Where Is This

Under the dim light of the kerosene lamp, shark-sharp teeth tore into fresh meat, the crunchy chewing sounds especially crisp in the silence.

This was the underground cavern beneath Thorn Flower. The passage leading deeper in had already been blown apart, making this the perfect hiding spot.

Maya, the female reporter, sat on the ground beside the kerosene lamp. The grime on her face had been washed away, and she had changed into a clean set of clothes, looking much more refreshed.

She was probably quite young, around twenty-one or twenty-two, petite with fair skin, bearing some resemblance to her photograph. However, her appearance had turned exceedingly hideous—especially her two rows of sharp fangs, gleaming bone-white beneath the lamp, looking exceptionally savage.

At the moment, she was clutching a massive turkey leg, tearing into it and swallowing ravenously. She had already devoured one nine-penny turkey leg and was mounting an attack on the second. Watching her famished state, Lynch could only sigh and refill her coffee cup.

It seemed she hadn't had a proper meal in days. Lynch didn't have the heart to interrupt her meal; after buying her food, he made trip after trip carrying daily necessities down from the surface building so that she could live a bit more comfortably over the next few days.

“What do you want to know? Ask away.”

Seeing Lynch finish his chores, Maya finally spared the remaining half of the turkey leg, putting it away carefully as if terrified it might run off on its own. Only then did she take the towel to wipe her mouth, regaining an elegance befitting her profession.

“You trust me now? In the carriage graveyard, you were quite suspicious of me.”

“That white-bearded old man is Chieftain Nikolai of the hillmen. Supposedly, he is a very terrifying, very formidable person.”

Maya turned up the kerosene lamp. Even though she had turned into a monster, her two eyes still sparkled brightly under the light.

“You told me to run without a second thought, and when I couldn't escape, you shielded me behind your back. If those police officers had arrived a step later, you probably would have charged in and risked your life against him. What reason do I have left to doubt you? Never mind, you don't even need to ask—I’ll just tell you everything I’ve been through recently. If there’s anything you don't understand, feel free to ask at any time.”

Lynch nodded and poured himself a cup as well before placing the coffee pot onto the kerosene stove.

“Today is May 19th, right? Well, I entered the mountains in early May, wanting to interview the hillmen and write a report on the Bester Tunnel dispute.”

“Yeah, I saw that stack of photographs.”

“Donnie’s?” Maya’s eyes immediately reddened. Wiping her eyes, she said in a choked voice, “Those are the records. The journey into the mountains was actually very smooth, and the hillmen were very friendly. Although I accidentally photographed a few monsters along the way, Chieftain Nikolai explained that they were traditional costumes used in their rituals, and I just believed him.”

“‘Just’ believed him? So you actually knew they weren't props?”

“Working as journalists, we hear odd rumors more or less. For our personal safety, we don't take them at face value, but we don't dismiss them as fake either. As an ethnic minority, those hillmen have enjoyed preferential policies in Lande for centuries. The noble lords in the capital aren't stupid—they definitely had their reasons for doing so. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the hillmen held secrets.”

The female reporter didn't drink the coffee. Instead, she took the red wine Lynch had bought for her, chugging several mouthfuls before wiping the corner of her mouth and sighing:

“They explained their reason for opposing the tunnel. Beneath Bester Mountain lie the ruins of their ancestors, and excavating them would unleash a great calamity. The hillmen wanted to change the route, but the people at city hall, especially Chairman Grant, flatly refused, claiming this was the only viable route and excavation had to proceed. That's why the hillmen used every means to resist, even inciting the early-stage construction workers to go on strike.”

“And those workers just made trouble alongside them?”

“Those workers really did encounter many bizarre accidents. Not only did they see monsters, but a few people even died. So they were terrified, believing that if work continued, they would face the threat of a curse too. Under the hillmen’s incitement, they went on strike. Actually, you probably know what was really going on with the monsters those workers encountered.”

“Yeah. But was the workers' incident the only one orchestrated by the hillmen?” Lynch pressed. “What about the other bizarre deaths?”

“I don't know. I didn't have the energy to keep investigating after that, but the other incidents shouldn't be related to the hillmen. Precisely because the workers' plight was manipulated by them from the shadows, I didn't explicitly mention the ancestral ruins and calamities in my draft, since I couldn't be sure if it was just an excuse on their part.”

Lynch nodded in understanding.

“Everything was going smoothly until the final night. I drank some fruit wine brewed by the hillmen, and that night, I had a dream.”

Lynch straightened his posture, his expression turning solemn.

“I dreamed that I was in a massive abandoned city, surrounded by those monsters wandering around. No one could see me. I walked all the way to a place that looked like a temple, following a long, dark shadow deep inside, and then I saw a colossal mass of...”

“Hm?”

“I don't know what I saw either. My mind simply went completely blank, as if that mass of dark shadow touched me with something, and then I woke up in terror.”

