Cold, disease, death.
These were the three most classic authorities of Mordiggian, the King of Ghouls.
Disease had already appeared, death had followed, and now cold had arrived as well.
This meant the container for the manifestation of the King of Ghouls was prepared. Before long, everything would come to an end.
Was that truly the case?
Thump, thump, thump.
A rush of hurried footsteps interrupted their thoughts. Several soldiers were rushing over, ushering along more than a hundred citizens. Their frantic shouting made it clear to the four without needing a translation: something had gone wrong.
Sure enough, these were soldiers from the Ninth District patrol squad, one of the few remaining districts that had not yet received medicine. The remaining unmedicated districts together had around two hundred people, but now only these were left.
An hour ago, the threshing floor had begun to turn chilly, but only enough to cause a slight shiver, so no one had paid it any mind.
At the time, some residents had stuck their heads out of windows and shouted at them, saying it was too cold inside and that they needed to go outside to gather firewood, or else they would freeze to death.
The soldiers hadn't allowed them out, but they had personally gathered firewood for every household in the district and delivered it to their doors. Thus, up until that point, they could still confirm that everyone was safely inside their homes.
Not long after that, however, the temperature began dropping rapidly, falling faster and deeper with every passing minute.
When the soldiers conducted another routine check on the quarantine status, they found they couldn't get any answers at the doors. No matter how much they shouted, there was not a single sound from inside the houses.
In the end, after kicking the doors open, they discovered that every single person in the entire district had vanished.
This terrified the soldiers. Suppressing their panic, they ran to neighboring districts to call for help, only to find that among the unmedicated populations, two other districts had suffered the exact same fate. Meanwhile, every district that had received the medicine remained completely normal.
Thus, the frontline commander, Knight Terry, made a grim decision: he sent all the remaining citizens over ahead of schedule. There were only several dozen left anyway, and saving even one more was better than nothing.
The soldiers stationed at the fortress were caught unprepared, but they had no choice but to begin accepting this final batch of people. For a time, shouting and chaos erupted all around.
Lynch calculated the timing. It was around the same time he had begun complaining about the chill, which meant that from that moment on, the drop in temperature had begun spreading across the entire city.
“It seems like its power was insufficient at first, so it stayed contracted in a single corner with a very weak influence,” Lynch said, pulling the suit jacket he had just changed into tight around himself as he vigilantly eyed a building nearby that was exuding waves of chill. “But half an hour ago, its strength was replenished. Its range of influence expanded to cover the whole city, and its effects are surging. At this rate, it won't be long before all of Norin turns into another temple of Zur-Baha-Sahr, surrounded by ice sculptures.”
“You won't even see any ice sculptures,” Officer Natalie said, her palm rubbing against the hilt of her sword. Her voice sounded as if forced through grit teeth. “If we're lucky, we might find a few tattered pieces of clothing. If we're unlucky... heh.”
Lynch glanced at her in slight surprise.
“Hmph. The power hiding here wouldn't grow stronger without reason—it must have received replenishment. Care to guess what replenished it?”
Lynch recalled a manga he had read in his past life, his expression turning somewhat grim. “It absorbed those citizens?”
“Mhm. Devouring flesh and blood to make up for its missing power. If I'm not mistaken, the enemy must have used some method to compensate for the lack of the city lord's soul, forcibly completing the container. But it's still far from a truly complete state, so they can only fill in the deficit this way.” The female officer's expression was stiff as she tried her best to suppress her emotions. “I've encountered something similar before. Once they finish filling it, the sacrifice will begin.”
Lynch understood the moment he heard this. Because of her own past weakness, her father had sacrificed his life to protect her, leaving the deepest wound in her heart. Only matters involving her father could provoke such a strong reaction from her. It seemed there had been a sacrifice of flesh and blood back then as well, which was why she was so sensitive to it now.
Lynch didn't offer empty words of comfort; he simply held her shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. The female officer patted the broad hand resting on her shoulder and let out a gentle smile. “I'm fine. I just miss my father a little. When we get back this time, come with me to visit the cemetery. I have so much I want to say to him.”
Girl, you really shouldn't say things like that—every single word is overflowing with danger.
Feeling the slight tremble of her muscles beneath his palm, Lynch had those thoughts in mind, but he could only nod and agree.
“Ahem.”
