Chapter 74

Chapter 74

Unable to find answers to these questions, perhaps due to the lack of sufficient information, Lan continued to follow Albert, observing his campus life.

It was an indirect experience of the Miskatonic University campus life.

Since that day's conversation with Aldus, Albert's life trajectory hadn't changed much, at least not on the surface. However, secretly, as a double agent for the Inspection Bureau and the strangers, Albert had begun a busy life.

Officially, Albert continued to diligently work in Aldus' lab as instructed by Soren. But being beginners, they understood very little, and Aldus didn't allow them access to anything truly significant. This left Albert with ample time to slack off. With little free time, he spent almost every day immersed in the Miskatonic library, absorbing valuable knowledge and seeking information about the dog.

Learning from Soren about his aversion to a mere dog had surprised Albert. It seemed inconceivable that the mysterious and powerful cult leader would fear an ordinary dog. There must be a reason.

He tried to gather information about the dog from those around him, but unfortunately, few knew about 'the dog of Miskatonic.' Most students, when asked, displayed an expression of 'What, does this school have a dog?'

Indeed, Albert had searched every nook of Miskatonic University's library and inquired in other places and laboratories, but he hadn't heard of any dogs being kept anywhere.

There were no dog barks in Miskatonic University on regular days, leading him to wonder if the 'dog' Soren mentioned could be a metaphor for a person or another creature. At least he hadn't seen any dogs around the campus.

However, a turning point soon arrived. During one of his library visits to borrow a book, Albert noticed a new, unfamiliar student sitting at the front desk.

The student's hair was messy and unkempt, revealing pale skin on the arms and chin, fitting the stereotype of a Miskatonic eccentric absorbed in laboratory work, hardly ever venturing outside. He was engrossed in reading a book at the registration desk. Another male student, who Albert recognized as the regular librarian, seemed somewhat bewildered standing beside him.

So what was this situation?

Albert glanced at the name tag of the eccentric student and was surprised to discover he was a teaching assistant at Miskatonic, though he appeared to be about the same age as Albert.

Was his name... Kri Chapman?

Albert placed his books on the counter to be checked out, but the teaching assistant put down his book and looked at Albert with interest, "Hey, I heard you've been asking about 'Miskatonic's dog'?"

Albert was momentarily taken aback, then slowly narrowed his eyes, "Are you specifically looking for me?"

"Correct." The assistant snapped his fingers and lazily hopped off his seat. He was quite tall, probably over 1.8 meters, half a head taller than Albert, but his habitual slouch made them appear about the same height. "I'm also quite interested in that rumored 'Miskatonic's dog,' and I came to ask if you'd like to help me find it. I've got some leads, but I need a fast assistant."

The younger student beside them was frantically signaling Albert, seemingly trying to warn him about something. However, Albert was intrigued. He was indeed eager for information about the dog, or rather, any intelligence that could help defeat Soren.

Naturally, Albert was a bit wary of the assistant's mention of 'running fast': "I'd like to hear more about this dog and your plan first."

"No problem, let's go somewhere else. The library isn't the best place for discussions. Let's talk in detail over there," Kri yawned.

The two moved to a quieter location, where Kri shared all the information he knew with Albert.

"The dog was said to have been a pet of a professor long ago, tasked with guarding the library. During an invasion, it killed a mysterious entity. Its blood caused the dog to mutate, and now it's rumored to have lived for over two hundred years."

Albert asked, "Then why haven't I ever seen this dog?"

"Don't be hasty; I haven't finished yet. The professor left the dog to guard Miskatonic, and it's said to be sensitive only to certain special beings, appearing only during invasions," Kri explained. "With your student status, the dog typically wouldn't show itself to you, but I have a plan we could try."

"What plan?"

Kri licked his lips excitedly: "This is my recent research project. I, along with Professor Horace from cryptid studies, have collected some anomaly blood. We can disguise you as an anomaly, creating a fake invasion at Miskatonic, which might lure the dog out."

"Oh, right, your mentor is Aldus, isn't it? You can try asking him for a sprig of wraithgrass to carry with you. The scent of wraithgrass, combined with the blood Horace and I collected, should perfectly deceive the dog's nose!"

