Mystery: The Ultimate Tarot

Chapter 37: Trying to Play the "Werewolf"

In the rented carriage, Wagner, a furniture merchant with the physique of a brown bear, chuckled while smoking a cigar, "I was worried about this operation, afraid that you would mess things up instead."

He sincerely said to Raphael Collins, "Mr. Collins, your mind and your grasp of human nature are truly admirable."

Raphael smiled politely and said, "It's just that their desires are too obvious."

Wagner shook his head, clearly not agreeing with Raphael's modest and polite words.

He then asked, "When will we proceed with the next step?"

"The day after tomorrow, or the day after that," Raphael said. "I have something very important to do tomorrow."

He paused for a moment and then said, "Well, tonight we can visit the grain merchant Holm first, in case he gets wind of it and flees Backlund."

Tomorrow will be the night of the full moon, the first full moon since he was promoted to "werewolf". To be on the safe side, Raphael decided to transform in the forest outside Backlund.

The group returned to headquarters, where members of the Mafia had already bought dinner.

Before taking action, Raphael had sent men to keep an eye on the grain merchant Holm.

At this moment, Raphael was eating dinner while listening to his subordinates' reports.

Around five o'clock in the afternoon, one of Congressman Wood's men arrived at Holm's house. The grain merchant immediately began packing his luggage and left with his family in a carriage without even having dinner.

Members of the Mafia had already followed in their carriages.

Raphael picked up a clump of Fenneport fried noodles from his plate with his fork: "We'll do it after he leaves town."

After saying that, he put the fried noodles into his mouth.

The group quickly finished their dinner, then immediately got into their car and headed out of the city to catch up.

The grain merchant Holm and his family were in a hurry and had a lot of luggage and family members, so they did not travel very fast.

Around 9 p.m., Raphael and his men caught up with them via another route.

Carter, his face covered by a handkerchief, drove his carriage across the road in the suburbs, blocking the Holm family's convoy.

Amidst screams, Raphael calmly alighted from the carriage, not bothering to cover his face with a handkerchief: "I need to speak with Mr. Holm alone."

As he spoke, he leisurely walked to the second carriage, opened the door, and Wagner, dressed as a henchman, continued to follow closely behind Raphael.

Inside the carriage sat Holm, who had broken his leg, along with his wife and two children.

The family was either trembling with fear or crying.

Raphael said, "Ladies and children, please get off the bus."

But Holm's wife shook her head, weeping.

Raphael's expression turned cold: "Get out of the carriage!"

They hurriedly got off the carriage, Raphael sat in the carriage, and Wagner stood indifferently at the door.

Inside the carriage, Holm wiped his sweat as he said, "Sir Collins, I think this must be a misunderstanding."

Raphael took off his coat: "Mr. Holm, perhaps you don't know me very well."

"I'm a very good friend, and I'll do my best to help them no matter what they ask for."

"But when facing the enemy, I never show mercy."

As he spoke, he took off his vest again.

Holm quickly replied, "We are friends, not enemies."

At that moment, Raphael's eyes turned brown, a thick layer of short black hair grew on his body, and his mouth and nails grew longer, instantly transforming him into a werewolf.

Holm's eyes widened in astonishment, his expression shifting rapidly from bewilderment to shock and fear: "My God, what is this...?"

Raphael grinned, showing his teeth. "Want to be my friend?"

Before Holm could say anything, Raphael reached out and tore off a large chunk of flesh from Holm's throat, tearing his trachea.

呲~

Blood spurted out, and the entire carriage was filled with the stench of blood.

Wagner, standing outside the car door, was slightly taken aback. He had guessed that Raphael was an extraordinary being, but he hadn't expected that the other party was actually a Sequence 7 "Werewolf".

At this level, one can even compete for the position of divine messenger.

However, he didn't quite understand why Raphael needed to transform to kill an ordinary person.

Raphael, now back to normal, got out of the car, having put his vest and coat back on.

As he wiped the blood from his face, he said, "Let's go."

Raphael did this as an experiment to see if he could digest the potion.

According to the experience of the "Temperance Faction" regarding digesting the "Werewolf" potion, the potion is most easily digested if it can induce some emotion between fear and surprise in others.

Raphael suddenly felt enlightened. He had previously thought that the core of the "werewolf" role should not be bloodlust and killing, but rather "outcast".

But at the time he hadn’t figured out a specific way to play the role. The information provided by the “Temperance Faction” gave him a direction all at once.

Feelings towards those who are different are very complex. At first, there will be disgust and alienation, but if this person is too powerful, in addition to fear, there will also be doubt and confusion about them, similar to the feeling of facing the unknown.

This is why he managed to digest a small amount of the potion during his previous battle with "the zombie" Ackerman.

Many people saw Raphael after his transformation and felt terrified, but they did not experience a feeling similar to facing the unknown, so they only digested a small amount of the potion.

Raphael walked toward his carriage without looking back. Soon, screams came from behind. Someone had witnessed Holm's gruesome death and was screaming in terror.

Back in the carriage, Raphael noticed that his potion had indeed been slightly digested.

Inside the carriage, Raphael quietly pondered the situation and eventually concluded that, in addition to terrifying and catching the target off guard, he could also design the crime scene to evoke emotions in more people when facing an outsider.

This is a clearer approach than before, and a more detailed guideline.

The next morning, Raphael, who was traveling out of the city in a horse-drawn carriage, read in the newspaper that a grain merchant named Holm had been killed by wild animals outside the city, and that the authorities were reminding residents to travel in groups if they were going out of the city at night.

Seeing this, he smiled slightly. Since Isaacs had already helped, he should fulfill his promise after the full moon transformation was over.

On his way out of the city, Raphael recalled the information about the "Stinger Gang" and conceived a general plan.

When the rented carriage reached the outskirts, Raphael rented another carriage in a nearby village, and then changed carriages twice more before finally leaving Backlund.

Finally, Raphael, disguised as a hunter, hurried toward the forests of western Backlund.

After entering the forest, Raphael found several wheel tracks on the road.

He frowned, wondering who these people were who had entered the forest together.

Once inside the forest, Raphael made no attempt to conceal his speed, running swiftly until he reached a valley deep within the forest before nightfall.

As night falls, a round, crimson moon hangs in the sky.

Raphael seemed to be suddenly inspired by something, and began to growl like a wild beast, and involuntarily began to transform.