The Bane of Brats

The information was frustratingly sparse, though Lynch had been mentally prepared for that.

Archbishop Trinlais had warned him that this version was intended for the general public, and could only contain the most rudimentary introductions.

When he expressed a desire to see a more in-depth version, the archbishop patted his shoulder with a rather peculiar expression.

"Text is an excellent carrier for the arcane. Any text involving deities or mysterious content, even if slightly profound, will form a connection with the mystery itself and crystallize into an arcane document. The two arcane documents Vane gave you were formed this way. Arcane documents involving deities possess the highest level of mystery; their danger levels and management protocols are equivalent to fourth grade—what you call destruction grade relics—and some even reach the fifth grade, manifestation grade. Are you certain you want me to display them for you?"

Lynch turned and left immediately; he had not lived long enough to risk that. However, before he departed, the archbishop recommended a few non-dangerous texts.

These were written in a 'layman-friendly' manner, documenting theological knowledge that did not touch upon forbidden standards.

There were twelve resurrected major gods in total:

Sun, the Lord of the Sun.

Nyx, the Lord of the Black Night.

Fiona, the Lord of Suffering and Pain.

Tina, the Lord of Wealth.

Gaia, the Lord of the Earth.

Shilin, the Lord of the Oceans.

Tyr, the Lord of War.

Simon, the Lord of the Sky.

Franda, the Lord of Plants.

Mica, the Lord of Joy.

Phil, the Lord of Fire and Crafts.

Selo, the Lord of Dust and Wind.

Seeing so many names and the countries that worshipped them, Lynch felt his head spin. He forgot them as quickly as he read them, eventually managing to remember only the four major gods officially worshipped by the Kingdom of Lande: Sun, Nyx, Fiona, and Tina. As for the other eight, they had at most a small chapel within Lande, lacking the authorization to establish full churches or have the clergy move in on a large scale.

"Knock, knock, knock."

The sound of knocking interrupted his reading. Checking the time, he saw it was past three in the afternoon. Feeling as though he had been granted an amnesty, Lynch tossed aside the obscure basic theology textbook and hurried to open the door.

Mrs. Maggie, with her blonde hair and blue eyes, stood at the threshold. She had changed out of her wet skirt into a simple dress, wearing a veiled hat and carrying a shopping basket; she appeared to be heading out to buy groceries. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed, and she looked down, whispering, "Mr. Levive, I am going to buy some groceries. If Martha returns from school later, please tell her for me."

"Do you need me to accompany you?"

"No, that is not necessary." Mrs. Maggie lowered her head even further. "Thank you for earlier."

With that, she lifted her skirt to curtsy slightly, turned, and ran off, her rhythmic footsteps disappearing up the stairs in an instant.

This era was truly not bad, and this apartment was not bad either.

Watching Mrs. Maggie’s back disappear with a smile, Lynch returned to the sofa in the living room. His mind was filled with visions of golden hair and wet clothing; it was too chaotic to continue reading the theology book, so he simply picked up another popular science book.

It was an astronomy book introducing the red moon, which inevitably mentioned the Lady of the Red Moon from the First Age. Much of the basic information regarding the fallen gods of the First Age was hidden within such popular science books.

Among the fallen gods, Lady Luna and her younger sister, the Silver Maiden Artemis, were both daughters of Lady Nyx, the Lady of the Night. However, this was a lineage relationship in the mythological sense; mother and daughter were merely terms used in a way humans could understand, which did not necessarily mean the reality was such.

Because the First Age was so distant, most of the myths regarding the fallen gods had not been passed down. Furthermore, divine authority itself was highly sensitive and mysterious; if it were truly written down, it was estimated that neither the author nor the reader would survive. Therefore, the book glossed over Lady Luna's divine authority, stating only that she solely controlled the authority of the red moon and shared eight other types of divine authority with other gods.

No record remained of the specific authorities. In truth, this was what Lynch most wanted to know.

Not only could it help him know what to look for in the future, but it would also provide a clear goal for his long, immortal path.

‘Lady Luna, can you really not tell me directly? There is no need for me to research such specific information myself.’

【I cannot convey information that a mortal cannot comprehend, I am sorry, Lynch.】

‘Hm? So I have to guess for myself?’ Lynch sighed, feeling somewhat unhappy.

But the next moment, he felt a sound echo in his consciousness.

The moment he felt that sound, his brain went blank, and he fell into a state of total stupor. By the time he recovered his consciousness, more than ten minutes had passed. He felt waves of stinging pain in his brain and remained mentally dazed; as for what he had heard, he was completely unable to understand it.

