Another Partnership

Karl Jones led Lynch through the back door of the front tomb, entering the space behind it.

It was actually still part of the front tomb, though the space was slightly narrower. Dozens of anthropoid stone sarcophagi were lined up against the walls, making the long room look as if it were guarded by a troop of soldiers.

It was clearly a heavily fortified area. As their lanterns swept across, they could see the walls on both sides riddled with arrow slits, within which metallic glints faintly flashed. There were also stones on the ceiling with subtle color differences, stone slabs of varying gap sizes underfoot, and even the sarcophagi themselves looked menacing.

Karl Jones stopped at one end of the corridor, turned to face Lynch, and revealed his identity.

Was this him outing himself? Or was it another layer of disguise?

Howard and Walker had not told Lynch about this, so Lynch did not believe Karl Jones's unfalsifiable claim at all.

He might really be an undercover agent planted within the Watchers, and revealing his identity was because he assumed Lynch was one of Howard's men, attempting to establish a common front.

But it was also possible that he was actually with the Watchers, and this was not a confession but a further deception, trying to make Lynch—whom he saw as Howard's informant—believe in his stance.

So... why tell me this?

Was he preparing to make a move on me? No, that would be too obvious; it shouldn't come to that.

Then was he trying to use me? Or was he actually looking for that person as well?

There were too many possibilities. Lynch was temporarily unable to be sure and did not dare to place his bets lightly. After all, they were different from Judy.

Lynch dared to trust Judy because she was backed by an evil god who felt relatively trustworthy and gave Lynch the vibe of an old friend. Furthermore, as long as they disrupted the Swelling Daughter's plans, the evil god would be satisfied; whether the ritual was completed or not did not matter.

But the remaining few individuals all seemed suspicious, and Lynch's heart was filled with doubt.

Karl Jones, however, did not consider Lynch's misgivings. “I've been wanting to have a serious talk with you these past few days, but I couldn't find a suitable opportunity. Actually, now isn't very suitable either, but with everything that has happened, we can't afford to hesitate anymore. If we don't find that person in time, we really might all die in this tomb.”

“Hmm? Didn't you say you thought it was Dr. Jenna? Why are you talking about finding 'that person' now?”

“I always thought it was her, but after Salin, she became the second target. Although we can't rule out the possibility that she staged it to injure herself, her injuries are far too severe to be self-inflicted. That cleared my suspicion.”

“I see,” Lynch said with a half-smile. “I thought the one you suspected most was Salin.”

“...It seems you saw that.” Karl Jones fell silent for a moment, then sighed. “But in the end, he didn't die by my hand. I intended to pull him up at the last moment, but he was rescued first. Glaaki appeared out of nowhere in the lake, and he just happened to be plotting by the lakeshore. Who wouldn't suspect him? I only wanted to test his identity. His death the next day had nothing to do with me. I reckon it was the work of whoever woke Glaaki—the killer I just mentioned.”

Surprisingly, it was somewhat believable.

Lynch had to admit that although the man's explanation was cold, it did align with the circumstances at the time. If what he said was true, then regardless of whether he was a real Watcher or a real undercover agent, at least his goal was not to kill everyone. That meant he was safe for Lynch, and perhaps they could cooperate temporarily.

But what if he was merely hiding his own murderous intentions? Lynch still couldn't trust him completely; he had to stay on guard.

Lynch hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “So, why are you telling me all this? What do you want me to do?”

“You are the least likely to disrupt the ritual, so I believe we can work together to find the killer who plans to slaughter everyone. Wanting to ruin the ritual is understandable, but wanting to kill everyone is going too far. We must stop them.”

“Fine,” Lynch said calmly. “But first, I want to know why you suspected the doctor. Logically, for Louise's sake, she should want the ritual to succeed.”

“She wants to retire, and she wants to leave a fortune for her daughter—those are facts. But that money doesn't necessarily have to come from completing the ritual. What if someone offered her more? She has kept in contact with the Archaeological Association. If the association promised her enough benefits just to stop the ritual or protect the ancient tomb, she might actually go through with it.”

Lynch's mouth twitched. He had to admit Karl made a valid point. “Then besides the doctor, do you have any other suspects?”

“Actually, everyone is suspicious except for you and me. But the most suspicious, in my opinion, is Rooney.” Meeting Lynch's questioning gaze, Karl explained, “This guy is actually a Shadow Knight from the Judgment Hall of the Church of the Sun, specifically hiding his identity to work undercover. The people of the Church of the Sun are extremely arrogant and detest evil. To combat evil, they will use any means necessary. It's said that not long ago, to destroy a mystery document, they straight up blew up a noble's residence in the city. I can easily believe they would kill all their companions just to disrupt a mysterious ritual now.”

