The Main Tomb Chamber

The dust had settled, leaving a scene of utter devastation.

Lynch stood before the main tomb chamber, which was now littered with corpses, and let out a deep sigh.

Aside from Jack Adams, who was on the ground elsewhere, the corpses of the other four were all here. Looking at these faces he had spent day and night with over the past few days, Lynch felt an indescribably complex mix of emotions.

A throb came from his backpack; it was a reply from the carbon paper.

Opening his notebook in silence, he saw that, as expected, Karl Jones's information was written on it in Officer Natalie's handwriting.

A veteran Watcher. Due to being deeply eroded by filth, his mind began to warp, and he became extremely paranoid. He was later reassigned to support work.

Closing the notebook, Lynch shook his head with regret. Whether for profit, duty, faith, obsession, or paranoia, these five people had ultimately died here together because of the mad ambition and desire of others.

“I have no intention of judging who among you was right or wrong, nor do I have the right to do so. I can only say that since we crossed paths, leave whatever you left unfinished to me. I will bring the curtain down on this play.”

Mumbling to himself, Lynch closed Dr. Jenna's regret-filled eyes. He tightly gripped the Flaming Red Lips, which had returned to his hand, stood up, and walked over to Judy, who was lying on the ground.

Judy still looked like her usual sleep-deprived self with dark circles under her eyes. Lying motionless on the ground with her strength entirely depleted, she looked even more pathetic. Seeing Lynch walk toward her, she quietly locked eyes with him.

“So... is it my turn?”

Lynch laughed in spite of himself and knelt beside Judy.

This final scene was precisely the plan Lynch had arranged in the crevice. Judy had used a special method to deal with Glaaki's clone. The side effect was that she lost all combat capability and was left at the mercy of others, but Lynch had promised to handle everything that followed.

In fact, Lynch had long suspected something. Anyone who had read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None could not have fallen for it so blindly. Although he hadn't been certain Dr. Jenna was the one behind it at the time, the two of them had still teamed up to set a trap for their opponent.

Lynch had lent Miss Valente's phase defense mystery relic necklace to Judy. Afterward, they pretended to suspect each other, triggering their final clash, during which he stabbed her three times in rapid succession.

In reality, the phase defense had already been activated. Though it looked like three stabs had pierced her chest and even her heart, she hadn't suffered a single injury. The blood on her clothes was entirely Lynch's red potion—a gift from Miss Valente. As for her lying motionless on the ground, it was mainly due to the exhaustion of dealing with Glaaki, in addition to her delivering that final punch to Lynch.

Fearing they wouldn't be able to fool the mastermind, the two had indeed agreed that Lynch would take a punch. However, Lynch highly suspected the girl had done it on purpose. That punch had been incredibly heavy, so much so that she had drained the last of her own physical strength delivering it. But the effect was undeniably good; even someone as cautious as Dr. Jenna did not suspect a thing after that.

As for the grand final gift, it was of course Lynch's newly learned Death Veto. No matter how cautious a person was, it was hard to remain on guard against a corpse they had just personally killed and repeatedly desecrated. Lynch had taken advantage of this final oversight, concealing all sound and light effects, to suddenly slip behind her and unleash a full-power strike.

It was a very pleasant cooperation, though it seemed this girl wasn't foolish at all, and her thoughts were rather complex.

“Heh, you actually considered that possibility, yet you still dared to cooperate with me without reservation?”

“Yes,” Judy said, averting her gaze.

“I wouldn't dare lay a hand on you. You broke my precious ring. Before you compensate me, I need to keep you alive and well, or else I'll take a massive loss this time.”

Judy remained expressionless, but a warm, burning sensation welled up in her soul. Still, she kept a straight face and asked, “Then what about the ritual? I'm still alive.”

“You must be the type of reader who skips pages and only listens to half of what's said,” Lynch rolled his eyes. “The doctor said at the end that the connection is established once five souls are sacrificed, not that only one living person can remain.”

