A Blessing in Disguise

Boom!

A thunderous roar shook the entire building.

Dust rustled as it rained down from above, making it feel as if a downpour were occurring inside the shipyard.

The sudden turn of events instantly shifted the tension, and everyone instinctively looked up in the direction of the noise.

They stared at the ceiling, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary there.

Yet just as everyone was looking up, a second thunderous roar erupted from the opposite side of the shipyard.

This time it was the doors, and the impact was spectacular.

A massive iron ball smashed right through the sealed doors before violently exploding. The resulting shockwave swept through the shipyard, sending everyone reeling.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several more explosions rang out in rapid succession as artillery shells blew gaping holes in the shipyard walls, letting dazzling sunlight stream in to illuminate the dimly lit interior.

Crash!

Before the smoke could even clear, a figure charged through the dust and haze.

Dressed in a dark blue formal suit, a top hat, and a cloak, she held her scabbard in her left hand and a drawn rapier in her right.

Her wavy auburn hair fell loose down her back. The masculine attire failed to hide her toned physique, and though her resolute face bore an undeniable, sickly paleness, her movements remained sharp and efficient as she kicked aside a broken door panel in her path, leading the charge into the shipyard.

【Authority, Judgment, Ability, Deterrence.】

She swung her long leg high into the air and slammed her foot down onto the ground. A powerful shockwave rippled outward from her landing point, further destabilizing the surrounding Deep Ones.

Officer Natalie Angel had arrived.

Lynch, you are not fighting alone.

I've come to back you up.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Behind Officer Natalie, over a dozen figures in matching formal suits rushed into the room with weapons raised, led by the grey-haired, stern-faced Mr. Victor.

The main force of the Watchers had arrived.

And there were more. Dozens of burly men in black uniforms carrying rifles followed closely behind. From outside came a cacophony of shouting, running footsteps, blowing whistles, and the rumbling of heavy wheels. It seemed an entire army was descending upon them.

The port guard had also joined the fray.

An overwhelming force had arrived, completely out of nowhere.

Taking advantage of the Deep Ones' confusion, Officer Natalie quickly scanned the massive shipyard, but she saw nothing but fish-like monsters.

This made her grit her teeth, her eyes turning bloodshot. With a cold flash of her rapier, she sliced a nearby Deep One pirate diagonally in half.

Damn it, where did you hide Lynch?

Anxious but not daring to ask aloud for fear of revealing their objective to the enemy, Officer Natalie let out a low growl and led her colleagues straight into the swarming pirates, initiating a brutal melee.

The soldiers behind her showed no mercy either, raising their rifles and firing in dense volleys at the Deep Ones. In an instant, the shipyard was filled with thick smoke, deafening gunfire, splashing blood, and earth-shattering roars.

Hang in there, partner. I'm right here.

Wait for me.

What she didn't know was that their sudden appearance had actually shifted the battlefield in an unexpected way.

The moment the first loud noise distracted everyone, the vast majority of the enemies looked up at the ceiling, but the powerful Kelvin did not.

His eyes remained locked on Lynch, who could already feel a bizarre and immense power suddenly manifesting around him.

The sudden disruption had forced Kelvin to abandon his probing. Knowing this might be his last chance, he decided he would rather kill an innocent than let a threat slip away.

This was how a rank seven expert truly operated—swift, decisive, and devastating.

No, I can't let all my efforts go to waste.

Lynch did not want to die. Even with his Death Veto ability to temporarily grant him immunity to death, he had no desire to test it. Moreover, if his disguise were penetrated, not only would the scheduling information he had just pried out go to waste, but his interference with the Swelling Daughter would be completely exposed, resulting in a total loss.

I refuse to accept this.

But a split second before death descended upon him, Lynch's eyes suddenly lit up, and a surge of excitement rushed through him.

I've got it! A fox borrowing the tiger's might!

At the absolute last second, Lynch activated a technique he had sworn he would never use in his life.

Arcana: Swelling Daughter Contact Technique.

Even if I, Lynch, were to die right in front of my enemies, I would never use such a bizarre arcana.

Because aside from establishing a mental link with the Swelling Daughter, this arcana was completely useless.

The arcana cast instantly, taking effect immediately. Lynch felt himself make contact with a bizarre, cold, sinister, and terrifying consciousness. Even though it wasn't his first time experiencing it, it still nearly drove him insane.

The moment their minds connected, a treacherous aura thick with the scent of death quietly seeped out of Lynch's body through the link.

This was the power of an evil god, representing a certain set of universal laws. As the connection was forged, the warped power of those laws inevitably bled through, much like sound leaking from a telephone receiver.

Simply put, for a brief moment, one could feel the aura of the evil god emanating from the summoner.

And the aura leaking out right now happened to be the exact presence of the master whom the Swelling Daughters served.

If they had the luxury of time to analyze it slowly, he would have been exposed in no time. But the sudden intrusion of the Watchers gave Lynch another opportunity to gamble.

I bet you don't dare to clash head-on with the authorities, and I bet you don't have the time to examine this closely.

The results of his gamble exceeded all expectations, leaving even Lynch himself somewhat dazed.