A certain count's daughter who wished to remain anonymous comfortably waited until now to clear her throat. Lynch hastily pulled back his wandering paw and declared with absolute seriousness, “From the looks of it, everything it absorbed so far belonged to unmedicated people. The portion of citizens who received medicine are safe. But this also means the danger here at the fortress has skyrocketed—all of the enemy's remaining targets are now gathered right here. This is the final battleground.”
“That's just as well. Knight Terry did the right thing,” Officer Natalie said. “At least this way we don't have to search everywhere for him. We just need to wait here for him to come to us.”
Miss Diana sighed, whispering softly, “I'm just afraid what comes to our door will be coastal defense artillery shells.”
“Then we'll just have to catch them,” Lynch said. “War isn't a dinner party. Bloody confrontation is unavoidable.”
“Well said.” Turning around, they saw Dr. Sven rushing out. “I'll face this together with you.”
“Are you sure? Distributing the medicine is more important, isn't it? Besides, that's your...”
“I just finished formulating a batch, and we're waiting to prepare new ingredients, so I happen to have time,” Dr. Sven smiled. “And precisely because he's my father, I must step forward all the more. A family's responsibility should always be faced by oneself—don't forget what I did in history.”
Right, when you go crazy, you even kill yourself.
Lynch could only shake his head with a sigh. As you wish, then.
With over a hundred people crowding over together, the scene turned into utter chaos. The citizens who had originally been waiting in line began stirring as well. For a moment, the fortress soldiers couldn't cope, expending all their strength just to separate the two groups, leaving them with no energy left to manage the crowd.
In the end, not only were all the reserve forces deployed, but Lynch's group didn't stay idle either. They scattered to various areas, leveraging their exceptional physical traits as Soul Severers to work as ten men each. Only then did they help the soldiers subdue the chaos, and the citizens who had previously been queuing were led to another open area by soldiers to wait.
Once order was finally restored, Lynch let out a sigh of relief and directly summoned his soul manifestation.
Ordinary people couldn't see it at all, but to Soul Severers, it was like broadcasting a location tag—and a verified one at that. The ladies who had been scattered by the crowd recognized it immediately and consciously gathered toward Lynch.
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
Yet right at that moment, a sudden scream erupted from the crowd.
Even though everyone had been checked earlier, and every newly arrived citizen had acted normally rather than as a mad, stiff infected person, several of them suddenly lunged at their fellow citizens just as order was restored, sinking their teeth into them.
The crowd exploded in instant panic. Everyone screamed and fled in all directions, desperate to get away from the scene. Outside, there were only thirty-some soldiers, utterly helpless against hundreds of panicked people, on the brink of being swallowed by the human wave.
Dr. Sven gritted her teeth and raised her hand. She knew all too well that chaos could not be allowed to break out now; otherwise, the entire city would fall, and all their previous efforts would be in vain. They had to control the situation—even if it meant... a slaughter, if necessary.
Before she could act, however, a soaring pillar of flame erupted from within the crowd.
The mass of fire seemed alive. The instant it ignited, before the citizens could even react, it began moving. Fast as lightning, it circled around the massive group of citizens. Despite having no fuel, wherever it passed, high walls of flame lingered on the ground. Amidst the terrifying screams of the people, the ring of fire rapidly enclosed the queue of several hundred people into a tight circle, completely sealing off any path for the chaos to spread outward.
Lynch had made his move.
At the same time, the ladies inside the ring were not idle either. Officer Natalie had already unsheathed her sword. Without a hint of hesitation, she executed several special infected who looked normal on the surface but were biting others.
Meanwhile, Miss Diana had pulled out a large megaphone from somewhere, and Judy beside her took charge of shouting through it, commanding everyone to crouch down with their hands over their heads on the spot, warning that anyone remaining standing would be killed where they stood.
With the wall of fire blocking their way, the citizens had no choice but to crouch down with their heads covered one after another. Soon, the only ones left standing in the center of the ring of fire were the ladies and the few soldiers who had led the crowd over.
Lynch then returned to his human form and let out a long breath.
Whew, we're safe. For now.
Unfortunately, before he could finish that breath, disaster struck out of nowhere.
Having just killed the last infected, before Officer Natalie could even sheath her sword, a chorus of hushed gasps erupted from the crouching crowd. Before she could react, a sharp pain shot through her chest. A tentacle as thick as a wrist impaled her straight through from behind, piercing completely through her chest.
Only then did the excruciating pain hit, instantly seizing her consciousness. The female officer groaned in agony, her face contorting, yet her body moved automatically. Before the tentacle could penetrate any deeper, she swung her sword backward, slicing the tentacle clean in two.
Yet before she could pull away, pain struck again.
