As Gary finished his sentence, Marco's face was filled with shock. "No, that's impossible. According to the Inquisition's records, after the purification ritual, the Inquisition recovered the pathogen. How could it..."
Before Marco could finish, he realized something. Buer let out a chuckle.
"Marco, it seems you've realized it too. The Inquisition didn't actually recover the pathogen back then. After all, once the purification ritual was over, the pathogen was no longer a threat to the Inquisition. Since it couldn't be destroyed, instead of wasting effort transporting it away, it was easier to bury it on the spot. The claim of 'recovery' was merely a rhetoric used to appease the public."
In contrast to Marco, who looked bewildered by the truth, Byrne appeared quite calm. To him, as a defender of Imperial order, it wasn't at all surprising that the Inquisition would do such a thing.
While Byrne was deep in thought, Buer continued, "Of course, that's not even the main point. The point is the remains of the pathogen we dug up—her heart was taken by Lacy."
Lacy again...
Byrne and Marco exchanged looks, both seeing a trace of suspicion in each other's eyes. Marco asked, "Buer, how do you know for sure that it was Lacy who took the heart?"
Buer turned to Gary with a grin. "At first, I was as surprised as you. Fortunately, we have Gary. Through his divination and by anchoring the residual energy of the pathogen's heart, we not only learned that Lacy did it but also discovered where he will appear."
Gary nodded. "I anchored the energy fluctuations remaining in the pathogen's heart with my psychic power. Lacy Valen's figure appeared clearly in the divination images. In one hour, he will appear at the abandoned plaza on the west side of the Old District of Lobo City. The divination images were blurred, so I could only make out the general direction. Additionally, I can vaguely sense other Chaos energy fluctuations at that plaza."
Other Chaos energy? Hearing this, Byrne immediately associated it with the grey-robed figure he had seen in the earlier playback. Perhaps that Chaos energy came from him.
Buer turned and picked up the portable case resting on the floor, heading toward the door as he spoke. "Alright, the intelligence sharing is over. Now, let's hurry over there and set an ambush for him."
Before Buer could reach the door, Marco immediately raised his hand and pressed it against his shoulder. "Don't be so hasty, Buer. Lacy managed to slaughter the rest of the Valen family in a single night and is cooperating with followers of Tzeentch; he won't be easy to deal with. We still have enough time; we should discuss our strategy first."
Buer paused, then scratched his head. "You're right. I was too impatient. So, what do you suggest?"
Marco turned back to the table and pointed to the abandoned plaza on the map. "During our search this morning, the two of us visited this plaza. The area is surrounded by abandoned shops and collapsed low-rise buildings, making it very suitable for an ambush."
"It's a square plaza. Since there are four of us, we can ambush from four different directions. When Lacy arrives, we'll move in together to encircle him."
After the four of them reached a consensus, they set out together.
Over half an hour later, they arrived at the abandoned plaza Gary had mentioned. It was a square plaza with a ground full of cracks, where they could vaguely see traces of the original bluestone slabs. A dozen or so abandoned shops were scattered around, most of their walls half-collapsed, leaving only jagged ruins. A few two-story buildings leaned precariously. The windows and doors were dark hollows, forming perfect natural ambush points. In the center stood the base of a statue; the original sculpture was long gone, leaving only a stone platform covered in gouges. Faint dark red marks remained on it—it was unclear if they were bloodstains from years ago or marks of Chaos erosion.
Upon reaching the plaza, the four quickly dispersed according to their pre-arranged positions.
Ten minutes passed. Suddenly, two figures appeared at the edge of the silent plaza. Byrne, hiding on the eastern side, focused his gaze. It was Lacy Valen and the grey-robed figure.
The two stopped before the statue base in the center. The robed figure looked around and spoke, "Alright, this is the place. Let's begin."
Lacy nodded and placed a wooden box he was carrying onto the base. He opened the box and took out a dark green heart. Then, he bit his fingertip and let his blood drip onto the heart. The moment the blood touched the heart, it was absorbed. After a few seconds of silence, the heart actually began to beat again.
As the heart pulsed, a rotting, pungent stench spread out. Meanwhile, the grey-robed figure standing two meters away remained with his hands behind his back, urging, "You'd better hurry. The people from the Bureau might pick up our trail soon. Our time is limited."
Lacy sneered, "Don't worry, it'll be ready soon."
As soon as he spoke, the dark green heart began to tremble violently. Its beating rhythm became increasingly rapid, and vessel-like patterns spread frantically, tracing a massive sacrificial array on the ground following the rune marks on the base.
At this point, Buer, stationed on the north side, couldn't sit still. He shouted into the communicator, "Not good! He's about to complete the sacrifice. Marco, let's move!"
"Don't rush. Wait until his magic circle reaches the most critical moment, then we'll strike suddenly and catch him off guard."
Buer took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll follow your lead. Let's wait and see."
In the center of the plaza, the dark green heart pulsed faster and faster. The vessel-like patterns on its surface spread like living things, outlining a huge sacrificial array on the ground along the rune marks of the base. The outline of the array became clearer, each line glowing slightly as a blood-colored aura rose from the ground.
Lacy Valen knelt before the base, holding the heart in both hands with a fanatical smile on his face. He was continuously injecting his own Chaos energy and blood into the heart as a catalyst for the sacrifice. His whispers were filled with fanatical trembling, and the dark red Chaos energy around him surged like a boiling tide, flowing through his arms and into the dark green heart.
By now, his eyes were completely covered in crimson, and the dark red energy around him grew denser, almost condensing into a physical cocoon of light. Lacy looked up at the beating heart and said excitedly:
"Almost... almost there... it's about to..."
At the moment Lacy's magic circle was about to fully form, Marco, who had been silently observing, had a change in his expression. He shouted into the communicator:
"Now! Strike!"