“Wish us good luck.”
Even after leaving the Archaeological Association, Lynch was still mulling over that meaningful answer.
Unfortunately, my luck has always been terrible.
Lynch could only force a bitter smile. He was certain that an awakened god stood behind them—one of the Twelve Major Gods. The entity seeking to trigger a great catastrophe was very likely this deity. Under such circumstances, luck hardly mattered. With the divine will interfering, even the smallest probability would become a certainty.
Lynch had no interest in ferreting out their underlying motives, nor did he care about their psychological evolution. A god who had once protected the world suddenly turning around and wanting to destroy it was a trope he had seen plenty of times in the works of his previous life. There were far too many possible reasons, and he didn't care about any of them. He only wanted to ensure that his friends and loved ones wouldn't fall victim to their actions. For that single goal alone, he had to stop them.
Besides, the other side had actually treated him as a tool, forcing him to bear part of the responsibility for triggering the catastrophe. Taking hits without striking back was never Lynch's style; he had long since resolved that he would never let them get their way.
“You seem certain that the Shadow Alliance has a god backing them?”
The three of them had digested the information in silence until they boarded Diana's carriage. Only then did Natalie, who hadn't been present during the confrontation with Zur-Baha-Sahr and Black Spider, ask the question bugging her mind.
“Yes, I have a special method, so you can practically treat it as the absolute truth.” Lynch hesitated briefly before shaking his head. “I'm sorry, but due to certain constraints, I can't reveal the details—at least not for now.”
“No one cares about your secrets, and nobody's pressing you on when you'll tell us,” Officer Natalie said with a roll of her eyes. “As long as we know it's accurate.”
Beside her, the young countess nodded vigorously. “Then do you know which Supreme entity it is specifically?”
Neighbor, do you not know, or are you just not allowed to let me know?
【I do not know. Gods are omniscient, except when it comes to the actions of other Supreme entities.】
“I don't know. The will of a Supreme cannot be fathomed, so I'm afraid only they themselves know. There are twelve suspect gods, making it hard to tell right now.”
Officer Natalie pondered for a moment. “Can we rule out the three who awakened first? They were the ones who supported the entire world at the very beginning, buying decades of time for the deities who awakened later. If they harbored malice, the world would have collapsed long ago.”
“We can't,” Diana said. “People's thoughts change, and so do those of gods. Just because they were willing to protect this world back then doesn't mean they will always feel that way. So, under our current circumstances, no one can be ruled out. We need further investigation before drawing any conclusions.”
“I've made up my mind,” Lynch said, clapping his hands together and interrupting the two ladies' discussion. “I plan to accept Princess Sophia's invitation and go meet Prince William. That man has deep ties with the Shadow Alliance, so maybe we can glean something from him. While in Norin, I can also check whether the commission from Friedman's young prince is worth taking. So... I'll be relying on you both for the journey ahead. Let's enjoy the scenery together along the way.”
“Why does that sound a bit off?” Natalie's razor-sharp gaze swept across Lynch's face.
“An illusion, purely an illusion.” Amid a gentle chuckle echoing in his mind, Lynch coughed dryly and quickly shifted the subject. “However, before we head out, I plan to retrieve the Miracle of Light during these few days while we wait for Mrs. Nightingale's results. The plague is the Shadow Alliance's first move, and it must be properly addressed.”
“Is that really necessary?” the young countess asked, a look of concern on her face. “I did some reading recently. The River of Time is deeply mysterious, and the Silver Gate exists only in legends. Although Tawil behind the gate is relatively friendly, the Hounds of Tindalos outside the gate are extremely dangerous—the sworn enemies of all time-ability wielders. Once targeted by them, one will be hunted down relentlessly until death, with no exceptions. Even if you want to prepare a backup plan, I think you should wait until the results of the medicine concoction come out. The promises of cultists and heteromorphs cannot be trusted. Unless absolutely necessary, there's no need to take such a risk. If you can avoid going, you shouldn't go.”
“I thought the same way before, which is why I kept dragging my feet. But what President Olei said earlier made me realize that I probably can't escape this. Sooner or later, I'll have to make this trip.”
“What's the reason?”
“Creating a plague isn't the Shadow Alliance's end goal; the fear and despair it brings are what they truly want. For most plagues, once a cure exists, the fear and despair disappear, causing their objective to fail. But this plague is an exception.”
Lynch sighed. Before his eyes, scenes of panic from zombie crisis movies seemed to replay. Even with a drug like the medicine, the panic would still persist:
“I have to admit, they chose very shrewdly by basing it on the disease of the King of Ghouls. As we saw inside that relic, once an outbreak of this plague occurs, the resulting panic will be beyond anything other plagues could cause. Monsters rampaging through the streets, sprinting around biting people, are infinitely scarier than a street filled with corpses. Furthermore, our healing medicine has a flaw: it likely cannot cure patients who have already manifested symptoms. Once infected, there's only a window of a few hours for treatment, or death is guaranteed. In that situation, if you got bitten... well, putting myself in those shoes, even if I held the cure in my hand, I'd still be terrified—it would just be slightly diminished. What about you two?”
The two ladies fell silent. They had to admit that it was exactly as Lynch said. Even Soul Severers like them couldn't avoid feeling fear, let alone ordinary people.
“I think that might be why they haven't caused us trouble for a while and have simply let us prepare the medicine,” Lynch said with a self-deprecating smile. “I was focused on staying a step ahead by researching the cure, but looking back now, we weren't ahead at all. They just didn't care if we did it, because it wouldn't interfere with their ultimate goal.”
“Are you sure the Miracle of Light will work?” Diana asked in return. “What if that turns out to be a wasted effort too? Is it really worth taking such a massive risk for an uncertain outcome?”
“Mayor Howard's last words before he was silenced were about the Miracle of Light. He said it might be the only flaw in their plan, which is why the Shadow Alliance wanted to get their hands on it too. That's first-hand information from inside the Shadow Alliance, so the chances of it being a trap are low.”
Lynch sighed softly, speaking in a measured tone:
“I had ignored his last words before, placing all my hopes on the medicine. Thinking back now, he used his life to tell me that the Shadow Alliance wasn't worried about the medicine—only the Miracle of Light. Corroborating it like this makes the message seem even more credible. Besides, since he conveyed it at the cost of his life, I'm willing to trust its reliability. As for whether the Yithians and the Milt siblings are trustworthy... heh, I plan to conduct a test.”
Natalie was startled. “What test?”
“I'm waiting,” Lynch smiled. “It reminds me of a story I heard before. An elderly gentleman who didn't like standing up had his servants prepare a banquet one day, but he didn't send invitations to anyone. After the banquet began, he waited at the venue all day, but no one came.”
“Of course,” Officer Natalie said. “How could anyone show up without an invitation?”
“But he actually did send them out. After the banquet was over, he published an announcement in the newspaper stating that on a specific date, time, and location, he had hosted a banquet for time travelers who kept the appointment.”
The two ladies froze for a moment, then looks of realization dawned on their faces.
“You think they should know when you will make your decision, so if they're reliable, they should...”
The carriage abruptly pulled to a halt, and old steward Louis's voice resounded from outside the cabin.
“Sir, is there something you need?”
The three of them exchanged bewildered glances. Even Lynch felt an incredible wave of disbelief wash over him.
Poking his head out of the carriage, he saw an ordinary face.
A Yithian.
Holy crap.
Rate on N.U.
