The Red Moon Returns

Flames raged above the spider webs.

Fat Jeremy and the swarm of spiders had yet to realize the change, still waiting behind the flames for their master, the Weaver, to enjoy the soul that had delivered itself as a meal.

Officer Natalie had just regained a bit of her strength.

Feeling the gaze fade, she knew a turning point had arrived, but Lynch's state worried her deeply, and she struggled to break free from the webs, desperate to get to him and check on his condition.

Lynch had just performed a few inexplicable movements before standing there, frozen and motionless with his hand raised.

However, after no more than two or three seconds, just as she broke free from her restraints and stood up, leaning on her sword, a vision she would never forget unfolded before her eyes.

Above was the deep night sky, and beneath her feet lay a vast, desolate wilderness.

Lynch, dressed in a formal suit and top hat, knelt on one knee in the center of the wilderness, his head bowed.

Behind him, a colossal red moon rose slowly.

Crimson moonlight spilled across his back, casting him in a hazy, mysterious glow, as if he had just stepped out from the moon itself.

As the red moon ascended, boundless majesty enveloped the surroundings. Unlike the eerie, terrifying gaze of the Weaver from moments before, this majesty from within the moon was filled with a sacred, noble, and gentle aura, as if a compassionate gaze were looking down upon the world with tenderness.

The red moon hung high, dimming the stars, and for a moment, it seemed as though the moonlight was the only thing left in the world.

Bang. The vision shattered, and the sight of spider webs and flames once again filled Officer Natalie's vision.

Yet, the majesty remained.

Lynch maintained the kneeling posture from the vision, a massive aura radiating from his body. At this moment, it felt as if the crimson moon had merged with him into one.

"In the name of the Red Moon!"

Pressing the pendant in his hand against his chest, Lynch called out the holy name of the Crimson Lady.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Sacred bell chimes resonated within the cavern.

No, there was no sound in the cavern; the chimes rang out within the heart of every living thing present.

Originating from the soul, holy and lingering, each toll seemed to carry infinite majesty.

Listening to the chimes, every creature—regardless of faith or species—found their deepest, soul-bound instincts forcing them to prostrate themselves, offering their awe to a higher existence.

The next moment, a phantom image of a blood-red moon rose into the air behind Lynch.

The lunar phantom emitted an aura that was both awe-inspiring and gentle, and under the illumination of the crimson light, a massive pressure filled the cavern.

The phantom rose to a high position, and a ball of light diffused with red mist orbited the phantom like a satellite. The diffusing red mist was one of the symbols of the Crimson Moon, and it also symbolized the first authority of the fallen Red Moon that Lynch had decided upon—Concealment.

Officer Natalie remained on one knee, her mouth slightly agape, completely stunned to the point of forgetting to stand up.

She understood that Lynch had used some unknown method to suddenly complete his soul alienation on the battlefield, truly becoming a Soul Severer.

But she could not fathom how a simple soul alienation could cause such a massive commotion.

She had seen seven or eight newly ascended Soul Severers, herself included, and none of them had caused such a stir.

Not only were there precursors forming a vision before the alienation, but the soul manifestation remained present throughout the entire process with such startling intensity. As for that pressure emanating from the soul, some would even believe it was a miracle.

This guy is too exaggerated. It's one thing that his mind is surprising, but he didn't have to scare me with something like this too.

I had a feeling you might be powerful in the future, but I never expected this. His current performance doesn't look like soul alienation at all; it's comparable to a divine authority transfer.

In truth, the officer did not know what a divine authority transfer looked like, but that did not stop her from using the most exaggerated description she could imagine to express her shock. She stared blankly at Lynch, only realizing the situation was not safe when she heard the rustling of crawling sounds around her.

There were still hundreds of giant spiders surrounding them, and Lynch was clearly unable to move.

You came to save me, so now, let me protect you.

Officer Natalie shifted a few steps, guarding in front of Lynch. Facing the restless swarm of spiders, she slowly drew her sword with a cold expression, pointing it from afar at Jeremy in the midst of the spiders.

"Come on. The fight isn't over yet; the second round begins."

However, from an angle she could not see, Lynch looked up at the sky and smiled, and then a beam of crimson moonlight suddenly shone into the cavern.

The officer blinked, unable to understand. They were dozens of meters underground; how could this be possible?

Yet, the red moonlight defied logic, piercing through the thick ground to shine into the cavern, landing directly upon the red moon behind Lynch.

The red moon in the sky and the red moon in his soul were now tightly linked by a single beam of moonlight.

Above and below, they echoed each other.

The heavenly omen had manifested.

Consequently, everyone in Rhine City witnessed the anomaly in the sky.

A dim beam of moonlight grew brighter and brighter, as vivid as fresh blood. It ignored the sturdy buildings and the thick earth, shooting straight into the ground. Then, a vast, formless power erupted from the blood moon that had remained unchanged in the night sky for millions of years. Following the tether of the moonlight, it crossed dozens of meters of earth, falling like a shooting star and slamming heavily into the dark cavern.

The massive power descended silently, as if it were merely ordinary moonlight.

Yet the next moment, a terrifyingly vast power swept across the entire cavern in an instant. All living beings and mysterious creatures in the cave did not even have time to react before they were completely swallowed by the light. The cold, dim moonlight seemed to carry a power that destroyed everything; wherever it passed, everything blurred into nothingness within the radiance.

After a long while, the moonlight that connected the sky and the earth finally dissipated slowly. The heavenly omen retreated, and the world returned to calm.

The underground also returned to darkness. Lynch, who was kneeling on one knee, suddenly shook his head, waking from his trance.

Just now, under the guidance of the Lady of the Red Moon, he had utilized the special state during his alienation to trigger a heavenly omen. It was non-replicable, but the effect...

Lynch turned his head and found the officer staring at him blankly, her mouth open, unable to utter a complete sentence.

"What's wrong?"

The officer's lips moved, but no sound came out; she simply pointed around them.

Lynch hurriedly looked around, and his expression became quite remarkable.

The effect was unexpectedly good.

The ground was littered with the corpses of giant spiders, and there were no living things left in the vicinity.

Most of the corpses had become mangled, their surfaces emitting the red mist that represented mystery, as if they were shrouded in gunpowder smoke.

Lynch gasped, "If I said this had nothing to do with me, would you believe me?"

The officer simply shook her head vigorously.

Lynch's facial muscles twitched, and he let out a deep sigh, "Fine, perhaps it had a little to do with it, but..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a strange sound came from the corner. A fat figure suddenly flipped over a pile of spider corpses and scurried away into the depths of the cavern.

Jeremy.