The clattering of hooves broke through the hazy red fog.
The carriage sped wildly down the empty main road, drawing sideways glances from pedestrians along the way.
In the sky behind them, six stitched-together monstrosities carrying their pursuers roared past, yet the pedestrians acted as if they didn't see them at all, their eyes only following the speeding carriage.
On the carriage, the husband mercilessly whipped the horse's back, while his wife held her daughter tightly in her arms, screaming repeatedly with her eyes shut. Little Nara, huddled in her mother's embrace, also had her eyes closed, but she kept a tiny slit open to peer curiously at the strange uncle beside her.
Lynch stood inside the speeding carriage, facing the pursuers behind them. He had already holstered his pistol and was now gripping the ancient piece of parchment tightly in his hand.
This was what the noble lady had slipped to him when they had agreed that Lynch would attempt to decipher the mystery documents while Miss Valente acted as his guard, reasoning that since they were deciphering them together, it didn't matter who kept it.
However, this wasn't Parchment of Max (4), which had already been used twice, but Parchment of Max (3), which he had never seen before. Mostly, it was because Parchment (4) had just been used on the beach yesterday and hadn't had its abilities recharged yet, so they had to use Parchment (3) instead.
Lynch was very curious about how many sheets this girl's family had stockpiled. Was she planning to crush her enemies to death with a barrage of various rank six abilities? But facing the familiar folding fan, Lynch suppressed his curiosity.
He hadn't expected it would actually come in handy.
Although he didn't want to make a mortal enemy, the other side was pressing him at every step, so Lynch stopped backing down. Let them come. Did they really think he was afraid of them?
Following Miss Valente's instructions, Lynch cut his finger and smeared his blood onto the parchment. The parchment immediately acted like a greedy beast, desperately sucking the blood from his fingertip.
In the next moment, countless pieces of complex information surged back into Lynch's consciousness along with the blood. His finger began to move naturally, writing symbols on the parchment that even he could barely comprehend.
The relentlessly pursuing monster girl had caught up to the sky above the carriage once more with her black-clothed subordinates. A malicious grin was plastered across her beautiful face. After a sharp screech in midair, her mount suddenly soared higher, preparing to initiate a third dive.
Right then, Lynch's tracing hand suddenly paused. With a flick of his wrist, he turned his palm up toward the sky.
Then, he clenched his fist tightly and made a pulling motion downward.
【Authority, Earth, Ability, Earth's Embrace.】
A rank six ability, Earth's Embrace, also known as: Gravity Spell.
Before the pursuers in the air could realize what was happening, they only had time to scream as they, along with their subordinates and mounts, slammed toward the ground at an incredibly high speed.
With a series of thunderous crashes, several massive bodies slammed heavily into the ground, smashing several large craters into the hard stone pavement and sending up plumes of dust. Inside the craters, the pursuers and their mounts seemed glued to the bottom, struggling desperately but unable to break free from the earth's shackles.
The carriage continued to speed forward, quickly leaving the large craters behind. Lynch lifted his top hat, bowed slightly to the receding pursuers, and waved his hat in farewell.
This is why those who show off get struck by lightning. Why did you insist on flying? Don't you know the truth that the higher you fly, the harder you fall?
“Don't stop, keep going! I don't know how long I can keep them pinned down.”
Lynch let out a long breath and sat back down on his seat. He noticed the little girl was hiding in her mother's arms, her big, curious eyes blinking as she stared at the parchment in Lynch's hand.
Let me tell you, I've seen plenty of bratty kids—there's even one back home. Don't even think about making me let my guard down.
Ignoring Nara's disappointed look, Lynch slipped the parchment back into his pocket, moving further away from the scene of the incident along with the carriage.
To avoid having their carriage recognized, the four of them committed another crime, forcing an empty carriage to stop, hijacking it, and speeding toward the outskirts of the city.
The city wasn't large, and they quickly escaped the densely built-up city center.
Only then did Lynch realize how bizarre this city was. Once you left the city center, you were immediately in the countryside. There was no such thing as a suburb, let alone occupations like farmers.
Because they simply weren't needed.
There were no crops, no wild animals; the world was lonely and monotonous.
Everyone knew what a normal environment should look like, and everyone knew their city lacked these things, yet they always believed this was absolutely normal. Even though Luke had spent the past few days incessantly telling people how bizarre this was, even with his prompts, those people still couldn't understand what was wrong—just like the Helms before they woke up.
