The Necronomicon.
Penned by Abdul the Madman from the ancient Kingdom of Arang on Middle Earth, it was an extraordinary forty-three-page tome written on human skin with flesh, blood, and souls as ink.
The entire book recorded his insane ravings—ravings that, according to legend, concealed the fundamental truths of the world.
The human mind could not endure even the faintest glimmer of truth. Anyone who dared peek at it would swallow the bitter fruit of their own making, sinking into eternal madness.
This was what Lynch had learned from President Gulman after returning yesterday. The original text of the book was said to have been lost in the mid-Third Age, never seen again. Only an occasional manuscript fragment would surface, sparking fierce fights and chaotic uproar every single time.
When the box was opened, the elder hillman had already voluntarily stepped out of the storeroom, while the three humans held their breath unconsciously.
After a day and a half, the ancient black book finally reappeared before the three of them.
Having not seen it for dozens of hours, the ancient book appeared considerably older. The weight of age was even heavier, and the frayed edges of its pages were far more distinct. The only thing unchanged was the spine-chilling aura emanating from within—twisted, treacherous, insane, terrifying, as if it had stepped out from strange eternity, shimmering with the deadly glow of truth.
Mysterious and dangerous yet brimming with seductive allure, its mere presence was enough to capture the full attention of anyone who laid eyes upon it.
Before knowing its origin, there had been no mental burden whatsoever. But ever since learning that the object was crafted purely from human skin, Lynch felt a chill looking at it. Reaching out to touch it felt utterly unsettling, and after gritting his teeth several times, finally...
Officer Natalie picked it up first, leaving Lynch's hand frozen in midair.
“A lot of cultist paraphernalia is made from human bodies. I've even seen drums made of human skin and bone.”
Ignoring Lynch's side-eye glare, the female officer carefully nudged the cover open.
Although they had opened it in the memory two days prior without incident, there was no guaranteeing that nothing had changed over thousands of years. All three prepared themselves to react at a moment's notice, holding their breath as they awaited the outcome.
Fortunately, nothing happened. The Necronomicon remained just as completely unintelligible as when they had seen it thousands of years ago.
Browsing through it carefully, they could be certain. Yes, this was indeed the unholy artifact they had witnessed in the relic memory.
The task assigned by the Lord of a Billion Radiance was finally complete.
The Necronomicon was unquestionably a rare treasure. Seeing Dr. Sven use it to cast spells suggested it could boost the effects of arcana or reduce energy consumption, meaning that even without reading it, it remained an exceptionally useful tool.
But this item was far too dangerous. If he ever somehow managed to read and comprehend it, it would become an instant suicide weapon. Even if he could never understand it, given its magnetism for mysterious filth, whoever held it was practically guaranteed a death so gruesome they couldn't even be pieced back together.
After discussing it at length, Lynch ultimately decided to hand the object over to the Lord of a Billion Radiance to complete the transaction. That way, the Yithian stun gun would be securely in his hands, favor with the Order of Knowledge behind the Knowledge Library would skyrocket, and he could retrieve the manifestation grade mystery relic, the Torch of Light, with a clear conscience—best of all, once he took it, he wouldn't have to return it.
Trading one item for several—especially when one was a manifestation grade mystery relic—was an absolute steal.
Looking back, however, Lynch still found the entire quest utterly bizarre.
The present Milt siblings informed Tawil at'Umr, the present avatar of Yog-Sothoth; the present Tawil synchronized the information to the present Yog-Sothoth; Yog-Sothoth synchronized it back to another past avatar, Aforgomon; past Aforgomon guided his apostle to Norin and planted a seed within the apostle's will, which lay dormant inside the relic memory until present Lynch entered the memory, activated the seed planted in the past, accepted the quest in the past, obtained clues from past memories, and finally secured the quest item in the present to hand over to present Yog-Sothoth, eventually seeking out future Tawil to collect his reward.
