The Laws of Werewolf Hunting

Chapter 538 Overlapping Identities

Not many people noticed the reappearance of the Dark Moon.

In their eyes, the world was still the same as yesterday, and some strange astronomical phenomenon was insignificant compared to their current lives. Many unsettling strange things happened that day, but that was all; they couldn't connect the small black dot in the sky with these strange occurrences.

The groups directly affected are often unknown to the public.

Clayton was summoned earlier than usual, and the sun hadn't even set when he realized he was on the verge of losing control.

Just in case, this time he didn't keep the basement key himself, but gave it to Donna, and then added ten more chains to his restraints.

His actions proved to be appropriate, and the impact was incredibly strong; he didn't regain consciousness until the afternoon of the following day.

Donna stayed up all night guarding the door, keeping a close eye on the situation in the basement. After Clayton came up, she checked his condition first, then took a lamp and went down into the basement to observe the traces left by the werewolf. Meanwhile, Clayton ate a lot in the dining room to replenish the "void sacrifice" he had lost. He could feel that he had finally digested the results of his battle in Weiodi, and he would enter the growth period again.

Clara and Joseph were both in the restaurant; they weren't there to dine, but to see Clayton.

Clara sat on the table, her face showing concern for werewolves for the first time. Clayton, chewing on raw meat, saw her expression and reached out his right hand to pat her head.

"Luckily, Dark Moon didn't affect you, otherwise your family would have been in real trouble."

Clara is a demon fused with its host. Although classified as Darkin by the Church, she is not a cursed creature.

The little spider demon raised its slender hands and grasped Clayton's thick right wrist together.

"Clayton, you must take good care of yourself."

It was practically an order, but the gentlest one. Clayton chuckled and patted her head, agreeing.

Joseph did not show any worry, not because he thought Clayton was a stranger, but because he had more confidence in Clayton than Clayton had in himself, so he could not understand Donna and Clara's concerns.

After inspecting the basement, Donna went to the dining room and sat down in her seat.

She looked at Clayton but didn't say anything; she was waiting for him to finish eating.

Clayton kept his head down as he ate, but he could hear her sit down and feel her spiritual gaze, so he stopped chewing and looked up.

"Just say what you want to say. We don't have a rule in our family that you can't talk while eating."

Donna stared at his blood-red lips: "Krey, you've entered the mature stage of a werewolf."

“Entering maturity… I thought I was already mature before, so what does this mean?” He noticed her pale face.

Clayton did not underestimate Donna's opinion. She was not a werewolf, and her research on werewolves lacked many details, but her understanding of werewolves was holistic, while his was still in a partial stage.

"This means that as your power grows, the curse also amplifies. You had the characteristics of maturity before, but you didn't show the strong curse reaction described in the book. I always found it strange and thought that the author of that book had made a mistake, until the return of the Dark Moon filled in the last piece of the puzzle."

“I checked the basement. Besides the large amount of meat stored there being consumed normally, there were also many claw marks on the walls. These weren’t from playing; they were marks left by a full-force attack. Even in an environment where food wasn’t scarce, you retained your aggressive desires after losing control. This has never happened before. Now, food is no longer enough to appease your wolfish blood. You must hunt every full moon night, otherwise your madness will last longer and longer until you return to human form. Even then, you will still be a madman, just like those moon madness sufferers.”

Clayton frowned. The so-called hunting probably meant not killing too small an animal, but at least enough blood to fill a cup.

"We have to buy an extra live chicken or sheep every month. Sigh, it's another unexpected expense."

"You're completely missing the point!" Donna yelled angrily. She stood up abruptly, strode over to Clayton, grabbed his beard on both sides of his cheeks and pulled it up, forcing him to look up and meet her eyes.

“This is a curse, not a disease. You can’t think you’re making a deal with it. Curses don’t make deals.”

"Your disregard for the curse is absolutely wrong. Forget about ancestral memories and bloodline instincts. The werewolf curse is a dead end. If you follow your nature and imitate your predecessors, you will only naturally go mad and die!"

She was so serious that Clayton was so intimidated by her presence that he forgot to take his beard back.

"What should I do?"

"Live blood food needs to be prepared, but at the same time you must use your spirit to fight against the curse, just like an ascetic fighting against a demon with his will, to reduce its harm while preserving its power."

“That’s too general.”

Donna loosened her uncle's beard. She didn't have much experience, but there was one thing she knew: "You need to cultivate a restrained personality to fight against your unrestrained wolfish instincts. If you do this in the long run, you can reduce the influence of the Dark Moon on you. There are precedents for this."

Clayton shook his head and sighed, "Excellent. I've just gone from an ascetic to a living, breathing person with desires, and now I have to go back to the beginning."

