Tivian West Suburbs, in a quiet grove.
A tense standoff is unfolding in the silent grove. Adèle has Alex by the throat, her eyes fixed on the battered old man before her. She recognizes his face—he was one of the key figures of the Wolf Blood Society who had stormed the Joyful Dance Society back then.
At the time, the Joyful Dance Society had only one White-rank member, Adèle’s teacher, and Adèle herself, a Black Earth-rank Beyonder. They were besieged by several White-rank members of the Wolf Blood Society. Although Adèle and her teacher, as Desire-path Beyonders, had some advantage against the Beast-path members of the Wolf Blood Society, they were still overwhelmed by the sheer strength of their enemies. In the end, the entire Joyful Dance Society, except for Adèle, who was deliberately protected by her teacher, was wiped out. Over a dozen girls from the Joyful Dance Society perished under the fangs of the wolves.
Now, with her hand gripping the throat of one of her former enemies, watching him struggle in pain, Adèle’s emotions are in turmoil. The desire to tear him apart surges within her, but her rational mind tells her she can’t do it yet. He might still hold information about her teacher’s whereabouts. She must extract that information before killing him.
Recalling the face of her teacher, Adèle’s expression hardens. With her other hand, she grabs two of Alex’s fingers and twists them backward, breaking the joints. The intense pain forces a scream from Alex, but with his throat gripped tightly, the sound is muffled.
"Ahh... ugh... Adèle... don’t... I’ll talk, I’ll talk... Your teacher is still alive... Lean closer... I’ll tell you... ah..."
Suddenly, Alex’s body begins to change. His head transforms into a massive wolf’s head. Adèle immediately tightens her grip, intending to crush his throat, but the sudden thickening of his neck due to the transformation makes it difficult for her to grasp his windpipe and vital blood vessels. The thick black fur also makes her grip slip. Although she manages to tear into his neck, the wound isn’t fatal due to the werewolf’s enhanced vitality.
Breaking free from Adèle’s grip, Alex, now fully transformed into a werewolf, opens his terrifying maw and lets out a Fear Howl. The close-range effect of the howl hits Adèle hard, but she quickly uses her abilities to calm her mind. However, at that moment, the tip of Alex’s cloth-wrapped scepter glows faintly, and Adèle feels an uncontrollable surge of desire to flee. She takes a few steps back before regaining her composure, staring in shock at the gradually enlarging werewolf before her.
"Why! How can you use that ability!?"
Adèle demands an answer, her voice filled with anger. She had clearly felt it—not just the Fear Howl of the Werewolf, but another ability she was all too familiar with: Desire Amplification. That ability should only belong to a Desire Dancer.On the other side, Alex, now in his werewolf form despite his severe injuries, pants heavily. Hearing Adèle’s question, he twists his lips into a grotesque smile.
"Huff... huff... hehe... Why? Of course, it’s your teacher, Darlene, helping me from the shadows. Didn’t you see? Your dear Darlene doesn’t want you to hurt me, Adèle..."
Alex speaks in a mocking tone, and Adèle immediately shouts back.
"Shut up! Don’t you dare say my teacher’s name! Answer me! Where is my teacher? Otherwise, I’ll make your death excruciating. Don’t think for a second that you can beat me in this state!"
Adèle threatens, and she’s right. In his current condition, Alex stands no chance against her. But Alex doesn’t seem worried. He continues to smile grotesquely as he speaks.
"Hah... hah... Adèle, you still miss your teacher so much, don’t you? Of course... why else would you come to this Coal Ash District? Well then... let me reunite you with Darlene."
Alex’s words are filled with malice, his eyes gleaming with deceit. Although Adèle senses something is off, she can’t help but be drawn in by his words.
"You’re saying... you’ll let me see my teacher? Don’t try to trick me. I won’t fall for any traps," Adèle responds, her voice a mix of hope and wariness.
Hearing this, Alex spreads his hands and continues.
