Chapter 154 | The Crimson Moon Returns

May 21, 1399, 3:00 AM.

In a magnificent bedroom, a noble lady dressed in a black silk nightgown abruptly threw off her thin silk quilt and walked to the window. Under the crimson moonlight, her exquisite face bore a flicker of uncertain emotion. A black cat darted into her arms. One human and one cat, four green slit pupils intently watched the direction of Bester Mountain to the northeast. The black cat had even arched its back, the hair on its tail puffing up into a ball.

The luxurious theater had long since emptied out. Beneath an eerie mark, the smooth piano music came to an abrupt halt. A figure in yellow robes sat at the piano in the theater hall, facing the quiet night toward the northeast through the window. Eight tentacles protruding from beneath the yellow robe hovered above the keys. A few slender tentacles squirmed under the robe, interweaving nervously. Beneath the hood, a pair of pale yellow eyes exposed themselves, their cold gaze staring at the dark night sky to the northeast.

Inside the Rhine Municipal Museum in Crown District, the aged president of the Archaeological Association raised his head from a thick stack of mystery documents. Dropping his monocle, he picked up his cold coffee. His withered hand trembled, and the cup fell onto the desk, shattering into several pieces. But President Olei didn't care about the soaked mystery documents at all. He strode out to the top-floor terrace, facing northeast in the dark. His cane poked rhythmically at the ground, leaving small pits in the hard bluestone.

High up in the stargazing tower of the Arcane Research Society in Valley District, a loud explosion suddenly erupted in the top-floor laboratory. Before the smoke and flames could spew out the window, a purple-robed occultist wearing a pointed hat rushed out onto the balcony, covered in ash, staring blankly at the starry sky above.

At this very moment, several people around Rhine City were awakened from sleep or busy tasks, staring either at Bester Mountain in the northeast or at the twinkling night sky.

The fog was hazy, the moonlight dim.

Far off at the horizon, beyond common sense perception, mysterious filth extended invisible tentacles, tightly entangling itself with the mortal world. That invisible, inaudible, unknowable strangeness and distortion lurked within the dense fog, slowly yet irreversibly penetrating the mortal world through that invisible entanglement.

“The constellation of the speaker of the dead has occupied the principal star position. This is the will of a Great Old One forcing its way into the mortal world—an omen of disaster,” someone murmured while gazing at the starry sky. “This is an extremely ominous sign. Something terrible is going to happen... Hm? What is that?”

A ray of crimson moonlight tore through the dense fog, illuminating the dark night sky. The hazy crimson moon hung high in the middle of the sky amidst the mist, radiating gentle yet mysterious moonlight that eclipsed all the starlight creeping into the center of the firmament.

“Give up? I don't even know how to spell that word. I don't care who stands behind you, but if you want me to give up, at least have the deity behind you step forth in person. On your own, you're not qualified.”

Deep within Zur-Baha-Sahr, Lynch spoke calmly, looking up at Miss Valente floating above the canyon.

The orb of light had completely entered her body. The noble lady emanated a dim green glow from head to toe. Tentacles on the orb's surface extended from the halo behind her, squirming bizarrely in the air. Her eyes, glowing with green light, dragged trails of light as she looked around, making her look extraordinarily eerie.

Smiling at the noble lady now possessed by the evil god's avatar, Lynch took a deep breath, turned to glare coldly at the empty picture frame, and sneered softly:

“I'm so sorry, Mr. Black Spider, that I had to ruin the trap you spent twenty years laying out. But thank you nonetheless. Without your cooperation, we couldn't have completed our mission so smoothly. So now... as you wish.”

The moment the words left his mouth, a crimson moon rose from Lynch's soul.

The supreme will of the cat god Bastet filled his soul, granting its ethereal image a solid, tangible reality.

Moonlight illuminated the cavern. Crimson and dark green collided within the sunless underground cave.

In the next instant, the shadow of the moon shattered, turning into billions of specks of light that merged into Lynch's body. A beam of moonlight descended from above, reconnecting the red moons in the sky and in his soul once more.

For the first time, Lynch activated Divine Authority.

As if sensing an immense threat, Miss Valente, who had been floating mindlessly without consciousness, suddenly turned toward Lynch. The tentacles behind her straightened abruptly, pointing at him, while her wide mouth, misty with green fog, let out a silent roar.

Meanwhile, Lynch's gaze grew hazy. He felt as though he had returned to that hallucination, transformed into the red moon in the night sky, hanging high in the heavens and looking down upon the entire world.

He could see the stunned expression of Mr. Black Spider in the frame; he could see the top-tier powerhouses watching this place; he could see the soul of the noble lady struggling desperately against the evil god's avatar amidst the celestial omen; he could see the Dreamlands' filth trying hard to infiltrate this world.

Omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent.

‘Is this the power of Divine Authority, neighbor? Is this what you experienced back then?’

【Mm.】

‘A truly wonderful feeling. No wonder people say mortals can never comprehend the experience of a god.’

Lynch involuntarily immersed himself in this rare experience.

It was a miraculous sensation beyond words. He didn't feel like he had become stronger, nor did he feel how much power was inside him. At this moment, being strong or weak, having more or less power, had completely lost its meaning.

Those were mortal concepts, mortal standards, and had nothing to do with him.

I am power, I am rules, I am the world.

“Roar!”

As the crimson moonlight grew brighter and brighter, the dim green light was rapidly compressed. The possessed Miss Valente let out a piercing shriek. The green light behind her exploded, and dozens of tentacles shot out simultaneously, hurtling toward Lynch like a hail of arrows.

Lynch moved with deceptive speed. Placing his index finger in front of his lips in a shushing gesture, he smiled faintly, flicked his wrist, and snapped his fingers before him.

In an instant, the crimson moonlight flared violently, completely swallowing the entire cave.

First came a blood-curdling scream from the empty picture frame. The portrait of Mr. Black Spider inside gripped its right eye tightly, crying out in agonizing torture. Then, the frame suddenly exploded into a ball of fire. Mr. Black Spider's resentful expression lingered in the flames for only a split second before turning completely into ash.

Immediately following was a high-pitched roar.

Squeezed by the blood-red moonlight, the green light was pressed tightly against Miss Valente's skin. Dozens of tentacles wrapped firmly around her body, turning her into something akin to a giant green cocoon.

Lynch frowned. Walking on thin air, he appeared before the cocoon in an instant. Thrusting his hand like a blade, he slammed it down with immense force.

As if the entire world were shaking, the misty tentacles wrapping around Miss Valente disintegrated on the spot, exploding into countless specks of light before vanishing into the cave. Revealed within was Miss Valente, still wrapped in a final layer of green mist. Green light and shadows dragged from her eyes and mouth as she let out a threatening grin at Lynch.

There was no sound, but from the smile on the evil god's avatar, Lynch understood its meaning.

I have merged with this body as one. If you want to destroy me, you'll have to destroy this body along with me. Come on, if you have the heart for it.

Lynch's expression turned grim, but he grit his teeth hard, took another step forward into melee range, and clenched his fist tight.

The pillar of light connecting heaven and earth grew increasingly solid, all its brilliance condensing into his clenched fist before he delivered a heavy blow straight into Miss Valente's abdomen.