"There are three people who unknowingly bear the burden of the oaths," Mayor Philip explained, his voice smooth and unnervingly calm. "Therefore, the grand ceremony is divided into three distinct parts."
He held up three long, pale fingers.
"First, Father Howard, who bears Oath Secrecy. Second, myself, Philip, who bears Oath Two—Loyalty. Third, Lovecraft, who bears Oath Three—Procreation. These three oaths, when brought together in this town, establish the most important framework of the Esoteric Order of Dagon."
"The Esoteric Order of Dagon? Your sect?" Shuichi Akai grasped the key point, his grip tight under the table.
"Yes, our sect," Mayor Philip maintained his chilling composure throughout. "As you can see, you should have guessed what our race truly is by now. In your crude, secular words: monsters. But we have a proper name. We are the Deep Ones. Deep Ones who serve the great Father Dagon."
"Then..."
Akai was really putting on a brave face at this moment. He had absolutely no confidence whatsoever in the face of this strange, unblinking entity who casually called himself a 'Deep One'. The biological structure and implications of the other party's race far exceeded the psychological acceptance of normal humans. They were strange and utterly unpredictable. They possessed a form and abilities vastly different from humanity.
Therefore, Akai could only grit his teeth and violently force himself to continue the conversation. He didn't know what the Mayor's true purpose was in sharing so much classified information with a federal agent, but gathering the intel was still a tactical necessity.
"No need to be so tense, Mr. Akai," Mayor Philip smiled, his eyes unblinking. "Although I bear the heavy burden of the Oath's progress, I am merely a hybrid. I was once exactly like you... a human."
'No.' Akai thought, his skin crawling. 'You might have been human before. But you are absolutely not one now. And since you've already borne the oath... wait...'
It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mind, jolting Akai entirely awake. He seemed to have realized a devastating mechanical truth.
'The oath... the oath process,' Philip had said earlier. There are three people bearing the oath. Therefore, the oath ceremony is divided into three parts. Now, the three oath-bearers had all surfaced and converged.
Does this mean…?
"Sigh… you're really clever, Mr. Akai. I believe you've finally guessed it too," Mayor Philip said, taking a polite sip of his water. "Yes. The oath ceremony... is complete."
What…!!??
The shock in Akai's heart reached its absolute peak. Extremely horrified, he unconsciously stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor, staring intently at Philip.
"What exactly do you want to do!?"
Lovecraft's Apartment
What do they want to do?
"They just want a territory where they can reproduce…"
Back in the apartment, Howard staggered back a few steps upon realizing the truth of the letter, then collapsed heavily onto the sofa.
On the surface, it didn't sound like a particularly world-ending plan. Just a species wanting a place to live. But first, one massive geopolitical fact needed to be considered: Innsmouth was sovereign American territory.
The Esoteric Order was unilaterally declaring Innsmouth's autonomy as a breeding ground, and the United States government would inevitably respond with furious, overwhelming military force over the loss of its territory and citizens. Therefore, the impending conflict between the two sides was irreconcilable.
Furthermore, the Deep Ones' conduct had absolutely nothing to do with peaceful coexistence. That terrifying, spectral monster that had embraced his soul remotely was merely their greeting gift. Knowing full well the violent potential for human conflict, what would these evil entities actually do when provoked?
"Calamity..." Howard whispered, his hands shaking.
They would unleash a calamity powerful enough to terrify a global superpower. Ultimately, was it truly because of an irreconcilable territorial dispute that they would unleash this calamity? Howard didn't believe it. That unfathomable, ancient evil must harbor a deeply covetous and malicious attitude towards all of humanity.
'So that's it...' Howard realized in horror. 'Is this the truth behind the great apocalypse in their pagan beliefs...?'
Hearing Howard's panicked, instinctive murmurs, Lovecraft felt a fresh chill run down his spine. An absurd, terrifying thought suddenly popped into his mind as he looked at his webbed, transforming hands.
'This has escalated too far...' Lovecraft panicked. 'This isn't just a localized cult... this is going to be an unprecedented, apocalyptic bloodbath...'
