Return to the Rightful Owner

May 20, 1399.

Everyone near the White Bird Port docks had the fortune of witnessing a strange spectacle.

A muffled, thunderous explosion suddenly erupted from beneath a long pier at the harbor.

The sea surface surged, forming a massive water bubble with a radius of several dozen meters. Shortly after, endless seawater erupted like a volcanic blast, thrusting a massive multi-masted sailing ship into the air. The ship hovered for a few meters before losing momentum, crashing heavily back into the sea. It bobbed and heaved, swaying precariously like a small boat lost in a hurricane.

A series of sharp cracks echoed from within the hull, and the ship slowly broke in half at the waist. The sound of splintering wood resonated through the sky, audible even from across the entire harbor.

The commotion was significant. Fortunately, the area had already been cordoned off and no other vessels were nearby, so no other ships were directly crushed. However, other disasters were unavoidable.

The waves from the explosion and the ship's fall converged, spreading rapidly in all directions. In an instant, towering walls of water rose around the harbor, tossing nearby boats about. Countless people were swept into the sea by the sudden waves, and the water surface was filled with struggling survivors. Curses filled the air as people vented their frustrations, and it seemed the immediate ancestors of the perpetrator for the past thousand years had been thoroughly and diligently addressed.

It was unclear if ancestors from another world would be effective, though.

Fortunately, a large number of naval patrol boats had gathered to blockade the sea, and they quickly joined the rescue efforts. In particular, dozens of bedraggled, bruised, and battered wretches from the broken ship were successively brought onto the docks.

"Whew."

Lynch jumped onto the pier clutching the retrieved wooden crate. The moment his feet touched solid ground, he patted the box and let out a long sigh of relief.

After several hours of hard work, I have finally retrieved the memories that my neighbor kept misplacing. It was truly dangerous just now; the explosion triggered by one person was even stronger than a modern torpedo from back home. If not for having such a powerful Soul Severer on hand, I fear I would have had to resort to using divine authority to survive.

Lynch had heard many times that when one's will cannot withstand the erosion of mysterious filth, the soul begins to twist. At the very least, one's heart becomes distorted, leading to madness, extreme cruelty, and a bloodthirsty nature. At worst, the transformation occurs from the inside out, causing the body itself to warp, inducing all sorts of bizarre effects, and eventually turning the person into a terrifying monster.

Coming from another world, Lynch had found it hard to grasp the concept of the soul affecting the body to the point of becoming a monster. He had subconsciously thought it was just talk, until just now, when Jefferson's body had suddenly exploded on the spot.

In the moment before the explosion, Knight Rick had suddenly clenched his fist, and all the shadows in the cabin had followed his movement, condensing into two dark fists.

One fist slammed heavily into the floor, hitting exactly between the circular holes where water was gushing into the waterproof layer. The already damaged deck could not withstand the impact of the fist and was forcibly torn open into a massive hole, allowing seawater to surge into the cabin like a fountain.

At almost the same moment, the other dark hand grabbed Jefferson's body, which was in the middle of bursting apart, and shoved it downward toward the seabed.

Everything happened too fast. The people in the cabin were stunned, unable to react to what had just transpired. Then, Lynch suddenly let out a shout, grabbed the crate containing the memories, and bolted. In an instant, the reporters, sailors, and soldiers were also jolted back to reality, screaming as if the end of the world had arrived, scrambling to escape.

What followed was a loud bang. A massive force struck, and Lynch only had time to clutch the box tightly to his chest before being tossed up and down like a cat trapped in a washing machine, spinning wildly. He was nearly beaten black and blue inside the cabin before finally stabilizing, stumbling out of the cabin, and being sent to the docks by the rescue ships.

Someone tapped his shoulder gently from behind. Lynch turned around to find that Knight Rick had also been rescued. Rick looked at him with a smile full of praise. Seeing Lynch turn back, he smiled gently and said softly, "You finally retrieved it. It was truly difficult. If not for your ability to find clues in time, it would have been impossible to intercept the item within the borders of Lande. You have not only retrieved the item but also saved my honor and the reputation of the Church. From now on, you are my friend, Mr. Detective. Whenever you need my help, just send me a letter, and no matter when it is, I will arrive to support you at the first opportunity."

"I am a detective, after all, and I only did my job." Lynch smiled and high-fived Rick. "Actually, our success was a matter of luck. I still haven't figured out what happened in the waterproof layer at the end. I only know it was a space ability called Mirage."

"That fish-headed monster must have been Walter Davis. It seems he is no longer human."

"Hm? Already?" Lynch immediately thought of Maya, who was turning into a ghoul.

"Yes, it seems he worshipped the Lord of R'lyeh and has been transformed into a fish-man. His use of tentacles to control living beings must also be a technique he acquired from the Lord of R'lyeh," Knight Rick explained. "The stolen authority of the Lord of R'lyeh includes space authority, and Mirage is one of its capabilities. As far as I know, this ability manifests somewhat like an illusion, but it actually overlaps two spaces, using a new space to replace the original one. If the two spaces are identical, it is very difficult for us to notice."

"Two spaces..." Lynch frowned. "He didn't replace the waterproof layers of two other ships in front of us, did he?"

"It is very likely. That is why we initially saw the waterproof chambers of other ships, while the item and Davis were hidden in the concealed waterproof chamber. That is why you could sense the actual presence of the memories, but what you saw and touched was from another ship, until you fired your gun and broke his ability."

"Why was I able to do that?"

"I am not certain, it is just my guess. It is highly likely that he used his own body as a node to connect the two spaces. He actually existed on both sides, which is why he had to hide on the ceiling to avoid being touched by us. And your bullet hitting him was equivalent to breaking his ability, exposing him and the real waterproof chamber to everyone."

"Will there be any problems if those people saw it?" Lynch asked, feeling uneasy. "Most of them are ordinary people."

"Do not worry. The sailors' memories will be slightly modified to hide the events that fall outside of common knowledge. As for the reporters, there is no need to worry. Most reporters actually know a portion of mysterious knowledge. Such clear, mystery-related incidents will have a unified statement from specialized propaganda agencies and will not spread to the public."

"Then I am relieved; there will be no lingering trouble." Lynch patted the wooden box and said with a smile, "Although this cargo transfer was full of twists and turns, it was finally completed smoothly."

"Judging by Jefferson's words before he died, they do not intend to let you go." Rick sighed. "You should be more careful, Mr. Detective. Are you certain there is no problem with the memories of the Lady of the Red Moon?"

"I can sense them. Hm, absolutely no, should be no... Forget it, my mouth—I'd better stay silent."

With a self-deprecating laugh, Lynch struggled to pry open the nailed-down wooden crate.