*Chapter 94: Counterattack!

With a slight sense of weightlessness, Gawain returned to the room at the end of the third-floor corridor of the Pinecone Hotel.

Almost instantly, Gawain entered a state of absolute vigilance.

He hadn’t forgotten what Morey had said—every time a "Secret Realm" opened, it would bring disaster.

Gawain held a revolver in one hand and the [Shadow Serpent Blade] in the other. The invisible "Raven Spirit" had already flown out, scouting the surroundings.

But...

Nothing happened!

A full minute passed, and everything around was eerily quiet.

Gawain frowned. Morey wouldn’t lie about something like this.

That left only one possibility—

"The 'Secret Realm' inside the 'Mad King's Ring' is different!"

"Or, to be precise..."

"It’s been specially treated to eliminate the disaster!"

Gawain raised his hand and gently stroked the "Mad King's Ring" on his left index finger, warning himself more sternly than ever not to reveal anything about the ring to anyone else.

A "Mad King's Ring" with seven "Secret Realms" was enough to make anyone envious.

Adding to that the lack of drawbacks when not in use...

Everyone would go mad over it!

The anticipated danger dissipating into nothing didn’t make Gawain lower his guard. After glancing at the huge "Gate of Flesh" outside the window, he looked at the clock in the hotel room.

"Fifty minutes have passed?!"

Gawain was startled.

In the "Secret Realm," he already knew that the time flow in the "Secret Realm" and the "Anchor Point World" was different, but he didn’t expect that after so many days in the "Secret Realm," only fifty minutes had passed in the "Anchor Point World."

Instinctively, Gawain glanced at the "Secret Realms" inside the "Mad King's Ring."

White, gray, black, and red, still unresponsive.

Among the three dim stars, the central one had entered a cooldown period, with a clear countdown displayed: [20 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes].

"A 21-day cooldown?"

"Do all 'Secret Realms' have this cooldown?"

"Or is it only the 'Mad King's Ring' that’s special?"

Gawain couldn’t be sure, given his limited knowledge of "Secret Realms."

But one thing he could confirm was that the other two dim stars representing "Secret Realms" were still accessible.

They still required the consumption of [500 gold coins].

This made Gawain breathe a long sigh of relief.

If these two "Secret Realms" had also entered cooldown, it would have been disastrous for him.

But now?

Gawain immediately began searching the room.

He needed to make a pendulum on the spot.

This would interfere with the "Church of Flesh’s" tracking.

Gawain quickly found a suitable length of "rope."

This rope was a decorative cord from the curtains by the hotel bed. Gawain grabbed it and threaded a coin with the "Mad King's" portrait onto it—using the [Shadow Serpent Blade] to punch a hole in the coin was effortless. Gawain carefully avoided the portrait of the "Mad King," ensuring it remained intact while making the hole above.

After completing it, Gawain tested the feel of the pendulum. Satisfied, he waited quietly.

Although crystals are more suitable for divination tools, their unpredictability was something Gawain couldn’t accept.

You can’t expect good luck to always be on your side.

Just as misfortune won’t always follow someone.

Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Outside the window, the flesh on the "Gate of Flesh" began to wriggle.

In the dazzling scarlet light, the indistinct figure appeared again.

Gawain immediately straightened his arm, with the pendulum hanging on his middle finger, the coin naturally dangling and beginning to tremble slightly, emitting a faint humming sound.

[Rattlesnake]!

A secret technique from the [Shadow Serpent’s Tail-Biting Art], used to interfere with others’ divination results about oneself. Although the success rate was uncertain, it was the only secret technique Gawain could find to face the current situation.

"Everyone, you must have been waiting for a long time?"

"My extraordinarily gifted brother will soon tell you the location of Gawain Wayne, the murderer."

The indistinct figure spoke slowly.

His tone was calm, confident.

Then, a map of Rust appeared in the light.

A finger began moving across the map of Rust.

Pinecone District!

The finger paused here, and Gawain’s heart tightened.

But then, the finger continued to move.

Uptown Boulevard.

Then, Downtown Boulevard.

Next, it moved to Old Tower District.

However, it quickly returned to Pinecone District.

But the finger didn’t stop there, sliding rapidly over the next few seconds.

Finally, it stopped at Feffrey District.

"Excellent!"

"We have roughly located Gawain Wayne."

"Next..."

"It’s up to you all!"

After speaking, the figure faded along with the light.

And the entire Rust erupted.

Standing in the third-floor room of the Pinecone Hotel, Gawain clearly saw a young couple burst out of a distant room. The husband held a hunting rifle, and the wife wielded a kitchen knife. They didn’t hesitate, heading straight for Feffrey District, their faces twisted, eyes bloodshot.

This was just one example.

In less than five minutes under Gawain’s gaze, at least a hundred people surged onto the streets.

They were old and young.

They were men and women.

Each was filled with murderous intent.

Standing in the shadows, Gawain watched calmly as the many people, their minds crushed by fear, rushed towards Feffrey District.

This scene was something he had expected.

He wasn’t surprised.

It was just human nature.

When Goethe confirmed that most people had flocked to the Feffrey District, he began to organize his weapons and gear.

He wasn’t one to settle for passive defense.

He preferred to take the initiative.

Since the ‘Church of Flesh’ wanted to hunt him down, he’d let them understand what it means to be professional!

Moreover, after he entered the ‘Secret Realm,’ those ‘Flesh Worshipers’ and ‘Children of Flesh’ who were drawn by the earlier sounds of battle clearly entered this room.

Naturally, they had looted the gold coins and jewels he had just acquired.

Those were his spoils of war!

That was his lifeline!

It was absolutely unacceptable for anyone to steal from him!

Whoever dared to cross his line, he’d cut off their claws.

