A bolt suddenly shot out of the darkness and buried itself deep in the Man-Thing's arm.
He let out a furious roar, ripped the bolt free, and immediately tried to charge toward the direction it came from—
but Jack blocked him.
"You're being suppressed by the Bloodstone. You're too weak right now. Leave first. I'll handle this and come find you."
Jack shoved the Man-Thing away, urging him to escape.
The Man-Thing didn't hesitate. He turned and disappeared into the shadows.
Jack, however, had reached his limit. His bones trembled, skin rippling as fur began to sprout. Using the last trace of consciousness, he forced out:
"Find Lucas… he'll tell you what to do next."
Then, desperate not to hurt anyone, he fled at full speed as the beast in him broke free.
---
From where the bolt had come, a woman dressed entirely in white walked out—
Azarel.
"Well, well. Ulysses' daughter collaborating with monsters? You've disgraced everything your father stood for."
She raised her steel crossbow at Elsa.
"You again. Meddle too much and you'll die for it."
Elsa leveled her longsword, facing her down—
but before blades or bolts could cross—
Shhh—WHIP!
A wind blade flashed across and sliced off Azarel's arm, steel crossbow and all.
"AHH!!"
She collapsed, shrieking as blood splattered across the grass.
Lucas emerged behind her with a casual stride.
"Stop wasting time. Since we've found the Man-Thing, let's get him out so I can finally go home and sleep."
Without even looking at the writhing Azarel, he walked past her and joined Elsa.
"You're right," Elsa said. "I arranged things with Jack—he'll blow open the wall and take the Man-Thing out."
They headed toward the outer wall.
But another bolt sliced through the air, aimed right at the back of Lucas' skull.
He barely lifted his hand—
a wind blade cleaved the bolt cleanly in two, then continued on and punched straight through Azarel's chest.
Lucas didn't spare her a glance and moved on with Elsa.
---
Following the wall, they located the Man-Thing in a hidden corner.
He was holding a fully transformed Jack, who struggled wildly, but the creature's grip was like an iron vise.
"Ted!"
Elsa sprinted forward.
Embedded in the Man-Thing's back was the half Bloodstone, its power severely weakening him—after all, the Bloodstone could suppress any monster.
Seeing Elsa, the Man-Thing urgently pointed at the frenzied werewolf in his grasp.
"I need to remove the Bloodstone first," she said. "Once it's off, take Jack and run."
She tried to pull it free—
but the stone had fused with his flesh. It wouldn't budge.
She attempted several times, to no avail.
Then she remembered the miniature bomb in Jack's pocket—
it might work.
But before she could reach for it, heavy footsteps came rushing toward them.
The hunters were closing in.
Lucas drew Judgement and fired a single shot at the Bloodstone lodged in the Man-Thing's back.
The blast sent out a violent shockwave, knocking everyone off their feet. Jack, freed from the creature's grip, darted away into the darkness.
The Bloodstone also fell away cleanly.
"Go, Ted! I'll look for Jack."
Elsa urged him on. The priority was getting him out before anyone else could capture him.
The Man-Thing's crimson eyes flashed with thought. Then he nodded, smashed open the wall with a single punch, and vanished into the night.
---
Moments later, Verussa, Old Black, and the Asian swordsman rushed into the clearing.
Verussa immediately stepped toward the fallen Bloodstone—
—but a clawed hand snatched it up first.
BOOM!
A shockwave even stronger than before burst outward.
Jack—now half-shifted—was blasted unconscious.
The others were flung away like rag dolls.
Even Lucas hit the ground hard.
---
When Jack opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a massive iron cage.
Elsa lay unconscious beside him.
Lucas sat off to the side, bored, scraping lines into the dirt.
All three were locked inside.
Elsa and Jack had been knocked out by the Bloodstone's shockwave.
Lucas, however, had allowed himself to be captured—
he wanted to see what Verussa was planning.
And the answer was obvious.
Lucas had knocked down the Bloodstone, and he would surely give it to Elsa.
That meant Elsa was the rightful heir.
But Verussa clearly had no intention of letting that happen.
She had already taken the half Bloodstone from Elsa's necklace.
Her intentions were painfully clear:
she wanted everything that belonged to the Bloodstone family.
Jack, now back in human form, looked at Lucas in confusion.
"I thought I transformed into a werewolf?"
It was the first time he'd reverted on a full-moon night.
"No idea. Maybe the Bloodstone messed with you somehow," Lucas replied without looking up, still scratching patterns on the floor.
Elsa finally stirred awake—
without the Bloodstone's enhancement, she'd been out longer than the others.
"Where… am I…?"
Her eyes focused—and landed straight on Jack's bare torso.
"You turned back?"
Jack shrugged. "Beats me. I'm wondering that too."
Only then did Elsa realize they were locked in a cage.
"My dear daughter, finally awake. Feeling well, I hope?"
Verussa stepped from the shadows, holding the complete Bloodstone, smugness written all over her.
"Let us out!" Jack roared, shaking the cage with all his strength.
It didn't move an inch.
"Silence! Know your place, werewolf."
She lifted the Bloodstone toward him—
a beam of red energy blasted from it, striking Jack square in the chest.
He flew backwards, landing with a charred burn across his torso, screaming in pain.
Lucas glanced at Verussa, then calmly went to check Jack's injuries.
Fortunately, they were only superficial.
The Bloodstone wasn't particularly powerful in Verussa's hands—likely because she'd only just obtained it.
"Stop it, you old witch! What are you trying to do?!"
Elsa stepped protectively in front of Lucas and Jack, glaring at Verussa.
"Mind your tone! I am the head of the Bloodstone family now.
And you—" Verussa sneered.
"—are nothing but a bastard child."
She had finally dropped all pretense, no longer acting like a grieving widow.
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