Maya’s expression contorted in dread until Lynch held her hand and patted it gently. Only then did her heavy breathing gradually subside, and she said in a dry voice:

“The moment I woke up, I found those hillmen gathered together in a bizarre ritual. Many of them had transformed into monsters, chanting the name Mordiggian, along with a pronunciation I couldn't comprehend—something like Zur-Baha. I was terrified. Taking my photo negatives and interview notes, leaving even my camera behind, I fled all the way out of the cave and rushed back to Rhine City overnight. I thought that was the end of it, but after a few days, I noticed something wrong with my body. Not only did the stench of decay grow heavier and my face become more and more monstrous, but every night I had nightmares about that terrifying ruined city.”

Lynch’s lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing. With his current understanding of the occult world, she had clearly established a connection with a mystery, which wasn't something that could be resolved simply by running away.

“At first, the symptoms were mild, so I didn't pay them much mind. I continued investigating the tunnel dispute and took those later photos. Since the other side was represented by Chairman Grant, I went to interview him a few times as well. As a result, one time I accidentally saw him meeting secretly with several vagrants.”

“Hiss... the ones from today?”

“Yeah. They mentioned Mordiggian too, as well as that title like Zur-Baha. I didn't dare listen closely and fled. Later, I saw them turn into monsters and crawl into the sewers, which was how I realized they were of the same kind as those hillmen. Afterward, as I looked more and more like a monster, I didn't dare show my face in public. Not knowing whether my condition was tied to my interview experience, the nightmare, or continuing the investigation after returning, I gave all the photos to Donnie and hid myself away in that wooden cabin.”

“Why did you leave so abruptly, then? And why did you leave behind that empty picture frame?”

“When I interviewed some prominent figures in the past, I heard them mention a strange intelligence organization. I tried making one, hoping to ask what was happening to me. To my surprise, a person actually appeared inside and warned me that the hillmen would come looking for me soon. The hillmen had actually tracked me down once before to drag me back to the cave. There were too many people around then, so they didn't dare make a move, and I managed to slip away. When I heard the warning from the person in the frame, I didn't dare stay in the cabin either. I fled back to the city, hiding in those abandoned carriages and living among the vagrants.”

Having blurted out everything she knew in one breath, Maya yawned and asked with sleepy eyes, “Is there anything else you want to know? Every day I’ve been terrified and unable to sleep, but today, I don't know why, I suddenly feel sleepy. I’d like to sleep for a bit. Could you...”

“Hm?”

“Could you...”

“Heh, I get it. I still need to wait here for Officer Natalie to arrive anyway, so I won't leave. Rest easy and go to sleep; I’ll stay with you.”

“Mm.” The female reporter shot Lynch a grateful look and wrapped herself in the bedding Lynch had brought down. Within seconds, her breathing grew steady.

Lynch chuckled and shook his head, knowing this ordinary girl had suffered far too much psychological torment during this period.

Her situation was even worse than his; at least he had a gentle neighbor he could pester.

【Hm?】

No, to serve as his sturdiest spiritual pillar. This girl had nothing at all, and the fact that she hadn't gone insane yet was proof enough of her inner resilience.

Feeling a twinge of pity, Lynch didn't want to disturb her rest, so he turned the kerosene lamp down to its lowest setting and sorted through the information he had just gained by the faint light.

Some of it aligned with what he had imagined. Clues to the mysteries surrounding the Bester Mountain Tunnel were beginning to surface, but the full conspiracy behind the Norin-Rhine Railway was still far from clear and required further investigation.

Based on the current information, Lynch realized he had made two major mistakes.

Although the hillmen ghouls and sewer ghouls belonged to the same species, they seemed to hold opposing stances. One side opposed excavating the tunnel, while the other stood alongside Chairman Grant, who supported it.

As for the second mistake, he had always assumed that Frame Hand wanted to guide the hillmen to Maya. Now, it appeared to be quite the opposite—Frame Hand had disrupted their efforts, indicating he did not want the hillmen to find Maya. Looked at from this perspective, did he lean more toward supporting the tunnel's construction?

Hard to say. A question mark needed to be placed on that. Hopefully... hm?

The darkness severely impaired his vision, but it made his hearing all the sharper. As Lynch organized his thoughts, he suddenly heard faint rustling noises nearby.

Had Officer Natalie arrived? It shouldn't be this fast. Or had those spiders crawled back? That shouldn't be either.

Full of suspicion, Lynch calmly looked around. Though the light was faint, his vision seemed to have improved significantly ever since receiving Cat's Favor. By the dim glow, he could barely make out his surroundings.

The instant he saw clearly, a sudden chill ran down his spine.

Without him realizing when, he was no longer in the cavern beneath Thorn Flower, but inside an unknown building.

What the hell is this place?