Crimson Light

Having noticed the flaws in his deductions, Lynch could no longer bring himself to strike with full conviction.

To kill a friend who had gone through life and death with me—I really couldn't bring myself to do it, even if she was about to blow my head off with a gun.

But if I didn't strike first, I would die, and now there wasn't even time to activate divine authority.

Damn it, if I die, I die, but I won't die with a guilty conscience.

At the very last moment, Lynch jerked his wrist upward, sending the serrated sword skimming over Miss Valente's shoulder. The serrated blade grazed the skin of her shoulder, and amidst a spurt of blood, thrust straight toward the space behind her.

Standing right behind her was the fish-headed Deep One with a sinister grin on its face. The serrated sword pointed straight at its chest.

Here's a strike for you.

The serrated sword instantly transformed into a serrated whip. The tip of the whip shot out like lightning. Before the Deep One's cruel smile could even turn into shock, the tip pierced its chest, spurting foul, stench-ridden blood.

At the same time, Lynch felt the folding fan pressed against his forehead. The cold metal touch made him squeeze his eyes shut tight.

“Boom.”

Gunfire erupted once more, the pungent stench of gunpowder rushing straight into his nostrils.

Lynch's heart clenched tight. Before he could even realize he felt no pain, he felt a soft back collide into his chest from recoil.

Opening his eyes, he saw that Miss Valente—the presumed duplicate—had suddenly spun around at the final moment and fired a shot straight into the Deep One behind her as well.

She, too, had her eyes squeezed shut, only now opening them a crack.

A sword strike and a gunshot, both landing square on target at point-blank range.

At that very instant, the entire world seemed to freeze, before shattering like a cracked mirror with a deafening crash.

Lynch realized that everything before his eyes had changed.

Miss Valente, whose shoulder was bleeding, was still leaning against his chest. However, she was no longer wearing yesterday's goose-yellow dress, but today's lake-blue gown.

Was this real? The sudden turn of events filled Lynch with a wave of lingering dread.

Opposite them, the leader of the Deep Ones, having taken both hits, clutched its bleeding wound, staggering back with a deafening roar. Meanwhile, subtle shifts rippled through their surroundings.

Their current position was actually not far from the reef. The other eight Deep Ones had not closed in either, merely surrounding them from a distance. Most importantly, the four journalists—Maya included—had never climbed onto the reef at all, nor had the other three killed themselves. All four lay flat on the ground with their eyes tightly shut, completely motionless.

【Congratulations on breaking free from the dream and returning to reality, Lynch.】

The familiar female voice made cold sweat break out across Lynch's back. Looking at the suddenly altered surroundings, he finally realized that if not for his momentary change of heart, he would have stabbed the real Miss Valente to death with his own hands.

Damn it, I almost made a terrible mistake.

What had happened just now?

Why had she suddenly appeared here?

What on earth was going on?

However, there was no time to ponder these questions. Resolving the immediate threat was what mattered now. Judging from the Deep Ones' reactions, their leader was the one pulling the strings right in front of them.

What kind of trash dares to walk all over me with such vicious means? Do they think I'm weak and easily bullied?

“Parchment, full power!”

Lynch yanked Miss Valente behind him, throwing out several prepared bottles of flame oil in rapid succession.

In an instant, a series of explosions rocked the entire beach. Sand and stones flew everywhere as towering flames surged into the night sky, illuminating the pitch-black darkness.

“Ah, ah...”

Terrified shrieks echoed from the darkness beyond the fire. As creatures of the water, these Deep Ones treated fire like a natural predator. Even their leader was scurrying in panic outside the blaze, unable to advance or retreat.

It worked!

Without a moment's hesitation, Lynch hurled the remaining bottles of flame oil. He then sank a portion of his consciousness into his soul, reawakening the supreme will coiled within.

“Move back.”

Sensing surging power welling up behind him, Lynch instinctively side-stepped. In the sky above, seven stars lit up one after another, aligning into a cross. Then, a column of stellar power connecting heaven and earth plummeted from above, bathing the parchment floating in front of Miss Valente.

Stellar power from the Great Cross constellation descended upon the mortal world.

【Authority, Stars, Ability, Starlight Burst】

Miss Valente spread her arms wide, her long hair fluttering without wind. Under the dazzling starlight, she chanted her incantation aloud. The next moment, a cone of starlight erupted from the parchment, sweeping across the area before them.

A rank six ability, possessing terrifying power.

The violent impact not only extinguished the flames on the beach, but its rampant force washed over the sand again and again. The nine Deep Ones huddled together with their leader stepping up in front, hands outstretched, wrapping them all inside a giant water bubble.

【Authority, Deep Sea, Ability, Abyssal Bubble】

Pop.

As the starlight dissipated, the bubble burst along with it. The group of ordinary Deep Ones stumbled back and fell awkwardly to the ground. However, the leader of the Deep Ones merely shook its hands, completely unscathed.

A rank six authority ability was indeed formidable, but against a higher-tier ability, it could only return empty-handed. Shaking its hands with a persistent, sinister grin, the Deep One leader glared viciously through the lingering starlight at Lynch and Miss Valente.

However, it met a pair of eyes burning with rage—Lynch's eyes.

Resentment over being targeted for no reason, mixed with the lingering terror of almost killing Miss Valente, caused Lynch's rage to boil over.

If a rank six authority didn't work, then I'll show you the divine authority of the Red Moon.

Using such vicious tactics—did they really think my goddess and I were afraid of a bunch of thieves usurping divine authority?

Then taste the wrath of the Supreme, believers of false gods! Only then will you ants learn to remain humble before the Supreme!

And so, a red moon rose slowly behind him.

Lynch clenched his right hand into a fist and pulled his right arm back slowly. The phantom of the red moon behind him overlapped perfectly with his fist, as if he were holding the moonlight in his hand—or as if the red moon itself had become his fist.

Moonlight poured like liquid water, like a gentle gaze from the Mythological Era, traversing time and space, dreams and reality, converging onto Lynch's fist.

At this moment, the stars faded, the silver moon dimmed, and under the pitch-black vault of heaven, only the crimson full moon hung high in the center of the sky, radiating incomparable brilliance.

In the next instant, Lynch moved.

Under the crimson moonlight, space seemed to lose all meaning before him. With a single step, his body bypassed the distance entirely, appearing directly before the leader of the Deep Ones.

“Hey. Send greetings from the Red Moon to your bedridden master.”

With a gentle and elegant smile, his fist, concentrated with moonlight, descended from above and struck heavily toward the ground.

Silent and soundless.

Crimson light erupted from the point of impact, suddenly sweeping over the entire beach. It seemed as though half of Rhine City could see that blood-red moonlight.

In that dazzling flash, the nine Deep Ones had only enough time to raise their hands before their faces before being completely consumed by the moonlight.

June 11, 1399.

The crimson light of the fallen god, Lady Red Moon, illuminated the night sky once more.