Owen is sat at his office table, surrounded by the mist of darkness that enveloped his office. He stared at the framed picture of Paula's portrait from the side of his desk, before taking it with his hands, caressing the smooth glass that covers the photograph with his nimble fingers. His eyes teared up for a bit, before taking a deep breath as he try to maintain his composure. Frau Baümer, where are you?
He gently placed the picture frame back to his desk, adjusting it in place before standing up from cushy, swivel chair. He walked towards the window, where the silvery, ambient moonlight is streaming through, his gaze observing the extremities of the manor.
At the distance, he saw the Operative Schmidt who's tinkering around Lord Baümer's mausoleum that he boarded up the other day. Owen doesn't mind it though, as long as the case progresses in order to find his beloved Paüla's whereabouts, he will allow the lawful intrusion of REISS around the property.
Suddenly, a distorted figure that's swiftly headed towards Operative Schmidt caught the butler's attention. He stood calmly by the windowsill, watching the figure slither towards the unsuspecting operative, his eyes are filled with denial and dread.
Nein. That's impossible, Frau. That thing…is a monster, Owen walked towards the wooden cabinet to his side, gently yanking its hinges open as his hand snatch the Blaser R93 hunting rifle resting within.
You're the kindest soul I have ever met, and you don't deserve this kind of torment. He cocked the bolt handle of the rifle before dashing towards the door.
The sanitation unit finished the disinfection procedure around the mansion's premises as the dusk approached. Noralie and Leon stood at the side of the driveway while watching the vehicles of the unit exit towards the gate, the sanitation chief can be seen waving at them through the window of the first van. The canvas of the sky above them was painted with a mosaic of fiery oranges and intimate purple as the sun bid its adieu for the day.
They were lucky that the majority of wildlife affected by the contagion were mostly just mere rodents; otherwise, it would have been a major disaster as they'll end up having a heckuva ton of cleaning work to do.
Through the dispersal beacons they had set to the different locations surrounding the manor, they were able to catch and exterminate herds of them, almost filling up a dozen bags of fleshy carcasses. The sanitation unit also brought the corpse of the strange phantom with them that Noralie and Ilse had encountered earlier, which they will take to a separate facility for further examination.
"We'll start the tracing tomorrow. It's only a matter of time before this leads to a widespread infestation," Leon sighed.
Noralie nodded and whispered, "Yes, while it's still yet to turn its attention towards the nearby neighborhood."
"Huh? What was that?"
"Nothing."
"Are you okay?" Leon raised a brow.
Suddenly, Ilse's voice blared out from the porch of the mansion, her hands are eagerly waving for the two, "HeEeeEeey! Dinner is ready!"
Leon smiled at Noralie, "If someone needs to replenish their energy, I think it's you. Let's go."
Noralie nodded and together, the two headed back to the mansion. Upon entering into the foyer, they were greeted by a mixture of delightful scents of peppery and vegetal aromas that wafted through the air, emanating from the dining area beside them.
With their growling stomachs, they followed the scent towards the room where they are met by a wooden dining table assorted by platters of mouth-watering cuisines across its glossy surface. Luna can be seen at the corner, greedily devouring her own bowl of food on the floor.
"Hey! You guys are finally here, have a seat," Ilse beckoned to them as she distribute the plates to each seat.
Noralie and Leon took their seats as they sheepishly look around. After a short notice Owen entered, his hands held a glass pitcher of orange juice which he placed to the table before taking a seat beside the already-settled Ilse.
"A delightful evening," he forced a smile. "We prepared this with all our hearts, Frau Braun and I, for our well-deserved evening meal. Let us all enjoy a heart fare."
"Thank you, Owen," Leon smiled.
After exchanging nods to each other, everyone proceeded to savor the delightful flavors of the dishes on their plates. Clatters of ceramic wares reigned over the entire table as they stuff their mouths with delectable cuisines.
Noralie stole a glance at Owen, the butler was eating slowly with a vacant look in his eyes. Upon hearing and seeing the body of the strange husk of the man from the forest earlier, he started to become more agitated and often found lost in thought throughout the day.
There's something more here, Noralie thought. That man wasn't just anyone, and she can feel it.
After finishing their meal, they remained in their seats to let their stomachs rest. The scrumptious dinner satisfied their fatigue anf hunger, lightening everyone's mood after a whole day's work.
Noralie wiped her mouth with a tissue and hesitated for a moment, pondering whether she should just push her thoughts aside or proceed to pry ahead. It's still an investigation after all and though it may sound selfish, they still needed to gather information for the sake of solving this case.
"Uhm, Owen? Can I ask you something?"
"Hmm," Owen raised a brow. "Sure, Frau Schumacher.
