In the underground library of the Lycan Estate, an eerie silence permeated from every corner of the muted basement. The Chieftain and Hecate watched as the shackled preacher transformed into something else. Similar yet oddly different. It was as though he had lost his soul.

Leaving behind a husk of a body that was controlled by something or someone. Without a doubt, the sight was chilling for the eyes.

"Is this your ability, Damien?" The elder inquired while staring at the silent and obedient preacher. The cursing madman had vanished in mere moments, replaced by what seemed to be a docile puppy.

Hecate was also curious, as she hadn't seen her partner utilize such an ability during their time together. Obviously... Rarely did they need to interrogate a captured adversary. Most of the time, they were hunting leftovers in New Janus.

Damien shook his head and responded. "This isn't my ability. The cloud of pitch-black dust you saw wasn't from your imagination. It was my monster, Neurophages. It has a unique ability to become one with its prey."

Even though he explained what occurred and who the monster was, most of the words he uttered were vague. Only enough for people to connect the dots.

"I see... A subordinate aetheric beast, the same as the Wyvern from before." The Chieftain nodded in understanding, grasping that it wasn't in his place to pry for more information. The undisclosed intelligence of Jaegers' capabilities was vital for long-term survival.

Otherwise, it wouldn't take long before an adversary establishes a direct assassination utilizing the publicized information. It would be either death or another execution order.

In any case, the three of them turned their attention towards the silent preacher, who was now the Neurophages of Damien. "Have you assimilated all of the preacher's memories?"

The black-suited young man questioned, prompting the preacher to nod in agreement. "Every sliver of memory from birth to the present has been assimilated into the hive mind. How may we help you, Lord Oberon?"

"Good, I want you to answer my questions." Damien nodded in satisfaction since the interrogation would go much smoother than before with the inclusion of his summoned monster, the Neurophages.

"Understood, Lord Oberon. We are honored to answer your questions." The preacher once again nodded in a distant daze. It was eerie, bearing a resemblance to a possessed man.

"What do you know about the Aberrant Cult? How many of you are there? How strong or influential are you?" Damien asked the preacher three questions, to which the dazed man answered with deference.

"The Aberrant Cult started after Heaven's Fall. The pope received visions of the emergence of Vampires and wandered to the old world nation, Canada. There, he avoided humanity's enslavement in the Clan."

"It was proof that his visions weren't lies, but actual prophesies of a higher being. During the first years of the New World, he brought many others into the Order of the Abominable and resisted the Clan."

"Thousands died for the cause, but it was worth it. Humanity rebelled, and the Clan was exiled to the southern continent. The Federation was established, and it was a new dawn for all of us."

"However, it all changed when the pope disappeared. His last message was that of a long journey to find God. Several years later, earthquakes and snowstorms unravelled the north. When only a few of us were left, the pope returned. And he found God."

"Since then, we have grown stronger. Metahumans joined our cause, and influential figures became our backers. You are ignorant of how much our power and influence saved. We are not shackled in the northern fringes."

"From the colonies, to the city-states, followed by the Federation, and finally the SIGIL. We are everywhere, and our zealots will strike once given a covenant by the pope."

Hearing the words of the preacher, the Chieftain and Hecate couldn't utter a single word as they were astounded beyond relief. To think that the tendril of madness could reach beyond the northern regions of the New World. It was chilling to think about.

"Damn, crazy cultists... Doesn't that mean the Federation is compromised, Damien?" Hecate inquired while Damien merely furrowed his eyebrows and pondered the implications of the information they had received.

"So, it wasn't just the Fortified Colony of Cambridge Bay. Even the SIGIL got infiltrated." He muttered under his breath, his sable-tinted gaze narrowing by the moment.

The Chieftain kept his silence as his scowl already said what needed to be discerned. He wasn't happy with the rat-like news having so much influence over the New World. In fact, no one was pleased by it.

"Should we report it to Master?" Hecate asked, but Damien shook his head and denied her suggestion. "I don't have a way to communicate with Miss Alastair without sacrificing our position and intelligence."

