The Sword and The Shadow

Rage of the Demi-Werewolf

The burdened look on Kurdak's face froze in an instant. His facial features didn't move at all. He merely looked forward at the brother that blocked the strike for him, that came all the way from the south to look for him, that didn't care about opposing the imperial family and the empire for him.

But now, the once-able-bodied man was being turned into crystal, starting from his thigh, his abdomen, then his chest and arms.

Geoffrey's disintegration spell was accurately aimed. He had also used a spellmutation to strengthen it, so it took only three to four seconds for Londo's rough skin and pronounced muscles and bone to be turned into emerald crystal.

A breeze blew by and scattered Londo's crystalized body in an instant. The green shards blew towards Kurdak as they sparkled.

They looked really beautiful. He didn't think the fool could look so pretty. Was it Geoffrey's gift to him?

However, Kurdak couldn't appreciate the beauty of the sight. He felt as if he was being covered in a comrade's blood as the crystal blew through his body.

He couldn't see the beauty of the individual crystal shards. Instead, he saw fresh blood and chunks of flesh and innards which used to belong to his brother. Together, they formed the comrade that messed around and drank with him. Separate, they were parts of the whole that meant nothing.

Geoffrey was satisfied with the expression he saw on Kurdak's face. He stomped Londo's uncrystalized head on the ground, intent on stoking Kurdak even further.

He then kicked the head like a soccer ball and sent it towards Kurdak. The head splattered blood and chunks of unknown tissue all over as it rolled to Kurdak.

"I'm really sorry," Geoffrey said with a sincere tone, "I wanted to spare him, but I wasn't able to maintain the spell properly. This is all that's left of your beloved partner. Here, you can have it back."

Londo's head rolled to Kurdak like a rubber ball. His face was still frozen in the enraged expression as he yelled for Kurdak to run.

"Alright, I unintentionally killed this fool. It's not my fault, you know" Geoffrey smiled as he walked towards Kurdak. "You should give up now. I don't wish to kill you just like that."

Kurdak looked blankly at the round thing in front of him.

Another one of his brothers had died…

"Leader! You saved me once, so I'll definitely pay you back! The great Londo keeps his word!" That was what Londo said after the first time Kurdak saved his life. Kurdak didn't really mind it, but he didn't think Londo would actually throw everything away because of his promise.

"Leader, I'll definitely obey your orders! If I cause any trouble, my son will have no junk!" This was what he said after he got into a brawl with another Hockian officer. Ever since then, Londo stopped whenever Kurdak told him to. Yet, today, he didn't follow his orders! That fool didn't even have a son yet, and now he was dead.

Kurdak felt two streams of tears flowing down his face. He only just realized that he was tearing up. It was the first time this happened since Cyranos's death. He didn't shed a single tear even when Blackie died. That didn't mean that Londo was more important to him than Blackie. Instead, it showed how he could no longer bear losing his comrades. No matter how macho of a man he was, he would feel pain and fatigue and eventually be sick of it all.

"What? I didn't think a manly man like you would actually cry." Geoffrey gave Kurdak a kick. He got back up without making a sound and got back into the kneeling position.

"Oh? I didn't think kicking someone would be so fun!!" Geoffrey excitedly said, "Is this why idiotic muscleheads like you start training? I think I might get into this!"

Geoffrey raised his leg again in preparation for another kick to Kurdak's chin.

Boop!

Geoffrey felt like his boot landed on a thick piece of rubber. The next instant, he felt a huge force enveloping his leg. He tried to pull it back immediately, but his right leg didn't budge in the slightest.

Kurdak had grabbed onto his leg. He didn't even lash out quickly. He just so happened to choose the right moment to do so, and the force he exerted was far stronger than he conceived.

"Let go!" Geoffrey cried in a panic. He sent two magic missiles to the back of Kurdak's head.

But Kurdak merely seemed like he was gently caressed. He lowered his head slightly before snapping it back up.

When Geoffrey met Kurdak's gaze, he felt terror building. What kind of expression was that? Was that something that could show up on a human face? No! Geoffrey felt like he was looking at a beast, a fiend!

The fellow before him seemed to have undergone a fundamental change.

Geoffrey's first kick didn't only just send Kurdak flying. It also broke something within him.

Now, Kurdak's eyes were long and black. It somewhat resembled snake or wolf eyes. His yellow irises had turned green, but it wasn't the lively emerald green of Innilis's eyes. The sunlight reflected off his eyes was bone-chillingly terrifying.

"What's going on?!" Geoffrey looked at the fellow before him, flabbergasted. Wasn't his movement suspended by the human petrification spell? How could he muster so much strength?!

An even more terrifying change manifested in Kurdak's body. His bodily hair grew at a speed visible to the naked eye and his bones popped audibly. By the time Geoffrey turned back to look, he saw a figure far larger than the dead Londo used to be!

"A werewolf?!" Geoffrey finally found the word to describe the transformation."

No, if he's a werewolf, he should only be able to transform during a full moon! What was going on?!

In fact, this was the effect of Moonsink Cycle working with the medicine Wayerliss had given Kurdak. The medicine he received could only suppress Moonsink Cycle for a few years so that Kurdak's life wouldn't be inconvenienced by it during that time.

However, it hadn't completely removed the effects of Moonsink Cycle from Kurdak. Instead, it made it even faster for Kurdak to absorb it, making it so that he no longer had to rely on the full moon to transform into a werewolf. That was the true effect of Wayerliss's medicine.

After two years of absorption, Moonsink Cycle had completely melded into Kurdak. As a result, he was a completely changed being: a demi werewolf, as Moonsink Cycle wasn't able to turn him into a complete werewolf.

His mind was still his own, but his body was no longer a human one. He also could switch between human and wolf forms without needing the power of the full moon due to the incomplete nature of his werewolf bloodline. If he wanted to realize his full destructive potential, the demi werewolf form was the most ideal.

Geoffrey's human petrification spell no longer worked on Kurdak as he could no longer be categorized as such. A stronger spell designed for fiends was necessary for that.

"So you were a were--" Before he finished, Kurdak squeezed even harder and crushed Geoffrey's stoneskin spell with his grip strength alone. Closely following it was the loud snap of bone.

"Aaaaargh!" Geoffrey shrieked like a pig about to be slaughtered.

Kurdak didn't let go. He gradually stood up and held onto Geoffrey's leg like he would a chicken. He stretched his second hand out to the leg and pulled.

Squelch!

Geoffrey's left leg was torn off by Kurdak just like that. He tossed the separated leg onto the snowy ground like he would trash.

The look on the prince's face was savage. Even though he was a spoiled person, he knew that he was in a dire situation. He endured the pain and began his dictation, managing to teleport away just before Kurdak made his next move.

"Damn!" Geoffrey retched with a pale face, "I want to kill you! I'll have you killed!"

"Awoooooooo!"

The sky-piercing howl seemed to respond to Geoffrey. It reminded others about a lone wolf that lost its partner.

Kurdak ignored Geoffrey's threat and got on all fours before dashing towards Geoffrey rapidly.

……

"Huh?" A dark-skinned, balding middle-aged man heard the howl from the forest. After some thought, he decided to go take a look.