Fuck, so they really were the ones who did it. I'll remember that. But why did he bring this up specifically? Was it intentional or an accident? If it was intentional, could he possibly know my true identity? That should be impossible; he had no way of knowing.

Pondering this in his mind, Lynch pressed further, “Any others? What about the rest?”

“Judy is also quite suspicious. Rooney mentioned in passing that she seems to possess an evil power, rather than being a Soul Severer of a fallen god. But her mental state is really too unstable. It's hard to imagine anyone entrusting such an important task to her.”

Tsk, what a sharp judge of character. You didn't get a single thing right. If I hadn't stopped her, she might have actually made her move already. Still, Lynch nodded. “What about Mr. Adams?”

“His identity is even more mysterious. He's likely a secret agent for some faction, but no one knows which one exactly. I don't think he's very likely, but the final judgment is up to you. Your actions are the least likely to arouse suspicion, so I'm counting on you. Let me know anytime if you need cooperation. Personally, I don't care if the ritual is completed or not; I just want to make it back alive.”

Seeing Lynch nod in agreement, Karl Jones turned back around. Leaving his back completely unguarded, he strolled through the long corridor lined with stone sarcophagi. As he walked, he muttered under his breath, occasionally tapping on the sarcophagi, while Lynch followed closely by his side, his mind filled with complex thoughts.

Ting, ting, ting.

Karl lightly tapped a sarcophagus and tilted his ear to listen, seemingly completely unguarded against Lynch behind him. After tapping a few more sarcophagi, he suddenly stopped. He carefully reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of fine powder, and gently blew it onto the sarcophagus. Under the orange beam of the lantern, the tiny particles danced and tumbled in the air like eerie, mysterious spirits.

“Shh...”

The moment the powder settled, Karl's expression turned solemn. He removed his glove, closed his eyes, and gently stroked the exterior of the stone carving, muttering continuously under his breath.

A moment later, he suddenly opened his eyes with a look of joy. Then, he lightly snapped his fingers. With a faint click, the lid of the stone sarcophagus shifted slightly.

Fuck, is a zombie about to crawl out?

Of course not. Karl directly reached out and opened it, and only then did Lynch realize the situation inside was rather strange.

Inside the stone sarcophagus were numerous gears and connecting rods that extended deep into the wall. Lynch could easily imagine that once the coffin was opened, these mechanisms would rotate, triggering the deadly traps in the corridor and tearing any intruder to shreds.

But at this moment, the mechanisms inside the coffin were merely twitching slightly, unable to rotate. A mass of thin vines had packed the gaps in the machinery, jamming all the parts tightly and rendering them useless.

Even the coffin lid had been pried open by the plants. A cluster of tiny, delicate sprouts had somehow forced open the sealed coffin.

“These coffins are actually the control hubs for the entire tomb's defense system. Most of them contain deadly traps that detonate immediately when opened, blowing the opener to pieces. Only a few can be safely opened to connect to the tomb's defense system. However, if someone forces open a hub coffin, it activates the defense mechanisms in this corridor.”

“What would happen?” Lynch asked, glancing at the surrounding traps with a hint of apprehension.

“Theoretically, tens of thousands of eyes of Glaaki would emerge on the walls, firing indestructible beams of light that slice the intruders into pieces.”

???

That sounded a bit familiar.

“No need to worry. I've already jammed its internal machinery with plants, so the signal can't go through. This defense measure is essentially deactivated. Unless the front tomb itself is invaded, it is absolutely impossible for—”

Ting.

Just as Karl Jones was confidently explaining, a barely audible metallic click echoed from within the wall.

Karl's explanation cut off instantly. The two exchanged a look, both realizing the problem at the same time.

“Oh no, something happened in the front tomb.”

“Someone launched a sneak attack.”

Without wasting time on words, they immediately turned and bolted back toward the entrance they had just come from.

Fortunately, they weren't far from the entrance. Within a few strides, they reached it, and Karl kicked the door hard.

Boom.

The immense force shook the floor and walls, but the stone door, which had opened easily just moments ago, did not budge at all. It was as if it had been locked to the space itself.

Looking back, the long corridor was now filled with countless eyes emerging on all sides—above, below, left, and right. They stared at the space around the two men with eerie gazes, a bizarre aura gradually seeping from them.

“Whoosh!”

A volley of light beams fired in unison.