“Allow me to reintroduce myself: Natalie Angel, Soul Severer of the fallen Lord of Order, rank three authority.”
Lynch stared blankly at Officer Natalie before him. Surrounded by well over a hundred bizarre creatures, the tall lady officer appeared calm and poised. The situation around them had clearly not improved, yet for some reason, the tension that had hung over Lynch since entering the memory eased for the first time, replaced by an inexplicable sense of peace.
“Soul Sever—hiss, watch out!”
The surrounding monsters were gradually shaking off their frenzy, and three of them were already lunging forward in a testing probe.
“Yes, Soul Severer. A bunch of lunatics who toy with their own souls.”
Clang! Without even turning her head, the lady officer raised her sheathed rapier, parrying a descending claw while deftly sweeping it sideways. Thrown off balance by its own momentum, the charging monster tumbled aside, crashing into another of its kind and rolling together into a heap.
“Don't be afraid. I will keep you safe. They're just a pack of terror claws—nothing to worry about.”
As she spoke, Officer Natalie sidestepped slightly, letting the third monster rush past her. The instant they brushed shoulders, she suddenly whipped her long leg high over her head like an axe and brought it crashing down, slamming the beast's head ruthlessly into the ground.
Pinning the monster beneath her foot, the lady officer brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and looked back at Lynch with a faint smile:
“Now tell me, what do you see?”
I saw a goddess of war.
But Lynch did not say that out loud. Suspended in midair above Officer Natalie, a colossal phantom of a balance scale had abruptly manifested. At the same time, an eerie, lingering whisper seemed to buzz in his ears, as though tens of thousands of voices were murmuring all at once.
The scale hung high in the sky, radiating solemn, august majesty. Around it orbited three glowing emblems like satellites, circling the scale in an endless dance. Without even needing to look closely, merely shifting his attention toward the symbols allowed Lynch's consciousness to intuitively grasp their form and meaning: a shield, a book, and a small gavel. They represented the three authorities once held by the Lord of Order: Protection, Law, and Judgment.
“It's my first time seeing an ordinary person who can behold a soul manifestation.”
Keeping her foot planted on the monster's head, Officer Natalie swept her gaze across the creatures known as terror claws. Realizing something had gone awry, they were now roaring and lunging from a dozen meters away. The lady officer quickened her pace of speech:
“What you see is my soul manifestation, the very symbol of the Lord of Order. We use our souls to emulate the authorities of deities, thereby manipulating the abilities subordinate to those authorities. Authority is our source of power, while abilities are our means of combat. Normally, others cannot see a soul manifestation, except when we choose to reveal it.”
Even after having just escaped death, Lynch's mind immediately registered the complete reversal in the lady officer's attitude. He asked instinctively, “You're showing me your power? Your attitude...”
“Yes. Watch closely. This is how we Soul Severers fight.”
“Roar!”
The terror claws were swift. In the span of a single sentence, they crossed the dozen-odd meters and closed in.
The lady officer's eyes turned sharp and cold. With a wretched screech, the monster beneath her foot had its skull crushed outright, blood oozing from every orifice as it slumped limp to the ground. Putting power into her leg, she booted the several-hundred-kilogram beast flying, hurtling it into the charging pack of terror claws.
Yet that did not deter the pack. In Lynch's field of vision, the foremost dozen-odd beasts drew closer and closer, waves of raw, bloody reek wafting over from their bodies.
Officer Natalie let out a soft scoff and lightly tapped her foot against the ground. At the same moment, the luminous orb depicting the shield beside the scale flared with light.
In the next heartbeat, Lynch saw a ring of light materialize out of thin air around his feet.
As soon as the ring of light appeared, it rapidly expanded outward, sweeping across the surrounding three meters in an instant. The foremost dozen terror claws collided head-on with the glowing ring, rebounding through the air as if they had struck a steam locomotive, crashing into the pack behind them.
What is this? If I had an ability like that, I wouldn't have been in such a pathetic state just now.
The spectacle left Lynch momentarily stunned, but he soon realized that he was witnessing the supernatural power of this world.
The effortless grace of her movements, the colossal phantom looming behind her, and the bizarre, fantastical effects unfolding before him—all of it held him completely spellbound. For the first time, a fierce yearning for the supernatural powers of this world took root in him, briefly eclipsing all thought of his own peril.
【Authority, Protection, Ability, Expulsion.】
The gentle voice chimed in his mind right on cue, answering the question in his heart.