"I apologize in advance if I seem to be invading your space with this, but..." Noralie took a deep breath before asking blatantly, "Do you know that man's husk from earlier?"
Owen was taken aback, his eyes widened. He sighed for a moment, and without any words in response to the question, he proceeded to clear the plates beside him.
"Achenbach, my colleague is asking you," Leon eyed him expectantly.
Owen lowered his gaze before he settle back into his seat. His face creased into an expression of dread as his eyes water, "Herr Flores, I'm scared."
"Why? We're right here, alright? No one's going to hurt you," Leon reassured.
"I know, Herr Flores, and I appreciate all of you for that. It's just...that man..."
"What's about him?" asked Ilse.
"Be still for a moment, I'll be back. You need to see something." Owen excused himself as he stand up before exiting the dining room.
Noralie and her companions exchanged glances, unsure how to react.
"It seems our friendly neighborhood butler got some skeletons inside his closet," Ilse nervously chuckled.
Owen returned on short notice, carrying a picture frame that seals a photograph inside. He sat down to his seat and looked at it with his wistful, welling eyes, glancing at the people in the room before sliding the photo across the table.
It was a picture of an elderly man, looking into the camera with prideful eyes. Seeing it, a sense of familiarity washed over Noralie as it bore a resemblance to someone she couldn't quite remember. She grabbed and examined the picture up-close, and her eyebrows met, her jaw dropped in realization.
Owen spoke again, "That is the late Lord Baümer, the father of Lady Baümer who passed away just a month ago. He's also the man that you saw in the forest earlier."
"Lady Baümer? Are you referring to Paula?" Ilse asked.
"Indeed, Frau Braun," Owen gulped.
Leon clicked his tongue as Noralie hand over him the picture, "And how did he end up there as a phantom?"
"His body was buried in the mausoleum crypt at the courtyard, where the other lords also lay." Owen continued, "There have been things there that seemed out of place since this incident happened."
"And you didn't notice that one of the bodies there was missing?" Ilse asked.
"There haven't been many disturbances among the resting places, Frau Braun. Just some strange scratches, fallen objects, shattered sculptures, and the tombs remained intact, the reason why we didn't suspect anything."
On her seat, Noralie remained quiet, observing their exchange of words. Her thoughts revisited the files her and Ilse read yesterday. Eidessa often lingered in the courtyard for some unknown reason, as stated, but based on Owen's words, it seemed like its specific purpose are its visits to the mausoleum, which sparked a sudden thought in her mind.
"Owen," Noralie chimed in. "Tell us more about Paula's state when her father passed away."
"P-Paula?" Owen wiped his tears. "W-Well, it was like her world was shattered. The bright energy she once had faded, and she became distant to everyone in the mansion, and even lost in touch with her siblings. She loved the late Lord Baümer dearly, and seeing her like that, I too felt mournful that I couldn't do anything to cheer her up."
"Continue."
"S-She often stayed in her room since then. I would just bring her food and leave it outside her door. This went on for about a couple of weeks until we found her room in shambles, and she was no longer there."
"And you think the phantom took her?"
"Yes, of course! What other reason should I think of?" Owen slightly raised his voice.
"Take it easy, Achenbach," Leon glared at him.
"My apologies."
Noralie observed Owen for a while, and everything started to make sense for her. The death of Paula's father left her in a poor mental state, leading her to isolate herself which triggered the AGDS that slowly corrupted her, eventually turning her into 'Eidessa' that's driven by a single goal—to be with her father again and revive him into a grotesque version of himself.
Despite this, Noralie still couldn't quite grasp why it continues to dwell around the courtyard when she had already ressurected her father, perhaps due to her natural protective or territorial instincts?
"Owen," Noralie shifted her voice gently. "Could it be that Paula is—"
Owen covered his ears, "No! Please, don't."
Noralie cleared her throat, "You're aware of the possibilities, but you just refuse to believe them, right?"
At that point, Owen's eyes began to flood with tears.
"During those times, Paula was in the stage of grief, but the AGDS took advantage of it to further degrade her, physically and mentally that led her to succumb to it..."
"...she didn't leave her room because she was undergoing a metamorphic change, afraid of being seen with her appearance. And when her transformation was complete, she violently emerged from her room, leaving it in a cluttered state..."
Owen started sobbing, slowly uncovering his ears.
"...in the first few days when traces of her former self were still in her mind, she tampered with the crypt to retrieve Lord Baümer's body and even sealed it perfectly to make sure no one suspects anything..."
"...she started to kidnap employees in the mansion to establish her nest and create lurkers that would follow her to further help with her father's resurrection because lurkers are the only ones capable of altering any types of flesh..."
"...as they are the only ones tha could 'revive' Lord Baümer but only as a mindless puppet, devoid of his consciousness."
