NOVPUB“Tch. Anyway, Hea—”
Hans was about to say his real name, but Ludger cut him off.
“It’s Ludger now. Call me Ludger Cherish.”
“Ludger Cherish, huh? Ah, right. That was the name in the letter you sent. What the hell happened? Why didn’t we meet at the capital like we originally planned?”
“It’s a long story. More importantly...”
Ludger glanced at Hans’s appearance and shook his head.
“You’re still a walking disaster, I see. And what the hell is that look now?”
“Damn it. You think I wanted to end up like this?”
At present, Hans looked like something that would make a passerby scream and bolt—his form eerily similar to that of a werewolf.
But it was dark now. If someone had seen him during the day, they might not have run away. They’d probably just have been confused.
Because Hans, despite his size, didn’t give off any of the ferocity typical of a werewolf.
In fact, his features gave off an almost adorable vibe that didn’t match his large frame at all.
“What bit you this time?”
“No idea. Some fluffy brown mutt. It was cuddling with this lady, and out of nowhere, it lunged at me and bit me. Who the hell could’ve seen that coming?”
“Judging by the way you look now, I can guess what type it was.”
Hans, now in his half-human, half-beast state, was covered in brown fur.
But not the dull, rough color of a wild wolf. No, his fur was on the lighter, more eye-catching side.
And more importantly, his face didn’t resemble a wolf’s. It lacked the long snout—his muzzle was shorter, and his eyes were big and round.
Yeah.
His appearance looked exactly like that of a [Pomeranian], the famously cute lapdog breed.
So the “fluffy brown mutt” that bit Hans had to have been a Pomeranian.
“I’ve always thought this, but you really got dealt a weird hand.”
“Damn it, don’t laugh like it’s someone else’s problem. Sometimes I seriously wonder if I’ve been cursed.”
Hans had a unique constitution.
If he got bitten by an animal, he’d manifest that animal’s traits and transform into its form.
The classic legend of the werewolf—where someone turns into a beast when the full moon rises, their skin tearing as the wild nature erupts from within.
That was Hans.
Though... not quite the usual kind.
Unlike traditional werewolves, who only shift into wolves and react to moonlight, Hans didn’t transform under a full moon.
No—he only transformed after being bitten by an animal.
Specifically, into that animal.
Bitten by a wolf? Werewolf.
Bitten by a tiger? Were-tiger.
Bitten by a bear? Werebear.
In that sense, Hans possessed incredible potential.
But the problem was... he was born in the wrong era.
‘In this age of science and civilization, where the hell are you gonna find wolves, tigers, or bears in a city?’
Maybe if you ventured deep into some treacherous wilderness, you’d maybe run into one.
And the condition for transformation—being bitten—was completely absurd.
With predator-class animals, getting bitten didn’t mean transformation. It meant instant death. You don’t survive that.
So unless you had a death wish, it was better to give up the idea of transformation altogether.
Which meant, in a city, the only animals Hans came into contact with were stray cats, street mutts, or the lapdogs of noblewomen.
And to make matters worse, for some inexplicable reason tied to his weird constitution, animals loved Hans.
They ran to him the moment they saw him.
Brushing against his skin was harmless, but if they got excited and bit him?
That damned power of his would activate.
And it didn’t care about his consent.
He had no effective way to control it yet.
Hans had to live constantly on guard, because if he slipped up for even a moment, some tiny animal would bite him and bam—he’d transform into a beastman.
Just like now.
It wasn’t magic. It was something else entirely.
In fact, Hans’s power was closer to a supernatural ability—almost like a mutant.
“Here.”
Ludger pulled a green serum vial from his pocket and tossed it to Hans.
Hans caught it in both hands, eyes lighting up as he immediately jabbed it into his arm.
Fwsssh!
The change was instant.
The thick fur covering his body receded, and his large frame began to shrink.
His round, cutesy Pomeranian face morphed back into the slightly sly features of a human man.
Hans, now returned to his original form, ran his hands over his body and sighed in relief.
“Phew... If it weren’t for you, boss, I would’ve had to live like that for days.”
“Yeah, now that I think about it, that’s true.”
Ludger had met Hans quite a while back.
At the time, Hans couldn’t control his condition and was being hunted as a monster.
With his transformation powers, he could’ve easily become a king of the back alleys—but the guy didn’t even know how to fight. He just kept running, constantly harassed.
Meeting Ludger had been the greatest stroke of luck in Hans’s life.
“Though, I almost died when we first met.”
