Chapter 216: The Hunt

Chapter 216: Chapter 216: The Hunt

Noah went back to work after Jacob told him they would let him know what they found.

Jacob and Malia followed the scent through the woods, with Kitty on Malia’s shoulder and Lydia close behind. They moved through the dense trees, their supernatural senses tracking the foul trail.

But after nearly an hour of following the scent, Jacob stopped.

"We’re going in circles," he said, his voice flat with annoyance. "The scent keeps looping back on itself. And now it’s heading toward town."

Malia frowned. "So they’re trying to confuse us?"

Jacob nodded. "Or they know we’re following them. Either way, we’re wasting time." He turned to Lydia. "Lydia, where should we go? Don’t think. Just follow your instincts."

Lydia closed her eyes, her breathing slowing. She reached out with her Banshee senses, feeling for the pull of death, the whisper of the supernatural. Her brow furrowed in concentration—and then her eyes snapped open, glowing white.

Without a word, she shot into the darkness, her supernatural speed carrying her through the trees like a phantom. Jacob and Malia exchanged a glance and followed, their own speeds matching hers.

They arrived at a hill beside a river. The area was quiet. Moonlight filtered through the branches, casting silver patterns on the ground. The water murmured softly over smooth stones.

But there was nothing there.

Lydia stared at the hill, her eyes still glowing. "I feel death here," she said quietly. "Strong. Recent."

They searched the area thoroughly—the hill, the riverbank, the surrounding trees. They found nothing. No cave entrance. No bodies. No signs of struggle.

Jacob closed his eyes and extended his supernatural senses, feeling the earth, the air, and the lingering traces of energy that ordinary humans would never perceive.

"I can feel that someone used elemental powers here," he said slowly. "Earth element, to be precise. And there’s demonic energy lingering as well." He opened his eyes, his gaze sharpening. "There’s also a faint smell of blood." He paused, tilting his head. "And most importantly, I caught the scent of the Capelobo again—or, to be more precise, I caught his scent in his human form. I caught it near the car earlier too, but it was faint there and disappeared, leaving only his disgusting scent when he shifted."

Malia nodded, her nose twitching. "I caught it too."

Jacob smiled—a cold, predatory expression. "Let’s go."

They followed the scent—a faint trail that led away from the hill and deeper into the woods.

---

A Clearing in the Preserve

They found them in a small clearing, surrounded by a ring of ancient oaks.

Two men stood in the center, their eyes darting nervously around the forest. They were both tall and broad-shouldered, with sharp features and wary expressions that suggested they knew they were being hunted.

Jacob stepped into the clearing, a cold smirk on his face. "Finally found you," he said, his eyes fixed on one of the men. "You disgusting bastard."

The man in question—the Capelobo in his human form—flinched, his gaze darting nervously between Jacob and the others.

Lydia studied the second man. "What about the other one? What is he?"

Jacob’s eyes flicked to the second man. "He’s a Wendigo." He frowned, his expression darkening. "And I can feel it again."

Lydia’s brow furrowed. "Feel what?"

Jacob’s voice was cold. "The demonic energy. It’s inside both of them."

Lydia’s eyes narrowed. "Are they followers of some demon?"

Jacob shrugged, his gaze never leaving the two creatures. "I don’t know. But we’ll find out after I read their memories."

The two men exchanged a nervous glance. On the surface, the teenagers standing in the clearing seemed perfectly ordinary—human, unremarkable. But both men could feel it: a wave of danger radiating from them.

The Wendigo spoke first, his voice low and cautious. "Something’s wrong with these kids. They feel human, but they arrived moving faster than anything I’ve ever seen."

The Capelobo nodded, his muscles tensing. "Go all out. Let’s kill them as soon as possible."

They shifted.

The Wendigo’s body expanded with a sickening series of cracks and pops, his form stretching and contorting until he stood nearly eight feet tall. His head transformed into a white deer skull with jagged antlers, and his eyes glowed a sickly white. A mane of brown fur grew around his head and over his shoulders. His claws extended, long and razor-sharp, and yellow fangs grew from his elongated jaw.

