Shrouded Seascape

Despite being in the middle of a phone call, Anna pulled out a dagger and began cutting into the left arm that had already taken on a violaceous color.

The arm conjured by the clown could only be used briefly. Once the time was up, it would die and decay. By then, it would have to be amputated to ensure that the healthy tissues nearby wouldn't be affected by its decay.

"It failed? Are you saying that all the time we spent was for nothing?

"I've always considered working with you as a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. I've invested more money in you than in real estate, but so far, I haven't seen any results that would justify my investment."

"You're already playing in the big leagues, so how come you're so impatient? And do you even know the meaning of the word 'preparation'?"

Sensing the change in Wang Jianshe's mood on the other end of the line, Anna continued to reassure him, saying, "Don't worry, the trip wasn't for nothing. Soon, I'll show you the justification that you need."

Wang Jianshe's mood seemed to improve upon hearing that. "I hope so. Let's meet sometime soon."

"I'll come to your company tomorrow afternoon," Anna said and ended the call without waiting for Wang Jianshe's reply. Her left arm was severed. She plugged the blood vessels of the arm with colorful crystals before tossing it right into the garbage can.

Anna picked up her phone again with her bloody hand. She scrolled through her contacts and dialed the Shattered God's number.

"Hello? Are you there?" Anna asked.

After a while, a voice finally echoed. "Mmhm..."

Anna was surprised to hear that voice. For some reason, the Shattered God was unusually "cautious" today.

"Those moths capable of altering memories are all dead, every last one of them; their deaths don't mean that our deal is complete. Our deal is still ongoing, and I need another way to alter someone's memories."

"All right, no problem, I'll send people to handle your request right away. But given the magnitude of what had happened, the IMF must have made their move; my people also suffered heavy casualties, so please give me some time!"

Anna was taken aback once again. The Shattered God had never been this accommodating, but she didn't question it.

"You've lost so many people, so I assume you only have a skeleton crew at this point. How about this? I'll give you the conversion ritual ahead of schedule so you can become a bit stronger.

"However, you must know that the ritual doesn't have a hundred percent success rate," Anna said. This was her way of maintaining a good relationship with the Shattered God. She found them to be useful, especially since they cost nothing for her to use.

"Thank you," the Shattered God replied, but he didn't sound excited at all. It was like Anna had bestowed upon him a piece of clothing rather than a ritual that could change the world.

"I think we're pretty compatible as collaborators. I have many more useful things that I can exchange with you, so we should work again in the future," Anna added.

"Mmhm, sure, sure, can I hang up now? I'm in the middle of something right now."

Anna frowned at the Shattered God's unusual behavior. "Are you really okay? You sound different from before."

Meanwhile, the Shattered God was suffering in silence. He couldn't admit that he'd been frightened by what she had summoned and was afraid to offend her.

On that fateful day, the towering flesh tree that he saw through the video call was etched deeply in his memories. Anna's indescribable power filled him with profound fear, and he could feel it deep in his brass bones—he wouldn't be a match for that tree, even if he found and assembled all his fragments.

"No, it's nothing. I'm just dealing with some impurities in my fuel," the Shattered God said, making up an excuse to hide his fear.

"All right, send some people over here, and I'll hand over the conversion ritual to them," Anna said, closing her flip phone.

***

Somewhere in South America, there was a mountain resort surrounded by yellow barricade tape. The resort was empty, as every single living individual had been taken away for questioning.

People in white PPE coverall suits were all over a devastated mountain, and they were busy taking photos. Based on the logo with three arrows pointing inward on their chests, these people were clearly members of the IMF.

The person in charge of these people was Ilov, and he was from the IMF Investigation Department. He was stroking his thick beard while listening to his subordinates' report inside the cave that had been cut cleanly by something.

"We've analyzed the deceased's equipment and found that they were crafted by the Shattered God; ID 549. The deceased are all 549 instances—549-1s under the 549's influence.

"According to the statements that we've gathered from those affected by the incident in that resort two kilometers away, this cave must be the habitat of the Moth; ID 452.

"There's a well-established enmity between 549 and 452, so we've determined for now that the incident was a result of a war between the two Anomalies."

Ilov put down his hand and tilted his head backward. He squinted and stared at the mountain that had been cut cleanly in half.

"I don't think it's that simple. Both 549 and 452 are very active Anomalies, and I faced them before," Ilov remarked, "the Shattered God has a special ability to craft any mechanical weapon, while the Moth's special ability affects the mind. Neither of them can split a mountain into two.

"Something else must have happened on that night."

"Leader, the members of the Shattered God's congregation were also cut in half. Maybe the Moth has found outside help?"

"Haha, don't be too hasty when making a conclusion. First of all, we need to find the Moth's vessel. The corpses of 549 instances are here, so the corpses of 452 instances—452-1s—must be here as well.

"The Moth can't exist on its own in reality, so it will return to its vessel once cornered," Ilov said.

Everyone turned to the nearby lake at the same time.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The lake's waters were supposed to be crystal clear, but it had taken on a more sinister and repugnant hue. To make matters worse, a thin layer of brownish meat paste was floating on the surface of the dark, bloody lake.

The lake had become a pot of meat soup—a horrifically nauseating pot of decomposing meat soup.

The strong stench of decay permeated the air; dense swarms of green-headed flies were everywhere in the cave, and crows and vultures also circled overhead.

Ilov stepped onto the white stones to reach the clearing in the middle of the lake. The clearing was also covered with the same layer of indescribable meat, and squelching noises echoed from Ilov's boots as he walked around the clearing.

The environment was awful and disgusting, but this wasn't Ilov's first day working at the IMF. He had seen even more disgusting scenes than the scene before him.

Just then, he noticed something and dropped to one knee. He shoved his hand into the meat paste and felt around for something. A few moments later, he pulled out his hand and stared at the strand of white hair between his fingers.

"Now we know what happened to the Blind Sisterhood."

Ilov stood up and turned to his subordinates by the lake, saying, "Tell HQ that 452 has most likely been eliminated and tell them to raise the threat level of this mission as well.

"Pass down the message that all this meat has to be collected as well. They're pieces of evidence, and we might know why they ended up like this by analyzing this thing."

The IMF was a massive organization with robust manpower, so it took them no time to clean up the battlefield. Using the footprints and the shell casings on the ground, they quickly made a rough deduction of how the incident had unfolded.