Edited by: tommyjl7

The attack of a clawed hand at my heart came from the front. The strike was fast and powerful, but so primitive and savage that I knew where it would hit before Johann even managed to raise his hand. Almost effortlessly I strike it off its path and counterattacked with my elbow using the momentum of were-Johann to add even more brute force.

He yelped collapsing on the floor.

- “I remember him being stronger.” Gisele said sitting on one of the barrels

- “F’course you do! He isn’t even a shadow of his possessed-self, he could only be dangerous to villagers, but even then they would easily overpower him if they would gather in the crowd…” I answered her turning my face away from Johann. His instincts made him attack the creature he deemed had lowered its guard.

… Yet I stopped an attack even without looking at him. Another counter sent him flying to the opposite wall.

- “Johann, Johann-Johann, Johann…” I said with a sad tone still shifting, becoming bigger and stronger in the process “… Just because we look like beasts doesn’t mean we should act like one…” he charged again, yet this time he didn’t have the strength advantage.

I no longer had to dodge or strike off his attacks. I stretched my own clawed hand and caught his fist in mine. I quickly closed my grasp in painful grip trapping his limb.

- “You know, lycanthropy is called a curse by many, but few consider it a blessing – a touch of the wolf – they call it.”

- “Blessing?! THIS!?” I was rudely disturbed “… there is no way it is a blessing! I just have to… I need to…”

- “Hunt? Kill? Dominate? Eradicate?”

- “YEEES!” he howled.

He used the second paw to attack, yet before he was able to finish his attack, using his entrapped limb I raised him in the air and throw him at the floor. A bone or two cracked, yet in very next moment I heard them snapping back healing minor damages almost instantly.

- “Look at you, reduced to nothing more than animal. How sad.”

- “I CAN’T CONTROL IT!” another cry filled with pain and suffering. He jumped from the ground back into position ready to continue our battle.

- “I will teach you a thing or two about curses… Gisele, wanna swap?” I quickly looked toward my mate

- “I was afraid you would never ask!” She said cheerfully jumping off the barrels.

We walked past each other nailing a high five mid-way. I sat on the barrel while Gisele bared her fist for a brawl.

- “Where was I.. Ah, yes, the curses, you see, it is impossible to corrupt completely pure beings, a curse is the kind of spell that finds a weakness or flaw and feasts upon it enlarging it in process. There are no pure humans, there always is a shard of darkness in our hearts – smaller or bigger, though the stronger the person is that’s casting a curse and the greater the darkness in your heart, the faster effects of curse appears or/and they are much more… spectacular. What I am trying to say is – the images in your head which you are seeing right now, this whole blood thirst, this madness, desire to kill, it’s all yours…”

As I was talking Gisele was bullying a colossus which was almost 2 times bigger than her. She was boxing him like a pro, in the end, as an adventurer, she partook in so many tavern brawls that she could easily challenge Muhammad Ali in terms of pure technique.

- “Before we started I said: it’s finally time for you to learn, the truth that no one wishes to tell you, because you see, the secret is that a monster dwells within you. That’s your problem – the truth you cannot understand. You think, that right now you are being overtaken by some other existence, your evil twin or whatever. No, my dear friend. It is you, only you. The moment you understand your desires and accept them will be the first step to…”

- “Zari! I think he no longer hears you!” Gis yelled playfully still holding her guard high against her opponent.

She was right. The lights of sanity once again vanished from his crazy eyes, he lost the ability to communicate in the human tongue.

Once again he became a beast.

I sighed loudly greatly disappointed that my teaching was in vain.

- “Zari? What am I supposed to do with him?” she asked hitting beast’s jaw with the powerful left hook.

- “Hm? Nothing. We just have to wait till dawn. Keep him busy. If you would grow tired tell me, we can switch as many times as it is needed.”

- “O-K!” She cried happily unleashing a tempest of quick jabs pushing her opponent under the wall. When his backs hit the bricks of the ceiling, Giselle started unleashing single, precise blows. Each time she hit, the bricks behind Johann would shake a little.

The power of moons shining high in the sky, the power of evil devilish magic and the power of Johann’s hidden desires didn’t let him collapse. Over and over again they forced him back on his feet.

- “Babe, wanna take a round or two?” Gis finally asked me after an hour or two panting a little “… I had washed myself a few hours ago, so I don’t want to get too sweaty…”

I jumped off the barrels. All this time I was experimenting with morphing trying to check how much strength I can maximally obtain. I have even reduced other attributes in order to focus completely on strength. Because of this, the avatar I chose relied mostly on minotaur’s and boar’s DNA.

Werewolf charged at me with bared fangs. I took karate-like stance, inhaled, withdrew my dominant hand back while keeping it low, around pelvis level and gathered mana. As beast was flying toward me I throw my leg and fist onward, letting my whole body mass influence the power of an attack while releasing the power of mana shock wave. A quiet explosion could be heard as the body of Johann broke in several places, collided with one of many pillars supporting the cellar which completely cracked upon impact and still managed to hit the wall without being slowed down much.

His body was lying there, crippled, his ribs were pointing out through his chest, his legs and arms were turned in awkward angles and his tongue was lifelessly hanging from his mouth.

- “Oi! Don’t you think you overdid it this time?” Gis was truly concerned,

- “It is not that easy to kill a werewolf without a silver or blessed weapon. Sometimes, it was the ultimate form of punishment, for it didn’t let the cursed one find death.”

Just as I said, the body of Johann was slowly snapping back, though it was sure he will require more than just a moment or two.

