The Struggle of the Sacrifice

May 13, 22:30.

Countdown: one hour and thirty minutes.

Having spent three and a half hours of his remaining life, Lynch finally saw the true form of the culprit for the first time.

Before he could even clearly see its appearance, a massive wave of fear surged toward him, far more intense than in the photographs, leaving Lynch feeling as if he were being watched by something malevolent.

At the very moment the fear struck, a vision suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Frigid winds, barren land, primitive earthen huts, and emaciated livestock.

And a dilapidated city.

Those structures that could barely be called houses were piled together from mud, with an extremely primitive design, built in a chaotic cluster to form a certain scale.

In the center of the city was a large open field, where a group of strange, deformed creatures were gathered, chanting in an unintelligible language.

There were over a hundred of them. These creatures had faces that were half human and half lizard, their bodies covered in thick fur, their builds nearing three meters, and they were packed with explosive muscles. Their upper bodies were hunched over, with two massive claws dangling at their sides, nearly dragging on the ground.

A sharp pain pierced his brain, and then the image vanished. Before his eyes remained the same eerie statue, and a gentle voice echoed in his mind.

【Mystery relic, Joy of the Flicker, offer your flesh and souls, and I shall grant you power, my food.】

"Mr. Levive, you had best leave as well. An uncontrolled mystery relic is dangerous."

When Lynch regained his senses, he found that the screaming blue uniforms had already been dragged out by their mentally stable colleagues. Only Officer Natalie remained, crouching beside the statue, speaking without looking back:

"I will suppress it immediately, finishing within an hour and a half if possible. You should just stay outside..."

"I have struggled this far, so of course I must see it through to the end. This is self preservation."

"I am not looking down on you, Lynch. I acknowledge your efforts and your ability, but the danger level inside is unknown; there is no reason for an ordinary person to take such a risk. You are not a Soul Severer and possess no combat strength; you might die even faster if you get caught up in this. Believe me, I am a professional at handling mystery events. Leave it to me."

"But I do not like watching others risk their lives for me while I just wait on the sidelines. In my view, even if I survived that way, it would be a disgrace. It would be one thing if I were truly powerless, but you said yourself what people with sharp spiritual perception mean to your kind. I am useful."

"You..." Officer Natalie gritted her teeth in anger, but finally sighed, "Fine. You have the right to persist, but do not blame me for treating you like a professional."

Lynch smiled, removed his top hat, held it to his chest, and bowed slightly.

"Randall and his group were interrupted mid-ritual, which caused the mystery relic to go out of control, leading to their backlash and self destruction. Now, to terminate the effects of the mystery relic, we must enter the ancient memory it carries to suppress and contain it. The trouble is that we know nothing about this ancient memory and cannot prepare in advance..."

"Joy of the Flicker." Lynch interrupted Officer Natalie's lament directly. "There is also a story: 'Offer your flesh and souls, and I shall grant you power, my food.'"

The answer came too quickly; Officer Natalie was left speechless, her mouth agape for a long time.

"You..." The officer clenched her fists, unsure whether to be pleased or frustrated. "This story sounds like a ritual sacrifice. I think I understand what is happening now."

"Hmm?"

"They are believers of this ancient Flicker, and they are likely using a special method to sacrifice you. You are currently the sacrifice." The officer grabbed Lynch's wrist and pulled him toward the statue. "It is not too late to regret it now. Once we enter the memory of the mystery relic, it will be too late."

Lynch touched the red moon pendant at his chest and smiled casually.

"Alright, then follow my lead. Focus intently on the mystery relic, relax your will, and offer no resistance. We will appear together in a moment. You..."

At first glance, there was only the panic and oppression brought by the filth, but after staring for a few seconds, Lynch felt the statue begin to distort, gradually turning into a vortex. His consciousness felt as if it were falling into the depths of the vortex, and everything around him became increasingly blurred.

The next moment, Lynch woke up with a start. The instant his consciousness returned, he instinctively held his breath.

A pungent scent of blood assaulted his nose, triggering his instinctual sense of danger. He immediately remained silent and motionless.

Surrounding him were piles of cold, stiff foreign objects, which gave him an ominous premonition. He squinted his eyes into a slit and quietly surveyed his surroundings.

Corpses.

Mountains of corpses.

They were all human, both men and women, dressed in animal hides that exuded a primitive, barbaric aura.

The environment was freezing, and the bodies were chilled to the bone, yet they remained somewhat soft, clearly having died only a short time ago.

These bodies were piled up beside the statue he had seen in the vision. There were several other similar piles nearby, and those massive, eerie creatures were lying on the ground in several circles further out, emitting deafening roars.

The distance was actually quite far, at least thirty or forty meters, but the immense pressure radiating from the swarms of monsters was already washing over him, causing Lynch's body to tense up involuntarily, even as his limbs grew limp and weak.

Most importantly, Officer Natalie was gone.

There were only stiff corpses beside him. Lynch did not know why she had not appeared beside him as she had said she would.

Did her experience fail her? Why were they separated?

【You are the sacrifice, Awakened.】

So that was it. That was why I appeared in the position of the sacrifice, even holding hands was useless.

