Chapter 67: The Contaminated Giant Dog
Join www.patreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters
~~~
Polly and Ailey were startled by Hobert's sudden action. Without knocking, he had kicked down the door to Henry's house!
Hobert forced himself to suppress the fear rising inside. As he scanned the room, he saw two corpses lying nearby, alongside candles, inverted triangles, occult symbols, mystical materials, and books. He roughly understood what had happened.
It seemed that Henry and his wife had performed some kind of occult ritual days ago. Since they held a ritual, they must have needed a "wall of spirituality."
But it wasn't clear whether the problem lay in the ritual process or the ritual itself. In any case, the couple had perished during the ritual.
Thanks to the presence of the "wall of spirituality," their spirituality hadn't dispersed immediately. So, when Hobert knocked on their door previously, they had still been able to respond.
Of course, it was also possible that the ritual had left them in a strange state—perhaps they hadn't even realized they were dead. Their rotting corpses had continued to "function" within the wall of spirituality, even using "influenza" as an excuse to drive away strangers who might interrupt the ritual.
However, once the wall of spirituality began to dissipate, the couple's spirituality also gradually faded away, leading to the scene Hobert now faced.
Oddly enough, there were no traces of Beyonder characteristics near the two bodies. This suggested that the couple weren't Beyonders themselves.
Initially, Hobert had intended to enter the house for a brief inspection. But given the increasingly complicated situation, rushing in blindly didn't seem like the best idea. Reporting it to the authorities seemed like the more prudent choice, and after all, this was a specialty of the Tarot Club.
He turned to Polly and Ailey, who were standing in their backyard, and said, "Quick, report this to the authorities. Tell them that Henry's family has died under mysterious circumstances. Be sure to emphasize 'mysterious.'"
The two farmers were visibly shocked. Polly was the first to snap out of it. "Okay, okay, I'll go right away!"
"Wait." Hobert pulled out some paper and a pen from his briefcase, saying, "Please send a telegram for me as well."
On the paper, he wrote: Polly's neighbor family has mysteriously died. I may undergo some special interrogation.
On the back of the paper, he wrote: No. 112, Baiminlan Street, Jolwood District. To: Lawyer Barton.
"The reverse side has the recipient's address and name," Hobert added, handing Polly a 2 soli note. "Please send the telegram first, then report it to the authorities."
A telegram would reach Lawyer Barton within two or three hours, while sending a letter—even within the same city—would take at least until the next day.
He chose to inform Barton rather than contacting Christian directly because there was no guarantee that a civilian telegram would reach her. It was more reliable to have Barton notify her.
Polly nodded repeatedly. Sending a telegram wouldn't cost anywhere near 2 soli, and the sight of the note ensured he'd follow Hobert's instructions to the letter.
From the basement, the dog likely sensed an intruder on its master's property. Its barking grew more intense, accompanied by the sound of claws scratching at the basement door, as if the beast were ready to break through at any moment.
Fortunately, Henry's basement door was sturdy enough to withstand the dog's efforts for now.
As the nearby farmers' children began to curiously peek towards the house, Hobert turned to Ailey and said, "Mr. Ailey, please keep watch at the gate and make sure no one comes inside.
"Trust me, if the children see what's in there, they will be terrified."
Since it wasn't harvest season yet, the children didn't need to help in the fields, which meant that many were just playing around the village.
"Alright, alright!" Ailey began to move from his backyard but, suddenly, the sounds from Henry's basement stopped.
The world seemed to fall into an eerie silence. In that moment, Hobert's spiritual sense picked up a surge of "distortion."
Crash!
Ailely's basement door was violently smashed open by an immense force. Ailey's basement didn't house any animals, so it hadn't been reinforced, and the door broke instantly.
A gigantic dog, the size of a donkey, charged out from the basement.
The beast's fur was riddled with tumor-like growths, some of which had already burst open, oozing brown pus.
The tumors distorted the dog's face, making it look grotesque, terrifying, and pained all at once.
Hobert's sudden intrusion had clearly enraged the creature. Its eyes, now clouded and devoid of reason, locked onto Ailey, the closest target, and it charged at him.
"Get down!" Hobert shouted as he rushed towards Ailey's home, gun in hand.
Ailey, upon seeing the monstrous dog, was frozen in place. Hobert's shout, along with the sight of the gun, jolted him into action, and almost instinctively, he threw himself to the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hobert fired three shots. The first missed the giant dog, but the second hit its shoulder, and the third struck its head.
After the third shot, the dog collapsed to the ground. Both Hobert and Ailey breathed sighs of relief.
The giant dog hadn't died immediately, though. Its gaze, no longer clouded, seemed to regain clarity in its final moments. It let out a mournful howl towards Henry's house.
Hobert, gazing at the dying dog, said softly, "Your master is waiting for you up ahead. You're finally free now."
It seemed the dog understood his words. It stopped howling and passed away peacefully.
The dog's immense size, along with its disfigured condition, indicated that it had been contaminated by some Beyonder characteristic or sealed artifact.
This kind of contamination was irreversible. Hobert hadn't lied; death was indeed a release for the creature.
As for how the dog had ended up in Ailey's basement, it was likely due to the effects of the sealed artifact in Henry's home, which had the power to distort space, connecting the two basements that weren't far apart.
With Henry and his wife dead, no one was left to continue sealing the artifact, allowing it to contaminate their dog while occasionally displaying its abilities.
Given the nature of the distortion power, the artifact was likely related to the Lawyer Pathway. Though, it could also belong to the Apprentice Pathway, though according to the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence, the former was more probable.
Hobert helped Ely to his feet. Ailey, still shaken from the encounter, looked at the dog's corpse and muttered, "Storm above! What kind of monster is this? And how did it end up in my basement?"
"Please, keep watch over Henry's gate," Hobert said, choosing not to explain. Better to let the official Beyonders deal with it.
He then asked, "What faith did Henry's family follow?"
"The Evernight Goddess," Ely replied as Hobert helped him to the gate.
Hobert nodded. That meant the Nighthawks would handle this case.
Ailey leaned against the gatepost, shouting at the children who had gathered to watch, "Go home, all of you!"
With Ailey guarding the gate, Hobert felt at ease as he approached the basement door. He kicked it open, and was immediately hit by the stench of dog excrement and urine. Inside, it was pitch black, as if the sunlight from outside couldn't penetrate the space.
All signs pointed to the fact that the sealed artifact was still "active."
Hobert returned to the front door of the house. Among the scattered books near the corpses, some appeared to be journals, while others were more formal texts. There was a good chance that the journals contained information about the artifact's effects or how it had been sealed.
Stepping inside, Hobert first inspected the bodies to ensure that Henry and his wife were indeed dead. Only then did he squat down to search for any useful notes.
Thump! Thump!
Suddenly, there came a loud banging sound from the second floor.