Chapter 28

◈ Chapter 28: The Werewolf (3)

“What?! Wait a moment! Don’t you usually ask if someone is okay in a situation like this?!”

Erendir thought he must have heard wrong.

The teacher who had saved them from the werewolf immediately said he would give them demerits.

It was not only out of place, but from Erendir’s perspective, it was quite unfair.

“Erendir. What are you shouting about?”

“I received permission from another teacher…!”

“Be quiet. Even if you had permission, it should have been done in a safe manner. Don’t you realize what kind of trouble you could have been in just now?”

“W-well…”

“You can’t even take care of yourself, yet you still have the nerve to speak.”

“Ugh.”

Rudger was merciless, even though the other was a princess.

Erendir had no real grounds to argue against Rudger’s words.

She could wander around at night like this only because she was a princess.

Her status as a princess made it easier to make the overly excited students bow their heads and return to the dormitory.

Erendir herself, as a princess, felt responsible for ensuring the students’ safety and was deeply engrossed in this role.

But in the end, she had put herself in danger, which was completely backwards.

Realizing this, Erendir bit her lip and clenched her fists.

Rudger’s words were entirely correct.

“Then, at least let this child make up for the demerits.”

“What?”

Rudger’s gaze turned to Rine.

Recognizing the girl who was hunched over, Rudger’s eyes then fell on the textbooks she was holding tightly.

“Rine.”

“Y-yes, Teacher Rudger.”

“Why haven’t you returned to the dormitory yet?”

“Well, that’s….”

“I acknowledge your enthusiasm for studying, but don’t you realize that your actions can cause trouble for others in such a situation?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Rudger shook his head.

No matter what he said here, it would only waste emotion and not solve the problem fundamentally.

“Erendir.”

“Yes.”

“Take responsibility for Rine and return her to the dormitory. If you do that, I’ll cancel the demerits I was about to give you.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Do I need to repeat myself?”

“…No. I understand.”

Even as Erendir agreed, a nagging doubt arose in her mind.

‘Hold on. Why is there such a big difference between what he says to me and what he says to Rine?’

While he scolded her harshly, he actually asked Rine with concern.

While she was pondering this, the werewolf, which had been engulfed in flames, suddenly got up.

“Teacher! Over there!”

“I know.”

Rudger stood protectively in front of Rine and Erendir, facing the werewolf.

Although most of the wounds from the magic had healed, the creature was still disoriented by lingering pain.

As it looked at them with eyes filled with endless hostility, the werewolf suddenly moved.

It didn’t charge but rather tried to escape.

“Ah! It’s running away!”

At the same moment Rine shouted, Rudger chased after the werewolf.

He had no intention of letting the werewolf he had just found slip away.

Rine and Erendir, who were still unaware, noticed that the werewolf had a restraint collar around its neck.

Fortunately, the collar was hidden by the fur, but if someone else discovered it later, it would be difficult to cover up the evidence.

Rudger poured mana into his legs and pushed off.

Chasing the werewolf through the dark bushes and across the garden, he saw the werewolf climbing the wall of a nearby research building, heading for the rooftop.

Its sharp claws easily dug into the building’s exterior, and its massive body soon reached the rooftop filled with spires.

‘I won’t let you get away.’

Rudger immediately used a wire launcher to shoot vertically into the air and land on the rooftop.

Erendir and Rine, who were still watching from a distance, gaped in amazement.

“Was that a levitation spell just now?”

“Ah, magic?”

The levitation spell, which can be implemented by releasing mana through the manifestation system.

Rudger’s natural use of magic while running was unbelievable.

In the dark night, the two of them, who hadn’t seen the wire launcher, assumed all of Rudger’s movements were part of the magic.

The two silhouettes on the rooftop faced each other.

Although they were too far to see clearly, it wasn’t difficult to distinguish Rudger by his size and general appearance.

“Oh. The full moon.”