【This is the reason. I have no need to deceive you, Lynch. Our method of communication cannot be described using human understanding like the texts you read. Text can avoid describing the essence of content, but in the way we communicate now, we express the essence directly. Therefore, it is not that I will not answer some questions, but that you cannot understand them, and they would cause you harm. Just like when you asked me what I was when you awakened, I could not answer you either. Otherwise, it would be equivalent to manifesting the essence before you; even with your special will, you could not bear it and would go completely insane.】

It seems there really are limits to humanity.

Lynch shook his dizzy head, knowing that what she said was the truth. But, my lady, you really did not need to demonstrate it directly; my head hurts.

【You are actually very suspicious; you would not believe me otherwise. Thus, many things must be understood by you on your own. However, our authorities are closely related to our characteristics and symbolic meanings; you can use your habits to deduce them. If a serious error occurs, I will remind you.】

Hm?

Lynch reopened the astronomy book, attempting to deduce based on the characteristics of the red moon.

The red moon was famous for its thick, perpetually lingering red mist, so it likely held part of the authority of concealment, and perhaps some authority related to haziness or illusion.

She was a moon, so authority related to the moon or moonlight would certainly be present.

Since she appeared at night, she should also be involved in authority related to sleep or dreams; perhaps it even included death.

Furthermore, since legends claimed the red moon was a portal connecting the Dreamlands to reality, then authority related to channels or portals, as well as the mystery of the Dreamlands itself, should also be related to her.

Leaning against the sofa, turning the pages one by one, Lynch's movements grew slower and slower, and he yawned one after another.

The books written by these authors were truly boring—obscure and difficult to understand. They deserved to have no readers.

This was Lynch's last thought before his consciousness melted into the warm afternoon sunlight.

He slept soundly until he was awakened by a rustling sound. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a mop of blonde hair sitting on the other sofa.

Mrs. Maggie returned so soon?

But looking closer, it was not Mrs. Maggie, but little Martha. The little thing was sitting beside him; the rustling sound he had just heard was her fiddling with his newly purchased lighter.

He had left his odds and ends on the coffee table without putting them away while hanging his laundry. This brat was certainly not shy; she had grabbed the lighter to play with it.

Oh no, my revolver was still lying there too.

Startled, Lynch sat up abruptly, his sleepiness vanishing.

The revolver was still on the table, clearly untouched, but Lynch’s eyes widened, and his heart tightened.

He felt immense regret for his carelessness.

This little brat, who lacked any sense of boundaries, was currently putting a ring onto her finger.

The Passion of the Blazing Lady—once put on, only the wearer could remove it. That meant if she couldn't bear the pain and passed out, her only path was to be burned alive.

"Stop!"

Lynch was livid. Even if this child was unlikable, she was still a life; she did not deserve to die, and certainly not by his own belongings. He shouted while using all his strength to lunge at the brat.

But he knew it was surely too late.

The little brat's movement had already begun. Even though she was startled by Lynch's sudden movement, the inertia kept the action of putting on the ring going. She was about to turn into a human torch and ignite him as well.

Yet Lynch still lunged. The consequences of his own carelessness had to be mitigated at all costs. If he got burned, so be it, as long as he was fast enough.

Hurry!

Bang.

A strange feeling came from his soul, as if something had shattered.

Then, his body's speed surged. His sluggish body moved like lightning, and at the very moment the ring touched her finger, he gripped it tightly.

Whew, I saved her.

But before he could relax, his momentum caused him to crash forward, knocking the brat and the sofa over to the floor.

"Eek!" The girl beneath him finally let out a terrified scream, kicking and scratching at Lynch. "What are you doing? Let me go! Let me go, you brute!"

"Brute?" Lynch's hands trembled with lingering fear. If he had caused the death of a child due to his own carelessness, he would likely feel guilty for many years. He was already breaking out in a cold sweat, and now, being struck and cursed by the brat—while it didn't hurt—sent his anger rushing to his head. He wore a savage grin and snarled, "Fine, I'll show you what a brute really does."

Saying this, he grabbed the struggling Martha, pinned her to the sofa, swung his hand, and smacked it down onto the brat's backside.

Smack.

"I've been enduring you for several days; I've been wanting to beat you for a long time."

Smack.

"I'll teach you to exploit people's kindness. I'll teach you to rob!"

Smack.

"I'll teach you to smash me with a ceramic jar! Do you know how much that hurts? It hurts just as much as you do right now!"

Smack.

"I had ten pounds on me. It wouldn't have mattered if you smashed me, but if you had actually managed to steal the money, see if I don't beat you to death!"

"Wah, wah! Help!" The girl was stunned by the beating, silent for a long moment, before she began to scream and cry at the top of her lungs, twisting her body desperately and kicking her legs back, trying to break free from Lynch's control. "Mommy, help! Wah, wah~~"

Smack.