With the inner terror claws sent flying and the outer ones pressing inward, the two waves crashed together in utter chaos, briefly creating an empty zone around the two of them.
“Just stay by my side; they won't harm you.”
Officer Natalie smiled calmly, turning to stride outward.
Lynch's heart skipped a beat. Snatching up his top hat, he scrambled to follow. Before he had taken more than two steps, the chaotic mass of terror claws surged forward again.
This time, the book emblem beside the scale flashed. At the same moment, Officer Natalie barked coldly, “Stay back! Fall back, all of you!”
【Authority, Law, Ability, Deterrence.】
A surge of panic gripped Lynch, making his immediate impulse to obey and retreat, but reason seized back control in an instant, keeping him hot on the lady officer's heels.
The surrounding monsters, however, recoiled as if terrified, desperately scrambling backward only to ram into those pushing forward, jammed together and unable to advance or retreat.
“Hmph, waste of time.” The lady officer frowned. Pointing her sheathed rapier forward, she snapped sternly, “I said, clear a path! You shall harm no one!”
【Authority, Law, Ability, Decree.】
Lynch held his breath for a beat as he saw the wall of terror claws actually part, opening a corridor straight through the center.
It wasn't the behavior of creatures bewitched or mind-controlled; rather, it looked like grudging obedience to an absolute mandate.
Do monsters understand human speech? Lynch was brimming with bewilderment.
“Move.”
Raising her rapier, her spine held straight and tall, the lady officer walked right toward the dense pack of terror claws. A lone figure facing over a hundred monsters, she did not hesitate for a fraction of a second.
Glancing at the ferocious terror claws flanking them, Lynch paused for a breath before gritting his teeth and rushing after her. Instead of trailing behind her, he took two quick strides to walk shoulder to shoulder with her.
“Pfft.” The lady officer glanced at him from the corner of her eye, a hint of amusement curling the corners of her lips. “Not bad willpower. Your face is too pale, though, and your legs are trembling. An unsightly look.”
Lynch opened his mouth to retort, but was so tense he couldn't form the words.
They had already entered the narrow passage yielded by the terror claws. The beasts were mere inches away, their snarling breath rattling right in his ears.
Every terror claw was savage, baring fangs and claws. Any of them could tear him to shreds with a casual swipe.
He could only think to himself: a claw literally grazed my hair just a minute ago! Trembling is already pretty good; believe it or not, I could have wet myself on the spot.
“That'll do. Now we make our exit.”
Having successfully slipped past the last terror claw in the encirclement, Officer Natalie gripped Lynch's wrist tightly.
【Authority, Protection, Ability, Escape.】
Lynch's vision blurred, the whistle of wind roaring in his ears. When his sight returned, he found he had been pulled clean out of the encirclement and onto the other side of the altar, a good thirty or forty meters away from the horde.
Better yet, not only were there no terror claws nearby, but right beside them stood a relatively intact, sturdy mud hut.
With a firm shove, Officer Natalie pushed Lynch into the structure beside them, stationing herself at the doorway:
“Stay inside and don't come out. This place should keep you safe. Next, it's time for you to do your part.”
Stumbling into the mud hut as the adrenaline ebbed away, Lynch felt his entire body go limp. He nearly collapsed onto the floor, barely keeping himself upright by leaning against the wall.
This woman is formidable, but I can't let myself look pathetic.
Can't collapse. Can't lose face. Even if I die, I'll die on my feet.
Gritting his teeth to stay standing, Lynch took in his surroundings.
This ancient city had clearly not been built for monsters; its original inhabitants were likely the corpses piled beside the statue. Though the people were dead, most of the houses remained standing, suggesting that the structures were durable enough to withstand the claws of the terror claws.
It seemed they were temporarily safe.
Even now, Lynch still felt a lingering sense of unreality.
Just moments ago, he had been lying at death's door before that monstrous leader, and now this woman had plucked him out of danger with such casual ease?
Her abilities were truly enviable. I must master supernatural power like this and hold my safety in my own hands.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the roars of the terror claws erupted once more outside. “Roar!”
The moment Lynch vanished, the horde outside erupted into pandemonium.
Realizing what had happened, over a hundred monsters brandished their claws and charged, their thudding footsteps rumbling like a cavalry charge of ten thousand steeds, making the earth itself shudder.
The lady officer merely shook her head. Dropping onto one knee, she planted the tip of her rapier into the ground and gripped the hilt with both hands, projecting her voice loud and clear: “A rule is decreed: those with ill intent shall not approach.”
