novelraw Chapter 97 : Extreme Pursuit
Chapter 97 : Extreme Pursuit
Chapter 97: Extreme Pursuit
Deep in the forest, shadows flickered.
The pitch-black giant wolf grabbed Aurelia with one hand, darting swiftly through the woods.
It looked just like Tarzan in the movies, leaping from tree to tree, occasionally using its other hand—sharp claws extended—to grip a trunk, maintaining balance or shifting direction.
From a distance, it seemed like a drifting ghost in the forest, not even making the faintest sound.
Even the most experienced hunter would find it almost impossible to track.
However, for Levi……… all this meant nothing.
Standing on a nearby cliff, Levi stared at the forest below.
Within the vision of 【Soul Sight】, the brilliance of souls shone incomparably bright.
This was a dimensionality reduction strike.
It was just like military camouflage.
Of course, one could lie hidden in tall grass without moving, even enduring mosquito bites without a sound.
No matter how carefully someone looked, they would not discover a person concealed there.
But if someone used a drone with infrared to scan the area, then no matter how strong-willed or skilled the camouflage, the person would be completely exposed.
The same applied here.
If it were a contest of tracking and counter-tracking, Levi was certainly no match for this werewolf.
But why should he compete at all?
He had something like an unmanned reconnaissance drone at his disposal—why would he waste time chasing after the opponent’s heels? Levi had no interest in that.
Besides, this was not even some beauty.
As for how Levi managed to keep up with the werewolf, he naturally had his own method.
He had two puppet birds under his control.
One constantly tracked the werewolf, while the other served as Levi’s tool for 【Shadow Step】, allowing him to keep up in the shortest possible time—or even far surpass the werewolf’s speed.
After all, no matter how fast a werewolf ran, leaping and sprinting still required time.
But Levi’s 【Shadow Step】……… was essentially the equivalent of 200 meters per second.
Moreover, puppet birds flying in the air were far faster than a werewolf on the ground.
Combined with 【Soul Sight】, the forest’s concealment and cover were nearly nullified.
In such circumstances, Levi could effortlessly catch up to his target.
But he did not strike immediately.
For one, Levi had already noticed that Aurelia was in the werewolf’s grasp.
His incendiary bombs could not be used, making it difficult to kill the creature.
Under such conditions, the best choice was not to act rashly.
On the other hand, during the pursuit, Levi kept thinking.
The matter of the Baskerville family was still not completely clear to him.
Of course, based on the clues he had so far, Levi already had a rough guess.
That everything surrounding the Baskerville family most likely had something to do with that necklace.
This might also be the reason Aurelia had been attacked, since Levi remembered that after leaving the room, Aurelia promised she would keep the necklace with her.
Though she appeared to have changed clothes, with her stubborn nature, Levi believed the necklace was still on her.
Even so, Levi remained suspicious of how the opponent had slipped past his drone surveillance—at least he was certain that after the wolf pack’s assault began, nothing entered the manor under his nose.
But before that……… it was hard to say.
In short, Levi still had many questions.
But he believed he would soon have answers.
As long as he followed this werewolf.
In fact, baiting had been one of Levi’s plans all along.
He had thought that, if nothing else worked, he could use 【Disguise】 to pose as Aurelia and wander in the forest to see if he could lure the enemy out.
But since the real bait had already been taken, Levi naturally would not let this fish escape.
“………………………”
Aurelia slowly opened her eyes.
Darkness filled her vision.
What had happened?
Just awakened, Aurelia’s mind was a mess.
She blinked hard a few times, gradually regaining clarity.
Right—the manor, the attack, and……… Father!
At this thought, Aurelia’s heart jolted.
She hurried to stand, but the next instant collapsed back down.
Only then did she realize her entire body was bound tightly, leaving her unable to move.
“Hehehe……… it seems our young lady is quite lively……….”
Then Aurelia heard an aged voice.
