In the world of consciousness, Lynch felt as if he had returned to that red fog from before he transmigrated.
The only difference was that the blood-red moon that had accompanied him for millions of years was gone from the sky above, leaving him with an empty, hollow feeling, as if he had lost something vital.
The fog churned with countless twisted shadows, and from within them came a rustling, whispered murmuring. Everything was so eerie, causing one to sink into overwhelming terror without even realizing it.
Countless fragments of light and shadow flickered repeatedly in Lynch's consciousness. It felt as though eons of time had condensed into a single instant, or as if an unspeakable pair of eyes had peered through millions of years in a blink.
The mere presence of it carried a power capable of driving one to madness and despair, continuously eroding Lynch's will and pulling him into a state of profound dread.
Every moment, his consciousness hovered on the edge of collapse. Lynch felt he could fall into a coma at any time. He could only cling desperately to the last shred of his lucidity, forcing himself to endure one second after another.
I must not pass out. To lose consciousness is to die.
Hold on, just a little longer, even if it is only for one more second.
In a trance, the light and shadow fragments before Lynch's eyes gradually became clear. He seemed to see the ruined city again, the war between two races, the blood-soaked sacrifice, the leader being slain by a human, and the great pack of terror claws scattering in flight.
One second, two seconds. Lynch gritted his teeth and endured, like a tiny boat in a storm, at risk of capsizing at every moment.
Just as he was growing more desperate, a red light suddenly ignited before his eyes.
A red moon abruptly surged out of the red fog and ascended into the sky, its cold, clear moonlight shining upon Lynch just as it had for millions of years.
At the same time, the female voice in his mind spoke softly.
【The sacrificial ritual of the Ancient Flicker: eliminate the ritual executors within the memory and disperse the creatures participating in the sacrifice from beside the statue to interrupt the ancient memory of the mystery relic.】
“Haaah...”
Lynch clutched his head and sat up abruptly from the ground, gasping for air.
Only then did he realize he had regained his clarity and was still in the dilapidated earthen hut. The terror that had stemmed from his soul had vanished entirely.
Officer Natalie was not far away. Her clothes were a bit disheveled, and there were many stains on her face and hands, suggesting she had been through multiple battles, yet she stood firmly at the door, her posture as steady as ever.
“Did we fail? I am sorry.” Officer Natalie sighed with regret.
“I...” Lynch managed a weak smile, clutched his head, and whispered, “We succeeded.”
“You succeeded in only forty-five minutes? Are you sure?” Officer Natalie’s shock was plain to see. “It is impossible to be this fast. You actually did it?”
“Heh, I had my own cards to play when I dared to come in with you. If I could not even help identify the conditions, why come at all? It is just that the difficulty of this condition...”
Lynch sighed deeply, feeling as though it were all a dream, but he recounted the requirements anyway.
“Kill the executioner priest and disperse the participants. A very reasonable condition.”
It was reasonable, but not a condition a normal person could complete.
Lynch muttered to himself. Having struggled all the way to this point, he finally had to face a situation where there were no shortcuts and he had to rely on pure strength. A sense of powerlessness welled up, making him envy Officer Natalie’s heroic grace even more.
“Do not worry,” the officer comforted him. “Killing the executioner priest is not difficult. The problem now is how to disperse these terror claws. Ten minutes or so is very difficult.”
“What about your...”
“Authority of Law? Even the strictest decree has those who violate it. To make a group of fanatics in the middle of a sacrifice leave the statue would likely require a high-rank Soul Severer of at least level seven authority.”
“If the leader is killed, won’t these monsters scatter on their own?”
“Not necessarily,” the officer said, frowning in thought. “These terror claws went extinct as early as the Third Epoch. They only exist in the memories of the Dreamlands mystery relic, and there are very few records. No one knows how they might react.”
“Is there anything they fear? Fire, for example?”
Drawing on his experience from playing games, fire was the first thing that came to Lynch’s mind.
“That is even harder to determine, but generally, most creatures are naturally afraid of fire.” The officer gestured to their surroundings and shook her head. “The problem is that in this cold environment, fuel is a scarce resource. Look around; there is not even any wood. There is no time to slowly gather fuel. How about this: I will go handle their leader first. If they scatter, that is for the best. If not, I will clear out a few more. Once a certain number are cleared, they will naturally collapse. I am just worried there is not enough time.”
“I actually have a way to start a fire without fuel. Do you want to try? I will start the fire first; it might make it easier for you to kill the priest.”
“Is your physical condition really up for it?”
Lynch pulled open his shirt. The withered, root-like veins had spread across his heart, leaving only a tiny patch of flesh in the center that trembled with every beat, as if it might be completely consumed at any moment.
“I am not sure either. Maybe I will collapse on the road as soon as I step outside. But I have always believed that one must seize their own fate. When others are risking their lives for me, I must at least do everything in my power to help so that I can sleep soundly in the future, or die in peace. Besides, if we do not try, we will likely run out of time anyway. Trying at least offers a chance.”
“Good.” The officer turned and patted Lynch on the shoulder, her eyes full of approval. “I was still hesitant about what comes next, but based on those words, let’s go. We will do as you say and charge in together.”
“Right. Just take me into the monster pack first; just make sure I don’t get attacked by the terror claws.”
“No problem.”
Outside, it was clear that several brutal fights had already taken place. At least ten corpses lay on the ground. The swarm of monsters no longer dared to approach and were gathered far away near the statue, over a hundred of them huddled together, protecting the leader conducting the sacrifice and the statue in their center.
From a distance of several dozen meters, the massive leader continued to brandish its claws and let out provocative roars.
