A Secret Conversation

The doctor on his back slowed Lynch's dodge by a fraction of a second. He watched as a fist carrying blinding light and explosive power whistled toward him, surrounded by crackling bursts of white electricity that carried an unsettling power.

It was violent and fierce.

Lynch's heart clenched. He instinctively shielded the doctor behind him with one hand and blocked with the other. Just as he grit his teeth, preparing to take the blow head-on, a bizarre sound suddenly echoed in his ears.

“Squee~~~ee~~~”

What on earth?

In his bewilderment, a wave of heat surged beside him. A lively, bouncing fireball suddenly flew past with a whoosh, growing larger as it flew, and collided head-on with the fist that had burst through the door.

Judy's Flame Spirit had come to save the day.

Realizing what was happening, Lynch let go, dropping Dr. Jenna to the ground, and threw himself over her to shield the dying doctor beneath his body. Behind him, the two forces collided with a deafening boom, collapsing inward into a single point before erupting outward in a violent shockwave.

A scorching heat wave washed over his back, even hotter than the Flame Spirit's own temperature. It reminded Lynch of the power that had ignited the documents when he was set up at the Valente residence a few days ago. Caught in the heat wave were several familiar cries of alarm.

The cries of Karl Jones and the other two.

Dammit, they had run into their own people.

Lynch understood immediately. In an environment like this, there was no room for holding back. If they detected someone breaking through the door, they would definitely strike back with everything they had at the first opportunity. It would be abnormal to hold back.

“Rooney, they're friendly! State your identity outside!”

Sure enough, Karl Jones's voice echoed from behind the door, allowing Lynch to breathe a sigh of relief.

Beneath him, Dr. Jenna's face was already shrouded in a dark hue. Black mist continuously seeped from her mouth and nose, and her breathing had grown faint, but she was at least still breathing.

As long as she was alive, there was still hope.

“It's the three of us. We're coming in now.”

Lynch grabbed Judy's hand to pull himself up. Responding as he did, he picked up the doctor and carefully followed behind Judy through the stone door.

Behind the stone door was a considerably large space. The three men stood near the entrance, holding their weapons and watching. They had initially been on guard, but when they saw Lynch carrying Dr. Jenna in, they immediately rushed forward in a panic.

“What happened? Is the doctor hurt?”

Karl Jones adjusted his lantern and rushed over with a grim expression, wanting to check on the doctor. However, Lynch instinctively pulled back slightly, feeling a trace of hesitation in his heart.

Because just as Karl Jones rushed over, Lynch suddenly realized something.

If Judy hadn't controlled the Flame Spirit to rush forward and block it, that blow just now would have been enough to cause severe, if not fatal, injuries. Normally, such an overreaction in a dangerous place was understandable, but what happened just now was not normal at all.

The out-of-control Ocean Currents in a Dream had already activated more than a dozen times, which meant the people inside should have been blasted in the face by the colorful light over a dozen times.

Lynch had experienced being blasted by the colorful light firsthand. That thing was truly startling. Even if they were too far away for the light to reach them initially, it had just gone off right at the doorway. It was impossible for the people inside to be unaffected.

Furthermore, among the people inside, at least Karl Jones knew what that thing was; he had shown as much when they first met. Therefore, he should have known exactly who was coming from outside, yet that lethal punch had still been thrown.

Did Karl deliberately stay silent, wanting to use Rooney's fist to kill? Or was Rooney pretending to be ignorant, trying to take the opportunity to eliminate another person, just like the flash of light last night?

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Lynch's mind, but in the end, he grit his teeth and handed over the doctor in his arms.

He had no choice. The doctor was on the verge of death, and he couldn't afford to overthink. Keeping her in his own hands was equivalent to watching her die. Handing her to Karl might offer a sliver of hope.

Besides, the two of them lived together, so there must be some feelings between them. Moreover, it was currently a one-in-three choice, and the probability of Karl being the killer who planned to destroy the ritual by murdering everyone was not high.