She turned her head toward the sound and saw, not far away, an old man cloaked entirely in black robes, smiling as he stared at her.
“Who are you?”
The moment she saw the old man, Aurelia forced herself to calm down.
She glared coldly at him, her voice sharp.
“Who am I?”
The old man paused briefly at her question.
“Yes, young people these days no longer know who I am.
Heh, how ironic.
I should have been remembered for generations as the head of the Baskerville family.
Yet now, I can only hide in this forsaken place……….”
“Could it be……… great-grandfather?”
If she had been confused before, after her talks with Levi, Aurelia had already gained some sense of the family’s hidden history.
It did not take her long to guess the old man’s true identity.
“Hehehe………!”
Hearing her words, the old man froze, then burst into laughter.
“Never thought you would be able to guess who I am. It seems the Baskerville family truly produced an extraordinary descendant.”
“I also know you killed your own sister to become the family head.”
Aurelia looked at him with contempt, her voice cold.
If she had once been doubtful of Levi’s suspicions, now she believed them eight-tenths.
If this ancestor had done nothing shameful, he would not have fled into the mountains, nor used such methods to capture her.
“………………………”
The old man fell silent for a long time, before speaking again.
“Never thought you would even know that……… But……… what wrong did I do!?”
“Eh?”
Aurelia could not help but be surprised at his response.
She looked up at him.
Beneath his hood, his small eyes glowed green, now erupting with a wave of bitter, venomous emotion.
“What did I do wrong!? I was better than her in every way, yet just because she was a woman, she could inherit the position of head? And because I was a man, I could not? What kind of logic is that!? Just because the ancestor decreed that women would inherit, I was expected to bow and give up the power rightfully mine!?”
“…………………”
Aurelia gave no answer.
She did not know why the ancestor had made such a decision.
Strictly speaking, it was indeed unfair to the other family members.
But the world had never been a fair place.
Perhaps this ancestor truly had been wronged, but………
“What exactly do you want?”
Aurelia decided to take the opportunity to ask what weighed on her heart.
“Back then, you had already become the family head.
Why did you suddenly disappear?”
“Hehe……… you don’t know?”
“I heard that great-grandfather, you were attacked by the Wolf King while hunting in the forest.”
“Wolf……… wolf, hahahahaha……….”
The old man burst into wild laughter.
“Yes, yes, that’s not wrong—I was indeed attacked.
But not by a wolf.”
“Eh? Then……….”
“Let me tell you a story.”
The old man seemed to be in very high spirits.
He walked closer and stared at Aurelia.
Only then did she notice with shock—his body was hunched, skin and bones, like a walking corpse.
His face was ravaged, torn as though by some beast, even his gums were exposed.
This old man looked more like a monster than a human.
Any ordinary girl would have been terrified.
But Aurelia forced herself to meet his gaze, her expression cold, showing not the slightest trace of fear.
“Brave and stubborn—you remind me of my sister……….”
The old man sighed as he looked into her eyes, then sat down on a stone nearby.
“As a child, I always worked hard.”
He began to speak faintly.
“I was proud of being a member of the Baskerville family. And not to boast, but as a child, I was intelligent and eager to learn. Completely unlike my sister—she was a wild girl, always running about in the mountains and forests, much to the family’s distress. Because of that, I never much liked her.”
The old man gave a cold snort.
“In my view, members of the Baskerville family should be models for others.
Always running wild—what kind of behavior was that? Unlike her, I excelled in my studies, and also performed brilliantly in school.
That was my pride, my honor.
I—”
He believed that anyone with clear eyes could see—compared to his sister, he was obviously more suited to lead the Baskerville family forward.
But………
The old man clenched his fists tightly.
“On our sixteenth birthday, my parents held a grand banquet and publicly announced that my sister would become the next head of the Baskerville family.”
“………………”
“At that time I was shocked, and furious. I went to my mother to ask why. Then my mother told me that this was the Baskerville family’s rule—that only females had the right to become the head. Men could only go out to carve out their own careers, or assist the family head.”