“You're really not going to kill me?” Judy's gaze finally drifted back. Lynch figured his behavior over the past few days had made her highly wary, but now she seemed to finally trust him a bit more. “But if the ritual is already successful, what do we do? Don't forget you promised me and the Lady that you wouldn't let the ritual succeed.”

“What I said was that I wouldn't let the Swelling Daughter get her way, and that I would shatter her expectations.”

Judy said thoughtfully, “I don't quite understand. You went through all this trouble and took such a huge risk, but what exactly is your goal? Is it to stop William from successfully obtaining the mirror? If so, shouldn't you have just destroyed the ritual? Why go through all these complicated steps?”

“I am looking for a way to resolve this once and for all,” Lynch smiled mysteriously. “Besides, I am playing a game with the Swelling Daughter—a game where both of us believe we cannot lose.”

Judy stared blankly at Lynch, only half-understanding. Lynch did not explain further. Grabbing her arm, he slung it over his shoulder to support her. “I know you're worried, and so is that Lady. So, let's go together and witness the end of this game.”

With that, Lynch put his arm around Judy, holding her body close to his. Struggling to hold up the lantern together, the two of them shuffled over to the closed doors of the main tomb chamber.

The bronze doors were tightly shut. Despite thousands of years in such a damp environment, there was surprisingly little rust on them. He gently placed his hand on the door, and before he could even apply pressure, it silently swung inward. A stale, foul stench rushed out, but it was blocked by the medicine already stuffed into their noses.

Hm?

Surprised, the two locked eyes at close range, but Judy quickly looked away. This left Lynch somewhat puzzled. What was wrong with this girl now? Why was she suddenly acting so awkward? How strange.

【...】

Shaking off the thought, he supported Judy as they shuffled into the main tomb chamber.

This was a massive underground palace hall. Starting from the entrance, two rows of stone pillars formed a corridor that stretched all the way to the far end. Between the pillars stood suits of metal armor like loyal sentinels, their luster undiminished after thousands of years, completely undamaged. In any era, this would be a treasure of immense value.

In the side corridors behind the armor and stone pillars lay rows of open chests, filled with dazzling jewels and treasures. Ancient metal coins, exquisite works of art, and large chunks of precious metals filled every single chest to the brim, causing Lynch's breath to quicken.

He didn't even need to take all of it. Just one chest, and the likes of Randall, Grant, and Howard would all be nothing but peasants in comparison.

Unfortunately, he couldn't carry it all, and his spatial mystery relic didn't have enough capacity. He had to attend to business first and figure out a way later.

Come on, my heart just beat a little faster, and my breathing got a bit heavy. Did you really have to look at me and snicker, girl? Is it really that embarrassing?

Clearing his throat, Lynch reached back to close the doors. The two of them walked along the long corridor, climbing dozens of steps amid the dazzling treasures to reach the throne at the end of the palace.

The furnishings remained breathtakingly lavish, each item making Lynch's eyes bulge. Yet, amid the chaotic temptation, Lynch still spotted two very strange items on the table before the throne.

Amid all the glittering treasures, these two items were the most plain.

One was a scroll of an ancient book, and the other was an hourglass.

The moment he saw the hourglass, a torrent of chaotic information flooded Lynch's mind. It was clearly a mystery relic, but there was too much information to process right now. He looked directly at Judy. Seeing her nod to indicate there was no danger, he simply stuffed both items into his backpack.

Cough, cough. Can't leave empty-handed, can't leave empty-handed. Better safe in the bag.

Helping Judy onto the throne, he had her kneel on the seat and lean over the backrest, then made his way behind the throne.

There was a special platform there, on which remained only a nearly rectangular groove, much like a large mirror, though the groove was currently empty.

Well, not entirely empty. A mass of twisting, shifting mist floated within the groove, having drifted there for who knew how many years.

This was the most unusual spot. Lynch took a breath and tentatively placed the Flaming Red Lips into the groove beneath the mist.

The moment the gem touched the platform, the twisting mist suddenly began to churn violently.

A change had occurred.