Chapter 53: Three Gods of Plague and One Unlucky Guy

The surrounding scene began to change.

The static woods and the campfire began to melt like wax, twisting and deforming before vanishing entirely.

In their place, a cozy log cabin appeared.

Inside the room was a fireplace, a soft bed, and a table set with warm milk and bread.

This was a place from the depths of Lynn’s memory — the house where the game’s protagonist had lived with his younger sister during their childhood.

“Look, Brother.”

Lilith pulled him into the cabin.

“This is where we should stay. No Holy Son, no Knight Commander, no Witch. Only Brother and me.”

“I don’t want to stay here!”

Lynn growled.

“Why?”

Lilith looked at him in confusion, her gaze as pure as a child’s.

“Here, Brother doesn’t have to worry about the Blackening Value, you don’t have to look at their faces, and you don’t have to fear being locked up. I will always stay with you, take care of you, and love you.”

She leaned in, attempting to embrace Lynn.

Lynn retreated abruptly, only to slam into the cabin wall.

The wall was soft, like cotton, and it bounced him back.

“Let me out!”

“Out?”

The smile on Lilith’s face vanished completely.

“Where does Brother want to go? Do you want to go find those two women?”

She raised her hand and gave a light wave.

Outside the cabin window, those two gray statues appeared once more.

*Crack.*

A crisp sound echoed.

Vivian’s statue began to crack, starting from the head.

The fissures spread rapidly, covering her entire body in the blink of an eye.

Then, the statue shattered violently, turning into a pile of gray dust.

Alicia’s statue underwent the same transformation.

Lynn watched helplessly as the two piles of powder were scattered by an invisible wind, vanishing without a trace.

“Now, they are completely gone.”

Lilith’s voice regained its calm, even carrying a hint of pleasure.

“Are you satisfied now, Brother? No one can disturb us anymore.”

Lynn’s body was shaking.

He wasn’t pitying Vivian or Alicia; he was afraid.

He was terrified of this “sister” before him, who could easily manipulate his dreams and act so willfully within them.

‘This is no longer just the realm of obsessive madness. This is a monster.’

“Now, it’s our turn, Brother.”

Lilith walked toward him, opening her arms.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Lynn shouted.

He wanted to run, but his legs felt as if they were made of lead, leaving him unable to move.

“What are you afraid of, Brother?”

Lilith was already in front of him, her face inches away.

“We will be together forever. In this world that belongs only to the two of us, forever and ever.”

Her hands looped around Lynn’s neck.

The touch was ice-cold.

A sensation of suffocation washed over him.

Lynn’s consciousness began to blur.

The cabin and Lilith’s face began to distort.

He was going to be trapped to death in this dream.

“No!”

Lynn let out a roar with all the strength in his body.

—

*Gasp — huff — *

Lynn sat up abruptly, gasping for breath.

Cold sweat soaked his back.

Before him was the flickering firelight, the crackling of burning firewood filled his ears, and the damp night air filled his lungs.

He was back.

He looked down and saw his hands trembling uncontrollably.

“Brother, did you have a nightmare?”

A soft, sweet voice came from his chest.

Lynn’s body stiffened.

He slowly lowered his head.

Lilith was lying on his chest, her bright eyes watching him without blinking.

Her face bore the exact same sweet, pure smile from his dream.

Not far away, Vivian and Alicia were still keeping watch in their respective positions, seemingly unaware of everything happening here.

“What did you dream about?”

Lilith’s voice was very soft, tinged with curiosity.

“Did you dream… that they were gone?”

Lynn looked at her, his lips moving, but he couldn’t say a single word.

He felt as though he had fallen from one nightmare into another even more terrifying one.

After that night, the atmosphere inside the carriage became even more bizarre.

Lynn didn’t dare close his eyes for the entire day.

The moment he shut them, he saw the two stone statues crumbling into ash and Lilith’s innocent, smiling face.

Beside him, Lilith was incredibly well-behaved.

She no longer pulled at him with those invisible threads, simply leaning against him quietly, occasionally looking up at him with clear eyes.

But Lynn knew this was just a facade.

**[Lilith’s Blackening Value: 92%]**

That number was like a brand seared into his retina, remaining unchanged throughout the day.

Stability meant an even more dangerous level of control.

Vivian and Alicia remained silent, the air between them almost freezing into ice.

They didn’t even glance at each other, yet they used the corners of their eyes to constantly monitor one another — and Lynn, who was caught in the middle.

Finally, at dusk, the bumpy carriage rolled into a small town.

The entrance to the town was enclosed by thick black iron bars, and two guards in leather armor leaned against the wall, yawning lazily.

Seeing the carriage approach, one guard stepped forward and reached out to stop it.

“Entry tax, per person…”

He stopped mid-sentence.

Vivian threw the carriage curtain open.

She was the first to jump down, her icy blue eyes sweeping over the guard.

The halberd in the guard’s hand trembled.

Next, Alicia stepped down.

She was dressed in holy white robes that looked untainted by dust in the twilight glow.

Her gaze didn’t even fall on the guard, yet the surrounding temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

Finally, Lynn and Lilith stepped out together.

Lilith was still clutching the hem of Lynn’s clothes.

The two guards stared blankly.

It wasn’t that they had never seen beautiful women, but each of these three exceeded their understanding of beauty.

More importantly, the aura radiating from these three made their legs go weak.

It wasn’t just beauty; it was a type of… predatory pressure from the top of the food chain.

The guard who had been about to collect the tax silently withdrew his hand and took two steps back, clearing the way for them.

Lynn sighed inwardly.

He knew that the trouble had only just begun.

The town was called Black Iron Town, named after a nearby iron mine.

Most of the buildings were constructed from stone and dark wood, possessing a rugged style.

People bustled about the streets — mostly mercenaries with weapons strapped to their backs and miners.

The air was thick with the smell of ale, sweat, and cheap tobacco.

Lynn’s goal was clear — the Adventurer’s Guild.

He needed money.

Escaping required money, and food and lodging required money.

He couldn’t always rely on Vivian’s imperial funds or Alicia’s church stipends; that would be no different from handing his neck over to them.

‘I must have my own source of income. This is the only way to fight for even a sliver of freedom.’

The Adventurer’s Guild was the liveliest building in town.

A massive set of double wooden doors stood wide open, and from within came the sounds of boisterous shouting, the clinking of mugs, and coarse laughter.

Lynn took a deep breath and stepped inside.