"But Lady Baümer is a good person, a kind one, to me and to everyone in the mansion. She shouldn't be affected by the AGDS," Owen took a deep breath, his tears finally ceased.
"The AGDS doesn't choose its host, Achenbach," chimed Leon. "At any moment, you could become infected—whether it's you, me, Ilse, or Noralie. It could happen now, later, tomorrow, or the day after it. No one really knows. That's what's terrifying about this illness."
"I guess...you're right, Herr Flores. If only I knew I could've brought her to a recovery center."
They remained at the table under the deafening silence that brought solemnity to the air around them. They remained quiet, shaken by the disclosure that pieced every puzzle of details to the situation.
Noralie apologized to Owen for the sudden prying, which he understood was necessary and in turn, he also asked for forgiveness for withholding any information from them.
After a few minutes, they began to tidy the table. Luna trotted out of the room as Owen and Ilse took charge of stacking the plates, while Noralie and Leon wiped and picked up the food scraps left across the surface of the table.
Suddenly, a high-pitched screech erupted from outside, making them take a halt in their tracks. They all looked at each other, and in an instant, the glass windows of the dining room violently shattered into pieces as two bodies were forcefully thrown inside.
Noralie ducked and retreated with her companions to a safe distance, "Is that her?!"
"Nnggrrr, not again." Ilse hissed.
Swiftly, Leon's pulled out his pistol from his belt holster, the gun's barrel aimed at the bodies sprawled on the floor. Their limbs twitched uncontrollably, their clothes offering no resistance as the relentless convulsions gradually tore through the fabric. Slowly, they rose, their once-human frames now marred by elongated limbs with blades resembling cruel knives sprouted from their right hands. Their eyes popped out from their sockets, replaced by an eerie yellow glow that seemed to burn with an otherworldly intensity.
Through the shattered window, the familiar figure of the reptilian-humanoid Eidessa suddenly appeared as if her body just materialized out of thin air. Her reddish skin reflecting the room's shimmering light, casting an unsettling gleam across her gnarled skin.
With a piercing shriek, the lurkers lunged forward. Leon's well-aimed shots momentarily halted their advance, buying a short time for Noralie and Ilse to unholster their pistols and unleash a storm of bullets upon the approaching creatures. Undeterred, the lurkers pressed on, their movements unsettlingly agile.
Noralie swiftly leaped to a corner, deftly reloading her pistol as a lurker lash out its sharp talons towards her that pinned her against the wall. Seeing this, Ilse swooped and bashed her pistol flat against the lurker's head, momentarily stunning it. Noralie procceds to aim her pistol and fired repeated shots towards the creature, disabling it limbs by limbs.
Eidessa leapt towards Leon, but Owen sprang into action, snatching a nearby chair which he used as a weapon. He hurled it in a swinging arc, hitting the advancing creature hard on the face leaving it tumbling around the floor disoriented by the impact.
Owen discarded the now-broken chair and took a few steps back. Beside him is Leon, who fired another round towards Eidessa, the shot zipped as the bullet graze its shoulder but phantom was quick to regain its bearings and managed to scuttle out of the shattered window.
"Hey!" Leon wasted no time and followed it through the window.
"Leon wait!" Ilse called.
One of the lurkers crept behind Owen, raising its sharp, bony talons up on air, ready to strike.
"Owen!" Noralie yelled, but it's too late.
The butler darted his attention to his back, only to see the phantom hurling into a swinging arc towards him. In a flash, Luna bolted into the room, leaping and proceeding to bite the lurker's leg causing it to miraculously miss Owen as he duck out of the way.
Noralie and Ilse took the initiative, unleashing repeated fires towards the phantom until it lay flat on the floor with its bullet-riddled torso. Owen approached it, taking another chair which he forcefully bashed through the lurker's forehead, dark liquid began to ooze from its concaved skull that exposed the thews of the brain underneath. With another hit, its body stopped covulsing.
"Are the two of you ladies okay?" Owen asked as he reach forward to pat the frantic Luna.
"Uhh, we're fine," Noralie smiled while gasping for air. Beside her is Ilse, who flashed Owen a thumbs up.
As the adrenaline wears off, Noralie and Ilse approached the lifeless and perforated body of one of the lurkers. Standing beside its lifeless body is Owen, his eyes widened in shock as he recognized its tattered uniforms and distorted faces.
"Oh no..."
Noralie looked at the butler, a mixture of fear and worry etched on her face, "Do you know them?"
"Indeed, these two," Owen covered his mouth in revulsion, "They are the missing technicians of the mansion."
Their expressions morphed into expressions of dread upon realizing that the other victims could be dead too, snuffing out the hopes of finding them alive just like what Dr. Christina said back at the HQ.
"I'm gonna head out and check on Leon," Ilse nodded before heading out of the dining room.