Awakening was the ultimate torment. As Luke spoke of these things, Lynch could hear the deep regret in his voice. The man seemed to have finally realized that his fleeting pursuit of excitement had led him and his family onto a journey with no return in sight.
But did regret and apologies have any meaning now?
Clara merely held her daughter with her head lowered, keeping silent. This made the atmosphere in the carriage grow increasingly stifling. Soon, amidst the heavy silence, the vehicle reached the edge of the city.
A sudden, loud neigh broke the silence. The draft horse reared up, took a few leaps forward, and came to a halt.
For a moment, the breathing of all four grew rapid as they stared blankly at the sight before them.
The red fog outside the city grew even denser. The rolling mist was like a physical wall blocking the carriage's path. Eerie whispers drifted from the red fog, faint and fleeting, yet impossible to ignore.
There was no moon, no stars, and certainly no gas streetlamps; one couldn't see anything in the thick fog. The couple seemed terrified of the pervasive red fog. Even though they were still some distance away, their breathing was shallow, their expressions tense, and their bodies instinctively leaned backward.
“Although the fog is much thicker than in the city during the day, we could barely make out the road. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to go out for a picnic.”
Luke's voice trembled slightly.
“So it has always been like this?” Lynch stared at the mist, frowning in thought.
“Yes, it was like this when we came last time.”
As he spoke, Luke looked at Clara for confirmation. She nodded while holding her daughter tightly. Instead, it was the little girl, Nara, who answered in a crisp voice:
“Daddy is right.”
“What about before that? Were there any changes?”
“Before?” Luke was suddenly taken aback, blinking blankly. “I... I...”
“You didn't happen to have never been to the outskirts before, did you? Mrs. Clara, what about you?”
“It seems so,” Luke's wife answered timidly. “I don't think I've ever heard of anyone coming outside the city for no reason.”
Lynch suddenly realized a major problem. “If you've never been out of the city, why did you think that scenery was exceptionally beautiful when you dreamed of it? And most importantly, how did you know the location of your destination? Shouldn't it be something you've never seen before?”
Luke was tongue-tied, staring at his wife in silence. Their daughter looked even more bewildered. Clearly, the family of three had never considered this question.
“Whew... So, what did you see in your dream? You must at least know that.”
“It was just a lush green meadow, stretching as far as the eye could see.”
“And flowers, so many flowers! Even more than what Mommy and Daddy showed me when they took me to the park. It was so pretty.”
Inside such a dense, blood-red fog, there was a place covered in wildflowers? The more he thought about it, the more bizarre it felt. The key point was that they actually dared to go there.
Forget it. They probably weren't in a normal state of mind at the time, so there was no point in overanalyzing it.
“Oh, that's right! There was also a statue in the middle of the lawn,” little Nara suddenly remembered, speaking excitedly. “A very, very pretty big sister. She felt warm and comfortable to the touch.”
You actually touched it! Are bratty kids all over the world this terrifying?
Lynch sighed and pressed further. “Can you still find that place?”
This time, all three nodded in confirmation, and Luke even pointed in a certain direction.
This was even more abnormal. Nevertheless, Lynch gritted his teeth, pulled out several Torches of Light, activated them, and stuffed one into each of their hands. The light beams emitted by the crystals were quite strong, barely piercing through the fog to reveal a bit of the surroundings.
The ground was bare gravel without a single trace of vegetation. Only a narrow path stretched into the distance, disappearing deep into the thick fog.
Anyone who dared to enter such a creepy environment had clearly watched too many horror movies in vain. But considering the pursuers behind them and his own worsening contamination, Lynch didn't dare to delay. He only wanted to uncover the truth of this place as quickly as possible. He certainly couldn't count on the monster girl, so mapping out the actual environment might be his only way to escape.
Lynch looked at the red fog around them, then gazed up at the red moon in the sky. Suddenly, an idea struck him.
“Can you see the moon in the sky?”
“The moon? What's that?”
“No, it's nothing.”
Lynch finally understood why he couldn't see the red moon when he first entered. It seemed the red moon of this world only rose in his own mind.
That made things much easier.
'Neighbor, you've always been there. Even in the fog, I can see you. You'll guide me, right?'
【Mhm.】
'Can I go in?'
【...】
'Then let me rephrase the question: you don't object to me going in, right?'
【...Pfft, mhm.】
Then there was nothing to fear. Let's go, neighbor.
“Lead the way, Luke.”
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