Shock

There were two types of ghouls: mindless mad ghouls, and rational ordinary ghouls.

The ones Lynch had dealt with in the mortal world, including Elder Nikolai of the hillmen, were all ordinary ghouls, whereas those revived from petrification in the ancient city of Zur-Baha-Sahr were all mad ghouls.

Rational ordinary ghouls possessed two forms: human and ghoul. Moreover, they preferred to maintain their human form, only transforming into their ghoul form when fighting.

Thus, when Lynch saw the two ghouls in the distance, he was startled; both creatures were currently in their ghoul forms.

They stood over two meters tall, long, razor-sharp claws extending from their fingers and toes, their muzzles jutting out like wolves, and their teeth gleaming with the cold sharpness of a shark’s.

It was the standard ghoul form, leading Lynch to assume they were about to attack. Soon, however, he noticed that neither moved. They didn't seem to have any intention of launching an assault; they were simply walking around in their ghoul bodies.

Did they have screws loose in their heads?

That was the only thought in Lynch's mind.

It was like Ultraman transforming not to fight monsters, but simply because he felt like walking around like that. Had they ever stopped to consider how the monsters felt?

Despite his silent, frantic roasting, Lynch did not act rashly. He merely watched the two ghouls from afar. The creatures seemed to be talking to each other; having clearly spotted the four, they showed no inclination to pounce or bite, paying them no mind at all. After a bout of howling and screeching as if bickering, the two ghouls apparently reached an agreement and suddenly bolted toward the depths of the woods, disappearing from their sight in a few bounds.

What was going on? Why did Third Age ghouls seem completely unhinged?

Lynch found it utterly baffling and turned an inquiring gaze toward Miss Diana.

Her family had dealt with the hillmen for over a thousand years; perhaps she understood their condition?

Yet one look at Diana’s expression revealed that she was even more bewildered than he was. “I’ve never heard of ghouls preferring to maintain their beast form. Elder Nikolai said it’s a psychological issue—remaining in beast form for extended periods causes their sanity to rapidly erode. The longer they stay in beast form, the weaker their sanity becomes. That’s why no ghoul would ever do this, because anyone who did has already turned into a mad ghoul.”

“Then that’s strange. Were those two ghouls just bored? Besides, they deliberately loitered outside the city. Didn't travelers say their main force was still roaming a few kilometers away?”

Officer Natalie ventured a guess, “Could they be trying to frighten people, driving everyone outside into the city?”

“If they wanted to scare people, having the main force do it a few kilometers away would be more than enough. There’s no need to get so close, where they’d risk getting hurt—arcanists of this era can still injure them. Furthermore, if they really wanted to frighten people, they should have charged out in a frenzy; hiding in the depths of the woods isn't how you terrorize someone. Being here feels more like they’re trying to conceal something. Mm, looking at it that way, maintaining their ghoul forms might serve the same purpose. What are they trying to hide? Their identities? Could someone in the city recognize them?”

Unfortunately, with the clues currently at hand, Lynch couldn't deduce the ghouls' purpose no matter how hard he tried. Restricted by the relic's active radius, they couldn't pursue them either, leaving them no choice but to let it drop.

Fortunately, all the seeds that needed planting had been planted, and the mission they had entered for was progressing steadily. The four lingered no longer, rushing back into the city before the gates closed.

Upon returning, they realized they had worried for nothing. The quarantine screening at the city gate was still underway. Most had been let in, with only a dozen or so people remaining outside the gate.

No wonder privilege was universally beloved—it truly was a wonderful thing. Bearing Knight Terry’s badge, the four were let into the city without needing any screening at all. By the time they returned to Dr. Sven’s home, the sky was already dimming. Dr. Sven, however, had not yet returned, presumably still studying the plague at the fortress barracks, with no telling when she might remember to come home.

Their appointment with the mad old man tonight was set for when the silver moon rose, which in this season was around ten in the evening. It wasn't even seven yet, leaving them with plenty of time. Taking out the “crudest” emergency rations from Miss Diana's bracelet, they had a “fast-food” meal featuring lemon tuna as the appetizer, grilled oysters and pan-fried veal loin as the main course, cucumber salad, and minced quail meat pie as the staple.

Since you don't bite the hand that feeds you, Lynch ultimately refrained from mocking her idea of “crude” and “fast food,” though holding it in took considerable effort. In any case, the four finally had some downtime, enjoying a rare stretch of leisure since entering the memory.

It was actually turning out to be a bit boring.

The main thing was that none of the four were RPG heroes with a habit of rummaging through villagers' houses, so no one went upstairs to snoop around Dr. Sven’s room. After putting their heads together, they decided to head to the only tavern beside the threshing floor for a look around. Lynch was somewhat curious about the ghoul tribe near Norin and wanted to learn more.

Because Lynch couldn't shake the feeling that what was happening right now felt strange.

The ghoul attacks that had caused such widespread panic didn't appear to be the work of ghouls after all, yet more and more people confirmed that numerous ghouls were haunting the vicinity. What's more, historically, ghouls indeed breached the city and slaughtered everyone; barring any surprises, it should have been the nearby ghoul tribe that did it.

What on earth happened back then to make the situation deteriorate into the worst-case scenario? Could the two ghouls they encountered outside the city today have something to do with this? And what was the purpose behind the intervention of the Lord of a Billion Radiance?

Lynch had plenty of questions, but some of them would likely be answered tonight. Not being in any rush, Lynch and the other three first took a stroll through the tavern.

As the small city’s sole entertainment venue, it was already packed before eight o'clock.

The tavern was crowded with travelers from out of town, sighing and groaning as they complained about their helpless predicament in such a dangerous place.

The four, however, paid no attention to these travelers. Instead, they approached several farmers they had met that morning to chat about the local ghouls.

Before asking, they knew nothing; after asking, they still knew nothing.

In fact, they were even more bewildered.

The small city of Norin had been established for over two hundred years, and the history of that ghoul tribe was even longer than Norin's. In fact, when the city was first built, the ghouls were already living nearby. During Norin's early days, they occasionally even received help from the ghouls. Over the past two centuries, ghouls had frequently assumed human form to mingle and live inside the city; even when exposed, they merely fled quickly, and the two sides had never harmed each other.

Relations between both sides were actually quite decent. While humans harbored a bit of fear, maintaining peaceful neighborly relations for two hundred years was no small feat.

So initially, no one took it seriously—only the travelers were on edge. It wasn't until someone was actually killed that the farmers grew anxious.

That was likely how true history played out, so why did the good neighbors turn into grim reapers? And why be so vicious as to not even spare young children?

Lynch instinctively realized that hidden within this was the most crucial secret, one that could very well determine the success or failure of their mission.

Perhaps the answer would have to come from the madman who went around every day shouting about the ghouls' arrival.

Then again, going by movie tropes, the old man hadn't been silenced already, had he?

Startled by his own sudden worry, Lynch checked the time and saw it was nearly the hour. He hurried toward the mill beside the threshing floor where the mad old man usually stayed.

Yet the moment he entered the mill, Lynch realized he had worried for nothing. The old fellow was leaning against the millstone, clutching a bottle of liquor stolen from who-knows-where and drinking with utter delight.

At the sight of Lynch, the mad old man grinned broadly, revealing a front tooth that was missing half of itself. But the very first words out of his mouth sent Lynch's heart sinking straight to the bottom.

“You finally came out of that little ghoul’s home.”