The Local Coffee Shop
'We must stop it. We must stop them...'
At this moment, only this single, desperate thought remained for Shuichi Akai. He stared at Philip expressionlessly. Even with his fists clenched so tightly under the table that his knuckles were turning white and bruised, he at least had to maintain a facade of composure no less steady than the monster's.
'Think! I have to figure it out!'
He couldn't let their cosmic ideas come to fruition! His body completely tense, Akai had no choice but to grit his teeth and face the supernatural challenge head-on.
"I don't believe it," Akai said coldly.
"Don't believe what?"
"I don't believe you actually dare to do this! The United States military will wipe this town off the map."
"Why wouldn't we?" Mayor Philip seemed genuinely, mildly surprised. "We just want a territory to breed, for survival. So, reason is on our side."
Reason?
Akai's expression froze. Then, a sharp glint of light seemed to flash in his green eyes.
'Monsters... would they really try to reason with humans? On what grounds?'
At this moment, Akai felt he had grasped a crucial psychological flaw.
"Yes... Why?" Akai pushed back, leaning over the table. "Why should you bother reasoning with humans when you have the power to do whatever you want? And what does your act of deliberately leaking this information to me represent? You're delaying. You might be worried about something else interfering too..."
He was speaking less to convince the Mayor, and more to test his own rapid deductions.
"Indeed, you are very clever, Mr. Akai..." Mayor Philip smiled.
Yes. When he saw that Shuichi Akai seemed to have gained a sliver of tactical confidence, the Mayor actually laughed out loud—a wet, gurgling sound.
This reaction made Akai's slightly relaxed expression sink into absolute dread once again. He realized it. His every tactical move, every logical deduction, was completely expected by the other party. In fact, no matter what decision Akai made, the Deep One didn't care at all.
That polite attitude... even if it maintained human civility on the surface, it actually held an infinitely condescending perspective. That arrogant attitude was exactly like a human who didn't care about the lives of the ants they were stepping on.
They might really be worried about something interfering with their ritual, but it was definitely not the FBI or the United States military...
Based on that terrifying lack of concern, Akai deduced a massive amount of information at once.
The Deep Ones wouldn't go too far out of Innsmouth for the time being. But just because they wouldn't, doesn't mean that someone else wouldn't exploit the situation.
For example... The Black Organization.
In an instant, Akai's eyes widened, practically bloodshot, as he stared sharply toward the docks of Innsmouth.
'The Black Organization!! Damn it…' He had been so overwhelmed by the cosmic horror that he had almost forgotten about the syndicate!
Forcibly suppressing his unease, Akai asked one last, burning question. "You wouldn't happen to be working with them, would you?"
"Alright, Mr. Akai. I've said what I needed to say. The rest is entirely up to you."
With that ominous non-answer, Mayor Philip stood up smoothly and left the coffee shop, the bell chiming cheerfully as he walked out into the coastal fog.
Even though Akai's face was extremely gloomy, he didn't draw his gun to stop him. He knew bullets would be useless here.
Sure enough. He had guessed right.
It was the Black Organization behind the scenes after all… And they were actively "cooperating" with these unfathomable, ancient monsters to achieve whatever twisted scientific goal they had in mind.
Even Shuichi Akai, a famously composed and stoic investigator, felt his sanity fracturing. His already terrible impression of the Black Organization had now reached its absolute worst. They were playing with fire that could burn the entire world to ash.
In fact, despite Mayor Philip's extensive monologue, Akai still knew virtually nothing about the true biological capabilities of the Deep Ones. At most, he had a vague, terrifying idea. The unknown nature of the monsters always brings extreme oppression to the human heart.
But regardless of the cosmic scale, tactically sealing off Innsmouth was definitely the right thing to do.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he pulled out his secure satellite phone to call in the tactical jets and heavily armed strike teams, his face deathly pale. A ruthless, desperate glint flashed in his eyes.
The Black Organization…
He refused to believe that a mere secular, mortal underground organization could truly be controlling such profound, cosmic evil.
.....
.....
.....
Give me powerstones.
Support me and read advance chapters on patreon.com/ImmortalDaoWriter