Complex and bizarre, it sounded like utter nonsense, yet under the combined force of the Lord of a Billion Radiance and the mystery relic, it had actually come to pass. Holding the long-awaited Necronomicon in their hands, the three felt a fleeting sense of unreality.
“There's a saying from the Mythological Era: even if a person is guiltless, possessing a treasure is the ultimate crime. Given how valuable this item is, if news leaks out, who knows how many cultists will flock to Rhine City for a gathering? No, we wouldn't even have to wait for them—a bunch of the ones attending today's meeting might tear us to pieces on the spot.”
Lynch finally calmed down, stuffing the Necronomicon back into the stone box.
“We're heading back right now to deliver this straight to the Knowledge Library. If someone tries to steal it, let them drown in blood fighting over it. Once it's out of our hands, any trouble is their problem, not ours. Hss, I suddenly have a bad feeling. Could that fleeting gaze we sensed earlier have been aimed at this? Damn cultists might have somehow gotten wind of the news and set up an ambush in advance.”
“You're exaggerating; you're far too tense,” Miss Diana giggled, shielding her mouth with her folding fan. “This is an object imbued with the light of truth. In nature, it's akin to an evil god. It's completely impossible to divine or track, or else attempting to track it would result in instant death, just like trying to track an evil god. Why else do you think it remained hidden here for thousands of years without anyone discovering it?”
Lynch recalled the red-haired lady he had nearly dragged to her death, gaining a vague understanding of the concept, but still...
“No. According to a certain law, toast always lands butter-side down. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. With something this dangerous, it's better to play it safe.”
The two ladies paused, mulling over this law. The more they pondered it, the more sensible it sounded. Miss Diana thought for a moment before speaking up:
“No need to worry. We can ask Elder Nikolai to escort us back to the city. With a rank seven powerhouse guarding us, no cultist will dare make a move. Even if they bring along high-tier helpers, Elder Nikolai won't fear them.”
Right, we have a high-tier big shot by our side.
Lynch wasn't worried about Elder Nikolai harboring bad intentions; otherwise, he wouldn't have brought the object out in the first place. Comparatively speaking, he was actually the most reliable person available. With his protection, there was nothing left to fear.
Ptui, ptui, ptui.
Giving himself a gentle slap across the face, Lynch and the others quickly sought out the old ghoul. Idle all day long with nothing better to do, he readily agreed the moment he heard the request, looking overjoyed as if reminiscing fondly about the food at the Count's residence.
Reassured, the three stowed the stone box inside Miss Diana's bracelet. Then, at Lynch's insistence, the bracelet was put onto his hand. Although his excuse was wanting to feel the thrill of carrying a treasure, everyone knew the real reason. Miss Diana, in particular, gave him a grateful roll of her eyes and flushed as she handed the bracelet over.
What kind of reaction was that? Lady, you're not giving away a dowry, is that really necessary? And as for the other one—why are you mad again?
Though unable to fathom the mystery behind their reactions, the three ultimately made their triumphant return under Nikolai's escort. By dusk, they emerged from the forest along the mountain path, arriving outside the bustling engineering camp.
Just as they drew near, they spotted a large crowd noisily traversing the engineering camp from afar, heading toward the mountain trail.
Hm? Why were so many people heading into the mountains?
“Oh, I know,” the old ghoul said, having already transformed into human form as he patted his head. “Someone notified us earlier that some member of the Lande royal family was coming to pay a visit of sympathy, expressing gratitude for our contributions to Lande. Probably no one important. Just letting the kids brush them off will do.”
“A member of the royal family?” The three exchanged glances. “Princess Sophia?”
“Seems like it.”
Tsk, Her Highness's political show still wasn't over. She had gone so far as to put on a show right at the ghouls' doorstep—what dedication. It seemed her ambitions were far from small.
Wait, something was wrong.
In a flash of inspiration, Lynch suddenly recalled those dangerous glances from when they were entering the mountain, and connecting them to Sophia's visit...
Oh no!
They were still too far away; it was too late.
Without time to explain, Lynch grabbed Nikolai by the wrist:
“Let's move!”
Rate on N.U.
