The Secret Cult Chronicles of the Decaying Lake Manor

The familiar scene made George's heart tighten, and he immediately rushed outside.

Bates and Kelly exchanged a glance, then dropped their protective gear and quickly followed behind him.

The three of them ran down the corridor, and as they went down the stairs, George saw Uncle Albert standing outside Frederick's room on the second floor.

Uncle turned around when he heard footsteps. His face was very pale. He saw George's lips move, but in the end, he could only point with difficulty to the half-closed door behind him.

"...See for yourself."

George strode forward, pushed open the door—and then froze.

The room was a complete mess.

The bed was a mess, the curtains were torn and tattered, the window was wide open, and paintbrushes and paints were scattered all over the carpet.

But the most striking feature was a huge cocoon shell that had split open in the middle, located in the center of the room.

The dark brown, translucent outer skin drooped down, as if torn open from the inside.

The pupa was empty except for some transparent mucus that dripped down and pooled on the carpet.

Frederick de la Poul, however, has vanished without a trace.

George stood there, staring at the empty pupa, feeling his heart pounding against his ribs.

He turned to look at his uncle at the door, then at Bates and Kelly who followed him in—both of them had expressions of shock and confusion on their faces.

"When did this happen?" George quickly got into problem-solving mode.

Uncle Albert shook his head with difficulty: "I...I don't know. It was like this when I came in. The door was closed...I didn't see Fred."

"Didn't anyone see him leave?"

The uncle looked as if he was struggling to swallow something stuck in his throat.

"They shouldn't be in the manor. We'll have to ask the Night's Watch immediately, but in this situation..."

"I'll go and invite Grandfather over."

Before anyone could react, Miss Moore, who had arrived shortly after George, quickly left.

George knew this couldn't be kept secret, so he let her be.

He asked his uncle to bring the Night's Watch as soon as possible. After his uncle left with an incredulous look on his face, he approached the empty cocoon, squatted down, and examined it closely.

The pupa's translucent outer skin is covered with extremely fine lines, which shimmer faintly with a reddish glow when illuminated.

It's like seeing a baby's deep red color through amniotic fluid.

Lieutenant Bates also stepped forward and looked around the messy room.

George tried to reach out and touch the empty pupa.

[Transformation into a pupal sheath]

[Sexual aspects: Abyss, wine, objects, medium]

"I heard voices from nowhere, saw illusions without substance, and the world appeared grotesque, a face I had never seen before... How could this be? My thoughts were gradually torn apart; some decayed and stagnated in my veins, some spread their wings and flew away from me, and some were so ugly that I did not want to mention them. Where will I go?"

[Note: This is a remnant of a temporary transformation brought about by external forces; there is still a way to reverse this transformation.]

Well, it seems my cheap little brother is in grave danger.

George left the card table with a sullen face, just in time to see Lieutenant Bates turn to him.

"Any discoveries, Lieutenant?"

The lieutenant pointed to a painting on the ground: "George, take a look at this. Do you have any clue?"

George glanced down, then picked up the painting and examined it closely.

He didn't know who the alien god in the painting was, but the bristles on His body and the unusual shape of His wings were very distinctive.

"I don't know what god this is, but judging from its form, we are probably facing a primordial god called 'Fly King'."

Based on his previous analysis of "Where Do We Belong," George turned around and explained it to Bates.

"This is an evil god who controls 'corruption' and 'cancer,' and whose domain also includes 'breeding,' 'lust,' and 'plague'... Oh no!"

He suddenly remembered something, and was horrified. He quickly pulled Bates out of the room.

The two ran into the corridor, and George shouted again to the inspector and Miss Moore who were rushing over from a distance.

"Stop! This place may have been contaminated by the 'Lord of the Flies'!"

Miss Moore was only slightly surprised, but the inspector's expression changed drastically, and he immediately stopped in his tracks and stopped his granddaughter.

