Chapter 172 — The Cellar

Chapter 172: Chapter 172 — The Cellar

Chapter 172 — The Cellar

Victor stood frozen for several seconds.

His stomach twisted.

He covered his mouth, desperately fighting back the vomit threatening to come up.

The smell alone was almost unbearable.

Victor immediately activated his cultivation.

Spiritual Energy circulated through his body, calming his physical reactions and forcing his stomach under control.

Slowly, the nausea subsided.

Victor took a deep breath.

Then he looked at the cellar door.

You don’t need to go down there.

He stared at it.

Victor, you don’t need to investigate this.

Another breath.

It’s none of your business.

He could call Tony.

Tony was Law Enforcement.

This was exactly the kind of thing people like Tony were supposed to handle.

Just call him.

Victor nodded to himself.

Yeah.

That was what he would do.

Then—

A faint noise came from beneath the floor.

Victor froze.

His eyes slowly moved toward the cellar.

Another sound.

Quiet.

Almost too quiet to hear.

Victor sighed.

He looked toward Lyra.

Then back at the cellar.

I have to go in there, don’t I?

Victor already knew the answer.

He sighed again.

"Let me do it."

He looked at Lyra.

"Just stay here. Watch him."

Lyra nodded.

She immediately walked over to the unconscious man.

She placed one hand on him and held him firmly against the floor.

Perhaps a little more forcefully than necessary.

The man was still unconscious, but Lyra’s expression was cold.

There was hatred in her eyes.

For a brief moment, Victor could almost see the old Lyra again.

The assassin.

The girl who had spent years surviving by killing anything that threatened her.

Her fingers tightened slightly.

She looked like she wanted to end the man’s life right there.

But she didn’t.

There were lines even Lyra wouldn’t cross.

Children had always been off limits.

Victor turned toward the cellar.

Then he opened the door.

A wave of foul air immediately escaped.

Victor forced himself to ignore it.

He stepped onto the first stair.

The light from the room above slowly disappeared behind him.

His enhanced senses allowed him to see perfectly well in darkness.

But for the first time, Victor wished he couldn’t.

The deeper he went, the colder the air became.

The smell grew stronger.

Rot.

Blood.

Something else.

Something he couldn’t quite identify.

By the time he reached the bottom, his entire body had gone rigid.

His stomach turned violently.

He forced himself to breathe as little as possible through his nose.

Then he looked up.

Bodies were scattered throughout the cellar.

Everywhere.

Men.

Women.

Children.

Some lay across the floor.

Others were slumped against the walls.

Some had deep wounds across their stomachs.

Several bodies hung from hooks, suspended from the ceiling.

The faint sound of metal chains moving in the stale air made the cellar feel even more oppressive.

Victor’s eyes moved across the room.

Then stopped.

Children.

Some couldn’t have been older than thirteen or fourteen.

Their bodies had been mutilated.

Their stomachs had been cut open.

Victor’s breathing became heavier.

His fists clenched.

What kind of monster does this?

He forced himself to look away.

Then he saw movement.

Victor’s head snapped toward it.

A small figure was lying on a table.

The girl.

The same girl they had been searching for.

She was alive.

Her body was restrained to the table.

There were strange markings drawn across her stomach.

Ancient-looking symbols.

Victor didn’t recognize them.

He looked toward her forehead.

A strange symbol had been drawn there as well.

It resembled an eye turned sideways.

Victor stared at it.

It almost looked like a third eye.

The markings.

The bodies.

The ritual-like arrangement.

Something was happening here.

Something far worse than murder.

But Victor didn’t have time to figure it out.

He rushed toward the girl.

"It’s okay."

He tore the restraints apart.

The girl immediately began crying.

"I want my mommy!"

She clung to him.

"I want my mommy!"

Victor lifted her carefully and placed her over his shoulder.

He gently patted her back.

"Don’t worry."

His voice softened.

"We’ll bring you back to your mom very soon."

The girl sobbed.

"I just want my mom."

"Keep your eyes closed, okay?"

Victor glanced around the cellar.

"Don’t open them."

She nodded against his shoulder.

"Okay."

Victor turned around.

He tried not to look at anything else.

But as he passed one of the tables, something caught his attention.

A long object.

It looked like some kind of beast claw.

Roughly eight inches long.

Beside it were several bags filled with a strange, chalky substance mixed with what appeared to be dried blood.

Victor glanced at the markings on the girl’s body.