"Now, now... how could I dare trick the great Adèle? I can reunite you with Darlene right here, right now. No need to go anywhere..."
Alex’s words make Adèle frown, a sense of unease creeping into her heart. At that moment, Alex raises the cloth-wrapped scepter in his hand, the grotesque smile on his wolfish face growing even more horrifying.
"Watch closely... don’t blink... I’ll reunite you with your Darlene. Though she’s changed a bit... you might not recognize her, Adèle..."
As he speaks, Alex uses his claws to tear away the cloth wrapping the scepter. As the fabric falls away, the true form of the scepter is revealed to Adèle. Her eyes widen in shock as she stammers.
"This... this is..."
"Hah! I knew you wouldn’t recognize her! This is your teacher! Sure, she’s changed a bit, but you should still feel some familiarity, right? After all, you were her most beloved student, weren’t you?"
Seeing Adèle’s expression, Alex laughs maniacally. In his hand, he holds a grotesque "scepter." The top of the scepter is a large, transparent glass jar, inside which floats a complete human brain, complete with its folds and grooves. Below the brain, the main nerves extend and coil around the opaque scepter. The jar is encircled by several iron rings engraved with mystical symbols, and the surface of the jar is marked with complex blood-drawn mystical symbols centered around an inverted triangle.
Staring at the scepter in Alex’s hand, hearing his words, Adèle’s eyes widen, her face pale. Her expression is one of panic, something even Dorothy has never seen before. She shakes her head slightly, muttering to herself.
"No... no... this can’t be my teacher... you’re lying... this can’t be..."
"Hah! I’m not lying! Don’t lie to yourself, Adèle. You noticed it earlier, didn’t you? The peculiarity of this scepter in my hand. You noticed it, right? That’s how I was able to use the unique ability of a Desire Dancer earlier!”
"This brain in the jar belongs to your teacher—Darlene Moro. After we captured her, we originally planned to devour her completely. But Desire-path Beyonders are too rare. When we were halfway through, Duval stopped us. He took the remaining parts and collaborated with the Butcher Surgeon to conduct some experiments."
As he speaks, Alex slowly and deliberately displays the brain-jar scepter to Adèle. Despite his injuries, there’s a hint of pride in his expression. Meanwhile, Adèle’s hands clench tighter and tighter as she listens. Her breathing grows heavier, the initial shock in her heart shattering, replaced by an uncontrollable surge of rage.
"This thing... is one of the results of those experiments. A device made from a brain and nerves... capable of releasing mental-influence-type Beyonder abilities. It’s one of the Butcher Surgeon’s miraculous inventions! Since I was the one who captured Darlene, Duval rewarded me with this. I’ve been thinking about how to use it to capture you and earn another reward... hehe..."
Holding the brain-jar scepter aloft, Alex declares triumphantly, as if showcasing a trophy. Seeing his smug expression, the horrifying scepter in his hand, and recalling her teacher’s face, Adèle’s rage becomes uncontrollable. Anger floods her mind, and all her emotions ignite. The flames of fury transform into a single desire.
Kill him! Kill the bastard who committed such atrocities against her teacher and now stands there gloating! Tear him to pieces, then make the others pay!
"Die!!"
Facing the smug Alex, Adèle finally lets out a furious roar and charges at him like an arrow, intent on tearing him apart with her bare hands.
Seeing this, Alex’s smile grows even wider.
“Finally... your desire, your rage... has erupted.”
As Adèle charges at him in a blind rage, Alex tightens his grip on the brain-jar scepter and activates its ability. The brain inside the jar glows faintly, and the Desire Dancer ability that once belonged to Darlene is unleashed. Alex directs the ability at Adèle, manipulating the target of her overwhelming desire to kill—redirecting it back at herself.
Suddenly, Adèle stops in her tracks. Her eyes widen in shock as she raises her right hand, trembling, and forms it into a blade. Then, with a swift motion, she plunges it into her own chest, directly into her heart. Blood sprays from the wound as Adèle’s hand pierces her own heart.