“Start by being more restrained in small things, and you’ll gradually get used to it.” Donna pulled the plate of raw meat away from Clayton. “From now on, you’ll eat cooked food with us, just like going back to the past.”

As she brought up the past, a sense of wonder washed over Clayton. Becoming a werewolf was only a year ago, but when he thought back to his human self, it felt like a long time had passed.

"Then let's have some stew today."

He stretched and couldn't help but look up.

Even though the roof blocked his view, he could still sense the dark star hanging high in the sky.

He used to need Donna's reminder to discover the Dark Moon, but now nothing can block his perception of it. It's as if their connection became even stronger the moment he noticed the King of Curses.

Later, an invitation arrived in Clayton's hands, and the elders summoned him to a meeting.

Not long after he received the invitation, Roderick paid him a visit.

When I saw Roderick this time, his skin was dark reddish-black, like a red-hot stone, and his temperature was like that too; his hair was like soft glass threads.

“I won’t sit down.” He looked unwell, but still said politely, “There’s something important I have to tell you: newborns who are directly inspired by the Dark Moon are not trustworthy. If you’re going to have contact with them, be as vigilant as possible and don’t expose your back to them.”

Clayton found this strange, because he rarely interacted directly with other newborns, and the only Darkin he still kept in touch with by letter was Oliary Blanco, a harmless college student.

"What happened to them?"

"A mutual devouring event has occurred."

Roderick's body temperature rose considerably as he spoke of the incident. His loss of control was different from that of a werewolf, but equally unapproachable: "The night before last, Mr. Sinclair, who lives downtown, hosted a party to celebrate his 150th birthday. The participants were all Darkin he knew, including myself, as well as other Darkin who lived nearby. There were many of them, and the party was very enjoyable. But as the night went by, by the early hours of yesterday morning—you should have felt that things started to change yesterday, right?"

“I know, the Dark Moon has arrived,” Clayton said.

Roderick looked utterly bewildered: "The Dark Moon has descended?"

Clayton drew back the curtains and pointed out the small black dot in the sky to him. He stared at it for a long time before he was convinced, and his expression became even more frustrated and unsightly.

"That's not surprising, that's not surprising. That's why the elders summoned us."

Clayton stood by the window and nodded in agreement, then urged him to finish what he had just said.

“Oh, it was around dawn, because of its effects,” Roderick glanced at the sky again in awe, “everyone was extremely uncomfortable. Some newborns were vomiting, and then we saw very fresh, familiar-smelling pieces of flesh and blood in their vomit. These young Darkin had all left for various reasons, but none of them were true. They had ambushed and devoured one of the guests.”

"Of course we subdued these villains. After interrogation, we learned that all of these newborns had been given a more twisted nature by the Dark Moon."

"They can strengthen themselves by devouring other members of their kind!"

“Mr. Roderick,” Clayton suddenly spoke up, “do you know how werewolves enhance their strength?”

“You devour the hearts of the strong to strengthen yourselves as a whole, but the abilities of these newborns are different.” Roderick frowned. “If a Darkin possesses a similar ability, they can strengthen that ability by devouring the other, at a much greater rate than werewolves devouring hearts. Even if they don’t gain entirely new abilities, it’s still terrifying enough, and it can lead to targeted murders.”

“Previously, Darkin with similar abilities could always form groups, even if they were not of the same race, because their lifestyles were similar. But if we accept these newborns indiscriminately, our comfortable social circles will become the hunting list for those with ulterior motives. This will have a huge impact on our originally peaceful lives.”

“Some members of the council had lost contact before, and no one cared because they were free men. But now, we need to request an investigation from the elders.”

"Furthermore, in order to prevent cannibalism, we must propose to the elders that all newborns undergo a screening, and that they be kept under constant monitoring afterward. If they get out of control, we must take even stricter measures."

“Aren’t you worried about me when you say all this to me?” Clayton pointed to his chest: “I’m a newborn too.”

Roderick stared at the werewolf's face in silence for a few seconds before speaking: "No, you are not."

His tone was very firm.

“You are a sealed one, with a clear bloodline, and are naturally one of us. Sir Jonard also appreciates you. Those newborns who are only human ancestors have nothing to do with you.”

Clayton's lips twitched, and he suddenly burst into laughter, spreading his hands out happily.

"You really can't be scared!"

Seeing the werewolf's expression, Roderick smiled in relief.

After finishing his business, he was about to leave. Before saying goodbye, he lowered his voice and said to Clayton:
“Mr. Bello, if you really are one of them, I mean if, then I have a piece of advice for you.”

He looked so serious that Clayton leaned closer to listen.

"Don't eat the locals."