Once, twice...
More than a dozen sharp pains exploded across her body as tentacles burst forth through her flesh, turning her body into a bloody sieve. But the pain didn't stop; even more tentacles shot forth like spears, continuously impaling her body over and over.
Accompanied by the intense pain, Natalie lost even the strength to breathe, her body hanging limp on the impaling tentacles. Her strength and sanity drained rapidly, leaving her mind a complete blank. She could only use her last remaining strength to turn her neck slightly, casting her final gaze toward Lynch—a gaze filled with nothing but utter confusion and a profound unwillingness to part.
In her dimming, lifeless pupils, Lynch's contorted expression was reflected.
At that moment, Lynch's mind went completely blank. The only thing he could feel was an indescribable, tearing pain in his heart.
“Lynch Levive, you are under arrest for illegal possession of hazardous items.”
“I am from the Watchers in the Wheatfield, a mystery hunter organization directly under the Land Court. I am Officer Natalie Angel...”
“With you by my side, I was very happy along the way. But sadly, I have reached my end, while your road ahead is still long. We are destined to part ways here. Please forgive my selfish request before I go: send me off the way I sent off my other friends.”
In an instant, countless memories flashed through his mind, every bit of the past surfacing one by one—the joyful, the sad, the happy, the angry. Every word spoken, every expression shared over the past few months was firmly stamped in his memory. Every time he recalled them, a bittersweet flavor lingered, making Lynch reluctant to ever forget.
Yet in the next instant, all the memories in his mind faded at once, and the scene before his eyes seized his entire consciousness.
The few soldiers who had discovered the anomaly and led the citizens back were melting together like hot wax at incredible speed, fusing into a massive ball of flesh. Countless tentacles sprouted from within the fleshy mass, thrashing madly in the air, just like the phantom of Mordiggian emerging in Zur-Baha-Sahr.
And Miss Natalie Angel was impaled right on those thrashing tentacles.
Her tall, firm body was pierced through by over ten tentacles, hanging limp like a puppet whose strings had been severed, swaying in the air with the thrashing limbs. Blood gushed violently from the gaps around every wound, pooling on the ground below into a dark crimson puddle.
Her face was pale from blood loss, her slightly trembling lips moving as if trying to say something. Her expression was blank and dull, her entire being like a flickering candle in the wind, her flame of life on the verge of extinguishing at any moment. Only her eyes still clung stubbornly to Lynch's face, as if trying to etch him into her memory forever.
Heart-wrenching, driving him almost entirely out of his mind.
No, she can still be saved. As long as she isn't dead, she can be saved.
Lynch couldn't care about anything else. He charged toward Officer Natalie in midair at maximum speed, thrusting his sword through an infected person along the way who wasn't fully dead yet, condensing a blood-red sphere of light in his hand.
There's still time!
I can definitely make it.
As long as I press this onto her, I can hold onto her life. We have two doctors here, we'll never let you die.
Hold on, Natalie, everything will be alright.
Forgetting almost everything else, he sprinted toward the dying Natalie at unprecedented speed. Within seconds, he covered tens of meters, and the severely wounded Officer Natalie was finally within arm's reach.
Her face was pale, her eyes hollow, but her chest still rose and fell with faint, weak breaths.
I made it!
A surge of intense joy welled in his heart. With bloodshot eyes, Lynch took the final step, thrusting the light sphere toward Officer Natalie's body.
Come back to me, Natalie.
Yet in that very last step, all the tentacles contracted simultaneously. With a sickening pop, mere inches away, Officer Natalie Angel's body was torn to shreds. Blood erupted in a violent spray, splashing all over Lynch's face, turning him into a blood-soaked figure in an instant.
All of Lynch's movements froze completely. Covered in blood, his eyes wide with agonized fury, the only thing he could feel was the warmth of the blood on his face—Natalie's final warmth.
In that moment, his brain completely lost the ability to process anything. Lynch stood dazed on the spot, forgetting everything, watching blankly as the tentacles that had torn Natalie apart shot straight toward him.
Just before he, too, was impaled by the tentacles, a giant ghoul claw grabbed him by the shoulder from behind, hauling him back with wind-like speed and narrowly dodging the tentacles' strike. Dr. Sven had rushed over at full speed to pull him back.
Only after escaping death and stumbling to the ground did Lynch's brain resume functioning. The sound that had been stuck in his throat finally burst forth in a scream.
“No! Natalie!”
“Huh? What's wrong?”
Rate on N.U.
