The Return

"As a component of the Norin-Rhine Railway project, the Bester Mountain Tunnel incident is actually relatively self-contained, and the specific circumstances have now been largely clarified."

"The primary conflict regarding the Bester Mountain Tunnel centers around disputes among heteromorph tribes, involving evil god worship and the existence of ancient ruins—detailed below. However, there are still many issues with the railway project as a whole that require ongoing follow-up investigation."

"The Valente family, as the landowner of part of the excavation site, holds an opposing stance and has allied with the cave-dwelling hillmen, a minority ethnic group within their fiefdom. The arguments frequently seen in the media of the capital, Norin, and Rhine City—namely the 'minority protection theory' and the 'mining as the nation's lifeblood theory'—were both instigated behind the scenes by this family. Furthermore, among the nine opposition seats in the Kingdom's House of Lords, three belong to the Valente family's sphere of influence."

"In addition, the Valente family joined forces with the cave-dwelling hillmen to instigate panic among the construction workers during the preliminary preparations for the tunnel excavation, directly leading to several fatalities (confined strictly to workers on the Bester Mountain Tunnel portion)."

"The above constitutes the opposing side of the Bester Mountain Tunnel project. The supporting side is represented by Chairman Grant of the House of Commons. According to reliable information currently in hand, Chairman Grant is backed by the Metallurgy Guild and the Manufacturing Association, representing the interests of most factory owners in Rhine. While the reasons for their support remain unconfirmed, a plausible guess suggests it may be related to the supply of materials for the excavation project. Definite information requires further investigation."

"According to an insider, representatives from the Lande River Shipping Association and the Dockworkers’ Mutual Aid Association once contacted the Valente family, indicating that certain factions, under pressure, seemed to have formed an Anti-Norin-Rhine Railway Alliance and wished for the Valente family to join. However, considering factors such as status and scale, the Valente family made no further contact with them. Thus, we arrive at the aforementioned conclusion that the Bester Mountain incident is relatively independent. The railway project has other opponents, and some of the aforementioned factions can serve as breakthroughs for the next stage of investigation."

"Reported by Detective Lynch Levive, June 5, Year 1399 of the Fifth Age."

Exhaling softly, Lynch placed the newly completed summary atop a thick stack of reports. He set down his pen and looked toward the setting sun outside the window.

Sixteen days had passed since the Zur-Baha-Sahr incident, and he had spent all sixteen of those days lying in bed.

In the early hours of May 21, tension was thick inside a farmhouse in the Green Wheat District.

The Watchers, led personally by their head, Mr. V, along with over a dozen official hunters, a large squad of external hunters, and over a hundred blue uniforms from the Hall of Order, had surrounded the Valente family's farmstead overnight. They stood in a tense standoff outside the tall grass against eight hillmen inside.

They had only one demand: hand over the Watchers' consultant.

Supposedly, an anonymous female hunter dressed in male clothing had suddenly felt uneasy during the night. She checked the underground cave at Thorn Flower and found a letter left by Consultant Lynch—God only knew why he had left it there—explicitly stating his purpose and destination.

So this anonymous Officer Angel kicked down her superior's door in the middle of the night, smashed half the glasses in the Scarecrow Club's bar, and charged toward the Green Wheat District with over a hundred people in tow.

Rather than stopping her, Mr. V offered his full support, even issuing overnight notices to several top-tier experts among non-governmental organizations.

Though there was no concrete proof, if it turned out to be true, the situation could escalate at any moment into an annihilation grade (rank four) or even manifestation grade (rank five) event involving an evil god. They had to be fully prepared for any contingency.

Thus, on one side was a large force backed by official authority, led by a mid-tier Soul Severer with rank five authority. On the other side were minority hillmen backed by high-tier experts. Since Lynch had yet to show himself, both sides hesitated to launch an all-out fight, standing off around the farmhouse for ten tense minutes as a clash hung by a thread.

And at that precise, critical moment, Lynch and Miss Valente, wrapped in a tattered tent and standing on a massive serving tray, materialized out of thin air above the farmstead.

About twenty meters up in the air.

Screaming, they plummeted from the sky and slammed right into the center of the standoff, with Lynch serving as the crash pad underneath and breaking his leg on impact.

Thus was born the tale of an evil god attempting to descend upon the mortal realm, and two courageous, responsible, bold, and capable youths who, with the help of the hillmen, disguised themselves as sacrifices equipped with wine, meat, and blades to valiantly fight the evil god's avatar, ultimately defeating it and saving the world. Although Mr. V promised not to publicize the story at Lynch's insistence, the high-tier experts and top factions of Rhine City would undoubtedly know something of it.

And as the unsung hero who thwarted the evil god's plot, Lynch was sent back to his apartment, where he lay in bed for sixteen solid days.

