Recovery

In a secret lab with rows of men in containment tubes numbered from one to fifty filled with water as a respirator covers their mouths and noses. A short and plump old man in his fifties could be seen looking at some charts on the computer as the lights from the screen reflected from the spectacles covering his small beady eyes.

“Good morning, Doctor Octigenti. I hope you are putting to good use the huge funds that have been given for your pet project.” the beautiful woman with an intense gaze, olive skin, and dark eyes teased as she walked out from the elevator door that led to the lab. 

It was the only exit in and out of that secret facility and can only be accessed by an authorized personality with the highest level of clearance in Krypteia of which the beautiful woman was amongst.

“Good morning, Vice-captain Deveraux. Yes! Indeed. On the contrary, I have.” the doctor replied perfunctorily.

“Excellent! The top brass wants to see what your creation is capable of. Think of it like a test run. They are eager to see what they have spent billions on that they have almost gone bankrupt.”

From the address of the doctor, the identity of the beautiful woman is easily known. She is the Vice-captain of Modena's top secret intelligence agency, the Secretum Vigilum or Krypteia. And the old man she is discussing with is the chief scientist of Krypteia, Doctor Giatros Octigenti.

Vice-captain Deveraux continued saying, “And I would also like a full update from you to know if they can be deployed in the field.”

Doctor Octigenti raised a brow, and replied, “Oh. I know that you have doubts about my work here but assure you, I have been able to create the ultimate soldier. Obedient, perfect, and powerful in every sense of the word. A stone cold killing machine that is not moved by remorse or emotions.”

“Are you trying to say that your monsters will follow any command down to the letter?” Vice-captain Deveraux asked skeptically. 

She then voiced out the same concern that she had told the head of Krypteia, “From my experience, monsters cannot be controlled and such savage things as these could be walking disaster in missions requiring stealth and finesse”

“Like their cousins. Werewolves only obey the strongest among them and that is their Alpha. They dare not disobey the leader out of an instinctive fear and respect etched into their being. Unlike those who do as they please sometimes.” Doctor Octigenti said as he shot her a meaningful glance.

From the tone he used with Vice-captain Deveraux, it could be seen that Doctor Octigenti has little regard for her. This is normal as the doctor has always been a highly valued asset to Modena and also sees himself as the smartest person in the room. Moreover, his rank with Gineva Deveraux is more or less the same being the chief scientist of Krypteia. 

He then continued, “So it has been programmed into their subconscious to obey commands. And if you must know. I have kept them in superb physical condition. Ever since the werewolf gene in them has been activated. It has become imperative to ensure that they are at peak strength and less irrational by being constantly exposed to lunar rays.”

He pointed at the dome with a huge lamp-like instrument used to generate artificial moonlight, that illuminated the entire row of containment tubes.

“Through the science of genetics and also technology, we have been able to replicate the results of the supernatural. Normally, if the legends are to be believed, the light of the moon makes werewolves stronger and for creatures that are already superior to humans in terms of strength, speed, agility, stamina, and healing ability, makes their threat potential rise to extreme levels.”

Further adding, Dr. Octigenti revealed proudly “That is when they shift. In human form, they are still stronger than your average human. Hence, with all these advantages and few weaknesses they are unmatched in combat.”

“What's the success rate for their performance if they faced a squad of armed soldiers? Say, 30 men?” Gineva Deveraux questioned.

“120%! Even if they faced a hundred men. The outcome would still be the same; complete annihilation!” Dr. Octigenti smugly said.

Gineva Deveraux's eyes widened a bit at his words, then said, “Then prepare one of them. You have 48 hours before the target leaves Victoris.”

She turned around to leave, but couldn't help but give him a warning, “If this mission succeeds, you will be given the go-ahead to mass produce your creation into an army but if it fails, you can kiss your job and pet project goodbye.”

The good doctor just smiled and confidently replied as the beautiful Vice-captain reached for the buttons to the elevator door, “Don't worry. You will see the excellent results it will bring.”

