After enjoying a tea party with Donna and Angie, Eveline drifted to the frigid village at the heart of Dimitrescu's castle, Beneviento's manor, the reservoir, and Heisenberg's factory. There, villagers who worshipped Mother Miranda bustled with eerie enthusiasm.
"Miranda said not to let the villagers see me, but what's that mean…?" Eveline muttered.
"Hey, Dad, what's that?" a young girl asked.
"What's up, Elena? …What the hell!?" her father gasped.
"Oh, hi!"
Floating carelessly, Eveline's shadow overlapped with a villager's, catching the girl's attention. Her father freaked out, but Eveline waved with a bright smile. Why they could see her was a mystery for later—she figured her cute appearance could win them over.
"WAAAH!" the father screamed.
"A GHOST!" the girl shrieked.
"Wait, what…? This village has vampires, werewolves, fish-men, moving dolls, and cyborgs, but I'm the problem?"
The villagers fled in panic, barricading themselves in their homes. Left alone, Eveline hovered, forlorn. Tears welled up.
"Running from a cute girl like me? That's harsh…"
"You really stirred up trouble, huh?" a voice called.
"Oh, it's Moreau!"
Turning, Eveline saw Salvatore Moreau, lugging a writhing sack on his back, his voice as dopey as ever.
"'Moreau'? Call me Moreau-san!" he huffed. "I'm older than you, brat!"
"What? You're the only lord who cares about titles. Small fry much?"
"Guh… fine, call me what you want. I'm busy," Moreau grumbled.
"What's that?"
Eveline pointed at the sack, which bounced energetically. Moreau swung it down, slamming it against the ground until it stilled.
"These are villagers for my experiments," he said. "Thanks to you, I only nabbed three."
"Experiments? Can I watch?"
"Why should I let you? I've got to produce results for Mother Miranda…"
"The Bakers did experiments too, y'know," Eveline said. "I might know a thing or two."
"Oh?" Moreau's eyes lit up.
Eveline guessed he thought her experience could spice up his work. She wasn't fond of Moreau, but experiments piqued her interest.
"Fine, come along," Moreau said. "Tell me about those experiments on the way to my clinic."
"Clinic?"
"I'm a doctor," he declared.
"You? A doctor? You look more like a witch doctor."
"Shut up, none of your business!"
"Hmm, so the mold's effects vary by individual?" Moreau mused.
"Travis was clearly different from other Molded," Eveline said. "And plenty of people just died without turning."
"Same with Lycans," Moreau said. "If I could just figure out the conditions…"
"I don't know the conditions, but there was one guy who adapted to the mold better than anyone."
"Who!?" Moreau leaned in eagerly. "Tell me!"
"Nope, not telling. Don't even wanna think about him."
"Remember, damn it!" Moreau urged. "He could be the vessel Miranda needs!"
"Ugh, back off! Gross!"
"What'd you say, you brat?!"
Bickering, they reached the clinic. Moreau dragged out the villagers, binding them with his slimy mucus to silence their screams.
"Gross but handy," Eveline noted.
"Exactly! No other lord has this utility," Moreau boasted. "I'm the best of the Four Lords. Only I can fulfill Miranda's dream!"
"Karl's magnetic powers seem cooler and more useful," Eveline said.
"…I hate to admit it, but yeah," Moreau sighed.
"Losing to him? Hilarious!"
Moreau groaned, clearly annoyed, and strapped a butcher villager to the operating table. He grabbed a jar with a Cadou and a scalpel from a shelf.
"This isn't for kids or girls to see," he warned.
"Thanks for the concern, but I've seen plenty—chainsawed arms, splatter galore," Eveline said. "Heck, I've eaten organs. Ugh, don't remind me."
"…I actually feel bad for you," Moreau said.
Without anesthesia, Moreau sliced open the butcher's chest, shoved in the Cadou, and stitched it up. He then injected a syringe of red liquid into the man's artery.
"That looks like blood," Eveline said.
"It's from a Varcolac Alpha," Moreau explained. "Lycans turn with wolf blood, so this should amplify the effect."
"Got it. He's convulsing like crazy, though. Shouldn't you have used anesthesia?"
"…Anesthesia weakens the Cadou's effect," Moreau admitted.
The butcher thrashed, nearly snapping the restraints. His limbs swelled grotesquely, and Eveline watched, sweating, from a distance. The table collapsed under his weight, and the freed butcher, now a three-meter giant, roared. Moreau's voice—joy or terror?—rang out.
"Success! Not a Lycan, Uriaș, Moroaică, or Varcolac—a new specimen!"
"…Hey, hate to say it, but…"
"What? Speak up if you've got something!"
"Doesn't he look just like Donna's gardener?"
"…Oh."
Eveline meant the giant guarding Donna's garden, a transformed gardener. Moreau realized the resemblance, despite the different method. As the butcher grabbed another villager, tore them apart, and devoured their flesh, Moreau scrambled for excuses.
"But this one's more ferocious! Obsessed with meat! It's distinct. Like an Uriaș, so I'll call it Uriaș Drac—GUAAAH!"
"Moreau! Stop dawdling!"
BOOM! The newly named Uriaș Drac, as if annoyed, punched Moreau through the wall, sending him tumbling toward the reservoir. Spewing vomit, Moreau rolled into the water. Eveline cringed, watching him splash in.
"Damn it!" Moreau cursed.
"Turning into a fish in water? Handy body," Eveline remarked.
"I was doing fine lately!" Moreau wailed, transforming into his monstrous fish form and swimming frantically to vent.
Realizing no more experiments were happening, Eveline left for Heisenberg's factory.
Eveline settled into a routine: chatting with Heisenberg at the factory, teasing Dimitrescu and being fawned over by her daughters at the castle, enjoying tea parties with Donna and Angie at the manor, and watching Moreau's experiments at the reservoir. She visited Miranda a few times, but her "mother" brushed her off, so Eveline stuck with the Four Lords for nearly three years. Then, one day, she spotted Miranda bringing someone to the village.
"Wait… Mia!?"
Mia Winters, the woman who refused to love Eveline as a mother, wife of Ethan Winters, who killed her. A storm was brewing.
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