Operation 641
Eastern Coast of Prit Main Island, Tivyán.
During the daytime in Tivyán, a light rain has just passed, and the sky is still as gloomy as in the past few days. In the outskirts of the southern district, countless factories stand tall, creating a forest of steel and bricks that erodes the originally lush land and stretches upward toward the sky. Numerous workers labor hard in this jungle of steel, as tall chimneys constantly belch thick smoke, seemingly darkening an already dim sky. In the distance, the silhouette of a fortress can be seen near the coast.
In a dry thicket far from the factories, several figures gather to gaze at the distant city and factories. All of them wear black raincoats, concealing most of their forms, revealing only their faces beneath the hoods.
Among them, three people stand at the front of the group. The foremost is an elderly man, followed by a young man and woman.
The elder gazes silently at the outline of the buildings in the distance, seemingly waiting for something. Behind him, the young couple appears somewhat restless, their eyes betraying an excitement that cannot be hidden.
“It’s almost time… are you ready?” Finally, as if reaching a predetermined moment, the elder slowly turns to the young couple and speaks, to which they respond quickly.
“We’re ready!”
“No problem, let’s start now! Bestow upon us! The gift that belongs to us!”
The young couple quickly answers the elder, who then speaks with a serious expression.
“Let me remind you one last time. The price for receiving the gift will be eternal d*ath, a d*ath that will never allow you to savor any flavor. Even so, are you still willing?”
“Of course! What is d*ath compared to that supreme delicacy?”
“Yes… as long as we can taste that flavor, it doesn’t matter if we d*e a thousand times. Since tasting that fleeting essence, the rest of our lives exist solely to truly indulge in that delicacy!”
The young couple responds again, their expressions still excited and their tone more urgent, answering resolutely. The elder smiles slightly at the two, then pulls out two boxes bound by iron chains from under his raincoat. Upon seeing the boxes, the eyes of the young couple widen.
The elder calmly undoes the chains and hands the two boxes to the young couple. After receiving the items, they decisively open them, revealing two bloody chunks of meat about the size of a palm, still slightly quivering.
Seeing the meat inside the boxes, the young couple can no longer contain their agitation, immediately grabbing the raw chunks and shoving them into their mouths, biting, chewing, and swallowing forcefully without any cooking.
“Eat… eat… this is the gift given to you by Elder Duval, from his very essence… after savoring this delicacy, fulfill your final value…”
Watching this scene, the elder speaks slowly. As he finishes his words, the young couple swallows the meat in their hands, greedily sucking the bl**d that stains their hands and mouths. At that moment, a transformation occurs on their bodies.
“Ugh… ohhh…”
The young couple, having just consumed the supreme food, suddenly widen their eyes and make strange noises, clutching their necks. Their previously enjoying expressions turn into extreme pain as veins bulge on their faces, their eyes filled with bl**d.
“Ahhh!!”
With a cry of agony, the young couple collapse to the ground, their bodies starting to mutate. Their forms rapidly swell as if inflated, their raincoats and clothes tearing apart. What is revealed is not ordinary skin but dark fur.
Their bodies quickly change, clothes completely torn, faces elongating with sharp teeth, rapidly transforming into werewolves, but this transformation seems to differ from a normal werewolf transformation.
Finally, the mutation completes, and what appears before the elder are two tall, mutated werewolves. They stand taller than regular werewolves, nearly four meters, with sparse and short fur on their bodies, their forms extremely slender, so much so that the bulging veins can be seen on their skin.
In the eyes of the two mutated werewolves, there is no hint of emotion, only the madness of complete irrationality. Their large mouths are wide open, viscous saliva drips down between their sharp teeth as their bodies heave heavily, resembling rabid street dogs.
After completing their total beast transformation, the two mutated werewolves slowly raise their heads to gaze at the distant outlines of the city buildings. With a deep breath, they dash forward on all fours toward it.
…
Northern Tivyán, Church District.
During the day, St. Hymn Cathedral remains calm as always. Citizens move about in the spacious square of the cathedral, entering the chapel to pray. Countless church personnel are also scattered throughout the church district, busy with their various duties.