The Capelobo underwent a similar transformation. His body grew taller, reaching eight feet, his frame becoming muscular with a hunched back. His skin became covered in scales, and thick, shaggy brown fur sprouted across his body. His head morphed into that of an anteater—complete with an elongated, tubular snout. His powerful arms ended in razor-sharp, hook-like claws. His feet shifted into something strange—perfectly round, like an elephant’s feet. His eyes glowed white.

Jacob and Malia covered their noses in disgust, taking a step back from the overwhelming stench.

Malia grimaced. "I don’t want to fight these disgusting guys."

Kitty, still perched on Malia’s shoulder, wrinkled her tiny feline nose. "Me too. Jay, burn them to ash."

Jacob shook his head. "We need to read their memories first. I can’t burn them." He smirked, a wicked glint in his eyes. "I’ll call Cogman to deal with them."

He disappeared.

The Wendigo and the Capelobo looked around frantically, searching for Jacob. But he was nowhere to be found.

They turned their attention back to Malia and Lydia and charged.

Lydia raised her hand, and two fireballs materialized in her palm. She hurled them at the charging creatures. They struck both monsters square in the chest, exploding on impact and sending them crashing to the ground.

"Don’t get close to us, you disgusting bastards," Lydia said, her voice cold.

The Wendigo and the Capelobo rose. They were hurt—but not much. Only a few burns on their chests, and those healed too fast—faster than normal shapeshifters should heal.

Just as they were about to charge again, Jacob reappeared with Cogman.

Jacob gestured to the creatures. "Remember: leave the Wendigo alive."

Cogman’s eyes glowed bright blue. His smile was wide and deeply unsettling. "How alive do you want me to leave him, sir?"

Jacob’s voice was cold. "Barely."

He turned and walked to Malia, Kitty, and Lydia. "Let’s go a little further. Let Cogman have his fun."

He wrapped the three of them in his telekinesis, and they all disappeared, reappearing a hundred meters above the clearing, hovering in the sky as Jacob’s telekinesis held them like spectators at a bloody theater.

They watched.

---

The Clearing

The Wendigo and the Capelobo stared at the old man in the butler suit before them. He appeared to be nothing more than an elderly servant—harmless, unassuming. But his eyes glowed with an unearthly blue light, and his smile promised violence.

Cogman stepped toward them, hands in pockets and an evil smile on his lips.

"Good evening," Cogman said, his voice smooth and pleasant. "I understand you’ve been causing trouble in this town. Eating people. Harvesting organs." He tilted his head, his smile never wavering. "We don’t like that."

The two creatures roared at him—a challenge, a threat.

Cogman’s smile widened. "I am going to enjoy this very much."

The two beasts charged.

Cogman took his hands from his pockets. His left hand shifted into a cannon. A plasma energy blast shot from it, striking the Capelobo in the chest and sending him flying backward. He crashed to the ground a few meters away, his scales smoking.

The Wendigo reached Cogman and slashed with his claws at Cogman’s head.

Cogman dodged with fluid grace, caught the Wendigo’s arm, and slammed him into the ground face-first. He straddled the creature’s back, caught one of his antlers, and ripped it from his skull with a wet, tearing sound.

The Wendigo roared in agony.

Cogman smirked and was about to stab the Wendigo with his own antler when the Capelobo attacked again. He was fast—faster than any normal shapeshifter. His claws sliced through the air toward Cogman’s throat.

Cogman didn’t bother to dodge.

The claws struck his neck and shattered.

The Capelobo stared at his broken claws in shock.

Cogman looked at the Capelobo, his expression one of mild annoyance. "It’s rude of you to interrupt me like that. But since you’re impatient, I will play with you first."

He moved.

The Capelobo didn’t even see it. One moment Cogman was on the back of the Wendigo. The next, the Capelobo found himself flying backward uncontrollably, his chest caved in. He crashed through three trees before slamming into a rock outcropping, the impact cracking the stone.

The Wendigo rose, roaring, and charged at Cogman.

Cogman caught his fist—his massive, clawed fist—with one hand. He squeezed.

Bones crunched. The Wendigo screamed.