Lynch felt a wave of panic in his heart. No matter how bravely he had spoken before, being thrown into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, surrounded by a horde of monsters, caused him to tremble instinctively.

The corpse beneath Lynch suddenly transmitted a vibration; it was the tremor caused by heavy footsteps.

The next moment, a massive shadow eclipsed the sky, and Lynch's heart sank to the bottom.

A gargantuan monster that appeared to be the leader walked up to Lynch and, looking down, extended a claw toward him.

Lynch was shaking all over; his only thought was to flee.

But monsters were everywhere. Where could he run? How could he deceive the one before him?

No, the direction of the claw was slightly off; the target might not be me.

What should I do? Should I run?

Squinting his eyes to watch the approaching claw, Lynch suddenly gritted his teeth, suppressed the terror in his heart, and squeezed his eyes shut.

I will bet on this. If I die, so be it.

Bet that you cannot see the problem.

Praying silently, Lynch remained motionless. He felt a gust of wind against his skin—the wind generated by the leader's claw as it reached over. His heart pounded like a galloping horse, faster and faster.

He did not know which part of the claw touched his body, making his heart sink completely, but the next moment, it brushed past him and snatched up another corpse beside him, lifting it as lightly as a toy.

With a casual wave of the sharp claw and a sickening sound of tearing muscle, the corpse was ripped into several pieces on the spot. Severed limbs and viscera fell in a shower, and hot, sticky blood splattered all over Lynch's face.

The roaring intensified, filled with excitement. The leader's claw deftly picked up the fallen limbs and walked toward the statue, piling all the remains beside it before raising its arms and howling toward the sky.

"I survived!"

Lynch also felt an urge to howl toward the sky. He felt blood rushing to his head, and his clothes were soaked through with cold sweat.

"I survived!"

He was only a step away from death; only now did he feel a lingering sense of terror.

No, I must find a way to save myself.

Forcing himself to calm down, Lynch took advantage of the monster's absence and crawled as stealthily as he could, trying to maneuver himself to an inconspicuous spot behind the pile of corpses.

It was incredibly difficult, but fortunately, the surrounding monsters were focused on the leader before the statue, and no one paid any mind to the corpse piles. After several intermittent attempts, Lynch finally circled to the side of the pile facing away from the statue.

Phew, at least I won't be the next one chosen. I...

Having just let out a sigh of relief, his heart barely settled, Lynch's expression suddenly changed.

His final movement had been slightly too large, causing the balance of a corpse to be broken, and it began to tilt slowly to one side.

By the time he noticed, it was already too late. Lynch did not even have time to jump up and steady it; he could only watch helplessly as the corpse tilted further and further until it tumbled down the pile.

Thump.

The sound of the falling corpse was minimal; the roaring of the monster horde outside remained unaffected, but the howling from beside the statue stopped abruptly.

It is over.

His heart went cold. Clinging to a shred of hope, Lynch shifted his gaze to the side.

Please, do not notice.

However, in the corner of his eye, he already saw a massive figure leap lightly and appear beside the corpse pile. A sharp claw was raised and plunged down violently.

Unable to maintain his composure any longer, Lynch used all his strength to roll along the pile. He heard the sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh, followed by a spray of blood.

The sharp claw passed mere inches from Lynch's body; his trench coat was slashed open, and the claw plunged into the frozen pile of corpses below, effortlessly tearing several of them apart.

Before he could even catch his breath, the leader's claw was raised once more.

Lynch's eyes were bloodshot, his hair standing on end. He wanted to dodge again, but the previous roll had exhausted all his strength. His body could not keep up with his thoughts, and he could only watch as the leader's claw rose higher and higher, filling his entire field of vision.

"Roar."

Confused roars came from outside, but to Lynch's disappointment, the leader's attention was not drawn away. There was no expression on its lizard face, and its vertical pupils were filled with coldness.

Then, the claw swung down with a violent surge of force.

It is finished. The world of mystery is truly too dangerous for ordinary people.

If only I had combat strength.

Damn it, move, body, move!

Yet he could not make a single move, and could only watch as the sharp claw descended from the sky.

At that very moment, a cold snort echoed from behind the leader.

"What do you think you are doing to someone I am protecting?"

The next moment, Lynch witnessed a scene that would move him for the rest of his life.

Amidst a sharp shout, a human figure appeared abruptly beside Lynch, blocking the path of the claw.

The massive monster was terrifying and grotesque, yet the human standing before it was slender and thin. Two contrasting figures converged before him.

The human wore a trench coat and a top hat, holding a sword. Long hair fell over their shoulders, and their expression was cold and resolute. Even when facing a monster half a head taller, the human stood with a straight back, their expression devoid of a shred of cowardice, as they raised the sheathed sword with one hand.

Clang.

The claw and the sword held steady for a moment in the air before the massive leader stumbled backward.

The human seized the opportunity, stepped forward with a large stride, and kicked the monster in the chest. The leader's several hundred kilogram body was sent flying by a single kick, smashing toward the statue and crashing into the pile of mangled corpses.

Only then did the human turn around leisurely, lift their top hat to Lynch, and bow slightly, their voice upright and clear.

"Mr. Lynch Levive, I have kept you waiting."

Officer Natalie Angel had arrived.