Chapter 1731 Act Like What You Are

After learning the information from Marcus, the group quickly realized that their next steps couldn’t be handled by just one team. There was too much uncertainty, too many unanswered questions, and the situation itself was far too dangerous to approach carelessly.

In the end, they split into two teams in order to cover multiple roles at once.

One team was being led by Xin. As for the other, that responsibility fell to Marie.

Their objective was simple in theory, but complicated in execution. They needed to find any hints, anything at all, related to this mysterious third type of Werewolf pack that seemed to exist somewhere in the shadows, or fourth if they were to count all of the Alpahas.

The problem was that this wasn’t just some rogue group they had overlooked before.

From everything they had gathered so far, this Werewolf didn’t appear to be connected to Lupus. Nor did it belong to the Howlers. That left only one possibility.

Unzoku.

Especially after hearing the descriptions Marcus had provided, it was clear that this creature didn’t match any Werewolf they were familiar with. Its presence alone felt wrong, unnatural, as if it didn’t belong to the same rules that governed the others.

Unfortunately, they had very little to go on. The only concrete lead they had was the city where Marcus had first encountered the Werewolf. That was it. No name. No clear sightings. No pattern they could track.

So Marie made the call. They would head there themselves.

Since there was a good chance this could turn into a dangerous situation, Marie wasn’t traveling alone. She had carefully chosen who to bring with her.

First was Innu, who had proven himself to be exceptionally skilled and powerful after his training with the Altered Hunters. He was reliable, sharp-minded, and capable of adapting quickly in combat.

Next was Austin, one of the strongest Mythical-type Altereds in the world. His presence alone was enough to deter most threats. And finally, there was one more.

As the group walked together along the open streets of the city, Innu glanced to his side, his eyes landing on the smallest member of their group.

“So,” Innu said casually, “remind me again why we brought this little guy?”

“Little?” Slit snapped back instantly. “You’re awfully confident for a human who would’ve been eaten by me in a matter of seconds.”

“Oh yeah?” Innu replied, raising an eyebrow. “Then tell me, between you and Luzen, who’s stronger? Because I have to remind you, I did beat Luzen in a one-on-one fight.”

He smirked slightly.

“Sometimes, there isn’t a reason to fight if we already know the answer.”

Slit clenched his teeth, his irritation clear. His hand twitched, and for a brief moment it looked like he was about to transform. Before things could escalate further, Marie stepped in.

“Stop it,” she said firmly.

Both of them paused.

“Slit,” Marie continued, turning toward him, “you said you were good at finding hints. At seeing things others aren’t able to see. Galdark recommended you for this task.”

She looked between the group.

“And remember, you’re part of us now. We’re all on the same side. Human or not, we’re all working with the Howlers.”

Even as Marie said those words, she was well aware that she herself wasn’t truly part of the Howlers pack. She was still connected to Kai, and that connection hadn’t disappeared.

Still, the point remained.

“Well, if you ask me,” Slit said after a moment, “we should just head to the police station and ask.”

The others turned toward him.

“You guys need to remember who you are. You’re Kings. One of the top gangs in the world.”

He shrugged.

“If you just mention who you are, they’ll break protocol and tell you what’s been going on. Then we follow the trail with our noses.”

“And if they don’t believe us?” Innu asked skeptically.

“That’s easy,” Slit replied without hesitation. “You prove you’re the Howlers.”

“How?” Marie asked cautiously.

Slit smiled.

“You start breaking things.”

The other three exchanged looks.

None of them had ever handled things this way before. This wasn’t how they normally approached investigations, and it definitely wasn’t subtle.

Still… they didn’t exactly have a better idea.

After a brief pause, Marie nodded. “Fine. Let’s try it.”

They made their way into the police station and approached the officer at the front desk. Marie spoke first, asking calmly about any recent deaths, particularly ones that seemed extreme or out of the ordinary.

“And if there’s been a string of them,” she added.

With the White Rose no longer around, it was now the police department’s responsibility to deal with such cases.

As expected, the officer behind the counter frowned.

“That’s confidential information,” he said firmly. “You can’t just walk in here requesting something like that.”

He adjusted his posture.

“I know people like to make fun of the police these days, but we take our jobs seriously.”

“Oh yeah,” Innu muttered under his breath. “Great plan, Slit. Really great plan.”

“Well?” Slit replied. “Why don’t you go ahead with the rest of what I said before declaring my plan a failure?”

Although it was embarrassing, Marie decided to follow through.

“We’re from the Howlers,” she said clearly. “And we’re requesting your assistance with this. It’s quite important.”

The officer flinched slightly.

Then he looked them up and down.

“And I’m Santa Claus one time a year for my kids,” he replied dryly. “Look, just head out. I don’t know if you’re doing this for some documentary or a joke, but we have real issues to deal with here.”

They tried to recall what Slit had suggested next.

Before anyone could say anything, Austin took a step forward.

And then did something none of them expected.

His body began to transform.

Bones cracked and expanded as his form grew, his body turning into his massive Minotaur shape right there inside the police station.

It was madness.

But Austin didn’t hesitate.

He lifted his arm and slammed it down, bending the metal counter nearly in half with a deafening crash.

“We are from the Howlers,” Austin declared. “And we demand information.”

“R-RIGHT AWAY!” the officer screamed.

The entire department erupted into chaos, officers scrambling to comply, rushing to gather files and reports, desperate to give them whatever they needed.

Slit watched it all with a satisfied smile.

“It’s time the Howlers learned how to do things a little more properly,” he said.

***