It was only then that the bespectacled butler saw the figure at the door, Lance's form faintly illuminated by the candlelight in Susan's hand.
Yet beneath the simmering anger, Lance's expression in the flickering light appeared grim and terrifying, causing the butler to exclaim in horror.
"No... this can't be possible..."
"Do it," Lance ordered coldly, his intent to kill unmistakable, completely disregarding the butler's sensitive status. He fixed his gaze on the target, a hint of wariness in his voice as he cautioned, "Show no mercy, go all out."
Dismas had no doubts. Believing Lance's hatred for the traitor, he immediately stabbed the butler in the heart; the short sword pierced straight through his gaunt body.
After Dismas pulled out the blade, blood flowed out, and the butler fell onto the bed, showing no sign of inhuman strength.
The butler had been a close associate of the Old Ancestor. Whether he was still human was uncertain, but to Lance, he was now undoubtedly more dangerous than anyone else. More importantly, he's the only one who could expose my lies, so he must die!
"AH!"
The woman, jolted awake by the scene, instinctively let out a piercing scream and fell off the bed in fright.
Just as Dismas was about to deliver another blow, Lance stopped him.
"I have some things to ask him. Take her away," Lance said, agitated, waving his hand to signal for the two to take the woman away. Soon, only the dying butler and Lance himself were left in the room.
"Where are my things?" Lance stood by the bed, a flintlock gun aimed at the butler's head, ready to fire through his brain at any sign of trouble.
The butler, seemingly on the verge of death, now wore a strange smile as he faced Lance, then began to speak haltingly,
"Cold, mad, cruel; you are the spitting image of the old Lord. And the curse that runs in the Hamlet Family blood will continue in you."
"What do you mean?" Lance frowned. So there really is a problem with my bloodline.
"Cross the wilds, step through the ruins, enter the old family manor. Wealth, fame, strength—I've placed it all there. Go find it and claim what is yours."
After these words, the butler chuckled strangely, cocked his head to the side, and died, giving Lance no chance to ask more.
Damn it! I hate these riddling types.
Lance wasn't one to be thrown off balance. Looking at the butler's still body, he immediately dismissed his messy thoughts and raised his hand to activate [Sacrifice].
However, unlike previous effortless situations, something eerie happened this time. The Void Devourer approached, but the dead butler did not disappear. Instead, he twitched and his eyes snapped open.
The butler's gaunt body began to inflate like a balloon. His rapidly expanding muscles tore his thin clothes, revealing a powerful physique struggling to resist the eerie power from the Void.
Lance stepped back to avoid his wildly flailing arms. The butler's muscular limbs smashed the wooden bed into fragments as if it were tofu; if it had been a human body, it likely would have been similarly crushed.
Dismas, hearing the commotion inside, disregarded Lance's previous order and rushed in. But when he saw the monster, he froze, completely stunned.
A long-absent fear surged within him—the madness glimpsed when faced with the inscrutable!
Lance paid no attention to Dismas, instead stoically standing aside, observing everything.
The twisted abomination the butler had become was powerful, but the force from the Void was clearly stronger. No matter how it struggled, it was all in vain. Once the butler realized the vast disparity in power, the resolve that had enabled him to face death without flinching completely vanished, replaced by a fear that now contorted his distorted visage.
"No! Impossible! What is this?"
Then, as the confrontation continued, the butler gradually lost control. The proliferation of organs and limbs distorted him beyond human recognition.
More arms and legs sprouted from the butler's body. His muscles churned as tumors grew and burst. Internal organs protruded, embedded randomly across his body, and new facial features gestated beneath his skin. Suddenly, countless eyes popped out, whirling chaotically, while mouths full of fangs split open all over his body, and tentacle-like tongues twisted out.
But no matter how many limbs and organs he sprouted, his body was visibly being devoured by the Void. It was as if chunks were being inexplicably torn from a mass of flesh, piece by piece.
As the struggle intensified, the butler was utterly twisted into an indescribable mass of flesh, which was ultimately devoured by the Void, leaving only devastation in its place.
Lance coldly watched the scene before him, an involuntary chill running down his spine.
Previously, I tried sacrificing other things and found that only organic bodies devoid of any will to resist could satisfy the conditions for [Sacrifice]. This means the butler couldn't have passed the [Sacrifice]'s judgment unless he feigned death. Having followed the Old Ancestor for many years, he must have come into contact with *those things*. In essence, he was also a retainer of the Flesh Evil God. If we really fought, forget the few of us; even the entire town probably wouldn't be a match for him. But the butler brought this upon himself. Now, his opponent wasn't me, but an existence superior to me.
Lance felt the power of the external force, a sense of security enveloping him.
An unprecedented [Tribute] flowed from the Void into him. The dots of light that emerged this time exhibited strange colors, and they took effect the moment they touched Lance, even before he could use his [Bless] Ability.
He felt an intense, painful itch throughout his body, as if all his muscles were being torn apart.
This wasn't just pain; it was accompanied by numbness and itching, like countless ants crawling over his skin.
The sensation was so intense that it was harder to endure than mere pain, almost making him cry out.
But Dismas was right beside him. He knew that if he made a sound, his career as a Lord would be over. He could only clench his jaw and bear the stimulus, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
Simultaneously, the immense [Tribute] almost exceeded his body's storage capacity. Without hesitation, Lance immediately used [Bless] to strengthen himself by consuming the [Tribute], relying on the refreshed state to combat the sensation.
Fortunately, the sensation quickly subsided. Lance felt an unprecedented vitality surging through his body, something he had never experienced in either of his two lives.
Lance watched his panel data refresh; a new Ability had been added.
[Flesh Reconstruction]: Consume [Tribute] to control the healing of flesh, and even regenerate limbs.
This is undoubtedly a healing Ability! It instantly fills our team's gap in healing. Even in death, the butler didn't forget to bring me such a generous gift. It's truly like receiving charcoal in snowy weather. But why did he feign death rather than fight me?