Cogman shot a plasma blast from his mouth at the Wendigo’s knee. The joint exploded, and the creature fell to the ground. Cogman twisted the arm he still held, and the Wendigo’s arm snapped with a sound like breaking branches. He pulled violently, and the arm came off—cleanly, neatly, as if he were removing a piece of clothing.

The Wendigo howled, cradling the stump, blood spraying from the wound.

Cogman tossed the arm aside. "Fascinating," he murmured, studying the stump. "I’ve dealt with your kind before. The supernatural healing of your species shouldn’t allow you to regenerate. But your arm is regenerating right now—slowly, but it’s growing back." His smirk widened. "Which is to my liking. I wonder how many times I can remove your limbs before you stop growing them back."

He punched the Wendigo in the face, cracking his deer-like skull and sending him crashing to the ground. He put his foot on the Wendigo’s chest and caught his intact arm. After breaking it with a twist, he removed it as well and threw it aside. Then he caught the remaining antler on the creature’s head and ripped it off, then began stabbing the Wendigo in the stomach—once, twice, again and again.

He only stopped when he heard the Capelobo charging at him again.

Cogman threw the antler aside and broke the Wendigo’s legs. "Stay here until I come back from dealing with your friend."

He turned to face the Capelobo, who was charging at him in rage with his claws extended.

Cogman sidestepped. He caught the Capelobo’s arm, twisted it behind his back, and drove his other hand into the creature’s spine. There was a wet crack, and the Capelobo’s legs gave out. He collapsed, paralyzed from the waist down.

"You shapeshifters are not creative," Cogman said conversationally. "You charge like wild beasts every time. All you do is bite, claw, and scream. How dreadfully boring."

He raised his foot and brought it down on the Capelobo’s arm. The bone shattered. The Capelobo screamed.

Cogman broke his other arm, then knelt beside him. "Now, let’s have some fun, shall we?"

---

High Above

Jacob watched the carnage below, his expression thoughtful. "Something is definitely not right with those two."

Lydia’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Jacob’s voice was analytical. "First, their eyes were glowing white, which means they’re not alphas. But the weird thing is that they could shift into their monstrous forms. The bestiary says that only when a Wendigo reaches alpha status can it shift into its beast form."

Lydia nodded slowly. "It says the same about the Capelobo. They aren’t supposed to shift into their beast form until they become alphas."

Jacob continued. "Also, the two of them are way stronger and faster than they should be."

Lydia’s expression darkened. "Do you think it’s that demonic energy you felt inside them? That it made them stronger?"

"Probably." Jacob’s eyes narrowed. "We’ll find out soon."

Malia looked down at the clearing, her expression a mixture of disgust and amusement. "Cogman is enjoying himself. I wish I could join him, but those guys stink."

Lydia said, "He’s a psychopath. And the worst part is that I don’t feel a thing watching him torture those guys."

Jacob’s voice was calm. "We’ve gotten used to killing and maiming people, I guess."

Kitty smirked, her feline eyes gleaming. "I bet the bastard Cogman’s torturing right now is really regretting those regenerating powers."

---

Back to the Clearing

Cogman had taken the Capelobo’s claws, one by one. He had broken his fingers one by one. He had ripped out his organs and tossed them aside, and the poor creature was miserable as his healing capacity worked overtime—his spleen, kidneys, and liver regenerating from the small pieces Cogman had deliberately left behind.

After a few minutes, the Capelobo turned back to his human form and wept. His regenerative abilities were strong, but they were starting to weaken. They couldn’t keep up with the damage Cogman was inflicting.

"Please," the Capelobo begged, his voice broken. "Please, just kill me."

Cogman paused. His smile was gentle, almost kind. "Oh, I will. Eventually." He leaned closer, his glowing eyes boring into the creature’s. "But first, I want to hear you scream some more. I want you to feel what your victims felt when you drank their blood and ate their brains. I want you to regret everything evil you did."

He drove his hand into the Capelobo’s stomach and ripped out the kidneys that had just regenerated. He tossed them aside again. "Fascinating. This is the third pair of kidneys I’ve ripped from your body. You know, if humans caught you, they would turn you into an organ farm."