The clouds in the sky cleared, and soon a cold, gentle silver light poured down like the hem of a curtain.

It was a night of the full moon.

Rudger, who had been maintaining his balance on the rooftop of the building filled with spires, made the first move.

The werewolf also lunged at Rudger.

The two figures crossed paths, and a fierce battle ensued.

“Wow.”

“My goodness.”

Rine and Erendir, forgetting that they needed to leave, watched Rudger’s fight.

There was something captivating about Rudger’s movements.

Under the moonlight, Rudger moved like he was dancing, dodging the werewolf’s attacks.

Even from a distance, the chilling attacks could be felt on their skin.

Nothing touched Rudger’s body.

And the dazzling magic he unleashed, taking advantage of the werewolf’s openings.

Fire, ice, wind. Elemental arrows shot out.

Although the power was only about second-tier, it precisely targeted the werewolf’s vital points, dealing thorough damage.

‘She said he was in the military before coming here.’

Erendir recalled what she knew about Rudger Chelice.

She wasn’t particularly interested, but the maid in charge of her had given her some materials to read, so she had skimmed through them out of boredom.

According to the information, Rudger Chelice had been in the military and had accumulated a record by hunting Cryptids.

The description in his background was now unfolding before her eyes.

Erendir had never seen a mage’s battle before.

Or rather, could this even be called a mage’s battle?

It was more restrained, cleaner, and colder.

Closer to a soldier, or even more so, a hunter who thoroughly targets his prey.

Crack!

The werewolf let out a rough sound and rolled on the rooftop, then slid down the slope.

Rudger didn’t let it go.

A predator that never misses the opportunity created by an injured prey.

The way he used magic against the werewolf felt more like a wolf.

Swish!

The ice spikes Rudger shot pierced the werewolf’s chest.

Three ice spears, each the size of a fist, penetrated the werewolf’s body in succession, pinning it to the rooftop.

A wound that would be fatal even for a werewolf with excellent regenerative abilities.

The fight was over.

‘Phew. I’m tired.’

Rudger realized he had used a considerable amount of mana to deal with the creature.

‘Using too much mana is not good.’

Fortunately, he had brought more medicine when he met Hans. Otherwise, it would have been a big problem.

He wouldn’t have used magic to deal with the werewolf if he could help it.

There were more certain methods than wasting mana.

Using mana also worsened his physical condition.

The issue was that this was Seorn.

There were eyes watching him.

‘I can’t not use magic in front of the students, can I?’

If he used tools or methods from his hunter days instead of magic, it would only raise more suspicions.

‘I need to finish this quickly before it gets more complicated.’

There was still another werewolf hiding in Seorn.

He intended to resolve everything by tonight.

Kwaaak!

As Rudger slowly approached, the werewolf, which had been staggering, suddenly raised its arm.

Even at this distance, it couldn’t possibly reach him with a swing, so what was it planning?

Rudger’s doubt vanished the moment he saw the werewolf throw a piece of the building.

‘What…’

Fortunately, he was on guard.

Rudger immediately released mana to create a barrier around his body.

The debris that flew at him was deflected, but the problem was that the werewolf had bought time for its next move.

It immediately raised both hands and struck the rooftop floor forcefully.

Crack!

Due to the werewolf’s powerful strength, a corner of the rooftop collapsed, and the creature fell to the ground below.

Debris scattered, and a cloud of dust rose around them.

Rudger narrowed his eyes at the scene.

‘The werewolf used a tool?’

Even if it was an artificial life form and not a Cryptid, as a creature based on a wolf, its instincts as a beast should have been dominant.

At most, it could only distinguish whether something was safe to touch or not.

But from the previous one to this one in front of him now.

There was something unsettling about calling them werewolves.

The way they fled when sensing danger and, especially, the ability to throw debris from a broken building, was something Rudger hadn’t anticipated.

‘Did I lose it?’

Entering the building through the hole, Rudger realized the werewolf had disappeared and clicked his tongue.

