Phantom

In the world of mystery, there were no coincidences.

An attack that felt like child's play—coming abruptly, ending hastily, neither fierce nor dangerous, and occurring at a time when the Princess wasn't even making a public appearance.

Yet the timing was too coincidental.

Just moments before the strange agitation of the wild beasts in the beast arena spiked, the attack had arrived.

Lynch couldn't be certain there was definitely a connection, but he didn't want to gamble. If a link truly existed—one capable of forcing a group of high-level experts to change their plans—then whatever was lurking underneath was definitely not simple.

Better safe than sorry.

There was no time to explain, but fortunately, the female officer didn't need one.

Without asking a single question, Officer Natalie pulled out an object resembling a whistle. With a tug of its fuse, the whistle shot into the sky like fireworks, spewing sparks while letting out a piercing shriek loud enough to easily reach the ball up front.

Yet their hearts instantly sank.

The music of the “March of the Ocean” continued drifting over from the ball alongside non-stop laughter. There wasn't the slightest stir, let alone any response from the Watcher officers.

Something was terribly wrong.

Their eyes swept their surroundings. The environment looked the same as ever; gas lamps illuminated the beast arena, yet beyond the light, the darkness seemed all the more profound.

The beasts growled low toward empty air, a distinct dread seeping through their snarls.

An unanswered distress signal combined with the animals' bizarre behavior turned the atmosphere in the beast arena chilling and eerie. Countless sinister shadows seemed to lurk within the deep darkness, peering at the two standing under the lamps.

What on earth had happened?

Either something was wrong over at the ball, or something was wrong on their end.

Given the sheer number of powerful figures over there, the likelihood of a mishap at the ball was low. Which meant... had they fallen into a trap?

As Lynch pondered this, he felt the female officer give his hem a gentle tug. Turning around, he saw her pointing toward the caged beasts with a solemn expression.

The animals were still growling in fear, appearing no different from before, but Lynch immediately realized their gazes were wrong.

Earlier, despite their terror, whenever the two walked near them, the beasts would still direct some of their attention toward Lynch and Natalie. Now, however, the animals completely looked through them, as though the two didn't even exist.

They exchanged a swift glance, an ominous premonition blooming in their hearts. Gritting his teeth, Lynch raised his serrated sword and feigned a thrust toward a tiger through the bars. The tiger didn't even flick an eyeball in his direction.

Totally blind to them... Had they disappeared?

A chill seeped from every pore in their bodies. Their hands instinctively grasped each other. Fortunately, they could still feel each other's warmth. They hadn't vanished.

Scanning their surroundings again, everything seemed normal. No other people were in sight across the beast arena, only the caged animals pacing anxiously.

“Come on, let's head over to the ball first.”

Lynch made up his mind after a brief hesitation. Without a second thought, the female officer gripped her sword and followed closely behind him as the two bolted toward the venue.

The lights grew nearer, and the noise of the ball remained lively.

The “March of the Ocean” had come to an end. People milled about with wine glasses in hand, smiles beaming across every face amidst the rich aroma of alcohol and bursts of merry laughter.

Good, things were normal here. Meeting each other's eyes, both saw the relief in the other's expression.

The chill in their hearts eased slightly. Just then, they spotted Truen, the bearded Watcher, walking past them holding a roasted pig leg.

That glutton. Go eat your lizards.

Seeing that Truen hadn't noticed him or Natalie, Lynch suddenly called out from behind him, “Hey, sneaking a snack, are you?”

Yet Lynch was the one startled by what followed. The bearded man gave no reaction whatsoever, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Hiss—

Their newly eased hearts plunged once more. Officer Natalie's eyes sharpened, and she sent a flying kick straight toward Truen's backside.

Her foot struck nothing but air. The man was like a phantom—visible, yet intangible.

Something happened here too?

“Truen, what are you doing again? Have you seen Natalie?”

Mr. V's stiff, solemn voice sounded from behind. When Lynch turned around, he saw Mr. V walk straight through his body and step up to Truen.

“Hm?” The moment he phased through, Mr. V abruptly halted and glanced back, looking toward the spot Lynch occupied before shaking his head in confusion.

Lynch's face darkened. Striding over to a nearby banquet table, ignoring several guests helping themselves to fruit platters, he slammed his palm down onto the table.

Bang!

A tremendous thump rang out.

Lynch found that he could touch the table, which proved he wasn't the phantom. Yet despite the loud noise, the guests turned a deaf ear, continuing to chat and laugh as if nothing had happened.

Two living, breathing people and a massive crash were treated as non-existent.

It was as if they had turned into ghosts from another world, imperceptible to anyone.

“We seem to have fallen into a very peculiar state.”

Worthy of a professional Watcher, Officer Natalie kept her voice remarkably calm despite the bizarre occurrence.

Lynch nodded, his mind quickly settling down as well. In the world of mystery, no matter how bizarre things became, one could never panic. Panic was often the prelude to death.

Besides, it wasn't even certain that they were the ones who had become phantoms. What was there to panic about?

Let's see what happens then. Lynch pondered for a second, then flipped the table over.

Instantly, fruit flew in all directions, plates and cups went scattering, and the clatter of porcelain and silverware crashing to the floor echoed loudly.

Yet in that moment, both of their expressions changed.

As the overturned table rolled across the floor, an identical table remained right where the original had stood, as though a single table had split in two.

A piece of water melon skewered on a toothpick was popped into a gentleman's mouth and chewed, while simultaneously, an identical piece tumbled across the floor right to Officer Natalie's feet. Staring at the rolling red fruit flesh, the two were stunned.

Their stupor lasted only a second before Lynch snapped back to his senses. He slapped the intact table again; this time, his palm passed straight through it without resistance, as though phasing through an illusion. Meanwhile, Officer Natalie had already righted the overturned table on the ground—it was completely solid, fully tangible.

“I get it.” With a mind full of imaginative concepts from countless movies and shows, Lynch immediately found a reasonable explanation. “We and these people seem to be separated into two identical spaces. As long as we don't interfere, all inanimate objects remain superimposed. We can only interact with objects on our side, and the same goes for them. The only difference is that we can see them, while they can't see us at all. It was the same with the wild beasts—like Mr. V, they sensed our presence with keen intuition, but because they couldn't see us, it terrified them.”

“That makes sense.”

“I suspect this state was created when those high-level experts attacked earlier. They launched the assault at an awkward time and called it off just as quickly, almost like they were toying with the guards. It was most likely done to tie down our high-level experts' attention and conceal the creation of this space.” Lynch spoke faster and with growing certainty. “They chose the beast arena because people naturally fear wild beasts. No normal person would wander over there during a ball, preventing anyone from stumbling in by accident. What they didn't anticipate was... well, so we happened to run right into it.”

“Then how do we get out to deliver a warning? The crux should still be at the beast arena, right?” The female officer bit her lip in thought. “Besides, why would they create a state like this? It seems pointless.”

“How to get out is hard to say, but as for the purpose...” Lynch's mouth twitched slightly as he said in a low voice, “Tell me, if someone in this state walked straight into Her Highness the Princess's lounge, would any of those high-level experts notice them?”

Officer Natalie's eyes went wide. She stared blankly at Lynch, both of them horrified by his deduction.

Damn it!