The sword swept down, passing directly through the center of the terror claw leader’s body.
With a single stroke, Officer Natalie stepped back lightly, took off her hat, pressed it against her chest, and gave a shallow bow.
Before she could even straighten up, the terror claw leader stumbled forward while still clutching its kin’s head. Then, under the gaze of all its kind, it split neatly down the middle and collapsed to either side. Even as it hit the ground, its cold, vertical pupils continued to roll for a few moments.
Puff. Blood, mixed with viscera, sprayed from the severed edges, turning the area around the corpse into a gruesome and spectacular fountain of gore.
The entire square fell into dead silence for a moment.
Except for the few terror claws that had already caught fire and fled the square, all the others stared blankly at their leader, who had died such a miserable death beside the statue.
“Roar.”
A shrill howl erupted from the terror claws on the perimeter, carrying clear, intense anger.
As if awakened by this cry, one after another, the hundreds of terror claws let out furious roars, causing the atmosphere in the square to erupt completely.
All the terror claws, their eyes bloodshot, rapidly closed in on the statue and Officer Natalie.
They wouldn’t disperse after all.
The officer frowned, crouched down, and gripped her sword hilt again, the phantom image of a wooden gavel appearing behind her.
The short distance vanished in an instant. Seeing the massive pack of terror claws closing in, Officer Natalie’s gaze turned icy as she prepared to draw her blade.
At that very moment, a ball of fire rushed in from afar, dragging waves of rolling heat behind it. It reached Officer Natalie and transformed into a humanoid figure of burning flame. The moment it took shape, it immediately engulfed the closest terror claw, instantly igniting its thick fur and turning it into a giant fireball.
Lynch had arrived.
Time, time, time.
Lynch moved with extreme speed. After igniting the third victim, he moved immediately, passing directly through all the terror claws in his path and setting all their fur ablaze.
Unlike before, the terror claws were now densely packed together, making it the perfect opportunity to spread the fire, with their thick animal fur serving as the perfect accelerant.
Lynch adhered to a hit and run strategy. He did not aim for high impact, only to spread the fire as much as possible and sow chaos. He appeared now on the left, now on the right, quickly filling the square with flickering flames and the stench of burning flesh.
The massive pack of terror claws was terrified by the fire and fell into a dilemma, especially as their burning kin ran wildly, causing the flames to spread even faster.
Even the officer was momentarily stunned by this scene, looking at Lynch, who had turned into a humanoid flame, as if he were a living disaster.
As for Lynch, while he looked magnificent, he was actually enduring the agonizing pain of flames burning his soul every second. He felt his mind on the verge of collapse, forcing himself to hang on with the hope that they would soon break.
He knew that the terror claws were afraid of fire. They had only stayed because of their leader’s authority and their own anger, but they hadn’t scattered yet. As long as he used the fire to crush that final shred of their rage, the conditions for suppression would be met.
Let’s see who can hold out longer.
Even with his consciousness blurred by pain, he clenched his flame-wreathed fists and ran across the square by instinct. His fiery form turned, preparing to circle the statue and the pack one more time, but before he could start, the voice in his mind suddenly rang out.
【Safe usage time remaining: ten seconds. Severe consequences will be triggered after ten seconds.】
Lynch’s heart sank, but he did not stop. He circled the statue like a whirlwind, igniting the fur of seven or eight more terror claws along the way, making the surrounding fire blaze even brighter.
Is my soul burning out, or is the mystery relic spiraling out of control?
【No, the consequences are unpredictable. Time remaining: five seconds.】
Damn it, they are about to collapse. I cannot stop now, or all my efforts will be in vain. Travel companion, keep time for me. I am going all out.
Thinking this, Lynch turned and became a moving line of fire, rushing toward the area with the fewest flames and the most terror claws. The fire grew more intense along his path, roaring with a whooshing sound.
The terror claws were bunched together with no room to dodge. Lynch burned a large swath with every charge. In an instant, the air was filled with a pungent, charred smell, and the terror claws wailed in agony, no longer looking like the terrifying, violent creatures they once were.
【Three.】
On the perimeter, more flaming terror claws were already screaming as they fled the square and charged into the depths of the ruined city. However, most of the claws on the square remained huddled around the statue, refusing to leave.
Officer Natalie stood by the statue, watching the terror claws trapped in their dilemma. She suddenly snorted coldly, took a few steps forward, and drew her sword again. A terror claw that had gotten too close didn’t even have time to react before it was cut in half at the waist. The severed monster didn’t die immediately, its half-body bracing against the ground while it let out a dying, miserable scream.
Whoosh. Lynch merged with the wailing half-monster at the perfect moment, letting the flames roast its body. The creature struggled desperately, unable to escape the fire’s embrace, its desperate and miserable cries echoing throughout the square.
The screams of their kin seemed to shake the pack. They stopped crowding forward but still circled the statue from afar, hissing with malice, refusing to retreat.
【Two.】
There is no time.
This is it.
Lynch steeled his heart and cast aside all caution. Following the method learned from the ring, he truly treated himself as a giant fireball. He clenched his flaming fists, concentrated all his willpower, and, with his body turned to flame, slammed into the ground.
Hold on, do not pass out.
Here I come!
The fire slammed into the ground, and the air seemed to stagnate for a moment.
Then, the humanoid flame exploded abruptly, turning into a massive wave of fire that shot forward in a crescent shape, instantly plunging the area ahead into a hellish sea of flames.
【One.】
The exploding fire was the final straw. The terror claw pack on the square woke from their trance, roaring wildly and fleeing in every direction. They ignored everything, even trampling their own kin to get away.