"...And what if I get attacked by the dog?" Albert asked with a resigned look, finally understanding why the younger student had been signaling him to run away.

Am I just an experimental tool? How has this guy managed to get through life without getting beaten up?

"Don't worry, as long as you show your student ID, there shouldn't be any problem. To date, there have been no incidents of the dog attacking students," Kri tried to reassure his potential victim.

"...But has there ever been a precedent of using anomaly blood to fake an invasion at Miskatonic?"

"Ahahaha, of course not," Kri boasted proudly. "Nobody has successfully collected anomaly blood before. Anomalies seem to exist between dreams and reality, and few can see them, let alone collect their blood and manifest it in reality. This is a great study, advancing our understanding of anomalies."

Albert couldn't help but feel exasperated as he listened to the teaching assistant boast and veer off-topic. Who cares about that? I'm worried about my safety here!

But the thought of giving up... Recalling the usually flawless leader of the strangers showing a hint of fear, Albert couldn't bring himself to abandon this lead.

"...The wraithgrass you mentioned, what is it?"

Sensing Albert's wavering, Kri's lips curled into a smile: "It's a special herb, only grown in Aldus's lab. It's said to be a key ingredient in a rare potion and can give you a chance to enter the gap between dreams and reality when carried."

"The gap between reality and dreams?" Albert paused, wondering why this description sounded so familiar.

"Exactly, it sounds like that place, doesn't it? Carrying wraithgrass supposedly increases the chances of perceiving the Dream Gap in its early stages," Kri adjusted his glasses. "Enough talk, let's meet at the library tonight. I know the security patrol schedule, so you won't run into them."

Albert agreed.

The dog of Miskatonic...

He thought, if he could see its true form, maybe he could gather more information about the leader of the strangers, or even lure him into Miskatonic...

Night fell quickly, and Albert, having previously obtained the herb from Aldus's lab, went to meet Kri at the library.

Seeing Albert arrive on time, Kri's smile deepened. "Don't worry, I've already diverted the security guard to another area. It will be a while before he returns here. Let's get started."

Kri took out a bottle of transparent liquid and explained as Albert looked on curiously, "This is the blood of the anomaly. We've done some research to materialize it, making it transparent. Don't worry, it doesn't have a bloody smell, or at least, it's a type of smell that humans can't detect."

"But it shouldn't be a problem for that dog."

Albert pursed his lips and reached out, but Kri suddenly pulled back the bottle: "Are you sure you're ready?"

Albert looked at him and scoffed, "At this point, you're not backing out, are you?"

"I'm just giving you a final confirmation. After all, neither of us has actually seen that dog," Kri said, eyeing Albert's determined face and handing him the bottle.

Albert took the bottle, sniffed it after opening the cap, and indeed couldn't smell anything. If it weren't for Kri's previous explanation, someone might mistake it for ordinary water. Seeing Kri's amused expression, Albert poured the liquid on the hem of his coat.

"This should be enough." He also placed the wraithgrass in the inner pocket of his coat, so he could discard the coat in case of an emergency.

After all, he was here to see 'Miskatonic's dog', not to lose his life.

"That should do it. It should have already..." Kri's words trailed off as Albert suddenly gestured for silence.

"Shh, there's a sound."

From the bookshelf area behind them came a faint noise, not like human footsteps – too light, more akin to an animal's.

That's some sharp sense of smell; it's already here.

Albert turned to call Chapman but found he had already disappeared, only to spot him hiding in a corner of the library, giving a thumbs-up.

'Good luck!'

Probably something like that.

A vein throbbed on Albert's forehead, and he clenched his teeth, refocusing on the noise behind him. As he approached, a menacing shadow gradually came into view, resembling the legendary Cerberus, exuding an incredible presence. The blond youth instinctively swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, eyes fixated, ready to run at any moment.

The shadow grew smaller, and finally, a dog emerged from behind the bookshelf.

Albert instinctively relaxed upon seeing it.

It was an ordinary-looking dog, with shiny black fur and the size of a large breed, its ears drooping down, somewhat resembling a Labrador.

In short, it looked completely normal, nothing like the terrifying creature of legend.

Maybe that legend was false?