Even the ‘Church of Flesh’ was no exception.

However, before proceeding, Goethe picked up the pendulum once again.

“Will there be mortal danger?”

The pendulum rotated counterclockwise, like a tail-biting snake, giving a negative answer.

In the next moment, Goethe gripped the [Shadow Snake’s Blade], pressed himself against the shadows along the wall, and disappeared from the Pine Hotel.

...

As a bright crimson light flickered, Morey’s face turned ashen.

The official head of the supernatural affairs in Lust immediately turned to leave the secret chamber at No. 45 Under the Linden, but was stopped by Scylla raising her hand.

“Stop.”

The woman with multiple identities said coldly.

“Move aside!”

Morey growled.

As the official head of supernatural affairs in Lust, Morey couldn’t bear to hide while sending his subordinates to their deaths.

“What do you think you can accomplish by going?”

“Dying with Goethe?”

“Or... dragging Goethe down with you?”

Scylla questioned Morey, her face twisted in a cold smile.

Instantly, the official head of supernatural affairs in Lust was stunned.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t keep overloading those artifacts and potions—that will only turn your brain into pig slop, blinding you to what you should see.”

“Just a moment ago, at No. 22 Sausage Street, Goethe personally took down that bastard ‘Killer in the Mist’!”

“Even though that bastard was careless, the end result didn’t change!”

“And before you witnessed this outcome yourself, what did you think when you heard Goethe was up against the ‘Killer in the Mist’?”

“Despair!”

“You thought Goethe was doomed, didn’t you?”

“But in the end, Goethe survived, and that bastard died!”

Scylla stood before Morey with her arms crossed, speaking in an extremely calm tone.

Moreover, she spoke rapidly.

Not giving Morey a chance to retort, Scylla continued.

“Goethe is the calmest and most unpredictable person I’ve ever met, the best at finding a way out in a desperate situation—if it had been anyone else targeted by that bastard, they’d have died countless times already. How could they possibly reverse the outcome?”

“So, at this point, you’d better stay out of it!”

“Because your presence might be the very reason Goethe, who’s poised to escape smoothly, ends up dead!”

Morey was dumbfounded.

The official head of supernatural affairs in Lust did not argue.

Because what Scylla said was true.

Recalling everything since he met Goethe, Morey realized—

Each time, Goethe had survived against all odds.

That kind of calm wasn’t something a young man should have.

Wasn’t that exactly why he recruited Goethe into the ‘Secret Keepers’?

Seeing Morey’s expression change, Scylla secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘Sure enough, his brain is messed up from the overload!’

‘So easily convinced!’

‘And he hasn’t even realized that Goethe is the guardian of the “Mad King’s Legacy”!’

‘No, it’s not that.’

‘It’s that Goethe is too good at hiding it. Apart from the clever me, no one else has noticed!’

Thinking this, Scylla couldn’t help but feel proud.

The woman with multiple identities wasn’t worried about Goethe’s safety at all. After all, anyone capable of guarding the ‘Mad King’s Legacy’ must have been selected with extreme care.

Not only must they be smart and calm, but they must also be powerful.

How could someone like that die so easily?

It’s possible...

The current situation might even be something Goethe intentionally created!

With this thought, Scylla felt even more at ease.

However, she continued to speak.

“Rather than dragging Goethe down, you should think about how to get the ‘Secret Keepers’ here faster.”

“The fact that the ‘Church of Flesh’ managed to successfully summon the ‘Flesh Gate’ in Lust—your ‘Secret Keepers’ have lost a lot of face this time, and as Lust’s head of supernatural affairs, you’re probably done for too.”

Such words immediately brought a bitter smile to Morey’s face.

Faced with the facts, the official head of supernatural affairs in Lust once again had nothing to say.

Ever since the ‘Supernatural Legalization’ act was passed in June last year, and the turmoil in the capital ‘Bod,’ many of the ‘Secret Keepers’ from various regions had been reassigned back to the capital Bod to prevent further unrest.

The capital Bod had become as solid as a rock.

But the regions were in constant turmoil, keeping the ‘Secret Keepers’ in a state of perpetual exhaustion.

Now, there’s even this situation where the ‘Church of Flesh’ successfully summoned the ‘Flesh Gate.’

For some reason, the official head of supernatural affairs in Lust felt a deep sense of unease.

It seemed that ever since the ‘Supernatural Legalization’ act was passed, everything had changed.

But soon, Morey shook his head.

‘The “Supernatural Legalization” act is a good thing!’

‘It’s a plan that the great lords devised for peace!’

‘There’s nothing wrong with it!’

‘It’s just that the “Church of Flesh” took advantage of the situation!’

‘Everything will soon return to normal!’

Morey was convinced of this, just as he was convinced that reinforcements from the ‘Secret Keepers’ would arrive promptly.

Meanwhile, Swart, who had already sent a message via telegraph, looked utterly despondent.

The sheriff followed the owner of the Pine Hotel, watching as more and more members of the ‘Church of Flesh’ gathered. Especially those with blood-red eyes, each one looking like they could pounce on him at any moment and tear him apart.

“L-Lord Skeffins!”

The sheriff couldn’t help but call out to the owner of the Pine Hotel.

“Oh?”

The owner of the Pine Hotel turned to Swart, as if completely oblivious to the presence of the ‘Church of Flesh’ members.

“T-T-Those people!”

The sheriff cautiously pointed to the surrounding ‘Church of Flesh’ members.

“Them?”

“Remember, sometimes what your eyes see is the illusion!”

The owner of the Pine Hotel said these words, then his smile faded as he looked at the members of the ‘Church of Flesh.’

Immediately, the gathering members of the ‘Church of Flesh’ knelt on one knee—

“Milord!”

(End of this chapter)