Chapter 490: The Curse
Chapter 490: The Curse
At the same time that Adam found the peculiarity in the blood samples, inside an ancient underground cavernous chamber, something even more bizarre was going on.
Here, the air was cooler and the scent of damp earth lingered in the air. The walls were adorned with elaborate murals depicting scenes of wolves in their natural habitats.
Some wolves were shown hunting in packs, while others were shown howling at the twin moons and prowling through the dark forests.
Each mural told a story. They were painted with such skill that the wolves almost seemed to move within their stone frames, their eyes gleaming with a malevolent and predatory light.
At the far end of the underground chamber stood a towering stone door. The door was massive, nearly reaching the high ceiling.
Its surface was carved with scenes of werewolves in various stages of transformation! Muscular bodies twisted and contorted, half-human, half-beast, their features fierce and wild. The carvings were so detailed that every furrowed brow, every ripple of muscle, and every elongated claw seemed to move out of the stone.
These carvings gazed at the figure standing at the center of the chamber before an enormous stone altar.
It was a werewolf!
This creature was gazing at the basin that lay atop the pedastal. The basin was filled with a dark, viscous liquid-blood.
"Almost... done..." the werewolf spoke with great struggle, his face contorting in agony.
Then, he raised his head and glanced at the spectral figures carved on the stone doors. They were whispering words of madness into his ears.
It was something he couldn't ignore even if he wanted to. He was compelled to listen to it wholeheartedly and devoutly.
His furry ears perked up as the raving slowly but surely entered his mind.
"The time is nigh...
"Lift the curse...
"Ancient blood ritual...
"The night of the blood moons... is upon us....
"Preperations... complete..."
The werewolf's body trembled in excitement as his bloodshot eyes gleamed with immense
reverence.
Unable to contain the exhilaration coursing through his veins, he threw his head back and howled at the top of his lungs.
HOWL!!
...
The White Stag.
In his room, Adam was standing on his feet with an expression full of disbelief as he gazed at the blood vials in his hand.
"This..."
He was completely speechless!
Suddenly, he turned his head in the direction of the Weeping Woods, his eyes narrowing in alarm.
What was that? He thought.
He just felt an extremely strong presence originating from within the dark woods. Judging by the general direction he was looking in, he thought to himself, Did that...
Did that come from the abandoned Howlett Estate?!
His expression turned extremely solemn. The energy that he felt from the primal wolf howl made it evident that the other person was a very strong being.
Could that be the dangerous presence I felt when I entered the ruined manor last time?
All of a sudden, a deep sense of urgency filled his being and he couldn't help but begin to feel anxious. He couldn't help but walk toward the window and glance at the night sky.
He gazed at Selene and Luna and subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief, It's not the night of the full moon...
Adam then looked at the blood vials in his hand, the sense of urgency getting more and more intense by the second.
"No..." He shook his head. "I can't be completely sure. I must get more blood samples."
The next moment, he jumped out of the window and was enveloped in shadows, silently traversing the snow-laden cobblestone streets.
...
By the time he had returned, it had already been close to an hour.
During this time, he had gone around town and managed to extract blood samples from people without them even knowing.
Half of these samples belonged to the residents, while the other half belonged to the mercenaries and Magi who were hired to help the town.
Of course, Adam had only drawn very minuscule amounts of blood from each subject without harming them. The quantity was just enough for him to carry out tests and compare them with one another.
Only through a large enough sample size would he be able to affirm his speculation.
If the Magi in the town knew that Adam was going around secretly extracting blood, it would lead to pandemonium.
It was not the act of collecting blood that would cause disorder amongst the Magi, but what the blood would be used for.
Since time immemorial, it was a well-known fact that blood was the perfect conduit to curse someone with magic. There were several spells that could be used to bring harm, misfortune, or negative consequences to the target.
But lucky for these people, Adam had no interest in doing such a thing.
"I hope I'm wrong," he muttered in apprehension as he hurriedly took out necessary tools
and apparatuses from his earring and orderly placed them on the table.
He first carefully inspected all the blood samples through his Sphere of Resonance. His eyebrows furrowed into a knot seeing the results.
Then, he carefully dropped a drop of blood from each of the crystal vials onto a silver platter engraved with arcane signs. The blood droplets sizzled and sparkled, revealing hidden mysteries to his eyes.
By the time the sun had risen, Adam had finally finished analyzing all the blood samples and comparing them.
He found that the blood from the mercenaries and the hired Magi were normal. However, the blood from the residents of the town-including the mayor-shared a strange property.
This revelation caused a severe chill to crawl up his spine. For a moment, he couldn't even believe the result of his analysis. But he knew it was the truth.
He walked toward the window and gazed at the residents of the town as they began their day.
He looked at the men, the women, the children, and the elderly.
His eyes flashed with complicated emotions and he involuntarily clenched his fists.
"This town is cursed..."