"We continue the investigation and maintain vigilance." He commanded before returning his attention to the silent preacher. The questioning hadn't ended yet. He needed more information.

Staring at the preacher, Damien continued the interrogation. "Tell me more about this so-called God of yours? Did it come from an Aberrant corpse? And where is it?"

"Our God... It commands the north and the cold. An omnipresent power, unrivalled and undaunted. The pope follows its will, and we obey the pope in its presence. Strong... Extremely powerful. No one and nothing can stop it."

"It will save me. It will save all of us. We will be granted salvation from this hellish world. The black towers were merely the beginning of a grand scheme. And the gears of destiny had begun to spin."

"I-I..." Before the silent preacher could continue speaking, his body trembled as his eyes dilated and turned inward. The three widened their gaze as the Neurophages spoke. "The host has died from a seizure."

"Shall we continue the information gathering, Lord Oberon?" It tilted its head as it possessed a cooling corpse whose owner had already left the material world. Damien nodded, assuring himself of the connection between the system and the Neurophages. It was still maintained.

Which meant that his summoned monster hadn't been compromised during the unexpected death of the preacher.

"Our God took the form of the Giant's Heart. It dwelled within the Valley of the Forsaken, where the Colossus fought the White Devil and lost. We fed our deity its followers, ascending them to the holy land."

"Sooner or later, the Avatar of the Abominable will be born. Only one more push, hundreds of sacrifices are what we needed. When all of the necessary requirements are completed. We shall complete the trinity of blood. Humanity, Vampires, and the Lycanthropes."

All of them finally understood why the Abominable Cult was taking villages after villages. There was also the final part of whatever insane ritual the cult planned to undertake. The blood trinity of the three species.

No wonder the Howlers of the Lycanthropes were kidnapped by the cult. They were needed for the final part of the cult's plan. There were also vampires, which the Abominable must have acquired through trafficking.

"Things are becoming messy by the moment," Hecate remarked since the troublesome investigation had grown out of control. The two Jaegers understood that the assignment wasn't a simple one. But none of them expected to discover a conspiracy in the north.

"I should return to the estate and prepare the Wolfenguard for a possible incursion." The Chieftain proposed while turning his back on Damien and Hecate. There's no doubt that the cult was targeting the Howling Village.

The only question was how many Lycanthropes those madmen needed for their deranged ritual. If they hadn't gotten what they needed, they would seek more.

And what better target than the Howling Village, where all of the Lycans within the New World reside.

"Alright, the two of us will continue questioning the preacher. We'll tell you about the information we might learn from him." Damien glanced at the Chieftain, who climbed up the staircase leading to the estate.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the silent preacher and asked his one final question. It was something that had bothered him since the beginning of the interrogation. It was the fact that the SIGIL had been compromised.

"I want you to tell me about the spies you have within SIGIL. Those so-called saviors whom you presumed us to be." Damien narrowed his obsidian-like eyes as the preacher went silent for a moment.

A couple of seconds later, the madman chuckled and answered the question of the black-suited young man. "They aren't merely spies or infiltrators. They represent the SIGIL, like the Blocks you worked for."

"They... Are the Shadow Division-" The preacher halted and became frozen like a statue. His body began breaking apart like a sandcastle melting and becoming part of the waves. The Neurophages continuously regenerated his disintegrating body as they reported to their Master.

"Apologies, Lord Oberon. The body has been affected by an unknown power. If we wish to keep the host alive, it must be purged of everything from memories to individual cells. The body can be replicated, but the memories will be lost."

"Further orders required." Hearing the words of the Neurophages, Damien sighed to himself and was disappointed. He shook his head and stated. "Dispose of the body and abandon it. Record whatever memory you can."

"We will continue the inquisition later. For now, we must investigate further and find out what the hell this Shadow Division is-" Before he could complete his words, the entirety of the underground library shook as an explosion reverberated from above ground.

The Howling Village was under attack.

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