Chapter Fifty-Three: Naya's "Letter"
“You really won’t lend a hand at all.”
After firing such a high-recoil weapon continuously, Lu Mingfei’s right hand had gone numb. Nono followed behind him with a sorrowful look in her eyes, offering no intention of helping.
Rain soaked her purple evening gown, the delicate silk clinging to her graceful figure, outlining soft and slender curves. Her complexion was as pale as paper, crimson hair stuck to her cheeks, resembling a beautiful ghost from a classic tale.
“Bang!”
“Woohoo, last one!”
Lu Mingfei raised his hands in relief and cheered joyfully.
Nono glanced at the jubilant Lu Mingfei and sighed softly, speaking in a low voice:
“Today is my birthday. Some of them were my friends…”
Lu Mingfei shot her a glance, pointing to the black fragments on the ground stained with yellow mucus:
“Happy birthday, huh? Why don’t you pick a few pieces to take home as a souvenir? Hey, this mission actually means a lot more than it looks. Let me see what kind of ritual those damn bastards arranged…”
Nono stared at Lu Mingfei’s back, analyzing his movements and emotions.
Lust, curiosity, the joy after hunting monsters, the relief of completing a mission…
Not a trace of sorrow, not even the slightest human empathy for other creatures.
As a profiler, Nono could tell that the pleas from Ye Sheng and Professor Mans just now were mere façades.
But how different was Lu Mingfei, who wore a human mask but harbored indifference and madness, from those creatures?
His earlier urgency did not stem from any benevolent or noble feeling, but simply because his own safety was gravely threatened.
Could relying on such a “person” really lead to a better outcome than before?
Uninterested in reading minds, Lu Mingfei was naturally unaware of the whirlwind of thoughts inside Nono’s mind. He took a few quick steps toward the black formation disrupted by Caesar’s Friga bullets and crouched down to analyze it.
“Let me lift your veil and see your face~”
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to approach the intact formation.
But to ensure his lightning magic covered all the mutants here, Lu Mingfei had targeted the location of the complete formation. Now, that place was just a scorched blackened patch, nothing discernible.
After a brief observation, Lu Mingfei fell into confusion.
He didn’t want to describe the observable phenomenon recorded here as “chaos,” but he had to admit he had never seen a summoning formation for a great being so utterly lacking in order and intent.
No matter how insane the conjuring ritual, there had to be a target to receive the “signal.” Such a directionless formation proved the ritual master was an utter novice.
But that was the normal explanation.
Those watched by Nyah always exhibited some inexplicable anomalies, didn’t they?
For example, what if the summoned entity was…
Suddenly, Lu Mingfei’s eyes widened as he recalled a bizarre possibility, re-examining some inconspicuous parts of the semicircular array.
He had started with the “Seven Chapters of the Profound Lord,” and as his power grew, he had collected other spellbooks.
Each contained various conjuring rituals, but one summoning ritual had never appeared in a complete form.
Its requirements were few: outdoors, darkness, correct incantations and formation.
Lu Mingfei had collected partial diagrams of it, and some of the chaotic incantations seemed...
His eyes bulged, his mouth fell open, and he was dumbstruck.
He wanted to gouge his own eyeballs out.
Damn it, the summoning ritual for Azathoth!
Azathoth summoning ritual!
Unlike short-sighted and ignorant mortals, Lu Mingfei had fully studied the secret knowledge recorded in the “Orthodox Mandate of Holy Power.”
Azathoth was the primal god of beginning and end; the greatest among the “Heavenly Officials”!
Its slumber signified the birth of the universe, and its awakening would mean the end of all things.
Calling upon it brought only pure destruction, at minimum obliterating an entire planet—there was no other possibility!
These few goddamn mutants, unable to resist even a thunder spell without a proper altar, yet possessing such perilous secret knowledge about a great Old One?
Alive!
At the very moment Lu Mingfei truly understood what was inscribed in this small area, the formation before him came alive!
Countless twisted, chaotic symbols began leaping, rolling, and charging!
Their destination was—Lu Mingfei’s brain!
“Fortunately,” Lu Mingfei suddenly gained the ability to decipher those bizarre symbols!
His rational mind numbly observed while his consciousness roared joyfully in praise:
“Great Azathoth! You are the blind, foolish god! The primal chaos core! Father of all things…”
Lu Mingfei knew he could no longer control his eyes, his hands, his brain, or his will. But he was powerless, unable even to conceive of resistance or fear.
Until—the twisted symbols suddenly stopped.
That’s right, the formation was incomplete, partially destroyed by the red pigment left by the Friga bullets!
The runes were so powerful that even a battle-hardened mage like Lu Mingfei could not resist them; yet so fragile that a thin layer of red pigment cut off their activity.
Awakening from the nightmare, Lu Mingfei regained control over his body.
Without hesitation, he tore off his coat and lunged forward, scraping frantically at the blackened parts of the formation.
Such knowledge must never be allowed to spread!
Whether as a sane human, a ruthless executioner indifferent to life, or a greedy mage pursuing truth, none would permit this to become known.
It was a desecration of cosmic order and chaos, a blasphemy against all existence!
Even the most reckless madmen wouldn’t choose to use this spell while sober and rational.
Except for that “messenger of the Outer Gods,” the one who carried out Azathoth’s will!
A dark cloud settled over Lu Mingfei’s face; the smug satisfaction born of stopping those mutants in his prophetic dream had vanished.
He had to hurry!
He had to resolve this predicament as quickly as possible.
With each passing second, his life, his personality, his soul slipped deeper into the abyss of chaos under Nyah’s watchful, mocking gaze.
Nono’s voice came urgently from behind him:
“Lu Mingfei! Are you done over there?! Something’s wrong here!”
Lu Mingfei rolled faster over the blurry black formation, shouting sharply:
“Don’t come near! For God’s sake, don’t come near!”