“………Only then did I finally understand why my father had always been so incompetent. Before, I had looked down on him, thinking it was because of his uselessness that my mother had to take all the power into her own hands. But now I realized that my father was like that only because he had given up. But……… I had not given up!”
The old man glared viciously at Aurelia.
The bloodthirsty fury emanating from him made Aurelia’s heart pound violently.
Yet even so, she clenched her teeth, glaring back at him fiercely.
“I could not persuade my mother. No matter what I achieved, she would never let me become the family head. So I thought of a way—that was……… if my sister disappeared, then my mother would have no choice but to choose me as head.”
“So you killed her?”
“That’s right!”
The old man nodded.
“That fool. I only told her I wanted to see the same scenery as her, and she excitedly took me into the forest, to the places she usually went, happily telling me stories of those places. But I wasn’t interested in any of it. Later, she brought me to the edge of a cliff……… At that time, she stood there, and I was right behind her. With just one push, I could send her into the bottomless abyss……………”
As if reliving the scene, the old man’s hands began to tremble.
“And so, I did it. I watched her lean forward and fall from the cliff—at least, that was how it should have been. But she was stronger than I thought. At the last moment, she turned and grabbed the cliff’s edge.”
The old man raised his head, staring at the dark night sky.
“At that time, I had two choices. But I did not choose to save her. Instead, I drew the dagger I carried for self-defense and stabbed her palm, severing her fingers, and watched her fall into the abyss.”
At this, the old man revealed a smile.
“Then I ran back home and told everyone my sister had fallen. Everyone went to search, but because I led them to the wrong place, they found nothing. But I knew the matter was not over. My mother was clearly suspicious of me. Though she had no proof, I knew she was a strict woman who could not tolerate a grain of sand in her eye. If she knew it was me, she would lock me up without mercy—or even kill me! So……… I killed her.”
“You killed your own mother?”
Aurelia was stunned at this point.
The old man lowered his head and glanced at her.
“Yes. She never imagined I would poison her. Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, she was already dead. Otherwise, I truly would have liked to vent my anger in front of her. To let her know—all of this was her fault!”
“But hadn’t you already gotten what you wanted? Why did you then disappear?”
Aurelia could not understand.
Though her great-grandfather’s actions were cruel and inhumane, he had already seized power and status.
Why vanish?
“Because our bloodline was cursed!”
“Cursed?”
“That’s right.”
The old man nodded forcefully again.
“After that, I eliminated many more obstacles and finally became the head. I thought just like you—that as the Baskerville head, I would lead the family to glory! By then, no one would care about outdated traditions of passing power to daughters instead of sons! But I did not know that surrounding this family was not only glory, but also blood and curses!”
“…………………？”
“After that, I married and had children. Ironically, my wife gave birth to twins—a brother and a sister. When I looked at those two children, I thought of myself and my sister. To prevent my children from meeting the same fate, I quietly killed her and buried her. But after that, I found myself changed.”
“？”
“I grew to crave raw meat.”
The old man stared at Aurelia, licking his lips.
“Before, I had no special desires for food. But afterward, I noticed I had changed. I longed for the forest instead of the study. I wanted to hunt prey in the woods, to devour them—and I did. I led a hunting party into the forest. But when others enjoyed roasted game, I only wanted to eat the living, wild animals!”
“I wanted to tear their bodies apart with my teeth! Feel their warm blood! Swallow their burning innards! I craved it more and more, losing my reason! More than once I secretly snuck into the poultry pens and devoured the animals. Before this, I had never had such urges!”
The old man roared with his mouth wide open, fists clenched, looking furious.
“I became more and more like a beast, not a man! I didn’t know what was happening to me, nor could I see a doctor. Too many others were watching the family head position. If I failed to appear the best, the situation would change completely. So I had to go hunting frequently to calm the hunger inside me. Until my thirty-eighth birthday……….”
At this, Aurelia focused intently.
