CHPT 177: Suspicion Returned.

The damaged leather spines of books and old wooden bookshelves took on a ice cold edge. Even the torch lamps shedding light on the burgundy carpet below and historic art above, flickered as the cold front swept through the Library, originating from the heart of the room like an ice-born infection.

The Detectives surrounding the source, analyzing her words, facial expressions and body language weren't immediately able to notice the reason why they hugged their cloaks around themselves or shoved their hands in their thin pockets to warm them. But one thing was for sure….

A maddening cold was swallowing the welcoming heat of the Library, and the Berserker's Rage was growing.

[Berserker's Rage: 15….16...17%]

***

Ursula sat with Marshall Leon for another few minutes, no longer even being apart of the conversation as the man continued reminiscing and telling stories of her father while her rage grew.

She tried to fight it, but the man's voice invoked the same feeling to her ears as nails running across a chalkboard. Much like his twin son's in that regard.

"Please shut the hell up….." Ursula thought as her sun tanned skin took on a heated red tint and veins began to bulge grotesquely in her arms and legs that bounced relentlessly under the table. The same table that was actively being cooled.

He continued. He happily continued, talking about gutting Kobolds and beheading nightmarish Centaurs until she could take no more.

"...Actually, Rory— your father, was able to kill them with his bare ha—"

"Can you stop! I don't care about how you or my father kill Monsters!…..So please start the interrogation— or whatever the hell you guys call it!" Ursula interrupted angrily as a blast of cold air washed the room in response to her flickering eyes.

Marshall sat calmly, looking unfazed aside from a vein in his forehead that made itself visible in the intense silence that followed. Oddly enough, a small smile of satisfaction appeared soon after.

Before Ursula could think anything of it, something behind Marshall's haunting dark eyes danced to life and the familiar aura of power he exuded to silence the Mess Hall returned, ten fold.

In seconds, her spine was flat against the chair— threatening to snap it with how hard she pushed herself into it. Even the Detectives shivered in their cloaks— harder then when she was inadvertently dropping the temperature of the room.

All the rage and anger that previously lined every inch of Ursula shrunk as Ronin's presence and her fear grew.

In one fluid motion, he leaned forward to get closer to her and placed his hands on the cold table— somehow making it colder.

Silence. He seemed to have that effect when he wanted it. An odd ability that made it feel like he was intimidating time itself into a frozen catatonic stillness.

"...." Ursula didn't speak. Only looked at his dark blue eyes through her own icy eyes while the frozen tears around her face melted into motion.

"I'm not going to hit you. I don't have too. I'm just reminding you who your speaking to." He said coolly before standing up straight and continuing, "Now that that's out of the way, let's clear the air, shall we?"

The domineering presence returned to the shadows as he raised his scarred hands and exhaled.

Ursula felt like she could breathe again causing her to leaned forward and inhale deeply. "Clear the air? What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how that was all fake." He responded, once again sounding robotic and devoid of all emotion.

Ursula sat up and looked at him with confusion, "What?…."

Marshall sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in agitation, "You think I actually talk to anyone like that? Like what I actually do in those pockets of new worlds wouldn't scar you for a lifetime? I don't need to brag about what I do— I'm already the best. And I definitely don't need to speak about your meatheaded loudmouth of a father like he was some beloved teammate. With or without him or anyone, I'll still redden my cursed blades the same as always."

Ursula stared at him in shock as his old cold and battle hardened self settled in, fitting his ghastly face like a glove.

"Why did you….do all that?" Ursula asked in a state of shocked confusion.

Marshall pulled out the chair in front of him and spun it around to sit and rest his arms on the back piece. A crucial move made purposefully after all of this to show he no longer needed to stand over her to make her feel small. Even when seated, he took up the entire room. The entire building even.

