Published at 20th of March 2026 10:03 pm

Chapter 1782 The Iron Muzzle

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The four terrified teenagers were frozen in place, staring in absolute, paralyzing shock at the hulking, masked Werewolf standing over the crushed floor. Now that the dim, flickering light descending from the staircase was casting over the beast's face, they could clearly recognize that it was no ordinary, ornamental mask.

It was a heavy, industrial muzzle made entirely out of thick, forged iron. The metal was bolted and strapped tightly, specifically designed to completely cover its rather large, terrifying snout. Because the heavy iron locked its jaws shut, the only expression they could really see in the dim basement was its eyes—and unlike the feral, mindless glow of the Gluttons, this beast's eyes looked sharp, focused, and entirely self-aware.

“Why... why did it violently attack the other ones?” Sue whispered, her voice shaking as she clutched Astro’s jacket. “We didn’t see the monsters outside do that before. They were all hunting together!”

“I’m really not sure,” Astro replied, his eyes wide with fear as he slowly backed up. “But if you look closely at its fur and its posture... that thing, it looks different from the other two down here. Maybe they're from completely different mutated groups, or maybe they're territorial.”

Before they could analyze the situation any further, the two Glutton Werewolves—who had just had their skulls brutally slammed into the floor—were quickly shaking off the heavy impact. Growling in pure, mindless rage, they scrambled back to their feet.

One of the Gluttons lunged forward with terrifying speed, wildly slashing its razor-sharp claws directly at the iron-masked Werewolf’s stomach.

Instead of dodging like a feral beast, the masked Werewolf planted its feet. It seamlessly smacked the incoming arm upward with an open palm, executing a perfect, textbook martial arts parry. The brutal deflection forced the Glutton's lethal claws to miss completely, leaving its guard wide open. In a flash, the masked Werewolf delivered a devastating, heavy straight punch directly into the Glutton's exposed face, snapping its head back.

While the first monster was dazed, the second Glutton roared and readied itself to attack from the blind spot. But the masked Werewolf didn't even turn its head. It fluidly sprung its heavy leg out, delivering a flawless, powerful side-kick perfectly into the center of the second beast's chest. The sheer kinetic force of the kick sent the monster flying backward, crashing violently into the concrete basement wall.

The Glutton Werewolves were incredibly, supernaturally resilient, though. Shaking off the broken ribs, they continuously snarled and started to get back up.

But the iron-masked Werewolf was relentless. It quickly stepped in, grabbed the first Glutton firmly by the back of its head, and threw a brutal, rising uppercut, hitting it right under the jaw with a sickening crunch.

Right after the strike landed, the masked beast fluidly slipped directly behind the staggered Glutton. It wrapped its muscular arms tightly around the monster's thick neck, completely locking it in what looked exactly like a highly technical rear-naked chokehold, almost strangling the life out of it.

Right after the strike landed, the masked beast fluidly slipped directly behind the staggered Glutton. It wrapped its muscular arms tightly around the monster's thick neck, completely locking it in what looked exactly like a highly technical rear-naked chokehold, almost strangling the life out of it.

“Is it... is it just me?” Aero whispered, his eyes locked on the violent display in pure awe. “Or does this terrifying monster kind of fight... exactly like a human martial artist?”

Just as Aero had made the shocking observation, a loud, echoing cracking noise snapped through the basement. The feral Werewolf's heavy neck was brutally snapped, and its lifeless body slumped heavily to the concrete floor.

Taking no chances with the beasts' terrifying regeneration, the iron-masked Werewolf immediately lifted up its heavy foot and mercilessly stomped down with all its supernatural weight directly on top of the monster's head, completely crushing its skull.

Suddenly, two elongated, rubbery arms came stretching violently out from the pitch-black darkness at the back of the room. The second Glutton was attacking from the shadows.

Once again, the iron-masked Werewolf expertly blocked the incoming, sweeping hits with its forearms. Then, moving in a rapid, circular motion, it reached out and firmly grabbed onto both of the monster's stretching wrists.

