Gwangrang's True Face
A heavy thud echoed as Gwangrang landed.
Up close, the creature was even larger than it had seemed. Its thick, shaggy fur only made it appear more imposing.
The fur wasn't soft at all—it was coarse and bristly, with sharp tips that gave no impression of cuteness. Anyone who got too close would likely be cut or stabbed by those strands.
Gwangrang's blood-red eyes slowly swept over me, Eris, and the group of thieves. Its gaze eventually settled on the thieves, and a low, menacing growl rumbled through the alley like a dark omen.
The thieves, who had been standing there with blank expressions, finally grasped the situation once they heard the growl.
Fear twisted their faces.
"G-Gwangrang?"
"Shit, run!"
Gwangrang had no intention of letting them escape.
"Aaaaargh!"
The "judgment" had begun.
Gwangrang charged into the thieves and swung its arm. With a sickening crunch, one thief's head was torn clean off.
Another thief, his stomach ripped open by Gwangrang's claws, rolled across the ground. He died while desperately trying to stuff his spilled intestines back inside.
One thief seemed to realize running was pointless—or perhaps had simply gone mad—and charged at Gwangrang with a dagger raised.
Then came a horrible, tearing sound. It was the sound of a person being literally ripped apart. Blood splattered across the ground with a wet patter.
I watched Gwangrang's judgment in silence.
There was nothing else I could do.
Only after Gwangrang had brutally torn apart the remaining two thieves did it finally stop its rampage.
Staring at the bodies scattered in pieces, I wondered if it was right to call this "judgment." Could something so cruel truly be called justice?
"Professor. Behind me."
Eris stepped in front of me as she spoke.
Gwangrang's crimson gaze, which had just finished slaughtering the thieves, was now fixed on us.
Eris stood protectively before me, glaring at Gwangrang. Their eyes met in a cold, tense silence.
She looked ready to fight if necessary.
I didn't think that was a good idea.
Gwangrang possessed the strength to tear people apart with its bare hands. Even Eris wouldn't be able to subdue it completely.
Trying to talk? No, it doesn't look like something that can be reasoned with.
Gwangrang's red eyes were unfocused, and drool dripped from its mouth. Its swollen muscles and razor-sharp claws looked ready to rip someone apart at any moment.
Its name was Gwangrang after all—"Mad Wolf."
Conversation was out of the question.
Could we run? If Gwangrang decided to chase us…
In that case, I would act as bait.
At least Eris would make it out safely.
Just as I reached out and grabbed Eris's wrist with that thought—
Thud!
Gwangrang collapsed.
I glanced at Eris. She looked just as surprised.
She hadn't done anything. Gwangrang had simply exhausted itself and fallen.
The massive body gradually shrank, like a deflating balloon.
Come to think of it, Gwangrang was a werewolf. It could exist in both wolf and human forms.
Curiosity stirred within me.
What does Gwangrang look like in human form?
I approached carefully and examined the human Gwangrang's face.
It was remarkably ordinary—almost kind-looking.
For a moment, I thought it seemed familiar.
"Huh…?"
It wasn't my imagination.
I had seen this face before.
"…Naikle?"
The rookie from the Public Security Bureau whom Justin had introduced. The very person who had begged me for the stimulant Call of the Dawn.
* * *
It would have been better if I had never known it was Naikle.
Then I could have left Gwangrang lying in the street without a second thought and handed the rest over to the authorities.
But now that I knew Gwangrang was Naikle, I couldn't just ignore her.
Part of it was the lingering concern from our previous encounter, but there was an even greater reason.
Anyone who has received even one counseling session from me is my client.
And a counselor must feel a proper sense of responsibility toward their clients.
So in the end, I carried Naikle back to the counseling office.
Even after arriving, Naikle remained unconscious.
If she woke up and started rampaging, it would be problematic. I fetched some rope from the storage room and tied her hands behind her back.
Eris watched quietly as I bound Naikle's hands.
"You're quite skilled at tying people up. Suspicious."
"Don't say weird things. You could at least help."
Honestly, I wasn't sure how much good tying her up would do.
Werewolves possessed considerable strength even in human form.
Thinking back, she had shown unnatural strength when she pushed my arm away last time.
Still, it's better than doing nothing.
Naikle woke up about five minutes later.
She sat up with a furrowed brow, then widened her eyes when she realized her hands were bound. Her gaze soon found me.
The only emotions in her eyes were confusion and surprise.
"Naikle."
She blinked at the sound of my voice.
I wondered how much I should explain.
"We found you collapsed in the street and brought you here for now. Are you feeling all right?"
"Huh? Oh, yes… But why are my hands tied…?"
"Naikle, are you—"
I asked the question I had been holding back.
"—Gwangrang?"
