Mystery: The Ultimate Tarot

Chapter 38 The Night of the Full Moon

The transformation under the full moon was extremely painful; Raphael felt as if his entire body was about to burst.

But to everyone's delight, Raphael was actually able to maintain his sanity on the night of the full moon after drinking the "Fallen Angel" potion!

He looked at his wolf claws, and the feeling of this "passive transformation" was strange.

There was a strange sense of familiarity, as if he was born a "werewolf" with wolf claws and fangs.

However, you won't have this feeling when you "voluntarily transform".

He sat on a rock, savored the subtle sensation for a while, and then began practicing the "Nine Steps of Wolf Shadow" and the "Wolf Fang Technique".

Under the crimson full moon, Raphael felt as if he had inexhaustible energy, and he had a whole night to practice.

……

It was also in this forest on the western outskirts of Backlund.

Several men and women, all wearing matching capes, sat chatting under a towering tree.

This includes Ikonser Bernard, with his strong facial features, and Zedd, the butler with small eyes.

The wheel tracks that Raphael saw earlier were left by the carriage that the members of "Mechanical Heart" rode in.

Ikonser glanced at the crimson full moon in the sky through the gaps in the leaves, then said to Zedd and the others, "It's almost time."

The group immediately got up and went to the ambush location they had found in advance.

One of the members of "Mechanical Heart" took out a medal engraved with a wolf's head and pinned it to his chest.

This is the seal of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery "3-156".

Its main ability is to understand the meaning expressed by animal calls, but the downside is that it will make the exact same howl as a wolf, and it will do so unconsciously.

After putting on the sealing artifact, the member immediately started coughing, as if his throat was very uncomfortable, but soon he unconsciously cried out, "Awoo, awoo, awoo~"

It actually let out a wolf howl.

"Awoo~"

After he barked a few times, the same wolf howls came from afar.

"Awoo~"

There was more than one wolf howl, and they all seemed to be approaching this direction.

Ikonser and the others exchanged glances. Judging from the sound alone, they couldn't tell whether it was a real wolf howl or a werewolf's cry.

However, both Ikonser and Zedd are Sequence 5, so even if several werewolves come at the same time, they can handle them.

Moreover, wolves' howls attract each other, so the werewolves may have already met, fought, and been injured before arriving here.

……

In the valley of the woods.

"Awoo~"

Raphael, who was concentrating on practicing the "Nine Steps of Wolf Shadow," heard the howl of a wolf. His eyes darkened as if he were being summoned by an irresistible force.

But then his eyes cleared and he calmed down.

But he couldn't practice anymore after that, because the howling of wolves kept coming from afar, keeping Raphael in a state of excitement and struggling to remain silent.

Gradually, Raphael realized that something was wrong with the wolf howls.

The sounds were moving too fast and were constantly echoing each other; they didn't sound like the howls of wolves.

Raphael smiled helplessly: Could it be that all the werewolves in Backlund have come here to transform?

But then, he couldn't laugh anymore.

Because it's quite possible that the risk of transforming within Backlund is very high, unless there's a deep and large dungeon or similar space.

But whether it's the "indulgence faction" or the "moderation faction," they don't seem to be very wealthy, so it's difficult for them to rent a place with such a large underground space.

Wild extraordinary individuals are even less likely to be included; unless they are already wealthy or noble, they simply do not have the means to transform within the city.

Leaving the city to transform is the best option, while the other three directions of Backlund are mostly plains with vast tracts of farmland, and many villages and manors are scattered across the plains.

Transforming there would make it easy to be discovered and might attract the attention of official extraordinary individuals.

Only in the western part of Backlund are there large forests, and in the mountains there, only a few hunters live scattered about.

Backlund, known as the "Land of Hope," has a large number of extraordinary beings, so it's impossible that Raphael is the only werewolf.

Thinking of this, a fierce glint flashed in Raphael's eyes; for him, this was an opportunity.

Because at this moment, among all the werewolves, only Raphael possesses a degree of rationality.

He could try to take the opportunity to hunt other werewolves.

Although the extraordinary characteristics of "Werewolf" make it less of a bestseller, surely £1000 a serving shouldn't be a problem? After all, it's a certain level of quality.

Thinking of this, Raphael grinned, revealing a sinister smile.

He was very proactive and immediately ran in the direction of the wolf howl.

But after running for a while, Raphael stopped. He suddenly thought that if someone used a realistic wolf howl to attract the werewolves, wouldn't that attract all the werewolves and then catch them all in one fell swoop?

With this idea in mind, Raphael listened for a while and indeed found that one wolf howl was fixed and motionless, while the other wolf howls attracted each other and moved closer to one another.

And that unchanging wolf howl is probably the problem.

Raphael's wolfish face revealed an arrogant, sinister grin. Using your brain at crucial moments is such an important thing!

Raphael then cleared his throat: "Awoo~"

He continued running, quickly approaching the nearest wolf howl.

The direction of the motionless wolf howl is off-limits, but we can check the other wolf howls that are moving to see if there's an opportunity.

Having mastered the "True Scripture of the Demonic Source" and the "Wolf Fang Technique," Raphael was quite confident that he could kill a werewolf in a short time.

He planned to hunt down one or two werewolves and then quickly retreat to avoid becoming prey himself.

"Awoo~" Raphael felt a sense of comfort with each wolf howl, and he became more and more addicted to it.

A wolf howled nearby, noticing Raphael's howl, and began to howl as it approached.

Raphael ran quickly toward the other man, and just then, he suddenly saw a pale-faced woman sitting in a tree ahead.

The woman looked to be in her mid-twenties, and appeared very frail, possessing a rare, sickly beauty.

At that moment, the woman also saw Raphael, and she immediately asked weakly, "Jonathan, is that you?"

Raphael slowed his pace and casually remarked, "You've mistaken the wolf for someone else."

The woman exclaimed in shock, "Oh my God, I must be so weak I'm hallucinating! This werewolf is actually talking!"

Raphael was unsure of the other party's background and was about to leave quickly when he discovered that a werewolf had come looking for him, baring its teeth at him.

A frenzied expression appeared on Raphael's wolf face; the thrill of battle and slaughter was beckoning him!