A day later, Damien stood behind the balcony of the motel and observed the desolate Fortified Colony of Cambridge Bay. The Howling Village has completed its war preparations, so the final confrontation with the Abominable Cult was ticking. Only one piece was left.

He stepped out of the balcony and opened the front door. There, he saw Devon standing and about to knock. The intelligence operative smirked and remarked. "You cause a lot of trouble by annihilating the mountain bandits."

"But to think that you actually got the law enforcement to back off."

As Devon stepped inside, Damien closed the front door and responded. "It wasn't difficult to tell them the truth of their circumstance as traitors of humanity and tools of the Abominable. However, I'm confident that you're already aware of that."

"Aware? Well, I do know that you told them it was the Abominable Cult that caused the frequent and unnatural snowstorms that plunged the northern fringes into devastation." Devon leaned beside the wall, staring at Damien. "It isn't unfounded."

"During my partner and my journey to one of the missing villages, some random snowstorm chased us no matter the direction we changed. Once was already a coincidence, but twice and thrice? You'd be stupid to not see the pattern." Damien answered and continued.

"Anyway, we're not here to talk about me. You've already interrogated the Governor of Cambridge Bay; do you have any new intelligence?" He inquired while lounging in the chair beside his bed. "Anything that might be useful for the operation."

"Intelligence, huh?" Devon took a deep breath and sighed to himself. "I did interrogate the Governor, but he died before I could ask further questions. It seems to be suicide by self-poisoning, though it's the usual trick for intelligence agencies."

"At any rate, what I found out was that the Abominable Cult managed to penetrate deeper than expected, especially within the northern regions of the Federation. They have people everywhere, loyal to the cause." He explained and felt troubled. "According to him, it was all for humanity."

"What does that mean?" Damien raised his eyebrows, realizing that the interrogation of the Governor had yielded vital intelligence that could impact the broader operation. Devon looked at the black-suited young man and replied. "They want the Aberrant to be the God of Humanity."

"You see... These people wanted something that could rival a progenitor of the Clan." He added, prompting Damien to narrow his sable-tinted gaze. "Aren't the Paragon, especially the seventh, already capable of rivalling the progenitor of the vampires?"

"Otherwise, there would be no Federation within the New World. Humanity would still be enslaved by the Clan, becoming human cattle for them." Damien didn't understand why humanity would want more, and something that was beyond their control.

"Yes, the seventh Paragon does have the power to rival the progenitor. But she's merely a powerful Jaeger, the strongest of humankind. They wanted a God, something that was capable of launching humanity into the skies. A being that could ensure the whole would evolve."

"I see... So, that's what they wanted, huh?" Damien chuckled while shaking his head. "They desire the power that Jaegers hold. Envious of the metahumans that roam the New World, wielding power that was deemed impossible in the Old World."

"It's not like I don't understand them. The ordinary can be jealous of the extraordinary. It wouldn't be their fault." He closed his eyelids, seeing a beautiful girl smiling at him. Three words were etched into his mind.

"Sam-" Before he could continue, he felt his head breaking apart. He gritted his teeth and controlled his breath while Devon stepped forward and asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine... Just some headache." Damien replied, prompting the intelligence operative to chuckle. "I didn't expect Aberrants to feel headaches. You might not be as different as you think, Damien."

"Well, I am the weakest of the Aberrants. If that explains something..." Damien shook his head and smiled. "In any case, the final part of the operation will begin tonight. Any plans you have in mind, Devon?"

Hearing his question, Devon pondered for a moment before sighing. "There's not much to do. There's not much to see. But I could watch the fireworks you're about to set off. I am a spectator, after all."

"Alright, thank you for the information. The intelligence is appreciated. At the very least, we understand the motives of some wealthy members of the Abominable Cult." Damien waved his hand and straightened his black suit. "I will be taking my leave."

"I have an army to take care of." The edges of his lips curled into a smile. "Take care, Devon. The Shadow Division remains an unknown variable in the operation. You should be careful. Who knows what lurks behind the curtains..." In an instant, Damien's body blurred and vanished.

Devon watched before shaking his head. "That bastard. Shadow Division, huh?" He looked through the windows and saw silhouettes in the distance observing him. "Already too late for that."

---

In the Howling Village deep within the hidden caldera of the northern fringes, Damien opened his eyelids, seeing the Lycanthropes preparing themselves for the upcoming conflict against the Abominable Cult.

The Wolfenguard were the vanguard of the battle while Night Fang infiltrated the enemy lines. The Lycans numbered around two hundred powerful werewolves, while the Abominable Cult stood in thousands alongside the Shadow Division, whose forces remained unknown.