Realizing it was caught, the feral Glutton used its own terrifying biology to its advantage. It was suddenly seen violently pulling itself forward, almost rapidly shrinking its stretched arms back to their normal size to build up, slingshot-like momentum. It flew through the air and crashed heavily into the iron-masked Werewolf with the force of a speeding truck.

The immense impact sent both of the beasts tumbling backward. Now, the two of them were violently rolling into the complete, pitch-black darkness of the far corner of the basement, making it impossible for the terrified teenagers to see what was happening.

The kids could only listen in horror. They heard guttural groaning, vicious growling, and several loud, wet thuds of flesh hitting concrete. The violent sounds echoed in the dark... until it suddenly went dead silent.

A moment later, the heavy sound turned into slow, measured footsteps. One single Werewolf walked out of the shadows and stepped back into the dim light.

It was the masked Werewolf. Its iron muzzle was covered in blood, but it stood tall.

“The masked Werewolf won,” Aero said, his voice dropping to a terrified whisper.

“Does that really matter right now?!” Astro hissed, his panic rising. “Now that it’s completely done violently dealing with them... it’s going to turn around and attack us next!”

Since the victorious Werewolf was currently standing right by the base of the wooden staircase—which the teenagers assumed to be the absolute only exit out of the basement—the group was completely frozen and hesitant to move a single inch.

But as the kids stood there, completely paralyzed by fear, they slowly realized that the Werewolf wasn't moving either. It just stood there, its intelligent eyes watching them calmly.

“Is it... is it okay?” Sue asked, taking a tiny, trembling step forward. “I honestly don’t think it’s going to attack us. Guys, I think it deliberately stepped in and saved us.”

“Right. Sure. And as soon as we foolishly try to run up those stairs, it’s going to viciously attack us from behind and rip our heads off!” Astro argued, shaking his head.

As if the towering creature could perfectly understand their frantic, whispered conversation, they watched in stunned silence as it slowly, deliberately took three heavy steps to the side of the room, completely clearing the path away from the staircase. It was a conscious, undeniable gesture.

“I genuinely don’t know if it's some sort of sick trap or not, but I think we should absolutely take the chance and get the hell out of here,” Aero added, swallowing hard.

The group nervously nodded. They began to head up the stairs incredibly slowly, their backs pressed tightly against the wall. They kept their eyes locked entirely on the beast, anxiously waiting for the Werewolf to suddenly leap at them. But it never did. They eventually made it right to the top, safely stepping back onto the main floor of the dojo again.

“It’s not following us up,” Li said in a soft, relieved whisper, finally speaking up as she looked down into the dark stairwell. “Maybe it really was a friendly one trying to help.”

“Yeah, right. And I suppose that’s exactly why it was wearing a heavy iron muzzle bolted onto its mouth?” Astro scoffed, though his voice was shaking. “Clearly, someone built that heavy restraint and locked it on so the beast wouldn’t randomly snap at innocent people.”

“So, what should we actually do then?” Aero asked, looking around the ruined dojo lobby. “Do we stay safely hidden up here, or do we head back out into the city? I honestly don’t know what’s safer anymore.”

While the teenagers were desperately deciding what to do, the heavy wooden stairs behind them began to violently creak.

The masked Werewolf was slowly ascending the stairs.

Li saw it first, but she was too terrified to say anything to the others until the beast was practically near the top landing. It stepped onto the main floor... and then it just stopped, standing completely still a few feet away from them.

No one made a single noise because they were absolutely terrified that if they made any sudden movements, it would trigger the beast's hunting instincts and it would attack them. But it just stood there like a stone statue, not making a single bit of noise, its eyes locked onto the front exit of the dojo.

“I think... I think it’s actively protecting us,” Li said, her voice filled with a strange sense of awe. “Let’s just get out of here right now, and see if it safely escorts us.”

The group wasn't entirely sure if they were making the biggest mistake of their lives, but at least the terrifying creature wasn't attacking them right now. As they slowly, cautiously walked toward the shattered front exit of the dojo to face the ruined city... the heavy footsteps echoed behind them.

The Iron Masked Werewolf was indeed following them like a silent, monstrous guardian.

**

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