【Authority, Law, Ability, Legislation.】
In the sky, the balance scale flared with radiant light, casting down a beam that enveloped the area around the mud hut. Standing within the glow, Lynch could clearly sense a solemn, imposing aura settle over the surroundings.
What followed was truly bizarre.
The terror claws had already stormed up to the hut, poised to tear into the outer walls with their claws. Yet following her decree, they reluctantly backed away, prowling in restless circles around the hut, simply refusing to step within five meters of the doorway.
“We're safe for now.” Showing not the slightest surprise at the terror claws' behavior, Officer Natalie calmly dusted off her trench coat. Leaning against the doorframe with her rapier cradled in her arms, she said indifferently, “Not bad at all. At least you're still standing on your own two feet. You've completely shattered the impression I had of you when we first met.”
“They can understand your orders?” Lynch finally had the chance to voice the biggest question in his mind.
“They don't. What takes effect isn't my command, but the authority of Law. Any intelligent creature that has developed even a semblance of order harbors an innate reverence for rules. When I formulate a temporary law, they instinctively feel dread when attempting to break it. It works whether they understand my words or not—and even if I never speak them aloud. Understand now?”
“Whew. You still haven't answered me: why are you explaining all this?” Once he knew they were safe for the moment, Lynch's wits returned in full. “Such a sudden reversal in attitude means something must have happened.”
“Because I am certain now that if you want to stay alive, you will have to walk the path of a Soul Severer. There's no point keeping you in the dark anymore. Better to fill you in ahead of time so when you're forced to choose, you'll feel more at ease about it and won't resist.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
Far from feeling resistant, Lynch was overcome by a strange thrill:
“I could possess supernatural power too?”
“That's a matter for after we suppress the relic's loss of control. Before that, I need you to work.”
Officer Natalie said with a grave expression:
“What we are inside is a special relic used for sacrifices. Its effect is that it preserves the memory of an ancient sacrificial ritual. Everything you see looks real, but in truth, it's a fragment of history from tens of thousands of years ago. Using this kind of relic to establish a link with ordinary people is essentially the most streamlined way to offer them as sacrifices to an evil god. The memory within the relic will automatically complete the entire process, while in reality, one only needs to conduct a very simple ritual. It's exceptionally covert. Now we must suppress this relic, and you—”
As he listened, Lynch saw Officer Natalie's lips still moving, but her voice sounded farther and farther away. Then, a crushing tightness pressed down on his chest like a boulder. His vision went black, and he collapsed limp toward the floor.
But the moment his body hit the ground, his consciousness snapped back. Relying on the sliver of strength he regained, Lynch waved a hand at Officer Natalie and struggled to clamber back up. Pulling his shirt open to check his chest, he saw several withered veins had already reached his heart.
His heart raced at a frantic pace, drenched in cold sweat as he stared intently at his chest.
Death was so close—close enough to breed despair.
He turned in a daze to look at Officer Natalie, whose stern face now bore a touch of sympathy.
“How much time is left?” Though his expression looked worse than weeping, Lynch at least managed to grit his teeth and force out a smile.
“It's 23:00. Sixty minutes left.”
“Fine. Keep going,” Lynch said, clenching his fists. “Let's see who's faster: death or me.”
Officer Natalie's expression turned complex, a hint of admiration creeping into her eyes. “Very well. If you survive, drinks are on me. Let's hope there's still time. The next part is the hardest step of suppressing a relic, something that can only be done once inside: we need to read the relic's memories to find the suppression conditions. Normally, we can only rely on slow trial and error, but now we have you.”
“Understood. What do I need to do?”
“I don't know. You have to figure it out yourself; that's how people gifted with inspiration do it. I won't lie to you: among the sharp-sensed people I've encountered, the fastest took over an hour to read a mystery's memories. Time is likely running out, but you can still try. Remember, time is pressing—the faster, the better.”
“I understand.” Lynch gritted his teeth and nodded. “I'll give it everything I've got—for my own life.”
With that, he touched his withered chest. ‘Travel Companion, is there enough time?’
【Reading the relic's memories all at once requires only forty minutes, which can be completed within the time limit. However, your willpower will endure immense strain, and you may lose your senses during the process, leading to a failed reading. Reading in two sessions requires fifty to fifty-five minutes, which is more secure, but the remaining time may not be enough to fulfill the conditions.】
‘So I don't really have a second choice, do I? Then one last question: if the time runs out, will I really die?’
【Yes.】
‘Then what are we waiting for? Bring it on. Let's read the suppression conditions in one go.’
Rate on N.U.
