Sharron's teacher was Klein's messenger, Reinette Tinekerr.
Earlier this year, Sharron had unexpectedly reconnected with her... or rather, 'Her', during correspondence with Klein.
Under Reinette's guidance, she began preparing to become a Demigod, seeking the Pharaoh's Mummy required for the ritual.
Coincidentally, the Kingdom of Loen had seized the mummy of Tutanssess II from the Southern Continent. Sharron again sought Klein's help. Amidst a chaotic battle involving several Demigods, they seized the mummy.
After thorough preparation, Sharron advanced to Sequence 4.
At this moment, her participation in the operation Raphael had orchestrated was in hopes of obtaining more leads on Indulgence Faction members.
Especially recently, as the Temperance Faction cooperated with vampires– or rather, with the Sanguines to deal with the Indulgence Faction's Demigod in Backlund, she naturally wouldn't pass up this opportunity to gain intelligence.
Originally, with a demigod participating, this operation carried minimal risk. Who would have thought Wolf possessed a Sealed Artifact equivalent to a 'Desire Apostle', allowing him to sense danger in tonight's operation... {T/N: 'Desire Apostle' is Sequence 5 of the 'Abyss' Pathway...}
They surmised this was likely a Temperance Faction trap and decided to deploy a Demigod to eliminate Sharron and Maric in one fell swoop.
Maric's advancement didn't surprise the Indulgence Faction. What they never anticipated was that Sharron had also advanced!
Raphael was unaware of these details. His wolf-like eyes saw the crimson within the mist, and the vanished blood-red tint reappeared.
He felt a full moon was hidden behind the fog. Once that full moon pierced the mist, he would lose all rationality, becoming a bloodthirsty, murderous werewolf.
This was, of course, the Sequence 4 'Shaman King's' ability. At Sequence 5, the 'Moon' Pathway gains the Full Moon ability, allowing an area to be bathed in a full moon state.
This Full Moon state was torture for 'Werewolves', 'Zombies', and 'Wraiths'...
Using his last shred of rationality, Raphael turned and fled the battlefield.
Under the Full Moon's influence, Ackerman's eyes also gradually filled with madness, and he immediately pursued Raphael.
Maric and Wolf both grew weak, but they barely managed to overcome their current state and didn't flee elsewhere to fight.
At the same time, the battle between the two Demigods began. Sharron, hiding somewhere unknown, let out a soul-piercing shriek toward the crimson moonlight. Even Wolf, who was not her primary target, was affected, his shadowy form suddenly faltering.
The moonlight in the mist thinned slightly, but the next second, in response to the shriek, over a dozen arrows condensed from crimson moonlight shot from the mist.
Fortunately, Raphael fled early; otherwise, the residual shockwaves from the Demigods' clash would have left him in a sorry state...
...
After desperately running across two blocks, as the crimson moonlight faded within the mist, the blood-red in Raphael's eyes gradually receded, and he regained his senses.
Glancing back slightly, he saw Ackerman, the 'Zombie' with little flesh left on his face, chasing him. Raphael dared not slow down.
As their chase continued, they naturally encountered some pedestrians. But due to their speed and the fog on the streets, passersby couldn't clearly see what had run past, which was fortunate for the ordinary folks, otherwise, they'd have nightmares for days.
Raphael was somewhat better off, appearing as just an ordinary werewolf, but Ackerman's face no longer bore any resemblance to a living person.
Running ahead, Raphael sensed the distance between him and Ackerman closing rapidly.
A 'Zombie's' speed far surpassed a 'Werewolf's'. However, Ackerman was severely wounded from Maric's earlier Possession, slowing him somewhat.
Even so, Raphael realized that in half a minute at most, the 'Zombie' behind would catch up. Fortunately, he was extremely familiar with the nearby terrain, and after brief consideration, he had a plan.
Raphael suddenly roared and crashed through a wall, entering a secluded alley. After running a while, he arrived at another street.
This street was quite wide, with many carriages traveling even at night.
Under the carriage lamps, many coachmen saw Raphael and Ackerman's figures. Some rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things; others hurriedly prayed to their respective deities...
But soon they became busy, because Raphael's 'Werewolf' appearance startled the horses. They had to quickly calm the horses to avoid collisions.
After running a few more seconds, he reached Backlund Bridge. This area was called the Bridge District because two broad bridges spanning the Tussock River here connected Backlund's districts on both banks.
So even at night, many carriages crossed the bridge here...
More and more coachmen saw Raphael and Ackerman. Exclamations immediately erupted around:
"Oh, good Lord..."
"By the Storm above, what is that..."
"Goddess above, is that an upright wolf..."
"Steam above, I must not be pious enough to see such a thing..."
Chaos momentarily ensued on the bridge.
Raphael, fleeing for his life, swiftly weaved between carriages. Upon reaching the bridge, he pushed off the railing and leaped into the Tussock River.
Behind him, Ackerman snorted coldly. 'Zombies' feared neither fire nor water. Trying to shake him off in the river was a pipe dream.
So he leaped forward, also plunging down. But while falling, he suddenly realized Raphael hadn't jumped into the water at all! Instead, he had driven his sharp claws into the bridge's structure and was hanging there!
Ackerman gnashed his teeth in fury. But he was just a 'Zombie', lacking abilities like a 'Wraith's' Mirror Jump. Feeling gravity's pull, he could only glare at Raphael and fall into the water.
Raphael pushed hard with his hands, jumped back onto the bridge surface, and shouted something the surrounding people didn't understand:
"One gentleman! Hahaha~" With that, he laughed arrogantly and quickly fled the scene. {T/N: This is probably a reference of some sorts, I just don't know the source. Alternate translation: "One male guest!"}
Ackerman wasn't slow either, quickly climbing ashore from the Tussock River, but Raphael had long since vanished...
...
At this moment, Raphael had ducked into an alley. Using his knowledge of the surrounding terrain, he twisted and turned, quickly entering another secluded alley.
While running swiftly, he casually grabbed a piece of clothing hung out to dry and tied it around his face.
Immediately after, Raphael ended his transformation, reverting to his human form. His shirt had been torn apart during transformation again, but he wore loose trousers, which remained intact.
Turning another corner, he casually pushed open a door and hurried inside.
A family of four residing here was enjoying dinner. They all froze upon seeing Raphael.
The sudden intruder had wheat-colored skin, a robust build, a gun slung across his back, a somewhat wild look in his eyes, and his face... his face was wrapped in a piece of women's underwear.
~~~
{T/N: Full Moon: This Beyonder ability creates an environment that's more advantageous for the user than for the enemy. This is mainly achieved through the control of Moonlight...}