Albert thought complicatedly, looking down at the dog curiously eyeing him and instinctively cooing, "Good dog, come here."

The dog moved forward two steps, its nose twitching as if smelling something. After a moment, its gaze focused intently on Albert.

Its beady eyes suddenly turned blood-red.

At the same time, alarm bells rang in Albert's mind. The next second, to his horror, the 'normal' dog opened its mouth, revealing layers upon layers of sharp fangs, its fur bristling, growling menacingly like the hounds of hell.

Without hesitation, Albert turned and ran, while the dog leaped to where he had just stood, leaving two-centimeter-deep claw marks on the floor.

Albert glanced back and ran even faster!

This was no dog! More like a monster in a dog's skin. Wasn't this some kind of canine anomaly?

Suddenly, Albert felt the hair on his back stand up and instinctively dodged to the side.

Snap—

A vicious maw narrowly missed him and pierced the wall beside him. Albert, sweating profusely, saw the pursuing dog from the corner of his eye, sensing its intense murderous intent without needing to get close.

This is bad, really bad!

Kri must have recorded everything by now.

Albert ran from the first floor of the library to the second, then back down again. His evasive moves became increasingly difficult, and he finally couldn't bear it. He took off his coat, threw it aside, and dashed in the opposite direction, looking back.

That should work, right?

It didn't!

The dog pounced towards Albert without hesitation, moving unerringly. Albert awkwardly rolled to avoid it, feeling a chill on his left arm. Looking down, as expected, his sleeve was torn by the dog's fangs.

What happened to dogs not attacking students?

Albert didn't even have time to turn back and reproach Kri, quickly heading towards the library's exit.

Outside the exit was a corridor. Albert thought the dog wouldn't follow him outside, but he was too naive. As he ran along the corridor, the dog relentlessly chased him.

In this crisis, Albert's thoughts raced, recalling fragments of information Kri had shared.

The dog was highly sensitive to anomalies and dream creatures. Their experiment had just confirmed this. Albert had poured the anomaly's blood on his coat's hem, and the dog appeared. Did this mean Soren feared the dog because he was an anomaly? Or because he came from the world of dreams?

Dreams... or rather, the world of dreams, strangers...

A flash of insight struck Albert, and he suddenly understood the core purpose of the strangers' organization. It was highly likely that Soren established this organization to find his way back home!

"I need to relay this intelligence to the Inspection Bureau quickly!"

This was the thought that instinctively flashed through Albert's mind.

But how could he shake off the dog that was still chasing him, despite having discarded his coat with the anomaly's blood and the wraithgrass?

Unseen by Albert, the dog's eyes were intently focused not on Albert, but on a spot beside him.

Lan, running alongside Albert, kept looking back curiously, feeling as if the dog was staring at him.

Impossible, haha, he had already tested this – in this dream realm, no one could see him, except for Albert at that special moment.

Finally, Albert, fatigued, stumbled in the dimly lit corridor. Mentally exhausted, he missed seeing an obstacle on the floor and tripped, falling near a window.

Through the light from the window, Albert saw what had tripped him.

—A soda can.

Who the hell is littering in the corridor, damn it!

The dog arrived swiftly, its ferocious maw dripping saliva, leaving a trail on the floor. Albert looked in horror at the monstrous creature, his hand instinctively reaching into his jacket.

There was a gun inside.

As the dog lunged at him, Albert's eyes sharpened, discarding all fear and trembling. He quickly drew the gun and pressed the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet hit the dog charging at him, but its attack didn't cease. Despite the injury, it kept lunging at Albert, its fangs seeming to enlarge in his vision. He instinctively closed his eyes.

One second, two seconds.

Instead of pain, he heard the sound of breaking glass, followed by the creature's wails. Albert abruptly opened his eyes and turned back, shocked to see the dog viciously attacking something on the grass outside the corridor. Its mouth clamped on a humanoid-like creature.

Lan, by his side, saw it more clearly. In the instant Albert closed his eyes, a humanoid-like anomaly, hairless with a rubbery body and pitch-black eyes, burst through the window. The dog's fangs didn't bite Albert, but instead targeted this anomaly!

Was that a D-class anomaly, a ghoul?