- “Babe, I will wait here with him, mind bringing some shackles?... and a beer or two? It will be a looong night.” I addressed dragoness. She only nodded with her heard before walking toward the exit.

Few hours later.

Johann woke up with a loud moan of pain.

- “My head…” he hissed “… my body! Oh! Why does it hurt so much!? It feels as if every bone of my body was broken and forcefully healed, just so it could be broken again! My bones are on fire!” He hissed without even the strength to get up from the ground.

I exchanged with Gisele gazes filled with a little bit of guilt.

- “We had to stop you…” dragoness started

- “Yeah. Indeed. Stopping a werewolf required us to… be a little bit harsh.” I managed to keep my poker face, yet guilt was painted all over Gis’s face, or even more as she tried to hide it with a terrible-awkward smile.

- “I-I understand…” hunter would say quietly “… You… You saved me again. But… maybe you should kill me instead?”

- “Why would we do that?” I asked calmly

- “I… I don’t want to hurt anybody… and you won’t be here forever to watch over me. The very idea that I could hurt Marie is…” his hands were shaking as he was imagining the possibilities

- “I have already told you. You can live a normal life as a werewolf…. “

- “I will just turn into blood lusting monster twice per week? No, thank you, I can’t risk it.”

- “Johann. In each of us, there are two wolves living, one is evil – he is your anger, envy, sorrow and regret. He feasts on greed and arrogance as on self-pity and guilt. The other one is good. He is a joy, peace, love and hope. These two wolves are fighting one another since the day of your birth and will be fighting till the moment of your death…”

- “I know this story. - the one I feed….”

- “No. Your version is supposed to be taught children. Both wolves are pieces of you. They are not separate creatures, you can’t tame them, you can’t use them, you can’t cast them aside. You have to accept them and dominate them. Be the third wolf, the meanest fuck of them all. Feast upon them, swallow them, be greater than them. Only when you would understand and fulfill your deepest needs, when you would be honest with yourself – only then you will be able to control your inner wolf.”

I patted him on the shoulder.

- “But… how can I do it?”

I waited a moment.

- “Have you heard about the path of pilgrimage?”

- “No.”

- “Of course you didn’t. It’s a ritual-trial of beastkins. You see, beast folk believe that there are two possible routes of self-mastering. One, is a path of serenity, another one is a path of amok. Either via meditation, or via proving yourself better than the others – by hunts…”

- “You want me to finish the meditation path?” a sparkle of understanding appear in his eyes.

- “Once again – no. It is up to you which one you will follow. The path of meditation will give you inner peace, it will seal the beast – force it into slumber… But, by mastering path of amok…”

I started changing in front of him becoming a beast of horrors.

- “… you will become the beast you are afraid of. Those powers will be yours, you will be able to trigger them regardless of time and use it without being driven by your emotions. You will become a true hunter - a king of the forests.”

He trembled a little as he was watching me turn back into human form.

- “I…I thought that I had hallucinations when I saw you change the last time… I thought that because of my werewolf side I was seeing beasts around me – that it was another trick that was supposed to force me into a fight… But…”

- “It was real, Johann… Regardless of what you choose… go to the capital. There, you will find a mage called a Daralon, he will tell you what to do… just, be sure you would mention that we have friendly relations, just in case Dari would have some silly ideas.”

- “I… I don’t know if I can… Capital is quite few days of travel away from this village… I will turn into beast for sure and…”

- “Then make Marie come with you. Every evening before the fullmoon she would chain you to the tree or something. If you would ask your blacksmith I think he will be able to reinforce the shackles with some silver…”

- “I… I will think about it…. And if I would meet that mage – what then?”

- “Tell him your situation. He may help you, or not, then, you will start your journey. Look for old chapels. Aira will guide you.”

- “That’s it? I have to travel into the unknown hoping that…”

- “Johann…” I lost my temper a little “… becoming a beast pilgrim means casting aside your previous life. It means that for an unknown period of time your life is completely in the hands of the goddess. Then, you will keep getting weird dreams, you will feel that tingling sensation at the back of your spine which would gently push you in new, unknown directions. Doesn’t matter if Daralon would help you, you need to find a chapel in the capital. Then, everything would start.”

He opens and closes his mouth several times.

- “I…. I think I understand…”

- “No. You don’t. No one does. Not before they complete their journey. That’s the point. It’s not the journey through a land that matters – it’s about the journey through yourself.”

- “Ok. Fine. Now I am completely confused.”

- “Good. You can’t find yourself if you are not lost.”

He shifted his gaze from me to Gisele

- “Does he always talk this way?”

- “Only when he is serious.” Dragoness dragged me back into her embrace.

- “F-fine. I… I will talk with Marie…” acting awkwardly he left the cellar.

- “Finally alone.” Gis purred in my ear “… we didn’t manage to sleep this night either.”

- “Gis. We are leaving this village. It’s getting on my nerves… tomorrow.”

- “Why tomorrow?”

- “Because we have to sleep to be well-rested before the journey.”

- “We can sleep now and move out this afternoon! Or even at evening! The next couple nights will be bright so we will have no problems traveling after sun would set, so…”

- “Gisele, we are not going to sleep now.”

- “Yes? And what do you think we will be do…. Oh. You are frustrated, aren’t you?...” “… need to relax a little?” another nod “… you know I can’t say when you look at me this way.”

- “It almost sounded as if you ever said no t…”

- “Shut up!” she silenced me again by forcing her lips on mine.

Now, if someone would come demanding my help AGAIN, I will curse him and his family up to 10th generation.