"Mommy? Yeah... even Luna can't save you, I said so."

Lynch became angrier the more he hit her. However, aside from the first few strikes where he used full force, he regained his rationality and held back, so he wouldn't actually injure the child. But the necessary smacks were unavoidable.

Smack.

"Cry, scream, despair! Even if you scream your throat out, no one will come to save you. Your mother is out!"

Smack.

"You actually dared to set a trap to harm me! If I hadn't reacted quickly, I wouldn't have been able to wash myself clean even if I jumped into the Lande River!"

Smack.

"You did something wrong yourself, and you even wanted to force me to help you hide it from your mother!"

"Wah, you promised yourself! I didn't force you!"

Smack.

"You dare to talk back? You brat, you're just asking for a beating. From now on, every time you do something wrong, I'm going to beat you until you learn!"

"Wah, wah, I'm going to have Mommy kick you out!"

Smack.

"Good! Then I'll beat you for all the future times now. Once and for all, I'll make you remember, and let's see if you dare to do bad things again!"

"Wah, wah, you adults! The police are the same, you disgusting adults! You all say we're wrong, but why don't you tell us what's right? Wah, wah! You just say we're wrong, how are we supposed to know what to do? Wah, wah, wah!"

Lynch's hand paused in the air, and a trace of sympathy rose in his heart. Her father died early, her mother was overprotective, and she could be targeted by cultists at any moment; she had no normal upbringing. It would have been strange if she hadn't gone down a twisted path, especially since she was exceptionally clever.

It wasn't entirely her fault.

Smack.

That made it all the more necessary to educate her and make her remember the lesson.

"Still daring to make excuses? If you didn't know it was wrong, how did you know to ask me to hide it from your mother?"

"Wah, wah, wah, Mommy will be sad!"

Smack.

"You know it better than anyone in your heart. Let me tell you, every thing you don't want your mother to know, every thing you think would make her sad, is wrong. Think about it yourself—how many things have you done in the last two years that would make her sad? Do you know how much she would suffer if she knew?"

"Wah, wah, I don't want Mommy to be sad!"

Smack.

"I'm telling you, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. If you do something wrong, you must admit it. If you keep hiding it like this, when you finally commit an irreparable mistake, your mother will probably be sad enough to jump into the Lande River! I won't stop beating you today until you can't walk anymore, so you'll know not to do this again!"

"Wah, wah, wah, I was wrong! I won't dare to do it again! Boo-hoo-hoo!"

"Do you really remember it?"

"Really! Wah, I won't dare! Don't hit me! Boo-hoo-hoo! I won't ever dare again!"

Smack.

His hand was already raised, so he simply gave her one last smack, and then he heard someone speaking at the door.

"Hey, why are you still hitting her?"

Lynch's hair stood on end. His first thought was whether the kitchen knife or the frying pan would hurt more if used on him. He turned his head and saw Mrs. Maggie, her eyes red, glaring at him.

She didn't rush forward to fight him to the death because she was being held back by Officer Natalie, who had a hand over her mouth. She wasn't struggling violently, but her gaze was fierce, making Lynch feel uneasy.

The person who had just spoken was Officer Natalie. She was currently looking conflicted, while Lynch looked helplessly at his own hand and the girl beneath him who had stopped struggling. He gave an awkward smile: "Uh, it just became a habit."

Saying this, he released the brat and recoiled like he had been electrocuted, dodging to the side. Mrs. Maggie, once released, immediately rushed over with a scream—not to attack Lynch, but to pull her daughter tightly into her arms.

"Are you alright? Are you alright? Boo-hoo-hoo, he hit you too hard! Boo-hoo-hoo!"

"What is going on?" Officer Natalie approached Lynch and asked in a low voice. "I was knocking on the door downstairs for a long time, and no one answered; it seems you were busy at the time. Martha is quite obedient, so why did you beat her?"

"Phew, she secretly put on my ring, and it nearly scared me to death. Once I move to a new place, I must get a safe to lock up dangerous things." Lynch shook his aching hand. Seeing the brat, who had been crying at the top of her lungs, finally catching her breath, he wondered how she would distort the truth. He had to move; otherwise, this woman would likely use a knife. Lynch hurriedly ran to the window and climbed up. "Enough talk, I'm running away before a homicide happens. Remember to help me pack my things, I'll first..."

Before he could jump, the girl's wailing voice rang out again.

"Wah, Mommy! Uncle Lynch, I was wrong! I'm sorry, boo-hoo-hoo! I'm sorry, Mommy, I shouldn't have lied to you..."

Hm?

He pulled his outstretched leg back inside.