In the Archbishops’ office, Vania, dressed in white nun’s attire, sits diligently behind her desk. She has been focused on sifting through numerous documents when suddenly, she seems to sense something. Frowning, she lifts her head and looks out at the sky to the south.
“It’s here…”
Whispering softly, Vania sets down her pen and closes her eyes, beginning a devout prayer in her heart.
“Great Akka, who oversees all things… please connect me with Miss Dorothy…”
“Miss Dorothy, the Tiered Vision has responded. I sense the presence of extraordinary power from the Red Tier, approaching Tivyán…”
…
In a nearby tea house on the outskirts of the church district, Dorothy, who was sipping coffee while enjoying the street view outside, momentarily pauses upon receiving Vania’s prayer. She puts down her coffee cup and thoughtfully responds in her heart.
“I understand. What direction is the Red Tier response coming from now?”
“From the south, on the outskirts of the southern city, near Gray Peak Fortress and Blackwater District. There are two extraordinary entities of the Red Tier, with spiritual constructs primarily of ‘Cup’ and secondarily of ‘Shadow.’ They are rapidly moving toward Gray Peak Fortress and Blackwater District, likely the Red Tier members of the Wolf bl**d Association!”
Vania quickly replies to Dorothy. Hearing this, Dorothy’s expression shifts slightly as she begins to think rapidly.
“The Red Tier of the Wolf bl**d Association is starting to move… but the location of this Red Tier appearance raises some concerns. Their target is the forbidden library of St. Hymn Cathedral, and the church district is in the northern city, yet these two Red Tier signals are appearing far off in the outskirts of the southern city. Traveling from there to St. Hymn Cathedral would mean traversing the entire Tivyán city from south to north, entering the monitoring range of the Tiered Vision from the farthest point away from the church district.”
“Not only is the appearance location significantly far apart, but there are also two Red Tier signals. According to Vorn’s earlier reports, there should only be one Red Tier leader operating this time…”
Thinking deeply about the Wolf bl**d Association’s strange arrangements, Dorothy immediately begins to decode the situation in her mind. At that moment, Vania prays again.
“Miss Dorothy, should I immediately notify the An Yin Bureau to send a Red Tier response over there to deal with this? If I remember correctly, there are military zones and industrial heavyweights in that area.”
Hearing Vania’s words, Dorothy pauses slightly and then responds in her heart.
“Hmm, yes, notify the An Yin Bureau with the relevant information immediately. However, report fewer Red Tier entities than are actually present. Just report one, so they don’t deploy all their Red Tier forces. At least leave one to guard the city.”
“Only one? Will it be alright in a one-on-two situation?”
“The entities creating the extraordinary Red Tier response don’t necessarily need to be the actual Red Tier extraordinary beings. Those two extraordinary signals are somewhat suspicious, so we can’t send all our critical forces at once.”
Dorothy calmly addresses Vania’s concerns. In her opinion, those two Red Tier extraordinary responses are likely some form of bait, and thus, it is crucial to avoid deploying all important forces immediately. However, this bait still poses a risk of widespread collateral suffering and, from Vania’s perspective, cannot be ignored.
After hearing Dorothy’s response, Vania quickly regains her composure.
“I understand…”
In the Archbishop’s office, after receiving Dorothy’s advice, Vania promptly stands up and quickly approaches the office door. She opens it and loudly declares.
“Cleric Anrefus, Cleric Gaspare.”
Shortly after Vania calls out, two men dressed in clerical robes, who were waiting from a distance, quickly approach her and respectfully bow.
“What is your command, Sister Vania?”
“The Tiered Vision has sensed the presence of an extraordinary entity of the Red Tier, located near Blackwater District and Gray Peak Fortress in the southern city. Its spiritual construct is primarily ‘Cup’ and secondarily ‘Shadow,’ suspected to be the Wolf bl**d Association’s beast path. Cleric Anrefus, you must immediately notify the An Yin Bureau and the royal family, instructing them to arrange for a Red Tier to investigate and intercept!”