Naikle's eyes wavered.
"What? Gwangrang…? What do you mean…?"
I explained everything that had happened before we met—how we encountered the thieves, how Gwangrang appeared and tore them all apart, and how the fallen Gwangrang had shrunk until it became Naikle.
Naikle's expression gradually darkened.
Her eyes trembled as if she were confused.
It seemed she had no memory of what she had done as Gwangrang.
"That's what happened."
When I finished, Naikle glared at me.
"So what are you going to do? Hand me over to the authorities? Or tell Chief Justin? That I'm the Gwangrang from all those rumors—the one who tears people apart?"
"I don't particularly want to do that. After all, you saved us."
"Then why did you…"
She seemed about to ask why I had brought her to the counseling office if I wasn't planning to turn her in.
I already had an answer prepared.
"There's something I want to ask you."
It was personal curiosity, really.
I was interested in Naikle.
Werewolves had two states: human and wolf.
Even mild-mannered people became aggressive and feral in wolf form. That was simply their nature.
Yet they didn't become entirely different people.
Someone timid in human form tended to remain relatively timid even as a wolf.
Someone aggressive in human form became even more so as a wolf.
The core personality remains consistent regardless of form.
But Naikle was different.
In human form, she seemed extremely cautious—almost timid.
Yet as Gwangrang, in wolf form, she had been judging criminals without hesitation, even tearing thieves apart.
Naikle and Gwangrang didn't feel like the same person at all.
Most importantly, Naikle has no memory of what Gwangrang did.
Typical werewolves retained their memories when shifting back to human form. Changing states didn't make them different people.
Naikle was an exception. She remembered nothing of her actions as a wolf.
"Naikle, were the things Gwangrang did not done of your own will?"
Naikle stared at me with wide eyes.
"H-How did you…?"
From her reaction, my guess had been correct.
Naikle is suffering from dissociative identity disorder.
In other words, she has multiple personalities.
* * *
Typical werewolves possessed only one personality.
That single personality controlled both the human and wolf states.
Naikle was different. Two separate personalities existed within her body.
The "Naikle" personality controlled the human state, while the "Gwangrang" personality controlled the wolf state.
Therefore, Naikle had no knowledge of—or ability to stop—Gwangrang's actions.
Conversely, Gwangrang had no knowledge of—or ability to stop—Naikle's actions.
"The killings Gwangrang commits—the ones the media calls 'judgments'—none of them were my doing. It was that bastard Gwangrang who stole my body and did those things. I know it sounds crazy, but…"
"No, I don't think it's crazy. I believe you, Naikle."
I looked at her with sincere trust. The ropes binding her had already been removed.
Perhaps because I had listened carefully, her wariness toward me had noticeably lessened.
"…As time passes, Gwangrang is taking over my body for longer periods. At first it was a day or two, then three days, and now it can steal my body for a week or even two weeks at a time."
"That must be affecting your work."
"Yes. I've been telling Chief Justin that I'm sick and can't come in, but…"
"You can't keep that up forever."
"Exactly. And I think Gwangrang is trying to take my body completely. Please help me, Professor. I'm begging you…!"
Her eyes were red as she pleaded. Tears looked ready to fall at any moment.
I thought for a moment before asking.
"What are your transformation conditions?"
"You mean the trigger?"
The "transformation conditions," commonly called the "trigger," referred to the actions a werewolf had to perform to shift forms.
Sometimes it was something simple like biting one's lip. Other times it required more complex conditions, such as running a hundred meters or visiting a specific location.
"It's sleep."
Naikle spoke with an anxious expression. I nodded.
"So that's why you asked for Call of the Dawn last time."
"Yes. The moment I fall asleep, Gwangrang immediately takes over my body. I wanted to reduce the time it could steal from me, even if it meant using the drug. That way I could also avoid missing work…"
If she slept, Gwangrang's personality would awaken and take control. So she had chosen not to sleep at all. That explained the signs of sleep deprivation I had noticed when we first met.
It seemed like a rather crude method to me, but for her, it had been the best option available.
"Have you ever tried talking to it? To your other personality—Gwangrang?"
"Talk? That's impossible…"
Naikle fell silent for a moment.
"…It probably has language ability, so it might be possible. But I've never tried. I wouldn't even know how…"
Of course she wouldn't. There was no way for Naikle to communicate with Gwangrang.
While Naikle's personality was awake, Gwangrang's was asleep, and vice versa.
But Gwangrang does have language ability.
That meant it wasn't incapable of conversation.
"In that case, I'll try talking to Gwangrang."
"…What?"
Naikle stared at me blankly.
I repeated myself.
"I'll find out through conversation whether Gwangrang truly intends to steal your body, and why it carries out these 'judgments.'"