The doctor on his back slowed Lynch's dodge by a fraction. He saw the fist, crackling with intense light and explosive power, hurtling toward him. White electric currents danced around the knuckles, and the sharp popping sounds were laced with a deeply unsettling force.
Violent and ferocious.
Lynch's heart tightened. Instinctively, he shielded the doctor with one hand while blocking in front with the other, gritting his teeth and preparing to take the hit head on, when a strange sound suddenly reached his ears.
"Chirp~~~ squeak~~~"
What on earth was that?
In his shock, a wave of heat surged beside him. A lively, bouncing fireball suddenly flew past, growing larger as it traveled, and slammed directly into the fist that had broken through the door.
Judy's Flame Spirit had arrived to save the day.
Realizing the danger, Lynch loosened his grip and dropped Dr. Jenna to the ground, then lunged forward, shielding the dying doctor beneath his body. A moment later, the two forces collided behind him. With a thunderous boom, they collapsed into a single point, which then erupted outward as a shockwave.
A wave of scorching heat rolled past his back, far hotter than the temperature of the Flame Spirit itself. It reminded Lynch of the force that had ignited the documents when they were being framed at the Valente residence days ago. Mixed into the heat were a few familiar cries of surprise.
The cries of Karl Jones and his two companions.
Damn it, they had hit their own people.
Lynch understood immediately. In an environment like this, there was no room for hesitation; finding someone breaking through the door would naturally trigger an immediate, heavy counterattack. It would have been strange if they had held back.
"Rooney, it's us. Those outside, state your identities!"
Sure enough, Karl Jones's voice rang out from behind the door, making Lynch breathe a sigh of relief.
Beneath him, Dr. Jenna's face was already veiled in a dark hue. Black mist continuously spilled from her mouth and nose, and her breathing had become faint, but at least she still held onto a sliver of life.
As long as she was alive, there was still hope.
"It's the three of us. We are coming in now."
Lynch grabbed Judy's hand and scrambled up. While responding, he scooped up the doctor and cautiously followed behind Judy through the stone door.
Behind the stone door was a fairly large space. The three men were at the entrance, weapons in hand, keeping watch. They had initially only been on guard, but upon seeing Lynch carry Dr. Jenna inside, the three immediately hurried over, looking tense.
"What happened? Is the doctor hurt?"
Karl Jones adjusted his lantern, his face turning grim as he rushed over to check on the doctor. Lynch, however, instinctively pulled his hand back, feeling a moment of hesitation.
Because just as Karl Jones rushed over, Lynch suddenly realized a problem.
If Judy hadn't controlled the Flame Spirit to rush in and block that strike, the force of it would have been enough to cause a serious or even fatal injury. Under normal circumstances, such an extreme reaction in a dangerous situation would be understandable, but the preceding events hadn't been normal at all.
The uncontrolled Ocean Currents in a Dream had already activated over a dozen times, meaning the people inside should have been hit by the colorful light more than a dozen times.
Lynch had personally experienced the colorful light, and it was truly terrifying. Even if the range was too far to affect the three people inside, one burst had just gone off at the door; it was impossible for them to be completely unaffected.
Moreover, among those inside, Karl Jones at least knew what the object was, having demonstrated it during their first meeting. This meant he should have known who was coming from outside, yet that lethal punch had been thrown anyway.
Did Karl intentionally withhold the information, wanting to use Rooney's fist to kill? Or was Rooney feigning ignorance, looking for an opportunity to eliminate someone, just like the flash of light from last night?
In an instant, many thoughts raced through Lynch's mind, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and handed over the doctor in his arms.
There was no choice; the doctor was dying, and he couldn't afford to overthink it. Keeping her in his hands meant watching her die, while handing her to Karl might offer a glimmer of hope.
Besides, the two were living together, so there had to be some sentiment there. Furthermore, it was a three-way choice; the odds of Karl being the killer who intended to murder everyone and sabotage the ritual were not high.
Karl took the doctor and glanced at her, his expression growing even more grave. "Did things go wrong on your end too? Was she injured by the Hand of Death? Did your runes fail?"
