I died, but not completely

"We can begin."

The mustached man nodded and blew his whistle again.

The man at the head of the line of sacrifices walked straight up to the altar, opened the leather-bound notebook resting on it, and began to read.

The chamber was utterly silent. Apart from the faint crackling of the torches, the only sound was the rustle of pages as he leafed through the notebook.

But soon, a loud, agonized scream shattered the silence.

"Aah!! Aaaaah!!"

Chen Lun saw the man react as though he had witnessed the most horrifying sight in the world.

He straightened his body, covered his eyes with both hands, and opened his mouth impossibly wide, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Then he tipped his head back and toppled stiffly backward. His arched body stopped moving, and he died with his limbs still contorted.

Chen Lun couldn't help shuddering at the sight.

Holy crap, his sanity went straight to zero, triggering instant death...

What rank of [Anomalous Item] is this thing? Don't tell me it's on the same level as the [Sun-Shunning Potted Plant]!?

He inwardly broke into a cold sweat. There were only a few people in the line, and his turn would come any moment.

The first man's death caused barely a ripple. The others in the line remained indifferent to the scene, their faces as vacant as ever.

Froy merely raised her eyes for a glance, then lowered them again, as though she had long since gone numb.

Monk Will grew increasingly impatient. He made several gestures, urging the mustached man to hurry up and continue.

Tweet!

The mustached man curled his fingers and whistled. The next woman stepped forward to read the notebook.

Unsurprisingly, within seconds, she met the same fate as the previous sacrifice. She screamed and collapsed, clutching her eyes as she died in agony.

"Aaaaah!! Aah!"

"Aaaaah!!"

The young men and women who had shared a cell with Chen Lun read the strange leather-bound notebook one after another. Without exception, they suffered a horrifying assault invisible to everyone else.

Their sanity dropped to zero, and they went mad and died on the spot.

One man even suffered mystical corruption and lost control.

He trembled uncontrollably, like a gravely ill old man wracked with chills.

His muscles and bones came apart like pieces of a scrambled jigsaw puzzle.

But he didn't die immediately. Instead, he turned into a writhing mass of flesh and even tried to attack the people beside him.

Fortunately, Monk Will reacted in time, ordering the guards to hack him apart with their swords before stuffing him into a sack and dragging him away.

Only a pool of foul blood remained, proof that what had just happened was more than some nightmare that had never truly occurred.

"Damn it! Useless! Bastards!"

Monk Will cursed furiously.

The failed sacrifices had exhausted every last scrap of his patience.

Pressure from the church and the priest, coupled with the misery of having no hope of leaving, had driven him into a frenzy.

"You!"

Monk Will pointed at Chen Lun, fixing him with a malicious stare.

"Your turn. The last sacrifice!"

He strode up to Chen Lun.

Seeing his vacant expression and the drool soaking his collar, Monk Will covered his nose and leaned back in disgust.

"If you fail too, I'll chop you up and bury you in Lady Rose's garden! Do you understand?"

Chen Lun grinned foolishly, acting as though he hadn't heard.

Monk Will seemed to realize there was no point talking to an idiot. He took a deep breath and told the mustached man to whistle.

Tweet!

The whistle sounded a moment later.

Chen Lun's heart clenched.

What should I do!? Should I fight?

No!

My sanity can't sustain repeated use of the Hypnosis Necklace, and with my body as it is, I wouldn't survive even two sword strikes from a guard. There's absolutely no chance of success...

Run?

That won't work either!

There are several heavy doors in the underground prison. Without keys, I can't open them, not to mention the unknown number of guards outside. I probably couldn't even get out of this basement...

He fought back the urge to bolt and slowly lifted his foot.

Then he trudged toward the altar.

Step by step, he drew closer, and the altar grew larger in his vision.

The strange leather-bound notebook lay quietly on top, waiting for Chen Lun to open it and read its pages.

Then it would kill him as horribly as the sacrifices before him!

Chen Lun knew his pitiful 3 points of willpower couldn't possibly withstand the corruption. He had no chance of surviving!

At last, with trembling hands, he picked up the notebook...

Chapter 6: I died, but not completely

"Please stop the sacrifices for now, Monk Will."

Froy spoke slowly.

Tweet!

The whistle sounded!

Chen Lun stopped what he was doing and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

Monk Will kept his hand raised as he turned toward Froy, his expression hostile.

"I hope you have something more important than the sacrifices, Sister."

Froy looked at Will without emotion and shook her head slightly, speaking in an ethereal voice:

"The sacrifices are ordained by the supreme will, but the priest said that priority should go to supplying sacrifices to Group Four...

"We've already invested too many resources and too much effort into this notebook. Since it has produced no results, there's no need for further pointless waste."

"Damn it..."

Will slammed the heavy tome in his hand onto the floor.

"Don't use that old bastard to threaten me, bitch."

He walked up to Froy, gripped her face, and lowered his head to stare into her beautiful eyes.

"I know studying that shitty plant secretly shipped over from headquarters is his top priority, but it isn't mine...

"He doesn't call the shots here!"

Will shoved Froy away hard, then turned around.

"Continue!"

At his command, the mustached man blew his whistle again.

Chen Lun had no choice but to steel himself and open the notebook.

Rustle-

The opening page turned, confronting him with densely packed, strange handwritten script.

His eyes slowly widened, his pupils contracting.

"Aah! Aaaaah!!"

Chen Lun clutched his head and collapsed, screaming incessantly.

His body twisted and thrashed, just like the sacrifices who had died horribly before him.

Froy frowned and pressed her lips together as she watched Chen Lun rolling on the floor, a flicker of pity crossing her face.

Red marks from Will's rough grip still marred her pale face, making her look painfully pitiable.

Monk Will clenched his fists in disappointment.

After a brief silence, he waved his hand, and several guards immediately stepped forward.

They took the sacks they had prepared and threw the bodies on the floor into them one by one, ready to clear the place and take them away for disposal.

The mustached man approached Chen Lun's corpse, which lay motionless in a contorted pose.

Just as he was about to lift the body and throw it into a sack, he heard a faint, eerie murmur.

The mustached man froze for a moment.

When he listened closely, he realized the sound was coming from the very corpse beside his hands!

The corpse was talking!

Startled, the mustached man instinctively took a step back.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me a corpse scared you? Idiot!"

Will demanded, his face dark.

"N-no, Monk Will..."

The mustached man pointed at Chen Lun's corpse with wide eyes.