It had worked incredibly well. The moment that treacherous aura flashed, Kelvin's and Walker's faces turned pale with fright.

They nearly went mad on the spot.

Although it lasted only a fraction of a second, that presence was the pure will of an evil god. What else could it be but a manifestation ritual to summon the evil god's will into one's own body? It couldn't possibly be a contact technique; what kind of idiot would use a contact technique to chat at a time like this?

The problem was that the caster of a manifestation ritual rarely survived, and it was virtually impossible for any living thing within several hundred meters to survive either. Fine, so what if you weren't Lynch? Couldn't you have proven it some other way? We were just testing you, and the authorities just happened to ambush us. Did you really have to drag everyone down to hell with you on a whim?

You might want to die, but we don't!

“Stop!”

“No!”

Kelvin even forgot to continue his attack and shouted out loud. Fortunately, the woman seemed to calm down as well, and the aura of the evil god's will vanished even more abruptly than it had appeared. This left both men drenched in a cold sweat of pure terror, nearly wetting themselves on the spot.

Boom!

Just then, the doors were kicked open, and Officer Natalie charged inside. Seeing the newcomers, Walker grabbed Lynch's hand and pulled her along with Kelvin behind a pile of clutter.

“We've been tricked! Lynch was definitely not teleported in here!”

No one doubted Lynch's identity anymore. Walker said in a fit of rage:

“He must have discovered our ambush, had someone else pose as him, and run off to the Watchers for help before leading them right to us!”

“Hiss, Lady, I apologize for doubting you. It was my mistake,” Kelvin said at a breakneck speed. “We should—”

“Retreat! They cannot see me here, and your identity must not be exposed either. We leave now. Old Blind Eye, get your men out of here immediately!”

Kelvin immediately grabbed Walker's wrist. But when his other hand reached out to grab Lynch, Lynch took a step back to avoid his touch.

“You two go. I have my own ways of escaping. They have ruined my mood, so I shall stay and see if anything amusing happens.”

“Then find me at the Engineering Building later, or go straight to the Hall of Order. Mr. Kelvin, let's go.”

It seems my disguise is completely secure now. Thank goodness the Watchers showed up out of nowhere. This really turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Watching the two of them vanish before his eyes, Lynch finally let his guard down. He felt entirely drained, his body soaked in a cold sweat.

Yet his mind remained full of questions. Why had the Watchers suddenly appeared?

And had Officer Natalie already woken up? Looking at her pale face, she had clearly not recovered yet. Why wasn't she resting in bed? Who had guided her here?

Surely it wasn't me, right?

The stubborn officer, instead of resting, had already chased the enemy to the edge of the docks inside the shipyard.

With Walker teleporting away, Old Blind Eye began directing the pirates to retreat into the sea.

Seeing the Deep Ones dive into the water one by one, the officer grew anxious and charged forward immediately, attempting to capture a few survivors for interrogation.

However, just as she neared the edge of the pier and before she could catch any of the fleeing pirates, a sudden splash erupted from the water. A figure leaped out of the sea without warning, slashing a sharp blade straight down at the rapidly advancing Officer Natalie.

It was Old Blind Eye, who had already jumped into the sea, launching a desperate ambush.

“Watch out!”

Several Watchers who had been catching up cried out in alarm, but they were a step slower than the officer. Still a few paces away, they could only watch helplessly as the blade came down, unable to intervene in time.

But right at that moment, everyone felt a light breeze sweep past.

A black, human-head-sized skull flew out from the pile of clutter to the side. Wreathed in dark mist, it zipped past everyone at lightning speed, deftly curving around Officer Natalie as she drew her sword, and slammed directly into the pouncing Old Blind Eye.

Bang!

The skull collided with Old Blind Eye in midair. Though the bone lacked a physical body, it seemed to carry immense force, violently blasting him backward. At the same time, the skull exploded into a cloud of black mist around him.

Enveloped by the dark mist, his scaled skin seemed to lose all its vitality, erupting into large patches of greenish-white, rotting sores. Old Blind Eye let out a miserable shriek, twisting in agony as he fell back into the sea, leaving a rapidly receding wake in the water.

“Who is there?”

Officer Natalie already had a hunch, but she still called out in a loud voice, her eyes dating toward the direction the skull had come from.

There, behind a pile of clutter, stood a man in a formal suit. He was pointing his fingers in the shape of a gun, tipping the brim of the hat that obscured his face, and revealing a brilliant smile beneath it.

“It's been a while, Officer Natalie Angel.”

All noise instantly died down as the group of Watchers stared in astonishment at Lynch, who had appeared out of nowhere.

And Officer Natalie, whose target had just been stolen, stood frozen for a moment. Then, she suddenly turned and accelerated, marching briskly toward the posing Lynch with her rapier in hand.

Huh? What's going on?

Why is she suddenly charging at me? It looks like she wants to hit me!

As Lynch dithered, his final opportunity to escape slipped away. He watched as Officer Natalie reached him and raised her hands...

And pulled him tightly into a hug, locking her arms around him. “Thank goodness I made it in time, you absolute idiot.”

“Holy shit! Ow, ow, ow! Gentle! They're breaking! My ribs are breaking!”

Crack.