Chapter 17: Oyster in the Ocean

The werewolf began to advance gradually with weighty footfall that would undoubtedly cause an earthquake if hundreds of them walked in unison. Its eyes were fixed on mine; it appeared ravenous, ardent, and desirable.

The trees' foliage were swaying in the moonlight wind. I could not see any stars above the engulfing darkness. I retreated while still facing the werewolf. My eyes did not dare to glance away, but my knees were on the verge of collapsing. I contemplated for split-seconds, *is this what I'm entering?*

"D-Don't you dare come near me!" I yelled despite the possibility that neither this werewolf nor other werewolves could comprehend human speech.

"You disrupted our place, what do you want me to do?" I was astonished when the werewolf responded with this question. I stopped scrolling backwards and a number of queries occurred to me.

*Could a werewolf peak?* This is an uncommon sound that I hear.

His voice was robust and resonant, and it nearly resembled a human voice. It had grayish fur and larger talons than the previous werewolf I saw years ago. However, I questioned whether they, too, could experience development. But his appearance does not resemble that of an adolescent werewolf, despite my lack of evidence to the contrary.

This is not the werewolf I saw before who abandoned his ring.

As I spoke, I forcibly opened my jaws, which were slightly trembling. "*Our place*? This is human territory, not yours!" As I recall, oceans must be traversed in order to reach the werewolf's lair. In that case, it is unthinkable that this location is owned by werewolves!

The werewolf snickered. However, his mirth contained derision. “Awe!” He almost lost his footing. "You must be a recently hired werewolf hunter!" He bowed half his knees and lowered his head sarcastically in front of me. "Welcome to the Mountain of Saint Nadni."

So, the place is known as Saint Nadni. I was curious about the origin of the moniker.

"This is where the master told me about a restaurant that sells contemporary cuisine," I reasoned when he began to chuckle once more. When he paused and looked at me with that expression, I averted my gaze. I could tell from his intensity that he was no longer joking.

He struck the adjacent trunk, causing the majority of its branches to fall to the ground and nearly strike us both, but he was unfazed. I ran towards a larger tree and concealed behind it before the fog created by the branches dissipated. "What a bit of crap is that elderly swan! He ventures to disparage our place as a sign of ridicule!" He asserted.

I was regaining my breath and snuck a look at his presence while ensuring he would not see me. As I contemplated what was occurring as I stared down at the sketch flying beneath my foot, I mulled the situation. Perhaps the master has sent me here to face a challenge. But why would he deceive in such a way?! He's endangering my life! I should have heeded the advice of the people. This is likely why they refused to provide me with directions. It was already past midnight, and I had minor wounds and itching in order to find this place but it turned out to be a trap!

"Why are you hiding here, you little human?"

When I heard the voice of a woman who sounded like a kid coming from behind me, my eyes widened. It turned out that the finger she was pointing at me behind my back was a werewolf claw!

The hair on my arms stood on end, and I started to freak out! I was trying to hide from the werewolf guy when I inadvertently walked beyond this hiding spot, which forced me to go back to the path and enabled him to see me again.

The young werewolf let out a laugh. The enormous werewolf charged at me, its claws becoming longer as it got closer. The boulders that had been piled up so high on the ground were broken up and sent flying in all various directions; some of them even went in my direction, forcing me to shield my eyes from the debris.

When some of the ashes got into my eyes, it caused me to cough up a lot of mucus. I didn't glance up until the whole environment had fallen into complete silence, and when I did, I saw little werewolf feet approaching me. "Father, is she really a werewolf hunter?" she asked, smiling in mockery. "She's not even competent."

I bared my fangs at her and laughed sarcastically at her response. I had no idea that werewolves also had a family tree like this, *fascinating*. Who knows what kind of wondrous animals they are.

Instantaneously, the wind became twice as frigid as it had been till it reached ten, making it impossible for my lungs to take in enough air. The clouds started to rumble, but it wasn't long before they began to reveal teeny, little droplets. I got the sensation that someone had placed a drum in each of my ears, and it made my vision whacky. The tips of my fingers started to become wet, and the moisture on my lips turned to ice.

When I started to lose control of it, my legs started to feel soft, as if they were going to float in the air. After I stood up, the coldness no longer bothered me as much as it had before. My eyes began to feel chilly, and my hair was growing out somewhat.

The little werewolf gasped. “What’s happening to her?”

“Awakening.”

I had little time to think as I abruptly threw a sword and charged straight at them. Both of them extended their claws further and were going to hit me so hard that I would be shattered into bits, but I was able to sever both of their claws with a single blow.

On the other hand, their claws started to regenerate quickly and they were about to attack me again when someone out of the blue emerged and cut them off from me.

“Huh?” I got confused.

After turning around, I noticed Dwayne standing behind me with a blade in his hand. I was completely taken aback that I could not utter a single sound.

*How did he get here?*

*How did he know I am here?*

“Keep your ground stable, Lita, it’s already near dawn,” Dwayne quickly said.

Now, the two of us were standing in the center of the area while the werewolves had separated into two different ways and were assaulting us from both of those directions. They both clenched their teeth and gazed at us with a confident and pride expression on their faces.