The countless mysteries that had built up in Lynch's mind since his transmigration were finally unraveled, yet his mood remained utterly bleak.
From the very beginning, the Shadow Alliance had meticulously schemed against him—or rather, against the chosen one of the Red Moon. These were tasks that no ordinary human could have accomplished; Lynch was certain that without the backing of the fallen Red Moon, he could never have progressed so smoothly.
They had instructed Randall to choose him as the sacrifice, yet allowed him to find Randall and disrupt the ritual. Their purpose was to brand him with the mark of a sacrifice. Left with no choice if he wished to survive, he was forced to stand against the Ancient Flicker, shattering the Flicker's will and triggering the eruption of the Divine Authority of Transmission.
Though the Shadow Alliance clearly had other subordinates in Rhine City who could have delivered letters to his former landlady right away, they had consistently let Lynch act as he pleased. They never bothered to stop him because there was simply no need—as long as he didn't want to die, he would inevitably dance to their tune in the end.
As for how the Shadow Alliance guided Emperor Rudolph II and Duke Vane to focus on the railway affair, that too was aimed at pulling in the King of Ghouls and the Gate of Falsehood and Reality. To survive, Lynch needed to become a Soul Severer, which meant he would inevitably make contact with the Church of the Black Night. Given the relationship between the Goddess of the Black Night and the Lady of the Red Moon, Archbishop Trinlais was bound to offer him this trial and opportunity. And so long as Lynch wanted to live, he would surely accept the test, step by step walking right into their trap.
They had even placed the empty picture frame in Zur-Baha-Sahr years in advance, indirectly aiding Lynch in finding a way to deal with Mordiggian. That had allowed him to destroy the dormant avatar Mordiggian left in the mortal realm, triggering the eruption of the second Divine Authority: Disease.
The Gate of Falsehood and Reality was even more blatant. They had played matchmaker between William and the Swelling Daughter while dragging Lynch into the plot, ensuring he smoothly shattered the mirror to trigger the third Divine Authority: Replication.
For two full months, he had lived entirely under the Shadow Alliance's calculations. Every decision that had seemed like his own free will was actually made under their careful orchestration—like a marionette oblivious to its strings.
Had everything he had done ultimately brought calamity to this world?
Would a plague resembling a biohazard crisis descend upon the world solely because of his actions over these two months?
Would countless millions of living souls plunge into despair, or even perish, because of him?
Would a catastrophe rivaling the one at the end of the First Age be triggered by his hands?
This realization weighed heavily on Lynch, plunging his mind into a deep, dizzying void.
【Do you regret it, Lynch?】
‘Huh?’ Lynch was stunned for a long while before replying in his consciousness, ‘No.’
【Why? Your journey of awakening has led to such a catastrophe. So many will die—and yet you feel no regret?】
‘Of course not.’ The feeling of confusion gradually receded. ‘My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror; everything I have done was born of justice. I'm not joking. I truly believe that everything I did was right. Since transmigrating, I haven't done a single thing against my conscience. I will not feel guilt or regret for any of my choices.’
【Then do you resent me?】
‘What do you mean?’
【You must understand that I knew they were scheming against you, yet I did not tell you.】
‘You told me long ago that you are merely a traveler enjoying the scenery. This is my journey, not yours. If you told me everything, it would merely mean the strings of the puppet had switched from their hands to yours. What difference would that make? Besides, as I just thought, every single choice was made according to my own will. Whether you told me or not, I would have made the exact same decisions. Isn't that one of the reasons you left all the choices to me? So why would I resent you?’
【Then what are you still brooding over?】
‘Heh, so you do worry about me after all, neighbor. I just feel like being played for a fool makes me look rather stupid—hardly living up to my status as a transmigrator. And these consequences were indeed brought about by me; I don't deny that. That's all the more reason I want to stop them from achieving their goals, because I can't tolerate being used to unleash such a disaster. But it always feels like they're one step ahead of me in everything, and no matter what I do, I can't seem to gain the upper hand. That's what frustrates me. On top of that, Diana has already been bitten. Though she's fine for now, I don't know if transforming into a plague will cause lingering aftereffects. I'm a bit worried about her.’
【Aren't you already turning the tables right now? Why remain frustrated and worried?】
Lynch froze, sudden clarity washing over his mind.
Right, why the hell am I moping around? I'm already fighting back—I just didn't realize it.
What does a plague fear most? A specific cure! As long as there's a cure, no plague is truly terrifying, no matter how severe.
Right now, it's still merely a disease. If we can develop the cure before it transforms into a plague and distribute it across the world, we can minimize the casualties to the absolute lowest. Then there'll be no need to worry about Diana either.
Besides, if we waited until it became a plague before developing a cure, given its zombie-like symptoms, God only knows how many would die before the medicine was ready. But we've already taken the initiative ahead of time! Who's to say the cure won't arrive before the plague even begins? My neighbor is completely right—haven't we already pulled ahead by a step?
It seems we've finally gained the upper hand by half a move this time. Hehehe.
A homebody is the most resilient creature on earth, never easily broken by harsh reality. Reinvigorated by his neighbor's few words, Lynch snapped out of his gloom, only to find the ladies looking at him with concern.
“Are you all right?” Seeing that Lynch had regained his composure, Miss Diana let out a soft sigh of relief. “Please don't blame yourself for this. Those matters...”
“None of you need to comfort me. I...” Lynch began with a heavy expression, but noticing the dim, sorrowful looks in Diana and Natalie's eyes, his tone suddenly turned brisk. “I don't blame myself at all. Even if calamity truly descends, the blame lies squarely on those bastards in the Shadow Alliance, not on me, Lynch Levive. Why should I beat myself up over their crimes? Besides, this match has only just begun, and the outcome remains undecided. The point right now is to win the game, not wallow in guilt.”
“You really are something else...”
Miss Diana glared at him with faux exasperation, but quickly broke into a smile. Natalie was even more direct, delivering a swift kick under the table.
Lynch grimaced, then turned to Mrs. Nightingale to confirm his thoughts. “I have a few questions. First, if it really does transform into a plague, will the medicine we're developing now still be effective?”
“Without a doubt. The plague is formed by stacking replication and diffusion onto this disease. Its foundation remains the disease itself, so medicine tailored to this disease will absolutely work against the plague.”
“Second, right now it should still only be a disease. If our deductions prove true, roughly how long until it transforms into a plague?”
“We can only deduce,” Mrs. Nightingale answered promptly, having clearly organized her thoughts while Lynch had been lost in reflection. “After the incident with the King of Ghouls concluded, the first case appeared eighteen to twenty days later. This serves as our baseline. It typically indicates that eighteen to twenty days after the next status change—the eruption of the Divine Authority of Replication—its effects will begin to manifest.”
“In other words, we still have a dozen or so days. To be safe, let's calculate it as ten days. That brings me to the third question: within ten days, do we have enough time to finish developing the medicine and distribute it worldwide?”
“We started early,” the elderly woman said calmly. “As long as you can cultivate the human-faced fruit in time, and if we spare no effort, the trial medicine should be ready in seven days. As for transportation, if all the churches cooperate, we should be able to make it.”
Lynch exchanged glances with the three ladies.
What more was there to say? The game was officially on.
Rate on N.U.
