Other Pursuers

Covering Martha's eyes so she couldn't see the monsters clearly, Lynch felt a lingering wave of dread.

If he had been preoccupied with questioning the female reporter about her experience instead of insisting on taking Martha home first, the three of them would have been cornered inside the carriage by a pack of ghouls right now.

Lynch was proudly certain that he wouldn't last thirty seconds—unless he directly activated his Divine Authority.

No wonder he had felt watched the whole way; it must have been them. Where on earth did these ghouls come from?

They definitely weren't the hillmen. Could they be the sewer ghouls that had remained in the shadows? If they had tracked them through the sewers, it was no wonder they hadn't been noticed until now.

Turning his head, Lynch couldn't make out the female reporter's expression, but her body was trembling slightly. Knowing she was also gripped by fear in hindsight, he pointed toward the outer wall they had planned to climb over earlier.

Her murky red eyes showed a moment of confusion before quickly clearing. Nodding to Lynch, she followed as the two of them carried Martha, slipping back to the outermost perimeter behind the cover of the abandoned carriages.

“Clang.” A dull crash echoed from behind them. The ghouls had already reverted to their vagrant forms and were ransacking other carriages, not yet realizing their target was slipping away.

The wall wasn't particularly tall, but ghouls had sharp eyesight; anyone climbing up would certainly be spotted. Lynch gritted his teeth, pulled on his gloves, and rested his hand on the female reporter's shoulder.

Divine Authority: Concealment. Ability: presence-masking. Activate.

Yet nothing happened.

Huh?

Only then did Lynch remember that this ability had limitations: the target had to trust him enough, or the success rate would drop proportionally.

Don't tell me it's useless at a critical moment like this?

He tried again and failed once more. Only now did Lynch understand just how significant it was that it had worked on Officer Natalie on the first try.

There was no time left to gamble on success rates. The ghouls were searching and smashing through carriages one by one. Seeing them draw closer, Lynch grew increasingly anxious.

What should I do? I need a plan.

You're a transmigrator. Your greatest advantage is the expansive perspective of the information age; you have open-minded thinking.

With so many strange abilities, you can pull off miracles if you use them right. You just haven't thought of it yet, Lynch.

Creak, crunch. Another carriage was breached by several ghouls. They even tore off the door and tossed the battered metal sheet aside. It flew over the trio's hiding spot, slammed into the wall, and came to rest leaning diagonally against it.

Huh? Looks like there's a loophole to exploit.

Looking at the space beneath the angle between the door and the wall, Lynch's mind stirred as he realized a quirk of this ability.

It didn't make the target invisible; rather, it made surrounding people overlook the ability's target, turning a blind eye to it.

In other words, the target of the ability still physically existed. What if something hid behind the target?

The hidden object was theoretically obstructed by the target. Since the target wasn't invisible, an enemy's line of sight couldn't bypass it to perceive what lay behind. Thus, a paradox was born: hidden objects not covered by the ability achieved concealment through this exact contradiction.

For example, the female reporter and Martha could hide, and the carriage door that flew over was a ready-made shield delivered right to them, with piles of trash and debris along the wall offering the perfect footing for the two of them to climb over.

Lynch immediately masked his voice with his ability and briefly explained the idea to Martha and the female reporter, Maya. With the ghouls closing in, there was no time for trial and error, much less hesitation from the two ladies. Trying something was far better than waiting around to die.

They had only three seconds, and it had to succeed on the first try.

The two ladies, one older and one younger, stared at the debris in the corner of the wall, their expressions tense.

Fortunately, neither of them was a delicate lady; their movements were quite nimble. After studying the layout for a few seconds, both gave Lynch a nod.

Using the nearest carriage for cover, the three made their way to the base of the wall. Lynch took a few deep breaths, his hands gripping both sides of the carriage door tightly.

Three, two, one.

Mouthing the word “one,” he raised the door overhead with all his might to shield the wall while simultaneously activating the presence-masking ability. Before the two ladies could even marvel at how the door seemed to vanish from perception, both sprang into action, using the cover of the metal panel to scramble up the wall.

Lynch forgot to breathe. The catch was that his own line of sight was also blocked by the door, making it impossible to see the two ladies climbing the wall; he could only focus entirely on the sounds coming from the ghouls.

It must work. It has to work.

Thud. The sound of a heavy object landing nearly made Lynch's heart leap out of his chest, but he quickly realized the landing sound came from outside the wall, meaning one of them had successfully jumped down.

Meanwhile, everything remained normal on the ghouls' side as they continued their smashing and searching.

Rustling and scuffing sounds still came from atop the wall, indicating the other hadn't made it over yet.

Shrieks resembling an infant's cries rang out as several ghouls communicated with one another, perhaps having spotted something. The sounds were so eerie that Lynch couldn't decipher their meaning and could only suppress the unease in his heart.

Thud. A second landing sound came from outside the wall, while the grating shrieks of the ghouls on the other side of the carriage drew nearer. Lynch didn't even bother checking whether the door was still concealed; he gently set it down, activated his lurking ability to mask his figure, and sprang onto the top of the wall like a cat.

The moment he made his escape, several vagrants rounded the back of the abandoned carriage. Their eyes swept past Lynch, who was crouched atop the wall, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, they circled the area and turned back without noticing a thing.

His pounding heart finally settled back into place. Tucking his cane under his arm, Lynch hopped lightly down from the wall. The moment his feet touched the ground, an excited little Martha threw herself forward and grabbed his hand.

Still not clear of danger, Lynch didn't want to linger. He signaled the female reporter, and the two crossed the street in single file, darting deep into the alleys on the other side. Once inside the deserted alleys, they broke into a sprint, running around several buildings until they were certain the ghouls couldn't possibly spot them before finally stopping.

“Phew.” Lynch let out a long breath. “We're safe for now. You probably can't stay here anymore. Do you have anywhere else to go?”

The female reporter didn't answer immediately. She glanced around anxiously before shaking her head in bewilderment. “I don't even know who else is looking for me, let alone where is safe anymore.”

“Let me recommend a place,” Lynch said after some thought. “I know you don't trust anyone right now, but I happen to know of an empty spot—the Thorn Flower Club. It was previously occupied by a group of cultists and was recently cleared out, so the building is abandoned. It's currently under the Watchers' custody, but there's only a single caretaker. As long as you avoid the caretaker and slip into the underground secret passage to hide, you shouldn't be found.”

“All right.” Knowing Lynch was the only one who could help her right now, the female reporter agreed without hesitation.

“I'll take you there first. Once you're hidden, I'll take Martha home. You—”

Lynch's footsteps abruptly halted, his voice cutting off mid-sentence.

The distinctive, infant-like wails of ghouls echoed from the alley behind them, accompanied by chaotic footsteps.

Then, a voice uncharacteristically deep for a ghoul spoke leisurely:

“I smell her scent. She passed through here not long ago. Find her. We cannot fail this time.”

Lynch's heart sank. He realized that while he had avoided the Rangers and the sewer ghouls, he had overlooked the hillmen who had not shown up all day.

The elder hillman had caught up.

“You know where the Thorn Flower Club is, right? Good. You go first, and I'll hold them off for you.”

“You...”

“Save the talk. Our relationship isn't close enough for me to sacrifice myself for you. If I'm staying behind, it's because I have the means to protect myself. Go wait for me there; I'll head over in a few hours at most.”

“Thank you. You... be careful.”

The female reporter was decisive. She gave Lynch a deep bow, turned, and sprinted into the alleyway. Lynch let out a deep sigh and turned to face the direction where the hillmen were gathering.