It wasn't just his broken leg—he had been severely injured.

Having his body pierced twice and suffering extensive damage to his intestines were actually his lighter injuries. Far worse was the severe weakness caused by using Blood Elegy on himself to extract a vast amount of blood. He had to remain on strict bed rest. Combined with his fractured leg, staying bedridden for a mere sixteen days was considered lucky.

Yet compared to Miss Valente, Lynch's injuries were nothing.

Lynch hadn't known at first, but later learned from the elderly woman who treated him that Miss Valente's condition was far less optimistic than it appeared on the surface.

In essence, her body had served as a battlefield between a god and an evil god. Two supreme wills collided within her, and though she was not the target, the shockwaves were enough to destroy all her life force. It was not something simple, temporary targeted treatment could fix.

Fortunately, Lynch had chosen the most appropriate method: the healing from Blood Extraction was an all-around repair automatically directed at damaged areas. Combined with her own self-preservation attempts after waking up, she had managed to hold on. However, shortly after returning to the mortal world, she fainted and had yet to wake up.

According to the elderly woman treating Lynch, the Church of Suffering had arranged the best medical care for this sister of their faith. Moreover, her soul was surprisingly uncorrupted by the evil god, so she ought to awaken soon.

The elderly woman was Sister Nightingale of the Church of Suffering, reportedly a high-ranking figure within the church who was deeply revered by other nuns. Even Mrs. Maggie and little Martha acted with utmost deference in her presence. Although Lynch didn't know why someone of her status had personally come to treat him, he held a good impression of her and did not doubt her diagnosis. Thus, he stopped worrying about Miss Valente. What truly tormented him was the requirement for strict bed rest—especially since Mrs. Maggie, under the old woman's instructions, turned away all visitors for him. Out of sheer boredom, Lynch had simply rushed to finish the report for Duke Vane.

Setting his pen down, Lynch pondered for a moment. Still feeling somewhat uneasy, he reopened the report and added a sentence.

"Note: The stance of the Shadow Alliance is extremely dangerous, and high vigilance must be maintained. While their information possesses credibility, it is also highly manipulative. Any decisions based on their provided information should be avoided as much as possible, as it carries a high risk of malicious misdirection."

Only then did he close the report again. In truth, even now, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Every word from this Black Spider seemed true, yet believing him would only cause one to fall into an abyss completely unaware. Looking back, if he hadn't walked the path of immortality and possessed the trump card of a supreme will, remaining just an ordinary Soul Severer, he would have died a long time ago.

Not only would he and Miss Valente be thoroughly dead, but he would have personally awakened the evil god, causing countless innocent deaths. By then, he wouldn't be the only one becoming a sinner in the eyes of all Middle Earth; once his identity was exposed, Lady Red Moon behind him would surely bear a massive stigma that would be nearly impossible to wash clean.

‘To know of your existence, manipulate me from the very start, and even target you directly... Heh, I remember you saying that even evil gods couldn't detect your presence. The answer is obvious then: behind him stands an entity higher than those Great Old Ones. For instance, another deity seeking to embark on the journey home? Or perhaps one of those twelve? His identity must be similar to mine, neighbor.’

【No, you are unique. No one is like you. I will not deceive you.】

‘Just pretending not to hear to avoid answering?’

Lady Luna immediately demonstrated the true definition of pretending not to hear through her silence.

‘Then does he represent some fallen god, except his situation is different from mine?’

【Not a fallen god. Fallen gods would not know of my existence.】

‘A major god?’ Lynch gasped, feeling his throat go dry. ‘So among the twelve major gods, at least one holds a hostile attitude toward you and me, and wouldn't hesitate to let an evil god descend upon the mortal world, causing a world-spanning disaster just for this?’

【No, at least one.】

‘Thanks for the correction. What wonderful news.’ Lynch smiled bitterly. ‘Do you know who it is?’

【Sorry, I truly do not know this.】

‘And everything else was just faked, right?’ Lynch rolled his eyes inwardly, though he didn't mind all that much. In fact, he rather enjoyed this mode of interaction. There were no rigid demands; everything was left to his own judgment and decisions. Though he received less aid at times, gain always came with loss, and freedom had its price. ‘Then answer another question you do know the answer to. I realized that day that the end of the Third Age was indeed destruction and calamity, brought about by plague, war, and famine. Is every age's end really bound to this same routine? And now it's about to start again, so you want me to help you prevent it?’

【No. Doing so is meaningless.】

‘Hiss... so you aren't denying that it's about to start again?’

"Knock, knock, knock."

Before Lady Luna could reply, a knock sounded at the bedroom door, and Mrs. Maggie appeared with a gentle smile.

"You have a visitor, Mr. Lynch."