"Brother Damien, are you also fighting with old brother and father?" Out of nowhere, a soft and childish voice sounded from behind. He turned his gaze and saw Alice staring at him. He crouched and nodded. "Yeah, I will be fighting with them."

"I never expected that the village would go to war. I thought that we were too afraid of leaving the caldera, so I always tried explaining to see the world for what it was." Alice lowered her head and clutched her white dress. "I want to fight."

"But I know that I'm too weak to help. I will be a liability to my old brother and father." Hearing the words of the little girl, Damien was about to give some consolation. Though he was interrupted before he could do so. "However... I won't give up. In the next battle, I'll fight with everyone."

"Yeah, you'll fight with us when you grow older." He patted her head while smiling at the innocent one. Her eyes glimmered with determination, undaunted and untouched by tragedy. It reminded him of his own resolve. To discover the truth and to ensure the next generation.

Alice nodded and walked away, heading towards her old brother and father to bid them farewell. Damien watched and understood that it wasn't the time to hesitate. With this in mind, he opened his status display and was about to utilize the fusion feature.

---

| Monster Gacha System |

-| Boss Title : [ Oberon ] |

-| Monster(s) : Two-Star EX Monster: Eclipse(Fragment), Two-Star EX Monster: Neurophages, One-Star TE Monster: Silhouette, Two-Star TE Monster: Scorpion Tank, Two-Star TE Monster: Wyvern, One-Star TE Monster: Hellhound, One-Star TE Monster: Freedom Eagle, One-Star TE: Nemean Lion, Two-Star TE Monster: Tarasque, One-Star TE Monster: Anaconda, Two-Star TE Monster: Direwolf, Three-Star TE Monster: Behemoth, Three-Star TE Monster: Orochi, Two-Star TE Monster: Heavenly Bull, One-Star PA Monster: Banshee, Two-Star PA Monster: Oni, Two-Star PA Monster: Dullahan, One-Star PA Monster: Shadow Hound, One-Star PA Monster: Onryo |

-| Skill Index : Raptured Blink(Eclipse), Intangible Fracture(Eclipse), Hive Assimilation(Neurophaes), Psychic Operation(Silhouette), Mechanical Bombardment(Scorpion Tank), Dracko Oppression(Wyvern), Chains of Judgment(Hellhound), Heaven's View(Freedom Eagle), Hide of Aegis(Nemean Lion), Carapace of Legends(Tarasque), Constriction(Anaconda), Pack Howl(Direwolf), Tectonic Steps(Behemoth), Venoms of Eightfold Death(Orochi), Celestial Charge(Heavenly Bull), Wailing Death(Banshee), Demonic Strength(Oni), Mark of Death(Dullahan), Hunting Darkness(Shadow Hound), Curse of Vengeance(Onryo) |

-| Command Seal(s): [ 90/145 ] |

<| Terror Point(s) : 4010 |>

---

"The higher in the ranks of summoned monsters they are. The more expensive they would become. The minimum is 500 Terror Points to fuse duplicates to advance their evolution bar. Once the requirement is reached, fusing monsters would be possible."

Damien muttered under his breath while staring at the status display before him. His sable-tinted gaze scanned through the monsters under his command and landed on two. It was none other than the first-star TE Summoned Monsters, Nemean Lion and Freedom Eagle.

"It's time to make a summoned monster." He grinned and chose the two of them. Each of the summoned monsters only needed 25% of the evolution bar to reach the threshold of the requirements for evolution. About a thousand Terror Points to fuse the duplicates they need.

Without a tinge of hesitation or delay, Damien opened the fusion feature, choosing the Nemean Lion alongside the Freedom Eagle to be fused with one of their duplicates under his inventory.

| 1000 Terror Points deducted... |

| First-Star TE Monster: Nemean Lion fusing with 1x Duplicate. |

| First-Star TE Monster: Freedom Eagle fusing with 1x Duplicate. |

| Congratulations, fusion successful! Freedom Eagle and Nemean Lion have reached their required evolution bar. |

| Compatibility for fused evolution detected... Does Lord Oberon desire the suggested prospect of evolution? |

Notifications bombarded him as he watched the duplicates fuse with their respective summoned monsters. It didn't take long for the system to notify of the genetic compatibility between the Nemean Lion and Freedom Eagle.

Damien stared at the notification and took a deep breath. This would be the first time, and he didn't know what would emerge from the fusion of these two summoned monsters. He hoped that it would be for the better.

'Fuse the two of them.'

| Affirmative, fusing First-Star TE Monsters: Freedom Eagle and Nemean Lion... |

| Congratulations, fusion was a success! |

| You have been granted Three-Star TE Monster: Griffin |

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