Lan's gaze towards the window was heavy, noticing the ghoul outside differed from those they had encountered before. The previous ghouls resembled bald corpses in rubber suits, but this one was much larger, definitely over two meters tall, with more cracks on its body, and its nails and occasional green fumes seemed corrosive.

This must be a C-class anomaly, a Ghoul Lord.

The Ghoul Lord, more powerful than the common ghouls, was most troublesome due to its strong self-healing ability and toxic attacks, coupled with an intelligence not seen in regular ghouls. They usually didn't act alone.

As expected, while the dog grappled with the Ghoul Lord on the ground, tearing at its neck, the rustling sound resumed, and five or six ghouls emerged from the darkness, surrounding the area.

The dog, while biting the Ghoul Lord's neck, kept an eye on the surrounding ghouls. The Ghoul Lord struggled fiercely, clawing at the dog's body, unable to penetrate its seemingly fragile fur until it found the only bloody wound.

The dog whimpered in pain as the Ghoul Lord found its weakness, attacking the spot viciously with its corrosive claws, further tearing the wound. Meanwhile, the other ghouls also pounced on the dog, forcing it to release its grip and engage in a fight.

Seizing the opportunity, the Ghoul Lord broke free and approached Albert, who held his gun, firing despite his fear. The sparks flew, but the bullets that had pierced the dog's skin couldn't penetrate the Ghoul Lord's defense.

As the anomaly neared him, a hint of despair flashed in Albert's eyes.

"What would you choose?"

Lan, watching the scene curiously, couldn't help but mutter, wondering if, since the dog could attack the anomaly, this was still part of someone's memory.

So what happened next? Did the dog defeat the anomaly, or did Miskatonic have other powers to protect its students? Either way, since Albert was safe afterward, he must have survived this ordeal.

Unexpectedly, as Lan spoke, Albert suddenly turned his head, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat.

It appeared again!

The monster he had seen as a child.

Albert hadn't noticed when it arrived, but when he turned his head, he saw the enigmatic presence beside him, dressed in Western court attire, its face shrouded in mist.

The advancing Ghoul Lord was less than two meters away, almost within reach. Albert had been ready to retreat and run, but the sudden appearance of Lan caused his legs to buckle in fright, nearly causing him to fall.

What did he just say?

'What would you choose?'

At that moment, Albert remembered many things, including his mentor's suggestion that this mysterious being might not be an anomaly, and the entity from his childhood that had killed the Butcher.

If not an anomaly, could it be...

Albert was no longer the naive boy he once was. Having undergone training at the Inspection Bureau, a term suddenly came to his mind.

'Eldritch God'

Why would such a being appear beside him?

Time was too short for Albert to ponder. The Ghoul Lord was almost upon him. In that instant, his survival instinct took over, and he involuntarily said, "Please... help me."

……

Good grief.

Lan was startled by Albert's sudden turn, and from his terrified expression, Lan understood everything – this was clearly another moment when he was visible, just like last time.

The Ghoul Lord was now alarmingly close. To Albert, it seemed the anomaly was targeting him, but Lan perceived it similarly.

After all, Lan hadn't forgotten the murderous intent in the Butcher's eyes directed at him previously.

Thus, Lan decisively took action. This time, he didn't even touch the anomaly before him, disgusted by its scaly skin.

A red seed hurled by Lan towards the Ghoul Lord exploded rapidly under Albert's gaze, sprouting thick branches that coiled around and constricted the Ghoul Lord like a python capturing its prey. The Ghoul Lord immediately let out a wail.

White sap oozed from the bark, corroding the Ghoul Lord's tough skin, without spilling a drop of blood, as the tree absorbed it. The bark, like a living mouth, devoured the ghoul's flesh.

The C-class anomaly, the Ghoul Lord, was being 'eaten' by the tree.

The ghouls outside were killed by the dog, and the tree devoured the C-class anomaly, eliminating the danger.

Lan turned to Albert, who had stepped back in terror, regretting what he had just said.

One must never seek help or make deals with such beings! This was a rule ingrained during investigator training! But why did he utter that...!

He didn't understand why he had blurted out those words, but with the deed done, the mist-enshrouded figure turned its head, seemingly looking at him. Albert, steeling himself, asked:

"Do you, do you seek something from me?"