“That’s right. I thought you were some cryptid wandering the city.”
Cryptids were creatures that appeared here and there in modern cities—strange biological remnants in a world where monsters had all but vanished.
More like supernatural anomalies than true monsters.
Beast-spirits, ghost-beasts, bizarre creatures... or even forms made manifest by the interaction of negative emotion and magical energy.
That was what a cryptid was.
Ludger had originally taken a job to hunt one—and ended up finding Hans.
Only, Hans didn’t look anything like a fearsome werewolf.
Back then, he was in the form of a half-human Chihuahua.
A so-called Were-Chihuahua.
“I was more surprised when you turned out to be intelligent and capable of speech.”
“You were surprised? I was more shocked by how quickly you whipped up an antidote.”
“It’s not an antidote. It’s more like a neutralizer.”
“Same difference.”
Hans snorted and chuckled.
“If it weren’t for this drug you made, I’d probably have been hunted down as a monster in some alley by now.”
Ludger didn’t disagree. He gave a small nod.
“So your new alias is Ludger Cherish, huh. And now you’re an instructor at Seorn Academy? When the hell did you set that identity up? It looked impressive. When I read in your letter that you suddenly became a teacher at Seorn, I nearly fainted.”
“It’s a long story.”
Ludger explained everything—from the terrorist attack on the magitech train, to how he ended up becoming an instructor at Seorn.
Hans’s face contorted and shifted with every part of the story—shock, disbelief, then sheer amusement.
At the end, he couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
“Kuhahaha! You’re unbelievable, boss! How the hell did you think to claim you were Ludger right then and there?!”
“I had to, to stay alive.”
“If it were me, I’d have panicked and blown the whole thing. And this guy—he was part of some secret organization?”
“Yeah. He was a First Order, one of their executives.”
“Hmm. First Order. First Order, huh...”
“Know something?”
Hans stroked his chin, falling into thought.
It was his usual habit when trying to recall something.
“Hmm. I’ve definitely heard of it. No, I know I have. You heard about the recent upheaval in the Empire’s underworld?”
“No. Not yet.”
“Well, it’s brand-new, so maybe you missed it. But word is, some new group’s appeared—real strong, real nuts. They call each other ‘members’ and rank themselves using this ‘Order’ system.”
“Then it’s them, no doubt. What’s the name of the organization?”
“They call themselves the Black Dawn Society. Or sometimes the Black Dawn Order.”
The Black Dawn Society. Or Black Dawn Order.
Ludger repeated the name to himself silently.
Those bastards he got tangled up with were no joke—and definitely not normal.
They’d planted someone in Seorn, assassinated a staff member, and infiltrated the Academy under a false identity.
They were not to be taken lightly.
“Got any more info on them?”
“It’s so recent, I don’t know much. Just the name and the ranking system. But you’re saying you’re a First Order now?”
“Not exactly. I just took on the identity of the guy who was the First Order.”
“Lucky you pulled it off, but if you mess up even once, won’t they catch on?”
“Yeah.”
And if they did, what awaited him would be a nightmare beyond imagination.
Ludger clicked his tongue and fished through his coat pocket.
“Which is why I have to prepare.”
He pulled out his pill case, opened it—then frowned, realizing he’d already used the last dose.
He extended his arm toward Hans.
“My bag.”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“Ah. Here, I brought it.”
Hans retrieved a black suitcase he’d hidden in the alley’s shadows and handed it to Ludger.
Ludger checked the case and saw it was exactly as he’d left it.
“You didn’t open it.”
“Do I look crazy enough to go rummaging through your stuff? Not like I could open it even if I wanted to.”
Hans waved it off with an expression of pure distaste, clearly rejecting Ludger’s half-joking, half-serious suspicion.
“I figured as much. Anyway—have you met with Seridan yet?”
“You mean that little squirt? Yeah, we met a while ago. I was already waiting for you on her end anyway.”
“Sorry about that.”
“No need to apologize. It’s not like either of us knew things would blow up like this, right?”
Ludger opened the suitcase and carefully checked all of his personal items inside.
Everything was just as he had packed it before sending «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» it—nothing was missing, nothing out of place.
He pulled out two pills from the medicine case and swallowed them dry. 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘱𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Hans looked at him with a hint of sympathy.
“You’ve really got it rough, boss.”
“Well, are you any better?”
“No, I guess not. Now that I think about it, both you and I live off meds, huh.”
“Good thing these aren’t narcotics—no side effects.”