Staring down at her bloodied chest, Adèle’s lips part, and a trickle of blood flows from her mouth. Her eyes lose their light, and she collapses to the ground, lifeless. Even a White-rank Chalice-path Beyonder cannot survive after their heart stops.
Watching this scene, Alex limps forward, his twisted smile growing even more grotesque as he gazes at Adèle’s beautiful corpse.
"Hehe... a Desire Dancer ultimately dies from her own uncontrollable desires. How ironic, Adèle. Your obsession with Darlene was your downfall from the start…”
"Uncontrollable, intense desires... the perfect target for a Desire Dancer to manipulate..."
Alex speaks to Adèle’s lifeless body. For a Desire Dancer, the stronger the target’s emotions, the better. The more extreme the desire, the easier it is to manipulate. Adèle’s overwhelming rage and desire to kill, already at their peak, made her an easy target for Alex’s manipulation.
A Desire Dancer has two main abilities: Desire Amplification and Desire Redirection. Desire Amplification intensifies weak desires to extreme levels, while Desire Redirection shifts the target of those desires. For ordinary people, these abilities are easy to use. But for high-ranking Beyonders, it requires a dance ritual to gradually build up the effect. Without the ritual, the abilities can only produce minor effects, such as when Alex used the scepter to enhance the Fear Howl’s effect, forcing the captains to retreat further. Or when he redirected Edmond’s suspicion toward Adèle, who already seemed suspicious.
In other words, without the dance ritual, a Desire Dancer’s abilities have limited effect on high-ranking Beyonders. They can’t instantly drive a high-ranking Beyonder to suicide.
But Adèle’s case was different. Her overwhelming rage and desire to kill weren’t induced by Alex’s abilities—they were her own, born from her love for her teacher. This intense desire didn’t need to be amplified; it was already at its peak. And with her rationality burned away by rage, Adèle’s mental defenses were significantly weakened.
Faced with an Adèle consumed by uncontrollable rage, Alex used Darlene’s ability to redirect her desire to kill—back at herself, driving her to suicide.
For a Desire Dancer, the more uncontrollable the target’s emotions, the more dangerous they become. When Alex realized Adèle’s goal was to find Darlene, he stopped worrying. He knew Adèle would lose control upon seeing her teacher’s current state. And as long as Adèle lost control, Alex, with his partial Desire Dancer abilities, had nothing to fear.
"Heh... I knew you couldn’t control your desire to kill, Adèle... Your fate was sealed the moment you saw Darlene. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time..."
Standing over Adèle’s body, Alex sneers. His eyes gleam with greed as he looks down at her.
"But... I should thank you... for delivering yourself to me as a feast... hehe... I’ve always wanted to taste you..."
Still in his werewolf form, Alex leans down over Adèle’s body, sniffing her scent. Saliva drips from his mouth as he prepares to feast.
"Now... where to start? The neck, perhaps..."
Opening his massive jaws, Alex prepares to bite into Adèle’s neck. But at that moment, Adèle’s lifeless eyes suddenly move, locking onto the werewolf’s face. Alex freezes in shock.
"AAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A blood-curdling howl echoes through the grove as the massive werewolf is sent flying by an immense force. His right arm is torn off, blood spraying from the wound.
Adèle slowly stands up, holding the severed wolf arm in her hand. She coldly pries open the claws and retrieves the brain-jar scepter that Alex had been holding.
And in Adèle’s chest, a heart beats strongly.
…
Meanwhile, somewhere in West Tivian...
Dorothy sits in her carriage, gently stroking a ruby-encrusted scepter. The scepter is engraved with the words "Afterbirth Keeper"—this is the Heart-Devouring Cane Sword she obtained from Luer.
"Who would have thought... this thing would come in handy here. And its passive effect... can even be transmitted through the spiritual threads."
Dorothy murmurs as she touches the ruby on the cane.