At this moment, unbeknownst to Orion Darkwood, the shadowy agency called Krypteia has smuggled onboard his vessel, a weapon that will seal his fate in the middle of the journey from his homeland before he even reaches his planned destination, Modena.

Back in the present…

After the werewolf assassin had finished its job, those who were expecting the Crown Prince of Eleftheria in Modena seemed to find it strange that they couldn't reach him. Losing contact with such an important figure would raise an alarm since his delay could not be explained after all, it was no secret that he had already left the shores of Victoris days ago. And besides, there was no turbulent weather for the past few days which could have caused such a delay.

A search party was sent to find him from both Modena and Eleftheria- who had lost contact with him only to receive news from their allies in Modena as well that they are still awaiting his arrival- to discover the reason for the delay and lack of communication respectively.

It was still a long way before the Eleftherian search parties would get to the point where they last heard from the prince, hence due to a request by the king of Eleftheria, Victoris also sent out search parties since it would take Eleftheria weeks to get to his last known location. So the search parties from Modena and Victoris were the first to find the royal yacht of Eleftheria adrift on the river with no signs of life on the ship. They were alarmed at the stench coming from the ship, it's been days since the attack after all. 

And for the fact that it has been over 8 days, no communication at all was coming from the Prince or anyone on the ship for that matter. Then something was wrong. And it was from what the search parties saw, they boarded the ship in a frantic search for survivors but Alas, it has been days since this happened.

After seeing this gory sight, various messages were sent out by the search parties to their various governments. Within days, everyone heard what had happened to the prince during his journey.

…

At this time, the entire continent was in shock over the news of Orion's murder. The attack became a subject of discussion amongst the people of all six nations on the Bastion continent.

Most were horrified at the news of his death and others speculated the cause of it because it sounded ludicrous that the prince could have died as a result of an animal attack.

“How is this possible?” Oh no! He was supposed to be the hope of the continent. He was going to change everything.”

“I believed that he was destined to bring light upon us after over 500 years of darkness!”

“This is quite tragic. What could have happened to the prince of Eleftheria? ”

“They said it was an animal attack. But how was it possible that an animal managed to make it on his ship?”

“If he was traveling on land. Now, I would believe that it was possible. But it is just impossible.”

“Unless whatever attacked him came out of the water or materialized out of thin air, I don't believe it. Those who killed him may be trying to cover up the real cause of his death”

Needless to say, Orion's death didn't just shock the common people. Even the ruling class was baffled to hear the news of his murder and like the common people what shocked them the most was the cause of death.

Days after his body was recovered from his ship. It was taken back to Eleftheria for a proper burial, at this moment, the king of Eleftheria, Drake Darkwood was presented with the mangled body of his son at the royal morgue. 

“Everyone get out. Leave me!” the king of Eleftheria, Drake Darkwood said to his entourage as he looked upon the body of his son. Being the king, he knew he could not lose his emotions and break down in front of his subjects by showing how he truly felt. 

Needless to say, though his voice was steady, the emotions flashing through his eyes betrayed how he was feeling.

“Oh! Look at what they did to my son. Look how they butchered my boy.” Drake Darkwood wept and wailed,

Though investigations are still being conducted, all shreds of evidence point to the fact that Orion was killed by an animal. No matter how unbelievable it seemed, King Drake would not believe that Modena had nothing to do with his death. He knew how vicious they could be after all, he warned his son about them.

“Oh my son!” the King of Eleftheria, the father of Orion, Drake Darkwood lamented to himself, “I feared this would happen. The top brass of Modena is quite ruthless in getting rid of threats to their rule. 

“Though the evidence points out that it was an animal attack. The claw marks of what killed my son and his crew show that. I do not doubt that this has their hands all over it.”

But even if he had his suspicions, knowing the truth and proving it are two very different things. Hence, he was helpless to do anything even if he wanted to get to the bottom of this as a tribute to his only son, there were no traces for him to follow.