The Capelobo kept screaming in pain.

Cogman didn’t stop. He kept torturing the creature until his healing stopped entirely. Then he drove his hand into his chest.

The creature gasped. His eyes went wide.

Cogman’s fingers wrapped around something warm and wet. He pulled.

The Capelobo’s heart came free—still beating, still pumping blood.

Cogman held it up, watching it pulse in his palm. "Fascinating," he murmured. "So much life in such a small organ."

The Capelobo collapsed. His body went still.

Cogman crushed the heart in his grip and let the remains fall to the ground.

He turned to the Wendigo.

The creature had healed—though his arms had not fully regrown—and was sneaking away through the trees.

"Hey, come back," Cogman called, his voice pleasant. "I won’t kill you. Sir wants you alive, rest assured." He moved fast, appearing directly in front of the Wendigo’s escape path. "I will be gentle. I promise."

The Wendigo backed away in terror and tried to run in another direction.

But Cogman was way faster.

He caught the Wendigo by the leg, lifted him off the ground, and slammed him into the earth. The impact cratered the ground, sending dirt and rocks flying.

Cogman stood over him. He raised his foot and brought it down on the Wendigo’s legs, breaking them one by one.

Then he pulled the new regrown antlers from the Wendigo’s skull—one by one—each removal accompanied by a wet, tearing sound and a fresh scream.

He began stabbing the Wendigo with his own antlers, over and over, until the creature turned back to human form—a broken, bleeding man lying in a pool of his own blood. His limbs were shattered. His skull was cracked. He was barely breathing.

Cogman crouched beside him and patted his cheek. "There," he said gently. "That wasn’t so bad, was it?"

The Wendigo didn’t respond. He couldn’t.

Jacob, Lydia, Malia, and Kitty descended from the sky.

Jacob surveyed the carnage. The Capelobo’s body lay in pieces. The Wendigo was barely alive.

Cogman cast a cleaning spell on himself and walked to Jacob, humming happily. He bowed his head. "Thank you, sir. And I forgive you for not taking me to the battle at Hardhome."

Jacob nodded absently. "You’re welcome."

He walked past Cogman to the Wendigo and crouched beside him. His claws extended, and his eyes glowed red. "Let’s see what’s inside that broken head of yours," he said.

He inserted his claws at the back of the Wendigo’s neck. But just as he was about to read the creature’s memories, the Wendigo began seizing. Jacob felt energy gathering in the creature’s skull—a buildup of power that was about to release.

He pulled his claws free and teleported back to the others, just as the Wendigo’s head exploded with a sickening pop, scattering brain matter across the ground.

Jacob frowned. "Well, someone didn’t want us reading their memories."

Lydia’s voice was quiet, troubled. "I have a bad feeling. Like something bad is in town."

Jacob nodded slowly. "It’s probably a demon." He took out the compass again and focused on finding the demon, but it just kept spinning. He sighed and stored it back in his pocket dimension. "The compass can’t find it."

Lydia’s brow furrowed. "What should we do?"

Jacob shrugged, though his expression was troubled. "Right now? Nothing. The demon doesn’t want to be found, which means it’s wary of something and won’t cause big trouble for the time being." He looked at Cogman. "Keep an eye on Beacon Hills. If anything suspicious happens, let me know."

Cogman nodded. "I will, sir."

Jacob waved his hand and burned the bodies of the Wendigo and the Capelobo, reducing them to ash. He took out his phone and called Noah.

The sheriff answered immediately. "Jacob. Did you find that thing?"

Jacob’s voice was calm. "Yes, we found a Wendigo and a Capelobo, but we couldn’t read their memories. Anyway, you should tell us if anything out of the ordinary happens in town. And be careful—there’s probably a demon in town, and it was the boss of the two guys we just killed."

Noah sighed. "Thanks, kids. I’ll be careful. Don’t worry."

Jacob hung up. "Let’s go back home."

They teleported back to Serendell.

---

Serendell — The Palace

Jacob found his wives gathered in the shared living room, along with Chris, Victoria, Stiles, Erica, Shireen, and Arya. They had been back for a few hours, chatting and watching TV.