"I did all that to show you how easy you are to manipulate, Ursula. I wanted you to get mad, go against your plan of sitting through this idly, offering one answered responses to my questions and then leaving. I got you emotionally invested because I demanded it. Just like I did that, I'll do whatever else I see fit. I did this to show you, there will be no lying. You're easier to read than a children's book— just like your father. Now, we will conduct this investigation, and you will tell me everything you can offer. I will find my boys." He said with a deadly edge added to his deep accented voice.

Ursula felt a bead of sweat run down her temple as she swallowed angrily and tried to sit up straight, mentally cursing herself for being so incredibly naive.

"Alright. We'll start simple, where were you on the night of the Halloween Festival?" He asked, eyes zeroed in on her face like a hawk.

Ursula wiped the sweat from her forehead, "At the dance, with my friends."

Marshall nodded along, "Did you see my son's?…..interact with them? You noble children and your silly battles with the poor children lead me to assume you had to, correct?"

She marveled at his lack of caring for social status— thinking of how it reminded her of someone before responding, "No. I saw them dancing with their friends— but I didn't interact with them. We're not friends."

"We…?" Marshall repeated with interest.

"Me…and my friends."

Marshall leaned in, "Tell me about these friends of yours— individually, daughter of Rory."

Ursula clenched her jaw angrily, "Maris is new here. She's an orphan thats a little devoid of emotion— but we work well together. Warren is someone I met at the C.S Academy. He's fun to be around, and I respect that he's trying to overcome his fear…."

"…Cowards." Marshall interrupted, making a disgusted face before letting her continue.

"Erhm. Isaac was transferred into our Training class after a number of Students dropped out from our first Tangent run. He's good friends with Warren and a good teammate to Claude."

"Claude…why does that sound so familiar?" He asked, despite knowing the answer.

Ursula looked at him angrily as he continued to play around with her easily controlled emotions, "He's my friend. The one you sent a crooked psycho Detective after."

"Eaaasy. It'd be in your best interest not to offend the Detection Corps." Marshall said coldly, before Ursula looked at the Detectives glaring at her. "Tell me more about this….Claude."

She suddenly felt a protective urge fill her entire being as they all leaned in and focused intensely. "He's good person, he's strong and smart— almost nerdy when it comes to certain subjects. He also seems to get along with animals very well. Some may say even better than humans. I'd say he's…..troubled. Our first Tangent together hit him the hardest, but he saved me so I don't care what the others or your kids told you. He's a Hero."

The Detectives continued watching in silence while Marshall eyed her speculatively.

"One says Hero….many say Villain. How interesting." Marshall whispered before scratching his chin while he silently thought to himself.

"Don't you find it interesting Ursula? Three people express intense distaste for your— so called, Hero, and end up missing?" Marshall pointed out.

Ursula's anger rose in response to the blatant accusation, "Yes. But he has nothing to do with that."

They all leaned in further.

"How does he have nothing to do with my boys….and my Detective's disappearance?" Marshall asked, his eyes widened with intense focus.

"..." Ursula was silent for a moment.

"Do not lie."

Ursula sighed in defeat and looked at Marshall saying flatly, "Samuel and Tai are WereWolves."

To her surprise the response didn't get the reaction she expected. The Detectives stayed still and attentive while Marshall nodded in understanding.

"There it is. All of you students keep speaking of Deviants and WereWolves. This first Tangent must've been a nightmare for you all to speak of it this way. Yet, only a couple weak children died. It's not like low level Monsters to withhold kills. So please, tell me what happened in this….Deviant." Marshall demanded.

"…Ok."

Slowly, Ursula told the story of her Training Classes first Tangent— Deviant and how it slowly became their first living nightmare. She explained the monsters like Jack, the braided man and the one that ate one of the students, in detail. Pointing out how the twins must've been changed by them somehow and how they forced her and Claude to stay inside."

By the time she was done, a light shake took her over and her hands were balled into fists.

Marshall was silent again, no longer looking cold. Instead he looked angry.