Officer Natalie, expressionless, flicked her long hair and stepped out of the earthen hut, sword in hand.
“Are you ready, Lynch?”
“Yes.”
Lynch cast aside all his worries, forgetting even his physical state, and reached into his pocket to pull out the long-treasured ring box, gripping the ring tightly in his palm.
“Then let’s go. I hope you survive.”
“Do not forget the bet, Officer.” Lynch smiled.
“Hmph, we shall see. Authority: Judgment.”
As the officer spoke, the image of the small wooden gavel that had been circling the scale appeared behind her, flickered, and vanished into her body. Immediately after, Lynch felt an indescribable majesty emanate from her, making it impossible to look directly at her.
“Follow my lead, and do not fall behind,” Officer Natalie paused, then added in a low voice, “comrade.”
With that, Officer Natalie began to move, her pace increasing until Lynch had to jog to keep up.
Seeing the terror claw pack drawing nearer, the officer dragged her sword, her speed surging as she crashed headlong into the terror claws waiting in a defensive formation at the front.
With a dull thud, accompanied by the sound of shattering bone.
The massive terror claw was struck, its chest caving in, white bone fragments protruding outward. It could not even let out a scream as the three-meter-tall monster was sent flying like a cannonball into its kin behind, carving a crater into the dense pack.
Following through, she stepped forward twice more. The officer placed her right hand on the hilt and stomped her left leg forward.
Boom! The ground shook, and the surrounding terror claws were sent reeling, losing their footing.
Borrowing the force of the stomp, Natalie drew her sword. With a metallic clang, a brilliant light, as bright as lightning, shone clearly even under the daylight.
The bodies of several terror claws seemed to cease to exist; the sword light flashed past their positions, leaving a thin line of blood across their bodies.
The radiance faded, and the sword was already sheathed. Officer Natalie ducked low, slipping between the terror claws that had frozen in place, and stomped her left foot again.
Another silent vibration followed, this time reaching deeper and affecting even more terror claws.
Especially the few that had just been grazed by the blade; as the ground shook, massive amounts of blood sprayed from the thin lines on their bodies, and their forms slid apart in different directions, becoming smooth, clean halves.
Seeing that she had charged into the middle of the monster pack in just a few steps, the officer stopped, twisted her waist, and turned, drawing her sword again to trace a circle of light around her.
Even though it was a narrow sword, the edge was exceptionally sharp. With one sweep, the surrounding terror claws either retreated while spraying blood from their waists, or were cut in two directly.
For some reason, the officer’s face showed a flash of pain, but it vanished instantly, her expression returning to one of grim determination as she shouted, “Lynch, it is up to you!”
Lynch had been following closely behind the officer, not even glancing at the hideous terror claws they passed, his hand remaining tightly clenched around the ring.
Hearing Officer Natalie’s call, he looked at the ring in his hand, but hesitated.
The closer he got to using it, the more uneasy he felt.
Is this thing really not fatal, travel companion?
Are you truly trustworthy? You wouldn't lie to me, would you?
After only a second of hesitation, Lynch gritted his teeth and slid the ring onto his finger.
She is my only support in this world, and she just helped me.
I trust you, travel companion.
【Understood. You have three minutes of safe usage time. Enjoy the experience.】
That sounded somewhat malicious.
The moment he put the ring on, the instructions for its use appeared in his mind, but before Lynch could process them, intense pain instantly swept through his body.
Flames erupted, burning his flesh.
A continuous, searing heat. Every inch of his skin was being licked by fire. The agonizing pain eroded Lynch’s body—it was a total torment from the inside out, as if his skin were being peeled away and his muscles repeatedly torn apart. Every second felt like suffering in hell.
Lynch wanted to scream, but even screaming became a luxury. He realized then that he no longer had a mouth.
To be precise, he had lost his physical body and had become a humanoid figure made of fire.
But the pain remained. The torture-like burning sensation made him try to pull the ring off.
His body had turned to fire, but the ring remained there. He could have pulled it off with a single reach, but his remaining sanity stopped him.
Damn it, this experience is just too 'enjoyable'.
Three minutes. What am I waiting for? Come on, you bastard terror claws, let us all have a 'pleasant' time together.
His ferocity surged, and the humanoid flame, looking like a giant bonfire, began to move, lunging straight toward the nearest terror claw.
Before the creature could react, it was tightly enveloped by the humanoid flame. Its thick fur was ignited instantly, and sharp, shrill roars echoed across the square.
The burning terror claw ran wild with the humanoid flame clinging to its back. The flames on its body ignited other nearby kin, causing the gathered pack to scatter in terrified panic.
“Roar, roar.”
Seeing the situation spiraling into chaos, the leader beside the statue let out a loud roar. Following the command, other than the one Lynch had thoroughly ignited, which was still running wildly, the other terror claws quickly calmed down.
But a second victim appeared immediately.
Lynch had released his first target and charged toward another. The chosen victim waved its sharp claws in terror, trying to tear the humanoid flame apart.
But fire cannot be torn.
The claws passed through the humanoid flame several times but could not stop its approach. Lynch grabbed it, and amidst its wails, it became the second frantic, running source of fire.
“Roar.”
The leader could finally stand it no longer. It leaped into the air and appeared before the first victim. With a flash of its claws, it easily decapitated the burning terror claw, ending its suffering.
Holding the head of its kin high, the leader let out an even louder howl. The terror claws, which had been in chaos, seemed intimidated and gradually calmed down, their eyes focusing on the leader holding the head.
At this very moment, under the gaze of all the terror claws.
The lady in the trench coat and top hat charged toward the leader without warning.
“You have exposed yourself.”
Draw, and strike.
Rate on N.U.
