Two days later.
Night fell, a full moon hung high in the sky.
Moonlight streamed through the window into the ward.
The patient in the bed moaned in pain, then suddenly erupted into heart-wrenching howls!
Two bangs.
The doors and windows exploded!
Two half-human, half-rat monsters leaped out.
After running a few steps, they were stopped by four figures.
"Alan guessed right."
The black-robed youth sighed softly.
"Senior Brother Locke and Senior Sister Jenny have both been infected with lycanthropy, and tonight is a full moon night..."
"Since they can't control their urge to transform, we can only use violence to force them to calm down and regain their humanity."
Alan stepped forward, blocking Angel behind him.
Across from him was Locke.
The handsome earth elemental sorcerer, now a monstrous creature with a rat's head and a human body. Thick silver-gray mane grew on his face and body.
‐‐The most terrifying thing were his eyes.
‐‐black with a hint of yellow, they spun around, flashing a cunning and cruel gaze.
‐‐"Squeak! Squeak!" Locke, hunched over, foaming at the corners of his mouth, approached Allen, shouting incoherently, "Get out of here!"
‐‐"Brother Locke, can you still speak human language?"
‐‐Alan, observing a lycanthrope patient up close for the first time, was quite curious.
‐‐"Does this mean you still retain a shred of humanity? How about we talk?"
‐‐"Squeak! Talking bullshit!"
‐‐Locke suddenly became furious, leaping forward with a strange cry.
‐‐Alan instinctively tried to use his hound pace to dodge the pounce.
‐‐He then thought of Angel behind him and stood still.
‐‐The most obvious change in Locke after his transformation was his explosive speed!
Alan could keep up with his speed, but Angel probably couldn't! If he dodged, Angel would be exposed behind him.
Locke would definitely prioritize attacking the more vulnerable Angel.
Angel's fragile little body would be finished with a single blow! Bang! Alan crossed his arms, blocking the incoming kick.
Thump, thump, thump! He retreated three steps, barely able to regain his balance.
Clear footprints remained on his sleeve. His arm was numb and painful.
As an earth elementalist, Locke's physical growth was almost comparable to that of a violent sorcerer! An 18-point physical attribute meant he was also a melee warrior.
Actual combat tests showed that after transforming into a beast, Locke's physical attributes seemed to have increased by two points. With this kick, the wrist-thick steel pipe snapped with ease!
Frankly, Allen took the kick head-on, and to be honest, it wasn't easy.
In fact, even more troubling than the head-on blow was his opponent's speed.
The earth elemental bloodline originally had a major weakness.
The agility attribute had extremely poor growth potential!
What you are born with is what you are.
Even if you ascend to the ninth level of warlock, from a probability perspective, your agility attribute won't increase at all.
Locke wasn't known for his agility to begin with, but after transforming into a beast, he had made up for his shortcomings!
Locke kicked Allen's arm and used the momentum to leap high.
He stretched his arms out into the night sky, his posture nimble and graceful.
Like a wild goose, he flipped mid-air and swooped down!
Alan's arm was still swollen and painful.
He didn't want to take another head-on blow from Locke's flying kick.
He turned, picked up Angel, and ran!
A roar came from behind him.
Alan didn't need to look back to guess.
The pepper-lime smoke bomb he had secretly dropped on the ground had been stomped on by Locke.
"Cough, cough, cough... squeak... despicable!"
A cough and a shrill curse echoed from behind him.
Alan ran to a nearby vacant house.
He placed Angel inside.
He hurriedly warned him, "Don't come out!"
He turned and left the house, closing the door.
Rat-headed Locke, his eyes gleaming with ferocity, approached him.
"Squeak... Big guy... You seem to be very concerned about that boy in black robes..."
After transforming into a beast, Locke didn't know whether he had unleashed the evil side of his nature, or whether his personality had been infected by the virus, becoming particularly sinister and despicable.
"Hehe... Hehe... If I kill him first, you'll definitely be very upset, right?"
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly rushed towards the window!
"Get out of the way!"
Allen immediately launched into his hound stance, blocking Locke's path.
His right hand, imbued with magic, slammed forward.
Exploding Palm!
The moment his fingers touched Locke's chest, the palm power exploded!
A thunderclap rang out, and shreds of cloth flew everywhere!
Locke flew backwards as if struck by a battering ram.
Allen's face was solemn.
He hadn't actually gained much advantage from that previous blow.
After transforming into a beast, Locke's reaction speed and explosive power were insane!
The moment he was hit, Locke sensed the danger.
He forcibly overcame inertia and stopped his forward lunge.
Simultaneously, he thrust his heels, leaping backward in a manner that defied the physiology of the human knee joint.
Allen's palm strike only hit the air, shattering Locke's shirt collar in the process.
Locke appeared to have been sent flying by the palm strike.
In reality, it was he who leaped backward!
He had perfectly dodged the explosive palm strike by a hair's breadth!
Allen had never seen anything like it before!
Gritting his teeth, he snapped his hands!
Two "finger waves" whizzed out, shooting towards Locke one after another.
Unfortunately, they were both easily dodged.
Allen felt a slight headache.
Without revealing his trump card, such as using poison or a tier-two martial art, it seemed difficult to defeat the beast-like Locke...
At this moment, Locke lunged forward once more.
His front teeth bared his lips, drool dripping from the corners of his mouth.
His dim eyes revealed a bloodthirsty lust.
Crack!
Just as Allen braced himself, the window behind him suddenly flew open.
Angel stood in front of the window, pointing at the beast-like Locke.
"Alan, close your eyes!"
The black-robed youth's warning echoed in his ears.
Alan, without hesitation, closed his eyes!
Almost instantly, a dazzling cone of light burst forth from the window!
Alan, along with the beast-like Locke across from him, was engulfed by the "colorful jet" blasted by Angel.
"Colorful Spray," a first-level spell from the "School of Illusion," works through vision.
As long as you close your eyes, you won't be affected by illusions.
"Alan, it's done!"
Angel's voice echoed again.
Alan opened his eyes.
The beastly Locke stood a short distance away, stunned.
"He's stunned by my spell. He'll be immobilized for at least the next half minute." Angel adjusted his robe sleeves and continued, "In the meantime, you should be able to subdue him, right?"
"Easy as a piece of cake!"
Alan grinned, clenched his fists, and stepped forward.
The joints of his hands cracked.
With two bangs, Locke fell unconscious.
As he lost consciousness, his beastly state was broken.