“So, what’s your plan moving forward? Got any strategy in mind? I mean, this identity fell into your lap, but I imagine there are plenty of complications.”
“I’ll figure it out as I go.”
Originally, Ludger had thought he might use Seorn’s influence to suppress or interfere with the group’s activities, but now it felt insufficient.
Expecting Seorn to handle the Black Dawn Order on its own was far too optimistic.
He’d need to take more proactive steps—rip out their roots himself.
“Hm.”
Just as he was about to shut the suitcase, Ludger paused and casually tossed a question toward Hans.
“Hans. If you arrived two days ago, why didn’t you say we should meet right away? Why make me wait two more days?”
“...What?”
“What do you mean what? Two nights ago, rumors spread all over Rederbelk about a werewolf sighting. People even claimed to have seen you at Seorn.”
“Boss, what are you talking about? I just arrived in Rederbelk today.”
“...What?”
Ludger found himself repeating the word without thinking.
Hans looked just as dumbfounded.
“Wait, there were already werewolf rumors before I got here? In Rederbelk?”
“Yes. I thought it was you.”
“I’m telling you—I only got here today. And come on, you know me. If I’d arrived two days ago, you think I’d just sit around for forty-eight hours instead of contacting you immediately?”
The two men fell silent.
Then... who started those werewolf rumors?
AWOOOOO!!!
A chilling howl echoed from somewhere beyond the foggy dark.
Modern society had long since moved past the fear of wild beasts lurking in cities.
But there was no way these two men—men of their experience—would fail to recognize the sound of that symbolic predator.
“Boss...”
“Yeah.”
Ludger pressed his back to the brick wall and sharpened his senses.
Through the wind, he could faintly hear ragged breathing—and something moving quickly.
“It’s a real werewolf.”
“You mean... the rumors were true?”
“Looks like it.”
At that moment, both Ludger and Hans simultaneously looked up.
Between the factory buildings made of brick—on one of the high rooftops—a shadow streaked across under the night sky.
A black-furred beast. Its blood-red eyes left streaks of light like a comet trailing in the dark.
A beast’s thick stench hit their nostrils like a physical wave.
There was no mistaking it.
Ludger’s instincts screamed that this was no fake.
Hans, brushing goosebumps from his arms, muttered under his breath.
“Shit... it was real. Boss, should we get out of here? It doesn’t look like it’s noticed us yet.”
“It’s only a matter of time.”
The werewolf prowled quickly through the area.
But it wasn’t leaving.
It was circling the factory district, darting through various paths, as if...
...searching for prey.
‘There was something on its neck...’
When the werewolf briefly revealed itself, Ludger had managed to get a good look through the thick fog.
One detail in particular stood out—something around the creature’s neck that resembled an identification tag.
‘Was it something taken from a victim? No... it looked more like a collar—something to restrain it.’
Maybe he’d imagined it.
It all happened in the blink of an eye. It was entirely possible he’d mistaken what he saw.
Still, it didn’t sit right.
Why had that werewolf shown up here, of all places? Why had rumors already spread all the way to Seorn?
“Hans. We need to check it out.”
“Check it out? Wait—you’re not seriously thinking of catching that thing?”
“That werewolf... something’s off. It might’ve been released on purpose.”
“What? Who the hell would do something like that...?”
“That’s exactly what we’re about to find out.”
As Ludger spoke, he began pulling equipment from his suitcase.
He strapped a leather belt around his waist—one filled with empty holsters.
One by one, he filled them.
Throwing weapons. Close-range blades. Small vials filled with potions and reagents.
And finally, two pitch-black revolvers.
Click.
He checked both firearms quickly, then holstered them in a cross-draw fashion across his lower back.
Clack.
He snapped a pair of gauntlets onto his forearms—mechanical devices with hidden functions.
Watching Ludger gear up piece by piece, Hans couldn’t help but recall the first time they met.
“Been a while since I’ve seen you suit up like that, boss.”
Despite all the gear, Ludger’s outward appearance didn’t change much.
The tools he was using now were all subtle and discreet—designed for concealment as much as utility.
“This reminds me of your old days as a cryptid hunter. Didn’t you use a different name back then?”
“I did.”
“What was it again? You used so many aliases I lose track... Bar... Ban something?”
“Van Helsing.”
Having finished his preparations, Ludger shut the suitcase and stood up.
With his wide-brimmed hat pulled low, shadows cast across his face.
“Abraham Van Helsing.”
The name he once used when he walked the shadows as a hunter.
