Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Why did it take so long for Chapter 12 to arrive?
While relentlessly beating Hainas at his feet, Lu Ze was racking his brains for a solution.

Simply harming Hainas's physical body won't work, because he will keep regenerating; we must approach it from a mystical perspective. But the so-called demon-hunting bullets weren't effective enough; we need a more effective method.

However, speaking of which, Hainas's current grotesque appearance must have come from the true creator who granted him these powers. I happen to be a Mystic, so I wonder if there's any information about this in potions?
Lu Ze quickly searched through the occult knowledge he had acquired during the carriage ride, and he actually found it! In the section about rituals, he discovered a ritual that perfectly matched Hainas's current situation.

This ceremony is called "Advent".

The Sanctuary descends, a sinister ritual that enhances oneself. It requires the caster to sacrifice the lives of two closest relatives to gain the favor of the True Creator. If the ritual succeeds, the True Creator will send a corrupted aura into the caster's body, helping them fuse the heads of their two loved ones to their own. These two heads will receive various bizarre effects such as "tainted words," "amplifying incantations," and "physical enhancement," greatly amplifying the caster's abilities.

Using one's closest relatives as a sacrifice? What a mad ritual. Lu Ze thought to himself, even among the many dark rituals of the Secret Prayer people, this was one of the most extreme.

But the ceremony has already been completed, so how can it be stopped?
After thinking for a moment, Lu Ze suddenly had a bold idea.

The reason these two heads can remain fused is because of the wisp of corrupt aura left in Hainas's body by the true creator. Since that's the case, as long as that wisp of aura is extracted, Hainas will naturally be finished!

Thinking of this, he stopped attacking, reached to his ear, dabbed some of the blood flowing from his ear, and used the blood as paint to draw a pattern on the palm of his right hand.

It was a wildly blooming blood-red rose, with an inverted cross at the center of its layered petals. The design was simple, yet it evoked a sense of abundance, decadence, and evil—this was indeed the emblem of the true Creator.

With obvious disgust, Luze finished drawing the distorted symbol, then opened his palm, facing Hainas. He intended to use himself as a vessel to draw upon the aura of the true creator. Based on everything that had happened before, he guessed that aura would likely be more drawn to his own body.

Moreover, the illusory ocean tide protects his body, so the aura of corruption cannot have any effect on him!

"You blasphemer!"

Hainas cursed.

Lu Ze completely ignored him and instead chanted in a low voice in a language he himself did not understand:

"Praise the Lord's new life, for the Fall is the salvation of all."

Having said that, he acted decisively, pressing his bloodied palm onto Hainas's forehead.

"Ah ah ah ah ah!"

The moment their skin touched, Hainas let out a piercing scream. His body instantly turned crimson, like a boiled shrimp writhing and struggling desperately. Both faces also howled in agony. He convulsed a few times before ceasing all movement, his body turning into a lump of mud, like a heated candle.

Lu Ze was in equally terrible pain. A wicked and filthy aura surged into his body from his palm, rushing straight to his head. Wherever it passed, excruciating pain shot through him, as if countless tiny mouths were gnawing at his flesh. He watched helplessly as the skin on the back of his hand burst open with a "snap," revealing bright red muscle and pale yellow fat beneath. The crack extended upwards along his arm, and vaguely, the flesh seemed to begin to writhe and mutate.
Fortunately, at that moment, the corrupting aura collided with the illusory tide in his mind. The tide enveloped the aura, absorbing it while simultaneously dissipating itself. In just a few seconds, they canceled each other out, turning into nothingness.

As the aura of the true creator dissipated, the exposed flesh on Luze's arm stopped writhing and deforming, and instead slowly healed and reassembled.

I was right.

Lu Ze felt a wave of weakness wash over him, and he simply sat down on the ground, breathing heavily. That illusory seawater was indeed able to block the erosion of the true creator, just like when he had drunk the magic potion and almost gone mad.

He didn't know what it represented, but he instinctively felt that it must be something very important.

Maybe this is a perk for me as a transmigrator, like a fixed SAN value or something.
Lu Ze thought to himself with a self-deprecating smile.

The hall was a mess. He sat there looking miserable. A few meters away from the corpse, Klein, still badly injured, looked at him with surprise. Their eyes met, and both felt awkward.

Do you have anything to say?
Fortunately, the sound of a hurried carriage outside broke the awkward silence. Several hurried footsteps sounded before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, until the owner of the footsteps pushed open the door and rushed in. Lu Ze turned around and saw that it was Dunn Smith and his group who had just left.

"This is this"

Leonard stared in shock at the horrific scene in the hall and Haynes's gruesome corpse, speechless for a moment. Luze gave a wry smile, meeting Dunn's deep, surprised gaze, and said in a tone tinged with helplessness and complaint:
"Mr. Dunn, why are you taking so long to arrive?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"So, you used the knowledge of the Mystic People to defeat the enhanced Hainas?"

Stepping on the corroded floor, Dunn asked slowly.

The once tastefully decorated lobby of the Blackthorn Security Company was now a mess, shattered high-end tea set, overturned solid wood tables and chairs, and partitions burned with large holes. It looked as if a group of thugs had ransacked the place. The injured Klein and the unconscious Luo Yao had been taken to the back for treatment, leaving only Hainas's supine corpse—or perhaps liquid?—on the floor.

"Well, it's mainly thanks to the two people on night duty."

Lu Ze chuckled, though for some reason, he always felt a little uncomfortable when Dunn stared into his deep eyes. "I just found an opportunity to ambush him, and happened to know the solution to the ritual."

He recounted the events in detail, and Dunn listened calmly, occasionally interjecting with questions about the details of the battle. When Luze finished speaking, Dunn picked up the staff Luze had used to strike Haynes from the ground and walked to the pool of flesh and blood where Haynes lay.

Hainas had completely melted away, leaving only his tattered, corroded black robe spread out in the flesh. In this flat expanse of flesh, two head-sized protrusions stood out starkly beneath the robe.

Dunn gripped his cane, rummaged through the flesh, and cautiously lifted a corner of his black robe with the end of the cane to peer inside.

After seeing what the two protrusions inside were, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to let out a barely audible sigh.

"Leonard."

he shouted.

"What's wrong, Captain?"

Leonard was leisurely sweeping up the broken pieces of porcelain when he heard Dunn call out to him, and he looked up.

“Go to the police station and find Inspector Toller. Tell him we have a third crime scene and we need him to come and handle it.”

"Yes."

Leonard said, and after he put down the broom and put on his coat, he couldn't help but laugh again, "I can imagine Inspector Toller's face when he hears the news. He'll go crazy. Three murder scenes in one night."

Hearing him say that, Lu Ze also recalled the police officers who were cleaning up the scene with long faces.

Wait a minute, three scenes? He paused for a moment, then quickly realized, "Mr. Dunn, did you go to Hainas's house but didn't encounter him, and only found the blood sacrifice scene?"

"Yes."

Dunn stared down at Hainas's flesh and blood and said, "It's really strange. Why would Hainas wake up in the middle of the night, perform a blood sacrifice on his family, and then find Blackthorn Security Company so precisely? I really don't understand."

What should have been a simple arrest nearly led to a very dangerous outcome. They coincidentally missed their target, leaving headquarters vulnerable. If it weren't for Lu Ze's unexpected intervention, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

It was almost like a malicious coincidence.

　Sirius and Hynas are characters from the original story; you should still remember them.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)