.

They had reached a place far from where the explosion had occurred.

At this distance, they should be fairly safe.

Just as Aurel thought that and sighed…

Bang-!

With a loud gunshot, red blood spurted up before Aurel’s eyes.

The first thing Aurel recognized was pain.

A burning pain that started from her arm.

“Aurel!”

Unable to focus due to the pain she hadn’t experienced much since becoming a vampire, Aurel couldn’t gather her thoughts.

And she couldn’t understand why Hwang-gu was looking at her like that.

Worry, confusion, excitement, anger—Aurel opened her mouth blankly at the emotions she felt beyond Hwang-gu’s gaze.

Hiss-

At that moment, belatedly rising white smoke.

Aurel could finally recognize what had happened to her arm.

The right arm, below the elbow, was gone.

“Gasp…”

A shocked, empty breath escaped her lips.

Aurel could see her arm on the ground.

The once white arm was now stained red with blood, and the severed surface was charred black, emitting white smoke.

This wasn’t an ordinary attack.

It was an attack using silver bullets.

Aurel felt severe dizziness and collapsed to the ground.

“Grrrr!”

As Aurel became immobile, Hwang-gu immediately lay flat on the ground.

Though Hwang-gu had lost her memories, the instincts ingrained in her body remained.

Her companion had been attacked.

Although they had only been together for a short time, and she didn’t know what kind of relationship they had before she lost her memories, Hwang-gu recognized Aurel and Charlotte as members of the same pack.

And Charlotte had even made a request to Hwang-gu.

Hwang-gu hadn’t forgotten Charlotte’s request.

“Grrrr…!”

A growl flowing from deep in her throat.

Hwang-gu instinctively began using werewolf skills.

Partial beast transformation activated.

The pale moonlight in the sky began to grant Hwang-gu power.

Her hair grew and covered her back.

Her arms and legs grew slightly larger, with brown fur sprouting over them.

It was like watching the process of transforming from human to wolf.

Her fingernails and toenails also changed to something far beyond human.

“Raaar!”

Hwang-gu’s transformation didn’t end there.

The fur covering her body extended behind her buttocks, producing a long, fluffy tail.

A form that looked like a half-human, half-wolf mix.

Hwang-gu instinctively knew this was the form that could achieve the fastest speed.

As her body changed, Hwang-gu’s sense of smell also enhanced.

She lifted her head and sniffed the air.

Sniff sniff-

The information contained in the scent was tremendous.

She could tell the opponent’s location, physical size, strength, and even what emotions they were feeling.

There was only one person targeting them.

Hwang-gu followed her instincts and leaped forward, kicking off the ground.

“Hwang-gu…!”

Aurel called out to Hwang-gu, but she didn’t stop.

She was only moving to eliminate the threat to her pack.

Moving on all fours, Hwang-gu sank into the darkness with a speed incomparable to before.

Pitter-patter-

Pitter-patter-

Pitter-patter-

Frantic footsteps echoed from all directions.

The human who had attacked Aurel and Hwang-gu.

Mariet calmly caught her breath.

She already knew her opponent was a werewolf.

That’s why she had followed them.

Mariet was confident in close combat.

Her build was a close-range dealer who had developed one-handed sword and pistol skills.

She had considerable confidence, having hunted several werewolves before.

But.

Pitter-patter-!

“Gasp!”

Mariet swallowed dryly and aimed her pistol into the darkness.

The continuous footsteps were making her dizzy.

The werewolf’s movements were so fast that she couldn’t properly aim her gun.

Pitter-patter-!

At that moment, footsteps were heard again.

Mariet convulsively fired her gun toward the sound.

Bang-!

A silver bullet shot out with a bright white flash.

The flash from the gun momentarily illuminated the world.

The small wolf girl was revealed.

She left afterimages as she melted into the darkness.

Thump-

Thump-!

Thump-!

Her heartbeat intensified.

Mariet suddenly realized she was feeling fear.

After looking around for a while, Mariet began firing her gun wildly into the empty air.

The emotion of fear had thrown her into a state of panic.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

With each bullet spent, the werewolf girl’s footsteps grew closer.

Pitter-patter-

Pitter-pat-

“Gasp…”

How much time had passed?

Mariet realized her back was soaked with cold sweat.

Click-!

Click-!

And the silver bullets she had fully loaded were now empty.

She needed to reload quickly.

As she fumbled, trying to reach into her pocket…

“Grrrr…”

A low growl.

Mariet turned around with trembling eyes.

When had she approached?

She hadn’t sensed her approach or presence.

She only noticed the approach because of the growl from the werewolf girl’s mouth.

Would she be forgiven if she said it was a mistake? No, she wouldn’t have done that herself.

Mariet convulsively swung her sword.

A military longsword purchased from the store.

It was a cheap item, but at this point, it was the best item she could get.

And it was also Mariet’s last struggle.

Swoosh-!

The blade cut through the air.

At that moment, something shining like the faint moon in the sky was swung.

Slash-!

A faint crescent moon-like trajectory followed.

Suddenly, Mariet felt strength leaving her body.

Her gaze fell on the military longsword she was holding.

The once solid blade was cleanly cut.

That was the last scene Mariet could remember.

Thud-

Hwang-gu looked at her claws.

She didn’t know exactly what she had done, but she could tell she had cut down her opponent using a momentary burst of strength.

Her faintly glowing claws resembled moonlight.

“Ah!”

At that moment, Hwang-gu remembered Aurel, whom she had forgotten.

She had left her friend with a severed arm alone.

Hwang-gu shook her head vigorously and ran toward the place where Aurel was waiting.

Tap-! Tap-! Tap-!

“Aurel!”

“Hwang-gu!”

Hwang-gu sighed with relief as she checked Aurel’s condition.

The severed arm was well attached to its original place.

Although there was a white bandage wrapped around the middle.