He shook his head.

Right now, getting the girl out was more important.

Victor climbed the stairs.

One step at a time.

He kept his eyes fixed ahead.

He finally reached the surface.

Lyra immediately looked toward him.

Her expression softened when she saw the girl.

Victor handed her over.

"Take care of her."

Lyra nodded.

She gently pulled the girl into her arms.

The difference between Lyra’s usual personality and the way she treated the child was almost shocking.

She held the girl carefully against her chest.

"It’s okay."

Her voice was soft.

"You’re safe now."

The girl clung to her.

Victor watched them for a moment.

He hadn’t known Lyra was capable of being this gentle.

Then he turned toward the man lying on the floor.

Victor’s expression hardened.

He didn’t even want to call him human.

Monster.

That was a better word.

Victor pulled out his citizen ID.

He pressed the center button.

A holographic interface appeared.

He found Tony’s contact information and initiated the call.

After several seconds, the connection opened.

"Hello? This is Tony."

"Tony."

Victor’s voice was serious.

"This is Victor Ashcroft. We met today in your office."

There was a brief pause.

"What can I do for you, Victor?"

"I have a situation."

Victor glanced toward the cellar.

"You need to see something."

Tony’s tone immediately changed.

"What happened?"

"It’s difficult to explain."

Victor sent his location.

"You need to get here as quickly as possible."

His voice was colder than Tony had heard earlier.

"This is bad."

Tony was silent for a moment.

He had met Victor earlier that day.

The boy had been calm.

Almost casual.

This was different.

Whatever had happened, Victor was clearly serious.

"I’ll be there."

"Good."

Victor ended the call.

Then he looked down at the restrained man.

Nearly twenty minutes passed.

The silence stretched.

Lyra sat nearby with the rescued girl in her arms.

The girl had finally stopped crying.

Victor remained beside the unconscious man.

Finally, footsteps echoed from outside.

Tony rounded the corner.

He entered the building and immediately saw Victor.

The young cultivator had one knee pressed against the man’s neck, keeping him firmly pinned to the floor.

Tony’s first instinct was to question him.

But he stopped himself.

Victor wouldn’t have called Law Enforcement if there wasn’t a reason.

He walked closer.

Victor looked up.

"I’m going to warn you."

Tony paused.

"Make sure you activate your cultivation and prepare yourself."

Victor’s expression was extremely serious.

Tony’s eyes narrowed.

"That bad?"

Victor pointed toward the center of the room.

"There’s a cellar door over there."

Tony followed his gaze.

"Open it."

Victor looked away.

"You’ll see for yourself."

Tony nodded.

He walked toward the door.

His hand wrapped around the handle.

For a moment, he hesitated.

Then he opened it.

The smell hit him immediately.

Tony’s body stiffened.

He covered his mouth.

A sound escaped his throat.

He quickly forced it back.

Tony had worked in Law Enforcement for years.

He had seen crime scenes.

He had seen dead bodies.

He had seen things most people would never experience.

But that never made it easy.

Tony activated his cultivation and produced a small magical light.

He slowly descended.

The light illuminated the cellar.

His eyes moved across the room.

Bodies.

Hooks.

Blood.

Symbols.

The strange claw.

The chalk-like substance.

Tony’s expression became grim.

He recognized some of the markings.

This wasn’t simply a murder scene.

Something had been happening here.

Tony remained in the cellar for several minutes before finally returning upstairs.

He closed the door behind him.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

Then he looked toward Victor.

"Victor..."

His voice was heavy.

"I’m going to need you to keep holding him."

Victor nodded.

Tony stepped outside.

He made another call.

Victor waited.

Lyra sat nearby with the rescued girl in her arms.

The girl had finally stopped crying.

Victor remained beside the unconscious man.

Roughly fifteen minutes later, another figure appeared at the entrance.

Elder Benton.

He stepped into the building.

His eyes immediately landed on Victor.

Victor still had his knee pressed against the man’s neck.

Benton stared at him.

Then he sighed.

"I really didn’t expect to be seeing you so soon, Victor."

Victor gave him a tired, almost amused smile.

Benton shook his head.

"I thought you were going to lay low for a while and get accustomed to normal life before your alchemy class."

Victor looked at him.

His expression said everything.

Yeah. I thought so too.

Benton stared at him for another moment.

Then his eyes slowly moved toward the cellar door.

The faint smile disappeared from his face.