"You expect me to believe….you all stumbled into a Deviant….with only three WereWolves?"

"That's what happened." Ursula protested.

"None of you know what you saw. Because those weren't WereWolves." Marshall said angrily.

Ursula froze in shock for a moment as a shiver ran up her spine, "Wha— they had to be! They looked like Wolves— and they howled like them too."

Marshall shot up from his seat and disappeared behind a shelf of books as he looked for something to prove his point.

"What you described doesn't even sound remotely like a WereWolf!" Marshall yelled from behind a bookshelf as he grabbed something and returned.

"Walking on two legs…." He mocked while flipping through the pages of a book with the words WereWolves written on the spine of the leather book.

Thud!

"Here." He said as he placed the book in front of her.

The pages were old and browning, but she could make out the words and art on the page perfectly. The top of the page read; Fully Transformed WereWolf.

Marshall was right, there was a striking difference between what she was looking at and what she saw in the Deviant.

The creature on the page— the WereWolf, was in a way much less terrifying.

Standing on all fours with its claws dug into the dirt and snout curled into a snarl, the WereWolf looked like a giant muscular Wolf. What she remembered seeing in the Deviant looked more human— more nightmarish and gruesome— like the blend between monster and man was more even.

"What the hell….." She mumbled.

"What you described is no WereWolf. WereWolves travel in packs much larger than three members ….and they don't transform at will! Or speak and tell you, you can leave the Deviant! Deviants cannot be controlled! Also in the medical report I received on my son's after the event said they each were treated for one bite wound!" Marshall explained, angry at the girls impossible story. The same story all of the students somehow had.

"….." Ursula stayed silent as he watched her expectantly.

"Oh Christ." He said with an eye roll before grabbing the book and flipping through the pages to show her more information.

"Read. Now." He said, pointing at a random paragraph on the old page.

Ursula hesitated before leaning in and reading out loud, "In order to be changed into a WereWolf, a human must ingest a large amount of WereWolf fur, saliva, and sustain bite wounds in numerous places to allow the Magical Virus to consume the human body completely. Even then, the chance of death is around 35%"

After she finished reading, she understood why Marshall couldn't believe her story. Even she was struggling to.

"You get it now? In order for your story to be true. That would mean you all ran into something that wasn't a WereWolf— but had the ability to transform at will and change its victims with one bite. ONE BITE! Do you understand what that would mean? A Shape-Changer with the ability to change its victims that easily holds the ability to change the entire planet like that. It's impossible." Marshall Leon said with the snap of his fingers.

After his outburst he sat down and looked at the shocked girl sitting across from him.

"Let's say your story is true. Let's just say that absolute impossibility is true. That would mean the Shape-Changer's main goal wasn't to kill you all. They wanted to stay hidden— but they had targets. My children. They changed them deliberately and then let you all go. After you two were forced to stay— and your…..Hero was forced to fight. How do you think you guys were able to leave?"

The question set Ursula's skin on fire as her mind raced and unwanted scenarios played in her mind.

"You think Claude— a student, faced off against three Shape-Changers in a Deviant and survived ? You think he killed them? And walked out unscathed? He had to take damage in that fight, Ursula. All it would take is one bite according to you. ONE!" He pushed.

The final words of Marshall's verbal assault caused her to remember the gruesome biting sound she heard before losing consciousness in the Deviant.

"No….." She said weakly. She'd been here before. In this place of deep suspicion and discomfort surrounding her closest friend. She'd been here multiple times. Only every time she returned, the suspicions became stronger.

Marshall stood up and closed the book in response to one of the Detectives coming to whisper something in his ear.

"Ah. How unfortunate. Class is over." Marshall said in response to the Detective.

He left a final message before leaving Ursula to sit alone in the Library and think about the details of the Deviant with her newly gained information.

"If you want to stick with your story, then allow me to provide some food for thought. If my boys are Monsters— as you say, then so is your troubled Hero."