“By the Black Night, you two barged into my home uninvited, causing my family great mental distress and even breaking the precious china I use to entertain guests,” Lynch said with a dark, resentful expression. “As the source of all this, shouldn't the Black Night Cathedral offer some extra compensation? To make up for the damage caused to her spirit? Hmm, let's call it a mental distress fee.”
“You are right, Mr. Levive, we certainly should compensate,” the Archbishop said with a smiling squint. “We shall grant her the highest level of compensation: a personal blessing from the highest-ranking Archbishop of the Goddess in this region, bestowed upon this follower of the Goddess. Ah, in the name of the Holy, in the name of the Night, I bless you, child. Look, this is the most solemn blessing of the Black Night Cathedral; that should be enough to show our sincerity, right?”
Lynch was left speechless, with only one thought in his mind: This stingy old fox, is your personal blessing really that worthless?
Archbishop Trinlais, however, remained quite composed in the face of Lynch’s nearly bulging eyes. He merely maintained a holy expression, twirling his sparse beard with a kind smile, as if a saintly halo were shining behind his head.
Fine, you win. I’ll note this grudge. Just wait until our next collaboration; I’ll pad the expenses and show you how a corporate slave from another world handles fleecing people.
Whatever. Mrs. Maggie seems quite happy anyway, flustered to the point of blushing, so I suppose losing this round doesn't matter.
Lynch coughed drily, placated his landlady who looked as if she might start steaming from the top of her head, and invited the two high-profile figures from the Black Night Cathedral up to the second floor.
Once upstairs, both sides dropped their playful expressions and sat on the sofa. Knight Rick placed a long briefcase he had been carrying onto the coffee table.
Lynch’s breathing hitched, and he secretly licked his lips.
He had sensed it the moment he walked downstairs—this was a good item, exactly what he needed most. As expected of one of the wealthiest powers in Lande, they were so generous. It seems he could frequently blackmail—no, frequently collaborate—with them in the future.
Muttering to himself, Lynch took a deep breath and opened the briefcase with anticipation.
Inside was the back of a gentleman in a black formal suit, holding a black cane. The cane was plunged deep into the chest of a monster before him. The monster withered and shriveled rapidly, while the gentleman with the cane grew vibrant and spirited.
【Blood Elegy, the favorite weapon of the Scarlet Baron Weimar. Used to sweep away mysterious alien entities until the craving for blood consumed his soul, merging it with the mystery of the Dreamlands.】
Hiss. Lynch straightened his back and leaned back, feeling a rich, bloody stench wash over him as the case opened. Although this sensation was fleeting and everything quickly returned to normal, a faint, lingering scent of blood remained.
Inside the case lay a black cane with a matte finish that felt like cold metal to the touch.
The grip was also metallic, finely wrapped with black cloth strips.
From a distance, the entire cane gave off a low-key, restrained aura.
Just as he was thinking he lacked a cane, a weapon had delivered itself to his doorstep. An ordinary, high-quality combat cane cost nearly ten pounds, and a mystery relic cane like this was priceless, starting at least in the tens of pounds.
“This thing feels different to me.” Lynch felt a stinging pain in his brow. He had been staring at it for dozens of seconds, yet a sense of panic kept welling up in his heart.
“Hmm, this is a destruction grade mystery relic, even more powerful than a fear grade. Be very careful.”
Destruction grade was the second tier of mystery relics. Whether in effect or influence, it was stronger than a fear grade, but it was also far more dangerous.
Lynch thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and reached out to grasp the grip.
The next moment, countless images flooded his brain.
He was surrounded by thousands of alien entities, ignoring the countless scars left on his body by their fangs and claws, knowing only to swing the cane and fight desperately among them. The pitch-black cane easily pierced, tore, and shredded monsters, and as each monster fell, his wounds healed rapidly, even his clothes becoming as pristine as new.