However, he hadn’t completely lost it.

A subtle scent lingered in the air, stimulating his nose.

‘Good thing I marked it with a tracking scent during the fight.’

Rudger followed the scent left by the werewolf.

His intention to finish everything by tonight remained unchanged.

He wanted to live, after all.

* * *

“Taisi! Taisi! Where are you!”

“Aidan. We’ve been looking everywhere, but we can’t find her. Maybe we should give up.”

Aidan and Leo were diligently searching in places where people couldn’t see them, trying to find Taisi.

After hearing that Taisi had gone to the eastern forest, they had been searching for her since sunset.

However, they found no trace of Taisi.

Leo, who was starting to get annoyed, spoke first.

“Taisi probably realized it was hopeless and went back on her own. If she’s not here, that’s probably what happened.”

“But you never know. Even if Taisi made a rash bet, we didn’t properly reject it, so it’s partly our fault.”

Leo made a sullen face at Aidan’s principled argument.

Indeed, he had told a lie to get rid of Taisi because he found her persistent advances annoying.

A bit of guilt.

That’s why he was searching for Taisi like this.

“Still, if we get caught by the teachers, we’ll be in trouble. Others might just see it as a demerit, but for us, who need to worry about our rankings, even a demerit is significant.”

“I can’t just leave her.”

“Do you really believe Taisi is still looking for the werewolf?”

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t, but this is Taisi.”

In fact, Aidan didn’t know why he was so confident in what he had said.

But the look in Taisi’s eyes when she challenged him to a duel or spoke to him normally.

It was always desperate and obsessive, like someone determined to achieve something.

Thinking about it, she might really be trying to catch the werewolf, even if it meant risking her own safety.

“Sigh. Alright. Let’s check for another 30 minutes. If we still can’t find her, we’ll go back.”

Leo sighed, looking at this overly righteous boy.

He couldn’t really stop him.

He knew this good-natured boy, who had approached him as a friend after helping him once, would never compromise on important matters.

Just as the two were about to move again after a brief rest,

Squeal!

A girl’s scream came from a distance.

The familiar voice was undoubtedly Taisi Friad, whom they had been desperately searching for.

“Leo!”

“Yeah. I heard it. It’s over there!”

The two ran toward the scream, pushing through the bushes and branches.

Suddenly, the bushes on the opposite side rustled, and someone burst out.

The leading Aidan collided with it and fell backward.

“Ouch. What’s going on?”

“Grr.”

Aidan lifted his head, feeling something heavy pressing down on his body.

The first thing he saw was red hair that retained its presence even in the soft moonlight.

“…Taisi?”

“…Aidan?”

Taisi, realizing she was on top of someone, quickly got up.

“You, you! What are you doing here?!”

“Well, I heard your scream….”

“What?! Scream? I didn’t scream!”

Taisi, blushing, shouted at Aidan, making Leo sigh, thinking he had worried for nothing.

At that moment, a beast’s growl was heard.

Grr.

“Huh! Aidan, did you hear that?”

“Yeah. Is that really the rumored werewolf?”

The two looked warily at the bushes. Aidan and Leo both took out their wands.

Then Taisi stood in front of them.

“Both of you, wait a moment.”

“Taisi, what are you doing?”

In response to Aidan’s question, Taisi, who was unusually hesitant, put a finger to her lips and gestured for them to follow.

Aidan and Leo looked at each other, wondering what was going on, but ultimately decided to follow Taisi.

The three quietly moved and eventually reached a depression where the ground had caved in.

“Look over there.”

Following Taisi’s quiet direction, they saw something moving in the center of the depression, covered in fallen leaves.

“What is that…?”

Aidan, a country boy with good night vision, immediately recognized what it was.

“A werewolf?”

It was definitely a werewolf. Though it was covered in wounds and panting heavily, it was unmistakable.

And.

“It’s a pup.”

The small creature was clearly not yet an adult.