Jacob kissed Allison, Sansa, and Melissa, then settled onto the couch.

Allison’s eyes searched his face. "Where have you guys been?"

Jacob told them everything that had happened in Beacon Hills.

Allison’s expression was troubled. "That’s troublesome. Did you use your compass to find the demon?"

Jacob shook his head. "I did. It doesn’t work."

Allison’s frown deepened. "Then what should we do?"

Jacob leaned back, his expression thoughtful. "There’s nothing we can do now. The demon is hiding, and until it makes a move, we can’t track it. We’ll have to wait." He changed the subject. "Anyway, tell me about your journey."

Sansa’s face lit up. "We reached the outskirts of Last Hearth. We’ll arrive tomorrow."

Jacob nodded slowly. "I see. But Smalljon Umber will probably not join us because of the Free Folk. He would rather join the Boltons to fight against us than accept wildlings as his neighbors."

Sansa’s expression hardened. "Then we will deal with him according to his answer. If he’s stupid enough to attack us, we will kill him."

Jacob shook his head. "Just teach him a lesson and banish him from Last Hearth—along with anyone who doesn’t want to join our kingdom."

Arya raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t he just going to join the Boltons to fight against us like you said?"

Jacob smiled—a cold, calculating expression. "Probably. And that’s what I want. With the Free Folk joining us, we now have an army of thirty thousand men. The Boltons only have around five to six thousand. That’s not enough to train our army."

Chris spoke up. "We have thirty-five thousand, to be exact, not counting the ten giants and the samurai."

Lydia’s eyes widened. "That’s a lot."

Chris nodded. "It is. But we need weapons and armor, and I still need to teach them how to fight like a proper army."

Jacob said, "Go to Ōishi tomorrow and ask him for blacksmiths..." He paused, turning to Cogman. "Cogman, what do you think is the fastest way to make high-quality weapons and shields for thirty-five thousand men?"

Cogman, standing aside with a still-satisfied smile on his face, said, "You abandon the forge, sir. We build an automated manufacturing hub. For swords, we laser-cut high-carbon steel blanks, heat them in induction furnaces, and stamp them instantly with a thousand-ton hydraulic press. Automated kilns and robotic grinders handle the hardening and sharpening. For shields, hydraulic presses stamp out lightweight ballistic polycarbonate or aircraft aluminum in seconds. For spears, we drop-forge the heads and weld them to carbon fiber or aluminum shafts. For bows, we CNC-mill lightweight, flexible composite limbs and aluminum risers for flawless accuracy. For arrows, we utilize automated extrusion lines to churn out seamless aluminum shafts, fitted with machine-pressed steel broadheads and synthetic fletching. Running twenty-four-seven, this single factory hub will produce exactly two thousand complete weapon and shield sets every single day."

Jacob asked, "And these machines and lasers—can they be bought? Or do you need to build them yourself?"

"I don’t need to build them, sir. We can buy everything we need from global industrial suppliers," Cogman replied. He closed his eyes, accessing industrial supply networks and logistics databases. A few moments later, he opened them. "We can buy Trumpf fiber lasers for cutting, automotive-grade hydraulic presses for stamping, and induction furnaces for heat treatment. For power, we don’t need megawatt diesel generators—we can use arc reactors. I’ll bring everything here to Serendell and assemble the line inside a factory. You’ll have to help me build it. It will cost tens of millions, but if we wire funds today, we can have everything delivered in a week or two at most."

Jacob nodded. "Do it. Buy everything we need and make a blueprint of the factory you want to build. I’ll use my earth element and connection to Serendell to build it for you."

Cogman said, "I will also need to buy some materials to build robots to help me with the satellites and operate the factory."

Jacob waved his hand. "If you need something, just buy it. Don’t ask me again."

Cogman said, "Alright. I’ll go get busy now." He paused, a hint of his earlier excitement returning. "But don’t forget to call me if there is a war."

Jacob smiled. "I won’t."

Cogman disappeared, leaving the others to their conversations.

To be continued... 😊

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