The Indulgence Faction's Zombie was named Ackerman. He froze briefly when he saw Raphael pull the trigger.
When he noticed that Raphael's spirituality seemed highly unstable, he realized something might be wrong with the gang boss before him and secretly went on his guard.
But Ackerman had never expected Raphael to shoot him right to his face!
Ackerman, a Zombie, had no fear of those bullets. The instant the gunfire rang out, he charged straight at Raphael, ready to twist his head off.
Just then, however, a shadow flashed past. A second later, a man of twenty-eight or twenty-nine appeared in his pupils, his face pale, his brown eyes brimming with malice, and his entire bearing tinged with madness.
Ackerman was possessed by the man and immediately became unable to move.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Raphael emptied his magazine into Ackerman. Although he concentrated his fire on Ackerman's head, unfortunately, he failed to shatter his skull.
The brain was practically a Zombie's only weakness.
The bullets tore much of the flesh from Ackerman's face, and many lodged in his skull, leaving his face looking hideous and terrifying.
At the same time, Raphael immediately recognized that the man possessing Ackerman was none other than Maric.
In the information Bevin had given him earlier, Maric had still been a Sequence 6 Zombie. Apparently, he had advanced recently.
Maric also gave Raphael a long, searching look.
Although Raphael had help from him and Sharron, what Raphael had just done was still utterly reckless. After all, Ackerman was a Sequence 6, and a Zombie with exceptionally strong defenses at that. Ordinary firearms could no longer inflict very serious injuries on him.
Had Maric's possession been even slightly slower, Raphael would have been in danger.
With only about half his tongue left after the gunfire, Ackerman slurred, "Maric... you're already... a Wraith! Steve and the others... really were... killed by you and Sharron..."
Steve had been a Wraith of the Indulgence Faction. Last year, the Indulgence Faction had tracked down Maric and Sharron. Sharron had asked Klein for help, and they had laid a trap to ambush Steve and two other Beyonders from the Indulgence Faction.
In the end, all three Beyonders had been killed, and Maric had used Steve's characteristic to advance.
Hearing Ackerman's words, Maric sneered within his pupils and looked toward Ackerman's right hand.
Squish!
Under possession, Ackerman plunged his own right hand, with its pale fingernails, into his chest.
The Zombie, whose face had little flesh left on it, twisted his features into a hideous expression of pain.
After emptying his magazine, Raphael immediately loaded a fresh one. He was just about to fire when an icy hand suddenly seized the gun.
The two zombies under Ackerman's control rushed over, stopping Raphael's attack and lunging at him to tear into him with their teeth.
"Grrr!"
A beastlike growl escaped Raphael's mouth. His muzzle and ears rapidly lengthened, and as thick, short gray fur sprouted over his body, he grew taller, bursting through his shirt.
In an instant, Raphael completed his transformation. He swung his long claws and tore one zombie's head off. The headless zombie flailed a few times before collapsing to the ground.
Raphael then seized the other zombie's outstretched arms and kicked it hard in the chest. Its chest caved in at once, its breastbone evidently shattered by the blow.
With his strength suddenly multiplied several times over, Raphael still felt unsatisfied and kicked it again, tearing off one of its arms.
As Raphael fought in his Werewolf form for the first time, his pupils gradually turned blood-red, and the thrill of battle flooded his mind. He discarded the severed arm, stepped forward, hoisted the zombie high, and hurled it away!
Crash!
The zombie knocked down a nearby streetlamp, breaking its lower spine on impact. It tried several times to crawl up with its remaining arm but failed.
Just as he was about to continue his assault, Raphael suddenly said, "What's so fun about beating up dead people?"
The blood-red color in Raphael's pupils faded slightly. "Right, there's not much point in killing them all over again."
A hint of madness immediately appeared on his wolfish face, and he turned to look at the Zombie who was attacking himself.
By then, Ackerman had gouged three holes in his own chest, from which black, foul-smelling blood seeped.
Under a Wraith's possession, he would not last much longer.
Just then, Maric suddenly froze within Ackerman's pupils. Immediately afterward, as though some force had struck him, Ackerman finally regained a measure of freedom.
Maric's expression grew grave. A shadow flashed, and he ended his possession, appearing on a nearby glass window.
A shadow promptly appeared on the window opposite him as well.
Maric recognized him and said coldly, "Wolf!"
Wolf was also a Wraith. In a harsh, hoarse voice, he said, "I knew it. This was a trap set by you and Sharron."
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Their conversation was interrupted by a burst of gunfire as Raphael emptied another magazine at Ackerman.
By now, he had gradually adjusted to his transformed state and was doing his best to suppress his excitement over slaughter. The blood-red color in his pupils slowly faded.
Yet he still fired at the Zombie who was one Sequence above him, because he knew Miss Sharron had yet to act. The Temperance Faction still held a clear advantage.
His second burst of gunfire once again left Ackerman somewhat stunned. He had never seen such a bold Werewolf. Zombies surpassed Werewolves in both speed and strength, and, most importantly, their defenses were so strong that a Werewolf's claws could only inflict superficial wounds.
Stunned or not, Ackerman immediately dodged this time, and only a few bullets struck him.
A savage grin spread across his face as he prepared to charge at Raphael.
Just then, Wolf, who had been hiding in the glass, was suddenly knocked out of the mirror surface by a surging force.
He rolled across the ground and was about to rise when all his clothing suddenly tightened, binding him like a net.
Astonishment filled the Wraith's face. In his grating, unpleasant voice, he said, "Sharron has advanced too! How is that poss... You were the ones who stole Tutanssess II's mummy!"
At the same time, Ackerman, who had been about to attack, was also trapped by his own clothing. He stood motionless like a statue, shock appearing on his face as well.
Raphael was equally surprised. From what they were saying, Miss Sharron seemed to have already become a Sequence 4 demigod!
As he thought this, he charged forward and slapped Ackerman across the face, sending the Zombie flying.
The surprise on the Wraith Wolf's face vanished in a flash, and he let out another harsh laugh. "Luckily, I have a Sealed Artifact that sensed your malice, so I invited Mr. Howard, the Shaman King!"
A vast expanse of crimson suddenly appeared in the fog, as though the moon had fallen from the sky onto the streets of Backlund, and it was rapidly approaching them!
Before you continue