Chapter 188: The True Master Of The Fenrir Cult

-----

Vladimir ran back home with everything he had left in his body. He was bleeding from multiple deep wounds, screaming in pain and panic as he staggered through the streets. Blood poured from his mouth as he vomited again and again until his legs finally gave out. He collapsed heavily in front of Riven, who had just run outside after sensing the sudden drop in his subordinate’s vitality.

Riven immediately dropped to his knees and began desperately healing Vladimir while wondering what kind of disaster the man had gotten himself into this time. As the healing energy flowed into the broken body, something Riven had never learned in his past life struck him out of nowhere. It was a revelation that came directly from Vladimir himself, who was sobbing between tears after having been forced to kill his own comrades.

"He’s gone completely batshit insane...! He turned everyone into bloodthirsty werewolves and made them eat people! I was forced... I had to kill them. I had to lure them away and take them down... or else they would’ve found you..."

Riven could still hardly process the words. His hands paused for a moment over Vladimir’s chest. "You mean... Mordred?"

Vladimir nodded weakly. He couldn’t lie to Riven due to the binding contract between them. Everything he said was the absolute truth, and there was no room left to question him. "He’s... the True Vessel of Fenrir! Your brother!"

"..."

In response, Riven fell completely silent for a long moment. He began to process and take in everything he had just heard, the weight of the revelation settling over him like a heavy shroud.

"Mordred... that Mordred?"

He had always known that his brother was an unforgivable piece of shit, but even he had never expected him to go this far. After all, they were somewhat similar — two mirrors of the same person shaped by different circumstances in life.

Mordred was someone who had been blessed with power from a young age, yet he was still bullied and hated by his older siblings. Despite that, he had carved a place for himself inside the family through sheer force of will. Even so, because of his conduct, his manners, and simply the way he carried himself, he had always been seen as the rebellious one who openly despised their father.

Riven shared that same deep hatred for their father. At some point, perhaps erroneously, he had found a strange sense of comradeship between the two of them, even though Mordred had also bullied him relentlessly when they were children. Those old memories now felt twisted and bitter.

But he now began to realize just how fucked up everything really was. Even the person he had once thought "at least also hates my father" turned out to be someone far worse than he could have ever imagined.

"So... my brother is the master of Fenrir’s Cult..." he muttered under his breath, the words tasting like ash. "Vladimir... you saw him turning into... a werewolf?"

As Vladimir slowly returned to his original human appearance, long red hair falling over most of his face, he sat exhausted on the grass. Though fully healed, his body still trembled from the ordeal. He nodded weakly. "Yes... He is the True Vessel of Fenrir’s Authority. He has the power to share that power with us, likely through some sort of Pack-Related Skill, maybe."

"I see..." Riven sat down next to him and let out a long, heavy sigh. He looked toward the horizon where the sun was slowly rising, painting the sky in pale gold and soft orange.

Fenrir. The being whose fragment of divinity he had eaten. An insane Authority that wished for nothing but chaos, yet had also acted strangely friendly toward him at times. This was the true source of Mordred’s power, and everything else that had followed from it.

Perhaps Fenrir had already known that he was Mordred’s brother. Perhaps the ancient wolf had been looking forward to their eventual confrontation from the very beginning.

"This wicked dog..." Riven sighed again, shaking his head. He noticed Noir sitting in front of them, tilting his head curiously at the heavy atmosphere.

Then the black wolf pup ran toward Vladimir after realizing the man was still covered in dried blood. Noir worriedly sniffed at the stains and began licking them with quiet concern. "Awr...? Awoo?" he whimpered, as if asking what had happened.

Vladimir managed a faint, tired smile and reached out to caress the black wolf’s soft fur. "At this point, you’re perhaps the only pure form of the Beast I once thought I worshipped, young master. Your father... truly loves to torture us... But I cannot really complain. My soul is tainted with sin. I deserve it all. I should’ve let them kill me, but that desire to return likely came from your order. You told me to survive and live no matter what..." He glared at Riven with a flicker of resentment mixed with exhaustion. "I should’ve let them kill me instead..."

"You’re not dying," Riven said firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument. "You already died once. This time, you’re going to put your strength and knowledge to use and make up for these sins for eternity if necessary, Vladimir."

"Tsk..." Vladimir groaned, looking away. "So what does Fenrir want from us? Can’t you talk to him? You possess his Pure Authority as well!"

"I could summon him..." Riven thought carefully, weighing the risks. "But I have the feeling he will likely not like it. And I’d rather not provoke an Authority beyond my current capabilities right now, Vladimir."

Riven wasn’t going to throw more fuel onto an already dangerous fire. He decided it was better to leave the matter alone for now. Maybe... maybe it would even be wiser to move out of this city for the time being, away from the territory of the Fenrir Clan.

Especially because if the cult members were all like dogs, they would eventually find this place through scent. They would come hunting after Vladimir without mercy.

"So you’ve been branded a traitor, Vladimir? Way to destroy the whole thing you had going, dumbass," Riven said, smacking the back of his head lightly but firmly.

"It’s more complicated than that. I ran away because Mordred... He was eating people," Vladimir muttered, his voice dropping lower.

"..."

Riven fell silent once more. The weight of those final words settled between them like a dark cloud as the morning sun continued to rise over the quiet street.

-----