Schiller had returned to the surface. He found a map of the village in the laboratory, where Old Siltec had marked several important locations, including the home of his target, Jeff. Schiller decided to take a look.
He could not stop thinking about the curse Old Siltec had mentioned. If Jeff had truly mastered that curse and used it to summon the Deep Ones, then its purpose could not simply have been to call forth those half-human, half-fish monsters. That was not the full disaster, merely an omen.
To figure out what exactly the curse was, Schiller had to visit Jeff's house. He felt certain the man would have left behind some clues.
As he walked, Schiller suddenly realized there were far fewer Deep Ones around. He had already crossed two streets without encountering a patrol, and there were scorched tire tracks around the street corners.
What was going on? Had the Deep Ones gotten so bored that they started racing go-karts?
Jeff's house was not far from Siltec's. Schiller arrived after a short walk. It was an utterly ordinary two-story building, shabby and seemingly untouched by renovation for decades.
After entering, he found only mundane household items. Then he saw beams from a pair of headlights shining around the corner.
That was the direction of Siltec's house.
Schiller stood on the second floor for a while. The car stopped outside, and he saw Old Siltec in the driver's seat, wearing a gas mask.
He knew that man was not so simple. He had not expected him to really escape.
Old Siltec saw Schiller as well.
"You stay here, great hero. I'm heading back to Higeltek," Old Siltec said with a grin. "A problem even the Church cannot solve is about to play out across the world. I've got what