Roy, with a few explosive bursts in his ghost wolf form, appeared in front of Leonard, blocking his path.
This scene was observed through a camera by someone watching closely.
"Looks like we failed again."
On a mountain road not far from the villa, a black sedan was parked.
The person who just spoke was a middle-aged man with red hair inside the car.
The red-haired man shook his head as he watched the scene unfold on his laptop.
"Seems I underestimated Roy Black."
After a moment of thought, the red-haired man turned to the blonde woman in the passenger seat.
"Amara, proceed with Plan B."
"Yes, Mr. R!"
It was clear that Mr. R had a thing for blonde women. Perhaps it was because his late wife, who died at Crystal Lake, was blonde, as every secretary he'd hired since was a stunning blonde.
Erica was like that before, and now Amara was the same—both even shared the same first initial.
Ahem! No more joking around!
After assigning Amara her tasks, Mr. R picked up a safe from the floor and entered a lengthy password to unlock it.
Inside the safe was another metal box, also locked with a password, which Mr. R carefully entered.
Layer after layer, after opening three boxes, he finally retrieved a thick, heavy book.
The book's cover was brown, but a closer look revealed its material resembled human skin.
Even more chilling, the cover bore a twisted, pained human face, with lifelike eyes, teeth, and a nose.
(The Book of the Dead, from the Evil Dead series)
Or rather, the cover was made from an actual human face—you could even see an ear on the back!
Amara, who was on the phone arranging tasks, caught a glimpse of the horrifying book out of the corner of her eye. She froze, her mind overwhelmed as if hearing countless screams.
Slap!
Mr. R delivered a sharp slap to Amara's face, snapping the blonde secretary out of her trance.
Amara gasped heavily, her clothes soaked with cold sweat as if she'd been pulled from water.
"Amara, when working at the cabin, one thing is crucial: know what you can look at and what you can't; know what you can say and what you can't!"
Mr. R stared at her sternly, and the blonde secretary hurriedly apologized.
"S-sorry, Mr. R!"
Looking at the flustered Amara, Mr. R sighed.
Amara's work ethic couldn't hold a candle to Erica's. Finding a woman who was blonde, beautiful, and highly competent was no easy feat.
It was like the impossible triangle—Amara was the compromise Mr. R had settled for, nowhere near Erica's level.
This made Mr. R regret tossing Erica into Lakeheart Island.
But back then, he hadn't had much choice. Erica's sanity was fraying after her experiences in the underground base, leaving her vulnerable to the influence of the blonde banshee.
Mr. R was a cautious man, and when faced with an unpredictable factor like Erica, he'd thrown her into the lake without hesitation.
That led to the blonde banshee possessing Erica's body and attempting to attack Roy.
"Get back to your call. Don't delay Plan B."
"Yes, Mr. R!"
Relieved, Amara quickly resumed her phone conversation.
Meanwhile, Mr. R opened the book and, watching the laptop screen, began chanting incantations.
Elsewhere, Roy had grabbed Leonard Wolf by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
A pendant around Leonard's neck emitted a red glow, attempting to repel Roy, but it shattered instantly.
"Old bastard, I remember you. Weren't you the one who brainwashed Carrie?"
Leonard's face was filled with fear. This encounter was clearly more dangerous than the one in Silent Hill.
"Sir, you've got the wrong person! I don't know any Carrie!"
Roy didn't care if Leonard denied it. He raised his executioner's blade.
"Not admitting it, huh? Well, do you recognize this blade?"
Of course Leonard recognized it. The executioner's blade belonged to Pyramid Head, a weapon created by the Followers' Cult to hunt down threats to their order.
However, Leonard didn't know how to create Pyramid Head. He and Gillespie each inherited different branches of the cult's teachings, and only Gillespie knew the method to create Pyramid Head. In theory, that knowledge was lost.
"I-I really don't know!"
"Don't know that either? Then die!"
Tired of wasting words on the old man, Roy executed him with the blade.
"No—argh!"
[Ding! Obtained Leonard Wolf's Fate Chest! Open it now?]
This old bastard had committed countless atrocities. Just for brainwashing Carrie, he'd harmed who-knows-how-many women. Roy had no mercy for him.
After killing Leonard, Roy also captured his soul. Physical death wasn't enough to atone for his sins—for someone like him, death was just the beginning.
The mercenaries' chaotic battle at the cabin was still ongoing. Roy noticed six unconscious blonde girls tied up.
Guessing they were likely Leonard Wolf's intended sacrifices, Roy moved them to the villa, where it was relatively safer.
"Mr. Black, is it taken care of?"
Ella looked at Roy with awe. She'd just witnessed him single-handedly dismantle a force of hundreds of elite mercenaries. His terrifying power left her shaken.
Before, Ella knew Roy was strong, but she hadn't grasped the extent of it.
After watching that one-sided slaughter, she finally understood how terrifying Roy truly was.
"Should be fine now. I'll call Bumblebee back, and we can get ready to leave."
Just then, screams echoed from the nearby mountain.
Ella turned toward the sound, puzzled.
"Where'd those screams come from?"
Roy frowned.
"Could it be the snipers?"
Earlier, Roy had sensed snipers on the mountain, thanks to his Assassin's Heart ability, which alerted him to being targeted.
But after unleashing his Fear Incarnate ability, the sensation vanished.