Karl took the doctor, and with a single glance, his expression grew even more solemn. “Did something go wrong on your end too? Was she injured by the Hand of Death? Did your runes fail?”

“No, she didn't think she made a mistake. Why did your side trigger a trap as well?”

“Yeah, Jack was injured, but he wasn't caught by the Hand of Death.” Karl jerked his head back. “He was ambushed by a servant of Glaaki.”

“Heh.” The bearded man took a sip from his flask and waved it at Lynch. “I was distracted by the light and didn't notice the attack from the shadows. It's just a minor injury, though.”

“Come with me first.”

Karl Jones turned and walked deeper inside. Only then did Lynch have the time to observe their current surroundings.

This was a fairly massive tomb chamber, which should be the front tomb Dr. Jenna had mentioned. By passing through the front tomb and following the inner corridor through the main tomb chamber, they could enter the primary burial chamber, which was their destination for this trip.

In the center of the tomb chamber stood a row of giant stone sarcophagi, containing the remains of kingdom warriors who had been buried alive with the king. These brave soldiers were expected to remain loyal to the kingdom even in death, continuing to fight for their king with their physical remains.

Perhaps because he had played too many video games in his past life, looking at the neatly aligned sarcophagi gave Lynch the distinct feeling that the things inside could push open their lids and crawl out at any moment.

According to Karl's experience, however, the sacrificial victims in the grid-like rooms outside were basically all servants of Glaaki. Because they had been buried alive, they were transformed by Glaaki once the tomb was sealed. But once inside the front tomb, the sacrificial victims here were all knights who had committed suicide before being buried, so they would not rise from their coffins.

Furthermore, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the servants of Glaaki outside would not enter the space beyond the front tomb, a rule meant to preserve the dignity of the royal family. In short, the front tomb was safe, and the defense controls were located here. Once he found a way to handle the defense facilities, the commotion outside could be temporarily calmed.

Lynch did not believe a single word of the phrase “barring any unforeseen circumstances.” But since this was the conclusion of an expert like Karl Jones, Lynch kept quiet. He followed Karl and laid Dr. Jenna onto a stone sarcophagus.

The dying Dr. Jenna lay upon the stone sarcophagus. A large, black-mist-shrouded hole gaped in her chest, the opening seemingly expanding. Black mist continuously seeped from her facial features, twisting her otherwise pleasant face into a hideous and fierce mask.

The others gathered around, holding up their lanterns to provide light. Karl Jones tightly gripped the doctor's hand, touching the edge of the black-mist-shrouded hole with a look of worry. After contemplating for a long while, he slowly shook his head.

“The energy of death is too dense, and her vital organs are damaged. I'm sorry, Doctor, but I can't save you. However, Rooney, you should be able to handle this, right?”

Hmm?

Lynch's heart stirred. He heard Rooney say from beside him, “I can't say for sure, but I can try. However, even if she is healed, she won't be able to continue participating in this operation.”

“Phew, that's fine.” Karl Jones's tense expression softened slightly. “I'll leave Jenna's safety entirely in your hands, Mr. Rooney.”

Seeing Rooney nod in agreement, Karl finally regained his previous smile. “You handle that first, then. I'll go disable the defense mechanisms outside.”

Beside them, Jack Adams, who was holding the lantern, frowned. “Karl, acting alone right now isn't very safe.”

Karl Jones smiled. “I have no choice; we're short-handed. How about this, beautiful lady, why don't you accompany me to shut down the defense system?”

So that was it.

Lynch realized the other's intention. This was an invitation for a private talk. After a brief hesitation, he nodded and walked with him through the front tomb, exiting through a door on the opposite side.

“There is a traitor among us.”

The moment they stepped out, Karl Jones spoke without turning his head.

“Someone wants to kill everyone and destroy this ritual, and I suspect it is Dr. Jenna. Heh, no need to doubt it. Although Jenna and I are close, our stances are still different. Howard should have told you, right? I'm the one he planted in the Watchers.”

Hmm?

Lynch's breath caught. He stared at Karl Jones's back in surprise, silently trying to guess the other man's intentions.