"No, she didn't feel like she had made a mistake. How did you trigger a trap on your side?"
"Well, Jack is injured, but it wasn't a grab from the Hand of Death." Karl gestured toward the man behind him. "He was ambushed by a servant of Glaaki."
"Heh, heh." The bearded man took a sip from his flask and shook it at Lynch. "I was dazzled by the light and didn't notice the attack in the shadows, but it's only a minor injury."
"Follow me."
Karl Jones turned and walked toward the depths of the tomb. Only then did Lynch have the time to observe their current surroundings.
This was a fairly massive burial chamber, likely the fore-chamber Dr. Jenna had mentioned. By passing through the fore-chamber and following the inner cloister through the atrium, one could enter the main tomb chamber, which was their destination.
In the center of the chamber stood a row of massive stone sarcophagi, inside which lay the warriors of the kingdom who had been buried with the king. These heroic soldiers were loyal to the kingdom until death, continuing to fight for their king even with their broken remains.
Perhaps it was because he had played too many games in his past life, but looking at the neatly arranged sarcophagi, Lynch always had the feeling that the things inside might push the lids off and crawl out at any moment.
However, according to Karl's experience, the martyrs in those grid rooms outside were basically all servants of Glaaki, because they were living sacrifices; once the tomb was sealed, they would be transformed by Glaaki. But once they entered the fore-chamber, the martyrs here were knights who had committed suicide before being buried, so they would not crawl out of their coffins.
Not only that, but the servants of Glaaki outside would, barring any accidents, be unable to follow them into the space beyond the fore-chamber; this was to maintain the dignity of the royal family. In short, the interior of the fore-chamber was safe, and the defense controls were located there. In a moment, he would find a way to handle the defense facilities, and the commotion outside could be temporarily quelled.
Lynch did not believe in the
barring any accidents
part of that statement—not even a single word of it—but since this was the conclusion of an expert like Karl Jones, Lynch didn't say anything. He followed Karl and helped carry Dr. Jenna onto a stone sarcophagus.
The dying Dr. Jenna lay on the sarcophagus, a gaping hole wreathed in black mist in her chest. The edges of the wound seemed to be continuing to expand, and black mist constantly spilled from her facial features, making her normally attractive face look twisted and ferocious.
The others also gathered around, raising their lanterns to help provide light. Karl Jones gripped the doctor's hand tightly, touching the black-mist-wreathed hole with a worried expression. After pondering for a long while, he slowly shook his head.
"The aura of death is too thick, and it has struck her vital points. I'm sorry, Doctor, I cannot save you. But Rooney, you should be able to handle this, right?"
Hmm?
Lynch's heart stirred, and he heard Rooney say from beside him, "I can't be sure either; I can only say I'll try. However, even if she is healed, she will not be able to continue participating in this operation."
"Phew, that's fine." Karl Jones's taut expression relaxed slightly. "Dr. Jenna's safety is now entirely in your hands, Mr. Rooney."
Seeing Rooney nod in agreement, Karl finally returned to his previous smile. "Then you handle that first; I'll go take care of the defensive measures outside."
Jack Adams, who was holding a lantern on the side, frowned. "Karl, acting alone isn't very safe right now."
Karl Jones smiled. "I have no choice; we are short on hands. How about this, beautiful lady, would you accompany me to shut down the defense system?"
So that was it.
Lynch realized the other party's intent. This was a case of having something to discuss with him in secret. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded and followed him through the fore-chamber, exiting through a door on the opposite side.
"There is a traitor among us."
As soon as they stepped outside, Karl Jones said without looking back.
"Someone wants to kill everyone and destroy this ritual. I suspect it is Dr. Jenna. Heh, don't be suspicious—although I have a close relationship with Jenna, our stances are different. Howard should have told you, right? I am the person he inserted to keep watch over the Watchers."
Hmm?
Lynch's breath hitched. He looked at Karl Jones's back in surprise, secretly pondering the man's intentions.
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