【Blood Elegy: Absorbs the blood of enemies to heal a designated target. Excessive use leads to blood dependency and corruption by filth, resulting in transformation into a Twisted One. Containment method: Smear the relic with blood every natural day.】
Whew. Lynch let out a long breath. Through deep reading, he had gained a preliminary understanding of this mystery relic.
In short, it could absorb the blood of enemies injured by the weapon to condense into blood essence. This could be used on himself instantly or applied to someone nearby to heal their wounds.
The effect wasn't actually that strong—it was inferior to the healing abilities of the Hall of Suffering and not as good as specialized medicinal potions—and using it too much would lead to blood dependency, eventually turning the user into a Twisted One. However, as an extra means of self-preservation, it was quite good.
Gently stroking the cane, he felt a strange sense of blood-linked connection. Lynch held the grip for a moment and, following the method learned during the reading, flicked his wrist. A clattering sound of metal colliding came from within the cane, and then one-centimeter-long metal blades popped out from both sides, arranged in an interlocking pattern that turned the sides into a saw-like, razor-sharp edge.
He flicked it again, and the entire cane collapsed with a clatter into more than a dozen segments, each connected by iron chains, transforming into a long, multi-jointed whip that extended the weapon's range several times over.
Finally, he swung his arm, the sound of metal rang out again, and the extended whip retracted rapidly. With a light tap on the floor, the weapon returned to being a plain, black cane that looked utterly unremarkable.
Lynch immediately understood why there were so many strange implements in cane-fighting training. It seemed there were many such transformative canes in this world. After changing its form a few more times and making the multi-jointed whip rattle, he frowned and said, “The creativity is great, but the internal structure must be very complex. The more complex a machine is, the easier it breaks. Does this thing really have practical value?”
Knight Rick smiled and shook his head, saying, “Mr. Levive, you’ve forgotten. This is a mystery relic.”
Lynch’s expression stiffened, and he immediately realized he had overlooked the most crucial point.
Essentially, a mystery relic was just a memory from the Dreamlands, not actual matter. Unless subjected to extraordinary force—such as using a ten-thousand-ton warship to crush it or colliding with a higher-level mystery—a mystery relic could never be destroyed. No matter how precise the structure, it would not be damaged, and it didn't even require daily maintenance. It was practically indestructible.
“For most mystery relics, only their effects are valuable, but weapon-class mystery relics are the exception,” Knight Rick explained. “Weapon-class mystery relics are very rare. Beyond their effects, their utility as a weapon and their indestructibility are what make them useful, especially in these transformative types. There are many imitations on the market, but as you said, they are too fragile. Only a true mystery relic can achieve the full effect.”
Whew, this is likely a priceless treasure, no longer measurable by money. The favor I owe is huge now, but...
“Something this valuable, isn't it a bit much?”
Lynch squinted, his mind racing. This item was of a higher grade than Officer Natalie’s sword, which was said to be an heirloom of the Angel family. This Blood Elegy would only be more precious and equally suited to serve as an heirloom. He knew clearly that while his actions had indeed helped the Church, he had already handed over the holy memory in advance. Adding this priceless treasure on top seemed somewhat unreasonable.
“Hehe, Mr. Levive,” the Archbishop said with a faint smile. “What do you think the reputation of the Goddess is worth? You saved the Church’s reputation; is it not appropriate to compensate for something priceless with something priceless? And you don't need to be nervous. We actually didn't intend to give you such a valuable item, but the task you performed forced us to raise the level of the reward, otherwise, it would have been embarrassing for the Church.”
“Huh?”
“You will find out soon enough. Ah, you have caused everyone a great headache. If the value of the reward we offered wasn't high enough, we might have been outdone by others, which would have been even more embarrassing for the Church. So, don't be too guarded; just accept it with peace of mind. It is a good thing for both you and us, you...”
Just as he was speaking, a knock came at the door. The three of them turned back and discovered it was Mrs. Maggie again.
The confused expression on her pretty face deepened, and she said blankly, “Uh, Mr. Levive, you have another visitor.”
Rate on N.U.