In an instant, amidst the raging inferno, the entire square was filled with chaos. Countless burning monsters fled in all directions, as if the end of the world had arrived.
Lynch did not pay attention to any of this. The moment the flames exploded, he had already pulled off the ring with his final bit of strength, reverting to his human form. His body was still smoking, but he ignored it, stumbling toward the statue in the center of the square.
As the terror claw pack scattered, the central statue began to shrink at a strange, rapid pace. By the time Lynch staggered to the side of the statue, it had shrunk to the size of a palm.
He bent down with great effort to pick up the statue, his expression flickering between joy and anger, finally settling into a triumphant smile as he held it high above his head.
I won in the end.
New world, I, Lynch, have survived.
As his smile bloomed, his body lost all its strength, and he collapsed involuntarily toward the scorching ground.
He fell directly into a warm embrace.
Looking up, he saw the beautiful face of Officer Natalie Angel, who was smiling at him with a complex expression.
“That was a beautiful job, Lynch. You really taught me a lesson.”
“The bet...” Comfortably resting in the officer’s arms, Lynch said in a weak voice.
“How about I let go?” Officer Natalie asked through gritted teeth.
“Heh, I...”
Just as Lynch’s smile appeared, his body went limp, and his consciousness sank into endless darkness.
“Bang.”
A sound of impact woke Lynch from his dream.
He felt weak and powerless, as if all his strength had been drained.
Struggling to sit up, he found himself lying on the sofa in the Randall living room.
Officer Natalie sat opposite him, having already packed the painting and the statue into a suitcase; the sound from just a moment ago was her putting the painting inside.
Several people in blue uniforms were checking the surroundings, intentionally avoiding the piles of ‘gravel’ and the head on the floor.
Looking around, even though only a few dozen minutes had passed, Lynch felt as if a lifetime had gone by. He touched the sofa and the coffee table—everything was so real that he was finally certain he had returned.
Randall’s head still lay on the floor. A genuine sense of relief surged in Lynch’s heart; he really wanted to go over and kick it again.
Damn guy, look at who died in the end.
Your calculations failed, didn’t they, Randall? Why aren’t you asking how much time is left now?
Wait, time.
Lynch remembered just passing out and quickly looked at his left hand, then felt his whole body go weak, nearly collapsing back onto the sofa.
Just a few dozen minutes ago, he was sitting here, looking at his withered arm, racing against death and chasing a slim hope of survival.
Now, sitting in the same spot, he saw his left hand restored to normal. Lynch pulled back his sleeve, disbelieving, and touched the clean, smooth arm.
He felt a surge of warmth in his chest and had an urge to cry.
I survived. After struggling through the whole night, I finally survived.
Covering his mouth with force, Lynch blinked hard, struggling to suppress the heat in his eyes. When he looked up, eyes red, he saw Officer Natalie had stopped her work and was looking at him with a sympathetic gaze.
“I suggest you don’t get too happy too soon.”
“I know. You said that to survive, I must become a Soul Severer, which means this isn’t over yet.”
Officer Natalie’s presence helped Lynch calm down, and his mind quickly regained its flexibility, using the motion of rubbing his face to hide his agitation.
“Am I still in danger? I think it’s very likely, considering the master behind Randall hasn’t been found yet.”
“The reasons behind this are indeed troublesome, but that is a problem for the future. For now, I must congratulate you, Mr. Lynch Levive. Through your own efforts, you have not only taken back your life but also bought yourself enough time to continue struggling.” Officer Natalie’s stern face held surprise and approval. “I never imagined that a common person’s struggle could reach this point; it is incredible.”
“What exactly is going on?”
“As you should already know, the entire Randall family were likely cultists of the Ancient Flicker. For unknown reasons, they were instructed by someone to sacrifice you to an evil god through that statue. That is why you had your encounter tonight.”
Lynch nodded silently.
“I inherited the sword left by my father and have been a mystery hunter for two years. I have seen many mystery events. Usually, in such cases involving evil gods, the death of the person involved is the norm, just like Drunken Peter and Granville.”
“So you had already written me off as a dead man from the start?”
“I apologize. I underestimated your ability. I apologize.” The officer lowered her head solemnly. “But after learning this might be related to a sacrifice, I was even more certain your death was unavoidable. Even if you found the statue and interrupted Randall and the others, it wouldn’t have mattered. We only interrupted the external guidance; the true sacrifice was inside the mystery relic. You had already become the sacrifice, so you would die when the time came. It was an unsolvable situation.”
Even though the problem was solved, Lynch still felt a heavy weight in his heart. Without power, this world was simply too dangerous; one could die a bizarre death for no reason at all.
“But interrupting Randall and the others’ guidance caused the mystery relic to spiral out of control, giving us a chance to enter its memory and directly destroy the sacrificial ritual within. You, the final sacrifice, survived.” Officer Natalie stared at Lynch, her tone rarely gentle. “That is why I said your struggle allowed you to escape a certain death. You did a truly beautiful job.”
“But the problem hasn’t been completely solved, has it?”
“Don’t be too greedy, Mr. Lynch. In the confrontation with the mysterious, any success is worth rejoicing and celebrating, not to mention you have bought yourself another month to solve the problem.” Officer Natalie sighed and shook her head. “However, it is true that it hasn’t been completely resolved. Look at your heart.”
Lynch was a bit nervous but pulled open his shirt. He then looked away and let out a deep sigh.
On his heart, a red eye pattern had appeared. It looked as if it had been painted on, yet it could not be wiped away. It bobbed with the rhythm of his breathing, as if it were blinking in a sinister way.
“You are the chosen sacrifice; you just haven’t been delivered to the altar yet. The evil god, the Ancient Flicker, is watching your soul. It will come to claim it in a month.”
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