He quickly slapped his temple with his right hand, his eyes flashing blue as he looked at George.

His gaze, almost tangible, swept over George and Bates, then he called out loudly from the other end of the corridor:

"George, purify with your amulet!"

Upon hearing the inspector's words, George quickly took out the Golden Sun Amulet from his pocket and infused it with spiritual energy to activate it.

The amulet emitted golden light, and George held it above his head to illuminate more areas.

Ten seconds passed for him, feeling unusually long, before the inspector slapped his temple and the blue light in his eyes went out.

"Luckily you spoke in time, George, otherwise we would have all been infected."

The inspector slowly walked over, adding with lingering fear:

"When dealing with the 'Born Rot Nest,' the power of 'Blazing Sun' is still the most effective. To be honest, the Anti-Corruption Bureau rarely faces such an opponent, if it weren't for..."

"Don't relax yet, Inspector." George's eye twitched, interrupting the inspector's rambling. "My uncle and the estate's servants were the first to discover this place!"

The inspector and George exchanged a glance, and before they could say anything more, they ran together down to the first floor.

Upon arriving at the first-floor reception room, I did not see my uncle; only my maternal grandmother, my paternal uncle, and the lawyer were there.

The table was filled with all sorts of rare and exotic items; they seemed to have been holding an appreciation event before.

Upon seeing George rushing over, the old lady frowned and asked, "What happened, George? Have the Gallicans attacked...?"

"Grandmother, where is Uncle now?" George, panting, interrupted the clueless person again.

Grandmother answered instinctively, "He went to the servants to arrange something."

George didn't bother to explain and turned to run down the stairs.

On the way, he saw the inspector running towards him, panting, and only had time to say a few words.

"Inspector, keep an eye on the people in the living room!"

-----------------

Meanwhile, at the pier on the east side of Paradise Island.

Old man Mo was standing by the pier, his fingers slowly and rhythmically tapping on the wooden stakes.

He silently watched the estate servants bustling back and forth on the dock.

It's already October, and in another month, the ice age of the rotten lake could arrive at any time.

As is customary in previous years, the island must stockpile winter supplies beforehand—smoked meat, flour, dried vegetables, coal, and various materials for repairs and other purposes.

Mr. Carson, the manor's butler, specifically instructed yesterday that an extra two weeks' worth of food be prepared this year.

Two young laborers were carrying wooden barrels from a barge that had docked at the shore.

They exhaled wisps of fleeting white breath in the crisp autumn air. Old Man Mo squinted at their slightly clumsy movements and shook his head slightly.

Suddenly, he sensed something and instinctively turned to look in the direction of the mansion.

A black dot appeared on the horizon.

At first it was very small, like a leisurely lost crow, but the old man knew that there would be no bird flying like that on this lake.

He squinted, straightened up, and walked over there.

The black spots are also getting bigger.

The old man's eyes never left that dark spot as he stepped across the dry wooden planks of the pier towards the shore.

As distance or time passed, the outline of the black dot gradually became clearer.

It's not a bird, it's... a humanoid shape?

Old Man Mo's hand immediately reached for his waist, a dangerous instinct ingrained in his bones prompting him to unhook the holster.

"Mr. Hammer?" A handyman carrying flour walked by, looking at him with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"

The Night's Watch ignored him, and simply pulled out his telescope from his waist and held it up—a gift from Lord Arthur.

The sight in the lens made his pupils shrink.

Behind that "humanoid" thing, a pair of translucent wings covered with a net-like vein were vibrating at an extremely high frequency, with greasy gray-green edges.

It was wearing a dark burgundy nightgown, and its face...

The old man gasped, abruptly lowered his binoculars, and shouted at the servants:

"Get on the boat quickly!"

The servants were stunned by what the old man said.

"Get on the boat and leave!" Old Man Mo's roar drowned out the sound of the waves. He rushed over and shoved the two young men toward the boat.

"No matter what happens—don't look back!"