She knew her great-grandfather had disappeared at thirty-eight.
But no one knew how.
“That time, I went hunting again. But unlike before, I felt something watching me as soon as I entered the forest. At first, I thought it was my imagination. But later, I realized it wasn’t. A monster was watching me from the forest depths, as if I was the prey……… Then my horse panicked and bolted. I don’t even know when I was thrown, but when I came to, that monster had stepped out of the forest before me.”
Perhaps recalling it, fear crept into the old man’s voice.
Aurelia grew tense.
“It was……… a huge black dog.”
“……………A dog?”
This answer was far from Aurelia’s expectations.
“That’s right, not a wolf—a dog. I had never seen such a large dog. It stared at me like it was about to snap my neck. And then……… I remembered nothing.”
The old man sighed spinelessly.
“In short, when I awoke, I had become a wolf. I didn’t know why. But I knew I could never go back. Still, I didn’t care much then. After all, as long as my son had no issues, he would be the next head. By then, everything would be fine.”
At this point, the old man grew angrier.
“But he also gave birth to twins! What a joke! But fortunately, before I left, I told him—if twins were born, kill the girl! I refuse to believe the Baskerville family’s fate can never change!”
This man was utterly mad.
Aurelia stared at the deranged old man, her heart growing cold.
She already knew from Levi that the Baskerville bloodline always produced a girl.
And this old man actually wanted to kill every girl infant, leaving only the boys to fight the bloodline?
That was pure insanity!
“Unfortunately, he too could not withstand the curse. When I found him, he had already fallen ill and killed his wife. I wanted to take him away, but he refused to accept the cruel reality, and even resented me—saying I made him commit such inhumane acts and that it was retribution. Then he left.”
The old man let out a heavy sigh.
After all, it was his son.
There were still feelings.
Seeing things turn out like this, he felt some regret.
“I don’t know where he went after that……………”
If Levi had heard this, he would have told the old man that his son’s head had been hanging in Wolf Head Village for decades.
“And because of that, he failed to pass down my teachings, leading to the birth of you, this abomination.”
The old man sighed again, then stared coldly at Aurelia.
“Fortunately, I found a way to lift the curse.”
“………………………”
Aurelia said nothing.
She was tied up and dragged here—how could his method be peaceful?
“Don’t you want to know your fate?”
The old man lowered his head, staring at her with a cruel smile.
“Your flesh will be devoured, and the Emerald Heart destroyed. In this way, the Baskerville curse will be completely gone!”
“Emerald Heart?”
“I know it’s on you.”
The old man stretched out his hand, seizing the necklace hanging around Aurelia’s neck, pulling it free.
He stared at the red gem on the necklace, eyes glowing.
“This is the Baskerville secret treasure, only usable by the head. I searched for it for so long and never found it. To think you had it……… hehehe………”
The old man raised the necklace high.
At that moment, a flash of cold light appeared in Aurelia’s eyes.
The ropes binding her fell away, and in the same instant she leapt to her feet, a dagger silently appearing in her hand, stabbing straight at the old man’s throat!
“Psshhht!”
The dagger pierced the old man’s neck without deviation.
He roared, swung his left arm, and sent Aurelia flying.
“Fool! Did you think such a trick could kill me?”
As the old man roared, his body began to swell.
Soon, the cloak fell away, revealing a massive black wolf before Aurelia.
It opened its bloody jaws, staring at her.
The dagger once lodged in its neck fell clattering to the ground.
At the same time, another black wolf emerged from the forest and stood beside the old man.
“Father?”
Aurelia cried out in shock at the sight of the wolf.
But it only stared at her silently.
“Hahaha, did you think I’d make the same mistake again? He is now completely my slave. Come, my child, devour the flesh of your descendant and complete this blasphemous ritual!”
“Roar……………”
At his command, the black wolf growled at Aurelia.
Then it leapt toward her.
At that very moment, a gunshot rang out!
“Bang!”