Vania speaks sternly to the two clerics before her. Upon hearing about the Red Tier extraordinary entity, both of their expressions change.
“Understood, I will notify them right away.”
Anrefus immediately turns and hurries off after hearing Vania’s words, while Gaspare, remaining, speaks with a grave expression.
“Sister Vania, I can’t believe there are cultist Red Tier entities invading the city right now. We should quickly organize forces to head south to assist the kingdom’s Red Tier, protecting the devout worldly kingdom from the harm of the evil god’s minions. This is the duty of the holy church!”
Gaspare says with eagerness, but Vania’s next words put a damper on his enthusiasm.
“Now is not the time for that, Cleric Gaspare. Please relay my orders: the entire St. Hymn Cathedral… the entire Tivyán church district is now officially on a state of wartime readiness. Evacuate all ordinary congregants. Apart from the defending army, all other clerics without church ranks should enter the shelters. The defense army will secure all exits, and for tier three and four clerics, regardless of previous departments, prepare for battle. Tier five clerics, unless assigned to the Tribunal, defense army, or holy war army, must also take refuge in the underground shelters.”
Vania rapidly conveys her commands to Gaspare. After hearing this order, he pauses slightly, then voices his confusion.
“Sister Vania… aren’t we going to assist proactively?”
“We will not. Now is not the time for questions, Cleric. Please execute the orders immediately!” Although still polite, Vania’s words possess an undeniable coldness and determination. Listening to her command, Gaspare refrains from further objections, responding decisively.
“Yes.”
…
With Vania’s orders, the entire St. Hymn Cathedral instantly becomes busy. Clerics, nuns, and the defense army rush about, creating a hubbub as ordinary citizens in the church undergo organized evacuation, leaving the cathedral amidst perplexed murmurs.
At this moment, in front of the vast St. Hymn Chapel, among the fleeing citizens, three figures stand at a distance, watching everything unfold around them. They are three simply-dressed men, one named Sander and another named Vorn, currently quietly communicating in a language other than Prit.
“These deity followers are taking action. Our people in other places have already begun to move. Is this our signal to strike?” Vorn, the werewolf, speaks directly, while Sander, frowning, responds.
“It seems to be so… but their actions are somewhat unexpected. They have no plans to venture out to provide support. Not only are they all huddled here, but they’re also starting to drive people away. Have they sensed something?”
“Hmph… it’s likely because Francesco is not around that everyone has become cowardly. These followers of the deity are ultimately just timid creatures in skirts. Once away from their Red Tier protection, they’re nothing. All their talk of sacrificing without fear for faith is just a pile of nonsense.” Another bearded middle-aged man, separate from Vorn and Sander, speaks disdainfully. Sander then quickly interjects.
“Regardless, since they are forcing people out, we must act immediately. Braun, awaken all the beastmen and commence the attack.”
Sander speaks to the werewolf beside him, who nods silently. He then concentrates and calls upon their prepared beastmen.
At the edge of the church district, several large horse-drawn carriages are parked in the corners of streets. Inside the sealed compartments of these carriages, countless beasts with black fur, horrid visages, sharp teeth, and claws—grotesque creatures resembling primates—pack in tightly. They are all beastmen created by werewolves using their wolf poison abilities.
All these beastmen are crammed inside the compartments, drifting in deep sleep, entirely motionless; every wild beast seems to be sleeping peacefully.
At this moment, among the beastmen, one seems to awaken under some mysterious force, its eyelids twitching slowly as it begins to stir. When it opens its eyes and viciously bares its teeth, an unexpected event occurs.
Above this beastman’s head, a glowing red thread suddenly descends from who knows where, piercing into the waking beastman. Upon connection, its body pauses slightly, only to succumb to drowsiness once again. When the beastman closes its eyes and lapses back into silence, the distinct red thread fades gradually, becoming formless.
And in this compartment, countless such invisible threads are densely interconnected.
Above the compartment, a crow stands atop the carriage, and as the last beastman is linked by the red thread, it unfurls its wings and flies into the sky, appearing ethereal and distorted in the weak sunlight.
