My Werewolf System

Chapter 1805  The Price of a Soul

Kai slowly lifted the medallion from Midwak’s chest, his fingers lingering on the cold metal for a moment as the glow began to fade. After witnessing that strange, ethereal red mist expel from the werewolf’s body in such a violent fashion, Gary didnʼt waste a second. He rushed over, his heart hammering against his ribs, hoping against hope that the gamble had paid off.

Now, the two of them stood side by side, their shadows stretching long across the cracked concrete as they looked down at the figure lying in the center of the debris.

“He’s... it looks like he turned back,” Gary said, his voice barely a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the reality of what he was seeing.

Both of them could see a human figure now, vulnerable and broken. Midwak was clad in a very torn, ripped Hawaiian shirt that hung in rags around his torso, paired with shorts that had been shredded nearly to the point of falling away. But the most important detail was clear: the fur was gone, the claws had receded, and the bestial distortion of his features had vanished. He was no longer in his monstrous Glutton form; he was back to his human self.

Suddenly, a deep, ragged gasp of air tore from Midwak’s lungs, as if he were breathing for the first time after being underwater. His eyes began to flutter, slowly opening to take in the darkened sky above.

Immediately, Gary and Kai rushed to his side, kneeling in the dust. They werenʼt the only ones who moved, though; Rowa drifted closer as well, but the vampire made sure to maintain a cautious distance, staying more than an arm’s length away from the group. He watched the scene with a cold, analytical gaze, his hand hovering near his side.

“Midwak? You’re back, right? You’re not like what you were... right?” Gary asked, his eyes searching Midwak’s face for any sign of the hunger that had consumed him.

Midwak blinked, his vision clearing. He looked up at Gary, a weary, bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “What I was like... you mean, hungry?” he replied, his voice raspy and dry. He took another shaky breath before continuing. “And before you say anything else... yeah. I remember everything. I know exactly what I did... and I’m honestly surprised I’m not dead right now because of it.”

The weight of those memories seemed to press down on him, but before he could say more, Rowa’s sharp voice cut through the air.

“What are you two doing?” Rowa asked, his tone laced with disbelief and underlying threat. “This is your chance. Take him out now, before he has the chance to turn back into that form. He’s a monster.”

Gary’s head snapped around instantly, his eyes flashing with a sudden, dangerous intensity as he stared right at Rowa. The air around them seemed to grow heavy with the Alpha’s intent.

“Don’t touch him,” Gary warned, his voice low and vibrating with a promise of violence. “I told you before that if you were to fight against my family, I would do everything I could to protect them. What Midwak was before... that was not himself. If he had died then, even if you had been the one to kill him in the heat of the moment, I would not have blamed you.”

Gary stood up slightly, shielding Midwak with his own body. “But we have done so much to bring him back. We’ve fought through hell to get him to this point. I won’t let you take him away now.”

Rowa didnʼt say anything else. How could he, when he could feel the genuine, boiling rage behind Gary’s words? The vampire was many things, but he wasnʼt a fool. He knew that any aggressive action toward Midwak right now would trigger an immediate, no-holds-barred fight with Gary. Rowa looked at his own hands, then back at the Alpha. He was confident that in his current state, exhausted and pushed to his limit, he would lose that fight, even if he wasn’t exhausted.

‘I need more power than this...’ Rowa thought to himself, his jaw tightening in frustration. ‘But how would I even be able to obtain something like that? How can I match that kind of raw, stubborn will?’

While Rowa brooded in the shadows, Kai focused on the mission. He looked down at Midwak, his expression stern but focused. “Who was it that did this to you? Who was the one turning people into Gluttons, and what is the purpose behind all of this?”

Midwak looked up at Kai, the strategist of the group, and eventually started to push himself up. His body was incredibly sore, his muscles screaming from the transformation and the beating Gary had delivered. He was in no condition to fight anyone, but he managed to find enough strength to stand on his own two legs, swaying slightly as he balanced.

“I’m guessing you already know... you’re a smart one,” Midwak said, his eyes meeting Kai’s. “But you just want the confirmation. It was Unzoku. He was the one who has been turning people into this, and not just regular people, but the Altered as well.”

Midwak wiped a smudge of blood from his lip. “His reason for doing this? Your guess is as good as mine. He probably just wants to try and get rid of all of us in one fell swoop by turning us into mindless beasts.”

“He didnʼt say anything? You said that you still remembered everything that happened while you were turned,” Kai pressed, his mind already spinning through tactical possibilities. “Do you know where Unzoku is right now?”

Midwak shook his head slowly. He knew how disappointing the answer would be for the group, especially after all they had sacrificed to reach this point.

“The only thing I can say for sure is that he’s not currently in the city right now. From what I could gather before the hunger took over, it looked like he was heading somewhere else. He had a destination in mind,” Midwak answered.

A nervous, unsettled look settled on the faces of everyone in the group. The silence that followed was heavy with the realization that the threat was far from over.

“We should head back as soon as possible,” Kai said, his voice sharp with urgency. “It could be another target on Slough. This whole thing might have been an elaborate play to lure us away and leave our home base vulnerable.”

The group murmured in agreement. It was a classic tactical move, and it was the exact reason they hadnʼt sent their entire force away from the city. They couldnʼt afford to lose Slough while chasing ghosts in the wilderness.

“But before we head back, we should go and save the others as soon as we can,” Gary said, his determination returning. He looked at the medallion in Kai’s hand. “We now have a way, right? If it worked against Midwak, we can use it to revert all of the Gluttons back to their human forms.”

As Gary spoke, a pang of guilt twisted in his chest. He thought of the Gluttons he had already been forced to kill. He remembered the desperate situation at the Shelter, the blood, the screams, and the hard choices. If they hadnʼt gotten rid of those threats then, more death would have spread through the city, claiming the lives of innocent survivors. He tried to tell himself they had done the right thing for the right time, but the possibility of saving them now made the past actions feel heavier.

“About that... I didn’t want to say anything just yet,” Kai said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet.

He lifted his hand, holding the medallion up so the moonlight could hit the surface. Gary’s heart sank as he saw it. There was a large, jagged crack running right down the center of the ancient device. The light that had once hummed within it was gone. It was broken.

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