The snipers, likely terrified by Roy's display of power, didn't even fire a shot before fleeing.
After all, mercenaries fought for money, not to throw their lives away. No one wanted their death benefits going to someone else.
Considering the others in the villa had little combat ability—Ella was only slightly stronger than average—Roy decided to play it safe.
"I'll check it out. Francesca, stay here and protect the others."
Francesca nodded, gripping her Smith & Wesson M629. The red-dressed ghost still had some fighting capability.
None of them noticed that Jamie Ashen's wife's belly was slowly swelling.
"Bumblebee, where are you?"
To stay in touch, Roy had equipped Bumblebee with a satellite phone, moving past their old "yell and hope" communication method.
"Mr. Black, I'm on the mountain! I found some weird Earth creatures up here!"
"Weird Earth creatures? Explain."
"I'm not sure if they're alive. Their bones and hearts are made of frozen H2O, their skin's translucent—you can see their organs. They're 20 to 30 feet tall, with huge antlers on their heads. Based on a web search, those look like reindeer antlers! They've also got long, withered limbs!"
A heart of ice, massive reindeer antlers, and long, withered limbs—Wendigos.
Roy knew of these dark creatures from a horror game. They came from Algonquin tribal legends in northern America and Canada, believed to be humans lost in snowy mountains who turned into monstrous beings through cannibalism.
"Bumblebee, fire a flare. I'm coming to you!"
"Got it!"
Soon, Roy saw a red flare light up the mountain.
But he wasn't the only one who noticed. Mr. R, still on the mountain road, saw the flare, as did the FEAR team, who had lost contact after entering Ravensfair.
To prevent Roy from calling for help, the cabin's mercenaries had set up a signal jammer, which is why Roy hadn't received FEAR's calls.
"Lady Elise, there's a flare on the mountain!"
It was our old friend, Edgar, a senior agent from FEAR headquarters.
"I see it," Elise said, her eyes glowing faintly blue behind her black blindfold.
"Looks like Mr. Black is up there."
At her words, Edgar issued orders.
"Point Man, take the clone squad and scout the mountain. Report anything immediately!"
The FEAR operative named Point Man saluted silently, then led the clone squad onto assault vehicles.
Despite Armacham's messes, FEAR headquarters continued using clone squads. Their missions were too dangerous, and even with constant training and recruitment, FEAR's numbers kept dwindling.
Their reputation made recruiting nearly impossible.
Clones weren't as skilled as elite FEAR operatives, but they were quickly replenished and expendable.
Thus, clones were gradually replacing FEAR operatives—it was inevitable, regardless of Armacham's failures.
As Point Man boarded the assault vehicle, Elise stopped him.
"Point Man, there's likely a signal jammer up there, which is why I can't reach Mr. Black. Find it and destroy it."
Point Man nodded and closed the vehicle's door.
As the three assault vehicles headed up the mountain, Edgar turned to Elise.
"Lady Elise, should we investigate the town?"
Elise shook her head.
"No need. Mr. Black is special—even my God's Eye can't see his past or future. We'll wait for Point Man's report."
After the Silent Hill incident, Elise had grown more cautious, no longer rushing in alone.
Meanwhile, Mr. R and Amara's expressions grew serious as they saw the red flare.
"Mr. R, it seems there's someone else on the mountain?"
"I see it."
The mercenaries didn't carry flares, so this had to be someone else.
"Could it be the one who sounded that whistle earlier?" Amara suggested, sparking a realization in Mr. R.
"Good point. That strange whistle did alert the villa. Without it, Leonard Wolf might've completed the ritual."
Mr. R didn't know Roy had the Nightmare ability and genuinely thought Leonard could've defeated Roy in a dream realm.
"Mr. R, what do we do now?"
He checked his watch.
"I've summoned the Wendigo King. It should hold Roy Black off for a while. Now we just wait for that thing to arrive. This is a rare chance to test it."
Mr. R smiled and ordered the driver.
"Drive to the edge of the camera's signal range. It's not safe here."
"Yes, Mr. R."
The black sedan started and turned onto a side road.
Soon after, the clone squad's three assault vehicles sped toward the villa, just missing the sedan's path.
Back to Roy, who had reached Bumblebee.
"Bumblebee, where are those things you mentioned?"
Bumblebee's voice sounded awkward.
"Those weird creatures ignored me. They killed a few people and ran downhill."
Roy frowned, recalling that Wendigos, born from cannibalistic humans, craved flesh. As a silicon-based lifeform, Bumblebee wasn't on their menu.
They were likely heading for the villa.
Damn it! Had he come up here for nothing?
Fortunately, the villa's perimeter was filled with crazed mercenaries—plenty of "food" to keep the Wendigos from targeting the villa's occupants first.
As for the cabin's mercenaries, they could fend for themselves.
"Bumblebee, back to the villa, now!"
"Understood!"
Near the villa, Roy noticed it had started snowing.
It was late August, the hottest time of year. Even in Washington State's higher latitudes, snow was impossible.
Unless they were in the Rockies' highest peaks, but Ravensfair and the Ashen family villa were far below 1,000 meters.
If it wasn't the climate, something was altering the weather.
Soon, Roy saw the cause—a Wendigo, towering five meters tall!
Wendigo
(End of Chapter)