"The hillmen tribe used the opportunity of that woman breaking into their nest to forge a connection between her and Zur-Baha-Sahr. Then, through their special methods, they turned her into a humanoid uncontrolled mystery relic. Once she falls asleep, she drags everyone around her into the memories of Zur-Baha-Sahr, where they become offerings to be devoured by the inhabitants within those memories."
Hiss... so that means I went for a stroll in a 'mystery relic's' memories again yesterday? It’s almost happening every other day now. Is my attraction to mystery really that strong? Even if I don't get tired of it, don't the mystery relics get tired of me?
【Well, they don't. My condolences.】
‘Thanks for the comfort. I feel so much worse now. I really should thank you for that.’
Lynch sighed, though he did find himself somewhat believing this strange ghoul. At least in this regard, he was telling the truth.
"But that is not the worst part. Later, that woman will lose control even further. By then, those affected by her will not just enter her memories, but the true Zur-Baha-Sahr in reality."
"Is there a difference? Without those natives running around everywhere and the ice sculptures?"
"Hm? How do you know?" The blood-red eyes suddenly fixed on Lynch's face, and he said with a savage expression, "You have already been inside? How could a weak human like you possibly come out alive?"
Lynch shrugged: "Probably just good luck. My protagonist aura is quite strong."
"What is that thing?" The ghoul scratched his head in a human-like gesture. "Forget it, that is not important. In short, the real Zur-Baha-Sahr does not have those things, but it does contain the soul fragment of Mordiggian, and that is the true goal of those hillmen."
Lynch felt a chill run down his spine. It was already dangerous enough in his dreams before, but to suddenly face an evil god directly—the progression was a bit too fast. Even if he had activated his divine authority, it was meant for confronting powerful entities or the will of an evil god, not this.
"Once that woman reaches her final state, they will use this method to enter the real Zur-Baha-Sahr and then offer a direct sacrifice to Mordiggian, nourishing his soul fragment. Once they reach that step, it will be very difficult to stop them."
Lynch frowned and asked: "When will it reach that step?"
"That depends on their progress. They need to hold a ritual to allow that woman to cross over to the final stage, but this ritual is quite complex and requires a lot of preparation."
Lynch had just relaxed slightly when he heard Elder Bru add:
"But they also have helpers. With human assistance, their ritual is almost ready. I am not sure when they will begin this ritual; perhaps tomorrow, or perhaps it has already started."
Lynch understood. It had to be the Valente family; they had the capability.
"To remedy the situation, we intended to take control of that woman yesterday. That way, even if they completed the ritual, we would have the means to respond, but you stopped us."
Lynch's voice sank: "Can you tell me what your means of responding are?"
Elder Bru was silent for a moment, then answered the question with another:
"We will wait until the very last moment to act."
"Then... besides this so-called final resort, is there any other way?"
"Yes, and that is the purpose of my meeting with you today." Elder Bru looked at Chairman Grant, who was timing something with a pocket watch. Seeing the chairman nod, Elder Bru continued with confidence. "You have two choices: either hand over that woman, or go and stop Nicolai's final transformation ritual yourself."
The veins on Lynch's forehead throbbed: "Why didn't you go stop them directly?"
Elder Bru looked at him with strange eyes and said righteously: "Nicolai is too strong. I dare not appear."
"Then you could expose their conspiracy."
"We are ghouls ourselves, and there is no evidence to prove their intent. They have people supporting them, so exposing it would be useless. Besides, we do not wish to be public."
"So I’m the one who dares to appear?"
"That is your business, it has nothing to do with us. If you do not dare either, then hand the woman over to us in exchange for your own safety. Decide for yourself. In any case, that is your human affair. No matter the result, we will not be affected."
Lynch pressed his lips together and fell into silence.
He finally understood the female reporter's encounter, and he had cleared up the conflict behind the Bester Mountain tunnel.
But he would rather he didn't understand.
This kind of matter was already beyond the scope of a level one Soul Severer. It was a job for the powerful, and he shouldn't even have heard about it. But now, it was likely too late to pretend he hadn't. Based on his experience in occultism, once one touches the truth, a strong connection is established. From then on, one only sinks deeper and deeper. This was a trend formed by the essence of mystery, not something that could be changed by individual will. Therefore, wanting to back out now was simply impossible.
Perhaps he shouldn't have followed Grant out tonight.
【Your deduction is biased, Lynch.】 Lady Red Moon's voice made Lynch's heart tighten. He knew that Lady Luna would only remind him when his own deduction had a serious error. 【The connection was not just created. It is already too late for you to refuse it now.】
‘Hm?’
【When you heard those two names, the connection was already established. You will inevitably become increasingly entangled in the incident. This is the true power of mystery filth erosion.】
A chill crept into Lynch's heart: ‘Mordiggian and Zur-Baha-Sahr?’
【Yes. When facing mystery filth, once a connection is established, one will only sink deeper, especially with your level of attraction to mystery. The speed at which you are being entangled is faster than anyone else, Lynch.】
So that was it. Even hearing the names could attract a fatal threat. No wonder he had such a strong reaction when he first heard them.
Lynch asked silently with a bitter smile: ‘Is there a way to avoid this situation?’
【Yes. As long as you can make someone else become more deeply entangled, and let that person stand in front of you, you might avoid deeper erosion until that person dies.】
‘A friend?’ The serious face of Officer Natalie appeared in Lynch's mind instantly. ‘Neighbor, are you serious?’
【I will witness every one of your choices, Lynch, so I am showing you the choices most people make.】
‘Heh, I understand.’
Lynch withdrew his focus and cast his gaze toward Chairman Grant, who was sitting silently to the side. With his status, he still couldn't suppress the other party; the influence of the Valente family could be imagined.
Should he just write the whole thing into a mission report and hand it to Duke Vane?
But he immediately realized that this was the most foolish action.
Such a heavy accusation had no proof, and writing it down would be meaningless. Besides, did those at the very top really know nothing at all? It was unlikely they could be that dull. They were hiring outside help at a high price precisely because they were trying to find evidence or even a solution. Kicking the ball back to them directly would be pointless.
In fact, if one thought about it carefully, the solution was very simple: hand over Maya, and the city would be safe, or at least it would buy some time.
She was just a stranger he had saved by chance, whom he had only met a few times, and she had already turned into such an ugly half-ghoul. Asking himself honestly, he had no obligation to help her, let alone face a huge crisis just to protect her.
"That is all your human affair. Decide for yourself; I will see how you do it."
Elder Bru gave a low growl and suddenly stood up. His tall body writhed, then shrunk smaller and smaller until it finally reverted into the corpse of a canary. In the carriage, only Lynch and Chairman Grant were left, looking at each other in silence.
Rate on N.U.
