Chapter 331: Suicide

Chapter 331: Chapter 331: Suicide

"Why..." Lyra Lowell looked at the scene outside the door, his face pale as he muttered to himself, "How did it come to this..."

He understood what Seraphina Sinclair meant. And it was precisely because he understood that he found it so unacceptable.

Lyra Lowell gritted his teeth in thought for a long moment, then suddenly looked at Seraphina Sinclair and said, "We can’t do the sacrifice! There has to be another way! There has to be!"

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t speak or even look at him. Her gaze swept around the room.

Fayestar, however, shot him a glance. "But we all know the sacrifice is the best and most convenient way."

Alaric Hawthorn thought for a moment before nodding in agreement with Fayestar’s statement.

If Lyra Lowell wasn’t the one slated for sacrifice, he would have agreed it was a good idea.

But he was the weakest of the four, and that changed everything.

"No! That’s not right!" Lyra Lowell’s voice suddenly rose, carrying a sharp edge that bordered on a complete breakdown. "On what grounds?! Why does it have to be me?! Is what’s written in the notebook automatically correct? That’s the raving of a lunatic! They failed! They all died! Why should we follow their failed path?!"

Clutching at the last straw, he turned to Seraphina Sinclair, his eyes filled with pleading and a final sliver of hope:

"Boss! Boss Sinclair! You’re so capable, you must have another way, right? A way that doesn’t involve sacrificing a living person! Look, you cut through the wall of flesh! This loop... this damn place must have a flaw!"

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze finally returned from its survey of the room and landed on Lyra Lowell’s face.

Her expression was still calm—too calm, even. It was as if she were looking at an object, not an emotionally overwrought living person.

To her, it didn’t matter whether Lyra Lowell lived or died.

To put it even more bluntly, she had saved Lyra Lowell and Alaric Hawthorn’s lives precisely so they could make the necessary sacrifices at a moment like this.

She turned her head and glanced at the indentation surrounded by the statues.

Her movement finally caught the attention of Fayestar and Alaric Hawthorn, and they followed her gaze.

The surroundings were too dark, and the lantern illuminated only a small area, so they couldn’t make out anything. The two of them stared intently for a long moment before turning back to look at Seraphina Sinclair.

The indentation, combined with the notebook’s contents, made it clear that the sacrifice required the life of a Sunflower.

Although a survivor couldn’t live without their Sunflower, it wasn’t the same as the survivor dying directly.

This way, after clearing the instance, they could even get a bonus for having everyone survive.

For Seraphina Sinclair and Fayestar, this was an extremely tempting option.

This was also exactly what was written on the Stone Tablet.

Thinking of this, Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

The information provided by the Stone Tablet this time was rather lackluster. It hadn’t given a crucial hint like the existence of the loop, and it hadn’t even offered clues for the smaller stages they had already passed.

The only upside was that the text detailing the truth behind the mining disaster was also in that room, which had helped them complete a side quest.

However, judging from the clues, the instance’s rewards were likely unrelated to time.

’In that case...’

Seraphina Sinclair turned to look at Lyra Lowell.

’Why not go through it all again? First, it would verify whether the loop truly exists. Second, it would give us a chance to see if there’s another way to clear this.’

’She was almost certain about the former, but as for the latter...’

Seraphina Sinclair believed that most survivors who reached this stage would choose the sacrifice.

If they also chose the sacrifice, then even with her high contribution and stellar performance, Seraphina Sinclair would probably only get an A-rank Evaluation.

Seraphina Sinclair wanted an S.

’If you want an Evaluation others can’t get, you have to do what others can’t do.’

If she said this out loud, Fayestar and Alaric Hawthorn would probably never agree.

With this in mind, Seraphina Sinclair raised her eyes and glanced at Alaric Hawthorn.

Alaric Hawthorn noticed her gaze and frowned, asking warily, "What is it?"

’What is it?’

’The fool still doesn’t know the sacrifice requires two people. He thinks he’s going to walk away from this unscathed.’

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t answer Alaric Hawthorn’s question immediately. Her gaze lingered for a moment on his wary and slightly impatient face, then slowly swept over to Fayestar, who was holding her Sunflower with a look of indifference.

’Ever since she pulled Lyra Lowell back into the room, this woman has completely dropped her act.’

’At this point, Seraphina Sinclair was certain the Sunflower in her arms was definitely not named Mimi.’

For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the faint crackle of the lantern’s wick and the suppressed breathing of the group.

"It’s nothing," Seraphina Sinclair finally replied to Alaric Hawthorn, her tone flat and emotionless.

She turned her gaze back to the two indentations surrounded by the statues, then suddenly walked over to Lyra Lowell, took his flashlight, and headed toward the statues.

Alaric Hawthorn’s brow furrowed even deeper. He instinctively felt a subtle shift in Seraphina Sinclair’s attitude, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

Fayestar also sensed the stagnant atmosphere. She watched Seraphina Sinclair’s movements, frowned slightly, and glanced at Alaric Hawthorn, signaling for him to follow.

Though deeply reluctant, Lyra Lowell still shuffled along behind them.

Because of the talk of sacrifice, he kept a wary distance from Seraphina Sinclair and the other two, as if they were man-eating beasts.

Seraphina Sinclair shone the flashlight on the indentations.

The instant Alaric Hawthorn saw the situation clearly, his expression turned incredibly ugly.

He took a sharp step back, clutching his Sunflower tightly to his chest. The lantern light swayed, illuminating his face, which was a mixture of shock and fury. "Are you kidding me? The sacrifice requires two people’s Sunflowers?"

Fayestar was pensive. She looked up at Seraphina Sinclair, her brow furrowed, and finally asked the question she had been wanting to ask for a while. "Serafelle Sinclair, did you see this place clearly from the beginning?"

’It’s so dark in here... so dim...’

’How could a normal person have seen it at a glance?’

Seraphina Sinclair gave a noncommittal response, instead answering Alaric Hawthorn’s question. "It seems now that two Sunflowers are indeed required."

Lyra Lowell was stunned for a moment, then his face broke out in an expression of near-ecstatic joy.

He looked at Alaric Hawthorn, then at Fayestar, and finally at Seraphina Sinclair. His voice, trembling with the relief of a survivor and laced with a hint of schadenfreude, said, "See... See that! I told you! I told you the sacrifice was wrong! What now? It takes two people! Alaric Hawthorn, say something!"

He almost immediately moved to stand beside Alaric Hawthorn, as if he had found a new ally.

Alaric Hawthorn ignored Lyra Lowell’s clamoring. He stood up, gripping his long spear, his brow furrowed in thought for a long time.

His eyes narrowed as he stared fiercely at Fayestar and Seraphina Sinclair. "If a sacrifice is absolutely necessary, then fine. But the moment my Sunflower is placed on there, I’ll kill myself."